How Steve Martino turned R.I. Lawns into a million-dollar company in one season.
Steve Martino took over as General Manager of R.I. Lawns in March 2023, when the company was doing roughly $500,000 to $600,000 a year with broken equipment, poor reviews, and no profit to speak of. He set two targets for his first season and hit both.
This case study shows how lawn care business automation, faster lead response, and better use of an existing CRM helped R.I. Lawns scale operations without adding unnecessary administrative work.
The automation that changed how fast the company turns a lead into a paying client was already sitting inside the CRM he’d been using for over a decade.
What Steve Found When He Took Over R.I. Lawns
Steve wasn’t new to R.I. Lawns. He’d worked there as a remote office manager back in 2012, answering phones and booking jobs, before stepping away to handle a run of hard personal years. He came back in 2021 to manage the fertilizer program. When the general manager left in March 2023, Steve stepped in, and the state of the business was worse than he expected.
Roughly $500,000 to $600,000 a year in revenue. Two to three hundred clients. Reviews that weren’t good. No real profit. Broken equipment. A team that wasn’t sticking around.
Reach one million dollars in revenue. Get to one hundred five-star reviews. Both by the end of his first season as General Manager, December 2023.
He hit both. By December 2023, R.I. Lawns had crossed a million dollars in revenue and passed one hundred five-star reviews. The following year, he and his business partner, Justin Woodford, set a standing target of ten to twenty percent profit margin, and that’s held every year since.
The CRM Automation Change That Improved Lead Response
R.I. Lawns had been using Service Autopilot, its CRM, since around 2011. For most of that time, the automation features inside it weren’t turned on. Every confirmation text, every dispatch update, and every piece of client communication went out manually.
“I’m skeptical about a lot of things until I can see it and experience it with my own two eyes.” — Steve Martino, General Manager, R.I. Lawns
A client submits an online request for an estimate.
She gets a text confirming the request was received.
Steve sends a quote by text and email that can be accepted from her phone.
She accepts the quote from her phone.
She adds a card online and gets scheduled.
A dispatch text lets her know the crew is on the way.
Almost none of that took a phone call. The client never had to wait on hold, chase down a callback, or wonder if her request had gone through.
Close to 32 hours a month of confirmations, scheduling messages, and dispatch texts were automated.
At a $75,000 annual salary, that work equals roughly $1,150 per month.
Steve didn’t cut the position. He moved those hours into work that still needed a person.
Results: Revenue Growth, Reviews, and Profit Targets
By December 2023, his first season running the company, Steve had hit both numbers he’d set for himself. In 2024, he and Justin put much of what the company had earned back into equipment and crew, which brought the year’s revenue to $1.1 million and pulled the profit margin down while they rebuilt. In 2025, R.I. Lawns reached $1.4 million in revenue, and the profit margin recovered to the ten to twenty percent range they now budget for every year.
The AI Answering Service Experiment R.I. Lawns Turned Off
Rosie AI Answering Service
- Picked up calls around the clock.
- Covered nights and early mornings when nobody was in the office.
- Sounded close enough to a real person that Steve says she almost fooled him.
Turned Off for Now
- Existing clients said they missed talking to a real human.
- Steve turned Rosie off and set the phones back to voicemail after hours.
- The tool is still available to turn back on later.
“I don’t think our clients here are personally ready for the AI interaction they’re having with Rosie.” — Steve Martino, General Manager, R.I. Lawns
What Other Lawn Care Business Owners Can Learn
Steve’s advice isn’t to chase the newest tool on the market. It’s to turn on what’s already sitting inside the software most owners already pay for.
He points to instant response as the automation that pays for itself fastest, because it fixes the exact moment most companies lose a lead: the gap between someone asking for a quote and someone getting back to them.
Before you buy anything new, turn on the instant-response automations already sitting inside your CRM.
The confirmation, scheduling, and dispatch texts don’t need a person. That’s real hours back every month, without touching how you write a single quote.
Lawn Care Business Automation FAQ
What CRM does R.I. Lawns use?
R.I. Lawns uses Service Autopilot. The company had used the CRM for years before turning on more of its built-in automation features.
What automation made the biggest difference?
Instant lead response was one of the most important changes. Automated confirmation, scheduling, and dispatch messages reduced manual administrative work and kept prospects informed.
How much administrative time did the automation save?
The case study estimates that confirmations, scheduling messages, and dispatch texts had previously consumed close to 32 hours per month.
Did R.I. Lawns replace employees with automation?
No. The saved administrative time was redirected toward work that still required a person rather than eliminating the position.
Did the company keep using its AI answering service?
No. R.I. Lawns tested Rosie for after-hours calls, but turned it off after existing clients indicated they preferred speaking with a person.
About This Story
This Field Note is based on a conversation with Steve Martino, General Manager of R.I. Lawns. Owner details and figures are used with permission.
QuantumGrwth partners with home service business owners who are focused on building empires. If you want to use AI and automations to improve profit margins, stop revenue leakage, or improve team performance, give us a call.
