just wanted to say hi

Been browsing the site for awhile and found there is a wealth of information out there to explore. A little about my self and my company getting ready to retire from the the Army after 27 years of service. I started a Home maintenance and Repair company in my spare time 3yrs ago and is doing good for being part time, make enough to buy new tools needed for the Biz. i deal with a lot of property managers and realtors, found that there is a need for curb appeal on the housing market, So 1 jul 08 Started a lawn care division and was blown away by the response from home owners needing service for their lawn care. to date have landed weekly bi-monthly and monthly accounts, and considering (reasearching) possibility of snow removal this winter, even tho colorado has not had much snow the last few years. i look forward to talking with everyone in the future and getting insite on providing the best service to my coustomers at a comparable price. R&B Enterprise (Lawn Division)

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hello, Welcome to our forum! What kinds of things have you been doing to get the word out about your business? What kind of marketing would you suggest new businesses use?

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Steve

I have partnered up with a national painting company in town, not only does he spread the word about my other bussiness but he also spreads the word about lawn care too. he has several property managers he works with they are always looking for people to maintain their property during vacant times. i belong to a networking group in town we meet every 2 weeks and there are always new faces their so the potenial to expand my exspoure is greater, also i am signed up with a leads company providing leads to new coustomers (so far this has the greatest bang for my buck) also advertise on 2 different forums like craigslist they are free, also look on craigslist people do advertise for lawn care on there, and dont forget to do your direct mailing in the slow winter months, (i look on the web for potential clients then down load them to a date base for future mailings). all i can tell people that have never ran a bussiness is dont give up easy, perserverance will win out. Marketing, marketing,marketing i still do all my marketing it is the only way to keep marketing cost down. Keep up the good work here.

Rob

Not sure if this is the right place to post, but it will be helpful to everybody starting in the business. i was at a customers house mowing her lawn and she happened to be home, so I took a few minutes to talk to her. asked how she liked our service and if there was anything we could do to improve. She replied that she was very happy and we exceeded her expectations. Sometimes you have to read between the lines to hear what your customers want. During our inital conversation all she said was she was allergic to chemicals. So i made the effort to find organic fertilizers. So during our brief conversation, i told her i found that Scotts made a organic Fertilizer and that i would be appling in the spring. She was thrilled that i had paid attention and that i was looking out for her health, she also thanked me for edging her drive way, because the other lawn guys did not offer that service or did not edge with a edger, so over time the dirt and grass had grown on to the concrete. i also do extra thing that are not in the (only if i am ahead of schedule) the original bid (about 5 minutes worth of work) things like cleaning up the street gutter in fornt of the drive way, picking up limbs in non-maintenance area's. 5 minutes x weekly mow = Customers notices you are concerned about the looks of there property too. Conclusion to this story is listen to what your Customers have to say and they will lead to more job opportunities, I landed 2 more jobs from this client and she has told me she is giveing my name to a few friends who are in need of my services.
hope every body has a great labor day.

Rob

P.S. Steve if you feel this could be helpful in other area's of the forum please move

Thk's

[Steve]

I landed 2 more jobs from this client and she has told me she is giveing my name to a few friends who are in need of my services.

Do you mean jobs for her property or for 2 new customers?

Did you ask her for referrals or to let others know about you or did she just do it herself?

It makes you wonder, if you asked more customer to refer you to their friends and handed them some business cards, they just might do it!