what do you guys say?

[Ramster2000]

What do you say to people when you are trying to make them a new customer. I would like to know because I want to go door to door asking people if they would like to be a customer of mine. Things like, I beat all competitors' prices and quility. Please help me becasue I want to get more customers and flyers don't seem to be working very well. All suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Eric ELM]

When I was looking for work, I carried a 3 ring binder with paper to write things down and a bunch of pictures of my work to show them. The pictures usually sold them, as they say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." :)

[joshua]

as eric said pictures are great to sell your services. its gunna be tough this 1st year for you if your haven't found out already but stick with it and have patience, the jobs will come.

[LAWNGODFATHER]

word of mouth is gonna be your best seller

its like sold before you walk in the door

and don't be a scab and under bid the comp.you want to get at least your price or better

be patient do great work and the customers will be banging down your door for you to work for them

LOL:D

[Fine Lines Lawn]

When I was getting started, I left a lot of flyers and biz cards on mailbox flags. I focused mainly on lawns that were unmaintained, and I usually got responces from those within a day. If a lawn was beautifully maintained, I just admired it and moved on.

[MATTHEW]

Some people say you should not buy services from
door to door service co's. "they must be hurting"
or "can't keep their customers".You know the
attitude. I would guess most new clients you get
this late in the year will be elderly people. Women
in particular. The longer I live, the more I realize
that I do not understand women! But my wife gives me
some clues from time to time.One that may help you is
that you will be able to get them to sign up with you
if you meet them in person and simply get them to like
you. She says if you come across as a nice young man
working hard to support his family in an honest way
and #2 take a real interest in THEM as a person, they
will be won over and will be a lifelong client even
willing to pay more!!! My wife makes decisions on things
based on how she "feels" about the sales rep or service
guy. That's insane if ya ask me, but what do I know-I'm
just a "dumb guy":alien:

[Eric ELM]

Mathew, you sound like you read my mind. :D

That was a good post. ;)

[Fallguy]

first off - even if your having a bad day - act like its the best day you ever had - secondly - when you meet them introduce yourself "HI my name is ( your name ) of ( your business ). I'm looking to expand my business further in this part of your neighborhood and i was wondering if you might be interested in placing your yard in the hands of a professional for a manicured look? I was just wondering ,because i could really make this yard shine if i was given a chance - you would be pleased with my performance." Thats a pretty good come on line if you dont have one masterd of your own. Keep in mind that they either want you or they dont - dont go into too big and timely of a ritual as you have little time in a day and you need to get to the next possible cutomer as quick as possible. If they have a service already then ask them ,for instance ,if they offer the occasional gutter blowing service that you offer that you will throw in at no extra charge - look around the yard and see what its missing - put yourself in the owners shoes - what would you want done if that was your property or estate? - try and stay as close to $50 per hour as you can and never go lower than $40 per hour - thats your expensive equipment and your equipment is your livelyhood - if they are paying less for there other lawn care person then explain that you could do a more thorough job of mowing and look around for something that is undone - point out that if you did the yard then things like that would be better attended too.hope this is of some help to you - have a good day - van

[gogetter]

I dunno. I personally hate when people come to my door trying to sell something. Even put up a "No Soliciting" sign. I figure if I wanted to contact you, I'd contact you. I'd stick to flyers, or maybe an ad in a paper if the flyers aren't working for you.

Also, a quick comment on what Fine Lawns said about focusing on "unmaintained" lawns and skipping the nice lawns. Seems to me that you could end up working for people that don't care about thier lawns. If they do hire you, they may just want the minimum work done. "Keep the grass down" kinda thing. Whereas the folks with nice lawns will spend extra money to keep the mulch beds fresh, hedges trimmed, etc.
At least this is what I've found to happen. And they can be slow to pay. Perhaps money is tight, maybe they're procrastinaters (which is why the lawn was let go).
I'd say be careful of those unmaintained lawns.

[David Gretzmier]

go to the neighborhood you want to mow in , and look for the properties that are done by someone that does a poor job. market to those people and play to the fact you could do better. you may have to match some prices to get started, but eventually you'll get a feel for what these properties are supposed to go for. make that property look better than anyones. continue to try and pick up the ones that are done poorly in that neighborhood and use the one you have to sell yourself. "we are currently maintaining the turf, beds, shrubs, whatever, at xxx jones street in your neighborhood. if you would like a free proposal on making your property look great, call us. " good luck. Dave g

[lawnMaster5000]

you should allways look at the property and make yourself familiar with the lawn before you talk to the customer. Sell yourself on your quality and ways that you can improve the image of their home.

If you are able to supply a list of things that you can do to extend their homes beauty and have the cost in your head they will be greatly impressed and much more likely to go with you. and remember allways try and close while you have them at the door. dont push to hard, if they want time offer discounts now, or just leave a card, go with your feelings.

If you dont like the person, move on, they can become a real pain.

[joshua]

not sure if this would work for since your new, but in another post(can't remember by who or the name of the post) the person was approached by a neightbor who had their lawn mowed by a pro, and asked how he makes his lawn look like it does. and asked the guy to look at his lawn and what not, and the guy pointed out what was wrong, and how it could be fixed. you could try this, if someone isn't intrested in having you mow for them you might be able to get some lite landscaping or other jobs of that nature.

sell yourself, be nice, and back up your talk if you get the job, if you do all of these you won't be in this situation next year, and word of mouth will be your best advertisement. good luck

[Fine Lines Lawn]

You are correct Jonathon, and I found that out quickly. I should have added that to my post. It provided me with some start up work, but a lot of those clients were not keepers. Some have ended up as good customers though.

[Fallguy]

some places will outright tell you to take a hike - some others will report you to the post office if you leave a card on their mailbox - also some places its illegal to even leave a card on their front doorsteep or on there door - i advertise for free by leaving my cards at targeted spots that i know the richer people go to shop -i also make frequent stops to get food and water at these places even though they are higher than your average circle k store - its all part of relations -something that alot of newbies lack...also i have an advantage in that im in good with all the local nurserys in town because my mother wholesales plants to them so they will refer me and hand out my business cards. wherever you advertise- get permission and make frequent stops to replenish cards - also im against newspapers - so many scrubs advertise in the newspapers that its rediculous - one could try it but i chalk it up to a waste of time and of money. target the rich who can afford your luxury.