Cons Of Commercial Lawn Mowing Contracts:
- Pricing Pressures The commercial lawn care market is driven by price, and its usually a race to the bottom. Businesses compromise on lower and lower profit margins to win a bid or try to renew their current contract. Working in commercial lawn care will not yield the same hourly rate as small-scale and residential projects.
- Unstable Business Relationships Business relationships in the commercial market are vastly different to residential or small-scale markets. Property managers, HOA board, and facility managers can retire, change, or be fired at any point. This means any long-term contracts could also be jeopardised if theres a change in management, especially if they have preferred contractors from their previous role.
- Multiple Bosses If you are granted a contract for a retirement village with 150 unit owners, thats 150 people you need to keep happy! On paper, youre only accountable to the property manager, of course. However, as a growing business, you dont want to risk having a resident take an issue with your work or noise. This will never be easy, especially if youve accidentally disturbed someones afternoon nap with your routine mowing.
- Inflexibility Flexibility can become an issue because you are locked into a contract that may last for years. You are legally bound to complete work for a certain amount of time, even if you are trying to change industries, or the business can no longer be sustained financially.
When Do You Mow Your Lawn
Weekly mowing is the rule, but some lawns require more frequent mowing. However, some grasses grow more slowly and will only need mowing every ten or two weeks. In general, dont jack off more than a third of a grass blade at a time. More than that could be detrimental to the grass.
One of the easiest ways to create a professional landscape bid is using software or a template. If you dont have an idea and time to create one, use the given tips and templates above. They are not only accessible, but they are also easy to use. So, dont hesitate to download them now!
Landscape Cost Estimate Sheet
Its vital that you show professionalism and establish yourself as a trustworthy contractor when youre reaching out to potential lawn care clients for the first time. Providing a well-considered landscape cost estimate sheet is the best way to do that.
Whether you use landscape proposal software, a landscape quote generator, or something like a landscaping RFP template, you need to include the specific details about the work youre offering to do, to show you know what youre talking about and offering to do.
What variables that affect landscape maintenance costs?
When youre preparing a landscape maintenance contract template or lawn care bid sheet template, include details about the things that typically affect landscaping costs. You may find some details to include by reviewing a landscape proposal sample PDF, though its important to know some specific details to include.
Details to consider when filling out a lawn care estimate form or lawn care bid template include the current condition of the land and each aspect of the job that tells how much it is expected to cost to get the property to the desired condition. This may include:
- The size of the property
- How many workers it will take to complete the job each visit
- The number of visits required to maintain the property
- The specific services youre offering shown in an itemized list, with estimated costs for each individual service
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Preparing For Commercial Lawn Care Contracts
Despite being in the same industry, commercial and residential lawn services are two very different things. Therefore, you need to plan your approach differently when it comes to the commercial lawn care game. Here are four ways you can prepare before seeking a commercial lawn services contract:
- Obtain the relevant licenses and certifications since property managers are less likely to trust landscapers with few qualifications to their name.
- Get ready for intense competition. Rival companies may offer significantly lower lawn care bids and take contracts from under your company. We have a great guide on how to price your commercial lawn care bid.
- Find what sets you apart from the competition so you have a leg up during the bidding process.
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Calculate And Enter The Cost Of Your Lawn Care Equipment
Keeping track of lawn maintenance and landscape design supplies is vital to get paid what you are due. Go to Item and click on Product to input a list of your supplies. Type in lawn care fertilizer,garden mulching, or new plant supplies in the Description line, for example.
Make sure that you use laymans terms so that customers easily recognize the items. No one wants to receive a landscape proposal with vague numbers, chemical terminology, or Latin names for plants. Keep it simple to promote quick acceptance instead of wasting time on constant explanations that delay your bid acceptance.
Input the cost of the item under Unit Price and finish off the line item by capturing the number of supplies under Quantity . An automatic total for the items will appear under Amount. Create a new line for each additional product as needed.
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How To Bid Your Next Commercial Lawn Care Contract
Getting a commercial lawn care contract means one thing: big money.
But it can also mean a big headache if you do it wrong:
- Charge too much, and you lose the contract.
- Under bid, and you could lose money.
The goal is to WIN the account and make a PROFIT, right?
In this guide, I will show you EXACTLY how to bid more commercial lawn care contracts FAST, which means big money for your lawn care company. Lets do this:
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How To Get Walmart Lawn Care Accounts
Has your lawn care business been growing over the years and you feel like you finally are at the point where you want to take on some commercial lawn care customers? Maybe you have even had your eyes on some of the big box stores in your area but werent sure how to go about bidding on their property maintenance. Well here is a discussion from the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum, where one business owner was interested in finding out more about the bid process and what was explained to him should really help get you headed in the right direction.
He wrote I would like to bid on a local Walmart lawn mowing account. Does anyone know how much insurance coverage they would require, like 100,000-1 million etc Also do they require you to have workmans comp? Or any other type of coverage that I might not know about?
The lawn care bid proposal has not come out yet but I wanted to get all my stuff together and up my insurance if I needed to. The only thing I was really concerned about was the amount of commercial liability insurance I needed. This will be the first commercial lawn care account that I will be bidding on, so I was not sure what the requirements were and how much to bid it for. I was thinking of offering a free mow to see how much time would be involved to perform the job but did not know if that was practical or not being that it is a bid.
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How To Win Back Lost Commercial Lawn Care Accounts
Some warnings for people starting out on commercial landscaping contracts:
- Do NOT price yourself out of profit.
- Do NOT try to buy commercial jobs. This is a scam, and you will lose money on this.
- Do NOT depend on one account. You will lose accounts. Keep some steady residential accounts as a safety net.
When you lose an account, dont freak out. If your finances are straight, and you have back-ups, you will be fine.
But you dont have to just accept the loss.
Heres what you do:
Write up a Thank You letter.
Be grateful, and use phrases like, We want to thank you for giving us the opportunity and, It has been a great experience working with your team
Be polite on your way out, and theres a huge chance youll get hired back when the next lawn care contractor messes up.
and heres the kicker:
When you write your Thank You letter, include one last counter offer.
Your professionalism + an irresistible offer will keep some businesses in your pocket.
If they still dont want you, then move on.
Chances are, they will switch landscape contractors again next year.
After all, you want them to remember your professionalism and high quality service, not your desperation.
The Secret To Bidding And Getting More Lawn And Landscaping Jobs: Build Relationships
If the idea of making cold calls or showing up at a business to talk to the manager sends chills down your spine, you’re not alone. Cold leads are difficult when looking for paying customers. Instead, you want to cultivate warm leads by getting to know the decision-makers.
Again, you can go to networking events or brainstorm all of the companies you go to on a regular basis. For example, does your hair salon have a stand-alone building? What about your local grocery store?
Ask the people who’re in charge of the business how they feel about their current commercial lawn service.
Conversely, you can focus on a niche and target one commercial client typeincluding warehouses or a shopping plaza.
You can also include pictures of the professional mowing equipment you use on commercial properties.
Speaking of commercial mowing equipment, do you need replacement tires, tubes, or parts to keep your mowers and other lawn equipment humming this spring?
Then, you need us at MowMore.com. We’re your one-stop online shop for all of your commercial lawn care equipment needs. If you have any questions about your landscape equipment and replacement parts, call our customer service today at 1-800-866-9667 or fill out our contact form.
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Estimating The Time To Complete A Yard
No two lots are the same, even if they have the same square footage. You have to take into account a number of factors that can make a significant difference in the time it takes you to complete .
Use a âBenchmark Yardâ
A benchmark is simply something that you use as a point of reference for other items of a similar nature. I like to apply that strategy to bidding by visualizing one of my clientâs yards thatâs fairly average difficulty, meaning there arenât many obstacles and itâs pretty easy to complete. This is my benchmark yard.
The key to having an accurate benchmark is that you have to track your time for that yard. You can literally start a stopwatch on your phone or in the Check app to do this.
As Iâm walking around other properties and estimating how long it will take me to complete, I can envision how aspects of that yard are either easier or harder than my benchmark yard. Is it bigger or smaller than my benchmark? Does it have more or less obstacles? You get the picture.
As you get to know your clientâs yards better, you can use all of them as benchmarks for new properties youâre bidding. You can have a feel for which one of your clientsâ yards is most similar to the one you are bidding and tweak the price accordingly. I guess thatâs just a fancy way of saying that the more experience you have, the easier it is to price yards in the future.
Obstacles
Size of the Property
Gate Width
Go With Your Gut
Estimate The Lawn Care Service Time
Walk the apartments and start calculating your average service times based on property sizes youve done before.
In other words, break down the apartment complex into smaller sections so you can estimate on smaller, bite sized property sizes .
When youre first starting to bid apartments, this is much easier than trying to calculate for one large property.
Based on your previous experience with each bite sized piece, jot down how much time you think itll take to do each section.
Then, add up each property piece, and youve now calculated how long you think itll take you to service the entire apartment complex.
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What Not To Do When Expanding Into Commercial Lawn And Landscaping Work
Part of taking the right steps to be successful in the commercial landscaping market means avoiding some costly pitfalls.When youre first starting out, it may be tempting to buy a job to get a foothold with an account. But, thats a lose-lose situation. Stick to your set profit margins.You also have to educate your employees. Just because your sales team is good at landing residential accounts doesnt mean theyll be as successful in the commercial sector. In fact, without the right training, they will probably fail miserably and quit, Delany says.Commercial lawn accounts and landscaping contracts can bring in large checks, but make sure your business isnt too dependent on one account. You need to have a good mix of property types. You dont want to have all of your eggs in one basket, Schill says.With the right business tools and preparation, you can make commercial accounts a profitable part of your landscaping company.If you have the patience and are willing to deal with slow payments and losing/replacing large accounts, Delany says, go commercial.
Want more sales insight and advice? Enter your email below to receive new articles instantly . And be sure to check out our Tip Sheet with practical advice on how to market and sell commercial landscaping work.
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How Much To Charge For Lawn Care Jobs
How much should I charge for
- Removing bushes and adding flowers?
There is a very simple answer to every single one of these questions.
It depends.
- Time spent on the job
This is why you should NEVER copy your competitors pricing. You will lose money.
Plus, theres a decent change that your competitors copied their competitors, and theyre losing money right now.
The ONLY way to properly price your lawn care services is to know your numbers.
So, you must ask yourself:How can I maximize my profits AND the value I give to my clients?
This is called The Pricing Sweet Spot. This magic number allows you to make your clients extremely happy and puts a healthy amount of cash in your pocket after every job.
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Rules For Soliciting Tenants
What are the rules and regulations for soliciting?
Find this out upfront because some complexes dont allow their maintenance staff to clean for tenants.
If people see you coming and going with vacuums and mops, they might ask if you can clean their individual units. Are you allowed to sell your services to the individual tenants that live there?
And the reason I say that is because a lot of apartment complexes have rules against soliciting. You can clean the building but you do not get to clean the inside of the individual units.
And so, if you ask even to lay flyers, sometimes theyll say, Yes, you can leave them with us, we will pass them out. Then you go back again to do your next cleaning, and theyve thrown them all out.
How To Create A Lawn Care Bid
Create your own landscaping services bid with Skynovas bid template. The great thing about the template is that you can customize every part of your bid, from your business logo to any additional notes you want to provide.
All it takes is a few steps. Continue reading to learn how you can make a lawn care bid in minutes.
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How Do They Pay What If They Dont
Somewhere in your contract youll want to include invoice-related details. You should clearly state how they can pay , what their pay period is and what happens if they fail to make a payment . Vice-versa, its a good idea especially if you offer auto-billing and auto-payments to state how youll return any payments made on mistaken charges.
Need Info On How To Bid Apartment Complex
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Originally posted by Derrick Roberts My customer make up includes Banks, Churches, car lots ,motels, and nieghborhood entrances. I usually measure my properties using the Bill Phagen method. It has worked well for me . A friend told me I should charge $9.00 per door for my per cut price. Seems high
Derrick Roberts said:I am wanting to bid a 188 unit Apartment complex locally. My customer make up includes Banks, Churches, car lots ,motels, and nieghborhood entrances. I have been looking to grow, here is my chance. I usually measure my properties using the Bill Phagen method. It has worked well for me . A friend told me I should charge $9.00 per door for my per cut price. Seems high, but this is a big property with lots of shrub trimming. Any thoughts on how I should handel this would be appreciated.Thanks,
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