Next Year's Revenue Is Being Built This Fall

Hi H Client!

Almost every client who was with us last year is reaching their revenue goals this year, and when we trace that back, most of their 2026 revenue started in the off-season, with design-build projects that were planned, priced and signed between October and February, well before the first crew went out in the spring.

That's why your design-build marketing runs at full strength through the fall and winter, in parallel with everything else we're doing for you, because this is where next year's backlog comes from. It holds in colder states, where these are the quieter months for your construction crews, and in warmer ones too, where installs keep going through the winter while homeowners and property managers plan next year's larger projects at the same time. Growth gets easier to manage when you can see what's driving it, and for most landscape companies, a strong spring comes from a pipeline that you can see and forecast well before March, which is what we're building with you right now.

At the same time, there's the work your crews can still finish this year. In northern markets, there are several good working weeks left before the ground freezes (it changes every year, so you never really know!), so the marketing for those services needs to be in front of homeowners and property managers now. In warmer southern markets the ground won't freeze, though the season still shifts, with fall and winter often being your best working months while your customers move from summer projects into setting budgets and making plans for next year. In both cases, the marketing for what your crews can install now and the marketing for 2027 run side by side, and both are measured against your revenue targets rather than just how many calls came in.

What only you know is how much room your crews have, and that changes week to week with weather, staffing and backlog. Once your Project Manager knows it, we'll point your ads, your Google Business Profile optimizations, social posts, and your emails toward the services that you can schedule now, while your design-build marketing keeps building next year.

In your next QBR, let's walk through your revenue target for 2027 together, so we can plan backward from that number and every part of your marketing is working toward the same goal. Between QBRs, keep a close pulse with your Project Manager, by email and in your regular meetings, on crew availability, which services still have room this year and roughly when you expect to stop installing, since that's what lets us adjust your marketing as things change.

If your crews are already booked through the end of the season, tell us that too, because it means the focus can shift entirely to building next year, which is a great place to be in October.

Until Next time,

Anna Halstead

Co-Owner, Halstead Media Group