# neighborhood promotion idea



## treesnsnow (Aug 28, 2009)

well i have been thinking of a way to make my route real short and tight and came up with a way to do it i think. i live in a development just on the the outskirts of the city, i was thinking of passing out flyers and letting every one know that i will be accepting 20 driveways for the price of $10 a push, now before everyone jumps on my for being a lowballer thats not the case here, every drive way in my development is no bigger then two cars wide and 3 cars long, and some are 1 car wide drives that lead to a garage, the $10 push is for plowing only no shoveling or anything so with that being said i do two of the drives now in the development and both take me 4-6 mins to clean out each, and if its 2-3 inches its even less time so i would be working around 90/hr rate in the long run what do people think, anything i should tweak or think about before doing this. i have thought about seasonal but everyone who i havtlaked to this year says they want a per push price and not seasonal since we had such a lite winter last two years especially last year.


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## peteo1 (Jul 4, 2011)

Have them sign a per push contract then. Some on this site have said its going to be a heavier year so it will work out to your advantage if that's the case. All in all its not a bad idea.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Put on the letter the "FIRST" 20 people to call will get the deal, so hurry now!


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## treesnsnow (Aug 28, 2009)

thats not a bad idea about putting first 20 customers i am hoping it works my run now is kinda spread over a large area and is a pain to complete since there is such a drive time between stops for the most part. i have been thinking about this a little more should i put a price increase per push if we get more then say 10" on that push?


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## fairwaymowing (Oct 17, 2011)

Good idea......but 4-6 mins to clean one tiny driveway?


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

treesnsnow;1477322 said:


> thats not a bad idea about putting first 20 customers i am hoping it works my run now is kinda spread over a large area and is a pain to complete since there is such a drive time between stops for the most part. i have been thinking about this a little more should i put a price increase per push if we get more then say 10" on that push?


On a 10" snowfall you wouldn't wait until it stops before making the first pass.

Here we are all seasonal. On a 6" snowfall we might plow it twice plus make a return trip after the street plow has passed. Not sure how you can charge $30 for that. He a driveway that size is $400 for plow only no shoveling. No one really complains, you take the good years with the bad.


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## treesnsnow (Aug 28, 2009)

i was figuring an average of 5 mins for the heavier snow falls and since it is a per push contract and residential i dont plow them every 3-4 inches during the over night so if it starts snowing at 11pm and i go out to plow at 4-5am it poss that 10 inches could be on the ground or more, thats how residential works around here not sure if its different other places but i had 17 per push accounts last yr and not one over them would have been happy if i slowed there driveway at 2 am and charged them for it. i do put a cluase in the contract tho that states if 12" or more is in the driveway during over night hours then it will be cleared to prevent damage to property and equipment. but i have only had to do that twice since i have put that into place. 

also i have been thinking and talking to a few of the neighbors and some do sound intrested i am making it a per push contract but with a $100 retainer fee which will be applied to the first 10 plows the 4 neighbors i have talked to says that wouldnt be a problem


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## Wilnip (Oct 4, 2011)

Not a bad idea. I'm gonna ponder this one.


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## thelettuceman (Nov 23, 2010)

Good idea you have there to keep the route tight. That is a big truck in your signature for driveways. I have a few driveways and my truck is too big. Do you have a back drag blade?

You need to scale up that price depending on the amount of snow accumulation and no I do not consider you a lowballer.


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## rtreads (Aug 29, 2012)

...i have another idea. dont charge them ANYTHING to plow the driveway, but to avoid a large stack of snow at the bottom of the driveway the fee is $20! LOL!

But really, I like your idea. I would add to it get a SQUARE credit card plug in for your idevice to charge them right then and there. Keep a folder with a credit card number on file for your accounts and just charge them as you go. It will send them an email receipt as well!


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## treesnsnow (Aug 28, 2009)

the truck is slightly large for a few of my drives but not too bad the drives are all pretty straight and the only problem i have is making sure my bumper is not sticking out too far when i am close to the garage with the plow on a few of them, i dont have a black blade the truck would def be too long for the driveways then at least in my neighborhood


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## mcwlandscaping (Sep 8, 2005)

I like the idea a lot....even 15-20 in my area for that size drive would be a deal for most. I may do this to kick off a route for my tractor in my neighborhood.


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## Wayne Volz (Mar 1, 2002)

*Sounds like you have a plan.*

You are on to something with that retainer system. We've been using one for years and it works great. We also add a second option as a deposit on the season as well. Based on what they choose, is how we run our routes.

We have several ideas that will help efficiency, scheduling and profitability in our snow & ice management manual. The retainer and deposit system is explained in detail.

Also, I am not saying $10 is too cheap, but I think you can get more if you just ask. You stated you can make $90.00 an hour at that rate. That sounds really good but I think you might be leaving money on the table. Remember, we sell peace of mind and service, not plowing.

Let it snow!


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