Great marketing Idea

[EGREEN]

This is my first season in business. Last winter I called several businesses ex. gas stations,7-11 small shopping centers in my area and explained to the manager that I was NOT trying to sell them anything. I told them I was considering a lawn care business and was taking a survey about their current *servicer. (building rappour) I asked who serviced them,How often, how much they charged and if they were happy with them. Before hanging up I told them if I considered opening shop I would call them and let them know how it was going. I gathered alot of information from them that they may not have told me otherwise, Anyway when I did open shop I called each one back. I explained to them who I was and that I could service them, solve the problems they had with the other guys and could save them a few dollars. I landed 11 out of 12 commercial accounts. * I just wanted to share this idea if anyone is interested. Thanks for your time.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Hi EGREEN, Thank you for the idea! Can you tell us some more specifics? Like did anything they say stand out to you that you were able to use? Did any of their complaints stand out? How did you utilize the information they told you about pricing? Did you keep detailed records of what each said? Did these businesses have a signed contract with another lco if so how did you deal with that?

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[EGREEN]

I just took a spiral notebook and took notes. Everyone felt free to tell me most things because I told them up front I wasn't trying to sell them anything. Most complaints were that the last company didn't do a good enough job trimming. The contracts allowed 30 days Written notice to cancel...fine with me because I had to prepare myself anyway.( I beat the competitions price by a few dollars but I had the information that they told me in the past ex. Bad job trimming. This allowed me to go into detail about how well I trim all areas. I learned not to sell price but sell the quality of work.

[Steve]

That is very interesting! Nice work!

Since landing these customers have you found yourself giving your clients, customer surveys to see if you are keeping your service to the levels the expect of you?

Have you used this strategy anymore to land new clients? If not, what are you doing now to gain new customers?

[EGREEN]

I call my residential and commercial accounts about once a month and ask them how we are doing. I explain that I would rather have them tell me if i'm doing something wrong (regardless of how small the problem) than not have a happy customer. I feel this personal touch is better.
This is my first year in this business, I started about five months ago and I have 53 residential and small Commercial accounts. The biggest lesson I think is to make them feel that they have a friend in the business. They will hopefully be a little more loyal. I do get word of mouth calls also. I also walk door to door and tell the customer I was in the area giving an estimate to a neighbor and since I was in the neighborhood I wanted to stop by. I mention what I do and point something out like an unedged sidewalk and explain the clean look of an edge job.

[Steve]

Very interesting!
Do you have a website up yet? Can we see it?

Also what are the next big plans for your business this year? How many more clients do you want by the end of the year?

[EGREEN]

I don't have a website. I don't think that at this point I need one. (not much of a computer guy). I hope to have at least 100 clients by the end of season. I'm kinda at that point where I am too busy to spend alot of time prospecting but not busy enough to make the $ I want/need. I was thinking about putting together a package....Basic- Mowing Edge andTrim * * * *Premier-Mow,Edge,Trim and 4 fert aps. * * *Estate Package-Mow,Edge,Trim,4 fert aps. and an aeration and over seed. * What do you think?

[Steve]

Yea packages are great. It's like value meals at fast food restaurants.

Would those involve a contract? How much would you charge for the different service packages?
How are you going to market it?