When the grass stops growing, so does your revenue… unless, you start offering fall landscaping services for this time of year.
For many landscaping and lawn care owners, fall and winter are surprisingly the most lucrative seasons of the year.
It’s the perfect time to market and upsell more expensive fall landscaping maintenance.
Here’s a quick list of fall landscaping services sure to increase revenue this fall and winter:
Fall cleanups are the first thing that comes to most landscapers' minds.Here, you’re mostly interested in freshening up the client’s property.
For example:
Fall cleanups are big money-makers before the new year. Plus, they’re easy to sell, if you use the right upsell strategies.
In the Northern US and Canada, snow comes early.
There are several businesses built entirely on snow removal. However, it can be pretty hard when you’re first getting started.
For snow plowing, get a plow on your truck, fit some snow tires, and sign up for insurance.
Alternatively, you can start with residential snow shoveling and sell fall landscaping services from door to door.
Either way, the key to success in the snow industry is to be SAFE and RELIABLE.
Snow storms are unpredictable, which means you need to always be ready.If correctly done, you will notice a significant increase in revenue.
Designing, installing, and upkeeping are essentially the only things to worry about with holiday lighting and decorations.
With a few ladders, and a good eye for what looks good, you can start holiday lighting in no time.
Holiday lighting and decorations are one of those fun fall and winter landscaping services where businesses have the power to make an abundance of money on.
If you can figure out the right pricing model for this fall landscaping service, you can make more money in the fall than any other time of year.
Take a look at a few of the many holiday services to offer clients:
Plus, here are a few holidays for decorations and lighting:
Though, keep in mind if you decide to offer Christmas light installation services, most clients want their decorations finished before Thanksgiving - so the whole family can see it.
As a result, you’ll need to get started with Christmas lights in the early fall to provide enough time to finish installations.
Winter’s wrath doesn’t care how expensive your sprinkler system is. In other words, the cold will break the pipes… unless you properly winterize .
Winterization for irrigation systems is a fantastic fall landscaping service to upsell to existing clients. Plus, it's a good way to pick up new clients unfamiliar with the area.
Here’s what this fall landscaping service typically includes:
Scorching summers are detrimental to the health of your lawn.
However, that crispy-fried grass is actually the sound of opportunity knocking.
As a lawn care professional, it’s your job to fix your client’s worn-out, brown-spotted lawns.
Use fall aeration and overseeding to help thicken up the grass and prepare it for harsh winters.
Gardens and flowers need special attention in the fall to survive the weather change.
In many cases, you'll need to cut annual plants down to the ground to prevent them from dying during the winter.
Remember, flower garden cleanups are about presentation and good health.
Remove the diseased plants, then prepare the healthy ones to survive the winter and look beautiful come spring. Though, you may need to cover up some plants.
Plus, you can turn this service into a natural upsell by installing autumn flowers - which brings us to our next service…
There’s something nostalgic and exciting when new seasonal flowers are installed.
In fact, many clients love seasonal flowers so much that they don’t mind paying a little extra to have a landscaper plant them to look professional.
Since many homeowners are worried about entertaining and impressing family and friends during the holidays, flowers are the perfect fall landscaping upsell.
Fertilization and weed control warrants a new level of caution as this service is largely based on the grass type you’re treating.
Remember, warm-season versus cold-season grasses require different fertilization times.
Fertilization and weed control is a big upsell and can be very beneficial with a sizable increase in your profit-to-work ratio.
Also, this fall landscaping service has a small window, so you may need to get a headstart on fertilization before it’s too late.
However, the “small window” can also be beneficial, as it’s easier to create a “deadline rush” when you start marketing for fall landscaping.
Just because the weather is cooling off, doesn’t mean the bugs disappear.
A change in season is the perfect time to market your pest control services.
In addition, rodents are more noticeable during the colder months - making the fall and winter period perfect for this fall landscaping service.
After all, rodents and insects love to find their way indoors when it starts to get cold.
Use the fear factor strategy to market this fall lawn maintenance service.
In turn, clients will be more likely to buy into this fall service to eliminate or prevent a rodent problem.
September through December has distinct advantages to planting trees and shrubs.
If you work where temperatures rarely dip below 40 (like in the South), then tree and shrub planting is a fantastic fall landscaping service to upsell.
Always remember, fall is NOT a good time to prune and trim larger plants.
For deck, driveway and gutter cleanings, you don’t need much more than a pressure washer and a ladder.
Due to the relatively low cost of a pressure washer and ladder, these are relatively simple fall lawn maintenance services to tap into.
In other words, if you’re hurting for cash and want to keep your team active, these are great services to try out.
However, trash can cleaning is actually a very serious fall maintenance service.
Some landscaping businesses attach rigs to the back of their trucks or rent out an entirely new vehicle.
In general, your goal here is to provide a fresh and new feeling for clients.
For example, sanding down rough spots on decks and pulling out the rotted wood, or removing the built-up grime that accumulates on their driveway are all profitable fall landscaping services.
Fall is the perfect time to sell these landscaping services. After all, you’re the perfect person to do it because your clients already recognize you as their outdoor expert.
Instant invoicing
Better scheduling
Manage your clients and employees all in one system
With these useful fall landscaping services at your disposal, there should be no limit to the work you can sell in the fall.
Whether you live in the north or south, you can keep your teams productive by taking advantage of these services.
Now, you can use these add-on fall landscaping services to help guarantee consistent, year-round revenue!
Related: How to Upsell Your Lawn and Landscape Services
Originally published Oct 1, 2019 2:33 PM, updated Oct 27, 2021 11:12 AM
Tags: Business Operation
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