What’s the best way to help your lawn care business grow? Many people think growth occurs when you expand your customer base. While getting more customers is one way to grow your business, it’s not always the most effective strategy.
Instead of seeking out more customers, try to earn more from the customers you already have by upselling lawn care services. Upselling is the most cost-effective way to boost the financial health of your business. Studies show increasing the services offered to your existing customers is almost always far cheaper than acquiring new customers.
Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with lawn and landscape upselling, as it’s usually fairly simple and easy to implement. Here’s a closer look at how to get landscaping jobs through upselling.
What is Upselling?
Upselling is a popular sales technique used in practically all types of businesses. It’s the act of selling additional products or services to a customer who is already committed to buying something from you.
Upselling can be as simple as asking a customer if they want to add fries to their meal. It can also be far more complex, such as adding multiple luxury features to a vehicle.
Upselling the Right Way
Many business owners are initially reluctant to upsell their products or services. They don’t want to come across as pushy or “salesy.” After all, your customer is already buying something. Pushing different products on them can be irritating and potentially drive them away. Try to remain a landscape professional instead of a landscape salesman.
There’s a right and a wrong way to upsell your services. Increase your chances of success by following a few simple techniques.
First, approach customers selectively. Generally, you’ll get the best response from customers that are already familiar with the services you provide. Target long-term and larger clients.
Also, ask once, explain the benefits, and then leave it up to the customer. They don’t owe you a long explanation for why they might not want a particular service. Remind them that you’re easy to reach if they change their minds, but then drop the issue.
Understand the Landscaping Services You Provide
While this might seem obvious, make sure you have a thorough understanding of the products and services your company provides. When you know what options are available, you can tailor your offerings to your customer’s specific needs.
If you own a large business with multiple employees, make sure they’re also familiar with every service your company provides. Authorize your team to approach customers with offers when upselling opportunities appear.
Explain the Benefits
You live landscaping and lawn care. However, your customers don’t always share your interests or expertise. As a lawn care professional, it’s easy to forget exactly what your customers know. Don’t assume they’ll immediately understand all the benefits of the services you provide.
For example, you know that leaving a dead tree in a yard will not only create problems for the surrounding environment, but it can turn into a major safety issue, too. However, many people don’t even know how to spot a dead tree, much less understand the potential hazards.
As a lawn care pro, it’s your responsibility to explain all the benefits your services provide. Generally, people are willing to spend money today if it’ll prevent a larger, more expensive problem from developing tomorrow.
Offer Discount Packages
Discounts are often an effective way to encourage interest in the products and services you want to upsell. For example, if you already offer mowing services, you can upsell pest control, too. By creating a bundle, you can offer customers a discount on both services.
Bundles are a win-win for you and your customers. They get a lower price on services they need, but you’re still generating increased revenue.
Not quite sure what type of discount to offer? Check out How to Set Lawn Care Pricing and Quotes for helpful tips on setting prices and earning a profit.
Present Upsell Options in Person
What’s the best way for how to get landscaping customers to agree to additional services? Upselling is often the most effective when the options are presented to the customer face-to-face. Doing so adds a personal touch. You can tailor the services to your client’s specific needs.
For example, imagine you regularly mow a client’s lawn. One day you notice problems with their outdoor lighting system. You can approach the homeowner and offer to repair the issue.
People respond well to service offers when the benefit is obvious. In this instance, you can point directly to the broken lights and offer to fix them right now. It’s a far more effective strategy than, for example, sending an email at a later time.
Typically, you’ll approach the homeowner while you’re on their property, performing your regular services. Stay friendly and present the information in a clear, engaging manner.
Offer No-Cost Landscaping Assessment
Before a potential customer agrees to pay for your services, they’ll likely want to meet you in person. Offering a free landscaping assessment often provides plenty of opportunities for upselling. When you meet with a potential customer on their property, you can suggest custom solutions for their specific needs.
Use Lawn Care Business Software
Successful upselling requires careful record keeping. Tracking the needs of your customers allows you to identify appropriate upselling opportunities. Plus, you can avoid offering a service multiple times to a customer who has previously turned it down.
Increasing your upselling abilities is just one benefit of using field service management software. A program such as Real Green by WorkWave not only helps you track customer needs but also provides tools for invoicing, inventory tracking, dispatching, and more. It’s an all-in-one software program for any type of service business, including lawn care and landscaping.
Final Thoughts
If you have regular customers, you have excellent opportunities for upselling. Encourage your customers to expand their service needs by following the tips above. With extensive product knowledge, a friendly approach, and help from field service management software, upselling can help your business grow quickly.
