Total Landscape Care Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/201225
cover story don't have, Vander Vennen recommends finding clients the old-fashioned way: door-to-door advertising, direct mailing and newspaper ads. Tom Canete, president and CEO of Canete Snow and Ice Management in northern New Jersey recommends going door to door throughout a specifically marked area to introduce the company's services. The more clients located in one area, the more the owner will be busy plowing. "You want to be working, not driving," he says. Timing the market is also crucial. Vander Vennen locks down clients in early fall, pointing out residential customers typically won't think about snow when it's a hot summer's day. Commercial clients work on a If long payment turn times are an issue for cash flow, steer clear of commercial clients. different clock, however. "By August, property managers are thinking about snow," Canete says. "By September, it's almost too late, and by November, it's definitely too late." Turner takes a different route to his marketing, preferring to lock down contracts before the end of August when he gets the best rates on salt. This allows him to turn around and pass some of those savings back to his customers. THE RIGHT WAY TO CHARGE Figuring out how much to charge is one thing: Understanding how to charge it is another. Here are some recommended options. Per push means the business owner charges a flat rate to remove a certain snowfall amount. Anything exceeding that amount is charged per inch. Example: An owner charges a client $100 for up to, and including, 4 inches of snow. If one snowfall totals 3 inches, then the rate charged is $100 since the total inches removed fall within the 4 inch range. When a 10-inch snowfall occurs, the driver nets $250 where $100 is charged for the initial 4 inches, plus $25 per inch during the original 4-inch range: $100 for 4 inches, plus $25 x 6 inches equals $250. A common approach with commercial property managers, per-event charges attempt to balance out the varying levels of snow an area might receive during the winter months with the charges incurred. For example, a customer agrees to pay X dollars 18 To t a l L a n d s c a p e C a r e . com N O V E M B E R 2 013 for snowfall measuring between 4 and 7 inches of snow, a higher rate for a snow fall measuring between 8 and 10 inches and another higher rate for any storms dumping more than 10 inches of snow at a time. Hourly rates apply to each piece of snow-removal equipment used (such as a plow, snow blower or hand salting) per hour of use. Seasonal charges are flat rates covering the entire winter. Depending on where the business is located, some owners will hedge their seasonal contracts by including a snowfall cap or charges for extra services like salting. For example, a client agrees to pay a negotiated dollar amount for the entire 2013 winter season, plus X amount for salting. But if the total amount of snowfall exceeds a certain amount, say 40 inches, the customer will pay an additional flat fee to cover the greater-than-expected snow-removal costs.