Behind the Bark
The Story:
A patent medicine company turned a "hokey" product called Icy Hot into a multi-million dollar business without spending a dime on traditional advertising. Their secret? Understanding that acquiring the right customer once could pay dividends forever.
The owner had studied his market (arthritis sufferers) and discovered that one out of three first-time buyers would reorder repeatedly for life. His average customer ordered six more times annually, forever.
Armed with this knowledge, he made a radical decision: he'd pay $3.45 to sell a $3 jar of product. On the surface, he lost 45 cents per sale. Combined with his 48-cent production cost, each new customer cost him 93 cents.
The Math That Changed Everything:
Nearly one million people tried the product. 350,000 became repeat customers, ordering 6 times a year at $10 per order. That $930,000 initial "loss" generated $21 million in annual revenue, over $10 million in pure profit.
The Innovative Approach:
Rather than buying advertising, he approached media outlets with an unprecedented offer: run our ads in your unsold time or space, keep all the $3 from each sale, PLUS we'll pay you an extra 45 cents. Zero risk to them; they only got paid when they delivered results.
Within a year, over 1,000 media outlets were running Icy Hot ads at no upfront cost. Daily orders reached 5,000-10,000. The "free" advertising generated $10 million in media exposure and created such retail demand that they accidentally built a $4 million retail business without a single salesperson. Eventually, pharmaceutical giant GD Searle bought the company for millions.
The Lesson for Your Tree Service Business:
Start thinking about customer lifetime value AND individual jobs. How many times will a residential customer need:
Tree trimming (every 2-3 years)?
Storm damage cleanup?
Stump removal?
Seasonal maintenance?
If you know a customer will generate $5,000 over ten years, spending $500 or even $1,000 to acquire them becomes smart business, not crazy spending.
Consider performance-based marketing partnerships: property managers, landscapers, real estate agents, and home improvement stores. Offer generous referral fees or revenue-sharing arrangements that eliminate their risk.
The key insight: When you know your numbers (cost per customer acquisition, retention rate, and lifetime value), you can make bold moves your competitors won't. You're not spending money; you're investing in assets that pay dividends for years.
How do you translate that into tree service?
Are you trying to “sell harder,” or are you making it easier to say yes?
Are you dependent on a single lead source, or do you have many sources feeding you year-round?
Do you squeeze a job once, or do you grow the lifetime value of every customer?
If you want your own version of that leap (on a local scale), shift from “get more leads” to “create more leverage.”
Limb of the Week
The Icy Hot Lesson, Tree Service Edition: stack leverage in three places.
1) Offer and Risk Reversal (Make “Yes” Safe)
What would make a homeowner feel zero risk? Examples:
Clean Yard Guarantee: If we leave debris beyond your green bin, we pay for next-day cleanup.
Price Certainty: Written, itemized scope. If we missed something in scope, we eat it, not you.
Priority Storm Standby: Book any pruning now, get priority slotting for storm events.
Why it works: People buy certainty. Reduce fear, increase conversions without cutting price.
2) Distribution and Partnerships (Borrow Trust)
Who already talks to your best buyers?
Roofers, gutter pros, landscapers, fence companies, pool installers
Realtors, property managers, HOA boards
Insurance agents, restoration companies post-storm
Make a simple, trackable deal:
“We send you X, you send us Y.” Share a dedicated phone number and revenue split or reciprocal referrals.
Provide a one-page partner sheet with your USP, license/insurance, service radius, and three before/afters.
Why it works: Partners shortcut trust and timing. You meet customers exactly when the need is hot.
3) Lifetime Value and Follow-Up (Squeeze More From Every Job, Ethically)
Turn one-time jobs into programs:
Canopy Care Plan: annual inspection + priority debris removal + discounted pruning.
Neighbor Rate: while the crane is on your street, adjacent addresses get block pricing.
Stump + Soil Bundle: grind + topsoil + seed/mulch in one visit.
Follow-up cadence for estimates:
Day 0: Text + email with your license/insurance, 3 reviews, and a before/after.
Day 2: Short video answering the top 3 questions (noise, cleanup, property protection).
Day 4: Offer two time slots and ask, “Which works?”
Day 7: “Still need help, or did you go another direction?” (gives you clarity and reopens the conversation)
Reactivation: every 90–120 days, ping past clients with “Free canopy check before storm season?”
No magic. Just leverage. And leverage actually scales.
Sawdust
Quick cuts you can use this week:
Route density note: leave a non-pushy “We’re working on your street Tuesday. Want block pricing?” door hanger with a QR code to book.
Tracking: use a unique phone number per channel (Google Ads, partners, yard signs) so you know what’s working.
Social proof: one 20-second vertical video per job: “Here’s how we protected the fence and pool.”
Photos that sell: shoot the rigging and clean-up, not just the stump. Safety sells.
Kickback
Stop hoping for referrals. Engineer them.
If you don’t ask at peak satisfaction (job walk-through, yard spotless, invoice in hand), you’re leaving money on the limbs. Script it: “Do you mind if we leave a sign in your yard while we work? We're here with the crane today, and if your neighbors need work, we can waive the trip charge since we're already set up.”
Simple. Respectful. Effective.
The Icy Hot guy knew his numbers cold: 1 in 3 customers reorders forever. That's how he justified "losing" $0.93 per sale.
Do you know yours?
If you can't answer "What's a customer worth over 5 years?" or "Which lead source actually books jobs?", you're flying blind. And you can't build leverage when you're guessing.
We'll show you where you're bleeding money and what to fix first.
$100 gets you:
→ A snapshot report showing where you're losing calls
→ A prioritized list of adjustments ranked by impact
→ A working session walking through what to fix and how
We spend 3-4 hours prepping before the call so you walk away with a plan, not homework.
If you don't leave with at least $1,000 in clarity, we'll refund your $100.
How did you like today's issue?
Written by Jacob Hastings
Head of Growth & Client Strategy at Growth Ring Media
