Phone rings...

"Hi, this is Chris."

"Hey Chris, this is your buddy, Chuck Smith, with Landscapes "R" Us."

"Hi Chuck, how's business?"

"Well...that's what I'm calling about. We're busy as hell--I can barely keep up!"

"Sounds great. So what's the problem?" (Chuck only calls when there's a problem)

"Well, I'm looking at that sales funnel thingy you told me to make, and there doesn't seem to be very many leads going into it. I'm busy right now but I'm worried about not having enough work later this year."

"That's pretty common Chuck. Are you still following through with your marketing efforts?"

"I told you--I'm busy as hell! I can barely keep up with our installation work. I don't have time for marketing right now!"

"Did you get a little complacent Chuck? Sounds like you took your marketing hat off and forgot to put it back on."

"Yea, Yea...but now what?"

Sound familiar?

One of the biggest challenges Green Industry companies face is finding time during the busiest time of year to market their services. Marketing must always be a priority--you can't take time off and expect a steady flow of new potential business.

How do you balance your current design and installation workload with the marketing you know you need to be doing? I recommend a three-pronged approach that will require less time and effort on your part.

Focus only on your most high-impact marketing strategies

You should know which marketing strategies and promotions have the most impact on your business. If your "marketing time" is limited, concentrate on only those campaigns that deliver the highest returns--ignore the rest.

If our friend Chuck Smith acquires 80% of new leads from his networking group, then he needs to focus his limited time on this.

Garden designer Stephen Rosselet hosts his own annual garden tour. This two-day event is his primary means of marketing his design services. Because of this, Steve puts a great deal of time and expense into organizing, promoting and hosting the tour. He understands that this garden tour will impact his business more than anything else he does--so he gives it his complete focus.

Attract potential clients while you're sleeping

If your time is extremely limited, you need multiple sources of "passive" leads. These are the folks who are finding your company with very little effort on your part.

Your company website can provide a steady stream of potential business if it consistently ranks high in search engine results. This is not always easy to achieve, so you may want to consider a Pay Per Click advertising campaign to drive even more targeted traffic to your company website. Google Adwords is the most popular PPC program, while Facebook also offers PPC advertising that is quickly growing in popularity.

Traditional advertising--typically print advertising--has always been a source of passive leads for Green Industry companies. In a similar way, sponsoring community events and organizations can be another effective way to generate passive leads.

A mix of traditional advertising, sponsorships and PPC advertising can be an effective way to drive traffic to your company website and into your sales funnel.

Use your job site as a marketing tool

When Chuck tells me he is "busy as hell and can't keep up", I can only assume he has multiple projects ongoing. What Chuck needs to realize is that this is a perfect marketing opportunity for him and his company. Chuck can let his job sites market his services for him--I refer to this as "branding your job site".

Much of this marketing strategy is passive and can be executed by Chuck's employees (bonus for Chuck).

How can you brand your job site exactly? Yard signs are common along with company signage on vehicles, trailers and equipment like skid steers. You can take this branding even further by introducing yourself personally to neighbors or introducing your company to the entire neighborhood by using door hangers or personalized introduction letters.

Get the neighbors to take notice. Your goal should be to create anticipation and a buzz in the neighborhood where you are working.

Finding the necessary time to market your company and services during your busiest time is a challenge. By focusing on fewer marketing initiatives with bigger returns, incorporating passive lead generation techniques, and branding your job sites, you will be assured a steady stream of potential business throughout the year.

Moving Forward:

1. What are you currently doing, marketing-wise, that has the most impact on your business? What is bringing in the majority of your leads? Can you find time each week to focus solely on this?

2. How are you currently driving targeted traffic to your company website? How are you turning this traffic into potential business?

3. How can you do a better job of "branding" your job sites?

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