Offer to Plant Trees in Your Customer's Yard

The other day, my dad, mom and I were sitting at our dining room table eating breakfast. My dad was telling my mom about how there were a lot of new maple saplings sprouting up in our yard, and that he was going to have to take them out.

While listening to this conversation, I saw an opportunity: offer to plant those trees in my customer's yards.

I talked to my dad about it, and he said it would be fine if I did that. I already knew how to replant a tree, seeing as we had replanted a few last year. (More on how to replant a tree later in the post.)

I wrote an email pitching the offer to my clients. It looked like the following:

Hi, this is Ben. I have a few maple trees that have sprouted up in my yard, and was wondering if you would like J and I to plant one of them in your yard.

These are just young saplings, and might not survive. If they don't live, we would give you a full refund.

Just wondering if you wanted another tree or two in your yard. (:

- Ben

I sent it individually, and personalized each message. Notice how I offered a full refund if the saplings did not survive. It is important to give your customers security if they are paying you to do a job.

Out of the four clients my buddy and I mow, I sent the offer to two. Of the two I didn't pitch the offer to, one doesn't communicate by email, and the other is temporarily renting their house.

Both my offers were rejected-- neither of the two customers needed more trees in their yard.

Although my plan didn't work out as hoped, I have learned a couple of things from it:

Don't be afraid to offer

Just because your customer rejects the offer you make doesn't mean that you will lose their business or the customer-service provider relationship you have developed with them.

Be on the lookout for opportunities to further your business

Just learning a small tidbit, like the fact that you have extra saplings in your yard, could help you to provide another service to your customers and to help your business make more money. Always be looking for new ways to help your customers with their lawns: this will turn into cash for your business.

Nick Tart told me recently that Emil Motycka has 40 lawns this summer. (Stay tuned! Emil has agreed to answer a set of interview questions from me, so there should be a post about this coming up in the near future.) Now, if I had 40 lawns, I bet I would have gotten a much better return on my offer than 0%. But you know what? This experience just motivates me to want to grow my business even more. Maybe one day, the same offer will boost my earnings quite a bit.

The post isn't over yet. Although I have told you my own story about offering to plant trees in my customer's yard, I haven't actually told you how to do it. Well, here we are:

How to Replant a Sapling

Important tools:

Shovel
Wheel barrow

Steps

1. Dig a wide hole around the roots of the sapling. Do not break or cut the roots.

2. Place the sapling with the dirt in the roots into a wheelbarrow. Put dirt around the roots in the wheelbarrow.

3. Slog your way to the place where you will plant the tree with your wheel barrow and the shovel.

4. Dig a hole half again or two times larger than the roots.

5. Place the tree in the hole. Make sure you fill in the area around the roots with nutrient-rich topsoil, because then the tree will have a greater likelihood of surviving.

6. The tree has been planted. Congratulate yourself on a job well done. Advise your customer to water the sapling often.

Conclusion

If you have a few extra saplings sprouting up in your yard, it can't hurt to offer to plant them in the yards of your customers. Offering won't hurt your relationship, and it presents a chance of furthering your business.

Labels: business, services, Spring/Summer