August 19th, 2010
I hear chatter all the time about people in the lawn care and landscaping world so consumed by their competitors under bidding them. As more and more people start a lawn care business supply will outreach demand and as a result prices will drop. Rising and falling prices is a normal part of economic change. It has happened since money was invented and will always happen.
The truth of the matter is that most potential lawn care and or landscaping clients are factoring several things when they decide which company to use. Is price a big factor? I’m sure it is. But the reality is that most people that actually care about their lawn and landscaping are not necessarily going to choose the cheapest lawn care company. The old adage still runs true, “you get what you pay for.”
I firmly believe that people are willing to pay a little extra for a couple of reasons.
1. You have exuded confidence to the potential client that you can do exactly what they are looking for and do a good job of it. I have written about this before but you need to be able to regurgitate back to the client exactly what they tell you they want. Once they feel you completely understand what they are looking for they will be more likely to choose you, regardless of price.
2. You seem trustworthy. First impressions are so important in the service industry. If a landscaping company comes to my door and they present themselves well and speak English, I am going feel a stronger level of comfort with the company knowing they are clean cut respectable people.
3. You were the first to bid the job. Many times just being the first to come bid a lawn care job people are too impatient to wait for other bids. If you hit a home run with #2 mentioned above there will be no reason to compete with low ballers.
In the end, giving the excuse that you are not being successful in your lawn care business because your competitors are underbidding you all the time is simply just not true. Be proud of your pricing. Admit to your clients that your prices are higher but the work is of a higher quality and the customer service first rate. Then prove it to them with your work ethic.
Posted in Bidding & Estimating, Lawn Care Business | 1 Comment »
July 13th, 2010
All right, it has been almost 10 years since Lawn Care Directory got it’s start. In order to improve the user experience for those of you trying to find a landscape company, I literally went through and called every single premium advertiser we had in all 50 states that was listed before Jan 1 2010 to make sure they were still in business.
The results of this little escapade really surprised me. Apart from it taking me a week to make over 1000 phone calls, the experience was very enlightening. Here were my takeaways:
1. It is unbelievable how many companies do not answer their phone or have in their answering machine greeting their company name. Answering the phone “Hello” screams out unprofessional.
2. I was surprised to see how many companies were still in business but had a completely different business name. How are you going to build a brand people.
3. Most of the companies listed with Lawn Care Directory are still in business and doing great. Yeah I ended up deleting more than 200 companies from the directory, but I spoke to so many companies that love being members of our directory. Listen to what one landscaper had to say when I called him:
July 5, 2010
Hi Adam,
Just wanted to let you know that having my business listed with lawncaredirectory.com that my business has grown. Approximately 35 to 40 percent of the calls I get are from the listing.
When a search for lawn care companies in the local area is done, the listing with lawncaredirectory.com always pops up on the first page. Thanks for getting your website out there in front.
Thanks
Ron Cobb
All Pro Lawn Svc
Conclusion: I have more confidence than ever that Lawn Care Directory will provide the best experience to both lawn care/landscaping company as well as the property owner looking for the best company to do the job.
Posted in Customer Service | No Comments »
June 2nd, 2010
As many of you are aware, all those who placed orders in the month of April or May received and email stating that you had been billed another $13 30 days after your order was placed.
This was a glitch in our shopping cart and NO MONEY WAS CHARGED to your credit card. If this happened to you as a lawn care business kit purchaser please check with your bank to make sure that $13 was not deducted from your account.
We have fixed the problem and no more of these emails will be sent out. I apologize for the confusion and hope to help you make your lawn care business as good as it can be.
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
