How to get commercial lawn accounts does not have to be so difficult. For people that are new into the business, many times they are intimidated by commercial accounts and high-end residential accounts. This should not be so if you know how to use the equipment. Don’t be intimidated by commercial accounts. Here are a few things to remember before going after you first commercial lawn account.
First, don’t believe the rumor that commercial accounts always pay more. Sometimes they do and sometimes they do. It is true that my most profitable accounts are commercial accounts. I also think some of my least profitable accounts are commercial accounts. I also can pack a day full of residential accounts that makes for one great day as well. The truth is all of them can be profitable. The principle to remember is not to underbid on a residential or commercial. You don’t want any account, commercial or residential, that doesn’t pay well.
Second, you need to decide if you want to deal with commercial accounts. The advantages are you can start early in the morning which gives you more hours to make money and beat the heat in the summer. The downside of commercial accounts is that the contract often goes to the lowest bidder and there can be little to no loyalty from year to year. Some commercial accounts will drop you for a lower bid regardless of the quality of your work. That being said, there is certainly money to be made in commercial accounts.
One final point before proceeding to the “how to” section of the article. Don’t bid on a commercial property that is over your head. There is a property in my city that pays a reported $200,000 per year. It is a nice neighborhood, but this property requires a lot that quite honestly, my company and almost all the others in town are not able to handle. I don’t bother bidding on this type of property. But even if you focus on primarily residential accounts as I do, you can bid on smaller commercial properties like restaurants, office buildings, and even churches. These can be handled by even people starting out in their first year with only one mower. My first year, I landed a neighborhood entrance account that paid about $12,000 per year. Not bad considering I had one mower and almost no experience. If you decide to go after commercial properties, whether a lot or a little, here is what to do.
1) Make a list of the properties that you are interested in bidding on. The best time to do this is in the winter, but you can do it any time.
2) Write a brief but professional letter that introduces you and your company. If your business has a good resume, then mention a little about your company’s experience in the letter. If you have little experience, then simply mention your company’s name and tell about some of the things that make your company great (clock-work reliability, low overhead which leads to great pricing, uniformed employees, outstanding quality of work, etc.) The letter needs to be on quality paper. If you know the name of the “decision maker” at the company, then put his/her name on the envelope and the letter. For example, when contacting a church, put the name of the administrator on the letter. If you do not know the name of the administrator or can’t find it on their website, then call the secretary and ask for that person’s name explaining that you would like to mail a letter to that person.
3) At the end of the letter, inform the person that you will be calling in a few days to gauge interest in receiving a bid.
4) A few days after the letter is received, call the business and ask for the “decision maker” by name. If you were unable to find a decision maker name simply explain who you are to the secretary and hopefully you will be directed to the right person.
5) Ask for a time to come and introduce yourself and provide a written quote on lawn service.
6) If the answer is yes, then go by and sell your business and land that account. You can come to a verbal agreement on that day and later stop by to have a formal contract signed. Don’t underbid. If the answer is “no, we are not interested”, then simply thank them and ask that they keep you in mind for future consideration.
Here are a few final notes. Don’t memorize a script when talking. Be confident and be yourself. Also, you may want to send this letter out to many companies at one time. You are not going to land every account, but if you can find the accounts and keep them from going to open bidding, then you will have a much better chance because you will be avoiding the “lowballers”. Hopefully, this year you will be able to grow your business, now that you know how to get commercial lawn accounts.
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