How can we get prospects to chase us instead of us chasing them? For most landscaping companies, marketing is difficult. You need to get noticed, but you can’t afford to break the bank on big-name celebrity endorsements and Super Bowl ads. It is possible, however, to promote your company without a big-time budget and generate powerful marketing buzz. No matter... read more
In describing the process companies go through to generate new customers, I refer to a big old sales funnel. You pour leads in the top and sales come out the bottom. All sales funnels leak leads, though, letting them escape before you can turn them into sales. By patching your funnel, you can improve marketing effectiveness and boost sales. And... read more
The one point all Green Industry folks agree on is the importance of sales. Let’s face it, sales is the engine that drives your business and your salespeople are the drivers. As the competitive landscape continues to grow more fierce and becomes increasingly more difficult to create a competitive advantage, it’s imperative you have a strategic sales plan in place... read more
One of the more frequent questions I hear is, “What really should be a part of a marketing plan?” Effective branding and marketing starts with a communications strategy suitable to a company’s business model. Only after distinguishing a business’s culture, clientele and services, can a company develop a fitting communications strategy—and one including messaging, content and platforms (traditional or digital).... read more
To produce a rainfall of leads in the landscaping business, reengineer your mindset about marketing first; otherwise, you’ll never consistently produce enough high-quality leads to grow. Until marketing becomes a process in your business, adding new customers always will be a problem. When marketing becomes a process, it will cease to be a problem because marketing, prospecting and selling aren’t... read more
You send one of your employees to give a potential customer a quote. He thanks him for coming but says he’ll think about it. In less than half an hour, you receive a call saying he has found someone who’ll do the exact same job for less. Unless you’re willing to sharpen your pencil, you just lost the job. How... read more
