The Call

[picframer]

First off, yes we still have a few feet of snow on the ground however..... We have talked quite a bit about networking, I have often stated that I ask clients for referrals. We have also talked about braking into the richer market and how difficult it can be. 40 Min ago I received a call, the fellow owns a massive Commercial Property Maintanence company and builds 60++ homes a year, I know from advertisements their homes start at $750,000, they cater to the upper end of the food chain. Anyhow he was having lunch with one of our newer gated community clients today and property care came up so my client told him great things about us, he wants to meet as soon as the snow is off the ground but said the business is yours at the end of the call. It would be property care for 64 commercial and residential properties plus the excavation and landscaping for the 60 homes he builds a year, amazing news as I so want to see this snow go and get back to working with the guys and being outside, some or most days I feel like a caged animal. So I guess the plan is to get our network, networking for us Cut's the cost on sales and marketing, that is for sure!

__________________
Andy
Halifax, Nova Scotia

[CHEESE2009]

Lawn care business tips

Originally Posted by picframer Anyhow he was having lunch with one of our newer gated community clients today and property care came up so my client told him great things about us, he wants to meet as soon as the snow is off the ground but said the business is yours at the end of the call. That is too awesome! Congratulations!!!!

[adamsmowing88]

Yeah I will be doing a lot of network also. My brother in law is a builder, my father inlaw is a builder, his friend does excavation, my wife's friend does gardening and landscaping....the list goes on and on...and its a town of like 1800[population wise] which is even better!

[picframer]

It's funny in a way how these things work out, I was in the shop this afternoon when I herd the Blackberry, this time of the year it's generally one of my kids however I was taken back when I read the following email. I xxxx'd out any names. Keep in mind I only spoke to the developer for the first time today, haven't seen his properties and we never talked pricing once.

I'll be attending this meeting for sure and will call two or three of the guys and see if they are available including my new sales guy, I want to make a really good first impression as these private communities are really good money and best of all it's right in the middle of the area where we work.

Mr. London, My name is Sandra xxxx, I am the treasurer of the xxxx xxxx homeowners association for which my husband is the current president. We are a gated private community which backs onto the xxxx golf course located off the Hammond Plains Road.

I understand Mr. xxxx from xxxx development has been speaking to you with respect to taking over the lawn maintenance for his commercial properties and excavation/landscaping for his new developments.

My husband and I have been active members in our community for 7 years, all lawn care and property maintenance is contracted out based on a community vote, last year we experienced the services of the 5th company in 7 years and like the others their work simply doesn’t measure to our standards which we feel are reasonable considering what we pay.

This subject has been a hot topic at our bi-monthly homeowner’s association meetings; we make up approximately 20 acres with 18 homes. Based on my conversation with Mr. xxxx I would like to know if your company would be interested in delivering a presentation at our next meeting on April 5th.

I fully understand you would want to inspect each property prior to providing any estimate(s), some properties will require a fair amount of work due to the poor service and quite simply prior companies not knowing what they were doing however we want to get the ball rolling and exhibit to our members that we are taking action, once again.

If you are able to attend, I would ask that you respond to me at your convenience, the meetings start at 7:00 pm and I will confirm our address.

Having reviewed your site I believe you offer services in our area as I have seen your trucks, I did not recognize your company name however your logo on the website struck me as I have seen it on your trucks, speaking of your website, it is one of the best I have seen and I suspect the quality and care you put into it is reflected in the work you perform on your customers properties.

You would need to bring proof of company registration, insurance, references and workers compensation coverage.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours Truly

Sandra xxxx

[picframer]

Originally Posted by adamsmowing88

Yeah I will be doing a lot of network also. My brother in law is a builder, my father inlaw is a builder, his friend does excavation, my wife's friend does gardening and landscaping....the list goes on and on...and its a town of like 1800[population wise] which is even better!

This has to be the most effective and cost efficient way to build any business, wishing you the very best!

[picframer]

Originally Posted by BREEZE2009

That is too awesome! Congratulations!!!!

Thanks, should turn into a very good relationship. He sent me an email a few moments ago withthe following image, this is his latest development, the main road is in however he wants the lots cleared/chipped and driveways put in, I am meeting him at his office tomorrow. This will be a very big job and i suspect an excavator and chipper along with 6 staff will be there for the summer, I have to see it first but he said it's fully wooded.

[lawncrafter56]

always thrilled to hear the sucesses of everyone here in this tougher economic time. This forum has always been easy on my ears. Congrats andy

[XtreemGreen]

Congrats Andy....

[Steve]

Andy,

That is amazing news!

The thing I was immediately thinking about was how big of a deal will it be to scale up to service these properties?

In the past we have talked on here about growth and one figure that stands was 20% growth a year.

What's your view on all this and is this an issue?

[picframer]

We have the equipment already in place to handle both side of this deal, it will max out the mowing gear however, my #1 concern is putting this so much into one basket, I did meet with the developer this morning and he set out what is has been paying which we can live with based on images I saw.

I consider us to be med size with 12 employees, this on the revenue side basically doubles our size, we will go slow and ensure we submit invoices weekly, I did explain to him that our invoices would be handled this way and due upon receipt which he didn't seem to have a problem with.