I put out a great flier, I thought anyway, and I haven't gotten hardly any response yet. Should I do follow ups?
#2
BKBrown
What did your flier look like and what did you offer ?
Remember that times are tight for many people right now -- don't be discouraged yet ! :thumbsup:
#3
Sprinkler Buddy
Be patient, do good work and more work will follow. It takes time for word of mouth to spread. You probably wont get much feedback from the flyers. You will from here but not paying customers.
#4
sean'sengines
I start at $30 and work my way up by $10 for every extra half acre. So $30 is for .5 acres, but 1.5 acres would be $50. I also do bagging and weed wacking for an additional $10.
And I made sure to add that I had been doing it for 3 years.
#5
BKBrown
I will make a suggestion - just to get you started - you could offer "a first time only" half price trial. LIKE "I'll do your lawn the first time for half price and you decide if you like my work."It might get you started and you will make some $ plus a chance at a steady customer.
advertising should be- ........simple to read........simple to understand..........and services priced right(notice i did not say cheap)...the more that a potential customer has to study and interpret what a flyer(or any other printed material) is all about, the less likely they are to want to buy.you HAVE to keep all printed matter simple. read a lot of newspapers and such, and see what other business do, to get some ideas.advertising is an art in itself,you have to find out the best way get customers money in your hands,and be professional about it.......THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. i thought once about putting a battery powered strobe light on my mower while cutting(attention getter):biggrin: people would see and notice you.I only flyered out once several years ago and that was it ,the rest spoke for itself(word of mouth)these days i'm slowly getting out of cutting and some peopled are really po'ed that i'm not cutting their yards. it takes time ,time ,and more time to build a lasting business,just make sure you dot the I's and cross the t's
Are your prices in line with what others are charging? I know your prices seem low for where I live. We've got 2/3 of an acre and just a little less than 1/2 acre of yard and the last time I had to pay someone to cut our grass it cost me $60, with no clean up. Some people see cheap prices and assume they'll get service commensurate to the cheap price. Also, and I hate to say it, but some people see a 16 year old kid and just expect the bare minimum from them as far as work goes. They just expect unreliability and/or half-assed work from kids. You're at a tough age and will have to prove yourself over and over for a few more years yet. And on top of all that, as someone else pointed out, times are tough right now. Many people that would have gladly paid for yard service a few years ago have tightened their belts due to lost jobs, cuts in pay to keep their jobs or just fear that they may lose their jobs and are saving money any way they can.
#8
sean'sengines
I didn't even think of people possibly expecting bare minimum work from me, which, let me tell you, is not how I do business. Everyone that I've either mowed for, or fixed an engine for, has been VERY PLEASED with my quality and with my price. I guess some people just can't get inside my head; because I'm VERY particular about how a lawn looks. I do different patterns and I take joy in my work, if it doesn't look good, I'm not satisfied.
I think I'll put out some more fliers, and maybe try to "half off your first mow" thing, and also not base my prices yet, and do a free estimate on peoples yards.
Not only are you the labor, but you have to be a salesman also and be able to sell yourself, as with any self employed individual. Good luck. One thing I'll mention about fliers. I automatically throw away or discount any fliers that I receive or see that have misspelled words or blatantly poor grammar on them. I figure if the person responsible for the advertisineg isn't thorough enough to proofread and correct mistakes on their fliers, then neither they nor their company are thorough enough to do any work for me.
I figure if the person responsible for the advertisineg isn't thorough enough to proofread and correct mistakes on their fliers, then neither they nor their company are thorough enough to do any work for me.
Seriously though, if I take the time to look at a flier, I'm expecting to find bargain price. If I take the time to look at a brochure, I'm expecting to find a valuable service.
if I take the time to look at a flier, I'm expecting to find bargain price. If I take the time to look at a brochure, I'm expecting to find a valuable service.
also agree with this... If it is worth advertising... It better be SPECIAL... not the normal...
Have something special ... special introductory price, special no charge extra service... have SOMETHING special about your advertising flier... once you get the call for the job, do a great job and have an invoice ready with what you did, include the regular price AND the intro discount price... along with all your contact info on your bill...
If you can include a simple logo do it, and keep it the same... Try to be recognizable & memorable.... Enjoy SLOW expansion... If you do it slowly you will be able to grow & enjoy what your doing... :smile:KennyV
#12
sean'sengines
I do have a logo; my avatar is my logo. The SSE stands for Sean's Small Engines
Excellent... too many people think that they don't need one...
you 'really' don't need it... but if you want to be remembered Easily... you will use it ... :smile:KennyV
Seriously though, if I take the time to look at a flier, I'm expecting to find bargain price. If I take the time to look at a brochure, I'm expecting to find a valuable service.
I should clarify because my post wasn't very clear. I was making the distinction between a flier and a brochure. Fliers are typically DIY handouts I find in my door, under my windscreen wipers, in my mailbox. Brochures are professional glossy mailers.
The key point I was trying to make is that when I get a "flier", I'm expecting a bargain. So if you are using fliers, you will want to keep prices low. That's just my opinion. And someone else said to keep it simple - good advice for a flier.
If you use glossy brochures, then you can differentiate yourself with some kind of valuable service that people will pay more for.
when I get a "flier", I'm expecting a bargain. So if you are using fliers, you will want to keep prices low. That's just my opinion. And someone else said to keep it simple - good advice for a flier.
I think most everyone looks for something 'special' in any print advertising... if it's the same as anytime or anyone else.... there is not much need to look too close at it... & your right... it usually gets tossed.. :smile:KennyV
I feel your pain! With over 30 years commercial mowing under my belt, I STILL have issues getting new work. One quick thing I have learned from an advertising friend of mine may help. He said something to me so basic, I was shocked. He said most contractors never tell their EXISTING customers that they need more customers! Your happy customers are your best advertising. Just make sure you let your customers know you will always have time for them. Some customers feel if you get too big you won't have time for them anymore. Hope this helps.
Patience it takes time to build a good customer list.I started a lawn care business when I was 18 and have been doing it for 24 years. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. Also doing good work looking neat and clean when you look at a job. Dress like a pro a lot of people don't like the shorts and no shirt look. A nice clean truck and mowers also make a difference most people think if you look like a slob and your truck is filthy you will do a poor job. In my first couple years I spent a lot of time passing out cards. I put them on bulletin boards in stores and any other place that had a bulletin board. I went to the local malls and shopping centers put cards on the cars in the parking lot. Also I went door to door if I was cutting a lawn and someone close had high grass I would stop and give them a card. 99 percent of the time I got a job when I done that. Being able to talk to the customers is very important make them think they are the most important person in the world.the customer is always right even if they are the biggest pain in the rump you ever met they are right. Because if you treat them bad word will spread like wildfire.
nicely written lawnpro 1969,lots of truth in what you say.remember to use caution when putting cards/flyers on parked cars . check with local ordinance, see if it's ok to do it.
nicely written lawnpro 1969,lots of truth in what you say.remember to use caution when putting cards/flyers on parked cars . check with local ordinance, see if it's ok to do it.
Thank you for the compliment and the advise. I haven't put cards on cars for many years. When I done that was in 1987 back then it was legal now I'm not sure
Another great marketing strategy is to go online and put up a professionally designed lawn care services website. You can provide information on price ranges and also offer lawn care advice and tips through your site. If your site is designed well and has good content, you can establish yourselves as a reliable authority for lawn care services. As most people want to deal with such professional agencies, you will get lots of work on the basis of your site.
If you do a web site... and include tips & tricks, or whatever other content, Insure that the content is your own... With today's electronic media, you would not believe how many think, since their computer allows them to cut & paste, it must be ok.
Copy right infringement and plagiarism problems are becoming common... and it is more than just a $mall problem.
See: Plagiarism.org....
There are some good sites and some ho hum, and those that "well it seemed like a good idea at the time"... like anything, if you bother to make it and spend the money to keep it going... make sure someone is keeping it current & pertinent...
:smile:KennyV
