Offer Additional Services without Overselling

Working within the lawn and tree care industry, there is a strong need to develop and nurture bonds with clients early. This makes it difficult to carry out the same sales tactics of retail and sales-based jobs. To avoid sounding like a used car salesperson, those in the landscaping and tree care industry often take to upselling in a unique and understated way.

At Arborgold, we work with lawn and tree care professionals from all over the country, supporting you in your endeavors to increase growth and reduce time waste. Our bespoke software and mobile sales estimator go hand in hand with this practice, providing the tools needed to be successful.

Being an authority in tree care management, we understand the stressors involved in sales. To help ease the process and promote the development of tactical service marketing, we have provided a list of ways to offer additional services, without overshooting the mark. Here is what you should know about selling without overselling.

Customized Invoice Templates Ease the Pressure of the Upsell

Automated invoicing is one of the greatest inventions to grace the tree and lawn care industry. It automatically delivers invoices to your clients based on the services they order, including recurring services that may be missed in a manual invoice creation. One of the ways invoice software works for you in sales situations is through customizable templates.

Templates offer a general design which you can tweak based on customer preference and service level. Slipping in new service options on a monthly invoice shows your customers what other services are available to them without that pushy sales call. Instead of forcing the options, they read them of their own volition as they scan the bill. In some cases, a customer spotting a bundled option, or a new add-on could help improve your bottom line.

Professionalism is Key

The key to successfully upselling is professionalism. There is no problem with offering your customer an additional service, especially if it is one you know they could use. For example, a customer who frequently requests their lawn mowed may also benefit from plant watering and weeding. Depending on your service and billing structure, you could earn more by offering these extra services. To do so without offending the customer or coming off “salesy”, keep your tone even and friendly.

Make Your Pitch Personal

Sometimes a personal touch takes a sales pitch and makes it into a tailored offer. For example, saying something like, “Good morning Mr. Smith! I notice your weekly lawn mow is coming up. Last time we visited we noticed you have some beautiful gardens on the side of your yard. If you would like, we would be happy to add on our watering and weeding service to your weekly lawn mow.” By mentioning his gardens, you make the pitch personal. You are not just calling up every customer on the block to add on weeding and watering, this was a special service offered to a special client in need.

Add Some Pizazz to Your Pitch

Homeowners and businesses who are about lawn and garden maintenance are the kinds of people and organizations which appreciate a compliment on their hard work. Adding some pizazz to your pitch shows your clients what these additional services could do to add some “oomph” to their landscaping projects.

A prime example of a service that might land a dull pitch is soil testing. Unless you understand how soil testing works, it sounds unnecessary. Thus, explaining the potential improvement a soil test could provide with specific examples could help sell it. For example, point out the blooms on the garden across the street, and the unopened buds on your client’s shrub. There are many reasons plants fare better on one lawn over another, one of these is soil type. Explain to your customer how beautiful the garden could be if the soil was right, and then recommend the test.

Of course, there are some pitches that are more exciting than soil, such as adding a water feature to a garden. To amp up this pitch, consider a mock-up with sketches, or 3D renderings, so the client can really see the feature in their own yard.

Include All Your Clients

One of the mistakes some lawn care businesses make while upselling is avoiding making offers to one client over another out of fear of a refusal. There is always room for improvement in any garden or property, and if you are smart and tailor your pitch to suit their needs, there is no bad upsell.

When looking to add a few new services to existing client accounts, it helps to pour over existing services and look at the property in question. What areas could use improvement and how could you, as their lawn care company, help? Showing your client there is value in your suggested service is the best way to get everybody involved.

It is important to remember that in the landscaping and lawn care industry, much of your business comes from word of mouth and social media shares. Offering these new services to a client, no matter the client, could pan out for you if they share with friends and family. Even if your current client does not need the service, their relative might.

Contact Arborgold for More Information

Arborgold is a leading software developer for landscaping, tree and lawn care, and pest control businesses. We specialize in companies with field employees, providing customized tools and supports to improve your bottom line and increase brand awareness. Our software helps landscaping companies with a variety of tasks, including upselling. From our e-mail automation to our invoice templates and beyond, our goal is to help you earn more and spend less.

If you are interested in learning more about the benefits of Arborgold’s landscaping and lawn care software, and ways it may improve your upsell we invite you to contact us. You can also take a tour of our website.