Extra services are usually classified as those services that your basic lawn care package does not include. This could be Aeration Services, Grub Control or Grub Prevention, Fire Ant Control, Tree & Shrub Care, Outdoor Lighting, Pest Control or others. In studies we've conducted, customers who buy extra services typically have lower cancel rates. This could be that those who buy extra services are happy with your service to begin with and are open to additional sales, or, because the addition of these extra services so improved their lawn and landscape, that they were happier with your overall service.

Extra services means better quality lawns and happier clients

It makes good business sense to market the additional services you offer to your basic lawn care customers and to premium lawn care customers that aren't receiving these services. Not only will your customer be getting a better lawn and landscape and thus be happier with the overall quality of their property, but you'll be gaining additional revenue for a very small investment.

How to sell extra services

There are three traditional ways of selling additional services to existing customers: telemarketing, leave-behinds, and direct mail.

Telemarketing existing clients

When using telemarketing, always begin the conversation with a quality assurance comment:

"Hi Mrs. Smith, I just wanted to make sure that you're happy with our service and to find out if there's any questions you might have concerning your lawn?"

After addressing any concerns the client may have and making note of them when appropriate, ask them if they're aware of a seasonal or special regional problem that might be an issue for their lawn in the near future, i.e. grubs, fire ants, etc. Tell them about a special you're having right now that will control this situation.

Even if your client is on the national Do-Not-Call list, you don't have to worry about this list for existing customers, UNLESS they requested that YOU DO NOT CALL them. If you need additional help on how to better telemarket your existing customers or simply don't have the time or staff to make these phone calls, please call us for more information. Find out how you can effectively use telemarketing to increase revenues during those times of the year when generating new sales and revenues are the most challenging.

Using leave-behinds

Leave behinds are any printed materials that address specific problem areas and present solutions to those problems that you can provide. These can be as simple as a black and white page, to a full color printed piece such as a door hanger. Obviously, if you're trying to present your company as a professional quality lawn care provider, then all of your printed materials should be of the highest quality: that means full color.

Whatever printing method you use, make sure it addresses the specific issue and is not just a list of additional services. Specific issue pieces cover the problem and your solution for that problem, as well as a special price discount or other offer regarding your service.

Direct mail

Direct mail is the most expensive option (mostly due to postage costs), but it is also the easiest to do since it doesn't require any manpower hours to implement and can cover a much larger area faster. The easiest implementation is sending a post card to existing customers. Targeting neighbors of customers and specific neighborhoods can also be successful, but most often requires selecting and purchasing an outside list, which further increases costs.

The important thing to remember is that selling these extra services is a cost-effective way of generating additional revenue with a minimum of investment.

We strongly recommend creating a regular program of selling extra services so that your customers become better informed about how they can improve the quality of their lawn and landscape. This sales program should include 3, or 4 at the most, extra services that you can implement throughout the season at the appropriate time.