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The commercial landscaping business is a tricky one to figure out. Even if you're a seasoned business owner of a landscaping company, if you've only ever worked on residential accounts, the leap to commercial landscaping properties is a big one that can oftentimes leave you feeling lost and confused.
A large part of this is due to the change in the scale of said project. While residential work might amount to landscaping jobs for a few thousand feet of land, commercial work can amount to acres of space, making matters such as service pricing for commercial contracts a real knot to untie.
In an effort to help you continue to provide high-quality service in the commercial market, while also attracting potential clients with your business, in this article we'll provide you with a rundown on how to get commercial landscaping contracts.
This is only the beginning for your landscaping company!
Now, before getting into the spider web of landscaping and commercial lawn care accounts, we'll first give you a more detailed description of what the differences are between residential accounts and commercial lawn accounts. This will ensure you know exactly what to expect when switching between these clients.
From there, we'll state exactly what goes into a commercial landscaping contract so you know how to craft a professional proposal for prospective clients. After that, we'll provide a step by step instruction on how to actually get commercial lawn accounts before finally listing some do's and don'ts to follow as landscape contractors.
It won't be long before your lawn care company is seeing business from all sorts of commercial properties!
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Contents
What Are The Differences Between Residential And Commercial Lawn Care Accounts?
For anyone who hopes to get into the lawn care business, understanding the difference between residential and commercial lawn care accounts is vital. By knowing what separates each, you're then able to get a better idea of how to properly format residential and commercial lawn care contracts which will give you a better chance of building relationships with prospective clients.
In this section, let's take a look at the aspects that define each.
Residential Accounts
As the name suggests, residential work focuses on jobs for residential clients and properties. According to Aspire, most landscape businesses start off on the success of door-to-door sales within their local community before they even begin to think of new services. Some aspects of these projects are that they are:
- Small in property and project scope.
- Simple and to the point.
- Don't require much in the form of bidding.
- Able to be completed by a small team.
For any landscaping business owner, residential services are a good starting point. As mentioned, the majority of successful commercial landscaping companies usually start small as local businesses before beginning to consider the move into becoming a commercial landscaping company.
If you are one such business, let's see what really constitutes the commercial lawn care game.
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Commercial Accounts
Again, as the name suggests, commercial lawn accounts have everything to do with commercial properties. Think of locations such as a hotel, apartment complex, office building, and the like.
As these locations are bigger than residences, projects for these commercial landscaping jobs will also be much larger. Aside from that, some factors of a commercial account are that it:
- Has better profit margins.
- Requires a larger team with a need for a variety of materials.
- Allows for a higher chance of repeat customers.
- Allows for more marketing opportunities.
All in all, the most important aspect to understand is that in order to properly get commercial lawn accounts, one needs to be prepared for the jump in scale for such projects. While this does require a lot of work and planning, if successfully executed, the chances of taking your lawn care business to the next level are greatly increased.
Now, before figuring out how to go about making the transition, let's first figure out why someone might want to make the leap in the first place.
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Why Transition To Commercial Lawn Accounts?
Though you now know the differences between the two, you still might be wondering what the reason is for going from residential properties to trying to obtain commercial lawn care contracts.
The biggest and most obvious benefit of making the move to commercial lawn accounts has to do with the potential for business expansion and greater profit margins. As any business owner worth a grain of salt will tell you, the ultimate goal for starting any company is to own a company that can provide high quality services to as many people as possible while satisfying the needs of its employees. This becomes possible when you obtain a commercial contract.
Aside from this, because the projects are larger and more demanding, you'll be able to really test yourself as a lawn care business with commercial lawn accounts. Rather than being stuck mowing the lawns of houses, you'll have bigger fish to fry!
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What Affects Commercial Lawn Care Contracts?
Now you know the differences between residential and commercial lawn accounts, as well as why you might consider the move to commercial properties, let's now focus on what exactly makes up a commercial landscaping contract.
First of all, what are landscaping contracts?
As defined by Lega Mart, landscaping contracts are legal agreements between property owners and landscaping companies that highlight the scope of services. As is the case with any contract, these contracts are vital as they outline exactly what is expected from both parties.
Key aspects include:
- A clear description of commercial landscaping needs.
- A clear description of available lawn care services and service area.
- Job costing as well as outline of project timeline (labor hours etc).
- Warranty information.
- Termination clauses.
- Insurance and liability discussions.
By understanding exactly what is expected and required in a commercial lawn care contract, not only will you be able to put your best foot forward, you'll also be able to attract potential customers while keeping existing customers satisfied with your services.
This is particularly important for residential contractors who are looking to get commercial lawn accounts. As a small fish in a big pond, it's vital to understand the in's and out's of the commercial landscaping market. You must follow the requirements of a commercial lawn care contract to a T in order to effectively start making an attractive commercial lawn care bid.
In the next section, let's now take a step by step look into how you can start securing commercial lawn accounts!
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How To Get Commercial Landscaping Contracts
Now let's get into the fun stuff. In this portion, we'll outline the steps you can take as a landscaping company looking to switch as landscape contractors into more commercial work.
When taking the first steps into trying to secure lawn care services for commercial clients, two of your best friends are going to be outreach and marketing.
Outreach refers to figuring out just what type of customer you need while marketing refers to figuring out how to best spread the name of your brand. By focusing on either of these areas, you can simplify the whole ordeal of obtaining a commercial lawn care contract because you won't just be blindly casting a net and hoping to catch something.
Getting Commercial Lawn Accounts Through Outreach
- Define your business model and the commercial client(s) that is best suited to your company. Compile a list of leads that will then be considered your target market for commercial projects.
- Be intentional with your outreach, focusing on the service area(s) you will be able to provide as a lawn care company, and how those will best benefit your clients. Think of a sales pipeline while providing competitive pricing for first-time accounts.
- Once you have an idea of what a client needs, craft a sales pitch and have a sales team approach them with your pitch. If a client decides to go with a different offer, do not be discouraged--Continue reaching out through local networking events!
Getting Commercial Lawn Accounts Through Marketing
- Define your business model and begin to use both in-person and digital marketing strategies in order to market your brand. While in-person meetings are always beneficial, in an evermore digital world, this is where ranking highly on search engines through search engine optimization will help immensely.
- A sales team whose sole purpose is to tap into a target market is a worthwhile consideration at this point. Ultimately, you want to focus on building a brand that customers can identify.
- Real estate groups, property managers, and building owners for commercial properties want a contractor with a name, otherwise your company will get lost in the myriad of other proposals they receive. As such, focus on building a company presence!
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How To Bid For Your Next Commercial Lawn Care Contract?
While we outlined the individual steps you should take when looking for commercial lawn care contracts via outreaching and marketing, one vital part of both is bidding.
This can be considered the last step you take before you actually land a commercial lawn care contract so it's crucial to know how to propose a bid that gives you the highest chances of securing a deal.
In order to formulate a bid, you'll need to:
- Understand your client's needs and have the confidence to see through every need. Nothing is more destructive to the future of your business than making promises you cannot keep.
- Take measurements of the service area so you have exact numbers. This will tie into helping you formulate better project budgets and in turn, profit margins.
- Ensure you have all the materials required for the lawn care project, as well as the right team to oversee the project, from start to finish. A characteristic of commercial lawn accounts is that they take longer to complete, so you'll need a dedicated team at your disposal!
- Have an idea of how many competitors will also bid for the job. By understanding this, you'll be able to provide a better bid that will not result in you offering more or less than is necessary.
- Come up with a timeline for the whole project. Again, ensure you can complete the project within the allocated period. Potential clients want to know they're dealing with a company that can take care of matters in a timely fashion, while still maintaining an excellent standard of service throughout.
Once you have these factors squared away, you can then start writing up your landscape maintenance contracts. Once that's done, submit the proposal!
Do's & Don'ts For Making It In The Commercial Lawn Care Business!
Do's
- Connect with local business owners. Just because you're entering the big leagues it doesn't mean you should forget where you started!
- Boost your online presence with digital marketing. There are so many online platforms that can assist your business, and most are relatively simple to operate. Figure out how to use them and you might just see commercial landscaping jobs coming from places you never imagined!
- A property manager is your friend--Build long lasting relationships with them as you never know when you might receive a professional referral. As always, try not to burn bridges even if you've been wronged.
- Find access points to adding commercial contracts into your client base. For example, advertise special offers of lawn maintenance at lower prices for new customers, onlyfor select periods of time. There are other strategies one could use besides this one!
Dont's
- Stick to a single marketing strategy when approaching potential clients. There's no one- size-fits-all marketing strategy in this game. Flexibility and adaptability are indicators of a business that will last.
- Focus too much on how much profit you're making at the start. While you need to see some gain, it'll be wise to think of the first attempts at landing a maintenance contract as learning experiences for future ones. Start small and grow over time!
- Bite off more than you can chew. Though you might want to ditch all your residential clients and opt for the big boys only, patience is a virtue and should be exercised in the green industry--After all, a tree takes time to grow, doesn't it?
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Resources To Help You Get Commercial Landscaping Contracts
Enhance Your Commercial Landscaping Business with JBD Concepts' Fiberglass Planters
In the competitive world of commercial landscaping, transitioning to larger projects like commercial lawn care contracts can be a game-changer for your business. At JBD Concepts, we understand the significance of this shift and how it can lead to business expansion and increased profit margins.
One key element that can set your commercial landscaping business apart is attention to detail in design and presentation. That's where our Fiberglass Planters come in. These high-quality planters are meticulously crafted to complement any indoor or outdoor space, adding a touch of sophistication and greenery.
Ready to take your commercial landscaping business to the next level? Explore our Fiberglass Planters Collection today and see how these elegant planters can elevate your projects. Your clients deserve the best, and JBD Concepts is here to help you deliver it. Start your journey to success with us now!
