Steve, I think...

Steve, I think you should start a main thread topic on "Finding Customers, Tips and Tricks", I know not everyone here will want to share their tips on how to find but a few of us will. Here is an example of what I do. Property managers can be a pain to work with. They have a lot on their plate and talking with lawn care guys is more than likely at the bottom of their list. However, most property managers that deal with HOA's must comply with the needs of the property owners and in most cases, these needs are presented to the property manager by the president of the HOA. You must get in with the President of the HOA. Introduce yourself, show him or her your abilities. Sell yourself to the HOA President first and win their indorsement. Then you have the extra force behind you when you actually bid on the contract. HOA's can be a pain to work with because you have lots of home owners that think differently. However, if you actually spend a little time with your customer, in the case the HOA meetings, one on one discussions, introducing yourself to homeowners while driving through the neighborhood, etc... that time is well spent and you win the trust of the home owners. We won a contract yesterday and one of the things we put in the contract was to sponsor a "pig picking". For those of you not in the south, that's a pig roasted on a large grill and the BBQ fest begins when it's done. We added $1000.00 to the contract to cover the BBQ and feed all the residents for a day. We actually saved the HOA 5000.00 per year on the lawn care contract plus we added a little perk for the Homeowners. When May rolls around, we should have lots of happy well fed customers. Most HOA's publish their annual budget. In this budget, they list their previous year's expenses and what they are budgeting for the upcoming year. Lawn Care expenses are detailed out in this budget and 99% of the time is the highest expense in the budget. If you can get your hands on this budget prior to bidding on the contract, well... should I say more? It pays to have friends that live in townhome, condo, single residential communities. If you know of a community in which you would like to place a bid and you don't have a friend there, I guess it's time to make some friends there.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

We won a contract yesterday and one of the things we put in the contract was to sponsor a "pig picking". For those of you not in the south, that's a pig roasted on a large grill and the BBQ fest begins when it's done. We added $1000.00 to the contract to cover the BBQ and feed all the residents for a day. We actually saved the HOA 5000.00 per year on the lawn care contract plus we added a little perk for the Homeowners. When May rolls around, we should have lots of happy well fed customers. That is a very interesting concept! How big of a role do you feel the pig picking had you getting your the bid? Also, where did that idea come from? Did they bring it up or did you? Who will cook the pig and set up all the extras needed to have this outdoor bbq? Will you do this or hire a caterer? Do you think it can be done for under $1000?

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