Lawn Care Pricing Guide
So you have just started your lawn care business and are wondering how you are going to bid on your first job. Or maybe you have bid on a few accounts already and lost them due to being way off with your estimate. If so, read on as I have compiled some information that may be helpful to you.
Offering a price to a prospective customer for mowing their lawns on a regular basis is not easy. Newcomers to the business are always looking for a magic formula or method to help them to quote accurately. However, they are often let down when they realize that there is no 'one size fits all' solution and that they will have to put the pieces of the puzzle together by themselves before getting their answer.
While there are basic lawn pricing formulas, software packages, tips and guidelines that you can use you will have to rely on your own local research and gut instinct to some extent. The good news though is that with a little experience you can become proficient at estimating and bidding on lawn jobs within a fairly short time period.
The process of starting a lawn mowing business will become much easier once you have a good understanding of pricing and value. In the following articles I look at lawn care pricing from a number of angles to help shed some light on an area that confuses so many.
1) How to Price a Lawn Mowing Job - Pricing Methods
How do lawn care companies set their prices? There are basically two common approaches that focus on either the size of the lawn in question or how long it would take to complete the lawn.
This article outlines each of these two well used methods and highlights some of the factors that you have to take into account when using them. Learn more here.
For another view on lawn care pricing, read Ken LaVoie's guide on lawn care pricing here straight from "How to start a lawn care business a whole new way".
2) The Importance of Pricing Lawn Services Right
A discussion on the importance of finding the right price level for your lawn care business services. I look at the negative impact that pricing can have on your business if you set prices that are either too low or too high. There are times when you can go for higher than average pricing but you have to know when you can get away with it. Read the article in full here.
3) Lawn Care Pricing Tips
A selection of lawn mowing pricing tips that can help you refine your own pricing strategy. This article discusses setting minimum prices, creating price charts, price increases, discounts, estimating software and much more. Click here to read the article in full.
4) Lawn Care Estimate Guide - Visiting the Property
Many of the pricing decisions that you make in your lawn mowing business will have to be made on the fly while you are out there in the field doing inspections and meeting with prospects.
In this article I look at how you should present yourself when you visit a potential customer, how you should interact with them and how you can maximize the amount that they will agree to pay for your services. For the full article click here.