My first account

[warbuff]

May 2010 I never originally planned to get into lawn maintenance myself. Was doing mostly property cleanups and some hardscaping. A waitress from the pizza joint, told a property manager that I was a good guy. They called me and asked for a bid. With no clue what I was doing, didn't even know how to stripe a lawn, I somehow managed to land the account. Only thing I really remember about it is that I went into it feeling confident because the lady talked me up to them. I started of with used 48" z-turn scag with almost 4500hrs on it, the thing leaked hydrolic oil every where. I bought it for $800 and spent another $500 to get it running. That one account is still my best account too 12 buildings on 1.5 acres takes me 90 mins to do the whole thing and I spend an hour every other week weeding beds. I charge them $265 per visit + tax and have never looked back. One year later I bought a new exmark and have building ever since.

[Steve]

Lawn care business tips

Very very interesting! Did that process teach you about the power of word of mouth marketing? Have you found yourself since then trying to continue to harness it? If so, how?

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[warbuff]

Originally Posted by Steve

Very very interesting! Did that process teach you about the power of word of mouth marketing? Have you found yourself since then trying to continue to harness it? If so, how?

LOL, Well I'd say I get my best business from word of mouth. I have 3 people in particular that I bend over backwards for and they send me 30-40k a year or more worth of referrals.

The rest comes from a combination of BNI referrals, Craigs list, Family & Cold Calls

I also ask everyone I do work for to mention my business to their business & personal contacts when ever they can.

[Steve]

I have 3 people in particular that I bend over backwards for and they send me 30-40k a year or more worth of referrals.

That is just amazing! It seems that energy you put into them is worthwhile!

Were you able to tell they were going to be helpful to you when you first got them signed up or did it take a while for them to come around like that?