Promoting Unique Add-On Services

Rob Shauger, owner, Advanced Applications Tree & Lawn Service Inc., Utica, N.Y., has combined the idea of add-on services during regularly scheduled visits with his knowledge and licensing in structural pest control to add a unique service to his lawn and tree care company’s repertoire. For a flat fee Shauger offers perimeter pest control for the outside of client’s buildings, turning this LCO into a part-time PCO (pest control operator).

"We service about 350 clients doing lawn applications and tree spraying. If we can sell 200 of those with a perimeter spray six times a year for different pests at $69.95, that’s an additional $80,000 a year," explained Shauger. "It’s probably another 10 to 15 minutes on the property, product cost is minimal, and we’re already there doing the work. It’s the highest profit margin you can probably obtain if you’re already there."

Lawn care and structural pest control applications require separate licenses, both of which Shauger has had since working for a large lawn care company in the early and mid-90s. After leaving the corporate world to start his own business in 1997, he kept his licensing current with the intent to expand on his service offerings. "I’ve always had [the structural license], and the intention has always been to learn a little more about it and try to sell it to the clients," Shauger noted. "We’ve done some odds and ends for a few clients, but we’ve never really pushed it."

This year, Advanced Applications is promoting perimeter spraying to its clients as an added service that can be completed at the time of lawn treatments. Shauger related that he is limiting himself to outside pest control because he is not comfortable with his knowledge of the requirements for indoor pest control, a much stricter discipline compared to outside treatments. "I’d rather just be honest with customers and do what I’m capable of doing and leave it at that," he explained.

PROMOTING ADD-ONS. "I spent more time on the business in the office this year than in the field," noted Shauger. "It has had its ups and downs, but it allowed me to do some extra marketing things."

Most notably, the extra office time allowed Shauger to refine customized literature he distributes to customers for selling add-on services. He uses a software program to create customized messages that are sent to his approximately 350 clients in the form of an add-on services promotional piece. The literature is extremely personalized, as each add-on service is priced based on the specifics of an individual property.

"Say Mrs. Jones has a 5,000 square foot lawn, and we put in the equation that grub control equals ‘X’ number of dollars per thousand, the computer spits out the pricing and we just mail it," said Shauger. "Everything is calculated based on equations."

He noted that the program works the same way for other add-on services, including aeration and limestone applications, which are based on lawn sizes. Shauger’s perimeter pest control service is a flat fee and is also included in the add-on service letters. "Out of all of the add-on services we offered, [perimeter pest control] sold the most," he noted.

Shauger times the services highlighted in add-on service literature to the time of year and adds explanation of the benefits so customers are educated about the need, timing and results of upgrading their lawn care program. Additionally, he recently distributed his company’s first newsletter, which serves similar purposes of educating his customers about the company. His first issue included a company history and profile along with information on drought stress, lawn care, weed control and perimeter pest control.

"The newsletter was one of those projects that I’ve been wanting to get done for two or three years, and spending more time in the office this year allowed me to do that. I figure we’ll probably do it quarterly," Shauger explained, putting the next distribution sometime in September. "For the fall issue we’ll try to pick up some add-on services to produce revenue for the end of the year."

Another project Shauger made time for this year was the addition of cluster fly treatments to his add-on service list. He said that because the treatment window is so short for control of cluster flies, he missed the window for several years by not planning ahead. This year, however, he developed a marketing plan that included highlighting the service in add-on service letters, in his first newsletter and in television commercials. Shauger had moderate success with cluster fly treatments this year, obtaining about a dozen jobs, but he said the profit is high on those jobs. Marketing costs for the program, however, weren’t high as Shauger has a service agreement with a local television station to trade advertising time for lawn and tree care services.

GROWING THE BUSINESS. "I work with about 95 percent of the local landscapers here," said Shauger, explaining that companies that don’t offer lawn and tree care work refer customer requests for those jobs to his company. In return for referrals, Shauger passes any leads for jobs he receives from his clients on to other landscape contractors. He said he is able to pay back with referrals to a wide variety of his contacts, which include companies that specialize in mowing, installations, nursery stock or other specific services.

Shauger said he had developed several relationships with local contractors while working for a larger lawn service company in the area. When he went into business himself, he maintained some of those contacts and initiated the referral process through those business owners. To develop new contacts, Shauger checks phone books every year and contacts new landscape companies to set up similar relationships. "Usually those guys are looking to grow, so I tell them, ‘If you’re looking to pick up some mowing accounts, we’ll send them to you,’" he explained. "In the meantime, we’re able to pick up some new accounts."

Part of his contact with new companies involves letting those business owners know that licensing for lawn and tree care is required New York and telling them he can save them the hassle of obtaining licensing by taking on requests for those services. "I try to help these guys with what knowledge I have," he explained. "I try to educate them as best as I can without insulting their intelligence."

Education is a key for Shauger, too, as he keeps up with recertification credits to maintain his application licenses and studies up on both the LCO and PCO sides of his business. "The more I become educated about things, the better off I’m able to sell it," he noted.

Shauger has also recently started a telemarketing program to drum up business. He said this is an approach he is going into carefully, as he tends to stick with low-pressure sales. With three other lawn care companies telemarketing in his area at same time, Shauger is hoping to get sales to a level that he won’t have to bother with telemarketing anymore. "I get more work out of the landscape referral deal than I do out of telemarketing," he explained.

Shauger relies on a low-pressure sales approach because he learned that customers are turned off by being inundated with sales pitches - something he discovered when working for the large lawn care outfit in the area. He understands the importance of targeting customers on an individual basis, rather than selling them something they do not need. "I learned my best lessons from working for the big companies. Just do the opposite and you’re bound to be successful," he said.