Sales are a critical part of every business and while this may seem like common sense, I see owners all the time that forget to sell. A while ago Dynascape posted an article outlining 12 sales tips to increase your closing rate and your profitability and they are too good not to share.

In my experience as both a landscape business owner and coach, I’ve noticed that there are 3 of these tips in particular that most contractors neglect to do:

1. They don’t find out why they lost a bid. Most contractors do not follow up on lost bids and therefore lose out on an opportunity to learn.
2. Say “no, thank you” to lousy jobs.
3. Keep selling. Most contractors shift from sales to operations until they are in an “oh no - we don’t have enough work” type of situation.

To read more about each of these tips and find out what the other 9 are, click HERE and read the full article.

If you joined us in Stoney Creek this week you saw the Metal Pless Live Edge blade in action on the Merlo machine. With that in mind, we are thrilled to hand over the blog to Metal Pless this week as they share more about their company with you. 

Metal Pless of Plessisville, Quebec is a frontrunner in the snowplow manufacturing sector. Clients rely on the company’s products to clear public roadways, commercial and industrial properties, as well as airports during and after a snowfall. It is a task done under intense time pressure and scrutiny; city streets and parking lots must be plowed quickly to maintain access in adverse weather conditions.

The company’s products can be fitted on various vehicles including tractors, wheel loaders, backhoes, skid steers, and tandem trucks. Plows are sold through a North America-wide dealer network. Dealers, in turn, sell to customers – typically snow contractors, Departments of Transportation (DOT), airports, or other government entities. Sales ar...

Years ago I read an article by Brian Tracey about identifying and finding your ideal client. The information he shared then is still so relevant that I wanted to share it with you today.  

I really liked how he worded these 6 tips on how to find your ideal client:

1. Define your product from your customers' point of view. Ask yourself these questions: What does your product do for your ideal customer? What problems does your product solve for your customer? What needs of your customer does your product satisfy? How does your product improve your customer's life or work?
2. Define your ideal customer for what you sell. What is his or her age, education, occupation or business? What is his or her income or financial situation? What is his or her situation today in life or work?
3. Determine the specific benefits your customer is seeking in buying your product. Of all the benefits you offer, which are the most important to your ideal customer? What are the most pressing needs that your pr...

Recently I read an email from Marty Grunder of the Grow Group on the importance of defining and selling only to your ideal client. Below is an excerpt from that email that I think is worth reading.

The premise of this month’s recommended book is pretty simple: be considerate and be willing to offer a helping hand without expecting anything more than feeling good about being helpful.

This book is a great example of someone who was seen as ordinary, but who did amazing things within his sphere of influence.

The truth is, “We’ve all encountered people like Fred in our lives. In THE FRED FACTOR, Mark Sanborn illuminates the simple steps each of us can take to transform our own lives from the ordinary – into the extraordinary. Sanborn, through stories about Fred and others like him, reveals the four basic principles that will help us bring fresh energy and creativity to our life and work: how to make a real difference everyday, how to become more successful by building strong relationships, how to create real value for others without spending a penny, and how to constantly reinvent yourself.”

I loved this book because so often people think they need a title or a position before the...

Have you asked your clients how they prefer to be contacted? Phone? Email? Text?

Choosing to communicate with your clients in the way that they prefer may seem like a simple thing, but it’s a simple thing that shows clients you are truly listening to what they are saying to you. 

If you are using their preferred method of contact, are you communicating well with that format?

Communicating well means being proactive in your communication about their project. Is it going to take longer than expected? Will a rain day or scheduling glitch mean a delay before you're back on their site? Communicate this information with them as soon as you know instead of waiting for them to ask.

Proactive communication builds confidence and trust. People who trust their contractors are more likely to them to their friends and family. It’s the simple things, like texting (if they prefer a text), that can make a huge difference.

Once you have great communication you can use things like a CRM, social medi...

Are you asking for customer feedback after every job? Not some jobs, but all of them?  

Gathering feedback from every client provides you with insight that will help your company understand your customers wants, needs and the necessary information to help you stay relevant in your industry. Surveys are important tools for improving your business and ensuring your customers send you referrals.

Over the years I’ve found customer surveys to be one of the most consistent and effective ways for receiving customer feedback. You can get great insight with only three questions: 

1. How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague?
2. What’s the biggest factor in your answer?
3. What can we improve on?

There are a lot of platforms available for surveys, but two that I have found to be easy to use and cost effective are:

Survey Monkey

Survey Sparrow 

Customer feedback is one of the best tools we have - take advantage of it!

Do you have a client that needs to be fired? Does that question cause you to recoil?

I know it seems counter-intuitive. You feel like you can’t possibly do that; you need the work and you don't want to tarnish your reputation. But hear me out.

I’m not saying you should cancel a contract mid-season, though that may be appropriate at times. What I’m talking about is reviewing contracts at the end of the season and rating them based on a few different criteria to ensure it makes sense to continue a working relationship with them. 

We can often feel like we need to take all the work that comes our way because, well, we need to make money. The problem with that mindset is that we can get booked up with small jobs that aren’t especially profitable and then don’t have time to complete the bigger, more profitable jobs that come our way.

An article from Landscape Management listed these six variables to take into account before you renew contracts:

Revenue size. Generally, larger accounts ...

Customers evolve. The customers you had when you first started your business are not the same kind that you have now. Their needs and wants change and you need to be changing with them. 

In The New Gold Standard, author Joseph Michelli takes you on an exclusive tour behind the scenes of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Through unprecedented access, he uncovered principles they use that all business owners can implement. Things like:

• Understanding the ever-evolving needs of customers
• Empowering employees by treating them with the utmost respect
• Anticipating customers' unexpressed needs and concerns
• Developing and conducting an unsurpassed training regimen 

Throughout the book Michelli shares engaging stories from the company's employees--from the corporate office and hotels around the globe. He describes innovative methods the company uses to create peerless guest experiences and explains how it constantly hones and improves them. 

The New Gold Standard integrates practical ho...

When we started working with Ryan at Mountview Landscaping, I asked him if he had a budget that they work from and review on a monthly basis, and was pleasantly surprised to hear his answer was yes. You may remember that we interviewed him last year about what they track, why they track it and the difference it has made in how the business is doing overall, as well as the impact it has made for him personally.

All of his insight was compiled into two blog posts and we felt it was worth revisiting. Check out part one below.

Grant: What do you currently measure on a weekly, monthly and annual basis and why?

Ryan: During the winter we track maintenance hours for snow, additional job hours from snow events, salt and ice melt product use on a weekly basis. This translates to lawn maintenance contracts during the summer season.  

We have people on a fixed schedule for snow with staff on duty 24/7. From a business point of view it just makes sense for us. We have people monitoring sites e...