Hustlers welcome back to the lawn hustle the
podcast where we keep it real about the grind
about growth and Everything in between when it
comes to building a lawn care or landscaping
business I Am Andy Wilson your host with 16 years
of experience in the green industry. Today we're
talking about a topic that can literally make
or break your business. We talk all the time
about finding new clients, growing your numbers,
growing your revenue. scaling your business to
the next level. But let's flip it. Sometimes
the most important decision you can make isn't
about who you say yes to. It's about who you
say no to. Because here's the truth. Not Every
client is a good client. Some customers will
pay you on time, respect your work, and make
your business better. But other clients will
drain your time, your profits, and your patience.
So let's break it down here. are five types of
clients that you want to avoid in the green industry.
Before we dive into those five clients, let's
take a short break and let's hear a word from
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Eartha Pro, you run the outside work, we run
the office. So there's five clients that you
want to avoid in the green industry number one
the price shopper You know the type They start
every conversation with how much do you charge?
They don't ask about your quality of work They
don't ask about your reliability or your results,
just the price. And here's the kicker. Even if
you lend them, they're not loyal. The second
someone comes along, $5 cheaper than what you
are, that client is gone. That's why it's important
for you to charge according to your value and
according to the perceived outcome of the client.
You don't want to just charge for the job. Charge
for your value, your experience. the perceived
outcome that the client desires. So you gotta
beware of the price shopper. All they're interested
in is the cheapest price. Here's an example.
I once had a customer who called me back and
forth, back and forth for about three weeks.
trying to save 50 bucks. We finally agreed. I
did the work. It turned out great. And the next
season, they were gone because someone came along
and offered them a special that was cheaper.
And all that I'd done for that client all of
my effort all of the work the sweat was nothing
but wasted energy because they were a price shopper
the lesson learned if a client doesn't see the
value in what you do They're not a client worth
having. Number two. The Scope Creeper. The Scope
Creeper. This is one of the most common ones
in our industry. You quote them from Mowing.
And the next thing you know, they're saying,
since you're here, can you trim this bush real
quick? Won't take you long at all. Can you blow
off the shed? It's got some leaves up around
it. Can you blow the shed off or? While you're
here, can you pick up this pile of sticks in
the backyard? the storm the other night left
some limbs down from our tree we picked them
all up and they're in a pile and you walk around
and it's a load and a half full of sticks and
limbs and brush and Of course They expect it
to be all included in the original price. So
they want their yard mowed, they want their bushes
trimmed, they want their yard picked up and cleaned
up, all for $65. Here's another example. I had
a guy that hired us for mowing. First week, he
wanted a hedge trimmed. The second week, he wanted
the driveway power washed. The third week, he
asked if we could spread some mulch that he already
had. By week number four, he had a full honeydew
list for me and my helpers, all for the same
price. It's a scope. creeper. All of that additional
work outside of what you estimated is work out
of scope. You didn't bid it, so you have to charge
more for it. I don't mind trimming the hedge.
I don't mind picking up some brush from a storm.
I don't mind blowing leaves away from the shed.
But it's not free. It's not in scope work. So
whatever a client asks you to do outside of the
scope of your estimate. It's an additional charge
to do it. Don't leave money on the table by continually
serving a scope creeper. It's not worth it. It
will affect your bottom line. It will affect
your morale. The lesson learned is Scope creep
will eat your time, because if the yard only
takes you 30 minutes to mow, but then you got
a big pile of sticks to pick up, or you got a
hedge to trim, or they want your driveway power
washed, all of that takes time, and your time
is valuable. So you have to set parameters. You
have to be able to explain it to the customer.
That's out of scope work. We never discussed
it. I never bid on it. I'm happy to do it. But
here's what it's going to cost you. Don't be
afraid to say, No. Don't be afraid to say, yes,
I can do that, but it's going to cost you. The
number three client to avoid in the green industry
is the unrealistic perfectionist. These are folks
that want golf course perfection. on a shoestring
budget. They've neglected their yard for 10 years.
The soil is shot. Weeds are everywhere. No irrigation.
But the minute you step on the property, they
expect perfection. When they mowed it, They never
trimmed. They never treated for weeds. They never
sprayed for fertilization or weed control. But
the minute you step on the property, all of a
sudden, now, they want the yard sprayed. They
want the flower beds treated. They don't want
any weeds in the mulch. They want the hedges
to be perfect. I had a client who wanted a full,
lush, green, weed -free lawn. And I can get you
there. But they wanted it immediately. I explained
to them it would take time. It would take several
mows to get the property under control. It would
take several months of treatment to get the weeds
out of the grass. to kill the weeds around the
house in the mulch beds or the rock beds. It
would take months of consistent care. After the
second visit, they were upset and asked, why
isn't their yard look perfect yet? The lesson
learned here, some people have expectations that
you will never meet. I don't care how good you
are, and you can be the best in your town, but
there are some clients, I don't care what you
do, it's never good enough. Because that client
is nothing but an unrealistic perfectionist.
They nitpick. They'll stress you out. They'll
always find fault in something that you have
done. Sometimes it's better to walk away than
to take on the impossible mission. That's why
you have to learn. What type of client you want
to serve? Who is your ideal client? Who is the
client that you want to work for? Number four.
The late payer or the non -payer. Cash flow is
the heartbeat of your business. You can't pay
your crew, you can't pay your fuel or your equipment
if clients don't pay on time. We've all heard
the excuses, the checks in the mail. I'll catch
you next week. or the worst, they just start
ghosting you. They won't return a phone call.
They won't return a text message or an email.
I had a client who was always just a week behind.
And then one week turned into two, then three.
By the time I finally cut ties with that customer,
and I should have done it sooner than I did,
but by the time I finally cut ties with them,
they owed me several hundred dollars. And the
stress wasn't worth it. If they're not paying
you. You're just doing the work and you're getting
nothing out of it. You're wasting your energy.
You're being stressed and you're getting nothing
out of it. As a matter of fact, it's costing
you money because you got to get there. You got
to fill up your mowers. You got to pay your help.
It's not worth it. The sooner you cut ties with
the non -payer or the late -payer, the better
off you will be. The lesson learned is don't
be afraid to enforce payment terms. Put late
fees in place. And if someone makes a habit Cut
them off. You're running a business, not a charity.
And I'm all for charity, but that's not part
of professional lawn maintenance. And it shouldn't
be a part of your business. Now we're going to
talk about something, another type of client
that's very important. Number five. the disrespectful
client. This is the one that makes your blood
boil. They talk down to you or your crew. They
don't respect your time. Calling it all hours
of the night expecting immediate responses. Some
even stand over you and try to micromanage while
you work. I had a customer once that texted me
at midnight asking why their lawn wasn't mowed
that day. The thing about it is, it poured rain
all day long. and their yard was too wet to mow.
No respect for my time, no respect for my crew,
or they just had no common sense. Respect goes
both ways. That's the lesson to learn. If a client
doesn't respect you, if they don't respect your
time or your team, you don't need them, period.
No paycheck is worth a toxic relationship. Now
thankfully today I have a lot of great customers,
but it took me a long time to weed through and
get rid of the clients that I didn't want to
serve or need to serve. So you have to spend
time learning. Figuring out who do you want to
serve? Who is your ideal customer? So hustlers,
here is the takeaway. The wrong client will cost
you way more than they pay you. They'll drain
your time. They will hurt your business and your
reputation Because as soon as something doesn't
go the way they think it should They're gonna
tell everybody about it So they'll ruin your
reputation And they will block you from serving
clients who actually appreciate you and your
work. I've got one customer, every time I mow,
we load up, we pull away from the property. Within
just a few minutes, my phone will alert me to
a text message. And the text message always says,
thank you, Andy. I appreciate all you do for
me. The yard looks great. I love those customers.
That's the kind of people I want to serve. You
see, I can't demand respect. I earn it. And neither
can a client. They cannot demand my respect.
but they can earn it. And it's those customers
that I don't mind going above and beyond to make
sure that I take care of them, make sure I take
care of their property, make sure everything
looks great. Remember, it's okay to say no. In
fact, saying no is one of the most powerful things
you can do to protect your business and your
sanity. So ask yourself, which of these five
clients have I dealt with? And more importantly,
how are you protecting yourself from dealing
with them again? So today we've talked about
the five clients that you want to avoid in the
green industry. If this has resonated with you,
share with another Lawn Care Pro. who's grinding
through these same challenges. Hit me up on Instagram,
TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube. Let me know which
type of client is your biggest headache. Until
next time, keep hustling, keep grinding, and
remember, you don't need every client. just the
right ones. Until we talk again, I hope you have
a great week. Thank you for listening. Thank
you for your support. We'll talk again real soon.