Tree services: a guide for pros

What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.

Offering tree services

Tree services are a higher-risk, high-trust job that depends on inspection, safety planning and the right equipment. Your value is in assessing the tree honestly, working safely around structures and lines, and leaving a clean site.

What customers ask

  • Does this tree need to come down, or can it be saved?
  • Are you insured and licensed for this work?
  • Will you damage my house, fence or lawn?
  • Who handles the power lines, and what if a line is touched?
  • What happens to the debris and the stump?
  • Can you give me a written report on the tree's condition?

How to win the job

  • On the first call, ask what the customer wants the tree to do for them, such as shade, safety or a clear view, and what concerns they have about it.
  • Inspect the tree on site before quoting, and note defects, the targets it could hit and the lines or structures nearby.
  • Put the tree list, the work planned for each one, the equipment, the cleanup and the insurance in the written quote.
  • Share a written assessment with photos and a plain explanation of why you recommend trimming, treatment or removal.
  • Show your insurance certificate and crew qualifications on your profile, and offer to send them to any customer who asks.
  • Explain the safety plan in writing, including how the site is cordoned off and how the crew handles any utility contact.

What to put on your profile

  • Before and after photos of trees trimmed, treated or removed, with the site cleaned up
  • Your insurance and licensing details, shown where your area requires them
  • The services you offer, such as inspection, trimming, removal and stump work
  • Your equipment, such as climbing gear, lifts and chippers, listed by type

Follow-up that helps the customer

  • Send a follow-up care plan with the watering, mulch and pruning schedule for the trees that were kept
  • Offer a second inspection in the next year to track the health of trees that were treated
  • Suggest a replacement tree in the same season if the customer removed one, and explain the species that suit the site

Licenses and permits

Tree services are commonly licensed or registered in many areas, and insurance is expected for crews working near homes and lines. Rules differ by place, so check with your state or local licensing agency and the utility rules in your area before you take the work.

Questions

Do I need a license to remove trees?

Tree removal is commonly licensed or registered in many areas, and some areas have rules about who can work near utilities. Check with your state or local licensing agency before you take removal work.

What insurance should a tree crew carry?

Carry general liability and workers' compensation coverage, and be ready to show proof to customers and to any utility. Check with your insurer and your state or local licensing agency about the coverage your work requires.

How do I handle a customer who wants a tree removed that you think can be saved?

Explain what you found, show the photos and the report, and lay out the options with the risks of each. Do not remove a tree you think can be saved only because the customer asks, and write your recommendation down.

About this guide

This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.

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