Marketing & Sales Insight for the Lawn & Landscape Industry

We spend a lot of time talking about the things that landscape business owners should be doing. But there are also some things that landscape company owners should stop as soon as possible.

One of the biggest problems that we see is that company owners can’t get out of their own way. In other words, they fail to delegate responsibilities and they try to tackle too much on their own.

It’s not uncommon to see a landscape company grow from the $800,000 to $1.2 million range—but then get stuck.

Oftentimes, this is largely due to the failure to delegate to others while elevating themselves in their own role.

According to Chris Heiler, Landscape Leadership’s CEO and founder, when landscape business owners fail to give up tasks that they should have other employees handle, they can stifle their own growth.

“As the owner or CEO, it’s important that your day-to-day responsibilities match your role rather than taking on tasks a team member could handle. This is the only way to grow your company without being stretched so thin that you’re miserable—or having a heart attack”, says Heiler.

Joshua Malik, owner of Joshua Tree Experts, with two Pennsylvania locations (and a burgeoning franchise business), says that he calls it “delegate to elevate.” Recognizing that you can’t truly grow if you’re handling everything on your own is critical.

Let’s dive into some of the tasks that landscape company owners attempt to tackle on their own and why that can be so problematic.

Your prospective client needs help visualizing their own success. Don’t just show the product or service you sell. Show how your clients use the product or service. The most successful brands do this and people are conditioned to respond positively to it.

Models or actors are wearing the clothing. They eat the food. They drive the vehicles. They use the devices. They enjoy lives that are a direct result of the product or service. 

One of the most powerful ways to have maximum marketing impact is to have your landscaping or lawn care customers appear in your marketing images and videos.

There’s just one big problem. That’s often easier said than done. How do you get customers to help? What do you do when they’re camera shy? Are there other alternatives?

If you’d like your landscape company to not be seen as Just Another Landscaper, using video during your sales process is a great way to stand out.

Not only can video improve the experience for everyone involved, but it can also help you sell more landscape design-build projects.

You’re probably sick of dealing with prospects who get multiple bids and lose interest along the way. And, I think you’re likely fed up with wasting time and missing out on better opportunities.

Does this sound familiar?

Selling landscaping is time-consuming. As I think back to my 10+ years in sales, this is what I remember most:

• Long hours preparing paperwork and estimates 
• Tens of thousands of calls and emails
• Too many meetings to count

It’s been said that “the sky is the limit” when it comes to sales. However, success is limited by time. There’s only so much of it. It’s the one thing that salespeople are the most protective of.

Part of being a great salesperson is about becoming more efficient with your time. It’s learning how to close deals more quickly and with greater ease. It’s about doing the right things for the right people at the right times. 

As I recall hundreds of conversations I have had with sales professionals, one thing is very apparent...Selling landscaping services is still pretty “Old School”. Many leading green industry companies still have outdated methods.

Ted has been selling landscaping for your company for a long time. He’s a top performer. 

He’s also well connected, frequently name-dropping as he shares networking stories. 

At times, Ted can be found at his desk, working diligently on estimates and making calls. At others, he’s in the field. You don’t micromanage because, after all, he hits his numbers, right?

There is one question I frequently get from company owners struggling to grow a lawn care business.

“How long will it take to triple our website leads?” 

If you are investing tens of thousands of dollars to get more lawn care customers, you don’t want to flush marketing dollars down the toilet (while wasting time and energy). 

You want a lot of leads. You want results.

Today, I am going to share what has been proven to work time and time again. These strategies worked when I directed marketing at a $13 million company and they have worked for our lawn care clients over the past 10 years.

(And I say that you should dream BIGGER than 3x your current results.)

Marketing a lawn care business often carries with it a degree of experimentation.

Unfortunately, trial and error can mean wasted money, time, and missed opportunities to get more lawn care customers.

You already put so much blood, sweat, and tears into growing a lawn care business. The last thing you want is to rub salt in the wound with tactics that pan out to be a colossal waste of time (and money).

The way lawn care is sold online is a hot mess.

Yes, I'm referring to your website.

Trust me, I've reviewed hundreds of lawn care and landscaping company websites over the past 12 years, and, most significantly, how your programs and pricing are being presented to potential customers.

Like I said... hot mess.

Which means you're losing sales and leaving a boat load of money on the table.

The main problem, as I see it, is that you don't fully appreciate what you are selling.

"Choose between our 7-visit program... our 9-visit program..."

Rather than selling "visits" you should be selling a "transformation". Sure, you're charging for "treatments" but your customers are buying a "healthy lawn".

Do you struggle to sell more landscaping services because you feel like you're constantly playing phone tag with prospects?

Arranging the best time for phone calls, video conferences, and on-site consultations is a lot of frustrating back-and-forth!

One way to make selling landscaping services easier for you (and prospects and customers) is to use an online meeting scheduling app.

In this video, you'll learn how to set this tool up, see some practical use cases, and understand how this simplifies the landscape sales process.