Or Knocking Doors
A few weeks ago this young kid knocked on my door offering to cut my yard for $20.
Turns out, I’ve seen this kid around plenty.
My friend knows his older brother, so he wasn’t a new face.
After agreeing to let him cut I got to thinking, “If I was starting one, how would I grow a landscaping business? Without door knocking?”
Now don’t get me wrong, door-knocking works, especially when done right. It’s a way to get “today” cash, and I like it, however, I also like time.
Which means I prefer more efficient ways to do things. Plus, this kid was already door-knocking. Clearly, he knew it worked.
So I want to write this for him, as well as anybody else who wants to start and grow a lawn mowing business.
Let’s get into the three ways I’d grow a lawn mowing business with $0 upfront and no door-knocking.
1.) Build Affiliate Partnerships With Complimentary Services
If you’ve read any of my work before, you know how I like to grow businesses: Leveraging the audiences of other people and organizations.
It’s the best way to grow a business without any capital. This is why I’d first partner with companies that sell complimentary products and services to my ideal customer.
In the context of running a landscaping business, these are the kind of companies I would focus on:
Real estate agents
Power/Pressure washing companies
Fencing companies
Home remodelers
Pest control companies
And in addition to the above, you could also consider partnering with companies that offer:
Hardscaping services, such as patios, walkways, and retaining walls
Water features, such as fountains, ponds, and waterfalls
Lighting, such as landscape lighting and solar lights
Outdoor furniture and accessories
Landscaping design services
These kinds of companies have the customers that you would work with, people who own properties.
And since none of them are competitive, you can partner up with them to get access to a high-quality customer base.
There are two ways you can do this:
To enhance the value you give (and receive) from customers
To get direct access to ideal buyers
When I say enhance the value you give (and receive) from customers, I mean you offering these services as well, but not actually fulfilling them.
You can work deals with people who offer these services to get special discounts for your customers and add it on as a “bonus” of hiring you to do their lawn.
And of course, you can work out a deal to get a piece of every sale that you bring to that business.
For example, if someone hires you to come cut their yard monthly, you can tell them about a pest control service that can help them prevent their yards from pests that can damage it, and let them know that you can get them a discount.
This positions you as more valuable AND gives you another income stream (given you work out a referral fee, which you should.)
Secondly, to get direct access to ideal buyers, you can work deals out to be recommended to each new customer they get somewhere in the customer journey, and offer to cut them a piece of each sale.
For example, if you find a power washing company that cleans people’s driveways, sidewalks, and patios then you can have them let the customer know about you when the job is done. Especially if the power washer can see they need their yard cut.
They can simply tell every customer after, “I love your yard. I also noticed you may need some help maintaining it (if this applies), my buddy is the best and you can get 10-20% off your first cut if you let him know I sent you.”
Now you got a stream of customers coming in.
Another example is working with a real estate agent. They help their customers sell their homes, and chances are they like to have a nice yard when showcasing the house to potential buyers, right?
So what I would do is build a relationship with real estate agents and tell them to call me anytime they sell a home so I can get the job done. I’d then be sure they let the new homeowners that I’ve been maintaining the yard, and if they’d like me to keep doing it to call him for a deal.
The possibilities are endless. Read this article on joint ventures to get some more inspiration for ideas.
2.) Include A “Free Yard Cut” Or “Special Discount” As A Bonus On Other Related Products And Services
Using the same concept as above, I wanted to specifically focus on the angle of positioning your offer as a bonus to a related product and services as a way of getting new customers.
Let’s say you find a Landscape Design company that builds beautiful yards for homeowners.
What you can do is approach them and ask them if they’d be willing to offer a “Free yard cut” or a special discount to their clients as a bonus of doing business with them.
Not many people will turn that down, especially if the person who just designed their yard recommended it.
If you’re doing it for free, this gives you a chance to showcase your work and make an offer to cut their yard monthly or however often they need to keep their neighbors jealous of how beautiful their yard looks.
If it’s a discount, you get a brand new customer period, so it all works beautifully.
3.) Leverage The List Of Unsold Buyers From Other Landscaping Companies
An idea I don’t see a lot of people doing, let alone considering, is leveraging the list of unsold customers from competitive companies.
A lot of these businesses spend marketing dollars to get people in the door, and if they don’t convert them then they lose money on that customers.
There is your opportunity.
You can make a beautiful case.
“You’ve spent money on these leads and you got nothing. Let me get this list of unsold buyers and offer them my services, and I’ll give you a percentage of each deal.”
This allows the competing company to recoup its marketing dollars and still generate revenue from its list.
Again, not many people consider this, which means they have likely not even considered the idea either.
If you approach them with it and offer a compelling enough case, you can absolutely get enough people on board to make a significant impact on your business.
In Conclusion
And there are the four things I would do to grow a landscaping business without ad spend or door knocking.
Build Affiliate Partnerships With Complimentary Services
Include A “Free Yard Cut” Or “Special Discount” As A Bonus On Other Related Products And Services
Leverage The List Of Unsold Buyers From Other Landscaping Companies
These are the only three strategies I’d focus on, especially for a full year or two. With enough partnerships set up, you’ll find your phone always ringing.
Give me a holler if you try any of these strategies.
And for the rest of you..
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