The next 30 days: get snow removal and holiday lights in front of your mowing customers
Mowing is ending and winter work starts soon. How to put snow removal or holiday lighting in front of the customers you already have before Thanksgiving.
Mowing is winding down, and in a few weeks the phone gets quiet. Most landscapers who offer winter work wait until the first storm or the first cold weekend to mention it, and by then the customers who wanted it have already called someone else.
The next 30 days are when winter work gets booked. Snow contracts get signed before the first storm, not after. Holiday light installs fill up the week before Thanksgiving. If you offer either one, here is a plan for the next month that uses the customers you already have.
Week one: decide what you are selling
Pick one or two winter services and price them before you tell anyone. Customers ask for a number, and "I will have to think about it" loses the job.
Snow removal. Common setups are a per-push price, a per-season contract, or a capped season with extra pushes billed after a set number. A residential driveway might run $40 to $80 per push in many markets, and a season contract often lands somewhere around $350 to $700. Your area and equipment set the real number.
Holiday lights. Install, takedown, and storage priced as one package. Many companies price by the foot of roofline. Residential jobs often fall between $300 and $1,500 depending on size and whether you supply the lights.
Write the prices down in a short menu. The pricing guide covers how to present good, better and best options, which works well here. A basic driveway contract, driveway plus walks, and driveway plus walks plus salting is an easy ladder.
Week one: update your Google profile
Add each winter service to the Services section of your Google Business Profile with a short description. "Snow removal" and "Christmas light installation" are what people search. If your profile only lists mowing and mulch, Google has no reason to show you for winter searches.
While you are there, check your hours. In our data on 91,717 landscaping and lawn care listings, 52.5% list no hours at all. During a storm, a profile with no hours looks closed. If you plow at 4 a.m., say you are open early. The Google Business Profile guide shows where each field lives.
Week two: text your mowing list
Your best winter customers are the people who paid you all summer. They already trust you with their property. A short text does more than an ad:
Hi Karen, this is Mike from Green Line. We are taking a limited number of snow removal contracts for this winter. Your driveway would be $450 for the season, up to 12 pushes. Want me to hold a spot?
Name, specific price, a limit, and a yes or no question. Send it to everyone you mowed this year. Do not send a long email with a brochure attached. A text gets read.
For lights, the same idea:
Hi Karen, we are booking holiday light installs for the week before Thanksgiving. For your roofline it would be about $650, with takedown in January included. Want one of the first slots?
Week two: put it on the website
Add one page per winter service, or at least a clear section on your services page. Include the service area, what is included, a price range, and a button to text or call. A customer who hears about you from a neighbor will check the site before calling. If the site still only talks about spring cleanups, they assume you do not do winter work. The website guide covers what each service page needs.
Week three: ask for referrals at the last mow
Your last visit of the season is a natural moment to ask. When you finish the final mow or leaf cleanup, leave a note or send a text:
Thanks for a great season. If any neighbors need snow removal or holiday lights, we have a few spots left. Mention your name and we will knock $25 off your spring cleanup.
Neighbors on the same street make for easy routes, and tight routes are what make snow work profitable.
Week four: post and follow up
Post a photo of a finished light install, or your truck with a plow on it, to your Google profile and social pages. A post from the last week shows you are active.
Then follow up with anyone who did not answer the first text. One short reminder is fine. Two is plenty.
Track every winter request that comes in by phone and text. If you miss calls while you are out on jobs, set up a text-back so nobody waits. The missed calls guide covers the setup, and the calculator shows what a missed winter call costs you.
Why this also helps your spring
Winter work keeps your name in front of customers through the slow months. Every completed install or plowed driveway is also a chance to ask for a review. The median landscaping company has 7 reviews, and the top 10% have 61 or more. A winter season of steady reviews puts you in a stronger spot when spring searches start. The benchmark report shows where you stand today.
If you want help getting winter services on your profile and site and the texts sent before the first storm, there is a free 14-day trial of any service, no card, text or call (801) 701-3271.
Steven has spent the last several years running growth campaigns for local service businesses, landscaping and lawn care companies among them, and builds the benchmark datasets on this site from public Google listings. About the editor