LM StaffNov 3, 2023
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.…
Jody ShilanNov 3, 2023
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…
Jody ShilanAug 15, 2013
A landscape company's sales process needs to be organized like a recipe from a cook book, said Danny Wood, a consultant and Sandler Training expert. The main ingredients in the recipe are your behavior, attitude and technique. If you have…
Jody ShilanJul 18, 2013
It’s rare that somebody puts a spin on a topic that I thought I knew quite well. But that’s exactly what Tom Shay of Profits Plus Solutions did on FD2B Talk Radio last night. Instead of running through a laundry…
Q. When creating job descriptions, what's the best way to separate the roles of design and production? —Mark Muzio, The Landscape Design Group, Waltham, Mass. A. This is a great question that companies of every size constantly struggle with, regardless…
Question: How much money should companies require as an initial deposit? I’ve heard various theories on this and wonder what your experience is with deposits.—Benjamin Parsons, Living Landscapes, Andover, Mass. Answer: That’s a terrific question, Benjamin. First, let me begin…
Question: We work in a very competitive market and quite often our clients want to negotiate the price when we present the proposal. We don’t want to artificially inflate the prices to give us some wiggle room, but we also…
I was at your workshop last week at the Green Expo in Atlantic City, N.J. (It was great, by the way). Can you explain what you mean when you say, “Everybody gets the same leads.”? One thing’s for sure, I…
Jody ShilanNov 9, 2023
Q: Can you explain the concept of using a retainer agreement instead of a design fee to get a commitment from the client toward both the design and the installation? —Dylan Mickelson, Bright Lights Landscaping and Outdoor Lighting, Las Vegas,…
Jody ShilanMay 26, 2015
The holiday season is a wonderful time for all of us to remind ourselves to be thankful for what we have, while thinking about how we can help others. I'd like to share with you an idea that's not just…
We’re all familiar with business-to-business networking (B2B) as well as business-to-consumer networking (B2C). Well there’s a category of networking that you’ve likely been involved with for years but rarely think about as a business networking opportunity. It’s what I call…
Q. We spend too much time on concepts and revisions before we go to contract and get a deposit. How can we reduce our design time so that we can make a small profit on our drawings and shorten our…
Jody ShilanJun 11, 2015
Q: This might be a silly question, but is there anything that you can do to stop your client from taking your design, making copies of it and then shopping it around to your competitors to try and get a…
Question: How do you get homeowners to tell you what they want to spend on a project without being pushy ? — Amanda Bell, Landscape Designs by Amanda, Red Lion, PA Answer: One common problem for landscape designers and…
Jody ShilanAug 14, 2023
Q We provide our clients with landscape master plans and charge a design fee for our drawings. Our problem is that a lot of times we scare them off and lose the work and the relationship when we give them…
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