Posts Tagged customers

Start a Lawn Care Business – Spring 2015

Feb 26

Posted by Lawn Care Business in lawn care customers, lawn care estimating software, start a lawn care business | Comments off

Spring Lawn Care

Start A Lawn Care Business with Spring Lawn Care. Make Money in 2015.

Though the nights are still chilly and there might be a couple more snowfalls in our near future, spring lawn care time is already here.

As the housing market continues to take hold and home owners are once again taking pride in their lawns and landscaping, 2015 looks to be a great year for anyone with their own lawn care business. There is a tremendous amount of money to be made in 2015 and if you want to make more money in your lawn care business, you better get started right away.

The most money in lawn care comes from smaller residential lawn care customers and larger year-long mowing contracts. We recommend a healthy mixture of these two types of clients. The most important thing, however, is getting your pricing right. If you underestimate your jobs, you are going to lose money. Our lawn care business guidebook and estimating software will help you price your jobs correctly and make more money than you could ever imagine with your own lawn care company.

So, don’t wait until it’s too late. Start today by getting residential customer and large scale lawn mowing contracts. We will show you how.

For more information on our lawn care business guidebook and estimating software, visit our main webpage below:

Start A Lawn Care Business Guidebook and Estimating Software.

Tags: business, customers, landscaping, lawn care, money, mowing

Starting a Lawn Care Business During Winter (December, January, February)

Nov 15

Posted by Lawn Care Business in autumn, commercial lawn mowers, contracts, start a lawn care business, used lawn mowers, winter | Comments off

Hi Everyone:

This is Keith from SALCB.

If you have ever thought about starting a lawn care business or if you currently own a lawn care company and are thinking about expanding your business in the coming year, the next few months (December, January, and February) are target rich months for: performing winter cleanup jobs for your current customers, purchasing used and last year’s model LC equipment, securing new (larger scale) contracts.

Additionally, the customers you acquire during the winter months will be your first customers once spring rolls around. This will give you a solid customer base to grow your business.

Don’t ignore the next few months. You can still make a lot of money during the winter and you will be ready to go in the spring.

My company started our lawn care company 1992. We started small and grew rapidly. We have developed a professionally produced lawn care business guidebook and estimating software package. If you are having problems starting your business, acquiring customers, choosing equipment, doing the work properly and efficiently, and estimating your prices, visit our website to learn more about the lawn care business program.

Once again, our website address is: Start A Lawn Care Business.com

Tags: business, contracts, customers, equipment, money, winter lawn care

Lawn Care Estimating – How To Estimate (Bid) Lawn Care Work

Jun 11

Posted by Lawn Care Business in estimating, how much to charge, lawn business strategies, lawn care estimating, start a lawn care business | No Comments

by: StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Lawn Care Estimating

Our Lawn Care Business program is jam-packed with information about starting and operating a lawn care business. There is tons of information on business startup, how to advertise and acquire customers, how to bid larger jobs, how to purchase lawn mowers, weedeaters, hedge trimmers, & leaf blowers, and there is also information on how to strip lawns and give professional looking cuts.

As informative as all these sections are, one of the most important sections of the lawn care business course deals with knowing how much money to charge your customers. New lawn care entrepreneurs have difficult times telling their customers how much they are going to charge to cut their grass. We dealt with the estimation problem ourselves our first year in business. I still remember some of the first customers I estimated. I would tell them the price and they would almost always balk and say I was too high. Being new in the business and not wanting to lose customers, I would almost always drop my price immediately…sometimes as much as $10 per cut.

When I think back to those early days now, I left a ton of money on the table because I was too inexperienced to know how to give a good estimate and stand firm on my price. I probably lost thousands of dollars the first six month in business because I didn’t know how to give proper estimates.

If you are new to the business and you feel that you are just not making the money you know you should be making, I urge you to get our Lawn Care Business training coursebooks and training videos. The program includes a REALWORLD description teaching you how to price jobs and how to keep from having your customers turn away from reasonable estimates.

We have the lawn care business coursebooks, video training guides, estimating software, and business toolkit on sale right now through our main website. Learning how to estimate lawn care work properly might save you thousands of dollars of lost revenue this year in your lawn care & landscaping business.

You can order the lawn care business program through our main website: http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: bidding, customers, how much to charge, lawn care estimating, money

Protective Landscaping

May 21

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, landscaping, landscaping photography, start a lawn care business | 2 Comments

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness

What are your selection procedures when choosing landscaping plants and materials?

As landscapers, we have great opportunities to make significant positive differences in our customers’ lives. It goes without saying that one of the differences we make is for the simple aesthetic beauty of their properties. We also make nature areas for increased wildlife and song birds, properly prune shrubs and trees for better health of the landscape, and clear scrub brush and over grown shrubs to give an open feeling to the yard and better views of surrounding landscapes.

Using pathways, watergardens, and sitting areas, we help our customers enjoy their property with areas to relax after stressful days in their jobs.

You may have never thought of it before but landscapers can also help our customers feel safe within their homes. There are certain landscaping techniques that can help protect a home and make its occupants feel safe.

According to the National Crime Prevention Council, homeowners should trim shrubs and trees that might give criminals a place to hide or climb to second stories. Thieves often hide behind dense or tall landscape plants that hide windows or other entrances to homes. Lowering the height of and thinning these shrubs reduce the invisibility that robbers seek. Planting prickly shrubs is also a great idea. Plants such as this Adam’s Needle will help deter people from snooping close to windows.

Knowing your landscaping customers’ desires for their landscaping will help you make suggestion on types of landscaping. The Adam’s Needle pictured above was planted for a single female who was living on her own. The deterrent offered by the plant makes her feel safer in her home at night as it offers some protection against people trying to spy through her window.

Do you want to make money with your own landscaping and lawn care business? We have developed a very detailed account of how to start and operate a successful lawn care business. You can read more about the course at:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: customers, landscaping, lawn care, protection, shrubs

I didn't get anything done today in my Lawn Care Business.

Mar 27

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, equipment, lawn business strategies, start a lawn care business, Uncategorized | No Comments

Have you ever felt that way?

I think every lawn care business owner has the occasional day when you put the equipment away at the end of the day only to realize that you basically accomplished nothing. It’s disheartening when you feel like you’re wasting time and losing money. Spinning your wheels is especially difficult for newer lawn care business owners. Keep your head up though. The main point to remember early in the game is that you are gaining experience each day you work on your business.

What has kept you from getting work done today?

If we put our minds to it, we could possibly list 100 different things that keep you from getting work done. Instead of making a list so long, we’re going to hone it down to 3 main reasons for a new lawn care business owner not accomplishing anything during a work day.

1) No Lawn Care Customers – Most new lawn care business owners have days where there are no customers lined up. Don’t equate having no customers with having nothing to do. Stop sitting around moping in front of the computer waiting for your phone to ring. The next time you have no customers scheduled, get up early, load your equipment in your vehicle, and set out with the same frame of mind as you would if you had 10 customers. Go to the coffee shop early. Make sure people know you’re the owner of the equipment. If you don’t get bites by the time you’re finished with your coffee, let everyone know that you can’t hang around because you have a busy day (leave a few business cards). Head over to Lowe’s or Home Depot (or the nearest hardware store) and look at weedeater. When the guy comes over to ask if you need help, ask some questions about the best commercial weedeater they sell. Tell him you need it for your lawn care business and that you would love him to refer some new customers his way (hand him a business card). As the day wears on, think of other places you can stop where people congregate who might need your services. Hand out your business card and make contacts all day long. When you get home, even if you didn’t unload your equipment one single time, don’t be discouraged that you didn’t get anything done. You made great contact and pretty soon those contacts will turn into customers.

2) Lawn Care Equipment Failure – This is probably more disheartening than having no customers. Losing money is worse, to many people, than not making money. When all the people at the coffee shop (see above) are ringing your phone off the hook wanting their lawns done, it will madden you if your lawn care equipment is in the shop. Equipment failures happen. This is just a fact of life. There are a couple keys to reducing your downtime due to equipment failure: buy good commercial equipment and maintain that equipment properly. Change oil regularly, lubricate according to schedule, change filters, keep your outer stage air filter clean, sharpen your blades, and keep your belts in check.

3) Time Management of your Lawn Care Work Habits – Strategic planning is vital to increasing your efficiency as a lawn care business owner. Proper route planning is one of the biggest drains on a lawn care business owner’s time. After route planning, improper equipment selection and use of that equipment causes many lawn care businesses to lose the time value in their business. Knowing how reduce these time sappers will allow you work more efficiently an feel like you’ve actually accomplished something during your day.

If you have recently started your own lawn care business and you frequently feel that your just not accomplishing much in your business, we invite you to take a look at our main website. We have developed a great business package specifically designed for new lawn care business owners. Within the business guidebooks there is a tremendous amount of information that will help you attract new customers, select and maintain the proper equipment, and manage your time to work more efficiently and make more money per hour worked.

You can read more about us and check out the program at:

Start A Lawn Care Business www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: customers, efficiency, equipment, lawn care business, money, startup, time management

Today is the first day of spring.

Mar 20

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, lawn business strategies, Lawn Care Advertising, start a lawn care business | No Comments

Start A Lawn Care Business

Today is the first day of spring. For astronomers, the vernal equinox is the day in the earth’s orbit around the sun when the sun appears to creep back over the equator into the northern hemisphere. For lawn care companies, the first day of spring means warmer weather, vigorous grass growth, and new lawn care customers.

I took a drive through a few local neighborhoods at the crack of dawn this morning. The sunrise was magnificient. Once the weather warms, I like to get an early start. It makes me feel like I have a jump on the rest of the world. Already, I saw several homeowners working their yards and tending their gardens. As early as it was, they had a jump on me.

If you are starting your own lawn care company this year or if you are hoping to expand a lawn care business you owned last year, you can still get an early start in acquiring new customers and lawn care contracts. Right now is the PRIME time of year to go after new customers. Homeowners and business owners want their yards to look great for sping. By self-promoting your business this week, you should be able to fill a few holes in your schedule. Customers are motivated to hire competent lawn care people this time of year.

Getting customers early means you will have them all year long and you will be able to upsell them on many services. Spring cleanup is one of the first add on services you can sell to your customers. Even if your customers’ lawns are in decent shape from last year, you can sell them on a “Spring Cleanup Special.” Spend extra time raking leaves out of their flowerbeds, pickup fallen twigs and limbs, and offer to remulch flower and shrub beds.

If you’re like most lawn care companies, the extra income is needed in the spring after such a long winter. Spring cleanup is only one of the many add ons you can offer.

Tags: business, customers, grass, lawn care, money, spring, vernal equinox

How To Properly Name Your Lawn Care Business

Feb 23

Posted by Lawn Care Business in customers, lawn business strategies, Lawn Care Advertising | 1 Comment

Within the pages of the Start A Lawn Care Business guidebooks, we spend several pages discussing proper names for lawn care businesses. More than simply telling you which names are “good” and which names are “bad”, we spend considerable time discussing business theory and customer psychology. DON’T YAWN!!! I know these subjects may seem boring to you but when you are naming your business you MUST consider your potential customers’ reactions to your business name. If they don’t like your name, you may find yourself getting fewer customers than if you choose a better name.

I recently came across an advertisement for a lawn care company. I am perplexed by their choice of business name. I want to show you the advertisement and I want you to let me know what you think about this business name.

If you’re too young to remember, a lawn dart was a children’s toy many years ago. Children placed rings in their yards, stepped several feet away, then threw large weighted darts trying to land them in the ring. It was great fun until the inevitable happened and kids started showing up in emergency rooms with giant weighted darts sticking out of their foreheads or lodged under their eyelids.

Unless you were the one penetrated by a lawn dart, it was a pretty fun game and made for some funny jokes talking about people with darts protruding from various body parts. A common joke was to stick your index finger to your forehead and scream “LAWNDART.”

Okay, enough of the history. Let’s get back to the company’s name.

I think the name “LawnDart Lawn Care” is funny. It is memorable and it made me laugh.

However, from a business standpoint, I have to take exception with the name. It is not a professional name and it will not instill confidence in its potential clientele. Though the name might not deter a young homeowner (and maybe that’s who this company is targeting). Would a homeowner with a large, expensive home really trust its finely manicured grass to someone who might not take it seriously? Would an owner of a large industrial complex contract with someone who makes light of a serious and potentially dangerous situation where children are at risk?

Let’s not miss the point here. The owners of this company are probably having a laugh and I fully realize that. However, here’s a tip; sure, you can take a stab at different business names but if you are looking for long-term professional viability (and the most money possible) for your lawn care business, choose a name that speaks professionalism.

Once again, business theory and customer psychology are not the most exciting topics but if you want to learn how to choose a name that will increase your profits this year, take a look at our lawn care business guidebooks. The section on naming your business is great and you will learn how to properly name your business. I promise, you won’t be bored.

You can learn more about the lawn care business guidebooks and software package at our website:

http://www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: business name, customers, lawn care, professionalism, psychology

60 degrees in February.

Feb 20

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, customers, lawn care business, start a lawn care business | 3 Comments

2010 has been one of the coldest winters in recent memory in the Southeast. We have experienced about 4 snowfalls and temperatures deep into the teens. Our friends in the northern states probably don’t think that’s too bad a winter but, for us, it’s harsher than normal.

Though it’s far from over, winter’s grip is loosening this weekend. With the temperature above 50 for three days straight and brilliant sunshine beating down today, I’ve observed wild garlic (commonly mistaken for wild onion) sprouts springing up in lawns all over our area. Lowes and Home Depot are selling out of mulch bags and homeowners, working out in their lawns, are experiencing spring fever in unprecedented numbers.

If you are a new lawn care business owner you must feel compelled to pound the pavement and drive the roads in your area this season. Right now is one of the very best times of the year to get new lawn care customer contracts for the upcoming mowing season.

I have a goal for you this week. Do remember my 100 Door Knocks challenge I posed for your lawn care business as an advertising campaign last year? How would you feel about revisiting that challenge this week by attempting to make contact with no less than 49 new customers.

If you start tomorrow by making contact with a minimum of 7 new potential customers each day, you will deepen your reach by 49 new contacts by this time next week.

7 per day? You should be able to speak with seven new people in just a couple hours each day. A couple hours per day in February will reap HUGE rewards once the mowing season actually gets started.

Take advantage of winter’s break by getting out while the sun is shining. Though colder weather is forecast again soon, it will make you feel warm that you have already increased this year’s customer list.

Once you get those customers, what do you do with them??? If you’re having trouble making the most of your existing customers and you want to know how to raise prices and make more money in 2010 than you made in 2009, pick up our Lawn Care Business package. It is jam-packed with information to turn your lawn care business into a success.

To learn more, check out our website: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: 60 degrees, customers, february, lawn care business, money

How to Proceed? Take the Lead!

Aug 2

Posted by Lawn Care Business in bidding lawn care, customers, estimate, lawn business strategies | No Comments

I’ve said many times; the estimating process is one of the more tricky aspects of runing your own lawn care business. This article helps you put your customers at ease when they request free lawn care estimates.

Unsure Customers

Customers who have never hired a lawn care company before may find it a bit frighening to call a stranger on the phone and request that person come to their homes and look at their lawns.

Likewise, new lawn care business owners may find it intimidating to mosey around a strangers lawn looking for imperfections. As a business owner, you must realize customers look for you to be the professional and take the lead in the estimating process.

I have done thousands of estimates. Most customers have a general idea what needs to be done in their lawn and how much money they are willing to pay within $5 to $10 for weekly service. But, they are unsure of how to go about getting everything set up to their satisfaction. It is up to you, as a business owner, to lead the sales call.

Here are a few methods to help you take the lead during your sales calls:

1) Practice your script.

You do not want to be fumbling for words or wondering what to say to a new or prospective customer. Using our lawn care business material develop a script of what to say. You want to be friendly with your customer but you don’t want to be best friend. Keep chit chat to no more than a few minutes and get to the reasons why you’re there. Your script needs to, at least, cover the basics: What work do they need performed? How often do they want the work performed. How much are they willing to pay? It’s good to listen to your customers but you must direct the conversation.

Once you develop your script, practice it. I remember giving my first customer estimate when I started my lawn care business. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself so I developed a script. I would even close the door to my room and practice in front of a mirror. Silly, right? Maybe but it helped me build confidence and gave me the ability to speak with customers and get the jobs.

2) Know your line of work.

Most prospects know a few things.
A) The grass looks bad.
B) I want the grass to not look this bad.
C) I don’t want to pay much to have it not look this bad.

Ha Ha. Yep, that will sum up about 80% of all your free estimates. If you know your subject (grass for this purpose) you can lead the discussion to explain why they should hire you.

3) Remove their guess work.

Until you show for the estimate, new customers have little idea what your proceedures are. Once they are comfortable with the services you offer and accept your price. They may not know what comes next. If you’ve already read our lawn care guidebook you know to bring your equipment to every estimate. Take your customers guess work away.
Recommend a mowing schedule (example: Wednesday about 10:00). Recommend a payment plan (example: Leave check under the welcome mat).
Recommend additional work (example: Flower beds need more mulch)

By taking the lead you will instill confidence in your customers making they feel good about having you as their lawn care person.

If you are thinking about starting a lawn care business or if you want to make an existing business even more successful, get a copy of our Lawn Care Business guidebook. It’s on sale right now! Visit our main site: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: customers, free estimates, lawn care business, money

The Law of Scarcity

Jul 23

Posted by Lawn Care Business in estimate, lawn business strategies, lawn care business | 2 Comments

Lawn Care Business operators face an ongoing struggle with customers to help them understand the time value of their business.

Value Your Time So Others Will Value It Too

New lawn care business owners often have a difficult time conveying to their customers that their time is valuable. New lawn care owners need customers more than customers need them. Therefore they are often willing to give their customers extra time on each mowing job.

Give It Away and It Becomes Worthless

I remember my first year in the lawn mowing business. Customers often asked me to do addtional jobs for them but did not offer additional money. Since I was new, I did not want to lose their business and thought if I performed additional jobs they would be loyal to me.

Instead of being loyal, customers often lost respect for me and valued my time less as I gave them more of my time. I quickly learned to let customers know that I had other work to do and could not hang around their property longer than it took to take care of their lawn. If they needed other work performed I would be happy to give them estimates.

Once customers realized that I valued my own time, they began to value my time too. They stopped bothering me to chit chat about unrelated discussions. Instead, they would speak with me about needed work for their lawns. They realized that once I was finished with their lawns I expected to get paid (customers who paid weekly) and they had payment ready for me when I was finished.

Demand Begets Demand

More importantly, customers realized my services were in demand from other lawn care customers. They knew I did good work and when they recommended me they told their friends how busy I was. The apparent scarcity of my time worked in my favor as I quickly built my client base.

If you are just starting out with your lawn care business. Let your customers know you work as efficiently as possible since you have many other customers to service. Don’t be short or rude with them but be professional and to-the-point. Do your work quickly and don’t dilly dally.

Learn how to use the law of scarcity in your favor and you will become even more valuable in the eyes of your lawn care customers.

Start A Lawn Care Business Program Available Now

Need help with your lawn care business? The professional lawn care business program is available right now through our website. We have it on sale but we will probably have to raise our price in the coming weeks. Order today for the best price currently available.

Order today: www.StartALawnCareBusiness.com

Tags: business, customers, demand, law of scarcity, lawn care, money

Start A Lawn Care Business

Make money with a lawn care and landscaping business.