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Did you know that your next sale is probably already in your phone? It's not a new Facebook ad or Google campaign or a door hanger or even a networking event. It's probably sitting in your customer list right now. And before this episode's over, I'm going to give you five simple text messages that you could send today that would create more revenue, more referrals and more opportunities without spending a dime on advertising.
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Today's episode is brought to you by Yardbook, the all in one CRM for your lawn care business. And as an exclusive partner of this podcast, you can get started today and begin simplifying your business and maximizing your profits. Sign up now@yardbook.com the link is in. The show notes Time now for Profits with Paycheck, an essential podcast for you in the green industry who are looking to unlock the full potential of your business. Hosted by John Pajak, your certified financial coach, the show features in depth discussions with successful entrepreneurs, thought leaders and industry experts providing practical advice and proven strategies strategies on financial planning, operations, marketing and sales. Profits with Paycheck has valuable insights and action steps that you can implement today for creating long term success. Now here's John Pak.
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Welcome to Profits with Paycheck, the podcast we dive into business strategies and financial insights for the green industry. I'm your host, John Pajak and today I want to talk about something that most business owners get backwards. And that's we, you know, a lot of us, we spend an incredible amount of time chasing strangers. You know, we obsess over over Facebook ads, Google Ads. You know, we work on our SEO or we pay somebody to do it. We have direct mail and door hangers and networking groups and we use lead services. And don't get me wrong, there is a time and a place for all those things. But what amazes me is how many business owners are willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars trying to convince a stranger to trust them while completely ignoring the people who already do. Now think about that. You've already paid to acquire your current customers. You've already earned their trust. You've already proven yourself and you've already crossed the hardest bridge in business yet. Most contractors spend more time trying to find new customers than serving and communicating with the ones that they already have. And that's what today's episode's about. You know, I'm going to give you five simple text messages that could really strengthen some relationships, uncover opportunities, help you generate referrals, and potentially create revenue this week. And the best part, every one of you could do this before the end of the day. So let's, you know, before we jump into the text themselves, let's talk about trust. You know, imagine two people. The first is a complete stranger. They've never heard of you. They don't know your reputation. They don't know your quality. They don't know whether you'll answer the phone or even if you're going to show up. Now imagine the second person. They've already hired you. They've already paid you. They've seen your work, they already know your character. Who would you rather sell to? Well, for me, the answer is pretty obvious. Yet most business owners, they spend half of all their marketing energy focused on strangers. Now that sounds kind of crazy, you know, because their current customer list basically just sits untouched. It's like, oh, I got a new customer. Okay, let's go get some new ones. No, let's work on that customer list. Let's. Because your customer list is one of the most valuable assets that you have in your business and you need to treat it that way. So let's go over the texts. Okay, cut right to the chase. The first one is a very simple text. It's just a check in text, you know, and as example, you know, like, hi, Sarah, you know, hope you're doing well. I wanted to check in to see if anything around the property we could help with this season. You know, whether it's lawn treatments, aeration, overseeding, fleet and tick control or anything else you've been considering, just let me know. We'd be happy to help. Okay. Now notice what I did there. I mentioned a few services, not because I'm trying to blast them with a sales pitch. And it's not because I'm trying to send them a giant menu of everything we offer. The goal is to start a conversation. And here's the lessons. Most of your customers, they don't know everything that you do. They know the service that they currently buy from you, but that might be it. If you fertilize their lawn, they may have no idea that you offer aeration overseeding. You know, if you're a landscaper, they may not know that you install drainage systems. You know, if you're an irrigation contractor, they may not know that you perform repairs and upgrades. A tree company, they may not know that you provide plant healthcare. They might only think that you trim trees and bushes and things like that. You know, we assume customers know our services because we think about our business every single day. They don't. You know, they're Busy living their lives. And sometimes all they need is a reminder. Not a sales pitch, just a simple reminder. And I've seen contractors uncover thousands of dollars in additional work simply because they reminded customers what they already offered. So don't assume that your customers know everything that you do. You gotta remind em. All right, so now we. Let's move into the second text, right? We got the. I like to call this one the future project text, and that's what it's actually called in our company. But this one is about getting ahead of opportunities. And, you know, it could be something like, hey, Mike, quick question. Do you have any projects planned around the property over the next six to 12 months? If so, I'd be happy to help put together a plan for you. Now, this text works because most property owners are thinking about future projects long before they take action. You know, maybe they're considering a patio or they want to renovate their lawn. You know, maybe there's. Maybe they're not really thinking and go, oh, drainage work. But, you know, they go, man, this has to get done. We got a big old puddle in the backyard every time it rains, and we can't even enjoy the yard for, like, a week, so we got to get that fixed, right? Or maybe they're planning a landscape renovation for next spring. And the thing is, the contractor who gets involved early often gets a job not because they had the lowest price, but because they were part of the conversation first. So that's a really nice, simple way to get ahead of things. And, I mean, what. It's a text, right? Takes just a minute or two. Now, this next one is the referral text. Okay. When most businesses. I don't know why some. Maybe it's just me, but if it's you two, then, you know, let's talk about it real quick. Sometimes, you know, as owners, sometimes we're shy or maybe we forget, or we just expect somebody to refer us by default. And, you know, most of us want referrals. We want people just like our current customers to work, you know, work with them and work with people that are like them. And the crazy thing is, most of us business owners, we. A lot of the times, we very rarely ask for them. So here's a text I came up with that is actually shown some pretty good feedback. You know, it could sound like this. It could be like, hey, Tom, I appreciate the opportunity to work with you. If you know anyone who could benefit from our services, I'd be grateful for an introduction. Okay. That's it. It's real simple, professional. There's no gimmicks, there's no pressure. And a lot of times your happiest customers are often willing to help you. They just need to be asked. And before, I used to have a whole thing where it's like, hey, if you could refer people to us, we'll give you, you know, we do have a referral program, but I find that a lot of times if I try to preface it with that, it sounds salesy and all that stuff. This, I'm telling you, it's like three little lines. You know, you, you throw that out there and you get a good response. That's what I've been finding. And again, you want to make sure that these are personalized. These aren't like a blast of big bulk texting thing. You know, Yardbook. We have the ability in Yardbook to do like big bulk texting and all that stuff, but it's not personalized. You know, in this case, I don't want to send it out to my entire list. I'm looking, I'm, I don't want to get overwhelmed with things in the first place. I just want to ask, you know, a handful of people at one time, you know, so it might sit there for 15 minutes to text, you know, five clients, 10 clients, whatever it might be, and then also be available to respond to that text. So have that in mind too, when you're, when you're sending these things out. Back when I was getting my lawn care business off the ground, I was juggling routes, invoices, and customer notes with paper and prayers. It was chaos until I found Yardbook. Yardbook gave me the structure. It helped me track chemicals, route efficiently, invoice faster, and most importantly, it helped me grow a profitable business. If you're tired of duct taping your systems Together, go to yardbook.com and sign up for free. And if you're ready to go premium, use promo code PAYJACK to get your first 30 days on me. If you've been thinking about attending Equip Expo this October, don't wait. Right now, registration is only $30. And when you use promo code PAYJACK, you're going to get your ticket for just $15. But here's what most people don't realize. Registration jumps to $60 after September 10th. And if you wait until the show starts in October, you're going to pay 120 bucks at the gate. Why spend $120 for something you can lock in today for 15 bucks? Equip Expo is the biggest event in the green industry, you're going to get access to three days of exhibits, education, networking, outdoor demos and free parking at the Kentucky Expo center. Head over to Quip Expo.com use promo code PAYJACK and I'll see you in Louisville this October.
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Are you mowing lawns, running crews, and still wondering where all the money went? You're not alone. Naylor Taliaferro of LCR Media has been there, and that's exactly why he created Profit Accelerator Live. Join Naylor and expert speakers John Pajac and Eric Triplett for two powerful days of hands on workshops designed specifically for lawn care and landscaping business owners in Richmond, Virginia, June 26th and 27th. This isn't a conference where you'll sit in the back and take notes. You'll leave with an actual business plan in hand, knowing exactly what to charge, how to manage your time, and how to attract better customers. Tickets are just $299, but right now you can bring a partner or a fellow business owner free with our two for one special. Tickets are just $299, but right now you can bring a partner or fellow business owner free with our 2 for 1 special. Only 75 spots are available and they will fill up fast. Use the link in the show description or go to profitacceleratorlive.com to secure your spot today. Put more money in the bank and more time in your schedule with Profit Profit Accelerator Live.
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All right, if you're getting value from today's episode, share with another contractor. The mission of this show has always been to help other green industry professionals build more profitable businesses. And every time you share this or, you know, you recommend it, it really helps us reach other business owners who need it. So anyway, let's get back to it. So we're talking about texting today and how it can really benefit your business and keep communication with your clientele. So this next text we call the review text and this one is really simple, but it's proving to be really powerful. And I'm giving you, I'm telling you guys, I'm giving you some secret sauce today and maybe it's maybe for you, maybe you do this already and it's no big deal, but for some of you this might sound like, well, it's a little outside my comfort zone. I'm telling you right now, this is these things are the small, tiny detail things that really help your business grow. So with the review text, again, I've had issues with this. You know, I always forget or whatever, but you know Made it a priority now to ask for reviews. And, you know, you could write this one out like, hey, Mike, you know, thanks again for trusting us with your company. Or, excuse me, I say that again, it could sound like this. Hey, Mike, thanks again for trusting us with your property. If we've earned it, would you mind leaving us a quick Google review? It really helps small business like ours. Boom. Done. That's it. That review today can generate revenue for years. Because here's the thing, like, just ask. Just ask yourself, like, when you're looking online for stuff, what's one of the things that you look for? Not the fact that, hey, you know, I'm looking for good ice cream near me, okay? But not only that, like, okay, who serves ice cream by me? But like, who's got like the best ice cream, right? Who's got the good reviews? Who's got like, ooh, it's like, I got one five star place. You know, it's literally like they have a review. Or do I like the place that has like, you know, a thousand reviews, but it's like 4.8 stars. I'll probably pick the 4.8 stars with a thousand reviews right now. The thing is, the problem isn't that customers don't want to leave reviews. The problem is that most businesses never ask. And some of your happiest customers have been waiting for the invitation. So give it to them, you know, make it easy for them too. Like if, you know, I'm trying a new thing now where it's not really new, but it's while we're outside, if somebody's come, if I'm talking with somebody and they're conversing with me, that's my job. Not my technician's job too, is like, when I'm going out doing quality control checks, when I'm even doing some of the services that I just cherry pick for myself, when a client comes out and talks to me, I go ahead and I give them a quick thing to scan and it takes us, right. Takes them right to our Google business page. So that makes it super easy for them. They could like, leave the review while you're standing there and you could be like, oh, cool, Diane, thanks. That's so wonderful that you did this. Appreciate that. That support means so much to me. Anyway, so that was text four, the, you know, the review text. And then we got the one that we've got labeled in our company called the neighbor text. And this one might be my favorite because one, if you've listened to my show at any Point in time. You know, that I talk about being efficient and route density and all these things that help us have nice, tight routes. Well, this one. This text really helps us bring that awareness to our clientele. You know, not only can they get a referral and a referral fee or reward for this, but. But it also just says, like, hey, we're looking at your neighbors. Do you please help us with your neighbors? So this is the one. This is how I got it written out. It's like, you know, hi, Sarah. You know, we've really enjoyed working with you. We're looking to add a few more customers in your neighborhood this season. If you know a neighbor who might be interested, I'd love an introduction. Okay. See, it's simple. Very, very simple. Why do I love this one? Because it accomplishes two things. One, first, it creates potential referrals. Okay. Second, it also improves the route density because now One customer becomes two. Two can become four, four can become 10. And this is how profitable routes are built. It's not by driving all over God's green earth. It's by becoming the obvious choice in a specific neighborhood. Don't forget, you don't have to be some mega big company to be successful. Okay? You don't have to service the entire zip code. You don't even have to do that. Okay, I. I mean, it's funny. I. Nearby Gary, Indiana, right? You say Gary, Indiana, that might bring visuals to you if you know what the area is like. Some people are just like, I heard about Gary. I don't know. Well, the crazy thing is Gary, Indiana, is a large city. It is. It has 11 different zip codes in it. Okay? If I say I serve as Gary, which I don't, but let's just say I did, that's a huge, huge area. You know, every. Actually, all the. My entire service area that I service now could easily fit inside of, you know, just one of Gary's larger zip codes. But the thing is, what I'm talking about is if you're just specific to certain neighborhoods, you could create a very, very successful business doing that. So that's why the neighbor text. That's what we call it in our company. That one is so important and useful to us because, one, you could send it out time and time again, even to the same people, because they'd be like, oh, well, you know, I gave. I gave Frank the number. Okay? Frank's one of your referrals now. Frank starts up, guess what? You get a $50 gift card. Frank gets something cool, too. He gets A prize. But, you know, you keep sending that out and out. You know, it's like a quarterly reminder. Maybe something like that. Okay? It'll. It'll really help you think your business grow. But now I would like to give you one final piece of advice. Personally, I already kind of hinted at this earlier, but personalized beats automated every single time. I'm not saying mass communication doesn't have a place. It does. But if you're sending these texts, five to just like, five or 10 customers, you make them personal. You know, use their name, reference their property. You know, mention something specific. You know, you don't. The framework that I gave you earlier, like, use that. But, you know, mention something like, hey, you know, how's Toby the dog doing? Or whatever, you know, because people don't want to feel like they're receiving a marketing campaign. They. You know, they want to feel like they're having a real conversation. And relationships still matter. In fact, relationships matter more today than they ever do before. So with that in mind, okay? Texting can be a really important. I mean, it can be a really powerful tool that you have in your arsenal, especially when you're dealing with your existing clientele. So here's. Here's what I want you to do before the end of today. Send one text. One. Just. Just one. Okay? Don't. Don't send five or 20. Just send one. Pick one of your customers, send one message, and start one conversation. Because the purposes of what I'm trying to tell you today isn't to learn something. It's to do something. Do you hear me? I'm gonna say that again. It's not to learn something. It's to do something. You don't need a marketing budget. You don't need a new website. You don't need another lead resource, okay? You just need to reach out to somebody who already knows, likes, and trusts you. So the biggest takeaway from today is simple. Just stop chasing strangers, at least for the moment, okay? Before you spend more money trying to earn the attention of people who've never heard of you, spend some time nurturing the relationships you've already built. Because your current customers are one of the most valuable assets in your business. You know, they could buy more services. They could refer neighbors, they can leave reviews. They can create opportunities you never knew existed. But none of that happens if you never start the conversation. So pull out your phone, open your customer list, and send the text. You might be surprised what happens next. So with that being said, I want to thank you for tuning in again. To another episode of Profits with Paycheck. Remember, profits are not an accident, they are planned. So until next time, God Bless. Keep pushing through and we'll see you on the next one. Thank you once again for listening. If you've enjoyed the show, please leave a review and share it with fellow business owners. Your support means the world to me and helps keep the show going strong. I want to give a special shout out to our friends at Yardbook. Their continued support has been instrumental in bringing this podcast to you week after week. If you haven't checked them out yet, visit yardbook.com and see how they can give you the tools to streamline and manage your lawn care business. Also, don't forget to explore the resources and upcoming events that I've collected just for you in the show Notes. These are curated to help you stay ahead in your business with the latest tips, tools and networking opportunities. Whether it's a new tool, an insightful article, or an event you don't want to miss, I've got you covered. Until next time, keep pushing through and God bless.