Brother-and-sister team Garrett and Marlena Williams fulfilled their dream of starting their own landscaping business, the G&M Outdoor Services company. There was only one problem—they couldn’t find any work. Despite being low on capital, they decided to take a chance and pay the $400 yearly membership fee for HomeAdvisor, a paid platform that connects contractors and handymen with customers who need a home project completed.
HomeAdvisor is Now Angi Leads – though they are keeping the HomeAdvisor website.
Within 24 hours of signing up, they landed a $3,000 dig, which was enough to jumpstart their business. Since then, G&M Outdoor Services has grown 100% every year for the past four years. Below, we outline Garrett and Marlena’s strategy for using HomeAdvisor to grow their customer base.
Keep the Bigger Picture in Mind
Get comfortable with the fact that finding promising leads is going to take some upfront investment of your time and money. On HomeAdvisor, not every lead is going to be worth following up on—but 10 out of 30 is still enough to get the ball rolling.
In running and growing your own business, it’s a given that you are going to have to take some risks. It was Garrett and Marlena’s experience that while it was scary to pay as much as they did for big leads, it ultimately led to the best jobs, best returning customers, and best references.
Be Selective
For landscaping contractors, there are two aspects to selectively using HomeAdvisor to grow your customer base and increase your profit.
- Find your niche – Make sure you’re providing an in-demand service in the right location. If you live in an area where there are a lot of landscapers on HomeAdvisor, that means more competition for jobs.
- Pick the most lucrative gigs – If you pick a $100 lawn-mowing job and had to pay $30 for the lead, you’re not turning a profit. While it may cost more up front, going after larger jobs is going to pay off in the long run. What’s more is that while it may seem counterintuitive, the biggest-spending customers tend to spend the least amount of time looking over your shoulder, which makes your life easier.
Jump On It
Once you’ve found the leads with the highest profit potential, don’t hesitate. In this industry, the early bird catches the worm.
- Call the potential customer right away. If you’re following up on a lead two to three days after finding it, you are already too late. If they’re searching for a landscaper right now, it means they want to find one right now.
- Get out to them in person and give them a quote the same day or the next day. Show them you are serious about wanting their business and getting the job done.
- Offer to sign them up for recurring services
- Make it easy for the customer to view and pay for your services online
Implement a Marketing Strategy
After landing some customers and providing them with quality service, maintain relationships and spread the word about your business with the help of a marketing strategy. G&M Outdoor Services utilized the following tactics:
- An email marketing campaign makes it easy for existing customers to refer you to friends and family. It’s also a great way to inform customers about services you provide that they may not have known about.
- Billboards will go a long way towards getting you locally established as a household name.
- Putting your company logo on your truck gives you a mobile advertisement wherever you go.
- Establish an online presence via ads on Google, Facebook, and Instagram.
That’s a Wrap
Garrett and Marlena agreed that all things considered, they would use HomeAdvisor again because it was a great way to find leads when they needed them. But using the above strategy, they were quickly able to stop paying for leads on HomeAdvisor after establishing their customer base. They were too busy working!
For more helpful advertising options among landscaping businesses, find out more about digital marketing and SEO marketing choices.
