In our January ACE Team Development session on Maintenance Sales, Jason New and Chris Psencik put it plainly: renewals have been "a four-letter word" in the landscape industry for years. And honestly? For most companies, they still are.
Not because renewals are hard. Because most companies aren't treating them like the sales opportunity they actually are.
Let the Numbers Talk
Jason is McFarlin Stanford’s Founding Principal and leader of operations leadership. With 24 years as a landscape professional and 12 years as an executive coach, he has helped hundreds of clients with operational best practices.
He gave a benchmark worth writing down: if you have strong relationships and you've been doing this for a few years, you should be closing 90% or better on renewals. We see companies in the 80-93% range depending on strategy, but if you're below 80%, something is broken, and it's probably not your pricing.
Contrast that with new business development, where a 30% close rate is the target. Higher than 30% and your price is too low. Lower than 30% and either your price is too high or your sales process needs work.
The numbers are pretty clear: it's a lot cheaper to keep a contract than to replace one.
Stop Treating Renewals Like Admin
A mistake our clients experience is treating annual renewals as paperwork. They send the new contract in December and hope they retain clients. That approach leaves money on the table and it puts you in a weak position when a client wants to negotiate.
The companies doing this well have taken renewals completely off the negotiation table before the conversation even starts. How? Sending renewal contracts in April, plus the language in the contract itself.
An evergreen contract with an auto-renew clause removes the annual dance. You notify the client once a year, in the Spring, when the project is looking its best, what the new rate will be and charge accordingly.
For commercial, a two- or three-year agreement with a built-in annual increase of 3-6% accomplishes the same thing. The goal is to condition your clients by setting expectations. When a price increase is built into the contract language from the start, it's no longer a surprise — it's part of the agreement. That shift changes the dynamic.
What to Do When a Client Pushes Back
Sometimes you're inheriting an underpriced contract that needs a bigger correction than 5%. If the increase needed is 15-20% and you want to keep the account, the "half-back" approach works well: go to the right rate, but tell them you'll get there over two years. Half this year, half next.Clients appreciate not being blindsided, and most of the time they'll stay.
If the account is truly a bad fit, sell something first, then go address the contracts you want to exit. Don't drag them along just to push revenue.
The Real Opportunity
Renewal season isn't just about retaining what you have. It's the best time to look at scope, add enhancements, and expand the relationship. The better question isn't "are we keeping this account?" It's "how do we develop this relationship and expand this project in 2027?"