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Using Fear to Sell Tree Work

by | Jul 23, 2019 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

USing Fear to Sell Tree Work

Have you ever used fear to get someone to buy tree work from you? Of course you have and while fear is an effective motivator for people to buy your services, sometimes it doesn’t feel the best. So, I want to share with you an easy, relatable way to sell professional tree care to your customers based on fear that you can be proud of.

Every Certified Arborist knows that proper care for a tree reduces risks of falling branches and tree failure due to storm damage, however many struggle with communicating that to their customers.

I believe the key to creating sales using fear as the motivator is to be realistic on what could happen and have statistics or real life examples of scenarios that could’ve been avoided had the property owner followed your professional advice.

Recently we had a severe storm blow through our area and one of our home owner insurance clients had a tree fall on their house. Fortunately, no one was hurt and their homeowners insurance policy is taking care of the repairs, but the tree that crashed through the roof of their living room was an Emerald Ash Borer infested Ash that should have been removed a year or two ago. This tree was too brittle to withstand the wind gusts that day and the homeowner, while lucky it wasn’t worse, was left with a huge disturbance to their lives that could have been prevented had a tree care company been able to get them to understand the danger of that tree.

Here are some numbers from this one tree failure that you can use when explaining the importance of proper tree care to your customers.

One month after the tree fell, the homeowner’s insurance claim already has paid out $23,858.19 and they are far from being done with the clean up. Immediately, they needed to get an entire new roof put on since the tree opened up a three foot diameter hole from which rainwater rushed into the living room. A restoration company had to come in and clean up the rainwater and mitigate for mold. There was significant internal structural damage to the walls and ceilings in that area of the house that have yet to be repaired.

The walls are currently being worked on, but it has now been thirty two days since our clients have lived in their home. They, along with their ten month old son and two dogs, are living with family members until the home is repaired to a safe condition. To make matters worse they had a family member’s car in their driveway at the time which also got hit and was totaled out by the insurance company.

All in all this tree failure will exceed $60,000 in damages and will take over two months to get the homeowner back to normal. Can your customers afford this type of disruption in their lives?

Use this example the next time someone refuses to listen to your professional advice about what to do with the tree in their yard.

Written by: Eric Petersen

Taking the ZZZ’s out of the Z133

by | Jul 16, 2019 | Safety | 0 comments

Taking the ZZZ’s Out of the z133

Almost everyone that I talk to wants to improve upon their safety culture, no matter how good it is today. And most agree that the ANSI Z133 (or Z) should be handed out to every employee just like a pair of chaps and safety glasses. But the unfortunate reality is the Z gets left out of sight and out of mind in most tree services, because it is a 74 page document that is full of seemingly stuffy ‘shoulds’ and ‘shalls’.

Back in April, I was invited to attend the Z133 committee meeting in Baltimore as a guest. While I, like most tree care company owners, always understood the importance of this document, it wasn’t until this committee meeting that I finally grasped the simplicity of how to actually implement the Z into your daily routine within your tree care company. Below are four simple steps to engaging your team with the Z and propelling your safety culture forward.

Familiarize Yourself with the Z – Taking the Z seriously within your company has to start from the top with your knowledge and interest of the document. Grab the Z and flip through it. Learn how it is set up with the different sections and how the sections interact with each other. See where the Z references other safety requirements per OSHA or FMCSA.
Appoint a Champion for Each Section – Everyone in your organization has their own passion and excitement for the tree care industry. Use that passion to break up the Z and appoint a champion for each section. The section champions are responsible for understanding what is in their section and how your company can follow the requirements. When the section champions begin to feel responsible for safety items within their section they obviously will put more energy and effort into adhering to the requirement.

Track Close Calls Back to the Z – Many tree services already discuss close calls, but stop there. Take each close call and look back at the Z to see how the unsafe behavior or mistake could have been avoided and which specific line item addresses it. We have started to do this within our insurance agency for the claims that get submitted. In just a few months of tracking this, it is pretty amazing the patterns that we are seeing. It has helped us implement better loss control services for our clients. Any trends that you begin to see are obvious areas that your safety meetings should focus on.

Choose a Section Every Week – During your weekly safety meeting, choose a section or part of a section to go over. Have your team members read out loud each point and discuss it as you go using close calls to explain the importance of each point. Within a couple of months, you and your team will have gone through the entire Z and the document will have become part of your culture.

Use these four easy steps to take the Z from a boring document to an active part of ensuring every employee makes it home safe each night.

Since ArboRisk’s mission is to get every arborist home safe each night, we’ve designed a specific consulting package to work one-on-one with your organization. Visit our webpage for the Thrive Safety Package to learn more. In addition to the Thrive Safety Package, all ArboRisk clients receive a Safety Culture Assessment that allows you to peer into your safety culture and find areas that need improvement.

Written by: Eric Petersen

Professional Liability for Professional Arborists

by | Jul 9, 2019 | Risk Management | 0 comments

Professional Liability for Professional Arborists

On August 15th, 2017 a woman was walking through New York’s Central Park with her three sons when an Elm tree suddenly uprooted and fell on top of them. The woman, who was knocked unconscious, was holding an infant with her two sons in a stroller. Fortunately, the entire family was taken to the hospital and treated with non-life threatening injuries. Story over right? Well, almost a year and a half later the mother filed a two hundred million dollar ($200,000,000) lawsuit against New York City, Central Park Conservatory, and all private contractors that had done work on the tree in the past.

Two hundred million is certainly an extreme case, however in 2012 a lawsuit settled for four million dollars ($4,000,000) after a single branch fell and killed someone in New York City. Can you imagine being brought into a suit for a tree you worked on years ago? Oh, by the way, you better hope you have the right insurance coverage for defense costs and damages!

We all know insurance coverage is needed for bodily injury or property damage caused while you’re on the jobsite. This comes from your General Liability policy. However, with any tree job, there come exposures that are not going to be covered under the General Liability and will require Professional Liability specific to tree care operations. Here are a few common reasons every tree service should have Professional Liability.

 

Work On The Tree Itself

Think about the scenario discussed above. Wherever your crews are working they are responsible for the work being performed. Everything from working on the correct tree, using proper pruning techniques, and assessing any future tree issues are all things every tree crew does every day. If your crew fails at addressing any of these concerns, you may be exposed to a faulty workmanship claim which is usually excluded under your General Liability policy. That’s right excluded! For these exposures you must purchase Professional Liability specific to tree care operations.

Work In Area/On Nearby Trees

Believe it or not, you can be held liable for damage caused by a failed tree that you weren’t even asked to do work on. Professional tree care companies, especially those that employ Certified Arborists and TRAQ arborists, have a responsibility as soon as they step on the jobsite to give notice of any trees that could be potentially harmful. Simply put, the property owner hires an arborist because they have a higher level of understanding and awareness about trees, than the property owner. If an arborist misses something the tree care company could be held liable. Your General Liability policy certainly will not afford you protection for any lawsuit where you did not touch a tree. Professional liability is the only way to find coverage for this.

Consulting

For the arborists that only perform consulting operations, you obviously have the highest need for Professional Liability coverage as your work is all verbal/written. General Liability is for physical work done to trees, not for advice given. Whether it is consulting on one tree with a homeowner, or developing a tree management plan for an entire municipality, or acting as an expert witness in court, you’ll want to make sure you have Professional Liability policy to cover any mistakes. Also, many insurance policies are very specific to what operations they cover so please make sure everything you do is listed to avoid any potential gaps in your protection.

Training

Similar to the expert witness operations, training is often not included under a standard Professional Liability policy. Many of our clients will teach other arborists at either conferences or on-site with entire companies. From OSHA compliance training, to any of the ISA or TCIA workshops, as well as custom climbing/rigging course, there is an additional coverage you must have to protect yourself; Educator’s Errors and Omissions. This would provide coverage if you were named in a lawsuit for poor advice that led to injury or property damage.

 

To conclude, everybody in the arboriculture world needs some form of Professional Liability coverage either added onto their General Liability coverage or as a separate policy. Talk about this with your insurance agent to make sure you know what potential gaps in coverage exist for your business today.

If you are concerned about some of your operations not being covered under your current policy, contact ArboRisk for a free coverage review. For more in depth help, check out ArboRisk’s New Heights Thrive Package – the ArboRisk team will help you take a deep dive on not only your insurance but also your business operations, safety culture, sales and marketing techniques, and more! Stay safe!

Increase Your Engagement on Social Media

by | Jul 2, 2019 | Marketing | 0 comments

Increase YoUr Engagement on Social Media

Have you ever been texting someone and you want to keep talking and asking them questions and they consistently find ways to end the conversation? Many businesses do this exact same thing to potential clients on social media while others still don’t even give people the opportunity to respond.

If you are looking to generate leads and form relationships online, why would you cut off the conversation before it even gets started? I see too many tree services who are active on social media miss opportunities to engage with their followers. To cultivate true online relationships, you must intentionally integrate a strategy to get your followers to interact with you.

Below are a few tips for branching out of your comfort zone and encouraging your followers to engage with you on social media.

Ask Them Questions: Yes, this seems like a no-brainer. But do you know how easy it is to spew content at someone and never bother to ask them how they feel about something? I once unfollowed a shall-not-be-named-brand because they were constantly pushing their own product and not once did they reach out to their followers. #SeeYa Write a post about the fun activity you are doing that night, and ask them to respond with their activity for the night. Post photos of two or three different trees and ask them which tree they would rather have in their backyard. Play “Would you rather” or “Spot the difference” in two photos. All of these options allow your followers to feel included in your business and help them feel more comfortable with you!


Conduct a Contest: One of the easiest ways to get people commenting and engaging with your posts is to hold a contest and provide free items. Everyone loves free stuff. Ask them to identify a tree or piece of equipment you use to win a gift card. Partner up with another business or company and ask your followers to like both of your accounts, your post, and tag three friends on your post to be entered to win a free tree pruning!


Use Trends to Your Advantage: Everyone loves memes, trends, and viral videos. Use these to your advantage! Remember a couple of years ago, there was a dress photo trending online and everyone was arguing about whether it was blue and black or white and gold? Posting a copy of that photo and asking your followers what they think is a great way to get people talking! Everyone loves sharing their opinion, especially on the internet, and viral trends are a great way to show followers that you are engaged in the world and you are willing to give them a platform to share their opinions.


Share photos or @ Them: Include your followers in your posts! One of the best ways to get involved on social media is to engage with others yourself! The more opportunities you have to include other individuals and businesses, the farther reach your posts will have. Also, people are much more likely to comment on posts when they know a person that’s in them!


Share Your Stories: If you don’t share anything personal on your social media, why should your followers? By keeping yourself private, you’re creating distance between you and your followers on an already distant medium! The more personal items you are able to share – why you started your business, what is a weakness of yours, who inspires you – the more likely people are to open up and share with you. And when you’re done sharing, ask them to share their stories! You will find that people are easily persuaded to open up when they feel safe doing so – so give them that opportunity!


The most important thing to remember, is that people follow you for a reason! They want to get to know you and they want to feel like you are in this together. Reaching out to include them in your social media will only strengthen your relationship in the long-run.

Written by: Katie Petersen

What to Look for in a Contract

by | Jun 18, 2019 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

What to Look For In a Contract

Written by Eric Petersen, CIC

As I was sitting at my desk sipping my coffee this morning, I couldn’t help but be thankful that I didn’t have any contracts to review this morning for our agency. Seriously, REALLY thankful!

Unfortunately, many tree service owners wake up with the exact opposite feeling, staring blankly at the six page contract that their local municipality just sent over for them to agree to before they even give a bid! And worse yet, once you do start to read them, the language that they use often leaves you scratching your head.

I wrote this article to highlight a few general provisions within common legal contracts that you will see within the tree care industry. Paying close attention to these provisions will give you the basic understanding of what the other party is asking of you within the contract and the amount of risk you are exposing your company to by agreeing to the terms. This simple analysis will give you the edge over other tree services who just sign it without reading, as you will understand where you can negotiate as well as when to walk away from an unreasonable situation.

And of course, please don’t take this article to be actual legal advice. Talk to your attorney with any specific questions that you have regarding contracts that you are contemplating entering into.

There are many different types of contracts that you will run into as a tree service owner, from lease agreements for your building and equipment, to subcontractor or work order contracts to purchase orders, the list goes on and on. Each of them will outline who is responsible for what. If you are ever unclear about what you are asked to do within a contract, make sure to clarify with the other party BEFORE signing it.

General Provisions

Who, What, Where, When and How Much? – Every contract must specifically address these five questions. If there is any confusion on any of these basics, they must be figured out before any work is done. These set up the terms for the entire project so be clear on the verbiage.

Cancellation – How does your responsibility change if you need to cancel the contract? Is there written notice that must be given in advance? What about if the other part cancels? Gain an understanding of how this contract will dissolve so you do not get caught doing tree work for free.
Insurance/Risk Transfer Provisions

Additional Insured – Many contracts ask to have one party be named as Additional Insured. If you are required to list another entity as Additional Insured, you must contact your insurance agent/company and physically change the policy to meet this requirement. Many times there are specific insurance forms that are necessary to fulfill this requirement. Listing another entity as Additional Insured gives the other entity coverage on your policy, so your insurance company is taking on another defendant in a lawsuit if something happens at that particular job/project. Send a copy of the contract to your insurance agent before you sign it to gain an understanding of the type of Additional Insured status they are asking for and to get an idea of how much this will cost you.

Loss Payee – If you are borrowing money for an equipment purchase, the lender will want to be listed as Loss Payee on your insurance policy. This guarantees that they will be paid first if the equipment is damaged or stolen.

Hold Harmless Agreements – Simply put, Hold Harmless Agreements are used to transfer the risk of something happening from one party to another. If a contract states that you will indemnify and hold harmless the other party, you are assuming to pay for anything that happens on that job site without help from that other party. This can be a very large exposure to your company that many tree service owners are unaware they agreed to. Again, send a copy of the contract to your insurance agent or attorney for review before agreeing to something that you do not understand.

Waivers of Subrogation – Similar to the Hold Harmless Agreement, a Waiver of Subrogation will remove the right for your insurance company to seek reimbursement for an accident/injury from the other party. Typically, the Waiver of Subrogation will be placed onto the Work Comp policy for a charge from your insurance company. With the already high work comp cost for arborists, losing the ability to get reimbursed for a workplace injury can cause an injury to financially affect your company more than it should.

Unfortunately, there is a lot that goes into a legal contract, however, paying attention to these contract provisions will help you quickly understand what you are being asked to agree to and can save your company from entering into a fatal contract. Remember to utilize your team; attorney, insurance agent, business coach and possibly your CPA to help you understand what the contract says before you sign it.

Still want help reviewing contract provisions? Contact the ArboRisk team today to learn more or check out our Thrive New Heights Package!