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Good luck, any tips please pass my way!
Commercial covers many different fields, from the local doctor or block of four flats, up to massive multi-site contracts. I think the first thing is to ensure you know exactly what you want, and what you can offer, and then plough through the local businesses to find the right people to talk to.
Professionalism is key: even the most basic commercial contract will expect you to show all the right insurances and certs, and to understand simple risk-assesments.
Don't discount domestic clients going to yearly contracts (by which I guess you mean regular payments spread over 12 months). Some will never get it, but many prefer it and it works for both of you. Loads of threads on this subject if you do a search.
There's plenty on here about this subject, there's one from just a few days ago, so have a look back.
Something to remember is that 'the garden contract' will not be their core business and to many businesses it is an irritation, an unnecessary expense and they don't want any hassle. As long as the garden is 'done' they are happy, which is one of the reasons it can be hard to break in. HOWEVER nicely tended grounds are sometimes the first impression someone gets of a company. It is our job to put this point over and once you have a contract(I know it sounds obvious), service it.....and a little bit more. Do that and I have found that business customers to be very loyal.......and ignore new approaches.......which where we came in!
Make sure 'your' gardens stand out - good examples, good recommendations and professionalism are priceless when tendering. If you have none of these you will struggle.
long time ago i was asked to tender for around 120 sites over the uk for national grid - the reason for this was that the guy i was working for knew the guy putting out the tenders and that was our way in.
a guy i knew was a school caretaker, i got to tender for his school grounds and a friend who owns an estate agents asked me to look at maintaining the grounds of a block of flats they looked after
and i wasn't even actively looking for any of this work.
who do you know? do you know someone who knows someone?
personal connections are miles better than fishing with letters.
it could surprise you who you know when you start to think of it and ask around.
as for approaching those you don't know, first thing is to identify sites, find out when they renew their contracts and diary them for attention nearer the time.
a while back, i was doing some parish councils, used to have a few contracts with them - find out when they renewed and ask to be allowed to tender, simple enough.
dear sirs,
Josephs landscape services operates a professional commercial landscape maintenance service throughout the local area. We are always looking to take on new contracts as our business expands and would be pleased to quote for your grounds maintenance at your 'abbey road' and 'cavern club' sites when these contracts are up for renewal.
we are of course fully insured, certified for pesticide application and licensed as waste carriers, our aim is to provide a discreet, cost effective and trouble free service to all of our customers.
If you would care to advise us as to when your tendering process begins, then we will be in touch at that time to obtain the necessary information to tender, or should you be interested in talking to us sooner, we can visit to discuss or tender for the work at your convenience.
that'd be my first draft, then kick it around and make it more readable - keep it short, not too wordy and get to the point quickly