While the grass stops growing in fall, you might be wondering what do lawn care companies do in the winter.
The good news is that there is still a MASSIVE opportunity to grow your revenue with fall landscaping.
For many landscaping and lawn care owners, fall and winter are actually the richest seasons of the year.
Here’s a quick list of services that will make you a ton of money this fall and winter:
Instant invoicing
Better scheduling
Manage your clients and employees all in one system
Fall cleanups and leaf removal are some of the most popular fall landscaping services for the fall and winter months.
They typically include
Fall Cleanups are big money-makers before the new year, and can be an easy upsell on top of regular lawn or landscaping jobs.
In the Northern U.S. and Canada, the snow comes early and can be part of your fall landscaping offerings.
Plus it is pretty easy to transition your lawn care crew to snow removal services.
For snow plowing: get a plow on your truck, fit some ice-ready tires, and sign up for insurance.
Or you can start with residential snow shoveling, and sell your services from door to door.
Either way, the key to success in the snow industry is to be SAFE, reliable, and have the right equipment.
Snow storms are unpredictable, which means you need to always be ready.
You and your crew will have to be comfortable with working long and unusual hours after a snow storm... But this can make you extra money!
“Tis the season… to make money.”
Holiday decorations and lighting installations are one of those strange services that some companies make "oodles" of money from.
Seriously, if you can figure out the right model for this service, you will make more money in the Fall than any other time of year.
Popular holiday decor can include:
Most clients want their decorations finished before Thanksgiving (so the whole family can see it), so you may need to hop on this one ASAP.
Winterization for irrigation systems is a fantastic service to upsell to existing clients or even a good way to pick up new clients who are new to the area.
It’s an easy sell - you should warn your clients of what can happen when irrigation systems freeze (and the costs they would have to pay!).
Here’s what the service usually includes:
Scorching summers do terrible things to lawns.
But that crispy-fried grass is actually the sound of opportunity knocking for fall landscaping services.
As a lawn care professional, you can fix your client’s worn-out, brown-spotted lawns.
Fall aeration and overseeding will thicken up the grass, and prepare it for harsh winters.
Gardens and flowers still need to be weeded and are a big part of fall landscaping.
And, in many cases, you might need to cut annuals down to the ground to keep them from dying in the winter.
Flower garden cleanups are about presentation and good health.
Remove the diseased plants, and prepare the healthy ones so they can survive the winter, and look beautiful come spring.
You might even need to cover up some plants too.
Knowledge of what different plants need is important here… You may need to do some extra research!
In addition to cleaning up gardens and flowers as part of fall landscaping, you can also install flowers.
Flowers are the perfect upsell this time of year, as most homeowners are thinking about entertaining (and impressing) their in-laws for the holidays.
But of course, be sure to research which types of flowers do well in the fall. Here are a few:
Fertilization and weed control are the perfect additions to your fall landscaping lineup.
Just remember that warm-season vs. cold-season grasses will need different fertilization times.
This is a big upsell and can make you a very sizable chunk of profit-to-work ratio.
It also has a small window, so you may need to jump on fertilization before it’s too late.
However, the “small window” can work towards your benefit, as it’s easier to create a “deadline rush” when you market this landscaping service.
Here’s an in-depth guide from Pennington on how to get started with this service.
Just because the weather is cooling off, doesn’t mean the bugs disappear.
A change in seasons is the perfect time to advertise your pest control services, especially for rodents.
Remember to double-check and make sure that you have the right certifications to offer pest control services.
Tree and shrub planting is a fantastic fall service to sell, especially if you work in the South where temperatures rarely dip below 40.
Remember, Fall is NOT a good time to prune and trim larger plants.
A pressure washer and a ladder can be a simple and inexpensive way to boost your fall landscaping services.
These basic tools are enough to powerwash decks, spruce up driveways, gutter cleaning, and even clean trash cans (which can be its own service altogether).
In general, your goal here is to provide a “Fresh and New” feeling for your clients.
This could mean sanding down rough spots on decks and pulling out the rotted wood, or removing the built-up grime that accumulates on their driveway.
No matter what pressure washing services you provide, this is also a great opportunity to get some amazing before and after pictures for your marketing!
With these 11+ services at your disposal, you can sell and make more money with your fall landscaping services.
Whether you live in the South or the North, there’s always work you can sell to keep your teams productive.
These “add on” services are guaranteed to make you money when you price them right.
So get out there, and keep growing!
Related: How to Upsell Your Lawn and Landscape Services
Originally published Sept 21, 2017 6:00 AM, updated Nov 22, 2023 11:12 AM
Tags: Business Operation
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