The next 30 days: turn leaf cleanups into reviews and spring contracts
Fall cleanup season puts your crews in front of more happy customers than any other month. Here is how to leave each yard with a review and a spring signup.
Fall cleanups are the busiest stretch of the back half of the year, and most landscapers treat them as the last paycheck before winter. Crews blow, bag, haul, and leave. By December the phone is quiet and nobody remembers which company did the yard.
The next 30 days can do more than pay the bills. Every finished cleanup is a customer who is happy right now, standing in a clean yard. That is the best moment of the year to ask for two things: a Google review and a commitment for spring.
Why this window matters
A homeowner sees the difference after a fall cleanup in a way they never notice after a routine mow. The beds are clear, the lawn is visible again, and the gutters are not full of leaves. Happy and impressed is when people write reviews.
It also matters because of where most companies sit. In our data on 91,717 landscaping and lawn care companies, the median has 7 reviews and 55.6% have fewer than ten. The top 10% have 61 or more. A busy cleanup season with a steady ask can move a small company past the median before the snow flies.
And spring contracts signed in the fall are the cheapest customers you will ever get. No ad spend, no competing quotes, no March scramble.
Week one: set up the ask before the crews go out
Do this once, then let it run for the season.
- Get your review link. In your Google Business Profile, find the "Ask for reviews" option and copy the short link. Save it in your phone as a text shortcut.
- Write the text. Keep it short and personal:
Hi [name], your fall cleanup is done. Thanks for having us out. If the yard looks good, a quick Google review helps a small company like ours a lot: [link]. [Your name]
- Print a small card for the door with the same link as a QR code and one line: "Thanks for having us. Tell your neighbors how it went." Cards cost a few cents each at most print shops.
The reviews guide has more scripts and the timing that works best.
Weeks one through four: send it the same day
The rule is simple. When a job is finished, the text goes out within an hour. Not at the end of the week in a batch. The same day, while the customer is looking out the window at the result.
If you have a crew lead who finishes jobs on their own, give them the shortcut and make it part of the checklist, right after the final walk-around. A quick photo of the finished yard texted along with the review link works even better. It reminds them what they are reviewing.
Week two: start selling spring
Once the review process is running, add the second ask. Two options work well, and you can use both.
At the door or by text, after the review ask:
One more thing. We are filling our spring maintenance schedule now and current customers get first pick of days. Want me to put you down for weekly mowing starting in April? No payment until the first visit.
On the invoice: add a single line under the total. "Lock in spring: reply YES to this text to hold your spot for weekly service." Keep it that simple.
Some owners offer a small reason to commit early, like a free spring cleanup with a full-season signup or the current year's price held for next season. A held price is often the strongest. It costs you little and means a lot to a homeowner who expects prices to go up. The pricing and quoting guide covers how to present seasonal packages so the bigger plan is the easy pick.
Week three: work the list you already have
Pull every customer from this year who is not on the fall schedule. Send them one text:
Hi [name], it is [your name] from [company]. We still have a few fall cleanup slots before the end of the month. Want me to hold one for you?
Customers who used you for mowing in the summer and never booked a cleanup often just forgot to ask. Each one who says yes becomes another chance for a review and a spring signup.
Week four: tidy up the profile
By now you should have a handful of new reviews and a stack of before and after photos. Spend thirty minutes on your Google profile:
- Upload ten of the best cleanup photos.
- Reply to every new review by name, briefly.
- Add "Fall cleanup" and "Leaf removal" to your services if they are missing.
- Post a short update: "Spring maintenance schedule is filling. Current customers get first pick."
The Google Business Profile guide shows where each of those settings lives.
What to track
Keep two counts on a sheet for the month: reviews received and spring signups. Even a rough tally shows which crews ask and which do not. If you want to see what a spring book filled in October is worth compared to buying those customers with ads in March, the calculator will run the numbers using your own job value. The benchmark report shows where your review count lands after the season.
If you want help setting up the review texts and spring signups before your crews head out, 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