Summary: If there is one group of local business people I find are constantly hammering me with direct mail marketing material, itâ??s realtors. They really seem to have their act together when it comes to promoting their name and face out to the local community. So lucky me and lucky us when a new Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum member joined up to say hi to everyone and shared with us his story on how he got started with his lawn care business and some marketing secrets he learned as a realtor. Jim: â??Hello Everyone, I just wanted to say hi and introduce myself. Iâ??m just starting my lawn care service and to be honest I am a little nervous. I got here on accident, after being a real estate agent for several years my business was killed with the housing crunch, so I went back to driving truck. I drove truck most of my life, I did network marketing, and then was offered a business cleaning up bank owned homes. Well after you clean them up you also have to provide lawn service. The banks want two cuts a month for $100.00. Right now I have 17 homes, so I decided to expand it to regular homes. I have allot to learn but we are excited and ready to roll.â?? Steve: â??You have a great history. What kinds of things do you feel you are able to bring to your lawn care business from your previous real estate and network marketing business? I am sure you learned a lot of great marketing concepts.â?? Jim: â??Thanks! I learned a lot about marketing in real estate, but the most important thing is you canâ??t beat a referrals from a happy customer!!! When my wife and I started out in real estate we had no budget, so we made up a flyerâ??s that we dropped off on door steps. We picked a good geographic area with 200 homes. We made the flyer with cool and interesting facts. We also included a recipe of the month and what the housing market was doing. People loved it, but you have to know that you must hit a person 6 to 9 times to be noticed and you have to stand out. The fridge magnet is great marketing tool. One of the best fridge magnets I have used is a fridge calender for clients, so your name is always on their mind. Constant contact is key, and follow up with this line: OH BY THE WAYâ?¦ Iâ??m never too busy for your referrals!! Talk to You soonâ?? Great advice from someone who knows what works. If you would like to join in on this discussion further, visit this post at the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum. Try Gopher Lawn Care Business Software http://www.gophersoftware.com Visit the Gopher Lawn Care Business Forum http://www.gopherforum.com
