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By: Jack Greenwood
Providing quotation to prospective clients is an important
aspect of a lawn care business. If you are new to the lawn
care industry, you'll need to do some serious research before
you can come up with a pricing model for all the services
that you provide. Here are 4 things that you should keep in
mind when establishing the prices for your lawn care services.
Know how much to charge per square foot
This is the basic factor in your pricing model that determines
whether your business will be profitable in the long run.
Here is a quick way to generate some idea on how much to
charge. Measure your lawn size and then call up a few reputable
lawn care companies and ask for their quotations. Taking this
a step further, you can ask a few of your friends to do the
same and then get the feedback from them. You will have a
good idea on the various pricing for different lawn size and
help you determine the acceptable price range for your services.
Once you have an idea on how much to charge, set up a pricing
schedule based on the type of service performed per square
foot. For example, you may charge $3 per square foot for mowing
and $1.50 per square foot for fertilizing. Most lawns various
from a few hundred square feet to a few thousand square feet.
Thus it is more convenient to set your price in terms of per
hundred square feet or per thousand square feet.
Bring this pricing schedule with you whenever you meet up
with your clients. It will make you look more professional
and increase your credibility.
Do not quote or bid blindly
When your customers call you up to get a quotation, remember
to ask for the dimension of their lawns. Do not quote off
the bat blindly. Give them an initial estimate of the cost
and tell them that the final pricing can only be determined
after you have surveyed the site.
Try to meet up with your client and survey the actual site
together. You will have a better picture on how much to quote
and provide your client with a more accurate pricing. The
other advantage is that you can pitch additional service at
the same time. Try to pitch in a few other services like aeration,
fertilizing and other add-ons but do it with a soft approach.
Cheapest isn't always the best
As a new business owner, it is unwise to set a high price
for your lawn care services. However, it is equally unwise
to be the cheapest in the industry. Being too cheap can raise
doubt about your personal and business credibility. Pricing
your services somewhere in the middle or a notch above the
average is a good starting point. Once you have proved that
you are really professional and able to consistently provide
a high quality of service, you can justify charging a higher
price.
Do not attempt to undercut your competition with low prices.
Entering a price war can hurt your business profitability
and you will have a hard time staying afloat with a low profit
margin. Instead, try to add value to your services without
any price reduction. For example, you can provide a free soil
analysis as part of your standard lawn care package.
Know your business costs
As a business owner, you need to be fully aware of all the
costs involved in running your business. Your cost of doing
business will depend on your business size and the type of
services provided. The basic costs will include mower acquisition
and maintenance, fertilizer spreader, measuring wheel and
other tools required for your business.
You should also factor in the time you used for running the
business. This means your personal labor cost. Unless you
have an assistant, you will have to do the administrative
tasks yourself. These administrative tasks include scheduling
jobs, handling customer queries and complaints, preparing
invoices and mailing them out and many others. The more time
you spend on these administrative tasks, the less time you
have to service your clients.
To grow your business, you probably have to advertise and
this can constitute a significant portion of your business
cost. You will have to spend time crafting up a sales message
and researching good advertising sources. Put in some form
of tracking mechanism so that you know which advertising sources
are giving you a good return in investment and eliminate those
that are not effective.
With these four tips, you should be able to come up with
a good pricing model that will allow you to stay profitable
and compete fairly with other lawn care companies. By consistently
adding value to the services you provided, you will be able
to build a large loyal customer base that will keep you in
business for years to come.
About The Author
Jack Greenwood is the webmaster of GreenLawnCareTips.com which
provide information on lawn care and simple lawn care business
tips. Sign up for your free 7-part Green Lawn Care min-course
at http://greenlawncaretips.com today.
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