I’ve just spent a long weekend with my family in Gatlinburg, TN.  It’s a very nice, scenic, appalachian mountain area we like to visit often.  However, it’s no secret that it’s also a tourist trap type of place.  There are literally hundreds of small shops selling food, candy, and drinks all within a 1 mile walk – and many marketing lessons to be learned by anyone willing to uncover them.

Free Roasted Pecans?

For example, the guy selling roasted pecans with a sign that says “Free Samples.” Not only did he have a sign that said “Free Samples”, but he waited to make eye contact with you and said “Why don’t you try one – they’re free.”  And not only that, he tells your kids “They taste like pecan pie, try one.”  So we tried some.  And guess who ended up buying a bag?  Well, it’s obvious the Free Sample strategy works.  And I can’t say for sure why in each case.  But in my case – I had a no-risk way to see if I would even like them before I bought any.  After having some pecans for free (and he was generous with the samples) I felt almost obligated to buy something from him.  It’s a strategy I think could be applied to the lawn care industry – with a few pointers.

What’s This Got To Do With Lawn Care?

First,what product will be your free sample?  Of course, being in the lawn care industry, you probably don’t have a physical product (but if you do, it may be just the ticket to win some new customers.)  In our type of businesses – the service industry – a free consultation could be equated with the free sample strategy.

Free Estimates (By Any Other Name)

But, you’ll have to spice it up a bit.  Everybody has free consultations and free estimates.  You’ll have to call it something else.  “The 25 Point Lawn Disease Inspection.”  Or “The Free Driveway Entrance Landscaping Plan.”  And you’ll have to make it better than anyone else’s “free estimate” too (I don’t mean a better price, I mean a better experience.)  You should have a standard, well rehearsed presentation.  It should be executed as if you have done this a thousand times.  You are the expert.  Show that to your potential customer.  And please don’t show up in torn blue jeans and a sweaty t-shirt to make a presentation. (Ask me how many times I did that before I got smart about marketing.)

Reach The Decision Maker

Now you’ve got a hook, next you need to reach the one who decides to buy your services.  I have several tips to focus on this in other posts.  But for now lets just say “Repetition, repetition, repetition.”  Others might call it branding.  Commitment to your message.  We know that rarely does a customer respond to the first contact with your message.

Exposure To Your Marketing Message

In fact, though they may think they’ve not seen your message before, research bears out that on average it takes 7-9 exposures to your message to elicit a reaction from a customer.  And that’s not counting all the times you put your message out there and your prospect didn’t notice it.  So don’t give up on your marketing after just one shot.  Keep your message consistent so that your potential customer doesn’t get confused over the 7-9 times he is exposed to it.  Remember the Pecan Man I described at the beginning?  Look at all the contacts he had with us leading up to the free sample.  Which brings us to the next point…

That Free Sample Better Be Good

Because if the free sample is a piece of crap that has no value to your customer, why should they think you have anything else of value?  Let’s look at two scenarios of the free sample strategy.

Hey, We Offer Free Estimates Too!

Scenario 1 is your competition.  Probably all of them.  They have it printed on their business cards.  All of their fliers say the same thing.  They all have it on their truck and trailer signs.  You know what I’m talking about.  That one line – we offer free estimates.  Tell me, is there a lawn care company out there that doesn’t?  Believe me, your customers expect it.  So he (and every other lawn care company owner) shows up with his mowing or spraying rig, a metal clipboard, and a pad of generic estimate forms.  He measures the yard, looks it over for a few minutes, gets a price in his head, and writes on this metal clipboard/pad a description of what he does (and its the same for every customer – cut, trim, blow, edge) and a price per service.  If he can use a calculator, he gives a price per season to try to get a contract out of it.  Then he shows it to the customer and leaves a business card.  No rehearsed sales pitch, no real value to the customer, just a price for them to think about.

Your Lawn Is In Danger!

Scenario 2 is you.  Why does it stand apart?  Because you don’t offer a free estimate.  You offer a 15 point disease and pest inspection.  Or a free soil test to determine what’s wrong with your lawn’s foundation.  Or a 10 point inspection and explanation of the danger your lawn faces this coming season.  And to be sure, you have rehearsed this presentation until you can pull it off in your sleep.  It is so well put together and so slick that your prospect will never forget what just happened.  Maybe, you had a DVD about these dangers to their lawn which they watched while you did the inspection.  Then you met them with the answers to their questions, the results of your inspection, and a suggestion for service.  You see, you gave them something of value – before you, they didn’t even know they had problems.  Now you give them a choice of solutions to the problems you’ve made them aware of.

Both lawn companies gave an estimate for the same service.  But you gave it value.  Who do you think gets the job?  The guy who writes 4 lines on a generic estimate form, or the expert who let his customer know that they were facing a real lawn crisis if they don’t act now.

If your free sample is truly excellent, both in value and in your execution of it, then the fourth point is a slam dunk.

Trust And Obligation

Yes, your potential customer will trust you more than the 10 fliers she got in the mail last week because you have just proven you know what to do about their problem.  She thought her problem was finding someone to cut the grass.  You showed her the problem was much more than that AND that you can fix it.  This kind of free service also builds obligation into the mix.  And that’s what makes them buy from you.

So map out a plan to offer your free sample and you’ll start closing a whole lot more deals for your lawncare business.