Jt Lawn Care Things I Did For New Customers

[TILDANHIX]

I TALKED TO A COUPLE REALESTATE PEOPLE. AND GOT SOME REAL GOOD NEWS. THERE BUILDING A NEW GATED COMMUNITY AND THE REALATOR. SAID SHE WOULD HAVE ME BE THE ONE WHO TAKES CARE OF THE COMMUNTITY. BUT THERES STILL ONE PROBLEM. IT STARTS NEXT MONTH THEM BUILDING THE NEW HOUSES. I GOT REAL GOOD REACTIONS WHEN I TOLD THE REALATOR. THAT I WOULD BE GIVING 5.00 ON ANY YARD OR WORK I DO. ALSO 10.00 ON ANY YARD OVER 60.00 PAID DIRECTLY TO THE REALATOR. ALL EYES WERE ON ME. AND I ALSO WALKED OUT WITH 2 NEW YARDS. BUT I ALSO DO HOUSE PAINTINGS AND ANYTHING I CAN GET MY HANDS ON. I TRIED USING YOUR YARD ESTIMATOR. BUT THE PEOPLE IM REACHING WOULD NEVER PAY THEM PRICES. AND THE HIGH END YARDS THEY ALREADY HAVE PEOPLE. THERES A COMPANY CALLED ?? THEY MOW 10-15 YARDS A DAY AND HAVE ABOUT 50 EMPLOYEES. MY QUESTION IS HOW DO I TAKE THERE BUSINESS. I KNOW THEY CHARGE OUT THE ***. I WOULD NEVER UP CHARGE THAT MUCH. I TRIED TO USE YOUR TEMPLATES FOR WEB PAGE. BUT IT DIDNT WORK FOR ME. I MADE A MYSPACE PAGE http://www.myspace.com/jtlawn.maint i did cheat on adding people i downloaded friendblaster the trial version. it limits 50 friend requester a day. 50 comments a day. why pay for pro when you can do it for free. take a look at my page and tell me what you think. i will be donating to your site. it has answered alot of questions. and gave ideas them templates are cool. also im on the way for t shirts. screenprinting is too expensive 200+ for 10 shirts. so i went to hobby lobby and got transfer paper. tomarrow will try to make them. ill tell you how it goes. how do you beat big name lawncare busisness. and crack heads excuse my language. there crazy for mowing a $40.00 yard for 20.00 and bag it. i cant compete with that. i tell them i take pride in my work and upkeep is expensive.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

MY QUESTION IS HOW DO I TAKE THERE BUSINESS. I KNOW THEY CHARGE OUT THE ***. I WOULD NEVER UP CHARGE THAT MUCH. Can you submit a bid to mow the property at the price you feel you can do it for? Maybe they will then go with you instead?

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[ClintFL]

As someone who has had a home in a 'gated community' they expect to pay for a service. You can charge just as much as the next guy, just make certain you do a better job. You may find that those in the gated community are also high-maintenance, they can be.

Don't sell yourself short. Be professional. Charge the going rate. Exceed your customers expectations. Over Deliver. It will take you farther than you see yourself right now.

If you go too inexpensive. The customers or potential customers in that community may think that you are CHEAP...and frankly they don't want cheap. They want a bargain, but if you are half, or significantly less than a competitor. You most likely won't get the business.

my two cents.

[Steve]

As someone who has had a home in a 'gated community' they expect to pay for a service. You can charge just as much as the next guy, just make certain you do a better job. You may find that those in the gated community are also high-maintenance, they can be.

Hi Clint,

Do you have any advise on how to best market to home owners that live in gated communities? How does marketing to them differ from marketing to those who don't live in gated communities?

[ClintFL]

Honestly marketing to the 'gated community' is no different than others. We got flyers in our paper box below the mailbox, sometimes I got someone who would estimate and write down on the side of their flyer what it would cost per cut. What differentiates one from the others? USE QUALITY...if I received a flyer that was run off and illegible, and had bad grammar, I threw it away. Why? If the business owner had no gumption to make certain his words were right, how could I be certain he'd care for my lawn the right way. Colored paper, especially neon paper would grab my attention. It forces you to read it. However, if it is badly run off, and looks like a copy of a copy of a copy...same thing, I think this person is cutting corners, he's going to cut corners on my lawn. I also had someone walk up and knock on my door, let me know he was in the neighbourhood, his truck and equip was outside. He was leaking oil in front of my house. He was a nice enough fellow but if you can't afford to drive around more than junk, how well is he going to care for my lawn? He also wasn't insured, nor had a business license.

Want to crack the code? Get one, do an excellent job, mow, trim, edge, keep a lawn green and you will get others, people do ask their neighbour or tell their neighbour who they use. Knock on doors and let them know. Sales is sales. Every single person you talk to should know YOU ARE the lawn guy. One has to ask for work (the sale) and deliver quality service. There are tons of up sells in a community like this; everyone wants their lawn to look better than the neighbours, the flower beds etc. ESPECIALLY in a new sub division. The beds installed only have the minimum amount of shrubbery and no annuals. Most of the time the lots have been scraped and have minimal top soil, they throw sod over clay. A lot of times the mulch is very very sparse, yet another up sell. a lot of times these homes come with only three zones of sprinklers, only for the front and partial side yard....yet again another potential up sell.

The point is, be assertive, be confident, dress appropriately, if your vehicle leaks or is a rust bucket, people will shy away from you. Have a simple clean flyer that looks professional, doesn't have to be 'glossy'. Indicate the services you can perform. Let the customer know what you can do, and what you can't do.

Here are services I had to have performed at my new house:
. Grading of backyard
. Topsoil - 14 dumptruck loads (raised backyard 22 inches)
. retaining wall
. Mulch
. 15 pallets of sod for side and back yard
. three old oak trees removed that were dead
. four more zones sprinkler system for side and back yard
. annuals planted
. extra flower beds
. 120 azaleas
. 120 shrubs to form a 'natural fence' planted every 48 inches.
. custom colored concrete patio poured 1200 sq ft.
. sprinkler system had to be blown out in winter and 'opened' in spring.
. pressure washing driveway and deck
. top sealing the asphalt driveway
. sealing concrete

And that is about the average of each house in a neighborhood where the people (including myself) paid over $200K for a home. That all took place over a three year period. I had the tree guy back. The rest of the services, no one called back, no one asked me for more work.

[Steve]

The rest of the services, no one called back, no one asked me for more work.

WOW!

So you needed some of those services and no one called you back to do them?

Why do you think that is the case? What's wrong with those businesses to miss such opportunities?

[ClintFL]

Originally Posted by Steve

WOW!

So you needed some of those services and no one called you back to do them?

Why do you think that is the case? What's wrong with those businesses to miss such opportunities?

No, Those are all services that I ended up getting done. The Tree Guy was the only one who I re-hired to do work. The rest were generally out of business after their first year. I spent a fortune on my lawn, as did all my neighbors. Sorry the Sprinkler company, Used them too. That was $150 a year. and took them less than a half hour $75 for each service.

[Steve]

The rest were generally out of business after their first year.

WOW! What is your view on why they went out of business? I am sure there are lessons to be learned especially for the newer lawn care business owners on the forum here.