Getting Commercial Accounts

[NNJLandman]

How do you go about getting commercial accounts? I was planning on mailing letters about my services to the business's or apartment offices. Is this a good idea. Like if I were to mail something to a bank or car dealer? I attached the letter I plan on sending out.

[Groundcover Solutions]

I read your letter and it is a very good letter. In my experience, in my area, letters of this sort to don't get much of a response. We sent out a letter that resembled yours trying to get some more commercial snow removal accounts. We sent out around 150 letters to various commercial and industrial businesses. We did not get a single response. I think that the letter would work better if you also gave each place a call or went to the business in person. Most of the time commercial accounts are looking for the lowest price. This is more for the chain type operations but when looking at the smaller businesses they are looking more for the quality of work as well as price. In our experience what most commercial accounts are looking for is price. I would send out the letters and also add some kind of fallow up to see if they received your letter. Some will just through away your letter and some might hold on to it. For thous that hold on to it and are considering your offer you can clinch the deal if you call or stop by. Just my 2 cents. Hope this helps in some way if not just disregard all that was said.

[tiedeman]

I would go for an all out approach. First mail some literature in the mail. Then do a follow up phone call, and perhaps set up an appointment with the manager or owner. If you can't reach anybody for a follow up phone call just keep on mailing promotions, discounts, etc to the company. Someone will finally give you a chance or tell you to take a hike

[NNJLandman]

Thanks guys I acctually found a local company that does property management for a bunch of apartments around here I think, so I think ill send them the letter and see what happens.

[Keith Howells]

I will be surprised if you don't get multiple invitations to bid, but you need to be careful with commercial accounts. Many property managers are after the lowest rate and/or they're waiting for somebody who is new and hungry to show up and drop their price to get that first commercial account. They can be sharks.

In one particular case, there was a nice young guy who bid against me for commercial mowing work and won. The property manager had decided to divide up the required services and pick the lowest bidder in each category. He called it "best of breed pricing". At that point, I walked. I will not be cherry picked. The young guy won the mowing contract, so he bought equipment to service the job and he hired a helper. The following year he had to bid again for the mowing and this time he lost. Went out of business because he could not service the debt and the account represented a significant percentage of his business. He had nothing else to replace it with.

I guess the moral is, commercial work can be lucrative, but you need to find the right account (there are property managers who want a long term relationship and are interested in quality) and you absolutely need to know your costs before you bid the job. I also think you need to take a look at what you'll have to buy or who you'll have to hire to service the account and how much of your total business it represents.

[Team Gopher]

Hi NNJLandman,

Great idea. The more companies that know about you the better :)

[NNJLandman]

I was wondering about getting accounts for the town, like mowing the senior citizen complex, town hall, and park. Do you think If I were to send that letter to the Town I would get a letter back about a bid or what?

[Groundcover Solutions]

Township work can vary, in all of the townships and cities in my area they all do there own work. As for mowing the city or township takes care of the parks, administration buildings, schools, and other property they own. Some my subcontract some work out and some may not. The best route to go would be to go in person to the town hall or administration building and ask the clerk if they are accepting bids on property maintenance or landscaping. A word of warning most communities are also looking for the lowest price but sometimes they are looking for quality work. Also any work you do for the township or city is going to bureaucratically and this can lead to a whole lot of other problems. but if you are willing to go through it and feel it can be profitable in your area go for it. I would say that going in person is going to get you a better response than sending a letter.

[Expert Lawns]

Originally posted by NNJLandman
How do you go about getting commercial accounts? I was planning on mailing letters about my services to the business's or apartment offices. Is this a good idea. Like if I were to mail something to a bank or car dealer? I attached the letter I plan on sending out.

Seems a bit wordy. Get to the point faster. At the end, don't put "You won't be sorry" Use positive reinforcements like "You will be pleased with our services" or "We strive to please each customer on a personal level" Negative words like WON'T and SORRY, turn people off. Positive words like WILL and PLEASED turn them on.
Just my 2 cents

[tiedeman]

that is so true Expert, great post. Sometimes the little things like that make a huge difference

[NNJLandman]

Thanks yes that is very true, its kinda funny before your posted this I took that " you won't be sorry" out.

[NNJLandman]

Anyone ever do a mass mailing or anything like that to get your services out to everyone

[GarPA]

The guys above all gave you some excellent advice.

Dont expect to get much, if any, response to mailings. You are just one more piece of junk mail they will likley toss b4 they even read it.

I like to try and put myself in the prospective customers shoes. Try to think like THEY think. Why should they hire YOU? What makes you different, better??Guys who mow grass are a dime a dozen....so why hire you?? I can't tell you how to do it, but somehow, and until to have enough business to live off referrals, you are going to have to get them to NOTICE YOU....and sending them a letter wont cut it....I;ve been there and done that....with poor results.

My advice? Pick out the places/areas you'd like to work and make sure you can handle the properties you call on. Then take a deep breath and walk in the door and ask to speak to the person in charge of the facility. Some doors wont open...but I'd bet a few will. Its hard to do cold calls....I didn;t like doing it....but it worked better than sending letters into the black hole...good luck

[Expert Lawns]

I looked into bulk mailing once, but you have to have a certain amount, in weight I believe. If I remember correctly, you have to sign up for it and pay annual fees through the USPS

[NNJLandman]

Yea I think im jus gonna make postcards and do a couple streets a month.

Guys Thank you all for your help. This is what I love about LawnSite that no matter where you are we can all help each other and theres almost always a answer from someone. Its great Thanks again for all your help

[GreatBigTuna]

NJLandman,

Let me qualify myself by sayng that I am new to the lawncare business, but I have been involved with a few successful businesses and I have a lot of close contacts that manage large commercial and residental properties. Having qualified myself, I would suggest that alot of the higher-end commercial accounts (business parks, office buildings, large apartment complexes) are landed primarily through networking with the managers of these properties. There is an organization called BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) that is basically a professional association for property managers. I would search out your local chapter and join as an associate member. Here in the Baltimore area, they do alot of networking events that usually turn out to be a pretty good time to boot. Networking is essential because if the managers of these types of properties do not know you or your company, or know someone else that does, most are unwilling to solicit a proposal from you.

To the PM's that I know, price is very important (you have to be competitive), but service, consistancy and reliabilty play a very important role in the decision. Also most have told me that once they find a good contractor, they generally stick with them, only replacing them if they are not satisfied with the service or if the prices become uncompetitive and the service does not justify the expense.

To become involved with these types of accounts my advice would be...

1 - Join BOMA, and meet and mingle with these folks. If you don't have the time or inclination to do that, hire someone that does to do it for you.

2 - Remember that these are folks that think in terms of ROI (Return on Investment). It's ok if you are not the cheapest, as long as you can convince them that the added value that you provide is worth the extra expense. You have to learn what motivates them to spend money (hint... it starts with m and ends with oney). If your added value will positivley effect their bottom line, make sure they know that.

3 - I don't know about NJ but around here any type of contractor that does what he says he is going to do when he says he is going to do it, no matter what, is a rare and treasured find. This is not lost on a busy property manager that has a thousand better things to do than track down her LCO to get them to dead-head the flowers that were supposed to have been dead-headed 2 weeks ago. Never break that trust, because bad reputations spread fast in thier world.

4 - Avoid any property manager that tells you what their current contractor is charging or shows you the competing bids. Do not lowball to get these accounts, there is always someone willing to do it cheaper and these PM's will bid you every chance they get. Lowballing stinks just as bad in the commercial world as it does anywhere else.

5 - Finally, image is very important. Make sure that you are projecting a professional image in every thing you present to them, including bid propsals, invoices, trucks, equipment, employees, etc...

I hope you find this advice helpful and useful. Like I said, I'm new to the lawncare business, but the advice given above easily applies to any business trying to do land large property management account. Please let us know how you do, and I hope to do well. Good Luck!

[GreatBigTuna]

I hope you do not get offended by the constructive critisism I am about to give concerning your letter, but here goes. I read the letter and I think it is pretty strong, but consider the following suggestions...

1. Your first paragraph talks about the value that you "try" to provide. It would probably be more effective if you eliminated the word try. It just subconciously suggests that you do not always provide that value.

2. I would also bullet the list of services available and get rid of their descriptions. You should be selling the value that an attractive landscape adds to their bottom line, and why you are their best choice to make that landscape happen. Your letter seems more suited toward residential clients, as you are selling the astetics of each particular service offering, which is important if you care about having a pleasing landscape. Unfortunately, most of these commercial accounts will not. If you could convince them that replacing their grass with hot pink concrete and broken glass would drive more sales, they would do it regardless of the astetics.

Again, I hope you don't take exception to my comments as they were made with the sincere intention of providing helpful feedback. Thanks and good luck!

[lost mountain]

Jason,

Very astute! I hope you will stick around and give your input in these forums frequently as many here will surely benefit from your apparent business savvy. Good stuff!

[GarPA]

Tuna.....you may be new in this biz but you are well aware of the issues on the commercial side. Great info you provided to NJlandman,or anyone else who wants to know how to get their foot in the door.

[NNJLandman]

Thank you very much and again everyone else, all your opinions and changes have been used in considerations. I have made some changes to make the letter better. Thank you all. And I don't take any offense to anyones comments or opions unless the plain out say....you suck man heh but thank you very much everyone, you are all teaching me a lot and building me up to become a better business man.

[GreatBigTuna]

Best of Luck! Let us know how your letter produces for you.

[Equipguy]

Along with the letter I'd send copies of you state or local license, insurance info, pest control certification and current references.
Then call every company you sent a letter, then call them again and send them another letter. In fact it really doesn't matter what you do, as long as you keep doing it over and over again. Good Luck!

[Expert Lawns]

Equipguy - I agree with what you said, I have done this for years. I learned, though, that you should leave out the insurance info. It's noone's business knowing how much you are insured for, or how much you pay. Just tell them you are fully insured and if proof is needed, then you can get something written from your agent. That's what I did, very simple.

[summergrove]

I think the letter is a good idea. I have one along the same lines, but I find it more worth my time to pick the accounts I really want and go in person. It seems these days we try to get rid of talking to real people to often. It can make a good impression if you are face to face. Another thought we find neighborhoods that have compact lawns and mail them a great package if five or more sign on. For a 8000' lawn we charge about 80 per month but we bill for 12 months. We also give them special rates on other services we offer.Just something to think about it has given us enough work to really choose what we want to do.

[ccwmlw]

I just got done sending out about 40 letters. I got 2 responses, and I may get both.