Hello From Tewksbury, Mass

[Flynnlandscaping]

Hello My Name Is Brian And I Am 22 Years Old. I Started My Own Business In Late August. I Actually Woke Up And Said Forget This Carpentry And Sales Gig I Want To Be My Own Boss In The Landscaping Field. No Success Yet But I Have Flyers And Cards And 2 Shirts Made Up And Plan On Going Door To Door. I Have Like 7 Years Of Sales Experience In Retail And Business, I Spoke To My Neighbor About Getting LOAM And Seeds For His Front Yard And I Quoted Him And He Liked It, So I Did The Math And My Profit Was Only $300.00 Yes Thats For A Day But I Wanted More. Greedy? Yes But That's Ok So I Used My Sales Skills And Up Sold Him A Retaining Wall, Plants And Landscape Lighting As Well As A Walkway. Now My Profit Is Higher AND He Is Happy. If You Need Any Sales Tips Or Anything Email Me At Flynnlandscaping2010@aol.com, I Might Be 22 But I Can Sell A Mansion To A Poor Man Hahaha. Peace.

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Brian Flynn
Owner- Flynn Landscaping

[arthur712]

How to get lawn care customers - Vol 2

Welcome to the Forum! Great to have you here! I am from Fitchburg Mass, I was visiting last week. Chek out our Drawing for Free Vehicle Business Card Holders There will be 3 winners picked for each Forum. Winners will receive (1) One Adbox Outdoor Business Card Holder. Free Shipping to the USA and Canada No Cost at all. Click here to check it out!!! http://www.gopherforum.com/showthread.php?t=10007 I will do drawing Oct 25th 2009 Thanks!

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Artie Crowley

www.mytakeacard.com

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm...ndid=241701181

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/mytakeacard?ref=sgm

[Steve]

Hi Brian,

Welcome to our forum!

What kinds of sales tips would you suggest for newer startup lawn care business owners?

Could you offer any advice on this?

[Flynnlandscaping]

Good Question Steve And Yes I Can Offer Some Advice. Do Not Offer The Sale Ask For It, What I Mean By That Don't Say Oh I Can Buy Mulch And Lay It And Spread It For You If You Like. Say " I Noticed You Need Mulch Over There Because The Rain Washed Most Of It Away, When Would You Like Me To Place The Order For You? It Will Cost ..... And Then The Customer Is Like Hmm Well Your The Professional Saying That I Need It So Can We Get It Today Or Tomorrow?. And COMPLIMENTS Help, " Oh Mr. Johnson I Love Your Front Yard And House I Would Love Such A Nice House/ Yard Like This One" They Love When You Compliment Their House If You Do That And Build Trust With Them You Have A Client Who Will Keep Calling You Or Tell His Friends About You. I Have Done Jobs Where I Was In Sales Before And I Have Learned How To Read And Talk To People, My All Time Favorite Thing Is Up Selling. You Get A Call About An Ad You Place Online Or The Newspaper And You Go And Estimate It, And Again Compliment " Nice house Mrs. Smith You Know A Nice Slate Walkway With Some Nice Flowers And Lights Coming Down It Would Be A Great Curb Appeal. 50% Of 100 customers Will Look At You Weird But Others Will Be Like How Much Will It Cost? If More Advice Is Needed Please Keep In Touch....

[arthur712]

That is some great advise Brian!

Too many people including myself still make the mistake of asking for the sale.
I had a buyer the Yesterday, and he asked me how much for the card holder. I said, hand me $20 buck and come out to my car.
(Wow that sound bad! LOL)

We put them right on his truck.

If I would have gave him options and pricing he would say.
(Well let me think about it!!!!!!)

Great to have you here!
We always need help on marketing.

Thanks!
Artie

[Steve]

Too many people including myself still make the mistake of asking for the sale.
I had a buyer the Yesterday, and he asked me how much for the card holder. I said, hand me $20 buck and come out to my car.

Can you tell me what is wrong with what you did? What is wrong with asking for the sale?

Good Question Steve And Yes I Can Offer Some Advice. Do Not Offer The Sale Ask For It, What I Mean By That Don't Say Oh I Can Buy Mulch And Lay It And Spread It For You If You Like.

Is this something you can do with your marketing material or do you need to be in person to do this? If you can do it with marketing material, how do you suggest doing it?

[arthur712]

[quote=Steve;58521]Can you tell me what is wrong with what you did? What is wrong with asking for the sale?QUOTE]

I was just stating that sometime we all use the wrong words, and then I used an example how I use the correct words.

I just wanted to confuse you Steve. LOL

[Flynnlandscaping]

I Do My Own Marketing, I Found That Sending Flyers Through The Mail Don't Work, So I Ordered A Shirt And Some Business Cards, And I Am Going Door To Door, I Have Some Public Places That Let Me Place Some Flyers In The Store And When My Cards Come I Can Leave Those. But The Biggest Marketing Mistake Is Leaving A Crummy Black And White Flyer Or A Flyer That Is Boring Like " We Offer Great Deals". You Say That But So Doesn't Joe Smoe. On My Flyers I Say " Don't Let Your Lawn Fall Into Disrepair, Call The Team That Can Make Your Dreams" Come True". OR " We Work For You And Your Lawn Why Wait? Call Today. I'm Irish So On My Flyer I Have An Irish Flag, I Put Catchy Pictures And Words On My Flyers And One Place I Put Them Was In A Pizza Place And I Went Back 3 Days Later To Get A Drink, They Were All Gone, The Owner Told Me That People Were Taking Them Left And Right. Not Only Is Marketing A Good Way To Get Sales But Having Knowledge About The Landscaping Field Of Work. If You Were Hiring A Crew To Mow Your Lawn And Build A Retaining Wall You Want The Owner To Be Smart And Not Say Oh I Don't Know... I Have Explained To My Neighbors And Friends Why Something In My Field Is Going Wrong And How I Can Fix It, Like How To Remove Crab Grass Or How To Install A Irrigation System, And What Helps Is STUDY STUDY STUDY, You Might Think You Know Everything, But Ya Don't. I Read Every Night About Landscaping And How To Videos From This Old House And Stuff. I Listen And Watch How They Do Things, And I Get Ideas And Learn New Ways To Explain Things To People. I Hopefully Have A $10,000 Dollar Contract Coming Up In A Condo Area Because I Knew What I Was Talking About And How To Word It And The President Liked Me. More HelpFull Tips Coming Tomorrow.....

[Steve]

You sound like you are well on your way to success!

What would you say are some of your immediate goals and intermediate goals (say 1 year from now)?

I bet you have big plans.

[Flynnlandscaping]

--> Like Anyone In The World I Would Love To Be A Billionaire By Next Year But How Often Does That Happen Ha-ha. But Really I Would Say I Would Love To Grow My Business I Am Mostly Working With Realtors In My Area And They Are Adding Me To Their Data Base So If Someone Is Buying Or Selling A House, And Is In Need Of A Landscaper They Will Say Oh I Know Someone. So That Is My Goal, Is To Grow My Areas. Sorry For The Lack Of Info I Have Allergies And Lost All My Energy. If Anyone Needs Tips Or Help Please Feel Free To Ask,