Landing commercial tree service clients opens up a whole new world of opportunities.

Commercial properties offer steady, high-value contracts that can transform your business. But reaching property managers and understanding their needs requires a different approach than residential work.

This guide breaks down everything you need to know about commercial tree care sales. We will discuss which types of properties to target, how to connect with decision-makers, and what documentation keeps them coming back year after year.

Whether you’re exploring commercial work for the first time or looking to expand your client base, these strategies will help you win more bids!

Know Your Market: Types of Commercial Clients

Different commercial properties need different tree services. Understanding these differences transforms you from just another tree company into their go-to partner.

Healthcare Facilities

Healthcare facilities spend more on landscaping than almost any other commercial property type, and for good reason. Studies prove that patients with views of trees recover faster, use less pain medication, and report higher satisfaction scores.

But meanwhile, the unique challenge with medical campuses comes from their 24/7 operations. Here are some medical property challenges that you need to address when proposing to your clients:

• Therapeutic garden maintenance for cancer centers and rehab facilities
• Allergy-free zones near respiratory and immunology units
• Clear sightlines for security cameras and emergency helipads
• Sound barrier plantings between patient rooms and parking areas

Smart contractors build relationships with facilities directors by offering quarterly tree health reports. These documents help administrators justify landscape budgets to boards focused on patient care metrics, cause in healthcare, everything connects back to patient outcomes.

Hotels and recreation venues

In the hotel business, first impressions aren’t just important, they’re everything. A guest pulling up to dead trees and overgrown shrubs has already decided to book elsewhere next time. That’s why hospitality properties treat tree care as a marketing expense, not just maintenance.

The seasonal nature of hospitality creates both challenges and opportunities. Peak wedding season means no tree work near event spaces. But that same urgency means hotels pay premium rates for emergency response when storms threaten booked events.

As a result, the real money in hospitality comes from bundled services. Combine tree care with seasonal color plantings and holiday lighting, and you’ve got a year-round contract worth six figures. Hotels love one-stop shopping that simplifies their vendor management.

Educational institutions

Here’s something that might surprise you, colleges and universities maintain some of the most complex tree ecosystems of any commercial client you’ll encounter.

Since 2008, over 200 educational institutions have earned Tree Campus Higher Education recognition.

Between maintaining safe playgrounds, clearing sight lines for security cameras, and preparing picture-perfect campuses for graduation, educational facilities need year-round tree services that go beyond basic maintenance.

Elementary schools focus heavily on playground safety. High schools add athletic field requirements, whereas universities take it further with aesthetic demands for recruitment tours, alumni events, and social media photography according to survey study of university tree-care practices.

The money really flows during summer break when schools tackle major projects:

• Full campus tree inventories and risk assessments
• Memorial garden installations funded by alumni donations
• Large-scale removals while students are away
• Athletic facility upgrades before fall sports
• Pre-graduation beautification projects

Understanding their calendar drives everything. Spring budget approvals, summer project windows, fall sports schedules, and spring graduations create natural rhythms for your services. Time it right, and schools become your most reliable commercial clients.

Retail and Shopping Centers

The challenge with retail properties goes beyond just keeping trees trimmed. These sites deal with constant deliveries, meaning height clearance becomes critical. One low branch scraping a delivery truck can shut down receiving for hours, costing thousands in lost sales. Add in liability concerns from root damage to sidewalks and parking lots, and you understand why retail managers stay awake at night.

Smart contractors approach retail properties with business cases, not service lists:

• Calculate the sales impact of blocked signage
• Show how shade trees increase shopping duration
• Document liability risks from aging trees
• Demonstrate ROI on preventive maintenance

Timing matters enormously in retail. Black Friday prep starts in October. Summer maintenance happens before back-to-school shopping. The contractors who understand retail calendars win the contracts.

ArborNote helps tree care companies excel at commercial contracts. Manage multiple properties, schedule recurring maintenance, and generate the professional reports property managers demand. Our platform makes it easy to track contracts, coordinate seasonal work, and deliver the documentation that wins commercial clients.

How to Find and Reach Out to Commercial Clients

Quality commercial clients need outreach that goes beyond traditional marketing methods. The right approach can revolutionize your tree care business and help you secure lucrative commercial contracts.

Use local business directories and property databases

The first step to landing commercial clients is making sure they can find you. List your business in every directory that matters: Google Business Profile, Yelp, Angi, HomeAdvisor, and Bing Places for Business. These citations play a significant role because they boost search engine rankings and build credibility with potential clients. Search engines like Google and Bing trust businesses more when their name, address, and phone number details stay consistent across multiple platforms.

A tip is to optimize your directory listings for commercial searches. Instead of just “tree service,” include terms like “commercial tree maintenance,” “property management tree care,” or “corporate campus landscaping.” These specific phrases help you show up when facilities managers search for specialized services.

Build relationships with property managers and HOAs

Property managers hold the keys to commercial contracts worth thousands each year. These professionals look after office parks, apartment complexes, shopping centers, and other commercial properties that need regular tree maintenance. Your company’s professionalism should shine through clean branding, quick estimates, and reliable communication.

Many tree care businesses thrive by building long-term contractual relationships with commercial properties. Here are some practical ways you can start with:

• Maintain attractive entrances and well-manicured grounds throughout the year
• Become the go-to emergency contact for storm damage response
• Provide detailed monthly reports that help managers justify budgets to owners
• Offer package deals that cover multiple properties under one contract

Property managers talk to each other. Impress one, and word spreads quickly through their professional networks.

Use LinkedIn and B2B networking events

LinkedIn stands out as a powerful tool for commercial tree service lead generation, 74% of B2B buyers make their purchasing decisions on this platform. Smart tree service owners build their networks through:

• Connecting with existing customers and asking about their industry connections
• Manually searching for property management professionals in their service area
• Joining industry groups where decision-makers hang out
• Posting before-and-after photos of commercial properties they’ve serviced

Instead of just posting sales messages, share educational content about tree risks, maintenance benefits, and cost-saving strategies. This positions you as a trusted advisor rather than just another vendor pushing for business.

Cold outreach and follow-up tips

Cold calling works when done right.

You can start with just 10 target companies you’d love to work with. Research them thoroughly and connect with grounds maintenance coordinators through phone calls or LinkedIn messages. The key difference between success and failure? Position these conversations as relationship-building opportunities, not sales pitches.

Here’s something that actually works:

• Mention a specific observation about their property
• Point out potential issues you’ve noticed from the street
• Offer a free consultation or tree health assessment
• Share relevant case studies from similar properties

These approaches open doors because they deliver value before asking for anything in return.

Also, when building connections with commercial clients, they don’t buy tree services after one conversation. They buy after multiple touchpoints that build trust over time. If you don’t get one hit in the first tryout, don’t get too upset. Your outreach efforts can grow gradually to include more potential commercial clients as your confidence builds.

Match with Commercial-Grade Tree Services

Commercial clients expect superior service that matches their investment. Your tree care business needs a structured approach to separate itself from competitors who focus on residential work.

Standardize your service packages

Well-laid-out service packages designed for commercial properties show professionalism and make decisions easier. Many successful commercial tree care companies offer all-in-one annual plans that handle maintenance, quick emergency response, and proper documentation. Commercial clients value convenience above all, they want everything handled smoothly. To name just one example, see these three distinct tree care packages levels:

• Basic maintenance (routine pruning and health checks)
• Advanced services (technical removals and specialized treatments)
• Premium packages (consultation, preventive care, and priority scheduling)

This approach makes decisions simple for busy property managers, and also positions your higher-priced services as premium options rather than just expensive extras.

Provide clear reporting and documentation

Documentation in the tree care process stands as the cornerstone of commercial tree care operations. Detailed records protect your business and clients by:

• Ensuring compliance with industry standards and regulations
• Providing before-and-after visual evidence of work completed
• Creating detailed maintenance histories for property managers
• Supporting insurance claims when necessary

Besides, commercial property managers need reports they can share with stakeholders, building owners and also their insurance. Digital documentation systems that capture job-site photos and maintain accessible records are a must-have expected by serious commercial clients.

ArborNote streamlines the entire documentation process, from proposals to final reports with photos. Property managers get professional records they need for stakeholders while you save hours on paperwork. Better documentation means better client retention.

Implement quality control processes

Quality control separates the professionals from the amateurs in commercial tree care. Your business should adopt formal work practices consistent with ANSI A300 standards, the recognized industry benchmark.

These standards include specific guidelines for pruning, fertilization, and other woody plant management aspects. Many commercial tree services establish quality control programs with designated managers responsible for field compliance.

Commercial tree service contracts offer the steady revenue and professional growth that transform businesses. With these strategies—from targeting the right properties to delivering professional documentation—you’re equipped to enter this lucrative market.

Start by identifying ten commercial properties in your area. Reach out with value-focused proposals backed by tools like ArborNote. Your next major contract is closer than you think.

The opportunity is here. Make your move.