Commercial Lawn Care Contracts: How To Get & How To Make

Commercial lawn care contracts are formal agreements between professional lawn care providers and businesses for regular maintenance of commercial properties. Businesses such as HOAs, retail centers, restaurants, and office parks hire commercial lawn management companies to keep their properties looking good year round.

Lawn care professionals highly value commercial contracts because they are high ticket jobs that offer stable income streams. The most effective strategy for securing commercial lawn care contracts involves networking, email outreach, and building a professional portfolio showcasing your best before and after photos.

Winning more commercial lawn care bids means your business needs to become a master at property assessment, comprehensive service breakdowns, and transparent pricing structures. Successful commercial lawn care use professional template from quoting apps like Zentive that help to differentiate their bids from competitors using a quote built from Microsoft Word.

What Is Commercial Lawn Care?

Commercial lawn care is the professional maintenance of outdoor landscapes for commercial clients such as businesses, government bodies, and non-profit organizations. Below are examples of commercial clients that lawn care companies work with.

• Office Parks
• Apartment Complexes
• Retail Centers
• HOAs (Homeowners Associations)
• Schools

Working with commercial clients differs from residential lawn care clients in terms of scope, scale, and complexity. Commercial lawn care companies have to cover larger areas, adheres to stricter regulations, and operate under strict contract based agreements. Working with commercial office parks mean your crews likely can't mow during normal business hours to prevent disrupting the employees working inside.

What Are The Types Of Commercial Lawn Care Contracts?

Below are the main types of commercial lawn care contracts.

• Fixed-Term Contracts: Have a defined service period that typically lasts between 12 to 36 months. Includes scheduled lawn care services for a fixed monthly or seasonal fee.
• Per-Service Agreements: Offers individual services such as mowing, fertilization, or leaf removal on an as-needed basis. Customers are charged per mow or visit.
• Full-Service Maintenance Contracts: Bundles comprehensive services that range from mowing, trimming, pest control, irrigation checks, and seasonal cleanups. Larger companies prefer full service contracts to lock in their lawn care services for the entire year. Always include weather contingency clauses in your full service maintenance contracts because commercial clients expect their properties to look perfect regardless of drought, excessive rain, or other weather issues.

Most lawn care contractors aim to win commercial accounts because these contracts provide stable revenue, predictable scheduling, and long-term client relationships. Your business has to create professional contracts if you want to work with these commercial accounts. Use our free Zentive commercial lawn care contract as a template for your business agreements by clicking the button below.

Why Do Lawn Care Businesses Want Commercial Contracts?

Lawn care businesses want commercial contracts because commercial lawn mowing generates consistent revenue, repeat business, and higher profit margins. Commercial contracts eliminate the neighbor comparison problem that many residential lawn care companies struggle with. Neighborhood comparison is when residential clients constantly compare your work to their neighbor's different lawn care company & it leads to unrealistic expectations and scope creep.

Commercial contracts last about 12 to 36 months on average. This means your lawn care company can enjoy more long-term financial stability & requires less customers to maintain revenue. These commercial contracts typically means your mowing larger properties that allows your crews to spend more time mowing and less time driving between dozens of residential clients.

How To Get Commercial Lawn Care Contracts?

Follow the below 11 steps to get commercial lawn care contracts.

1. Determine Your Ideal Customers Profile (ICP): Identify ideal customer profile to target high-value commercial lawn care clients.
2. Refine and Elevate Your Service Lineup: Refine service lineup to increase appeal and competitiveness.
3. Highlight a Compelling Portfolio: Showcase compelling portfolio to demonstrate expertise and reliability.
4. Leverage Online Marketing Platforms: Leverage online marketing platforms to attract and convert commercial leads.
5. Forge and Strengthen Professional Connections: Strengthen professional connections to expand referral and partnership network.
6. Present Attractive Pricing and Bundles: Present attractive pricing and bundles to incentivize contract agreements.
7. Deliver Stellar Customer Care: Deliver stellar customer care to retain clients and build reputation.
8. Execute Targeted Advertising Campaigns: Execute targeted advertising campaigns to reach commercial decision-makers.
9. Proactively Pursue Contract Bids: Pursue contract bids proactively to secure consistent revenue opportunities.
10. Automate Processes with the Right Tools: Automate operational processes to better your efficiency and scalability.
11. Reward Successful Referrals: Reward successful referrals to motivate clients to generate new leads.

1. Determine Your Ideal Customers Profile (ICP)

Determining a detailed ICP (Ideal customer profile)helps to focus your marketing efforts on clients with the highest conversion potential and longest retention rates. For example, your lawn care company might identify that medium sized office parks with 2-5 acres of landscaped area within a 15-mile radius are the most profitable client for your business.

Thinking about types of clients to avoid is also helpful running a successful commercial lawn care company. Many experience lawn care companies purposely avoid retail centers with high foot traffic during peak seasons because they come with increased pedestrian safety liability.

2. Refine and Elevate Your Service Lineup

Refining your service lineup means detailing the exact commercial lawn care offerings in your contract. Allow your client to pick and choose the services they want & with what frequency. Always include emergency response services in your commercial contracts because most commercial clients will pay premium rates for immediate cleanup after storms, vandalism, or unexpected events. Include a turn around time for these emergency services in the contract so that clients cannot demand you show up on unrealistic time frame.

3. Highlight Your Compelling Portfolio

Highlighting your lawn companies portfolio of previous commercial clients provides clear evidence of your skills & value. High-quality before and after photographs build credibility with property managers and commercial clients and helps them envision similar results for their properties. Including time lapse photos in your commercial contracts that shows property recovery after neglect because it shows decision makers your ability to rehabilitate problem areas quickly.

4. Leverage Online Marketing Platforms

Leveraging online marketing platforms connects your lawn care business with commercial clients on their cell phones & work laptops. A strategic digital presence increases visibility specifically among property managers, business owners, and is important part of marketing for lawn care. Gathering Google My Business (GMB) reviews from your past commercial clients is very important because property managers research lawn care companies more thoroughly than residential home owners do.

5. Forge and Strengthen Professional Connections

Professional connections creates a referral network for your lawn care business that leads to more commercial contract opportunities. Relationships with complementary service providers and industry associations establish your company as a trusted professional. Invest your time in developing relationships with commercial real estate agents who often provide recommendations to their tenants on vendors to use for lawn care & other property maintenance.

6. Present Attractive Pricing and Bundles

Attractive pricing bundles combine essential services that commercial clients want at a fair price. You will get far more commercial clients if you can provide them the services they need without bursting their property maintenance budget. Always structure your pricing to include seasonal adjustments because commercial clients budget annually and need predictable costs.

7. Deliver Stellar Customer Care

Delivering stellar customer care is a must to get more commercial contracts for your lawn care company. Quality customer service costs your business nothing & creates valuable long term relationships. Lawn care software like Zentive lets your clients leave feedback & request services with just a few clicks. Investing time & effort to make your clients feel special and heard will significantly boost your client retention. Satisfied commercial clients quickly become your best advocate and provide valuable referrals.

Many commercial clients require their lawn companies to provide detailed service logs and photo documentation after each visit. Logging your service quality helps them justify their lawn care expenses to their management & corporate oversight.

8. Execute Targeted Advertising Campaigns

Targeted advertising campaigns deliver your message specifically to commercial property decision-makers. Investing thousand of dollars into generic lawn care advertising efforts will always yield poor results. Strategic advertise to your most profitable types of clients at the optimal time. Commercial clients perform their budget planning in September through November to evaluate vendors for the following year's contracts. Don't wait until spring when businesses have already committed to other lawn care companies.

9. Proactively Pursue Contract Bids

Proactive commercial contract bidding increases opportunities for your lawn care company by seeking out RFP chances. Regularly bidding on open lawn care RFPs helps to establish your company as an active player in the market. The more often businesses see your name in open bids, the quicker they will recognize & become familiar with your company.

Remember that municipal contracts often require prevailing wage compliance. This can increase your labor costs by 40-60% in some areas of the country's and guarantee you'll lose money if you don't factor local rules into your bids.

10. Automate Processes with the Right Tools

Automating your lawn companies bidding process with lawn care company software like Zentive makes it easy to create & send quotes to commercial clients. Enter the company's name, contact information, and requested services before sending the bid via email or SMS. Automation lets you get bids out faster. The first person to submit a bid is often the winner of commercial lawn care contracts.

Commercial clients will require more detailed invoicing than your residential customers. Businesses will need property-specific line items and often need invoices split across multiple cost centers or departments. Lawn care billing software is the easiest way to comply with their requirements while avoiding payment delays.

11. Reward Successful Referrals

Referral rewards incentivizes your loyal clients to recommend your services to other commercial properties. Creating a win win situation with your customers is a great way to have them market your lawn business for you. Property management companies that manage multiple locations are goldmines for lawn care referrals. Offering your happy customers a fixed payment or percent commission on any business they bring you is a great way to get more commercial contracts.

How To Make A Better Commercial Lawn Care Quote?

Make a better commercial lawn care quote by implementing several proven strategies that increase win rates and profitability. Target commercial properties that align with your company's strengths.

Ensuring your quotes are actually profitable is an overlooked part of the bidding process. Winning a job that loses your company money does more harm than good! Perform site walkthroughs, calculate all direct & indirect costs, consider materials, and add your desired profit margin to ensure you quote a price that works for both you & the commercial client. Always include a mobilization fee when quoting lawn care jobs for commercial properties over 20 miles from your shop to avoid paying your crews to sit in a truck half the day.

Use a lawn care quoting & estimating software like Zentive to send quotes quickly from the cabin of your truck. Conversion rates are shown to improve by up to 35% when lawn care companies deliver quotes within 24 hours of a site visit.

Tailor your bids to match the priorities of your customers. Address the client's specific pain points to make high quality bids that gets the attention of commercial clients that review lots of other lawn care bids.

Where To Find New Commercial Lawn Care Accounts?

Find new commercial lawn care accounts to work with by driving through your service area on Sunday mornings to see which properties look neglected. Reach out to the business owners & property managers that have neglected properties via email or phone.

Town and city clerk offices normally provide public access to commercial mowing bids. Be sure to check with your local municipality to join the bidding process for government contracts in your community.

Scraping a list of local businesses in your service area & sending a simple cold email is another way to find new commercial lawn accounts. Send an email & pitch your services and wait for the replies to come rolling in.

Are All Commercial Lawn Care Jobs Profitable?

No, all commercial lawn care jobs are not profitable. Commercial lawn care profit margins typically range from 10-30%. However, large commercial jobs does not guarantee large profits if you underestimate the work effort.

Perform a thorough cost analysis by examining labor requirements, material costs, equipment depreciation, fuel consumption, and overhead expenses to determine the actual profitability of a job. Taking the time to run the numbers can prevent your lawn care company from accepting contracts that appear lucrative but ultimately drain resources.

Lawn care job costing software like Zentive provides real-time profitability calculations during estimate creation & makes it easy to determine if a job is worth your time. Use our software to run your numbers & see if you can afford to enter a lower bid without eating too much into your profit margin.

Do Commercial Contracts Only Go To Lowest Bidders?

No, all commercial contracts do not only go to the lowest bidder. Factors such as perceived value, price competitiveness, existing relationships, schedule, other customer reviews, and reliability history are considered by companies before awarding a commercial lawn care contract. The most successful commercial lawn care providers off their customers more than just a cheap price. Commercial clients often award contracts to the second or third lowest bidder because they've learned that the lowest bid usually means corners will be cut & they'll have to spend time looking for another lawn care company.

How Can Quoting Software Speed Up Commercial Lawn Care Bids?

Quoting software like Zentive speeds up commercial lawn care bids by automating the estimation process. Quoting & invoicing lawn care software lets you quickly select from predefined service packages with costs, add labor, and add material costs in just a few seconds. Lawn care companies use measurement software to improve consistency in measuring irregularly shaped commercial properties. Manually measuring complex sites with multiple buildings, parking areas, and landscape beds can lead to 20-30% measurement errors that destroy your profit margins.

What Is the Difference Between Bidding On Commercial vs Residential Lawn Mowing Jobs?

The difference between bidding on commercial versus residential lawn mowing jobs involves contrasts in approach and requirements. Commercial jobs normally feature larger scale, multi-location, and specialized equipment. Commercial contracts normally have multiple bidders whereas residential customers tend to take the first quote they get.

Commercial bids require need to include seasonality clauses in the bids because services like leaf removal, fall cleanups, and snow removal vary dramatically year to year. Residential clients are more prone to accepting natural variations while commercial clients expect consistent appearance regardless of weather conditions.

Do Lawn Care Companies Need Insurance To Win Commercial Contracts?

Yes, lawn care companies generally need insurance to win commercial contracts. Insurance requirements will vary based on client type, performance bonds, workers compensation, and environmental liability. Most lawn care companies need to have general liability insurance, workers' compensation, commercial auto insurance, equipment insurance, umbrella policies, and specialized pollution liability coverage to win commercial lawn care jobs. Some commercial clients will even require you to name them as an 'additional insured' on your lawn care business insurance policy. This can increase your insurance premiums by 15-25% annually & must be factored into your bidding.

What To Do After Winning A Commercial Lawn Care Contract?

After winning a commercial lawn care contract must get their contract signed before starting work. Schedule a site walkthrough with the client present to document property conditions, identify hazards, clarify access points, and establish communication protocols. Establish your points of contact with the customer during your walkthrough because commercial properties often have multiple decision makers that can lead to costly delays.

How To Write A Commercial Lawn Care Contract?

Write a commercial lawn care contract by creating a comprehensive legal document that defines the scope and terms of the lawn maintenance relationship. Include the following essential components including service specifications, property boundaries, pricing structures with payment terms, service frequency calendars, performance standards, cancellation policies, liability limitations, insurance details, and dispute resolution procedures when writing a lawn care contract. Include a clear & specific force majeure statement that protects you from penalties during equipment breakdowns, extreme weather, or other acts of god.