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Not the same old talk
1 Sep, 2007 By: Larry Aylward LivescapesNew seminar is a first at OFA
As far as general sessions go, it was a first.
"This is a new venue for us," said Cathy Kowalczyk, owner of Willoway Nurseries in Avon, OH. "I'm not sure anyone has really discussed this."
Kowalczyk was talking about the "Partnering with Landscapers" general session held during the OFA Show Short Course in July in Columbus. The session, sponsored by Landscape Management magazine, was held to educate floriculture professionals about how they can partner with landscapers to increase their sales and profits.
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Kowalczyk, Phil Campbell of Campbell Road Nursery in Raleigh, NC, and Steve Waddell of Rountree Plantation in Charlotte, NC, were presenters during the session. The three have formed established and successful businesses with landscape contractors.
"About 90% to 95% of our business is to landscapers," Campbell says. "We've seen a significant increase in the past few years with [landscapers], who want to contract grow with us. It has been very successful for us"
 DISPLAY GARDENS on Willoway's grounds allow its landscaper customers to see what mature plants will look like and can provide inspiration for their own designs. (PHOTOS COURTESY: WILLOWAY NURSERIES) |
Catering to Landscapers
Campbell says she went through the Yellow Pages in the phone book and called every landscaper listed and told them about her company when she began it in 1991.
"We don't do any advertising," she says. "We depend on our customers to tell each other [about the business.]"
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Campbell says landscapers like to work with her business because the process "takes all of the work out of it for them. They give us the business, and they don't have to think about it anymore," she says.
Willoway Nurseries grows a variety of ornamental trees, shrubs, ground covers, perennials and seasonal color plants. Kowalczyk says landscape contractors can stop by every morning to pick up plants for the day or they can come in at the end of the day and stock up for the next day's jobs.
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"[Our customers] are mainly local landscapers who stop by on a daily basis," Kowalczyk says. "But we also have customers who come from a distance to stock up on large loads and who want to go through and hand pick their plants, which we give them the opportunity to do."
Willoway also offers its customers the convenience to stop by to purchase any last-minute items they might need if they're running short of them on a job.
Smart Shopping
Willoway also has display gardens for landscape contractors to see certain products in different settings. The gardens, some of which contain water features, paths and structures, have benefitted the business, Kowalczyk says.
"The gardens allow Willoway to highlight newly released plants and certain varieties it wants to showcase as well as its common species," she says. "And they allow landscape contractors to see plants in the landscape setting and give them ideas for their installation."
Other products Willoway offers to landscape contractors include plant health products, mulch, composted soil and tools. Kowalczyk says she decided to make these offerings when landscapers began asking for such products so they wouldn't have to go to three different places for all of their needs.
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