Buying Lawn Care Accounts

Getting started in lawn care can be tough when you are inexperienced. It is hard to win customers if you have no references and have not had time to perfect your sales pitch.

If you can't pick up some work through friends and associates then where are your first few lawn jobs going to come from? Why not consider buying lawn care accounts from other companies? You don't have to buy a whole business but rather you can just buy ten or twelve accounts off another lawn service to get you started.

Buying lawn care accounts can also be a good move for those that are already well established with their business and are looking to expand.

Buying accounts can be a risky move though so you must do your due diligence. The following article sets out some points that you should consider when dealing with other lawn care companies on this issue.

Lawn care business operators often want to sell lawn care accounts if they are too busy, if they have clients that don't fit in with their routing or if they are closing their business. The price for one customer is usually calculated at a rate of around three to six weeks of revenue. Many factors can influence this value though such as if there is a contract in place and how competitive the local lawn care market is.

When making the decision to buy accounts off another business it helps if you are able to first calculate your customer acquisition costs. If you have been in business for a while you will know how much you have to spend on advertising and marketing to gain each new customer. If your marketing is effective then it may work out cheaper for you to simply spend money on acquiring your own new customers. However if you are new to the business or are not particularly efficient with your marketing then buying accounts may work out to be the more cost effective option.

When buying a lawn care account you should always request a personal introduction from the seller. You should go with them to the job at least once to see them service the lawn and to find out if there are any specific requirements for that job. Make sure that you are aware of the agreement that the seller has with the customer. You should be in agreement with the existing price and conditions or ask the customer if they would be happy to make changes.

Try to narrow down the exact reason why the seller wants to get rid of the account in question. One good question to ask is how long the seller has been servicing the accounts that they have for sale and if they have had any problems with any of the customers. Ask the seller to provide an account history of each client and take note of whether they pay on time.

Make sure that you have a solid agreement in place for the transfer with everything between you and the seller in writing.

Buying customer accounts is an easy way to enter the lawn care industry or to expand your existing operation. If you are new to the business you can get some experience doing lawns and learn how to run your business before you start your own marketing efforts. If you have an existing operation then buying lawn care accounts may offer you a quick and easy way to expand your business.