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?

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".