Avant is a residential gardening and landscaping client currently on a one-time flat-fee contract (paid, expiring end of January). The goal is to convert them into a recurring monthly retainer before the contract closes. Karly owns this relationship and is preparing a formal proposal for the Monday call following the 2025-12-12 weekly ops meeting.
Target retainer: ~$2,500–$3,000/month
Decision owner: Karly Oykhman
Supporting: Mark Hope (pitch framework, ROI framing)
Position Avant as a premium service provider against low-cost competitors (e.g., small informal crews). Emphasize:
The pitch: clients who want quality and reliability will pay more — and marketing can attract exactly those clients.
Avant already does hardscaping (patios, retaining walls, decks). These projects start at $5,000–$6,000 minimum, making the ROI math on a retainer straightforward:
One hardscaping lead per month more than covers the retainer cost.
Focus the proposal on generating hardscaping inquiries rather than low-margin residential maintenance jobs.
Avant offers snow plowing in winter but it is not on their website. Adding this service to the site is a quick win:
This mirrors a broader agency principle: help clients find complementary services to smooth seasonal revenue curves. See [1].
The proposal must show that the retainer pays for itself. Suggested framing:
Mark's guidance: "You've got to show them some kind of ROI. He's going to have to get more than $2,500 or $5,000 worth of sales from our effort for it to be worth the money."
To be finalized before Monday's call. Suggested inclusions:
| Service | Notes |
|---|---|
| SEO / organic search | Ongoing content and technical optimization |
| Google Ads management | Target hardscaping keywords |
| Website updates | Add snow plowing, seasonal content |
| Monthly reporting | Traffic, leads, conversions |
| Website hosting (takeover) | Current host unknown — opportunity to consolidate |