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Chapter 5:

How to earn more money with overgrown
yards and billing for extra work

OK... So you win a new lawn... you get to your customer's home, and...
its over 10" tall.

What do you do?

Illustration of a person using a trimmer on an overgrown lawn with tall grass reaching up to the individual's waist.

My experience is that most GreenPal vendors will just mow it anyways to earn the customer's business for ongoing mowings so that it will even out.

Profile picture of a GreenPal lawn care vendor, potentially showcasing the vendor's services or ratings. Cartoon of a hand interacting with a mobile application showcasing a lawn care vendor's profile.

Their thinking is they have already made a trip to the customer's home so might as well knock it out because a return trip will eat up any profit.

Mobile display showing a GreenPal service provider's profile with ratings and service details. Mobile display showing a GreenPal service provider's profile with ratings and service details.

On the other hand... if you feel it's too much to deal with...

Here's what you need to do:

  • 1

    Email, call, or text your customer to ask their approval for how much extra it's going to be the first cut.

  • 2

    If your new client agrees to the upcharge, you can bill the for the extra approved amount when you complete the work.

  • 3

    If they do not approve, just cancel the appointment and enter the new price to get the yard under control.

This is how you add on a surcharge for tall grass:

Black and white line drawing of a hand pointing to the right. A mobile app interface allowing the service provider to add a surcharge to a customer's bill, with a field for additional notes. A mobile app interface allowing the service provider to add a surcharge to a customer's bill, with a field for additional notes.

No doubt about it, the top earning lawn care services on GreenPal use this Add On Cost feature to upsell their clients on all sorts of yard maintenance from gutter cleaning, to snow removal, to turf seeding.

Pro
Tip:

You can also use this feature to bill for any other add on work like weeds, shrubs, leaf removal etc for any of your clients.

Then... After you complete their first mowing, make sure to follow up with your customer with an email to ask them to schedule more visits, or to get their approval so you can setup them up on ongoing mowings on your GreenPal dashboard.

We don't stop there. The GreenPal system will also email them several times as well. If you are also nudging them, it will help them plan set up more visits with you.

But that's just part of the story…

Illustration of a red and black riding lawn mower on a white background, actively cutting grass with grass clippings being ejected from the side

If your new client is unresponsive to your calls or emails then you can cancel the appointment and put the new price for the first mowing to get the yard back under control...

This will send an email to your customer letting them know, and if they approve it will appear back on your schedule at the new rate for the first mowing, and then ongoing mowings at your original quote.

Here is how you do that...

Click "Cancel" on the appointment and then select "Lawn is Too Tall" on the reason and then enter your new price:

An animated character holding a clipboard and giving a thumbs-up, possibly representing approval or successful completion. A mobile app screen providing a warning message about the importance of accurate information and the impact on the user's reliability rating.

Now... Just make sure you handle this situation before your client's appointment goes 48 hours late, otherwise your account is locked out due to late service.

If they approve this new price for the first mowing that you submit, it will appear on your dashboard and the best part is they will also be booked for ongoing mowings at the originally quote yard maintenance rate.

In summary here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • 1

    Do not cancel your new clients appointment until you make a few attempts to communicate with them first by text and email.

  • 2

    Do not bill for any additional yard work that is not approved by your client or your account will be shut off.

  • 3

    Address any issues with your client's appointment promptly, reason being, after you let them go over 2 days late your account is locked out.

What's the real story?

20–30% of successful lawn care services revenue comes from upsells and add on services so you can see this handy little tool is great way to bill for additional work and tall grass on the fly that your clients approve on the GreenPal platform.