Contest for more Contracts?

[slcllc]

I was thinking of having a contest among my current customers & Facebook fans. Simple enough: You sign up for the contest at the Facebook page. The person who refers the most people who sign a service contract wins a year of free lawn care (26 Cuts @ $40 each, a $1040 Value) or $500 cash. In the event fewer than three people sign contracts through referrals, the prize is reduced to $150. At this point I have only 5 contract customers and about 15 who call me whenever they need it. I would like to make it full time, but I'll definitely need more customers. What do you think of this contest?

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Very interesting! How will you promote this contest? How will you reach out to people who could potentially refer you to others? What other things are you doing now to promote your business? Also now that we are getting into fall and soon winter, what services are you promoting now to attract new customers?

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[slcllc]

I have well over 50 fans on Facebook, many of them customers. I would promote the contest by mailing all customers I've serviced, and announcing it on Facebook.

I advertise on Craigslist, a local classifieds paper, and will soon list myself with Yellow Pages. Additionally, I've passed out flyers, but only once. $15 got about 300 flyers and after passing out about 50 to targeted houses (those with high grass) I managed to get 4 repeat customers, two of whom signed up for bi-weekly service.

I service South Mississippi, as such lawn care is a year round chore - even if it is only once a month in December, January, & February. Otherwise, I do offer pressure washing (which is not very popular it seems) and tree trimming, gutter cleaning, & property cleanup.

[Steve]

It sounds like you have thought it out, when will you start to implement the plan?

[slcllc]

I'm really not sure when the best time to start it would be. Now? February? March? If I did it now, I could set the contest time to 3 months, but I can't picture it being easy for people sell mowing contracts in the fall. If I do it in March, with a 1 month contest time, that may be better... What about two contests?

[Steve]

Ok but are there other services you could focus on now, based on your geographic area. What would those services be and how could you harness your social network to help sell them?