Solar Lawn Truck

10-22-19

UPDATE – Quietly Winning 7-Figure Contracts

Lawn and landscape contractors are always looking for a strategy to win jobs without being the low bidder.  As we have reported, a small number of our clients HAVE ALREADY discovered how to win lawn service contracts by offering zero-emission lawn care.

Since we do business with hundreds of lawn maintenance operators each year, we have gained access to insider information from those who have already won 7-figure contracts using this little-understood strategy. So allow me to explain the details.

There are buyers who place high value on the idea of reducing their carbon footprint. And a growing number of these buyers are willing to pay a premium for such a service.

If YOU own a lawn or landscape company, you need to understand the most effective way to sell 7-figure jobs using this GREEN SALES STRATEGY. Here are three ways you should approach this 7-figure opportunity.

1-You Must Initiate the Discussion

As of this writing, the majority of property owners, property managers, and facility engineers are not aware that lawn maintenance services can be provided with zero-emissions lawn equipment.  Therefore, it’s unlikely you will see a set of contract specifications that say “all lawn maintenance must be performed with battery-powered lawn equipment”.

Contract specifications that REQUIRE battery-powered (zero-emissions) lawn maintenance are coming…but this is very rare today. We expect to see these specifications to show up with electricity providers, electricity distributors, and municipalities well before you find them in commercial property management specifications*.

Your job is to OFFER the option of providing zero-emissions without being asked by the prospect. Helping inform and educate your existing customers and prospects that zero-emissions lawn services are an option is your first step to winning that 7-figure contract.

Sharing photos, articles, podcasts, videos, or case studies of those using battery-powered equipment to provide lawn services is a great way to instantly build awareness.  Further, photos and videos of battery equipment in use will provide credibility that is hard to get from the spoken word.

2-Noisy Lawn Equipment is the Bigger Frustration

Zero-emissions lawn care may grab the attention of some buyers. But more frequently, the buyers are excited about the lawn service being provided with less noise that traditional gas-powered lawn care.

We have identified four target groups that have instantly been attracted to “less noise”.  These include: school campuses, health care facilities, office parks, and high-end homeowners.

You don’t have to go very far in your search to find active community organizers trying to ban outdoor blowers. It seems that almost every fall season, a new group forms to battle the noisy leaf blowers.

Rather than getting defensive and trying to fight the blower ban, go on the offense and begin to teach your existing customers about the option to cut noise by 50% using battery powered lawn equipment as your primary tools.

Every growth strategy starts with a strong defense including active customer retention. You may learn that some of your biggest and best customers would be willing to pay a premium if you simply offer to provide lawn services with half the noise. If you fail to educate your existing customers about battery-powered lawn care, you may find yourself being replaced by someone who does. 

3-Learn the Limitations of Battery Powered Equipment

Battery-powered lawn equipment is still in the early stages of development. Therefore, there is tremendous amounts of misinformation on the subject of making the transition from gas-powered lawn equipment to battery powered lawn equipment.

The non-believers say things like, “battery-powered equipment isn’t powerful enough” or “battery-powered lawn equipment don’t last long enough” or perhaps the most ignorant comment of all is “battery powered equipment costs more than gas-powered equipment”.

All of the statements above are just plain wrong IF you understand how to properly match the battery-powered tools to the job at hand.

Yes, there are limitations to what you can expect from battery-powered lawn equipment today. But that doesn’t mean battery-powered tools won’t work to help you win a 7-figure contract.

Here’s an example. One of my clients. who services a school campus, has found success by using all battery powered equipment when servicing the grounds immediately around the classrooms and out 300 feet or so away from the buildings.

Another client uses all battery powered lawn equipment in the areas where customer traffic intersects with grounds workers. This contractor still uses gas-powered equipment for field mowing and exterior parts of the property.

To learn more about the limitations of battery powered equipment we invite you to read the article we produced on this subject (click here).

Or, go ahead a purchase a starter set of battery powered equipment to do the lawn maintenance at your home or office.  You’ll get some hands-on experience and start to see for yourself how powerful, how long-lasting, and how quiet this equipment operates. You can purchase battery powered lawn equipment here.

We hope you will use this information to build your Green Sales Strategy and win the 7-figure contracts in your town.

*Special Note: The guys that sell and distribute electricity are in the early stages of endorsing battery-powered equipment plus electric vehicles. This will help them sell more electricity.  Power companies will gain market share for energy consumption away from the massive oil companies.

Tony Bass is the founder and CEO at Super Lawn Technologies. His company has been serving the professional landscape contractor since 1998. He is the inventor of the Solar Lawn Truck which provides on-the-go-charging for contractors making the transition to battery-powered lawn equipment.

04-23-2019

The rules are (quietly) changing once again. Only a handful of lawn and landscape contractors are profiting from this new strategy as I write this article.

I hope you will have the courage to read, listen, watch and learn. This could be HUGE for you…if you have an interest in selling really BIG or really PROFITABLE lawn service contracts.

Here’s the (short version) of the story.

Birth of a 7-Figure Sales Strategy

New technology is all around. There’s no place better than the lawn maintenance industry to find new technology. In case you missed the news…lithium battery powered lawn maintenance tools are finding their way onto lawn trucks and into landscapes everywhere. First, a little history.

Lithium powered lawn tools were made popular on late night TV when the Worx GT String Trimmer was introduced to the USA in 2007. Using direct response marketing, 313,000 of these small, lightweight battery powered tools were sold within 12 months of initial offer.

These little string trimmers were mostly purchased by homeowners…and many of these purchases were made by WOMEN seeking equipment that was lightweight and super-easy to use. The (seemingly) instant success of this product really opened the doors for the Worx brand. By 2009 the Worx GT was being sold in Lowes, Home Depot, Costco, Walmart and more.

Every Decade or So…Technology Makes HUGE Advances

You’ve heard of Tesla right? The manufacturer of the super-fast electric powered car… Well, Elon Musk and the original founders have been working on the lithium battery “challenge” spending millions of dollars on R & D since 2003 – that’s 15 years now.

Tesla spent $187 million to build their first 147 cars. And Elon had invested $70 million of his own money to keep the company going by 2009. What does this have to do with YOU winning 7-figure lawn contracts? These investments have helped make the battery technology better, which leads us to…

Follow the Money…

Cars with zero emissions are now a reality. Tesla has forced the automotive industry to invest billions on their own zero emissions cars. The new movement to battery powered cars is so popular, ten countries have announced they will outlaw gas and diesel powered cars over the next 20-30 years.

And very quietly…some of the R&D in automotive battery technology has made its way to weedeaters, lawn mowers, chain saws and blowers. Just visit the big box stores – Lowes & Home Depot – sometime over the next few days.

Take a look at the aisle-long displays of battery powered lawn maintenance tools. The gas-powered tools, just like the gas-powered cars, now have serious competition.

Think Different! Profit Greatly!

I’ve been in the lawn industry since 1987 – 31 years now. My clients (owners of lawn & landscape companies) are scattered all over the USA and Canada. Most of the folks I work with are either: a) really successful or b) want to be successful in the near future.

Since my reach goes into companies in 45 states and across Canada… I have an “inside track” on what’s REALLY working in the lawn and landscape industry. Which brings me to the meat of this message.

Two clients of mine have been awarded 7-figure lawn maintenance contracts BECAUSE they are offering a QUIET lawn service. There’s big money being committed to the idea of QUIETER services.  These cases are NOT some small residential account that houses a tree-hugging, government employed liberal paying $30 to get their lawn mowed.

In one case, a government agency paid a handsome premium for a proposal to “mow electric”. This contractor thought “outside the box” and now is a major player in his city. He won the big one in his town within 2 years of start-up!  The buyer didn’t place a priority on “contractor experience”.  They bought a NEW idea.  They selected the new contractor with GUTS enough to invest his money ahead of the crowd! Pretty nice…

In a second case, my client was able to boast a 19% premium over the second bidder by promising all of their hand-held equipment to service the assisted living facilities, including blowers, weed whackers and push mowers would be “electric powered”. Again…a 7-figure contract WITHOUT being the low-bidder. Very smart!

Is Battery Powered Equipment Tough Enough?        Powerful Enough? Dependable Enough?

Ask a Tesla owner if their car works as good as or BETTER than their gas car. And…if you really want to know about battery powered equipment BUY IT & TRY IT.

But please…don’t waste your time on the Worx GT weed eater. That’s a fine tool for a home owner who cares for a 5000 to 10,000 sq ft lawn. But it’s not what a pro needs.

Go get yourself a 82 Volt Greenworks Commercial trimmer, chain saw, pole pruner, stick edger, hedge trimmer, 21″ push mower, back pack blower, hand blower or (if you have the guts) 60″ ZTR.

Greenworks Commercial battery powered hand tools are sold nationwide at Site One (as I write this article)…or just buy direct online at: www.greenworkscommercial.com

You’ll never have to work on a carburetor again, mix smelly gas/oil or kill someone’s turf when filling the tank. No more pull cords, spark plugs or air filters. This is going to be a game changer!

One last thing. The devil is in the details when you’re considering battery powered tools! Do YOUR research! All battery powered tools are NOT created equal.  Here’s a resource for you.

There’s a couple of cool videos, a ton of FAQ’s and nice photos to see how a handful of landscape contractors are adopting this new battery powered lawn equipment technology at: www.solarlawntruck.com

Let me know if you take this idea and turn it into a 7-figure contract in your town.  It’s certainly being done in our industry today.  And you could do it too!

Tony Bass is the founder of Super Lawn Technologies.  He is the co-author of The E-Myth Landscape Contractor: Why Most Landscape Companies Don’t Work and What To Do About It.  You can contact Tony at Tony@tonybassconsulting.com or 478-822-9706.

Two clients of mine have been awarded 7-figure lawn maintenance contracts BECAUSE they are offering a QUIET lawn service. There’s big money being committed to the idea of QUIETER services.  These cases are NOT some small residential account that houses a tree-hugging, government employed liberal paying $30 to get their lawn mowed.

In one case, a government agency paid a handsome premium for a proposal to “mow electric”. This contractor thought “outside the box” and now is a major player in his city. He won the big one in his town within 2 years of start-up!  The buyer didn’t place a priority on “contractor experience”.  They bought a NEW idea.  They selected the new contractor with GUTS enough to invest his money ahead of the crowd! Pretty nice…

In a second case, my client was able to boast a 19% premium over the second bidder by promising all of their hand-held equipment to service the assisted living facilities, including blowers, weed whackers and push mowers would be “electric powered”. Again…a 7-figure contract WITHOUT being the low-bidder. Very smart!

Is Battery Powered Equipment Tough Enough?
Powerful Enough? Dependable Enough?

Ask a Tesla owner if their car works as good as or BETTER than their gas car. And…if you really want to know about battery powered equipment BUY IT & TRY IT.

But please…don’t waste your time on the Worx GT weed eater. That’s a fine tool for a home owner who cares for a 5000 to 10,000 sq ft lawn. But it’s not what a pro needs.

Go get yourself a 82 Volt Greenworks Commercial trimmer, chain saw, pole pruner, stick edger, hedge trimmer, 21″ push mower, back pack blower, hand blower or (if you have the guts) 60″ ZTR.

Greenworks Commercial battery powered hand tools are sold nationwide at Site One (as I write this article)…or just buy direct online from us at Super Lawn Trucks!

You’ll never have to work on a carburetor again, mix smelly gas/oil or kill someone’s turf when filling the tank. No more pull cords, spark plugs or air filters. This is going to be a game changer!

One last thing. The devil is in the details when you’re considering battery powered tools! Do YOUR research! All battery powered tools are NOT created equal.  Here’s a resource for you.

There’s a couple of cool videos, a ton of FAQ’s and nice photos to see how a handful of landscape contractors are adopting this new battery powered lawn equipment technology at: www.solarlawntruck.com

Let me know if you take this idea and turn it into a 7-figure contract in your town.  It’s certainly being done in our industry today.  And you could do it too!

Tony Bass is the founder of Super Lawn Technologies.  He is the co-author of The E-Myth Landscape Contractor: Why Most Landscape Companies Don’t Work and What To Do About It.  You can contact Tony at Tony@tonybassconsulting.com or 478-822-9706.