Marketing & Sales Insight for the Lawn & Landscape Industry

One of the most powerful sales tools that you already have available to you is completed projects. But if you’re like a lot of landscape business owners, you might not be taking full advantage of this.

There’s no question that having photos of finished jobs on your website in the form of a portfolio is important. But when it comes to leveraging the power of successful projects, you also want to tell the story behind the project.

The story is where people find connections and relatability—and that is powerful.

In this article, we’ll talk more about why case studies are so important as well as how you can create a great one to help you qualify potential leads.

If you’ve spent any time looking at software options promising to help your lawn or landscaping business, you know there’s a lot out there. While some business management software options might include a CRM and sales tools, there are reasons that HubSpot continues to reign superior—and is a tool that we particularly love (For the sake of being transparent, Landscape Leadership is a HubSpot Solutions Partner).

Most notably, their FREE (yes, as in “no-cost-to-you”) CRM and sales tools are quite substantial and highly useful—and, again, free.

This article was updated to include a bonus video interview with Marcus Sheridan, the author of "They Ask, You Answer". Enjoy these original concepts and additional tips for using content in your sales process.

As consumers, we have grown more and more impatient as we search for information online. I’m cursing at a company if I have to wait more than five seconds for their website to load.

We’ve been conditioned to believe we can find the answer to any question or problem we may have simply by entering a string of words into a search engine. Got a question? Just Google it. We know we’ll find the answer somewhere online as long as we look hard enough. That’s our expectation today.

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.

The following article was written by Lindsey Getz and based on a recent Landscape Leadership survey of 50 in-house marketers at lawn and landscape companies in the United States and Canada.

---

Is marketing a struggle in your lawn and landscape business? 

If you’re a lawn care or landscape business owner or manager, you might feel disconnected from the marketing effort or unsure whether it’s actually achieving your big-picture goals. Perhaps you have an idea in your head of what the marketing efforts should be accomplishing but, if you’re honest with yourself, you aren’t overly invested in how it’s actually playing out.

If you’re handling your company’s marketing duties, you might sense that disconnect as well—but feel that others at the company don’t really understand or value your role. You might feel as though you’re off on your own.

Landscape Leadership recently conducted a survey of in-house marketers (at green industry companies) to pinpoint some of their most significant challenges. A sense that marketing efforts were disconnected from the company’s primary operations and overall vision was certainly conveyed in the results.

Happy customers…. Check ✅

Who love spending money with you… Check ✅

Who rave about you to their friends… Check ✅

These goals are what inspire your team to stay productive.

But sometimes, customer experience doesn’t reflect what you’re trying to accomplish.

• They think you don’t care about them. 😣
• They say you’re too expensive. 😱
• They tell friends you’re difficult to work with. 😡

I get it. Over my past 20+ years in the lawn and landscaping industry, I’ve seen these admirable goals collide with busy, frustrated customers.

This compounded when the modern digital age rapidly changed consumer behaviors and raised their expectations.

Imagine a tool that made selling landscaping and lawn care services a lot easier. AND imagine your landscaping company or lawn care business spent thousands of dollars on this tool and your salespeople didn't know it existed or how to use it.

Good news. I have not 1, but 5 tools for getting MORE landscaping and lawn care customers with LESS aggravation.

Stay tuned...

Whether you sell commercial landscaping, residential landscape design, or even lawn care treatment programs, many of your ideal prospects have something in common. 

They’re networked professionals — executives, board/committee members, property managers, company owners, salespeople themselves...you name it. 

They also know a lot of other people just like them.

Making new connections and developing meaningful relationships with these ideal prospects can be a particular challenge, particularly in the post-pandemic business world.

About 15 years ago, a “RotoZip” saw was on my Christmas wishlist. I just had to have it. 

As of today, I have yet to use it. 

The tool, itself, is fantastic. I can think of many practical uses. Ironically, the RotoZip would have been perfect for cutting a hole in my drywall, just a month ago. 

But...I forgot all about it. It has been collecting dust in my tool cabinet.

At one point, video production may have found its way onto your wishlist. 

Maybe you spent a ton of time creating your own videos. 

Maybe you paid a videographer a few (or tens of ) thousands of dollars... 

Big investment...and yet there the videos sit...