marketing

Sorry to have to say this but I cannot understand the math. The number .001% actually means 1 out of 100,000. However, .1% means 1 out of 1,000 so I think this may be what you are going for? I am really interested in your statistics just a little confused on the numbers. Looking forward to reading your next post.

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by GrassGuy309 Sorry to have to say this but I cannot understand the math. The number .001% actually means 1 out of 100,000. However, .1% means 1 out of 1,000 so I think this may be what you are going for? I am really interested in your statistics just a little confused on the numbers. Looking forward to reading your next post. If there is one thing you should know. I got 0's throughout my entire high school career. I make my own math up! LOL But no no. From what I presented, basically you put in your own information. the percentages or either your marketing or amount of customers. A better example: 0.1% are willing to hire per card. 0.1 x 30 cards placed out in May in one dep = 3 customers in the middle of May In the beginning of lawn service & placing cards in convenient stores, I have only received 3 customers. Usually I only put 30 cards in each store, & during this time - it was the only store I had put them. So I pretended I knew how to "math" & figured out that .1 x 30 cards = 3 customers. So for every 30 cards, I should expect 3 customers in theory. So if you were to place business cards in a convenient store, remember how many you place, & how many customers you have received from it. Then put my math to the test. .1 x [how many cards you left in the store] = _____ customers... Now is this pretty much the truth? Did you actually receive _____ customers? I'm trying to figure out if my % is lower or higher compared to others around the world. One day, my math will make sense, LMAO. Graduation, write what you want to be when you grow up & it will be in the year book. Scott: I want to be a mailman, I can do a lot with the space in my mail truck. Everyone else: Astronaut, Doctor, Lawyer, Pro Athlete, Teacher, etc Nope, I wanted to be a mailman!

[legendlawn]

Yes, I think it is better to send the letter after you bid, because you don't want the client to feel pressured. This is more of just a simple thank you, for giving us the oppurtunity to bid, with maybe a short inference to scheduling the job. When you call, it sounds alot more like you are trying to make a hard sell. Remember if you follow the steps of the procedure, you have already met the client in person twice. Once to assess the project, and again to deliver the proposal.
Yes, the thank you letter after completion is, short simple and to the point. I just have a template on my computer where I can plug in the clients address and send it off.
No, I would not reccomend calling the client and following up if it is a regular mowing client after every mowing. Just send them a thank you letter at the end of the season.

[psparaco]

ok to clear up everyone's math. My dad made a point that i knew alot of math up to calculus. 0.1 = 1/10th, 0.01 = 1/100th, 0.001, 1/1000th, and so on.

Based on my experience last year which was door to door flyers in a mailbox with no interaction with my clients prior to them calling me. i achieved the following results:

first client i had for 3 years just cause she needed someone to cut her grass and i had a mower. i had a daytime job so landscaping wasnt even a dream at the time. When i lost my job. the following week i designed and printed out several flyers and drafted up a contract and browsed all over this awseome forum. Here are the results:

passed out 22 flyers on 04/09/09, 7 hired me. by the end of april.

7/22 = 31.8% clients gained
i had automatically 4 clients not included in those numbers. my parents, grandmother and mother in law. and the neighbor who hired me 3 years ago.

so total as of may 2009, 11 clients with total of 22 flyers passed out or a 50% gain

4 clients i gained between august to september from the existing clients. either they were neighbors or they saw me in the neighborhood.

On 09/09/09 i passed out 56 flyers in a neighbhood about a mile away. and about 2 weeks later i received calls and gained 8 more clients.
8/56 = 14.2% clients gained

my roster of clients was increased to 23.

In october of 2009. i posted an ad on my facebook wall and within 3 days. i had 1 client signed. someone i went to highschool with. and he is signed for this year. i also mowed his property twice b4 the end of the season.

so grand total i should have 24 clients however, 5 i lost. 1 moved, 1 failed to pay me in a timely manner and i dropped them and 1 bought their own mower and 2 were a one time service.

so close of 2009. i was sitting with 19 clients.

so end result

24 total clients for 2009
78 flyers passed out

19 out of 24 of them were flyers referrals which is 24% gain

4 referred from friends/saw me in neighborhood out of 24 total is 16% gain

1 internet referral out of 24 is 4% gain

overall 24 gained from 78 flyers is 30.7% gain not bad.

ok so i lost 5 due to various reasons. thats 20% of my roster i lost.

so far for 2010, i have posted advertisements on facebook, craigslist, on google itself. if you search for lawn care in my actually zipcode. my name comes up out of like 5. not many of us. I am holding out until end of february to pass out door to door flyers. i have surveryed several neighborhoods within 20 miles of my home. certain ones. and yes i counted every single home on google earth. I have round about total of 2500 flyers to produce and pass out. and thats if i get enough money to pass them out. to be safe i would like to make up 5000 flyers. My dad's is secretary of his lodge cause he is a mason. and he referred me to his printer he uses. they quoted me 99.95 for 5,000 copies. the best deal i found by far. there are a few other neighborhoods i intend to target for lawn care. I have 2 people willing to work for me. 1 i dont have to pay. my fiance. she has helped before and done an awesome job.

now if i end of passing out 2500 flyers and get another 30% gain. holy horny toads. i'd add 750 clients. i'd have to upscale my business hardcore. add 10-15 employees, 3 crews of 5, omg i'd be overwhelmed. but again this is all what if. not reality but my stats from last year proved to be impressive.

back to my total from last year 2009. 19 existing clients. 2 are single family homes, 17 are townhouses/rowhomes.

my goals for this year are as follows:

purchase a small trailer for my car and a hitch. definetely need that. a 32" walkbehind mower with a sulky cause as of now, 70% of my client base have gated backyards and nothing wider then 40 inches is getting through.

My current equipment is a weedeater 22 inch push mulching mower, gas trimmer, gas hand held blower, 200 foot of electric cord for my hedge trimmer, 22 inch wide gas powered snow blower and thats it. i was given another mower exactly identical to my current one, but its not worth crap other than parts. it has a bent blade, bent shaft. it cost more to fix then replace. so i am taking the wheels, and any other part off it to use as backup for my mower. i replaced the spark plug, air filters, etc. all the things recommended for a typical mower tune up. i have 2 blades. one to use as a backup. the 2 single fmaily homes i do is my parents and i use my dad's 32" rider mulching mower and their self propelled mower. i just need my trimmer and blower. I already spoke with my dad and in time i may have him trade that in so i can use the floor space to store a zero turn and/or a commericial walkbehind. i can already store my trailer in their driveway. and all other equipment in their shed thats large enough to use as a shop too. my biggest issue is earning enough money to pay for over half of this. which with my current roster and any additional clients i add. i should be able to have most of this by june 2010.

[psparaco]

oh in regards to the other post on this topic. you should not need to visit the potential client more than twice. they call to ask about your service. you come out and perform an estimate. 95% of them should know right then and there if they want to hire you. either they do or don't. come back one more time to go over the contract and sign it and to call them at a later date if in off season or that night to set up a day to schedule their weekly service. like me. i carry with me several blank contracts. so if they decide to hire me. i can kill 2 birds with 1 stone and save everyone time and money (gas) so do estimate and sign contract on the spot. any other time to see them is to collect money and/or service their yard. as i have learned on here. if its in season and ur schedule is free from other scheduled appointments. bring your equipment with you always. then you do an estimate. they say i want to hire u for the season. they hand me cash for the first mow. i do it. then prebill them for the rest of the month. no need to send a thankyou letter. if you shook their hand in person. its more personal to do that i think. i thank each time i see them and collect money. i also thank them the last mow of the season and find out if they need me for the following year. now i plan to send out a welcome letter to my existing clients welcoming them back this year and calling them to schedule a time to meet to go over some changes to my contract i revised over the winter. the changes are minor dealing with billing. have them sign the revised contract and thats it. as of thankyous for a bid. thats commercial. residential you dont seriously need all that i think in my eyes.

[Steve]

passed out 22 flyers on 04/09/09, 7 hired me. by the end of april.

7/22 = 31.8% clients gained
i had automatically 4 clients not included in those numbers. my parents, grandmother and mother in law. and the neighbor who hired me 3 years ago.

So often we see less than a 1% response rate. What do you think attributed to such a high response rate in this case?

And we should point out that it was a smart move of you to get your family members as clients. Marketing to your social network is very important.

[psparaco]

Originally Posted by Steve

So often we see less than a 1% response rate. What do you think attributed to such a high response rate in this case?

And we should point out that it was a smart move of you to get your family members as clients. Marketing to your social network is very important.

refer to this post. the answer to your question should be answered in the book I wrote there. .. http://www.gopherforum.com/showthrea...ed=1#post63680

[Steve]

That made sense and it's brilliant!

Do you think other lawn care business owners in other areas should be looking for similar situations?

How should they go about finding them?

[psparaco]

Originally Posted by Steve

That made sense and it's brilliant!

Do you think other lawn care business owners in other areas should be looking for similar situations?

How should they go about finding them?

That's the easy part. Goto Rent.com or forrent.com and research all rental townhomes in your area. Chances are their tenants are responsible to maintain their own lawn in their lease. you would need to call each leasing office and verify if you were to move in, if you need to maintain your lawn or if they have a private landscaper who maintains all the properties at no charge to the tenant. Then go out to that area and distribute flyers in everyone's door. and wait for the tenants to call you.

apparently thats harder then i thought. i just called 5 other rental communities and evry single one... the tenant is not responsible for their lawns. the landlord is. completely different where i am. maybe this area is a diamond in the rough deal.and i am sitting on a gold mine. lucky me. another easy residential property to do or check in on is trailer parks. smaller yards and most shouldnt take you longer than 10 minutes each to do. you could knock out 5 on a street in an hour. thats about target area on my radar this year. So far i have 600 townhomes, 2200 trailers in 5 trailer parks to market and 2 single family home areas with about 400-800 homes. i may expand faster then i anticipate.

[Steve]

i may expand faster then i anticipate.

I am thinking this is going to be a great year for you!