One of the most common complaints I hear these days from small businesses struggling to grow is that they can’t get anymore customers because they’re up against others that are willing to sell the exact same service at a cheaper price. 

For example, what one hard working lawn care operator charges for a typical cut, edging, and blow, a potential customer might be able to get the exact same service for almost half the price from the kid down the street that’s simply trying to earn a few extra bucks.

So what can a serious-about-growth business owner do to overcome this challenge without resorting to low-ball pricing tactics?

Well, the first thing that needs to happen is they need to understand that if the only differentiating factor is the price, then prospects will ALWAYS go with the cheaper service.  Again referring to the previous example, because there’s nothing that separates the two options the prospect has to choose from, they will almost always select the cheaper option.

Do you really expect to spend more for the exact same service?

So, the key to overcoming this pricing challenge and eliminating the discussion of price is to differentiate your products and services in the eyes of your potential customers.

Now, there are countless ways you can differentiate your business from your competition, but here are 7 specific ways you can very quickly set yourself apart from your competition and eliminate the need to compete on price:

1.       Add more value to your products or services.

Adding additional services such as free mulch or pine straw in flower beds, free shrub trimmings, or free lawn stripping is a great way to differentiate you from your competition.  While these services do add to your overhead, the cost should be minimal and the amount of new business you gain because of them should more than outweigh the additional expenses you incur.

2.       Exceptional customer service

In today’s marketplace, customer service is severely lacking.  So by going above and beyond by providing post service summaries, or by walking your customers property once a month, or by returning customer phone calls within 1 hour will go a long way towards differentiating you from your competition.

3.       Become a specialist

People like to work with THE BEST.  They like to know they have the most qualified person on the job, so by focusing on one area and becoming a specialist in that specific area, the process of selling your service becomes infinitely easier.

As an example, if a prospect is interested in having an irrigation system installed, your chances of landing the job are must better if your specialty is irrigation, instead of being a lawn care guy that also provides irrigation install services.

4.       Provide one-stop solution

Now, while this goes against #3 above, it can also be a great differentiating feature if you can take care of ALL your prospects needs.  That way, they don’t have to worry about going through the hassle of finding another service professional because they can get all their problems handled by you.

An example of this might be a full service lawn care company that in addition to the typical mow and go services, also offers fertilization, weed control, pest control, as well as plant maintenance services.

5.       Specialized training or certifications

People prefer to work with experts and even though you may think specialized training or certifications are ‘no big deal’, your prospects view these as ‘seals of approval’ so don’t be shy about letting them know of any extra education or training you might have.

6.       Relationship or affinity

If you really don’t have anything that differentiates you from your competition, you might consider tapping into a special relationship you have with your prospects.  Even though this isn’t the strongest method of differentiation, people still prefer to do business with people they like and if you have something in common with them, it may very well be enough to give you the edge over your competition.

An example of this might be the simple fact you’re a ‘local’.  Many people are loyal to their community so the fact you’ve been doing business there for the past X number of years could be a compelling reason to select you.

7.       Risk reversal

Buying anything involves risk and it causes concern with everyone.  In fact, it’s because of this that most people buy based on price because the cheapest option typically involves the least amount of risk. 

Well, when you offer things that help remove the risk like satisfaction guarantees, bonuses, or premiums, you eliminate much of this concern, which in turn helps prospects to make the buying decision much easier.

So, if you find yourself struggling to win new business because you’re losing customers to the low cost, low quality alternatives, examine your offering and see if you can’t differentiate it better using any of these 7 steps.

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Using time tested, proven direct response marketing principles, Chestin Salisbury and Lawn Care Marketing Magic have the tools, resources, insights, and information required to help any green industry business cheaply acquire more new customers, effectively hold onto the ones they have, and effortlessly convert these customers into raving, loyal-for-life fans.

 

You can claim a FREE copy of the informative reports, ‘7 Steps to Dominating Your Target Market in 21 Days or Less’ by visiting www.FREELawnCareMarketingSecrets.com.

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If you want to really jack up the responses you get from your marketing materials, make sure they ALWAYS have:

1. A strong, compelling headline that grabs the attention of your prospect and pulls them into your message
2. Compelling benefits that are relevant to your prospects.   They don’t care about you, so be sure to tell them about all the benefits they’ll get by selecting you.
3. Make them a valuable offer.  Give them a reason to pick up the phone or log onto your website to get more information.
4. Include a strong call to action.  Tell them exactly what they need to do to respond and when they need to do it.  Don’t assume it’s obvious what your prospect should do.
5. Provide 3rd party proof such as testimonials, ‘Before & After’ photos,  endorsements, or  some other tool whereby other people brag about your services.  It will carry much more weight if someone other than you is saying how great your service is.
6. Offer some type of risk reversal such as a satisfaction guarantee, bonuses, or premiums to help your prospects feel like you’ve taken away all the risk of buying.  Do this and the barriers to buying will disappear.
7. Create urgency in order to eliminate procrastination.  Tell them you have a limited number of service packages available, or let them know they need to call by a certain date in order to qualify for the bonuses or premiums.

Be sure to include these important elements in your next sales letter, flyer, postcard, or door hanger and I GUARANTEE you’ll see your results sky rocket.

I get asked this question all the time, “Why don’t your materials have lots of whitespace and pretty pictures?  It just seems like there’s a whole lot of text.  Isn’t it TOO much text and will people read it?”

The truth of the matter is that most of the marketing you see has lots of whitespace, uses a logo at the very top, lists features not benefits, and very RARELY has an offer and associated call to action.  As a result, most people think this is what good marketing is SUPPOSSED to look like.

Well don’t let ‘em fool ya!

The whole point of marketing is to begin a conversation and in most cases, your marketing materials are basically your sales force in print.  Now, would you send your best salesman out the door  and tell him, “You can’t say any more than 250 words.”  Of course not!  So why would you restrict the amount of text you put on your marketing materials?

And don’t worry about putting too much text.  As long as you’ve got something interesting and compelling to say to your prospect,  it won’t be too much.  The people that think it’s too much really aren’t good candidates for what you’re offering anyway.

So, as you work on your Spring marketing materials, use good marketing principles and get out of the trap most postcard vendors want you buy into.

Listen to this short message to get my answer to the 1st marketing question.

 

As you hopefully know by now, I’ll be hosting a FREE one-time teleseminar to answer all the dozens and dozens of questions I’ve received over the past few weeks in response to my question, “What’s your biggest marketing challenge?”

Now, as much as I’d love to answer each question individually, it just isn’t possible due to the number of questions I received. So what I’ve done is grouped all the questions into 10 questions which I’ll be answering in detail on the FREE teleseminar tomorrow at 12pm EST/9am EST.

In fact, with these 10 questions I’ll be giving you very specific, step-by-step action steps you can take to very quickly overcome these marketing challenges you’re facing. And once you get off the call, you’ll have the knowledge needed to begin taking action IMMEDIATELY.

Of course with dozens and dozens of questions to choose from, it’s inevitable that some of them won’t be answered. Unfortunately. However, in an effort to answer as many questions as possible AND to give you a sneak peek of what you can expect on the call tomorrow, I’ve recorded a quick audio message where I answer one of the questions I’ve received.

Have a listen below.

Finally, here are all the details for tomorrow’s call:

EVENT: Lawn Care Marketing Questions Answered
DATE & TIME: Saturday, March 22nd at 12:00pm Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)

Get All the Details Right Here:

http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=2320761

Okay, we all know it’s not really Christmas, but I absolutely LOVE the NCAA tournament.  Especially the first couple days when the big upsets happen.  I just love seeing the underdogs taking down the big guys.

In fact, that’s one of the reasons I absolutely love what I do so much.  I love being able to help so many businesses grow from struggling to profitable. 

And much like the game of basketball, the teams that win aren’t necessarily the favorites.  Many times, the team that ends up winning is the team that plays to their strengths and plays sound, fundamental basketball. 

It’s the same thing in business.  Winning requires a combination of knowing the fundamentals, having a plan in place, and having the discipline to stick to the plan.

And in order to help as many businesses as possible understand the fundamentals, establish a plan, and hopefully develop the discipline necessary, I’ll be hosting a value-packed tele-seminar on Saturday.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve received dozens and dozens of responses to my question, “What’s your biggest marketing challenge?” and as much as I’d LOVE to answer them individually, I just don’t have the time.  So I’ve decided to do the next best thing.

So, this Saturday at 12:00pm EST I’ll be hosting a 60-90 minute tele-seminar where I’ll answer the 10 most commonly asked questions.  Now, if you have ANY questions at all about what you should be doing to market your business better in order to grow it as rapidly as possible than you most definitely do NOT want to miss this.

Here’s just a sample of some of the questions I’ll be answering:

• How do I differentiate myself from the competition?
• How do I get a good list of names?
• What should I include on my flyers or sales letters?
• How can I convince people to switch service providers?
• What’s the most important element of successful marketing?

Again, this is just a sample.  I still haven’t decided which 10 questions I’m going to answer so if you haven’t sent me yours yet, it’s not too late, but you’ve gotta hurry.

Now, I would normally put up a registration page for this call, but because I want as many people as possible on the call, I decided against the registration page.  I figure you’re either on my list already, or you’ll like the information enough you’ll want to get more of it.

Here’s the information you’ll need to access the call this Saturday at 12:00pmEST/9amPST:

Phone-Number to Dial:  218-486-3696
Use Conference ID:  778028#

You can also listen online right here:  http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=2320761

So, if you’re serious about making 2008 your best year ever, or if you’re ready to take things up a few levels and do it fast and furious, you NEED to be on this call.  I’m going to give you step-by-step instructions to help you zip past your competition like they’re standing still.

DO NOT MISS THIS CALL!

Anyway, I’m very excited about this opportunity to do this because I could tell after reading all the hundreds of questions that there are many, many people in need to this information.

Again, the call will begin promptly at 12:00pmEST/9amPST so mark it on your calendar RIGHT NOW!

And don’t worry about missing any of the NCAA tournament games because they don’t start until later that afternoon.  Besides, this call will help you grow your business in no-time flat.  And watching basketball will just make you sweat your bracket more than you already are!