Meeting and working with local agencies are essential for getting commercial gardening contracts. Government agencies need ongoing landscape maintenance for parks, municipal buildings, and schools. According to the NN Group, 70% of U.S. local governments reported growing their spending on landscaping services for the last five years. Find contracts on SAM.gov, Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS), and USASpending.gov. Search contract opportunities by keyword, location, and industry. 

Promote your services to property management firms like retail centers, apartment complexes, and office buildings. Pitch your business to multiple properties instead of individual business owners. Signing a contract with one firm can lead to referrals and repeat partnerships.                     

Cold calling plays a significant role for your gardening business. According to ZoomInfo, 75% of potential clients attended a scheduled meeting based on a cold call. Directly reach facility managers or business operators instead of depending on online strategies. Explain the benefits of your professional commercial gardening, like increasing property value or maintaining safe outdoor spaces. Also, cold calling has minimal investment compared to direct mail campaigns.                                     

Get referrals to continue offering high-quality gardening services. Referrals often have a higher conversion rate compared to online inquiries. Reach out to home builders or property managers to see if they can refer you to their clients. 

In this article, we discuss the top ways to get commercial gardening contracts. We include common mistakes such as poorly written proposals, weak portfolio, and refusal to network.   

1. Register your gardening business on government bidding platforms 

Registering on government bidding platforms is an effective way to get commercial gardening contracts. Engage with public agencies, cities, and municipalities. Government contracts provide stable income because you can work for them in the long run. Places that need garden maintenance include:     

• Public buildings and schools               
• Government offices
• Military bases               
• Parks or recreational areas
• Roadsides and highways

The government doesn’t always follow a transparent bidding system for contracts. When they need commercial gardening services, they send a secret document to businesses. It contains how much they will charge to do the job. Then the government will choose the company with the lowest bid. They have specific qualifications, such as experience, time frame, and service quality. Below are tips to optimize your bids to secure contracts:                 

• Prioritize research - Do a background check on government contracts. Start with small contracts to establish a track record.
• Clearly follow solicitation instructions - See simple guidelines for writing technical proposals, answering forms, and double-checking relevant information. 
• Highlight relevant work experience - Add client recommendation letters if allowed by the solicitation. Having a positive record of past performance increases your chances of winning.                                                                 
• Communicate and be open to feedback - Attend meetings showing interest in the bidding process. Respond to any follow-up requests after submitting your bid. If you lose a contract, use the feedback of federal agencies to improve future proposals.           

A tip to remember is to deliver exactly what’s requested. You may never get a government contract if you screw up one time. The government focuses on technical specs and fine details. Give a description on services such as growing herbs, weed control, mulching, and watering. To boost credibility, present your portfolio containing case studies and testimonials. 

2. Promote your commercial gardening services to property management firms     

Working with property management firms increases opportunities for applying commercial gardening services. Property management firms have a wide range of commercial properties. These include apartment complexes, shopping centers, office buildings, and industrial facilities. Promote your commercial gardening services through industry associations like:                             

• International Facility Management Association (IFMA)
• Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) 
• Community Associations Institute (CAI)

Make friends with property management companies to give work you can handle. Leave a lasting impression on firms to form long-term relationships. Cold call corporate offices or talk to building managers. Ask if they need gardening services. Then get their contact information and make follow-ups for future partnerships.     

Prove your expertise by offering free consultations or seminars. Discuss regular tree trimming, seasonal flower rotation, and soil improvement. Create educational brochures about enhancing property value through professional gardening services.                     

When finding property managers, talk to the front desk and ask for their contact information. Check vendor platforms like Compliance Depot. Property managers use this platform to choose vendors based on the approved list.         

3. Do cold calling for businesses that need commercial gardening services   

Cold calling is a relevant strategy for getting commercial gardening contracts. It gives direct engagement with facility maintenance companies, business owners, and property managers. You make the first move to showcase your services before waiting for them to reach out to you. Cold calling starts a conversation that results in signing contracts. 

Cold calling depends on how you market your business. Make sure you’re calling the right people before presenting your brand. Explain what makes you stand out from competitors. Some businesses don’t do cold calling to secure contracts because they’re afraid of trying it. Expect that not all people will positively respond to cold calls. 

To secure contracts, make calls at the right time. Call decision-makers from 8 to 10am or in the late afternoon from 4 to 6pm. For a higher response rate, send an email for follow-ups. This shows your willingness to hear preferences and feedback from your prospects. Also, offer free consultation for lawn and plant maintenance, existing irrigation system, and water conservation strategies.         

4. Get referrals for more commercial gardening contracts

Ask happy commercial clients to recommend your services to others. Get referrals from property managers, homeowners’ association (HOA), and business owners. Let them know you’re up for referrals via email or follow-up call. Give them incentives through free service, discount, or cash incentive. For example, offer a referral discount or insider rate for people who sign a contract for a year or more in service. Also, when working with local businesses, put a penalty for early contract cancellation. Commercial gardening contracts are long-term agreements. Your business loses expected revenue if a client cancels early.             

The fastest way to encourage referrals is using online reviews. Post before-and-after services of gardening projects. Mention soil testing, landscape design, pruning, trimming, and pest and disease management. Ask repeat customers to leave reviews on Google, your website, or on social media platforms. Adding client testimonials improves online presence and credibility to people who need commercial gardening.       

If referrals are effective for your business, focus on optimizing it. Communicate with old clients so they can consider buying your services again. After several months, they will tell someone about their experience working with you. Add a “wow factor” to your services to motivate people to recommend you to families, friends, and neighbors.         

What are common mistakes that gardening businesses make when trying to land commercial contracts? 

1. Lack of direct communication - Some companies send proposals but don’t do follow-ups. This decreases people from trying your services. After sending a bid, do follow-ups within a few days and send updates about upcoming projects.             
2. Poorly written proposals - Avoid submitting incomplete or unprofessional proposals with no service details and clear pricing. Add custom service plans and testimonials to prove expertise.                                                   
3. Refusal to network - Failure to attend real estate expos, industry events, and B2B networking groups to meet clients. Build connections through joining Chambers of Commerce, trade associations, and facility management groups.
4. Weak portfolio - Not showcasing previous projects lessens getting opportunities for partnerships and referrals. Build a professional portfolio with high-quality photos of hedge trimming, pruning, and weeding.

What are the advantages of SEO when getting contracts on a gardening website?   

1. Cost-effective marketing - Visitors don’t need to click on paid ads when finding your website on search engines. When your website ranks at the top using relevant keywords, it continues to generate high-quality leads.
2. Increased visibility - Use keywords like “office garden maintenance”, or “corporate lawn care”. These keywords rank your site higher on search results.   
3. Competitive advantage - Outrank other gardening businesses and capture a larger share of the market. Website builders for SEO optimizes your site for local search results. This makes your services stand out from competitors and maintains strong online visibility.    

What is the best way to get commercial gardening contracts

The best way to get commercial gardening contracts is to use a website builder. It’s great for gardeners, hobbyists, and homeowners who have no coding experience. Website builders are more affordable than hiring a web developer. If you need a platform with drag-and-drop tools, use Snapps.ai. Easily insert widgets like contact form, calendar scheduling, phone, and social media icons. Manage contacts using integrations for e-signatures, document sharing, and payment tracking. Create service pages for tree care, snow removal, outdoor lighting, and landscape design. Also, use the live chat widget to directly settle contracts with real estate agents, property owners, or government staff.