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Hi Piers - Ive sold up and retired now... but I grew the business by using Bark.com. Yes there was a FB and Insta presence, but nothing pushy - and a great deal of caution about replying to FB enquiries - normally someone with a wee estate garden full of dog s**t and wanting the world for a ridiculously low price. I got a slick but small website made up lots of pics of big gardens looking lovely - then used Bark.
I went for the opportunities that specified large garden - and were typically a large number of credits - It goes without saying you need to be reviewed, and be pretty near 5*.
When I found someone of interest, I'd send them a link to the web site and then go along - 2 of the 4 really big gardens I had were advertised by the families PA, they were the main gate keeper - meeting the family was secondary to getting the work. The other 2 were advertised by the owners - I still keep one going 22 acres, 5 acres of formal gardens - it keeps me fit and out of trouble :) - 6 days a month in the summer, 8 days a month in the winter..(fencing and major renovation of beds means theres more to do in the winter). Out of interest 3 of the 4 were all in the same village - so I could easily reference my work from one to the next.
THe one I still have was started when the previous owner was desperate to sell the house..... and needed it smartening up, then I stayed on.... its been 6 years there now !! Since then I have been approached by the likes of Savilles (who sold the house I still look after... and knew I was there tidying things up) and Strutt & Parker, to smarten up gardens for them when they are trying to sell places..... I haven't done any of those... but maybe that is another way into the big gardens?
Good luck
Adam
My work in larger gardens came about once I'd established myself in smaller gardens and my name was passed on.
Sometimes you simply have to just advertise in your nearest affluent area if these are your target customers .
My first one was via recommendation fortunately which worked out but others were acquired via advertising in target areas when I was feeling ambitious , some were keepers but others were awful learning curves ,One or two were too far to travel realistically .
Mixed feelings personally whilst they make good bread and butter clients sometimes I found i was making life hard for myself and there were easier options doing more mid range gardens where the maths added up and less investment in machinery .
yes i find smaller to medium sized ones better, it also helps if your role is clearly defined as to what tasks the client expects you to do, in a big place there is always more work that has to be left until another time, potentially leading to customer dis satisfaction, I had one I had to let go as they would lose interest in the garden due to other projects, then another time expect it to look great, as if you can switch these things on and off, during Covid they decided to do more of it themselves and weeds proliferated, 1 weed soon becomes 100, then 1000, they were oblivious until it became a massive problem and therefore my fault. Another big garden that I dodged a bullet on, the guy mis-understood how I operate and said that there would be painting to do in the house during the winter months, etc., not something I want to do whatsoever, luckily when he asked my "hourly rate" and I told him to his face he practically fell over and that was the end of the "interview", they weren't bad people but thought anyone in this line of work basically a dogs body
The best way is to walk or drive around the area & look for gardens that would benefit from your services. Make notes then write a personal letter to each one mentioning something about their garden. Post the letter through their letter box.
Yes it's time cosuming but highly effective.
Thanks for your response. Have you actually tried this??
Hi Piers
Have used this approach myself with varying degrees of success until I established a regular customer base and no longer had the need to advertise .
First off the positive results contributed to me establishing that customer base I eventually found a customer by posting a nice card through the door of a neglected property who became a catalyst in introducing me to some other reliable clients .
The negative putting a nice card through the letterbox of a big neglected garden you can be setting yourself up to fail as you may quickly learn why that garden is neglected , the potential client might struggle to retain gardeners for various reasons .
If they have contacted you via an advert at least it gives you the opportunity to screen your potential clients before you agree to anything but introducing yourself can be like shooting yourself in the foot as you are more or less committed from the offset .
However there are obvious clients to seek out if you hear their regular gardener has retired or moved away ,always worth putting your name forward .
Also there is the other sort of response some people may be suspicious of you posting cards which happened to me when the guy asked "if you are so good why are you pestering me and not inandauted with work ",? It can knock the ego slightly until you try and explain you are expanding into the area and have capacity .
For us, it's a no brainer to be on Google. So many people now will use Google to search for a trades person. It's free to be listed on there and when we relocated our business due to a house move, it brought in the most work out of all the avenues we used. All the other suggestions are good too, but definitely get on there when you can.