Temperatures were in the 90s last week in Dayton, Ohio and I found myself simultaneously reminding my team to stay hydrated while working in the heat and talking to my sales team about what we need to be looking for in new snow contracts for the 2026-2027 season. It's funny how that happens.

This week on The Grow Show, I was joined by Phil Harwood to talk about snow and he shared a great line: "Snow should be your most profitable service...and if it's not something's wrong. There's something we can fix here."

His perspective on this is so good because he's right: snow is the riskiest business we take on, and it should be priced accordingly. But equally important as pricing is setting expectations upfront so that we're sure the contracts we take on are ones where we can be successful. Here's what we've learned to watch for:

1. Driveways and Overnight Parking Expectations

For apartments, HOAs, and to a lesser degree hotels parked cars can pose issues for our teams. It can be difficult to clear around them, true, but another issue we see happens later. When residents or guests who were parked overnight clear off their cars to leave, it can look like we were never there after. 

We explain this upfront when we take on new properties now and explain that during large snow events we may need to add an additional visit to clear the snow off after people leave for work. 

2. Communication Preferences

Our teams work best when we can coordinate our response over email. We set this expectation upfront so that our clients know what to expect before they sign the contract. Here's what our process for dispatch looks like:

1. Our team will provide forecast updates over email to the main point of contact. We will share our plan for responding to the weather and also a deadline for clients to opt out of service.
   

2. If clients don't opt out of service before the cut off, our teams will service their property.
3. If clients do opt out of service, we will skip their property. If clients later request service they're added to the end of our routes so the response time will be slower. 

Both of these things come down to setting expectations up front and communicating well. When we do that, we're setting our team up for success when the rubber (or the snow) hits the road. 

I'll be at GROW! Snow hosted by the Snowfighters Institute in Dayton, Ohio on September 22-23 to teach, and learn myself, on snow operations, sales, and more alongside snow guru Phil Harwood. Registration for that event is now open - snag your spot to come see me. 

Think cold thoughts while you're out there in the heat this week!

Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.