It's been said that selling is all about building relationships. Whereas that can certainly be true in a business-to business environment, it is very rarely true in a business to consumer environment.

Most people don't want a relationship with the guy selling aspirin— they just want their headache gone. Likewise, most of your customers aren't looking to share recipes or go to the club together. They just want you to take care of their lawns.

Don't over-promise your lawn care services: they probably won't believe you anyway. DO deliver on what you say you're going to do and when you're going to do it. Be professional, make sure all employees in the field have clean uniforms, clean trucks, and are personable and courteous.

If you receive a lawn complaint or a question, follow-up immediately. Guarantee your client's satisfaction with your service. Unhappy customers have a way of taking more business away when they leave.

An unhappy customer will tell at least 12 other people about their unhappiness with you or your company. A happy customer will only tell 2 people.

While we're talking about current customers and lawn complaints, think about how expensive it is to acquire a new customer. Customer acquisition costs can be anywhere from $50 up to $230 or more.

Do whatever you can to save a good-paying customer. And one of the easiest ways, is calling them on a regular basis. One of our lawn care clients calls his customers after each and every application, just to be sure they weren't having any problems.

Price objections are not always price objections. A price objection usually means that you haven't successfully told them about everything they'll be receiving with your lawn care service. Listen carefully to what the prospect is saying when they say, "No thanks, it's too expensive. I can get Billy Bob's Lawn and Critter Control to do it for $20 less." Know what your competition is doing and how much they're charging and for what.

Get estimates from your competition. Can you justify your rates compared to theirs?
How can they be doing the same thing you're doing for $20 less per application? Know and understand the answer to that question so you'll be able to defend yourself and your lawn service without being negative about Billy Bob's Lawn and Critter Control. In fact, never say anything negative about your competition.

"I understand Billy Bob's been in business now for the last 3 months. I think that's great for someone working out of his garage. I know it's difficult. We started out much the same way twenty years ago, but it must be even harder today with all the government regulations in place. I know we've had to send our staff to five different classes just to keep up on all those new environmental regs. Do you have any pets that play in the yard?"