Archive for sales

What Are The Keys to Closing Landscape Sales?

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Tuesday, July 17th, 2012

What are the the key elements to closing landscape sales, whether maintenance or installation? Let’s list 5 factors that affect closing a sale:

Presentation

A sales proposition that is meaningful

Reputation

Commitment

Follow through

Let’s look at each of these elements and define their value to the sale closing.

Presentation is is more than a great brochure, it is how your sales team dresses, how they speak, how they present the information to the customer, it is your company’s image in the community and on the street. All sales people should present a professional image, they should dress appropriately for the position. Clean and neat looking appearance can set the tone for the entire sales process. A collared shirt and clean slacks are important, and a logo on the shirt to help identify your staff and present an image of professionalism to the customer. Using brochures that have your logo, name address and phone number on them, gives an appearance of stability and professionalism. Logo’s on vehicles and equipment add to the level of professionalism. Presentation is much more than a brochure.

Your sales proposition is what defines your company and sets you apart from the competition. For example, “Our company has 99% retention rate of clients from year to year for the past 5 years”,  ”Our company responses to all customer calls the same day with out fail” , “Our company offers 100% satisfaction or you don’t pay”.  These are examples of sales propositions, now it must be something that is true and that you believe in, as an owner and a company. It must set you apart from the other companies and you must follow through on your statement. Also it should be something that is important to the clients you serve. Your statement should be on every piece of literature that you company produces and appear on every graphic you use to sell, including logo’s on the vehicles and equipment. 

Reputation is a key factor in selling services, if you are known for being late to jobs, or if your company is always tacks on charges after the job is sold, you have a problem. That is the public perspective of your company and will tell people how you do business, good or bad. Reputation travels through a community, people talk about their contractors to neighbors, co-workers, anyone that will listen. Make sure what they say about your company is what you want them to say. Reputation can be something that is simple, but defines your company, for example,” The ABC company is expensive, but high quality”, or “The people they send to my job site are always dressed in old dirty clothes.” You can control your reputation!

Client’s want to be sure that you are committed to your company and the promises that are made to the client. Commitment is your passion in the landscape business, if you don’t follow through then someone else will. Clients want to know that you and your staff are committed to fulfilling your promises, but also insuring that the client will be well taken care of. Don’t let them down.

Follow through is important to all clients and potential clients, make sure that what ever commitments you make to a client are fulfilled. There is nothing more problematic than making promises you can’t keep. That includes time lines for proposals to information about the company, always exceed the clients expectations. New clients may even offer small tests to see how you respond to their requests, don’t be fooled it is important that you respond to their requests quickly and completely.

It is important that you follow these steps to insure that your company is providing what you promise. Don’t fail your customer and you will always be successful.

 

 

 

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Mid-Season Landscape Blahs, Do You Have Them?

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Monday, July 9th, 2012

The mid-season landscape blahs are here, do you have them? The landscape business is seasonal even if you live in a warm climate and most customerw think of landscape season during the spring and summer.  About this time every year the crews seem to slow down, the customers are thinking about summer vacation, the warm weather and summer is half over. This year has been especially warm, with above normal temperatures across much of the country, making working outdoors less than pleasant. So what to you do to motive the crews and the customers?

The crews need to get some loving from management, a picnic or a barbecue at the end of the week to show that you care. Have the supervisors deliver cold water to the crews a couple of times a week, something that is out of the ordinary. This is the time when you can ill afford to let your customers down, keeping the crews motivated to do their best is an important challenge at this time of year. Doing things to keep the crews interested in performing at a high service level is key to keeping the customer happy. A let down in performance will be remembered as we head into the renewal season, don’t let it happen.

Motivation for the customers is also important. This is the time of year when many Property Managers are becoming tried of the summer and looking for- ward to the winter season. Remember that it takes a lot of effort to get the landscape looking good and the season has been tough with the drought and the warm temperatures this year. The HOA Boards don’t understand why the landscape doesn’t look as good as they remember it last year. It is time to visit your customer and educate them on the things that are going on in the landscape, let them know the conditions are difficult and what you are doing to combat these conditions. Now is the time to meet them head on and discuss what you are doing just to maintain a quality landscape.

It is also time to think about fall sales, landscape improvements that can help for next season. It is sometimes hard to educate your customer, but the landscape is a growing and living thing, that requires planning and forethought to keep it looking good year after year. Now is the time to make the suggestions and plant the seed for future project that can help improve the value and the look of their landscape. Keeping the landscape in front of the customer is part of your responsibility as the landscape contractor. Communicate, communicate, communicate!

The summer blahs are tough on everyone, but if you work with your staff and customers, you will get through the season. You might even find that you are generating more work and happier customers. Don’t let the blahs get you.

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Finding the Right Sales Person for Your Landscape Company

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Monday, June 25th, 2012

Finding the right landscape sales person for your company is a very difficult task. Most owners are not interested in being the primary sales person in their companies. Therefore, finding the right person to fill that position is vital to any company’s success. Where do you start in your search for that person and what attributes are you looking for in a sales person?  First, this position is one of the most difficult positions to hire:

 it requires that you must be a self starter,

 it requires that you have perseverance,

it requests that you have a desire to meet people,

it requires that you like to help people solve problems and find solutions.

it requires personal drive for success.

A self starter is someone who is able to see the direction necessary to find new opportunities for sales, without you, the owner or manager directing their every move. It requires them to want to explore opportunities that can lead to a sales. This person must be inquisitive and ask questions that can lead to the desired results. This person must enjoy the  challenge of finding  new directions and have the knowledge to know when these are leading in a direction that will not produce the desired result.

The Sales person must be persistent, not easily deterred by rejection or lack of instant results. This position, at times can be a lonely road to travel, you are an island unto your self. This person must be driven to get the desired result, a sale. Not every one has this drive and determination that is required for a good sales person. Too many sales people don’t have the patience to follow the path to it’s conclusion. This is a position that will require good people skills and understanding how to read people, which is not always the easy thing to do. Knowledge of the sales techniques is necessary to finding success.

Having the drive to want to meet people and to have the ability to hold meaningful conversations with people to find opportunities is vital. Not every one has the art of conversation. Joining organizations that can help find leads or sales opportunities is especially important, but not just joining but become active and participate in the organization’s programs will help get you and your company noticed. All without you the manager or owner telling them the next move to make. Sales people need encouragement and the ability to share with their managers, but not to the extend that you are managing their every move.

Sales people need to want to find solutions for their customers. This again requires that desire to solve the puzzle, making the customer understand the value of the solution. In the landscape business we are, in many cases, working to solve critical issues for our customers. Helping them find a value in our solution is key to building their confidence in our solution. Anyone can suggest solutions to a problem, but doing so in a timely and economical matter is the key. Sales is more than getting a customer to buy, but also a finding a solution that they are happy and comfortable with in their own minds.

That drive that keeps the good sales person coming to work every day is so important to their success and yours. Creating an environment that allows them to feel good about themselves and their customers is necessary to finding the level of self worth for your sales people. Creating a culture of understanding and support is important to your sales staff, you are the cheerleader for them and you need to motivate them to continue selling.

Find the right sales person is so critical in the landscape industry.

 

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Customers Need Education About Landscaping Too

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Friday, June 22nd, 2012

I recently found myself involved in a landscape project for a new construction commercial building.  The project came as a referral from a friend of my wife, so I wanted to help out any way I could. The project involved a grand opening and providing containers and plants for some color in the front entry and 2 courtyards. First, I have always promised myself that I would not ever get involved in a project where there is an existing contractor because these projects most times end up with finger pointing for what ever reason. This one is no different, as I wait for the existing contractor to install irrigation into a masonry planter in a courtyard, already 3 days behind schedule and the open house is next week.

Now, you may think what is the big deal? Well the annuals that go into the planter are going to look like they where planted yesterday, which they were. But no one other than I will know why they look like they were just planted. It is my reputation that is on the line. So, what does this have to do with educating customers?  Well, first I informed the customer the sooner we plant the planters the better they will look, secondly this building has been sitting waiting for interior finish issues to be resolved, no reason the irrigation couldn’t have been installed weeks ago. No one from the building ownership has given a thought to the planters until 2 weeks ago and of course wants then to look like they were planted May 15th. The landscape is always the last thing people think about, yet it has a major impact of the building and the curb appeal that it brings to the building. In this case this is a medical facility in which people will have extended stays, it is important that the curb appeal is just right.

For what ever reason it is important that no matter what the situation is that we as landscape professional get involved before the construction begins, not as an after thought. Getting client to recognize this is not easy.  I found many of my design build clients understood this, but they were residential in nature. Whycommercial builders don’t understand this is hard to determine. Working with your customer before the construction is a key element in insuring that things like irrigation to masonry landscape is installed or at the very least sleeving is installed.  The more you can do to educate your client the happier they will be with the finished product.

The landscape industry has always had a problem getting clients to recognize the important of treating us like interior designers, or painters, we just don’t get the attention that we deserve. We are always an after thought. Educating your client is a hard task and one that may never get completed, but we need to stay vigilant in our effort.

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To Charge for Estimates or Not to Charge for Landscaping Estimates?

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Wednesday, June 20th, 2012

The question has long been a asked by Landscape Contractors: Should I charge for estimates?  The answer my friend is based on your company’s structure, organization and culture.  For many companies, the customers  they serve will not pay for an estimate, consider the mowing contractor and many maintenance contractors, they could never charge for an estimate, there is to much competition. On the other hand there are design/build contractors that can charge based on the market place in which they operate.

The idea of charging for an estimate is not new by any means, but in the current economic situation it may be time to reconsider. Charging for an estimate or charging for a consultation is one way to vet your leads and determine  who is serious and who is not.  The fee can be nominal, like $50.00, but it must be enough to make it worth the time of the sales person. I have always believed that if you charge for a consultation it is important that the potential client receives something for the fee. This can be a hand sketched design on a legal pad or a list of other potential service providers that may be better suited to the needs of the client. I have used this method and found that it worked very well for most clients. My company was offering a value for the consultation.

The other discussion that must be mentioned is the cost of a design. It has always been my feeling that Landscape Contractors are professionals and if you create a design for a client you should be compensated for your skills and your professionalism. I also believe that you should be up front and let the client know that this is how our company works and explain the value of the designer’s time. A design agreement is a great tool to help this process and each sales person should be given instruction on how to use the design agreement. Establish a base rate for a design and what additional charges may accompany the design such as engineering costs, our government hearings etc..

The next question I always anticipate is do you give them a credit on the project if they choose your company? My initial answer is no, but there are circumstance were it is appropriate to do so if you find that you need the work to keep a crew busy at a slow period in your season, for example. I believe that the design should stand on it’s own and if you are going to give it away it cheapens your product and service. Not everyone agrees with me but, it depends on your market.

As a former design build contractor it did help weed out the truely interested customers from those who were just shopping. But I know that sometimes you may lose a good opportunity because you charge for the consultation or estimate.  All in all it was worth the effect and it helped distinguish our firm from the others in our market place. It is sometimes hard to get your design sales staff to buy into this type of vetting process and your company organization must be strong and united when it comes to charging for consultations or estimates. It is important that you’re training your sales staff to deal with these objections that they will face regarding the fee for estimate technique.

This issue will always be a prime discussion point with Landscape Contractors, but in the end it depends on the market place the your company’s position in that market place.

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How to Qualify Landscape Leads?

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Friday, May 25th, 2012

Qualifying customer leads is always a tough challenge. The idea of determining whether they are interested in buying or looking for advice is very difficult in the landscape industry. Everyone believes that they can maintain their property or mow turf and they don’t view landscape contracting as a profession but a hobby. There are several ways that one can screen theses customers that will answer the question quickly, but it may also cost you some customers.

One way that I have screened calls is to create a list of questions that the sales person, the receptionist or you can ask. For example, what is your budget for this project?  Whether it is maintenance or installation asking the budget question will provide a clue as to their understanding and knowledge of the services they are trying to purchase. When do you want to do the project? This question gives you a feeling as to whether it will fit’s your schedule. Ask the question, is this a bid or are their other contractors being contacted?  This again gives you an idea of whether this is a solid lead or not. If it is an installation project, ask whether there is a design and specification for the project. If it is maintenance ask for specification and a scope of service. These two questions again will serve to give you an idea as to the commitment of the customer.

Charging for your consultation time is an other great way to determine commitment by the customer. This works well in the design build world, where there is a commitment to a landscape plan or not. This also works well during great economic times, but don’t be fooled this is a great way to determine the commitment to their project. One can always refund the consultation fee if they select your company. Using this method of determining the lead potential is also one that I personally would give the customer some type of information that they can use, for example, I would leave behind a scratch on a yellow sheet of paper that gave them something to work with and makes them feel that they are getting something for the fee. I was always fair and honest with the customer who was willing to pay me to come to their property and discuss the project.

I know of some design build company’s that have a set fee to do any work for a customer and tell the new customer up front that the fee is $1500.00 to have our company work for you. This certainly requires that you have a great reputation in the market place, but it will pre-qualify you customer. It is a fine line that you walk when it comes to customer lead qualification, but you need to establish some basis to determine how you will pre- qualify customers. In the maintenance business one can use the type of work that your company performs to determine what customer are good leads or not, for example if you are commercial and work mainly with HOA’s, then an industrial customer is not right for you.

It is all about the questions that you ask at the initial call, screening is about getting to the needs of the customer as quickly as possible. Another way to screen customers is to use budget. Ask what is your budget for the project and set a minimum budget for your company, this allows you to get  an idea of what the customer has in mind and also whether the project is for you. Travel and sales time is expensive, so any way to determine whether this is a solid lead is worth the effort.

Think about all the questions that you can use to qualify a customer and create a list to use at the first or second phone call. This will go a long way to preventing wasted time and effort.

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Pricing Your Landscape Projects

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Monday, May 14th, 2012

Pricing continues to be a hot topic on the chat rooms. I am always amazed that people ask the question, “What are you charging for your labor?”   The answer is very simple, it does not matter. Your pricing should be based on your wages, overhead and profit, which is entirely different than any other contractor. For example you may pay your labor $12.00 per hour, a company down the street may pay $15.00 per hour, a $3.00 difference.  I would expect that the bill rate for the $15.00 an hour laborer is greater than the $12.00 per hour laborer.

Your overhead margins, once again, are based on your company.  For example, you may have a high workmen’s compensation rate, which means you are paying more for the insurance and that should be reflected in your overhead cost. If you are not using this method to determine your billing rates, you are most likely losing money. What are you paying yourself, one business owner may pay him self $50,000.00 per year and you may pay yourself $40,000.00 per year.  Is this reflected in your overhead?  It is impossible for two companies to have the same overhead factors as everyone looks at their business a little differently.

The question that you should be asking is,  “Are my labor billing rates competitive in my market place?”  This will give you a look at the marketplace to assist in determining whether you are paying too high of a wage or if your overhead is causing your company to lose money. Again, it doesn’t matter what ABC Landscaping is charging, determine if you are  recovering your overhead and making a profit.  If so, who cares what someone else is charging? Being competitive in the market place is more important than someone else’s billing rate.

The other issue is; are your crews using the latest technology to help save labor cost?  This will also help your hourly billing rate.  All of these are things that will contribute to a more successful season.  Don’t be distracted by someones else’s billing rate, it is not important to your success.  Learn your numbers and understand your job cost.  This is the only way to determine what you should be charging.

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How Does June and July Look for Sales in Your Landscape Company?

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Friday, May 11th, 2012

We are into the landscape season, this year it came early. But what about June and July and beyond?  Are your sales looking up or do they slow down after July 4th? For many companies. it’s a real issue, everyone is pushing to get the landscapes finished by Memorial Day or the 4thof July, but then what? It’s time to start thinking ahead about sales for the next 90 days.  Summer can present some interesting challenges for landscape contractors.  The customers are concentrating on summer vacations and getting the kids back to school, you need to think about sales and keeping your crews productive.

It is hard to get contractors to think ahead, but you need to be selling now for the summer and fall.  Booking business ahead is not always easy, but think about the projects that can be done in August, now. Some companies don’t have that problem, but many new or small companies don’t have the reputation that customers are looking for and therefore, need to sell now for the summer months. Don’t be afraid to ask for a deposit to hold their spot on your schedule, knowing that you have the deposit means that the customer is committed to the project and your company.  It will stop the shopping around by the customer.

Once August 1st roles around many customers are tired of the summer and the kids are thinking about starting school, fall football is on the mind of many parents, not the landscape or the project that you discussed last fall. Booking ahead is a way to help keep the customer on track and be sure that you have sold work.  August is a transition month for many contractors in the northern climates.  It is time to start selling snow removal services and in the companies that do holiday decorating,  it is time to start sales and production. In the landscape industry we need to think about 4 to 6 months ahead of the current season with our sales efforts. Using this rule of thumb will help keep your staff on top of the next sales cycle.

By the the July 4th holiday your crews are beat from the spring rush and a four day weekend is a great break for them, but you need to keep your sales team motivated to keep selling for the next 4 months. It’s time to start some sales contests to motivate your team. Get the spirit back into the sales game. Being a business owner sometimes is like being a cheerleader for your staff,  that is why understanding the sales cycles is so important. Keep a chart in your office of your sales goals for everyone to see, this keeps everyone on top of the goal for sales.

It is the time to start looking to the months ahead to insure that you have the revenue to meet your budgets. Start now by booking ahead for June, July, August and the Fall.

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Creating Strategic Relationships in the Landscape Industry.

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Thursday, April 19th, 2012

Creating strategic relationships in the Green Industry is as much a part of managing a successful business as building sales and revenue in the company.  These relationships can assist in building a network of peers, suppliers and vendors, advisors and mentors to be your “go to” folks in time of need.  In any business there are times when you need help and don’t know where to turn, these strategic relationships can prove beneficial in seeking advise and assistance.

It is important that all businesses develop a group of people whom you trust and ask for advise on a regular basis.  These professionals are people like your accountant, banker and lawyer who you have used for years, but may never have thought of them as advisers to your business.  This is one type of strategic relationship that many business have, but never recognized them as such.  But there are other strategic relationships that you need to build. Businesses that may offer services different than yours, but to similar clients. These companies are available when you need their services for help with one of your clients.  No matter how hard we try, we can not be all things to all people.

It is sometimes important to find people in your own industry that services a different niche market than you.  Agai,n you may services a commercial clientele and not work in the residential market, but you have a property manager who needs work  performed at their residence.  By providing a reference to your customer you are providing a valuable service and that customer will remember you down the road.  Again , knowing your capabilities is so important when serving your clients.

Developing this same type of relationship with vendors and suppliers is also an important addition to your list of strategic relationships.  There are times when you will need a part or something special ordered and the only place to go is your supplier or vendor.  It is all part of building   contingency plans for the time when you need something special.  Business is about relationships and if you treat them with respect and build that relationship before you need their help you are much more likely to get help in return when you need it.

Don’t stop there, think about other relationship that you can build that can help your company.  The home builder or the architect or engineer that you always think about but never pay them a visit. You have similar clients, so how can you help each other by creating a business relationship.  We all sent our sales people to leads group to generate more leads for our company, but how many owners spend the time networking in our own groups?  We call these folks “Channel Partners”, people who had similar clients but different interactions with them than we did.  Interior designers are a great resource for leads that, again, serve a population very similar to ours.  These strategic relationship come in many forms, don’t discount any of them.  Some day they may lead you to the largest project you ever found.

Strategic relationships are a very important part of your sales strategy and should be identified by your team and pursued.  These indirect relationships are a great resource for all kinds of issues.  Make sure you are not missing out on a resource that can help you grow your business.

 

 

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The Landscape Industry Offers a Profession, Not a Hobby

By Sitesource · Comments (0)
Thursday, April 12th, 2012

The landscape industry offers a profession, not a hobby.  To create a professional image one needs to act professionally, learn what it takes to be successful in the industry and implement the elements necessary to achieve success.  I believe far too often we have individuals join our industry because it is easy to enter our profession and because they enjoy the great outdoors.  These may sound like good reasons to join the profession, but to belong to a profession, it requires you to submerge yourself in the profession and learn what it requires to be successful and to be a professional.

I have talked with people over the years that suggested that they joined the landscape industry because they didn’t like to deal with people or they enjoyed working with plants or were laid off from another job and started mowing lawns.  It seems too easy to get into the landscape business. Whether or not licensing is necessary to restrict entry into the landscape industry, I am not sure.  But it would appear that one of the issues faced by professionals in the landscape industry is the lack of consistency in bidding, pricing and sales. A lack of business knowledge and how to operate a business.

Technical skill is important however, we all are in business to make a profit and without the profit we become day labor, working for an hourly wage.  We all started small and grew our business because we filled a niche in the market place that customers were willing to purchase.  If we do not meet the needs of the niche market  we would go out of business.  The struggle is that the companies that don’t understand pricing and the concept of profit are hurting the professionalism of the landscape contractor that are good business owners.  It is easy to say that market forces will hold strong and force out the poor business owners.  But it hurts the legitimate business in the meantime.

There is no easy answer to this issue however, there are things we can do as professional landscape contractors.  Being members of local and national trade associations is one way we can fight this battle.  The trade association offers certifications, education and a loud voice for the contractor.  We can educate our clients on what makes a good contractor and what makes a bad contractor.  Client education is time consuming and expensive, but necessary. We can offer to mentor the smaller contractor, working with them to understand the world of business.  We can suggest that the smaller contractors hire a consultant or a coach to work with them to develop the skills that they are lacking.

The issue is not going away however, it is our responsibility to maintain the professionalism that we believe in and continue to work to educate our clients. I have mixed feelings about licensing and government intervention. I am not ready to ask for assistance from big brother.  We need to continue to fight the battle through our associations and certification.

We are a strong profession, landscape contractors, that will survive all that we go through to make our industry stronger. It is frustrating at times, but well worth the fight.

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