Opportunity
In today’s busy world, many owners have neither the desire nor time to do their own holiday lighting. Municipalities, office buildings, commercial buildings (including restaurants, hotels & resorts, country clubs, shopping malls, etc.), and housing developments all hire outside contractors to put their lights up for them. Holiday lighting jobs can pay $2,000 on average and as much as $10K or $15K for large municipal or commercial jobs so it’s safe to say, holiday lighting is a great profit opportunity. High-end residential and older generation clients are also profitable customers. For this reason, many outdoor industry professionals have added it to their services offered.
ADvantages
Holiday lighting’s busy season lasts from October to February, which is typically when work is slower for contractors in many regions of the US. That period consists of installs from October to December and takedowns from January to February. Holiday lighting can provide work to crews who have less to do and be a good use of trucks that might be idle. It’s simple and potentially easier than most landscaping, hardscaping, or irrigation jobs and many times contractors already own the equipment needed. Best of all, it can supply continued income with relatively high margins.
FINDING CUSTOMERS
To find holiday lighting customers, contactors find the most success when looking through their current list of clients. Seeing the number of clients that you will add when you spread the word that you can assist with it might surprise you. Providing this service can further solidify relationships with existing customers. You could also gain clients that are just holiday lighting clients as well as increase your regular clientele. For example, you could first be introduced to a client when doing their holiday lighting and they could be so pleased with the quality of your install and your now established relationship that they inquire about your regular services and become a new regular client.
For most contractors it typically takes 2-3 years to build a solid customer base. However, once established, customers are likely to bring you repeat business year after year. This 2021 year is forecasted to be a particularly good year for holiday lighting because more people are staying home which allows them to enjoy the lights more fully and means they will have more money to spend.
First Steps
Getting started in holiday lighting can be daunting, but we have found that most commercial and larger residential customers stick with basic light colors like clear warm white and add color accents by wrapping trees for example. This approach makes it more cost effective when getting started as you can purchase the majority of your lights in the more popular colors and add on only a few other solid color lights.
5 Quick Pro Tips To Keep in Mind
Build a portfolio & sales tools to increase your close rate.
Do your research and get as much training as you can - have your crews get trained as well.
Don't take on more than you can handle. Make sure your crew is big enough to handle the workload before agreeing to a new job so you can deliver excellence to ensure repeat business.
Start the sales process early - lock in as many jobs as you can to help you forecast & buy product better.
Consider leasing product instead of selling. This ensures repeat business & you can store the product in a safe and organized way.
A Business worthwhile
There is great opportunity in holiday lighting. It can not only be a financial investment, but also a rewarding one as you see your customers’ reactions once the jobs are complete. So, what are you waiting for? Find out which of our distributors is nearest to you to get started.