I spend an average of 20 hours on the phone with a client before they hire us. Just think about how many applications they see per day. If you don't have something that will set you apart, they won't even look at you. You need the experience, or the ability to cover a large/remote area, or talk a good game on the phone. Sometimes I get work from these companies just because they are tired of me calling them every day. You better be able to back it up though with on-time results and good pictures.