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'Outdoor living' landscapes still a hot item with homeowners
16 Nov, 2009 By: Ron Hall LM Direct!The good news for the landscape industry, in spite of the lack of new home construction, is that homeowners are staying put and investing in their homes and properties. Many of them have money for improvements and they want to use their properties for relaxation, intimate family gatherings and entertainment.
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As a result, landscape companies that provided design/build services mostly for the new home market are shifting the focus of their construction activities to upgrades and renovations to existing residential landscapes.
Landscape professional David Schuster said that property owners view their homes, including their yards, with an increased sense of appreciation and security ever since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. The term “staycation” became commonplace after those frightening events. That trend is stronger yet due to the uncertainty in today's economy, said Schuster, speaking at the recent Green Industry Conference in Louisville.
Schuster and his wife Heather operate Terra-Firma Landscape, which they founded in Muskego, WI, 16 years ago. Their Milwaukee-area company specializes in residential design/build and commercial services-maintenance with annual sales approaching $2 million. They've kept their four landscape construction crews busy with a variety of homeowner-focused projects in spite of the recession.
Schuster said that while the size of landscape upgrades and renovations are usually smaller in scale and generate less revenue than design/build projects for new homes, the demand for upgrades and renovations remains solid and offers contractors an opportunity to remain profitable and keep valuable employees busy.
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Schuster said that his responsibility as the company's primary salesperson is to offer landscape features that will allow clients to actively and conveniently use their new “outdoor living” areas..
“The most important thing is listening,” said Schuster. “That helps out a lot so you don't go in the wrong direction in the sales process.”
It's not that Schuster chases every lead. His company pre-qualifies leads by asking prospects what's important to them, how they're going to use their landscapes, what types of features they're desiring and (the ultimate pre-qualifier) their budgets.
“The things we're talking about depend upon each customer and their budgets, of course,” said Schuster. “You can't be afraid to ask what a person expects to spend. You can't be afraid to ask them, ‘What do you feel comfortable about spending?'”
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Once the prospect is qualified it becomes a matter of determining “the big picture” of how the new client wants to use their outdoor space.
“It's your job to share ideas of what you can do with their budget. Everybody has a budget. It gives you an opportunity to price items,” said Schuster. “And an opportunity to add things.” To that end Schuster said he keeps catalogues and his laptop computer in his truck and ready to use. “If I can price something on the spot, I will do that,” he added.
Often Schuster will start the collaborative process of determining a customer's wants by suggesting a patio, often walking the property with the client and using marking paint to outline where the patio might go, and many times taking digital images of the property. He then moves to the subject of features and lets clients tell him how they'll be using their new patio and what the specific features they would like it to contain.
The options are limited only by a contractor's suggestions and a customer's budget, said Schuster. Among the features that clients can consider are seat walls, fire pits, pondless water features, spas, grills, refrigerators, built-in fireplaces, outdoor kitchens, LED lighting and even mosquito misters, ceiling fans and radiant heaters so property owners can enjoy their outdoor living even when outdoor conditions aren't ideal.
Customers and prospects are encouraged to visit the outdoor display at Terra-Firm Landscape's headquarters where they can see a host of unique landscape products and ideas.
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“It's a small space but it shows what we can do. When they visit, a lot of times customers will say, ‘ahh, this is what we want,'” said Schuster.
“We're seeing people invest a lot more in their outdoor living areas. People feel more secure at home. The majority of our customer base consists of existing homes.”