Upsells

[jymie]

As my crew goes from customer to customer, we see all day long properties where the yards are being mowed by residents (not our customers). We see a ton of things that need to be done on many of them. Hedges driveway edges weed whacking weeding beds etc My question to the forum is this. When you price these types of things how do you go about pricing for each item? How much do you charge when it is not a normal mowing customer? How much by the foot would you charge etc. I'm looking to increase the business by this method and want to see what the going rates would be in the forum. Thanks guys!

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. http://www.lunchesruslawncare.com

[picframer]

Lawn care business tips

This is how I really built our business, myself and crew's seeing things at properties we were on, next door, driving by and leaving a card as we have one designed for a host of services. As for pricing I can't answer that because it depends on what you have for equipment to do the job and experience in knowing how long it should take. I don't want to say for example charge $x.xx per foot for a hedge not knowing what you have to do the job. But what you are observing is what will really put your company on the map, mowing is an entrance for us, I will even do a mowing job at a loss but make up serious profit on other services at the site, I do this often. You might be thinking that isn't a good idea as the other service might be one time, well I really market our Organic sprays, the profit is such that if the client buys into it, then it doesn't matter. Yes we get stung once in the while but not often and due to our size, overall, it doesn't matter that much to the bottom line. Presence at new places alone brings us in a pile of business, now we have gone over the top with vehicle and trailer lettering and it has paid for itself 100 times over, we get calls all the time while driving from someone behind us or someone that just passed us.

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Andy
Halifax, Nova Scotia

[CheapNEasy]

I have had many people stop and ask about our services, complimenting on how great the yards we service look. I havent always picked them up as a service client, as some just wont let off mowing themselves. But I have picked them up for edging the driveways and curbing's, I charge most around $10 to $15 to edge only each time I service their neighbor... haha. Dont even have to mow these guys, just keep edging to the next driveway.

[Steve]

My question to the forum is this. When you price these types of things how do you go about pricing for each item? How much do you charge when it is not a normal mowing customer? How much by the foot would you charge etc.

Early on, try and keep it simple. Ask yourself how long it will take. And then multiply that by your hourly service rate and see how that works for you. As you do more, you will get better at this.

I will even do a mowing job at a loss but make up serious profit on other services at the site, I do this often.

Andy, do you feel there is like a top 5 list of services a lawn care business owner should be focusing on offering?

[picframer]

Originally Posted by Steve

Early on, try and keep it simple. Ask yourself how long it will take. And then multiply that by your hourly service rate and see how that works for you. As you do more, you will get better at this.



Andy, do you feel there is like a top 5 list of services a lawn care business owner should be focusing on offering?

I strongly agree with your first comment, keep your overhead down, or perhaps I should say loans.

Our highest profit makers and services I find very easy to sell and keep the staff going out straight are

1) Pressure Washing
2) Organic Spraying (this has gone through the roof for us)
3) Wood cutting and chipping
4) Driveway rebuilding using a box blade
5) Excavation and Landscape. I put this last as it's a big capital investment, I probably have seven hundred grand in equipment at this point and we are still short vs demand.

Pressure washing is fairly cheap to get into, we use John Deere commercial washers, we can even remove graffiti, but huge profit and I have a deal with the staff on incentives, basically they get no salary but 40% of the value of the job but can't leave unless the customer is satisfied, staff are lining up as the guys/gals are making $27 to $35 an hour.

Organic Lawn Spraying and Insect control, once again very cheap to get into yet the profits are stunning and the results spread the word like wild fire.

Find a niche that won't cost you a lot to get into and go after it, that will finance your expansion, it's what I have done at other companies and this one and this Yard Care company has grown like wild fire for me.