In the September issue, “Profiting from Design” columnist Jody Shilan shared tips for improving closing rates on jobs without full-fledged design plans. His answer? The site visit proposal. Download a sample site visit proposal document here: Click here to download. read more
Editor’s note: In July, Dave “the BugDoc” Shetlar, Ph.D., addressed preventive and curative grub control in a webinar presented by Landscape Management and sponsored by Valent Professional Products. We ran some of the Q&A in the September issue. Here’s a bit more Q&A between Shetlar and participants on this hot topic. Q: What do you think would be the best... read more
Meet David Frank, president and CEO, David J. Frank Landscape Contracting, Germantown, Wis. Who’s your mentor? I’ve had many mentors at different periods of my career. When I was starting out at age 10, many of my clients became wonderful mentors, significantly because of my young age. At that time, I was fortunate to have some of Milwaukee’s leading industrialists... read more
Aquatic maintenance services are a must for some of Terracare’s commercial clients. For Terracare Associates, landscape contractors based in Littleton, Colo., one way to distinguish its business is to expand the services it offers to its primarily commercial clients. One service it offers is aquatic maintenance. Terracare, which had $25.5 million in annual revenue in 2012, uses several methods to... read more
Question: We’re a smaller landscape design/build company. Most of our projects are between $2,500 and $5,000 and rarely get over $10,000, so selling design fees is really tough in our market. Any suggestions on how we can improve our closing rates without a plan?—Jonathan Chaseman, JC Landscape Construction, Gresham, Ore. Answer: As much as all of us want the glamorous,... read more
Determine which credentials may be good additions for your business. For a professional landscape contractor looking to expand, one strategy is to earn a professional certification. With so many choices, it’s often difficult to determine which certifications are right for you. For example, the Irrigation Association’s (IA’s) Select Certified program offers four certification programs designed specifically for landscape professionals: certified... read more
