Adding Large Equipment to Your Insurance Policy

by Katie Petersen | Nov 30, 2023 | Safety | 0 comments

Adding Large Equipment to Your Insurance Policy

Written by Ryan Watry

Everything is getting more expensive these days. This is true not only at the grocery store and gas pump but as the cost of equipment is also on the rise. Due to the rise in cost in these pieces of equipment, insurance companies are starting to require more information when adding them to your policy. Here is a quick guide to make sure that new equipment is added to your insurance policy without a problem.

1. Give Lead Time

Just like when you are purchasing a home or new vehicle, odds are you’ve done research and shopped around before buying the new equipment. When you start looking for that new lift or chipper or whatever, it is a good idea to reach out to your insurance agent to let them know you are shopping around and that way if they need underwriting approval to add it your policy, they can start the conversation with the underwriter.

2. Information required.

Besides the standard information of year, make, model, serial number and value, the underwriter will potentially ask for more information. This may include information on the equipment itself or on the people operating the equipment. Sending over the spec sheets or pictures of the equipment gives the underwriter a better understanding of what that equipment is and what it does. The underwriter may also ask about who is operating the item. Typically, they want to know what experience that person has and what/if any training they’ve had. Finally describing what jobs this item will be used on gives the underwriter a better understanding of what the equipment is needed for and how it will be used.

3. Loan Information

Odds are when you are purchasing this equipment you are taking a loan on it. It is important to provide your agent with the name and address of the lending company so they can show proof of insurance to that lender. If the lending company does not get this information, they will apply their own insurance and charge you for that. Nobody wants to double on insurance so to avoid giving your agent the lending information is crucial.

Buying a new piece of equipment can be exciting and potentially stressful time. Hopefully the tips we just gave you can help take away some of the stress when buying and insuring your new large piece of equipment.

If you are interested in having a conversation, or learning more, about how the Arborisk Thrive program and Consultants can help you strategically review and advance your company, please check out our Thrive website at: https://arboriskinsurance.com/arborisks-thrive/

Documenting Safety Efforts

by Katie Petersen | Sep 22, 2023 | Safety | 0 comments

Documenting Safety Efforts

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

One of the common hangups that tree care companies have regarding safety is how to document their efforts. All too often, the owner feels paralyzed by what they think they need to document thereby preventing them from documenting anything. I want to simplify it so you can start documenting the safety and training efforts that you are probably already doing and set you on a path to be able to build a better safety and training program within your company.

But first, why do you need to document safety and training efforts within your company? The answer is quite simple. You, as the owner of the tree care company, have a responsibility to create a safe work environment for your employees.

Now creating a safe work environment for an arborist can be quite the challenge with new or multiple worksites each day, a tree care company has a lot less control over the work environment than a plastics manufacturer where all of their work is being done inside four walls. In fact, you will never be able to create a work environment that is completely void of all hazards, however, that is precisely why training your employees on a regular basis is really the only way that an employer can attempt to achieve that goal. Documenting the training that has been done is your way to prove that it happened.

So, in my opinion, there are three types of crucial safety documents that every tree care company must have. I should mention that obviously, the more training and documentation you have, the better, however, if you are just starting out with documentation, focus on these three types:

1. Written Safety Program Signature Page – If you don’t have a written safety program (or Injury and Illness Prevention Program as it is called in some states), get one right away, either from your insurance agent, TCIA or any of the other online resources out there. This obviously establishes the safety protocols for your company. All written safety programs should have an acknowledgement or acceptance page that each employee signs to confirm that they were given the document and were trained on it. This is the number one document you must keep in each employee file from a safety and training perspective.

2. Initial Training/Onboarding Documentation – Your written safety program should also include a list of training topics for a new hire. Often referred to as orientation or onboarding, this initial list of training topics guides the tree care company on what to train the new hires on. After each employee has gone through a training topic, have them and their supervisor sign a document to be kept in their employee file stating the following:

When the training was done
Name of the individual being trained
Who the trainer was
Topic of the training
Where/how the training was performed (in-person, on the job, online, etc.)
Any additional follow up training required?
Signatures by employee and supervisor/trainer

3. Ongoing Training Sign-in Sheets – The third type of documentation that you should have within your tree care company would be proof of on-going training. This training can happen in a number of ways, but is done after the initial onboarding training. Examples of ongoing training would be, Tailgate Safety Meetings, All Company Safety Training Days, Specific training like Aerial Rescue or First Aid/CPR, etc. For each of these training events, make sure to have sign-in sheets that list the same information above for the Initial Training. These sign-in sheets are typically kept in a Company Training File as they will be focused on a group of people and not one specific individual.

Again, the more documentation that you have from a safety and training perspective the better, however, if you have been unsure on what to document, start with these three types of documents. If you would like help developing a stronger safety culture within your company, reach out to a member of the ArboRisk team today to begin our Thrive Safety Package. We will work with you one-on-one to improve your safety culture no matter where it is today.

Safety Pays

by Katie Petersen | Aug 30, 2023 | Safety | 0 comments

Safety Pays

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

One of our goals at ArboRisk is to help tree care companies embrace the idea that safety should be looked at as a profit center versus as an expense. The idea is quite simple in that the safety efforts that you embark upon ultimately lead to higher productivity and profitability for your entire team because you are not dealing with injuries and all of the costs associated with them. Because not everyone buys into a statement like that immediately, I want to highlight a fantastic resource that you can use to illustrate this point…OSHA’s “Safety Pays” website.

OSHA’s Safety Pays website serves as an interactive tool that enables businesses to calculate the potential financial benefits of investing in workplace safety measures. It aims to showcase that by prioritizing safety, companies can not only protect their workers but also realize substantial economic advantages. The site is a testament to the fact that a safe workplace is a profitable one.

The Safety Pays website offers several key features that make it a valuable resource for tree services of all sizes:

Individual Injury Estimator – My favorite part of the website is a user-friendly interface (Individual Injury Estimator) that allows you to choose an injury type and enter your profit margin to determine how much that injury would cost your company both in direct and indirect costs.

For example, if an employee at a tree service suffers a shoulder strain, the estimated cost of that injury will total over $67,000!

In this example, I used a profit margin of 15%. If your profit margin is higher than that the financial impact to your company would be a little lower, however, if you’re running under that profit margin, the impact of this injury will be felt even more. The website calculated that the direct cost of the injury will equate to $32,023 and the indirect costs would amount $35,225 to total $67,248! In case those numbers don’t mean much to you, think about this. With a 15% profit margin, this injury would require the business to produce an additional $448,320 in sales to cover these costs.

Can you afford to do $448,000 of work for free?

Safety Pays Tool – The Safety Pays Tool is your chance to get a more customized experience and allow you to compare your company to the industry average. This tool is especially helpful when looking at budgeting for new equipment or perhaps investigating the cost/benefit of a full time safety director.

Educational Resources – The website isn’t just about numbers; it also provides educational resources and case studies that illustrate real-world examples of companies that have benefited from safety investments.

How can you utilize the Safety Pays website within your tree service?

During your next Safety Meeting, pull up the website and go to the Individual Injury Estimator. Ask your team to throw out an injury type. Then enter in your company’s target profit margin and reveal the results of the calculator to the team and watch their reaction. Even more powerful tie the estimated additional sales to the number of jobs that equates to by dividing the sales number by your average job cost. If these numbers don’t open people’s eyes within your organization, nothing will.

If you are looking to boost the safety culture within your company or perhaps just want confirmation that you are doing what you can, reach out to a member of the ArboRisk team or sign up directly for our Thrive Safety Package. We work one-on-one with tree care companies every day, helping them get every one of their employees home safe each night.

Managing Open Proposals

by Katie Petersen | Aug 28, 2023 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

Managing Open Proposals

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

Even the most successful sales arborists do not close every proposal they present every time. In fact, the majority of proposals delivered in the tree care industry are not accepted until days or weeks after the initial presentation. So how you stay in touch with your prospect during that time has a huge impact upon your closing rate. Here are a few things to consider when following up with a prospect on an open proposal.

Set Follow-up Expectation – Whether you hand deliver or email a proposal to someone, let them know when you will follow-up with them regarding the proposal. This takes some pressure off of them immediately and also sets the expectation of how you will work with them. This also does a lot more as it builds trust with the prospect, as long as you adhere to the expected follow-up time frame. People want to work with a tree care company that does what it says it’s going to do.

Immediate Confirmation – The best way to start the follow-up process on an open bid is to confirm receipt of the proposal immediately with the prospect. If you are hand delivering the proposal, this is obviously easy, however, more and more tree care companies are emailing proposals to their prospects. If you are emailing proposals, it’s imperative that you give a quick follow-up phone call to the prospect to let them know their proposal has been emailed to them. We know that most people don’t answer the phone any more anyways, so this call will most likely be a voicemail to the prospect. Doing this ensures that the prospect will know to look for the proposal and may eliminate confusion if the proposal gets stuck in a Junk Email folder. Obviously, this is the perfect time to also let them know you’re available for questions on the proposal.

Utilize Technology and Teamwork – Many tree care companies use automated email campaigns for marketing purposes, but few utilize them for sales management. Get your marketing and sales team together and have the marketing team explain the functionality of the software that you are using currently to the sales team. The sales team will then inevitably have ideas on what would help them stay in front of the prospects better. If you are a smaller company, chances are the marketing team consists of the same people as your sales team. That is totally okay as well and probably gives you more reason to spend a little time during a weather day to figure this out. Most of the CRM’s (ArborGold, SingleOps, etc.) will have technology available for you out of the box that can be customized relatively easily.

Internal Follow-Up Organization – Being organized with your open leads is a must as well. Included in many of the CRM’s will be a method of setting tasks or follow-ups to yourself as the salesperson to remember to check back with that prospect. Learn how your system works and become a dedicated user of that technology. It may feel clunky at first, but there is not one sales person in the world who can remember every single detail about each open proposal and when to follow-up next without help. If your company doesn’t have a CRM, create a simple follow-up spreadsheet in Google Drive (so you can share it with others if you need to) and ensure you enter information at the end of each day and look at it every morning during the work week to stay current with the prospects.

Use Testimonials – Using testimonials from happy customers during your sales process can give you a huge boost when looking to close more open proposals. If you don’t have testimonials from your own jobs that you’ve sold, work with other sales people to get a handful of testimonials from various job types. Insert these testimonials into an automated sales follow-up campaign or better yet, get them printed as postcards and mail them to your open prospects at a regular interval. If the testimonial states what type of work was done and how pleased with the job your team did, it will make it easier for the prospect to accept your bid.

Expiration Date – Like with everything, the prices you charge today, may not be the same as what you will need to charge in 6 months. Make sure when you are delivering a proposal there is an expiration date on it so they know that the price is locked in until that date. Some people may look at this as being gimmicky, but in reality it will protect you from a customer accepting a very old bid and expecting you to do the work at the proposal price. It also sets up a true closing date so you can take it off your open proposal list and move to a lost lead list. Too many sales arborists get overwhelmed when they have too many open proposals and then the follow-up to the real opportunities is hindered.

Communication and responsiveness with the prospect are the two keys to successfully managing open bids effectively. If you or your team is struggling with staying on top of the open proposals or with your closing rate in general, reach out to a member of the ArboRisk team and ask them about our Sales & Marketing Thrive Package. We will work one-on-one with your company to help you better your sales process and close more of the jobs you want.

Click here to obtain a copy of the Sales Sweet Spot worksheet to help you understand which services you offer fit best with your ideal customer.

Click here to learn more about our New Heights Package and how it can help you identify your ideal customer and services and grow your business!

What to Include on Proposals

by Katie Petersen | Aug 8, 2023 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

What To Include on Proposals

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

When creating a proposal to sell tree work, it’s essential to outline the terms and conditions clearly to avoid any misunderstandings. While this list may not be all encompassing, here are some key elements to include in your proposal.

Scope of Work – Obviously, clearly defining the specific tree care services that will be provided on which trees is vital for the proposal. Be as detailed as you can about the type of service, the number of visits it will take to complete, and any limitations or restrictions that you may encounter along the way.

Estimated Completion Date – This may sound elementary, but since most tree care companies have a work backlog, communicating this to the prospect right away starts to build trust. Of course, you don’t want to underestimate this completion date as that can hurt your relationship as they will be expecting the work to be done by then, regardless of the extenuating circumstances that have arisen.

Exclusions – Clearly state any services that you are not performing or didn’t perform when creating this proposal. This is a very key part of the proposal as it will limit your liability if included and give you a chance to sell additional work in the future. Phrases like…

“This proposal was based upon a visual inspection of the tree from the ground. For a more complete tree risk assessment/appraisal contact your sales arborist to schedule with our team.” – OR – “This proposal only addresses the trees that are mentioned above and does not include recommendations on any additional trees that are on the property.”

Additional Services – I like to call this the Amazon Method section. If there are any additional services that customers typically buy together (think fertilization program with pruning services or planting a new tree after a removal, etc.) use this section of your proposal to show the customer what other people like them have purchased in addition to the described service on the proposal. Make sure it is clear that these additional services are only included for an additional fee so they do not think they are getting these for free.

Terms and Conditions – Include your terms and conditions within the proposal, so the prospect knows what items this proposal are contingent upon and what they will be responsible for. If you have any warranties/guarantees outline what is expected of the customer for these to be valid (think watering requirements for newly planted trees) and what the limitations are.

Insurance – This is a great way to showcase why your professional tree care company may be the better fit for your customer. Specify the insurance coverage that you carry and state that a Certificate of Liability Insurance can be provided upon request.

Signatures and Date – Ensure that both parties sign the proposal and include the date of signing.

Lastly, it is crucial to have an attorney review your proposal template to ensure it complies with local laws and regulations and protects the interests of both the tree care company and the customer. Remember, the proposal is going to be the document that your crew and the customer rely on to achieve a positive outcome on the project, so the more of these elements you can include, the better experience your customer will have.

Click here to obtain a copy of the Sales Sweet Spot worksheet to help you understand which services you offer fit best with your ideal customer.

Click here to learn more about our New Heights Package and how it can help you identify your ideal customer and services and grow your business!