Leveraging other business's customers is a great tool. Local video stores are great because their customers are going to live very close to the store. This means that you won't have to drive all around town servicing them. Simply go in to the store and talk to the owner. Ask if they would be interested in giving their customers a coupon to get their lawns mowed for free, (or what ever your INCREDIBLE offer is.)
Many business owners will be happy to do this as it means their customers are getting a little something for nothing. Other times they may ask that you in return give your clients a offer for their store. This is great too because it means your clients are getting an extra bonus for being loyal to your business. Every body wins
Now obviously you can network with businesses other than just a video store. Just bare in mind that you want their customers to live close to the area you are servicing and that you have to be careful not to get to many referrals to quickly because you don't want to over commit yourself and end up disappointing your new leads as well as the local business you are networking with.
now for your free flyer templates and training videos. now for your free flyer templates and training videos.Garden centers are great. But sometimes they can be a bit tricky to get your foot in the door. I use to be a manager of a very well know garden center and I was very selective of who I would recommend. The key to getting leads from your local garden center is to build a relationship with them. Make sure the manager the checkout team know who you are. If they like you they will refer you to others.
Another great way to build up a relationship with the garden center is to offer to mow their lawns for free permanently. This might take you an hour of your time a month, (or even better an hour of your employees time,) but will yield you many lawn jobs as well as plenty of gardening jobs to boot!
Ever seen any of those I-Tunes gift cards in your local store? Well you can do asimilar thing with your lawn business. Organize a stand or poster for your local garden center. Get them to charge the customer a flat $10 fee for the first mow and let them keep all the money. They now have a strong incentive to promote you.