# How to land commercial accounts without going through an NSP?



## Yardworks2004 (Jun 15, 2021)

Hello all! I have been a longtime lurker on this site, but finally decided to sign up to ask this question. We have been in business since 2004 and only handle commercial accounts now. We are looking to add several more snow removal accounts for the 2021-2022 season but I do not want to add anymore through a sub contractor capacity. We currently are subbing through 2 that we have very good relationships with for the last 5 or so years (one is national and one is local) We currently handle Walmart, Lowe's, Dick's, Kohl's, Hampton Inn, A Cancer Center, Key Bank, An Industrial Park, A nursing Home, An Army Base, Etc. 
We are capable of handling much more but I am finding it hard to find where to look to bid on contracts myself instead of going though someone else. I keep finding these sites that want me to pay for lists or subscriptions for them to find me contracts, but there has to be some other way to find out where local companies post these? I have gone "door to door" in the past, but that seems a little outdated.
Does anyone here have any tips or suggestions on where I can look?


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## Hydromaster (Jun 11, 2018)

you have to approach them. Some will approach you… but most are already being approached by your competitors so they don’t need to seek you out. That means you have to go to them. And that means networking and building relationships.

in order to go to them you have to discover where the property managers hang out. What groups are they apart of? What networking events do they attend? BNI, chamber of commerce? Who do you know at the HOAs? Is there someone that can introduce you? Who do you know that can introduce you. You may also want to research custom home builders and track home companies. You have to discover who controls the property. Who the decision maker is, build a relationship. “Shmoooze” And approach them to bid. All of this means leg work. Knocking on doors, asking questions, making your company known and putting your bids in.

Just my 2cents
But ,,,never complain or brag about taking them to court using your company’s name on a open forum


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## Yardworks2004 (Jun 15, 2021)

Hydromaster said:


> you have to approach them. Some will approach you… but most are already being approached by your competitors so they don't need to seek you out. That means you have to go to them. And that means networking and building relationships.
> 
> in order to go to them you have to discover where the property managers hang out. What groups are they apart of? What networking events do they attend? BNI, chamber of commerce? Who do you know at the HOAs? Is there someone that can introduce you? Who do you know that can introduce you. You may also want to research custom home builders and track home companies. You have to discover who controls the property. Who the decision maker is, build a relationship. "Shmoooze" And approach them to bid. All of this means leg work. Knocking on doors, asking questions, making your company known and putting your bids in.
> 
> ...


Thanks, I already do all of these things. I was wondering if there was a good way to search online for contracts for companies that do not do these things.

Also - If a company will not pay a contractor for work preformed, it is not bragging - it is warning other contractors about that company so they do not have to go through the same thing. In 17 years of business I have only had to go to court twice, and I was answering a specific question about a NSP. I have the same review about them on Google, I am not worried about not getting a contract because of it.


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## Hydromaster (Jun 11, 2018)

when you reinvent how business works,
I'll be interested to hear about it.

the most successful commercial landscaper I know is a true shoomzer. He has a natural gift to talk to and instantly connect with anyone. And that is a huge huge benefit when a salesperson has that ability. You like this guy the minute you meet him. He went on to sell his commercial biz for 25 million. Doing all the selling himself. Honestly, that is a skill and natural gift that I would like to have myself. Some people are just born to talk… I wish I was one of 'em. So… Can you do it? Absolutely. But if you're an introvert if you don't like knocking on doors or are shy talking to your customers, you are going to have to grow a pair real quick and get over that junk. Getting past that fear is the secret of how to get commercial lawn accounts. So get in there and open those doors to commercial maintenance accounts. I know you can do it!

https://www.lawncaremarketingexpert.com/how-to-get-commercial-lawn-accounts/
ps
Have you heard of a black list?
They put disgruntled service providers on it
Who warn others or state they sued their clients.

Again, good luck


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## BossPlow2010 (Sep 29, 2010)

We were asked to bud a NG base at the beginning of last year, a lot of extra hoops to jump through, couldn’t justify when we were bidding against brilar, Davey and VC...
I believe they also were going to allow pre bid site inspections, but covid shut them down...


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## Randall Ave (Oct 29, 2014)

What the OP could do is hire a sales person.


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## Kinport (Jan 9, 2020)

Yardworks2004 said:


> but there has to be some other way to find out where local companies post these?


We only do commercial also and I'm not aware of any specific website/board that keeps track of companies seeking snow removal. It may exist but I've not seen it.

I would get the Nextdoor app and watch Facebook, Facebook marketplace, and Facebook groups that are local to your area and craigslist as these are all free and occasionally people will make a post about needing someone to come clear their walks/drive, but that's about as close as I've seen to what your talking about.

Homeadvisor and Handy are both lead generating services you pay to sign up for. Homeadvisor charges you for each lead they send you and Handy charges you a percentage of the contract value. We've worked with both. Both are meh. Happy to go into details if you have questions.

If your not into the door to door thing, I think having a website that ranks on google is probably your best bet for getting invited to bid on commercial work. If a company isn't using a NSP, they probably have someone in middle management that's in charge of lining all of the lawn/snow stuff up. That person is probably just going to use google when they start looking for new providers.

finally, I'm with @Hydromaster The best way to secure work is getting out and talking to people. I don't schmooze or try to impress anyone, I just get right to the point, let them know who I am and what I do, and ask if I could put a bid together for their property. I think it's worked good for us


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## GMC Driver (Sep 9, 2005)

Take care of the relationships you have in place. Those will produce your best qualified leads. A referred client is the most simple way to gain new work.


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## Landgreen (Sep 8, 2007)

I remember years ago wanting to gain more commerciall accounts. Seemed like a mystery on how to obtain them. So one day I made a list of all the properties that were near our routes and were serviceable with the equipment we had at the time. I cold called all of them asking who was the decision maker and if taking bids. It was a sheetload of work and uncomfortable at times since Im not much for salesmanship. We landed at least 3-4 parking lots that fall. Very profitable and opened doors to many other opportunities. Website, flyers, FB and google are great for resi but commercial requires a higher level of ambition and sales strategy. Some people have a natural talent for it.


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