Commercial contracts and Marketing agencies

Kelvin, we started 40 years ago exclusively with domestic maintenance work, soon realised to earn more than a wage we needed commercial maintenance work/contracts.
Commercial work is not easy to gain. You're competing with the big companies, along with the issue that a company with grounds will automatically have a contractor maintaining those grounds. So you have to be more competitive on price and or offer higher service levels and better horticultural expertise to incentivise that company to change to you.
There's also the issue of credibility if you can't say, for example we've maintained the local Tesco for the last 5 years to prove you have the capability and expertise to maintain large high profile sites.
So how do you get that first contract? Use anybody you know who works at a company with grounds, ask them who do you approach ?
Many of our contracts have been gained in this way through friends and acquaintances either putting in a word with the right person or getting the email of the right person.
Target businesses where you can improve the grounds [ be diplomatic] ! They won't be impressed if you say your grounds are a dog hole!
Look out for new commercial buildings being built, find out who the occupier is going to be and get in there first!
Telephone target businesses, not easy I know but just do one a day or a week. DON'T email or use flyers in our experience they won't work.
Always supply a specification but not too detailed or you'll make a rod for your own back. Agree payment terms in writing.
Hope this helps, good luck.

Replies

Peter sellers November 1, 2022 at 7:47am

Kelvin, we started 40 years ago exclusively with domestic maintenance work, soon realised to earn more than a wage we needed commercial maintenance work/contracts.
Commercial work is not easy to gain. You're competing with the big companies, along with the issue that a company with grounds will automatically have a contractor maintaining those grounds. So you have to be more competitive on price and or offer higher service levels and better horticultural expertise to incentivise that company to change to you.
There's also the issue of credibility if you can't say, for example we've maintained the local Tesco for the last 5 years to prove you have the capability and expertise to maintain large high profile sites.
So how do you get that first contract? Use anybody you know who works at a company with grounds, ask them who do you approach ?
Many of our contracts have been gained in this way through friends and acquaintances either putting in a word with the right person or getting the email of the right person.
Target businesses where you can improve the grounds [ be diplomatic] ! They won't be impressed if you say your grounds are a dog hole!
Look out for new commercial buildings being built, find out who the occupier is going to be and get in there first!
Telephone target businesses, not easy I know but just do one a day or a week. DON'T email or use flyers in our experience they won't work.
Always supply a specification but not too detailed or you'll make a rod for your own back. Agree payment terms in writing.
Hope this helps, good luck.
Peter Cermak November 5, 2022 at 1:48pm

Our biggest individual contact was a massive site where most of the grass was tall enough to hide a ride on and I just walked in and asked if they wanted a gardener. Right time and place.
but most other contacts came via our website. A lot of management companies can be over 100 miles away from a site and if they get let down etc they go online to look. Or at least that's what happened with us.