Commercial snow contracts are mostly decided in a few weeks, from late summer to early fall, and the people who decide are property managers, facility managers and HOA boards. A two-truck plow business can go from nothing to five signed lots in one season by listing 30 properties by name in August, emailing two prices in September, walking sites in October, and writing to the managers whose lots were still white after the first storm.

This is that season, followed month by month, with numbers. The company and the prices are made up for illustration. Your area, your costs and your competition will change them, so use the shape, not the figures.

The company and the goal

Luis runs a two-truck plow business in a snowy suburb. Last winter he plowed 14 driveways and two small lots for people he knew, and he would like commercial lots that pay on a schedule. He has general liability coverage, a commercial auto policy, and a plow truck with a salt spreader. His goal: five commercial lots under contract by the end of the season, starting with three before the first storm.

Who signs: for a retail strip or an office building, a property manager or facilities manager. For a condo or townhome community, the HOA board or the management company it hires. For a church or a medical office, an administrator or an office manager. Luis's list needs a name and role for each.

August: 30 lots and managers listed by name

Luis spends six hours in August. He drives the commercial streets within 15 minutes of his shop and writes down every plowable lot: strip malls, medical offices, small apartment communities, churches, office parks. Many have a sign that says who manages the property. For the rest he looks up the owner on the county's property records and searches the management company's website for the person who handles his area. How to find property managers to sell to covers the search in more detail.

By the end of the month he has 30 rows in a sheet: property, address, size (rough number of parking spaces), manager name and role, email, and a note. He adds one more column he'll need later: who plows it now, if the sign on the truck tells him.

September: first emails with per-push and seasonal prices

He sends 30 emails over a week, five hours in all including follow-ups. Each manager sees the same two options, because managers like to compare. For a medical office with 30 spaces and 200 feet of sidewalk, his illustrative prices are:

  • Per push: $150 to plow plus $45 for sidewalks, so $195 each time it snows at least 2 inches.
  • Seasonal flat: $2,100 for plowing and sidewalks, covering up to 14 pushes, with extra pushes at $150.

He shows the manager the math. At 12 storms, per-push costs $2,340 and the seasonal price saves $240. At 10 storms, per-push costs $1,950 and the seasonal price costs $150 more. The seasonal price is the price for knowing the budget in advance, and he says so. The contractor carries the risk of a heavy winter. At 16 storms Luis would earn about $2,100 + $300 = $2,400 for 16 visits, or $150 a visit.

A copyable first email:

Subject: Snow service for Lakeview Medical Plaza, two ways to price it
Hi Ms. Reyes, I'm Luis with Hollow Road Plowing. We have two trucks and plow lots in Lakeview. If your current plower is working well, ignore this. If you'd like a second quote or a backup for big storms, I can price it two ways: $195 per push (2-inch trigger, lot plus sidewalks) or $2,100 for the season, up to 14 pushes. I can send our certificate of insurance and a one-page agreement. Could I walk the lot with you for 15 minutes next week? Luis Moreno, Hollow Road Plowing, 88 Quarry Lane, Lakeview. Reply STOP and I won't write again.

The certificate of insurance matters. Property managers usually ask for one that lists the owner as an additional insured. Ask your insurance agent for the wording before September, not after the first reply. How to cold email property managers has the rest of the structure. For the wording of the quote itself, see how to follow up on a quote.

October: site walks and signed contracts

Of his 30 emails, 9 managers reply. Six agree to a site walk, which takes Luis about nine hours with driving. He asks three questions on every walk: who plows it now, when does that contract end, and what went wrong last winter. He notes where to stack snow, where the drains and curbs are, and which entrances matter most. Five quotes go out in writing, with the trigger depth, the response time, the sidewalk scope and what happens in a freezing-rain event.

By October 31, three sign: the medical office on the seasonal price ($2,100), a retail strip on the seasonal price ($3,400), and an apartment community per push ($260 a push). Luis's time before the first storm is about 26 hours: 6 in August, 5 in September, 9 on site walks, 6 on quotes, calls and paperwork.

The first storm and the follow-up

The first real snow arrives in late November. Luis plows his three lots by 6 a.m. Then he drives past the other 27 properties at 8 a.m. Lots that are still unplowed are on his list. He writes to those managers that morning:

Hi Mr. Ahmed, I drove by Maple Court this morning and the lot was still covered at 8:15. We plow by 6 a.m. at a 2-inch trigger and we have room for one more lot this winter. Could I send you a price today?

He sends it only about lots a customer would see from the street, and he writes to the manager, not to the current plower. Two of these managers answer within the week. A church lot signs per push at $180, joining after storm 1, and a small office park signs per push at $210 after storm 2. Neither was open to him in September because they hadn't had a missed storm yet.

The numbers by the end of the season

The winter has 12 pushes. Here's the revenue, under the assumptions above:

  • Medical office, seasonal: $2,100.
  • Retail strip, seasonal: $3,400.
  • Apartment community, 12 pushes at $260: $3,120.
  • Church, joined after storm 1, 11 pushes at $180: $1,980.
  • Office park, joined after storm 2, 10 pushes at $210: $2,100.

That's $12,700 from five lots, for roughly 30 hours of selling. Fuel, labor, salt, insurance and truck wear are not in that figure. It shows the shape of the funnel (30 listed, 9 replies, 6 walks, 5 quotes, 3 signed before the storm) and that the missed-storm follow-up added two more lots.

What to copy from Luis, and what to change for your lots

Copy the calendar: list in August, email in September, walk in October, watch the first storm. Copy the two-price offer, since it lets the manager choose by budget. Change the prices to your own costs, and know your break-even per push before you quote. Ask your insurance agent about snow and ice coverage, since slip-and-fall claims are where plowing contracts get expensive, and read what trade groups such as the Snow & Ice Management Association publish on contract terms. Check state and local rules too.

If you also mow in summer, how to get commercial landscaping contracts covers that side, and what is a commercial client explains how commercial buyers differ from homeowners. For the calling side, cold calling scripts for property management companies has a script for owners. Rocketship for property management shows how those managers are found and followed up with.

The window for a signed lot is a few weeks long, and a missed week is a missed lot. Rocketship finds the property managers by name, emails them from your own Gmail, follows up, and books the site walk on its own. Plans that get you customers start at $24.99 a month (Launch), and every monthly plan starts with a 7-day free trial, card required.