I live in an area where there are so many landscapers and service providers that it feels like everyone with a pickup truck and a wheelbarrow is calling themselves a landscaper! I truly respect those who are trying to make a living for themselves, and I’d never want to discourage anyone from pursuing their dreams. But the reality is that if we wanted to grow beyond the million-dollar mark, we needed to position ourselves as the top-notch landscaper in our market. We want to ensure our potential customers don’t have to sift through subpar options for their landscaping needs.
Some things we didn't want to do
- Offer a cheaper service to attract more clients - Nothing frustrates me more than hearing folks say, "If I charge less, I'll get more customers." As I have mentioned before, "Never compromise on quality just to accelerate your business". Companies that do this might snag a few gigs at first, but in the long run, poor quality will come back to bite them. Clients will soon feel regret over their choice, leading to anxiety about finding their next lawn care provider. This trend truly hampers the service industry.
- Expand our market into other areas - Branching out into other markets sounds like a great idea, but we knew that would come with increased costs, not to mention increased exposure to liability. I always try to mitigate our risks by keeping the vehicles off the roads as much as we can. Plus, butts in seats don't make full billable hours (unless you factor that into your billable hours).
- Spend money on online clicks (CPC) - We are selling a service, not products. It's hard to establish trust with potential clients through online marketing. The general public is way more online savvy now than back in the early internet days. People have their guard up before they even make the first phone call.
So what were some of the steps we took to break the plateau?
- Offer more service - Our base services were Landscape Installation and Snow/Lawn/Garden Maintenance. We initiated a '360° of Service' program where we hired an irrigation technician, a low-voltage lighting technician, a landscape exterminator (for pests and weeds), a carpentry crew, and a full-time mechanic. We converted everything we used to pay to subcontractors into billable revenue. And by having our equipment maintained in-house, we saved hand over fist.
- Invest (time) in our current customers - I am not talking financially per se (but I suppose it all boils down to it), but to invest your time. We used to do all of our quoting whenever we could, between jobs or after a long workday. Now we quote every Saturday during the growing season. We wash the truck, dress well, and put time aside for everyone who needs us and no matter the project size. Always make yourself available for your service customers. Now, I don't mean you yourself personally need to be available; I mean you need to have in place someone who is available. Being available to your customers will increase the gap from your competition.
- Establish ourselves as an online professional - Knock your website out of the park. Your online presence is a great way to sell your services. It's a 24-hour sales tool that, if properly implemented, can and will sign up more customers. I always found that our website acted as a credibility check for our in-person sales calls. We made our website very transparent, easy to use, and shared valuable information. From there, we made sure our socials were top-notch and all linked back to our site.
- Keep the right staff and keep them happy - This point is number 1. There is a point in time when you, as an owner, need to do more steering of the boat and less rowing. Hire professionals in your industry, treat them well, and expect the same in return from them.
In short, we discovered that by broadening our service offerings to become a one-stop shop, streamlining our costs and reducing the hassle of working with multiple contractors (think quality, costs, timing, and availability), taking care of our equipment and vehicles ourselves, staying accessible to our valued customers, making sure our online footprint was top shelf, and hiring the most dependable and knowledgeable team, we were able to exceed the one million dollar mark! And the beauty of it all, most of our new work came from existing customers.
