Train Your Lawn Care Crew To Be Amazing Salespeople
Your lawn care crew can be your best advocates! Which is why you should train them to be salespeople.
Since they work directly with your clients, they already know what your ideal clients want, what they hate, and what they wish they had
And if they dont already know this, then they can easily find out by talking to them.
Now, your lawn care crew has all of the necessary information they need to win you more ideal clients.
All thats left? Teach them how to sell to people.
Personally, I recommend having your crew read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Its a sales marketing classic, and all of the concepts work without making you feel like a pushy car salesman.
Everything in this book boils down into three main categories:
When you and your crew know your clients, youll not only be able to sell more to them, but you can also do a better job too because you know what they expect of you.
This makes it SUPER easy to sell to them in-person to get new clients and upsells from your current ones.
Plus, don’t forget to upsell your lawn care services!
Benefits Of Marketing Lawn Care Business:
- It will help you to understand your business even better.
- Potential clients will be aware of your company, and your business name will be recognized in the market.
- It is a bridge that connects you with your prospective clients.
- You can spread about your business and its specific services faster.
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Content Marketing = Landscaping Marketing
Creating landscaping and lawn care content for your ideal customers is a great way to get more landscaper leads and lawn care jobs. Consider writing landscaping and lawn care-themed blog posts and articles that you can post on your website, and make sure to make it easy for your audience to share that content on social media.
Here are some topic ideas:
- How to Prepare Your Lawn for Spring
- This Years Most Popular Landscaping Trends
- How to Make Your Lawn the Greenest in the Neighborhood
- Why Regular Lawn Care Is a Must
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Use Social Media Management Software
If you wait for a free moment in your schedule to post on social media, you wont end up posting very often. With social media management software, like the Marketing 360® Social app, you can schedule out social posts on multiple social profiles at once for the day, week or even month. This means more consistency without clogging up your schedule.
Utilize Facebook For Lawn Care Leads
Up until this point, my recommendations are what I would consider the absolute critical ways to get lawn care leads. Social media is where I start to waver in my recommendations. In times when demand is at its peak, Facebook ads can be a viable lawn care lead generation tool. However, in my experience and that of our clients, these ads are typically more costly than a properly-run Google Ad campaign. Proceed with caution and measure your results.Just posting to Facebook or other social media platforms can be useful but I wouldnt hang your hat on its abilities to generate a ton of great leads for your lawn care business. Compare this to items 1-7 above and youll see social media users often dont have the same level of intent as someone who is actually searching online for lawn care services.
Look at these graphs below. The first shows website visits by traffic source. You can see social media is a relatively small number of visits. This client puts A LOT of time into posting to social media. Then look at the second graph. This shows how many leads actually come from social media. You can see that it doesn’t have the same impact as organic traffic or paid search via Google Ads. It can work, but just make sure you have realistic expectations.
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Send Great Email Marketing
If youve done a great job over the years collecting emails from prospects and customers, be sure to capitalize on being able to reach out to them from time to time.
Sending seasonal tips and offers can be a great way to increase your average customer value with add-on services and also can re-engage past estimates or canceled customers.
Boost Your Digital Presence:
With that said, its absolutely crucial that your lawn care business has a robust online presence, including a search engine optimized, user-friendly website, digital ads and social media. Potential customers will start by searching the web, and if they dont find you there, youll be out of luck. Your lawn care business should have a solid website where customers can find out about your company and the services you offer , be SEO-friendly so that you show up in the searches that matter, and be advertising online where your likely customers will see you. The best digital marketing will help you reach the right leads, in the right places, with the right message.
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Use Your Existing Network
Friends and family are the first people to turn to when youre figuring out how to get lawn care customers fasttheyre likely willing to lend a helping hand to grow your business. Youll also want to reach out to any current customers for feedback and recurring business.
Let everyone in your immediate network know that youre launching a lawn care company or trying to grow your customer base. Get the word out by posting on your social media channels or through word of mouth. You can also create a friends and family discount to make the offer sweeter.
Your existing customers are another source of potential leads. Its crucial to maintain healthy relationships with your current customers if you want to keep their business. Check in with them periodically to see if they need any updates to their service, like spring lawn cleaning, lawn aeration, or continued service after the winter season.
Ask your customers for constructive, candid feedback that can help you improve your business. More likely than not, they will give you valuable insights and may be more inclined to leave a review on a site like Yelp or provide a testimonial you could put on your website.
Get The Necessary Lawn Care Supplies
Most of your initial investment will go toward buying lawn care equipment. Heres what you may need to start:
- Truck or trailer for transportation
Some of this equipment can be expensive, so shop around for the best deals.
For example, a basic gas-powered push mower can cost up to $250 on average.
A helpful tip is to shop during the fall. This is when most dealers are eager to sell before winter storms.
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How To Start A Lawn Care Business In 6 Steps
Now that you know what makes a lawn care business successful, lets get down to actually setting it up.
Like any other business, you have to go about this in a systematic way.
You cant start picking up lawn care work and worry about the logistics later.
This is what separates a successful long-term business from a short-lived, amateurish side hustle.
Heres how to set up a legal lawn care business.
Market Your Business And Find Clients
Few people like to spend their weekends mowing lawns or pulling weeds in the garden.
Thats where you and your new business come into play.
Youll need a creative marketing campaign to get your first clients.
A clever idea can make a simple service seem like an absolute must-have.
This is where you need to research, test, and build a solid brand identity to capture your customer base.
Good branding is all about breathing life into an idea and satisfying business needs.
It means giving your company a personality and keeping your tone, messaging, and content consistent with that personality.
Build a website, register on service directories, and stay active on social media platforms.
The more you appear in local searches, the more chances you have of getting hired.
Here are some things you can do to market your business:
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How To Start A Lawn Care Business Legally: The Nitty Gritty
The number one most important aspect of a business is operating legally, and there are many ways to do so.
In this section Ill discuss registering your lawn care business, obtaining the proper license, and making sure you have the correct insurance coverage.
These may seem boring, taking care of the block and tackling of setting up your lawn care business will actually help you market and grow your business.
Get Your Lawn Care Website Ranked On Google
You need robust SEO, so youre not steamrolled by your competitors. Ensure youre sending the right SEO signals by prominently displaying your branding and logo on your site.
Your site also needs to be mobile-friendly. Thats because more than half of all local searches are mobile searches.
Keywords
Choose the right targeted keywords for your business. These are the ones that are going to be the most profitable. Its better to focus on long-tailed keywords because theyre easier to rank for.
You need to understand the intent behind using the keyword. This is why a user is searching for that particular term.
For example, if a searcher types lawns into the search box, he could be looking for all kinds of things. Several that come to mind include the history of lawns, how to take care of a yard, or why my lawn is better than my neighbors.
But if he typed in best lawn care near me, you know hes looking to hire somebody to do his lawn.
This will be a potentially lucrative keyword for you to use.
Business listings such as Google My Business are essential. A GMB listing can help you rank on Google and snag new customers for your lawn care business.
Thats why you need to optimize your GMB profile and keep it updated.
Local backlinks are important too. Ask business partners, local business directories, and local news outlets to link to your business.
Google Ads
One of the most fantastic things about it is the ultra-specific microtargeting you can do.
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How Much Does It Cost To Start
Generally, a lawn business can be relatively cheap to get up and running. If you already have an appropriate transportation vehicle at your disposal, then the starting business cost can be as cheap as $755-1,360.
Typical starter expenses include:
- Registration costs $75-400
- Basic flyer marketing $10
But more advanced businesses might require further expenses, such as trucks, additional equipment, and more sophisticated marketing.
Manage Your Income And Expenses
Youll need to keep detailed logs of your client work, expenses, and profits as your business grows.
Here are some suggestions to help you handle your accounts:
- Watch your financial statements.Profit and loss statements are handy tools for understanding how much your company has made versus how much its spent. The difference between the two is your net income. This statement can give you a clear idea of whether you can boost profits by increasing revenue or reducing costs .
- Use accounting software.Accounting software programs can be very useful for small businesses. These can help you maintain daily records and track your startups income and expenses. You can also use a qualified accountant to handle your daily accounting and tax filings.
- File your taxes. Keep an eye out for applicable taxes. All businesses, except partnerships, must file annual tax returns. You may also be liable to pay other business taxes. Check the IRS website for more information.
If you dont have a finance or accounting background, consider hiring a professional who can help you better manage your money.
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How To Advertise A Lawn Care Business
It may be exciting to come up with tag-lines and flyers for your lawn service business. But the most important part of any campaign is having a great plan for how youll distribute those messages, and how that supports your overall objectives. This plan will serve as your roadmap for the kinds of messaging, platforms, and audiences youll need to pursue to really be effective.
Explore The Power Of Social Media
Social media is now widely considered one of the most effective medium of . This is chiefly so because nearly all digitally literate people today have an online presence in a small or big way.
Most users have Facebook or Twitter pages to connect with the world. They use Twitter etc. channels to comment on different issues or post own blogs and thoughts.
For marketing purpose, the marketers use social channels to generate brand awareness. Your landscaping business can make good use of the popular channels to build your brand identity.
This you do by posting relevant content on a wide range of social media including YouTube. You have an online community of people whom you can turn into your clients. But do not forget to request your followers to like your content.
These are our main tips to promote your landscaping business. There are tons of other points to consider. However, these are some basics that you should stick to establish your business in its initial stage.
As you have already got the impression from the above post that visuals such as your logo and business card are crucial to creating an impact on potential clients, you will need a lot of graphic designs to market your company and its services.
A great way to get logo designs and such other jobs at an affordable price is to freelance your graphic design projects at Designhill. This leading site will let you access dozens of unique design ideas from as many designers to have a winning design for your business.
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Take Advantage Of Word
Lawn care marketing relies heavily on word of mouth, and online reviews are a digital version of this free advertising. More than93% of consumers say their purchasing decisions are affected by online reviews.
To capitalize on word-of-mouth marketing, claim your Yelp Business Page. You can centralize your contact details, website link, and business info all in one place. You can also review and respond directly to customer reviews.
Positive reviews are an easy way to build confidence in new clients. Its especially important for any new businesses that are just starting on their lawn care marketing journey. Even when the most trustworthy member of your inner circle refers you to a great sushi restaurant, the first thing you tend to do is read the reviews for that local business. Its no different for landscaping businesses.
The Pesticide Ban Makes It More Difficult To Maintain Your Lawns And Gardens
The Lite Gardener clearly has the knowledge to deal with the issues posed by the pesticide ban while making sure your lawns and gardens remain a source of tranquility and enjoyment.
For example, this ban raises a number of issues for homeowners wishing to enjoy their lawns and gardens and to share the enjoyment these provide with the neighbourhood. How do you control the chinch Bugs and grubs in your lawn and other insects in your garden without the use of chemical pesticides?
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Advertise In The Newspaper/magazines
Local newspapers and magazines are another great offline marketing idea for your lawn care business. Lawncare ads in these publications are better for targeting older demographics. Thats why its so important to figure out who your target audience is in advance. A local newspaper ad could help you gain a foothold in parts of your city and audiences you wouldnt normally reach online.
Professionally Designed Business Cards
Take the opportunity to really get professionally designed business cards instead of the VistaPrint ones you likely designed yourself. A professional business card can be the deciding factor on whether or not you get that commercial account callback.
It reminds me of an exercise a few years ago at a sales meeting. All of us formed a circle in the room and took out our business cards. Each of us then passed our business card to the person to the left. The person to the left had two options for the business card:
- Do nothing with it
- Tear it in half
If the person to the left tore the business card you handed them, it was because it was not impressive or engaging.
When you watch someone tear up your own business card in front of you, it changes the way you look at your brand appearance in the smallest details.
Do you think someone would tear your business card?
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How To Get A Landscaping Or Lawn Care Truck Wrap
Some vehicle wrapping and painting shops will design your graphics for you. Others need you to provide your own. These graphics can be complex, so work with a designer to get the look and size just right.
You can order simple decals through any local or online print shop. Again, the shop might design them for you, or you might have to do it yourself.
These are just a few landscaping and lawn care advertising ideas you can use to promote your business. Pick a handful, try them out, and see which ones work best for you.
