**This is my advertising plan, do you think it will do??**

[sergman89]

At my current job I make a pretty coin, im banking a few hundred a week and a friend is doing the same. He will be getting equipment, I will be doing the marketing since im a salesmen and its what I do now.

We will start in the 2013 season, the goal is to get 100 clients. Money not being the issue.

I will get a list of 3000 in our target area with estimated homes valued over 150k (is that a good choice?). We will hit the first 1500 with postcard A the second with postcard B the first with postcard B and the second with A. Each being spaced a week apart.

Then go in the same order with postcards C & D. (I am still planing on the looks of the postcards but we are both prior service , and him still being a guardsmen, so that will be added somewhere in there.


I have over 4.5k door hangers that I will put at each house in the target area knocking on each door first to hopefully put a face behind a company and sell myself (not for sex, lol, just because when people see a person as a company they have a harder time letting them go for someone cheaper..).

I then plan to mail all 3k once a month there after with a new postcard each time but our logo and name still on them.

I have door knocked before, and after 600 doorhangers (from adeas which are amazing) 450 of them being put out with great weather I was able to sign 7 contracts.

I also read on here some of you guys use a ziplock, flyer, and rock combination on the driveway. I am thinking about doing that but I dont know if the ROI would be good enough including gas.

So all summed up 12,000 postcards stick it from adeas (4 different times each house), 4,500 door hanger stick its from adeas while knocking, and maybe the ziplock approach depending on others ROI.

This will all be going on in NJ.

Thank you for your time, and consideration!

[MASTERMOWER]

Are you quitting your job for next year and relying on this mowing gig to be your sole income?

Even with all that work, 100 your first season seems like a stretch - but it could be done. Ditch the 'Flier in Bag with Rock' trick. That's just stupid ****. Tacky, lazy, unsafe, and I consider it littering. :alien::alien::alien:

[sergman89]

Are you quitting your job for next year and relying on this mowing gig to be your sole income?

Even with all that work, 100 your first season seems like a stretch - but it could be done. Ditch the 'Flier in Bag with Rock' trick. That's just stupid ****. Tacky, lazy, unsafe, and I consider it littering. :alien::alien::alien:

I know 100 is a bit of a stretch but I like to set the goal high so I am never complacent. I wont do the ziplock deal then I figured it wouldnt be to good.

What would you do to enhance your chances of getting 100 clients to start for next year, including what I already will be doing.

Again, I appreciate your consideration!

[MASTERMOWER]

I know 100 is a bit of a stretch but I like to set the goal high so I am never complacent. I wont do the ziplock deal then I figured it wouldnt be to good.

What would you do to enhance your chances of getting 100 clients to start for next year, including what I already will be doing.

Again, I appreciate your consideration!

Well, you have a plan, most lawn businesses don't.

I don't think you've mentioned your pricing, but if you're priced lower than the majority of the competition you'll easily have lots of work. Problem is, you'll be forced to provide lower quality service. I could easily see 100 the first year if you went this route.

The other route is to charge average pricing and provide about average quality. Once you find clients, ask for them to refer you to others. You might even consider placing signs in their lawns, with their permission. Just don't keep them there for weeks on end. Essentially, I'd think, you'll need to get your name out there and build name recognition quick. Call up your yellowpage companies and get the ball rolling (early). Most of the directories print early, and if I were you, I'd want at least a listing in the yellow pages once you open for business. You'll be pressured into fancy online listing non-sense. This is where they make odles of money. All you need is a simple listing there as well. It will cost you a little, but it's worth it. Obtain a free listing on Google as well. Build your website now and use the domain on every advertising piece. Remember, a website is for further information - it's not to brag about your business and how awesome it is. A website should be treated as informative for your prospective client. Answer questions they might have and tell them how your business will fulfill their needs. Keep the "We's" and the "I's" to an absolute minimum (on any advertising piece).

Read the book Guerrilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levingston. Lots of good stuff therein.

Check out the website www.tightwadmarketing.com

[tke488]

Looks strong to me. Ya might want to invest some of that money into online ads in google and yahoo though.

[Landscape-Houston]

It looks to me that your budget is too high for only 100 clients. Mailing is very expensive. Here in Houston, there are companies that will blanket entire neighborhoods at a rate of about $0.12 per door hanger. They have resources to drop 20,000 in one week at your desired locations. It is much cheaper than mailing. You can do it multiple times during the start of the season to get higher results. The design of the hanger is very important and the timing as well.

Good Luck!
Marvin Solano
Sprinkler Systems in Houston, TX

[GeeVee]

I know 100 is a bit of a stretch but I like to set the goal high so I am never complacent. I wont do the ziplock deal then I figured it wouldnt be to good.

What would you do to enhance your chances of getting 100 clients to start for next year, including what I already will be doing.

Again, I appreciate your consideration!

Start last year with 92 clients.

[GeeVee]

Start last year with 92 clients.

You/re right MM I was mistaken, I should have said start next year with 110.

[LawnBee]

You are looking at 1500$ every time you mail post cards, in stamps alone! With that much money you could build a really good website and sign up for google adsense, which would pull you to the top of the search results. I feel as though you are casting to wide of a net, a very expensive net, into water where you don't know how many fish there are. There are other more feasible methods to advertise. Look into an add on facebook, you can make them specific, so if someone posts "man I hate mowing the lawn" then an add will appear on the right of their screen the next time they log on, AND you can make it specific so that the add only appears to people within a location area.