Rounding up a posse'

[Scott]

Hey MR Dean/Ebony,
Could you clue me in on how you began to organize your local LCO's. I'm thinking your on to something here with approaching your local insurance scam artist and demanding lower prices. What does your initial fee cover and what else does your organization do/offer for LCO's? Are there recurring fees? Do you have to conduct meetings? I'd go to your website but I can't access it at this time. I know the PLCAA offers insurance but I'd rather go with a local company, somebody I can put a finger on.

I currently have a good relationship with our Local John Deere Landscape company(irrigation supplies, handtools, landscaping materials, lighting, pumps, etc...)
http://www.deere.com/en_US/deerecom/usa_canada.html
http://www.deere.com/en_AU/homepage/default.html
And I know I could persuade them to offer better rates to starting members.

[indmowing]

reply

Scott we have you thinking now eh? hehe, that's good to hear. How we work is pretty simple, we have a once off lifetime membership fee of AU$120 (which is about US$60) and with that our members get our training manual which is at the moment 138 pages in length, we are updating and adding to it all the time. They also get one years free subscription to a property care industry magazine (due to the fact we are so large we get big discounts even from the magazines). We obviously then get them discounts through our group due to our size and influence on the market place. We also have a national wide advertising campaign and save our members thousands of $'s on advertising costs. We then have a call centre, and we take the calls for our contractors so they can be out working! This takes a lot of stress out of the business.

We make a little bit on each call we take. The idea is to take a little bit from everyone rather then making a fortune out of the few. We build up very good relationships with everyone we work with, from contractors to Suppliers. We don't make commissions, but instead give the best price we can to our guys.

I hope this gives you an idea of what we do and how it all works! And as for meetings, we don't have them. We actually have associations to take care of the mother club meetings hehe! I mean most of us have worked for someone else at some time and have had it with meetings and cat fights <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> Our job is to save our guys money and offer them the service of getting them work at the same time!

Independent Lawn Mowing Contractors
Working together to benefit all.
www.indmowing.com.au
Email info@indmowing.com.au

Edited by - www.indmowing.com.au on Aug 08 2002 04:08:29 AM

[Phil Nilsson]

reply

Mr. Scott,
What you emailed me about is almost impossible ... the only thing that seems to be working is the subcontracting of large scale commercial as was offered in another thread.

Phil Nilsson
Nilsson Associates Consultants
Visit Lawn Service & Landscaping Book Store

[indmowing]

reply

I am not sure what Phil is refering to but as he has posted it in here I will take a wild guess it is in regard to what you are wanting to do Scott. Nothing is impossible but it may take some work! Remember way back when we thought the world was flat, thank goodness someone did the impossible <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>

We will let you know via email everything we have come across since being in this business and try to help you set up what you are talking about! You sound like a genuine person who is really in it for the industry so we'll do our best to help you and your fellow contractors.

As soon as I get a free minute I'll write the email and send it over. It was not an easy task to get all of this set up but we did it and people still say it is impossible here in Australia or to good to be true is one we hear all the time lol!

Independent Lawn Mowing Contractors
Working together to benefit all.
www.indmowing.com.au
Email info@indmowing.com.au

[Scott]

reply

Phil did say, "almost impossible". I can really enjoy a challenge at times.

The mainline insurance companys may not cooperate but an independant dealer, which represents several companies might be inclined to look harder for a better deal if you where to approach them as an organization which influences 20 or more LCO's. I'm sure somebody has some comments here.

There could also be other advantages with this type of organization.
1. I talked with the local manager of John Deere Landscapes with this idea and he seemed interested in more business being sent his way. JD Landscapes rates you from a 1-10;
<ul> <li>1 being a non-commercial customer walking off the street and buying their supplies at list price. </li>
<li>5 is a legitimate commercial customer just opening an account with them, your cost is not neccessarily 50% off, it's just a rating system </li>
<li>10 is your best buying power with something like $150,000 in previous sales with them per year. </li></ul>
You have to fill out an application, blah, blah, blah, and they'll rank you accordingly. Then over time, the more you buy the better rating you'll get. When I asked him if he could work in a better initial rate for members, he responded favorably but he was reluctant to nail down a particular rate just yet. Guess he has to run it through his boss. But they've always been generous to whomever I've sent their way and has mentioned my name.

2. Equipment dealers - The ones I've talked to said they'd agree to give discounts on equipment and repairs to members. I've always got whatever I wanted at a lower price just by talking to the sales rep and creating a relationship with them,(with the exception of one flamer across town that won't budge). This would <u>help the newby more so</u> than the existing LCO's since they're most likely committed to a particular dealer/salesman. I did have one small shop that was kinda excited about more business, "hey you want a coke or something?" haha <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle>.

3. Nurserys - Talked to two so far on the phone. One wasn't interested, guess she has too much business but I've never seen her parking lot full. One in particular said he'd give a 20% discount off the top and the more you bought the better it would get, once I got to know him he's always offered me this deal plus his initial prices are always better than the other one. The cost usually comes pretty close to HD or Lowe's but what they do offer is plant knowledge and they'll also help you map out a garden and recommend or steer you away from trouble. Try getting that from a minimum wage earner at HD or Lowe's.

4. Next step is trailer city, everybody sells these here at inflated prices, have to go outta town to save some money.

5. I would also offer basic sample contracts and estimate sheets(of course I wouldn't give em mine) and steer them toward some kind of accounting program. I also would put in a plug for my accountant which just got promoted to company partner. <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle> Congrats Debbi!!

6. and for some reason, this year my phone has been ringing off the hook from other LCO's offering their service to me, trying to get me to subcontract some of me jobs out. I guess they think my slice of the pie is too big.
I could create a list of services offered by other LCO's that starting guys might not be willing to try, i.e., sodding, core aeration, dethatching, pressure washing, garden ponds, parking lot striping, etc... I could also offer up this site as another avenue. You never know what could come out of this. I don't think I would even try to do the referral option because I would give there would be a bit of a conflict of interest.

I think my main obstacle is to get everything down on paper, presenting it in a non-threatening manner. These rednecks can git downright ornery if they think you're trying to steal their customers.

Phil I think this is do-able but I need to do more research.

Like the great Billy Idol said in one of his greatest songs, White Wedding, "MOW-MOW-MOW"


Edited by - scott on Aug 09 2002 04:36:31 AM

[indmowing]

reply

You're a good person Scott

Independent Lawn Mowing Contractors
Working together to benefit all.
www.indmowing.com.au
Email info@indmowing.com.au

[indmowing]

reply

We went through a broker for insurance, we had to do some hard work to prove ourselves first though. But you present yourself well enough and give them a reason to believe in you then they should back you! Speaking from personal experience but on the other side of the world lol!

Independent Lawn Mowing Contractors
Working together to benefit all.
www.indmowing.com.au
Email info@indmowing.com.au

[indmowing]

reply

Here in Australia we have a Associations that were meant to offer better prices etc and offer information. Unfortunatly they are not all they should be. They charge anywhere upto $450 per year and our insurance alone is around $100 cheaper then theirs and they have been around since the ice age <img src=icon_smile.gif border=0 align=middle> well not quite, but they have been around for a long time. They make commisions on virtually everything! They were struggling before we even came onto the scene and are obviously struggling more so now! They are meant to be a non profit organization but if they aren't making profit they must be flushing their money down the toilet as I can't see them spending it on anything besides their newsletters. But then again, who knows!

The trick is not to try and make heaps of money off others (as you said you're not out to do) but help one another and if you make a few extra dollars in the process that's cool! Remember this is going to be hard work and you need some compensation for that! Build up relationships with people! The general rule is you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours

I am sending you an email shortly with some miscalanious info!

Independent Lawn Mowing Contractors
Working together to benefit all.
www.indmowing.com.au
Email info@indmowing.com.au

[indmowing]

reply

Hi guys,

I just thought I would share this with you. This is what working together can do for you and this is in advertising alone.

<img src="http://www.indmowing.com.au/graph2.gif" border=0>

Column 1: Network Price - 4UD (122.5mm x 84.5mm) Ad in Yellow Pages and 31 Local Papers!

Column 2: You would Pay – The average price you’d pay for 1 local paper and a 4UD ad in the Yellow Pages.

Column 3 to 6: Y Pages 4UD to 1UD – 4UD being the largest ad, 1UD the smallest display ad available through the Yellow Pages.

Column 7: Local Paper Only – Price you’d pay for a display ad in your local papers at our previous discount rate (which is cheaper then you would get it).

Independent Lawn Mowing Contractors
Working together to benefit all.
www.indmowing.com.au
Email info@indmowing.com.au

[Scott]

reply

Whelp guess what I did today? I had a luncheon with several of the larger scrapers in town and found out that they tried to start an association with all the LCO's, irrigation contractors, and landscapers about 15 years ago and had mixed results. Florida's Nursey and Garden Associaton is opening another chapter in town and from what I understand we can piggy back on them until we get structured enough to break off. We all have come to the same realization that our market is saturated with lowballers and we all need to help each other. I can drive 1.5 hours east to Destin or west to Tallahassee and they don't have nearly the same problem that we do. Now we're starting the process of locating and contacting all bazillion LCO's, irrigation contractor's, and lawnscapers.


Making process, one step at a time.

[indmowing]

reply

Good to hear Scott )