I know when I send out a moneymailer ad to expect 10-30 calls. It only takes me 30 minutes including the phone call and time spent copywriting to get it setup. They handle the design side and it’s a reliable source of leads.

But I’m going to try something new this year. I’m going to enlist my 20 best clients in this idea. Midwinter is a pretty bleak and depressing time in the Northeast, but nurseries and florists always have great gifts available. For a few bucks
each, I can put together an attractive forced bulb arrangement and give them out as gifts. Each client will get a small clay pot (costs less than $1 at Ikea) with a daffodil or crocus or anything else about to pop out some blooms. Small gifts are great to give because they show you really appreciate their business. What other lawn guy is doing the same? And then, along with a little note saying thanks for the business, you tell them you’d like to give a similar arrangement to 5 of their friends. All they have to do is send back a form (or fax/email/hand deliver) with the names and addresses of where to send it to.

Unless they are complete hermits, they’ll have many friends to send your way. In your letter to your customer’s friends along with the $3 gift you say you are so and so’s landscaper and are giving this daffodil on behalf of them in appreciation for their great business over the years. Say what you want. This will get you many more qualified referrals than going door to door ever will. Of course, you can also repeat the trick with new customers. Or just send a little to gift to neighbors of existing clients letting them know you’re already taking care of the best looking lawn on the block and since you’re there weekly they’d be a fool not to hire you as well.

As always, leave a comment if you like or hate this idea.

In the past, I have referred people to landscapers that I am friendly with and know do a good job. However, I have not received any reciprocal referrals. Do I keep on referring them to my so called friends or just tell them I don’t do that kind of work? Each job is worth over $1000 a year and usually leads to adding on several neighbors within the first two years.

Some people have suggested collecting a referral fee. While a few extra dollars is always nice to have it doesn’t help grow my business any faster.

Last year there were dozens of kids posting their snow removal services online every time it snowed. This year I will call up every single one of them and offer them an incentive to hand out flyers for my landscape service. I’m not sure if I should pay just a referral fee for anyone who signs up or just pay the kids to hand out flyers. After reading Jack Stack’s book, The Great Game of Business, it may be better to make a game out of getting referrals.

With the yahoo groups I can instantly email details of the contest, a sales pitch for the kids to give to their clients and pdf’s of flyers for them to print out. I can also help them increase their revenue per client every storm by providing a service to protect shrubs from being damaged by being overweighted with snow. I simply brush off the snow with a broom in an upwards motion. A few minutes of work can prevent hundreds of dollars in replacement costs and it gives me an opportunity to interact with new clients. How many landscapers out there do you think area going to stop plowing, get out of their heated trucks and brush snow off of a few plants.

I should also be able to work with the kids to salt their customers sidewalks and driveways. Most of them walk house to house banging on doors. If their clients want salting they can either call or text message me with the addresses. Yet another way to get referrals.

To sum it all up: I can either shovel snow for $100 an hour and make $800-1000 per snow storm (around here we get 2-4 a year if we are lucky) or I can work with dozens of kids going around the neighborhood getting the word out about my service. I’m thinking of sponsoring a pizza after party for all the shovelers.

It is going to be a fun winter!