Growing Profits

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

📰 State of the Industry Report and National Map showing noise pollution laws.
🕳️ Digging Deep: Turf Colorant
🎥 Warren Buffet sums up customer service in less than a minute
🤯 Man Blows Up Lawn

🕳️ DIGGING DEEP
Turf Colorant: A Service You Can Add Immediately

Turf colorant has come a long way. I remember when there was only turf paint or spray tracker. Mostly the paint was used to cover up mistakes, dog damage, and things like polka dot lawns after spraying 50 clumps of Dallis grass with Roundup. It has been done for decades on sports fields and golf courses.

I remember an owner I was working with calling me to vent. His tech had left a burn line of fertilizer on a lawn and he went out to paint the stripe green and dropped a new 1-gallon can of turf paint on the customers driveway.

Now we have turf dye and colorant. Easier to use and clean up after, this profitable service is more and more popular. Why talk about it in mid-winter for some people? In many areas, lawns will be greening up soon and customers will be calling to ask why their lawns aren’t as green as their neighbors.

Turf colorants allow for a more predictable spring green-up and contribute to a healthier stand of bermudagrass going into the summer. Research has shown colorants speed green up, which helps the lawn to stand out to neighbors looking for a lawn care company in the spring.

When deciding on turf colorant products and timing of application, ask yourself a few questions. Will the colorant be applied to dormant or actively growing turf, the minimum ideal time needed for acceptable color, and which product matches existing turf color if the grass is not dormant.

Cost is also an important consideration as applications can vary from $4.50 to $22.00 per acre, depending on product and application rate. All variables considered, it is important that you identify goals for a colorant application before purchasing product and setting up schedules and sales.

When To Use Colorant/Dye/Pigment?

🎃 Fall - instead of over-seeding
🌷 Spring-Even up spring transition
☀️ Summer- Hide dog damage, hide disease or insect damage until it recovers, improve property values for homeowners/realtors
❄️ Winter - Second treatment to keep dormant lawn green

Why Sell?

🙋‍♂️ Don’t need an applicators license (Check - could be an exeption)
🐖 Cheaper than overseeding for you and for the customer
🏋️‍♂️ Healthier for warm season grass than overseeding
💵 ROI for realtors/homeowners selling is 100%+
🚿 Saves money on water bill in some areas
🛻 No special equipment needed

What’s In It For Me?

The profit on this service should be similar to a fertilization/weed control service. Pricing will depend on your choice of dye or colorant. If the product needs to last about 6 weeks in Spring it will cost you less than a product that lasts 10-14 weeks through winter.

Your employees will have more work during slower service times. Offering to color a very damaged lawn while it recovers instead of reseeding or sodding areas will save the customer money and make you their hero.

I have a more detailed article at Turf Colorants if you are considering adding this service.

WOW OF THE WEEK
Man blows up yard to get rid of pests. What could go wrong?