Are you looking for someone to maintain your lawn long term? Sometimes you'll get "my mower broke and I need it cut once before I fix my mower". (One time cleanups are usually a huge waste of time and don't contribute much to your annual earnings)
I always asked who was doing the work previous, if they have a laundry list of guys that is a red flag! If they say a neighbor kid has been doing it for 10 years but is now in college that shows they are somewhat loyal!
I offer a prepaid option that I use as a mutual bonding experience. They drop my $200 and I share time clock data each time I mow (or snow). They get a balance update until it runs low. At that point, we (company and client) can determine if another deposit is needed or if they are comfortable with a contract option. Also handy for house flippers, periods of illness or injury, frequent travellers and seasonal homesteaders. While these are not the goal client, or packaging is flexible so our job is to make sure it also appears affordable - and even if they don't stay they are a potential client we can email seasonally with our cleanups and mulch and etc. This also cuts out the qualifying questions because we seek feedback right in the job completed email and the invoice.
My favorite question is very similar: “Is the lawn currently being serviced by a lawn care company?” You’ll hear what kind of shape the yard is in, things they hated about the last service, if they’re just price shopping etc.. Great vid, bud.
I’m in central Florida and I started my business in May of 2018. I’m now up to 109 customers because of the advice that I take from YOUR videos! Keep’em coming brother! 👍👍
A lot of my customers tell me they got rid of the last guy because they would always get grass in the pool. I’m down here in south Florida. Keep up the good work brother!
Sometimes the best jobs are the ones you say no to. You are right on about qualifying customers. We had a potential customer that was transplanting an edible landscape from their old house to their new house (3k+ job), visited both sites had everything tagged and marked. Walked through with the owners, they agreed on the pricing, then the husband asked about moving other plants at the new address. Told him," sir that is a quote for a different day. We won't have the time to do it the day that we are doing the other work." Same guys calls us 2 days later and asks if we get ahead that day if we could move the other stuff. Immediately the response was, "I'm sorry sir we talked about that at the site. It is probably best for you to find another company. Like you said if a customer doesn't listen to you, you don't want them.
Plus, with a fence, you have to trim the whole perimeter so it adds time to the lawn. Also, I had one customer with a White privacy fence. His backyard was small but it was heavily fertilized and grew like crazy. It was near impossible not to blow grass on the fence and was a pain to keep clean. I avoid fence's as much as possible.
Great Points. We pretty much ask the same exact questions especially location, frequency and 'what happened to the last guy'....Almost 90% of the time the reason for dumping their last service was simple..COMMUNICATION! Blows my mind how often I hear this. If you are going to be late for an appt or cant make it at all that day then let your customer know. Call them, Email them or Text them...do something. Not showing up and leaving your customers hanging is a recipe for a failed business and yet I hear this weekly. I have never had a customer get upset or complain because I was running late or needed to reschedule because I always keep them informed.
Always good to ask about the last guy. If the potential client says the last guy was horrible AND then goes on to tell you a bunch of stories about what happened, I stay away. Never a good situation when a client talks so openly about a business when they do not know you.
Another great video Brian. Crazy to see how much the channel has changed in the last couple of years. I have a list of things that are planned changes for 2019 in regards to us. I can send it to you on one of the messengers but I'm sure they're a bit different then yours. Screening customers is one of the top three. I have hit the point where pointless leads/walk threw completely floor me. to be frank, its time to stop pissing in the wind when it comes to wasted time. The Question of " what happened to the last guy" is 1000% required in my opinion but it almost always results in humor. Even the people that have zero hesitation and simply say "my last guy closed up shop"... "the last guys doesn't do big/small lawns anymore" "the last guy had an employee shit in my mulch" . I would say maybe 50 percent of these are actually true. Most of the time, the last guy was sick of their crap i,e slow payment, non payment, 15 cars parked in the yard, wants it cut on the 22nd of every other month. The list goes on and on as we all now. well that enough of my winter time rant haha. Keep the videos coming!
Sir, you have a PHD in Lawn Care. Another great video. Thanks for caring enough to help your brothers and sisters in The Business. Thanks for your time and effort.
One of my favorite videos so far! I only have a couple fenced in yards and they’re a huge pain but they’re right next to ones I already cut. I think they’re the ones I’m going to raise.
Good video topic. The more questions that one asks to a potential customer will reduce a show-up estimate where the customer ends up not being a good fit. I currently don't have a second smaller zero-turn and I don't plan on push mowing back yards, so I ask for the gate width on gated properties to insure that my zero-turn will fit thru the gate. Bagging I charge 30% more on weekly services & 45% more on 10-day services. I did bi-weekly last year with a 60% bagging rate, but I don't plan to offer biweekly this year, unless they have Bermuda grass (slower grass rate, not as thick on biweekly cuts as others). I really didn't bag much last year, except for one customer on occasion when there was a rain delay & they wanted the extra grass gone. Yes, location, service intervals, duration of service time needed, gated property, amount of tree coverage (sticks, leaves in the Fall, amount of shade that effects quality of grass), & payment method are key points to ask a potential new client--- I never thought on the question of what happened to the previous guy, that is a good new question for me to add.
I was thinking to myself from the start of the video "do you currently have a lawn company and if so why are you calling me". I'm not in your business but that question works for many service jobs. Great advice you'll hopefully save people a lot of headaches here.
I'm just starting my 4th year and just now finally got around to signing up on yardbooks. It's already made invoicing and keeping track of customers SO much easier.. can't believe I waited so long.. and it's free. I'm going to try it out for this year and may consider doing charge card on file next year if everything works out well
I've always gotten 99% of my customers through text messaging. Been my experience the very top quality customers will introduce themselves with their first & last name. 2)The housewife, that's singled you out, & that leaves a lengthy detailed message. 3)The customer that contacts you a month before mowing season. If they send a very short message, it means they've probably contacted numerous others for quotes & they're just going for the lowest bidder. etc etc
Great topic to discuss. I learned at a very early age that qualifying the customer and their needs/wants is crucial. Ask what their expectations are. Follow up with regular feedback with customers. You stole my slogan on the CTB haha.
Great channel Brian- I love that final qualifying question. I have a question for you: what is your residential to commercial property mix? Do you do all residential on a day and the all commercial on another day? ...ok, that’s 2 questions!
This is off topic but just came up with me . this happened a few times with customers had for years. Season starts and i mow a few times to find out the house sold in the winter. I saw no for sale sign.Might check every year just to touch base. I been chasing $ 615 since Aug. Threatened small claims court and got $215, I filled out the court forms and sent them . I got a call they moved in Nov and mail was messed up,. They moved in Nov and I sent them bills from Aug till then.
I feel lucky that jobs just fall into my lap, word of mouth is my best friend and as a sole proprietor working an average of 60 hours per week during the Spring and Summer I am not particular because my area is small with rich and poor customers all intermingled in SE Ohio. Great advice here though bruh.
Hey brian i do not have any questions but im going to start doing it after watching your video thanks i love watching your videos cause it's helping me grow my business
I have a logo on my truck that says --- I answer my phone--- For me personally missed call is a missed job. And also you sound like you are playing pick and choose, I don’t know about your area of operation,but where i live you take anything and everything that comes in your way or you dont get anything. The competition is extremely high in Massachusetts. My 2cents brother
Great video. I'm north of you in Charlevoix. I personally only have one lawn that I use the bagger on. Typically I don't bag lawns. If they are adamant about it I will for a minimum $5 upcharge depending on the size of the lawn. I've found they usually want it bagged because previous companies were blowing grass in the mulch beds etc and not cleaning it out or just not doing anything to not blow grass in there. Asking qualifying questions is huge. I realized that real quick. I think its very important to get quality clients over quantity of clients. I've been able to weed out those that are just ridiculously cheap or overly demanding. When meeting with them one thing I ask them is what are you looking for that you current or previous service providers weren't providing? Alot of the question you mentioned are right on point and are ones I also ask. Thanks for all the great videos.
Like everyone said awsome video can get enough info you give and luv that you like to help others like me that is still new to this but like my self always willing to learn as I know u learn everyday and pass or on to all of use thks from everyone
Another thing to do is once you determine the customer is in an area you service is look up the property on Google Earth. Yes it is only a blink of an eye look and things may have changed from the time Google drove by. You look at the property to see if they take care of the property ( or cars on blocks...). Plus you can look at the nextdoor neighbours properties to see if the area is less desirable to do business in. Things change Google Street view can be a couple of years old so think about that.
Are you still planning on releasing a video talking about your lawn agreements? Thanks Brian another great video, we all appreciate the advice and time you spend making the videos.
Awesome video Brian. I always ask, will they be reoccurring customers? Do they fertilize regularly? And location. We tend to stay away from properties on major/busy highways due to lack of accessibility.
I use my County property tax assessor's website to get the dimensions of the property & house dimensions to determine size for mowing & linear feet for edging. I, also, use Google Earth to look at the property to look for multiple obstacles to edge/weedeat and/or a ditch/stream running through the property. The location request for info on the voicemail is a "showtime deal".
2 thumbs n 2 big toes up on this one Brain !! you forgot how many dogs do you have, like you I hate dog poo on my tires n slung all over my boots string trimming :)
I always go at least $15 more for bagging grass on a normal sized residential lot. To bag, I have to load and unload my bagger machine that day, plus deal with the grass clippings, plus the wear and tear on the power bagger system. Any less that that, and you are just burning up dollar bills to bag that one or two customers that day on the normal route.
Great stuff, just keeps getting better. Your points are exactly where they should be and I pretty much follow each and every one too. Thanks for the good stuff!
our buisness runs through fb i dont have time to answer phs, but same thing i ask qualifying questions and a big thing is they send photos or just how much , i need to see them in person but they dont listen , photos are decieving and if they cant give me an address bye bye. Down here we dont do weekly is all by weekly/fortnightly and same question are u looking for one off or regular fortnightly if they want 3 weekly they dont fit in my schedule same thing sorry bye bye . good tips mate .
More likes deserve!! Can't thank you enough for the advice I have received. One of these days I'm hoping to invest in your paid content! You are worth it!
Nice video.....looks like your wishing there was some snow to plow. I know you said you subcontract your ice out. Have you ever mentioned why? Noticed another youtuber does ICE and said he goes out to ICE more then snow by far.
There’s money in salting absolutely, but I’m not interested this winter in investing in a spreader, salt inventory, or ruining my nice truck. Just what works for me. Plus, plenty of other irons in the fire that require my attention and time.
Great idea to share. It’s interesting to hear some of the comments mentioned that they don’t answer the phone at all. In my opinion that is a mistake. When I call in need of a plumber or a construction guy, I will always leave a message but if I don’t hear back in a few hours, I will call someone else. Or I may call another company immediately. Point being that many people want to actually speak to a live person in a timely manner. I think tons of companies get let go because they don’t communicate in a professional manner. A quick call back/text/email is a necessary evil in any service industry. I.e. Hi this is Mrs Jones, My pest control company is coming out tomorrow afternoon to treat the house and lawn around 2:00. Can you please let me know if you can make it before then please so I will know if I need to reschedule the pest control company? If we don’t call her back in a fair amount of time, she’s stuck. And like it or not, customers problems often times become our problems. That being said if you are calling or texting me twice a month about scheduling issues, then we are parting ways. I would just encourage guys to answer when you can and call back ASAP unless you are already to a level that it doesn’t matter much to you.
My ideal lawn maintenance customer is someone with disposable income someone that will call me for extra work like trees trim, pressure wash,.mulch ext. I don't mind by weekly I just charge %30 more
Brian if someone leaves you a voicemail with all the key components you are asking for and you decide that they are not for you do you call them back and politely decline just to be professional
I like to ask any new client how they heard about me so that I can determine which type of marketing works best whether it be postcards, Facebook ads, or if i just need to update the google my business page to stay at the top.
Just bought a Xmark 36” this winter and a 5x10 to haul the equipment. I am starting my own lawn services here in my neck of the woods.. I am soaking up all I can from you and a few others I fallow here on you tube. On how to build a long lasting service providing lawn company.. I know there’s a lot of guys that are running their own trucks around here. And a lot of big multi truck companies. I want to keep it simple ( one man truck) and be as profitable as possible. What tips would you guys have for someone like me coming into the business.. that would help me stand out ?
From a customer point of view! I NEVER leave personal details on some random's answering machine. Not happening. In fact I never leave messages, I need real time conversation to judge how the person is. Is the yard guy aggressive, evasive, insured etc. but then I'm in the mountains in Aust. Where, yard guys won't even tell you their surname, if they're insured, never turn up when they say they will and try shit like telling me my patio needs cleaning up for $700 bucks when I'm asking them to mow the backyard...this stuff is not rare, it happens over and over here..
Great video, coming up this april im gonna be looking to buy a new mower, im leaning towards a stander, i have good dealer support for both wright and ferris, im looking for input from both sides, the models im looking at are a Wright Stander X 52" with a FX730 and a Ferris Z2 52" with the Vanguard 28hp, with oil guard, i really like the build quality of the wright, but i also love the idea of oil guard on the ferris.
Jake ...Both are great mowers 👍🏻 It’s a hard decision, I like the oil guard system on the Vanguard, mainly for the maintenance aspect. The wright is built like a tank! Just my opinion brother, happy mower shopping! Check out Brian’s video with the Ferris that has the oil guard system, it’s a good overview of the vanguard system.
Jake… I currently own two Ferris zero turns, (a 52inch, and a 62 inch) with good results, and I have owned previously a Ferris 1500 machine (52 inch), on which I put over 2400 hrs. with no motor or pump problems (until the last month of ownership when a wheel motor seal started to leak). A 25 hp Kaw motor on that one. I have never owned a stander, however after watching a lot of RU-vid vids for years, I believe that you are looking at two of the very best available today (there are a couple more good brands in this category as well). I think the Ferris may have a little larger dia. rear tires, which can help for climbing curbs on commercial properties. With dealer support being equal, at this point, probably go with the best deal you can get, which may include the financing package. PS: I do really like the idea of no oil changes for 500 hours with the Ferris.
Jake Ferris is top notch, I own a Ferris f35 with a kaw and a SP sw30 48” with a kaw. They handle hills and slopes like no other! I’m too the point of thinking 🤔 of trading in for stander also, walk behinds will always have a purpose, but the velke is hard on the knees. I have great Ferris dealer, but no Wright dealer near me. Check out master mower in Georgia, they have wright and Ferris at great deals, and they take trades. I hate that feeling of when your about to drop some money on a new machine lol. I’ll always keep a walk behind, but I think a stander would be a game changer for me, the time it will save on each lawn, is enough to make me want to switch. And no oil change for 500 hours would 👍🏻. How’s the pricing in your area, I’m in Knoxville TN. I was also commenting on David Allen comment too.
I personally have the Z2 52"stander w/ 28hp efi Vanguard . It is the best out of 8 mowers that I have owned in the past. I don't have the oil guard on my stander but, I do have it on my 61" 3200z and I absolutely love that feature. My stander that I have is a 2016 model and it didn't offer the oil guard that year.
more like 95% of these people down here have gated back yards lol. 52 inch mower collects dust rather than the 36 also thoughts on cold calling commercial properties during this time ye or neh?
PCGonline go in ask for human resources department if they don't have one see if they are taking bids and be prepared to give them one so statement book may come in handy. No to cold calling
Weekly mowings are the best since they bring in the most money. However they are the toughest to find up in New England. The " wealthy " people are the ones who don't mind paying 45-50 dollars each week.
Your a bit farther north then me. I find it awesome that you guys can actually find enough work to keep the doors open up there. we have family in southern VT ( about 30-40 minutes from keene) and the people up there literally define handling their own. Hope you have had a bit more snow then us!
You don’t take on yards with a fenced in backyard so that you don’t need to keep a smaller mower on the trailer?? Lol why do you need such a big trailer then for one mower?lol
Nice video and tips Brian, I have my voice mail is please leave your name, address, phone number, and a breif message of the service and I can them back! If they want it bagged no problem but they pay $10 more added and then it will through the stuff in the dump truck and call it good! And another tip on the phone I always let them hang up first I don't press the end button I let them do it.
