Green Industry Pros May/June 2019 by GreenIndustryPros.com

FINANCE FOR LANDSCAPING BUSINESS OWNERS OF ALL SIZES, PART 5 MAY/JUNE 2019

DEALER SUCCESS GUIDE

THE TOOL SHACK:

Building a reputation on honesty, equipment, parts and customer service

BATTERIES SPARK PRODUCT INNOVATION Producing less noise and few emissions are among advantages to using battery-powered equipment to make companies “greener.”

BEYOND THE BLADE

SPRING LAWN CARE TIPS TO HELP EXPAND SERVICES AND BUSINESS

Getting the new season off to a good start by implementing five best practices

Full Line of Air Filters for 2019!

800.841.3989 rotarycorp.com

Look What Blew in From Billy Goat ! ®

Billy Goat’s Hurricane™ Stand-On Blower adds the next level of clean-up productivity to its blower line-up!

NeW!

X3000: 6500 CFM; 627cc Vanguard® V-Twin

Z3000: 8500 CFM; 993cc Vanguard® V-Twin

Leading the market in leaf and debris cleanup with its Force™ walk-behind blower, Billy Goat’s new addition of the Hurricane X3000 and Z3000 now offers the largest line-up of blowers on the market from 6 - 35hp!*

Patented Quad Control Handle System™ offers seamless forward/reverse direction, automatic return to neutral, integrated operator presence control and a self-activating parking brake.

Patented Dual Deflector Air Flow System™ changes angle of airflow for deeper leaf and debris cleaning

Joy Stick Deflector Control allows quick and easy air flow adjustment from left, right or forward and closes flow for transport. No need to blow in reverse!

Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/10155710 *All power levels are stated gross horsepower at 3,600 RPM per SAE J1940 as rated by Briggs and Stratton®

Take the chore out of the chore with Billy Goat!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS THE MANAGEMENT RESOURCE FOR LANDSCAPE CONTRACTORS AND EQUIPMENT DEALERS

COVER STORY

Volume 31, No. 4 | May/June 2019

ELECTRIFICATION

Batteries spark innovation for the future of mow, blow and go Producing less noise and few emissions are among advantages to using battery-powered equipment to make companies “greener.”

DEPARTMENTS Greenworks

4 Through the Grapevine 6 The Dirt Green Industry News

FEATURES

41 Advertisers Index

18 Contractor Profile ‘Lawn Man’ delivers instant quotes to make lawns green, thick and weed-free

34 Cutting-Edge Business

Lawn Doctor franchise owner in Michigan continues to grow with services and technology.

24 Beyond the Blade Spring lawn care tips to help expand services and business

Getting the new season off to a good start by implementing five best practices.

26 E quipment Focus Why utility vehicles make sense in landscaping Today’s utility vehicles can handle a variety of terrain, quickly transport employees, haul heavy loads and power attachments. Plus, they are less expensive to operate than a pickup truck.

INPUT

THROUGHPUT

32 Dealer Profile The Tool Shack: Building a reputation on honesty, equipment and customer service

DATA

Founded in 2003, the company demonstrates a commitment to customer service as a dealer for KIOTI Tractors, Avant, Hustler, Toro and much more.

JOURNEY

38 D ealer Data Do more with dealer data to drive profits

The simplest way to get one’s head wrapped around the journey of data is input- throughput – output - outcome

OUTCOME

OUTPUT

www.greenindustrypros.com

❙ MAY/JUNE 2019 ❙

GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 3

THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE

Pros

™

y goal as editor is to make sure that you, the readers, can be assured that the time you spend with Green Industry Pros is filled with the most important, creative and meaningful articles about the landscaping community. Green Industry Pros seeks to publish articles that advances your knowledge and understanding of some of the latest trends and innovations within the industry. Prior to delving into this green industry, I worked as a reporter and editor at the Daily Jefferson County Union newspaper in Fort Atkinson, Wis. for more than 20 years. I’m confident my past experience in the newspaper industry will continue to guide me in learning who you are and what you would like to see in the magazine as I also develop content for Green Industry Pros. So far, in my first few months I’ve been doing exactly what I expected to do, I’m slowly learning the industry, As a homeowner, I’m accustomed during the spring and fall to listening to the sounds of lawn mowers and some leaf blowers over the course of the weekend and occasionally during the week. I’ve never really thought much of the noise level or the emissions as I contribute plenty myself and even grumble about the noise level of my own blower. Through my brief introduction to the landscaping industry to date, I’ve quickly learned the that those very noise levels and emissions of the two-stroke lawn equipment is considered by some to be a problem. The Environmental Protection Agency concluded in 2015 that two-stroke lawn equipment was an “important source” of pollutants and that communities “should create policies and programs to protect the public from (the equipment’s) air pollutants and promote nonpolluting alternatives.” To date over the past couple of years, more than 500 cities including Washington, D.C. multiple municipalities in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Florida and elsewhere have banned or restricted specifically the gaspowered leaf blowers, boosting the proliferation of equipment powered by four-strokes and electric or battery-powered motors. Less noise and fewer emissions seem to be among the advantages to using electric or batterypowered equipment, which makes them attractive to towns and municipalities and the option of labeling your business as being a “green” company. Whether that’s the final answer remains to be seen. In Electrification, we explore this very issue on Ryan Whisner (920) 542-1238 page 14 by highlighting the use of the batteryrwhisner@acbusinessmedia.com powered equipment by the professional users. What other aspects of the industry would you like to see explored in GIP? Let me know. My email is rwhisner@acbusinessmedia.com or find me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GreenIndustryPros/ or www.facebook.com/RyanWhisnerGIPeditor/.

4 GREEN INDUSTRY PROS

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Published by AC Business Media

201 N. Main Street Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 (800) 538-5544

Pexels

It’s not easy being ‘green’

Volume 31, Number 3

ADVERTISIN G

Publisher....................................................................................Eric Servais eservais@acbusinessmedia.com Sales Representative.....................................................Paula Carpenter pcarpenter@acbusinessmedia.com Sales Representative...........................................................Sean Dunphy sdunphy@acbusinessmedia.com Sales Representative...........................................................Nikki Lawson nlawson@acbusinessmedia.com Sales Representative.............................................................Kris Flitcroft kflitcroft@acbusinessmedia.com National Automotive Manager ........................................... Tom Lutzke tlutzke@acbusinessmedia.com

EDITORIAL

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CIRCU LATION

Audience Development Director.....................................Wendy Chady Audience Development Manager................................... Angela Franks

PRODU CTION

Senior Production Manager.................................................Cindy Rusch crusch@acbusinessmedia.com AC Business Media CEO – Barry Lovette CFO — JoAnn Breuchel Vice President of Sales and Marketing — Amy Schwandt Editorial Director — Greg Udelhofen Digital Operations Manager — Nick Raether Digital Sales Manager — Monique Terrazas Change of Address & Subscriptions — P.O. Box 3605 Northbrook, IL 60065-3605 • (877) 201-3915 Fax: (847) 291-4816 • circ.greenindustrypros@omeda.com List Rental — Jeff Moriarty, Senior Vice President of Business and Media Solutions • InfoGroup • (518) 339 4511 jeff.moriarty@infogroup.com Reprints & Licensing — Erica Finger (920) 542-1230 • efinger@acbusinessmedia.com Green Industry Pros [USPS 003-763 and ISSN 2168-121X (print), ISSN 2168-1228 (online)] is published seven times a year: January/ February, March, April, May/June, July/August, September/October and November/December by AC Business Media. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Green Industry Pros, P.O. Box 3605, Northbrook, IL 60065-3605. Canada Post PM40612608. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Green Industry Pros, P.O. Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Subscriptions: Individual subscriptions are available without charge in the U.S. to qualified subscribers. Publisher reserves the right to reject non-qualified subscriptions. Subscription prices: U.S., $35 per year; Canada/Mexico, $60 per year; and all other countries, $85 per year. All subscriptions payable in U.S. funds, drawn on U.S. bank. Back issues, if available, cost $10 prepaid. Printed in the USA. Copyright 2019 AC Business Media. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recordings or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission from the publisher.

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JohnDeere.com

PUT GRUNT WORK BEHIND YOU

For jobs that aren’t so easy consider a 3E Series compact utility tractor from John Deere. Loaded with an engine up to 37.4 hp, 4-wheel drive and hydrostatic transmission, the implement friendly 3E has the muscle to knock out heavy work—like loading, hauling and grading—and the finesse to whip out light work—such as mowing and raking. Check out the 3E Series today at your local John Deere dealer. Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/10155839

INDUSTRY DIRT

Early bird registration open for GIE+EXPO 2019 Registration is now open for GIE+EXPO 2019.

PROFESSIONAL GRADE PRODUCTS.

The industry's largest annual gathering is set for October 16-18 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Online registration is available at www.gie-expo. com. Early bird registration is $15 through Sept. 5. According to Kris Kiser, managing partner of GIE+EXPO and OPEI President, the combination of new products, demos, networking opportunities and dynamic education make the show a must-attend event for industry members. "GIE+EXPO is the place to be for landscape professionals and dealers who want to take their company to the next level," Kiser said. "Plan to land in Louisville this October for the industry's biggest show. It's the place to be if you're in the outdoor living and equipment

business." David Weissenfluh, of Green with Envy, LLC has attended the show annually for nearly 20 years. "I come back every year to see what's new and beneficial for my company," he said. "There is nothing like talking face-toface with the representatives in the booth. If you have never attended GIE+EXPO, it's a must. Trends and products change all the time and all of the new innovations are debuted here."

New show hours

The show floor will open for dealers Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 11 a.m. Dealers, distributors, retailers and the media are invited to this exclusive preview. All attendees are invited beginning at 3 p.m. which includes a welcome reception until 7p.m. Hours for Thursday, Oct. 17 indoors and

out, are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday the indoor exhibits will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and outdoor exhibits will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Big prizes

GIE+EXPO registration includes several opportunities to win prizes. Attendees will have the chance to win both cash and product prizes valued at up to $20,000. Entries for the Fabulous Friday Giveaway and UTV Giveaway are included with show badges, and many exhibitors plan giveaways for attendees who visit their booths during the show.

GIE+EXPO 2019

GIE+EXPO is sponsored by the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute, Inc. (OPEI), Professional Grounds Management Society (PGMS) and National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP). For more information and online registration for the trade show and education program please visit www.gie-expo.com.

KOHLER CO. TO END ENGINE MANUFACTURING IN WISCONSIN

THE MICHELIN® X® TWEEL® TURF™ AIRLESS RADIAL TIRE FAMILY FOR ZERO TURN RADIUS MOWERS

PROLUBE HIGH PERFORMANCE LUBRICATION EQUIPMENT

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XHT AND PREDATOR HEAT TREATED EXTRA DURABLE MOWER BLADES

PRECISION RUGGED LAWN CARE EQUIPMENT

SUNBELT OUTDOOR PRODUCTS

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A&I PRODUCTS

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LEARN MORE!

Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/10857096

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Kohler Co. will shut down engine production in the Village of Kohler, WI and move the work to Hattiesburg, MS. With the decision, 325 positions in Wisconsin will be eliminated, but all affected employees will be offered alternative jobs within the state, a company spokesman said. About 280 production jobs and 45 administrative positions will be cut, the spokesman said. Kohler has had an enginemanufacturing operation in Hattiesburg since 1998, and also makes engines at its sprawling factory in the Village of Kohler — best known for producing bathroom fixtures. Consolidating the engine work in Mississippi "will create a simplified customer experience and is not about reducing headcount or downsizing the business," the company said in a statement. "We remain fully committed to our headquarters in Wisconsin, where we are continuing to invest in our facilities and actively recruiting for a wide range of roles,” the firm said.

HUSQVARNA AUTOMOWER® 500 SERIES

PERFECT CUT. LESS NOISE. MORE PROFIT.

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Shifts personnel to more profitable tasks Professional quality cutting in all conditions Advanced remote management with Husqvarna Fleet Services™ Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/10155833

INDUSTRY DIRT

KUBOTA, TITAN INK AGREEMENT FOR GOODYEAR R14 TIRE

“The vast majority of compact tractors on the market are being sold with R-4 tires, but there’s a drawback when it comes to traction. If you go with an R-1, then you have more traction, but more vibration on hard surfaces. Up to this point, there hasn’t been a tire as versatile as the

Titan International, Inc. and Kubota Tractor Corporation / Kubota Canada Limited recently announced an exclusivity agreement for Goodyear R14 crossover tires on select Kubota compact tractor models.

EXPLORE & DEMO NEW PRODUCTS

BRING YOUR

compact tractors they’re going on,” said Kubota compact tractor product manager Jacob Sherman. “After testing the R14, we knew it could perform equally as well in the variety of snow, field, yard, loader and pasture applications our customers expect from our machines. We believe the Goodyear R14 is a game-changer for our dealers and customers — it’s one more factor that sets Kubota apart." While the BX-Series and B-Series Kubota models included in the agreement will still offer many of the same R-1, R-3 and R-4 tires as options, according to Sherman, he expects “the majority of our customers will migrate to the Goodyear R14.” Prior to entering into the agreement, Kubota conducted significant testing on the Goodyear R14 tire — which features an industry-unique, new-to-market hybrid tread design combining elements of an ag tread (R-1), turf tread (R-3) and industrial tread (R-4). According to Kubota, results from testing showed the R14 tire as being the ideal fit between an R-1 and R-4, which is where the industry needs to move. For more information, visit titan-intl. com/R14T.

OTHER TOP NEWS • Maryland appeals court

upholds pesticide ban www.greenindustrypros.com/21067316

• Verizon Connect Asset Tracker recognized

CREW

with ABA’s Stevie Award www.greenindustrypros.com/21068171

• Brigham Young University named

champion of National Collegiate Landscaping Competition www.greenindustrypros.com/21067854

• ASCA’s mode legislation

advances in Canada. www.greenindustrypros.com/21067350

Concerts by Easton Corbin and Cassadee Pope Over 1,000 exhibits indoors & out

Keynotes by economist Brian Beaulieu and Lt. Col. Rob “Waldo” Waldman

OCTOBER 16-18, 2019

C o l o c ate d w it h

KENTUCKY EXPOSITION CENTER | LOUISVILLE, KY | WWW.GIE-EXPO.COM | (800) 558-8767

• Sperber Landscape Co. acquires

Milwaukee-based Kujawa Enterprises www.greenindustrypros.com/21066997

www.facebook.com/GreenIndustryPros www.linkedin.com/groups/3916625 www.twitter.com/YG_PRO

Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/12419377

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www.youtube.com/GreenIndustryPros

“WHY? BECAUSE PEOPLE LOVE BEAUTIFUL LAWNS.” — PAULITA , CSO AND M ANAGING PARTNER, PRESCRIP TION L ANDSC APE

Behind every gorgeous lawn is a committed landscaper. Satisfying customers. It starts with an engine that can handle all the tough stuff. An engine that keeps you up and running, handling the heat, powering through the day. A machine you can trust. That’s a thing of beauty. WWW.KAWASAKIENGINESUSA.COM Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/10155851

NEW PRODUCTS

Cub Cadet’s ultimate all-around mowing experience Cub Cadet’s Ultima Series zero-turn lawn mowers are offered in two trim levels — the ZT1 and ZT2 — with varying deck size options. • A high-back, adjustable seat, industry-exclusive overmolded hand grips and advanced polymer seat isolators to deliver a smoother, quieter ride than traditional springs. • The AeroForce cutting system outfitted on select Ultima Series means fewer clumps and stragglers, finer clippings, and increased evenness during mowing.

John Deere adds backhoes to attachments lineup

• Maintenance-free spindles, a hinged floor pan for easy deck access and a best-in-class warranty make maintenance simple and easy and provide the ultimate peace-of-mind.

John Deere’s BH9B, BH10B and BH11B backhoe attachments can be used on John Deere G-Series skid steers and compact track loaders. The attachments offer swing speed control and 180-degree capabilities.

• The ZT1 offers 42-, 46-, 50-, and 54-in. decks.

• Low-profile design optimizes visibility

• The ZT2 collection is larger, with 50-, 54-, and 60-in. deck sizes.

• Cushioned cylinders for smooth operations and limit shock loads

• 15 quarter-inch deck height adjustments. • An offset front axle for precise trimming.

• Two-lever control of boom or swing (left lever) and dipperstick or bucket (right lever)

• Powerful Kohler and Kawasaki engines.

• 9- to 12-gpm hydraulic flow range

www.greenindustrypros.com/21064589

• BH10B and BH11B offer three linkage positions • Standard-tilt seating capabilities for easy moving between machine ingress and egress • Grab handle and open design • Dig depths: 110 in. (BH9B), 116 in. (BH10B) and 133 in. (BH11B) • Bucket widths: 18 to 36 in. • Breakout force: 3,895 lb. (BH9B), 5,675 lb. (BH10B & BH11B) www.greenindustrypros.com/21067838

400-gal. split-tank spray rig costs less than comparable pickup truck Graham Spray Equipment’s 400-gal. split-tank spray rig features a 10-ft. by 8-ft. aluminum truck bed and a fiberglass tank compartmented 110/290. • 30- by 30- by 78-in. aluminum storage box with rails • ICC bar with receiver tube • Requires a 110-in. cab-to-axle Isuzu • Jet agitation • AR-30 diaphragm pump

• Gear reduction • Type C hose guides • Options include: mechanical agitation, Bean R-10 piston pump and ride-on spreader carrier (for 36-in. spreader)

• System #2 features: 110-gal. tank, Hannay 1526 LB power rewind reel mounted curbside rear, 400-ft. 3/8-in. GSE yellow spray hose, JD9 spray gun

• Honda 5.5-hp electric start engine • GI40 pressure regulator and 1-in. inline strainer • System #1 features: 290-gal. tank, Hannay 1526 LB power rewind reel mounted curbside forward, 400-ft. 3/8-in. GSE green spray hose, Lesco spray gun with 2-gpm nozzle www.greenindustrypros.com/21065948

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BATTERY POWER. MADE BY STIHL. Æ&#x2019;

REAL VERSATILITY ONE POWERHEAD, MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS. The new battery-powered STIHL KombiSystem offers landscapers game-changing versatility. With up to 13 attachments and the added convenience of battery, the STIHL KMA 130 R delivers powerful, clean and quiet operation perfect for any landscaping job.

NEW KMA 130 R

KOMBISYSTEM

13 ATTACHMENTS & ACCESSORIES BLOW

TRIM

CLEAR

EDGE

PRUNE

HEDGE

CUT

DEFINE

CLEAR

SWEEP

CULTIVATE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT: STIHLUSA.COM

Visit www.greenindustrypros.com/10155925

NEW PRODUCTS KIOTI unveils zero turn mower lineup New topdresser covers wide spread Earth & Turf Products, LLC’s says its Model 45HP is designed for spreading screened compost with up to 25 percent moisture content on lawns and small turf areas. Other options included on the new model include • Three-wheel maneuverability

Kioti Tractor’s inaugural series of zero turn radius mowers includes 12 models across four series — ZXR, ZXR SE, ZXC and ZXC SE — for commercial and residential applications. According to the company, additional highlights on the new line include: • Briggs & Stratton or Kohler engines ranging from 21- to 27-hp combined with Hydro-Gear transmissions • 7.5 gallon (ZXR and ZXR Se) or 12.5 gallon (ZXC and ZXC SE) fuel capacities • 48-, 54- or 60-inch mower decks, each with a fabricated, reinforced 10-gauge steel deck and standard notch blades www.greenindustrypros.com/21066566

• 30-inch wide box • Reciprocating screen design spreader for a full-width pattern, 1/8 to 1/4 inches thick. • 4.5 cubic feet hopper capacity • 41-inch total handle height • Maximum load weight is 375 pounds www.greenindustrypros.com/21066727

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Servicing dealers and distributors only.

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2019 Rotary catalog features over 9,500 outdoor equipment parts Cat 299D2 XHP Compact Track Loader designed for tough land-clearing tasks

Rotary Corporation says its new 2019 master catalog features the industry’s most complete line of outdoor power equipment parts, tools and accessories. Available for servicing dealers and distributors, it includes:

The 299D2 XHP Land Management Compact Track Loader is purpose-built for demanding vegetation management applications. Its 110-gross-hp Cat C3.8 engine combines with its high-flow/ high-pressure auxiliary hydraulic system (40 gpm at 4,061 psi) for a calculated hydraulic-horsepower rating of 94 to power highproduction, hydro-mechanical attachments, such as mulching heads and industrial brush cutters. The rated operating capacity is 4,350 lbs. at 35% of tipping load.

• More than 1,740 pages with photos, illustrations, descriptions, crossreferencing and part numbers for over 9,500 different items.

The loader comes factory equipped with the necessary seals, components, guarding and deflectors to protect key components from debris and damage. It comes with a one-piece, sealed, pressurized cab that includes a premium, heated, air suspension seat with independently adjustable armrest/joystick control positions, full-color, 5-in. LCD Advanced Display monitor, rear view camera and integrated Bluetooth radio with microphone.

• Copperhead vortex trimmer line, engine maintenance kits, tires, clutches, idler pulleys, snow-blower parts, clutch cables, blade adapters and more.

www.greenindustrypros.com/21067541

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• A wide range of outdoor power equipment parts. • Among 300 new items, including a variety of Copperhead mower blades, commercial-strength belts, electric starters and carburetors.

• A 2019 Quick-Cross CD with an easy index for parts, so customers can quickly locate specific products, such as blades, belts or tires, and save or print quotes. • A print or digital version, which is available at www.rotarycorp.com..

Dealer Inquiries Welcome

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GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 13

ELECTRIFICATION

By Rod Dickens

BATTERIES SPARK PRODUCT INNOVATION FOR THE FUTURE OF

MOW, BLOW AN Producing less noise and few emissions are among advantages to using battery-powered equipment to make companies “greener”

STIHL

woke up with a startle last Monday. I dreamt my two crew members were loading up our trailer with 16 robotic mowers to head out to a retirement community we had been maintaining for years. But instead of having three crews spend all day there, they were going to simply drive by our properties and essentially drop off a robotic mower, push a button, and return an hour later to pick it up. Imagine that, they were going to do that for nearly 100 accounts, with only two crew members. My employee

problem was solved. I didn’t need three trucks with trailers, nor did I have to carry extra fuel. Wait a second. Extra fuel? That’s what sparked my dream. I had just purchased a couple battery-powered string line trimmers and was looking forward to inserting a battery module instead of handling fuel, pushing a button instead of pulling a starter cord. Anyway, there’s no way, the industry would evolve to replacing employees with robotic mowers, or would it? Employing robotic mowers to completely replace crew members is likely years away, but battery powered equipment is rapidly finding a place on landscape maintenance trailers. This trend has been more than a decade in the making, and the catalyst was the transition from lead acid to Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) batteries. Greenworks introduced its first rechargeable hand tools in 2005 and has since developed a full line of both homeowner and commercial products. Within the last year, the company has added a rechargeable stand-on and zero-turn rider and an UTV to complement a line of rechargeable hand-held This edger is one of several STIHL battery products that has an external connection allowing operators to shift the battery weight from the unit to their back or hip.

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equipment for the professional user. “Li-Ion batteries have more power, last longer, and charge faster than lead acid batteries and they don’t have a degradation of power,” said Greenworks Commercial Business Group Leader Tony Marchese. “They are smart, as well. Some of ours have Bluetooth capability, allowing users to check on things like battery life and the number of charges it has left. Those in our zero-turn mowers have the capability to locate a mower if it is stolen and actually make the battery inoperable.”

The rechargeable solution

Producing less noise and few emissions are among the most obvious advantages to using battery-powered equipment, which makes them attractive to towns and municipalities, colleges, corporate America and virtually anyone or company that wants to be “greener.” Marchese emphasized this equipment also has real pragmatic value for the professional user. “Now 500 cities have some form of regulation on two-stroke engines, that’s up from 250 a year ago,” he said. “Promoting your company as a green company with the capability to deliver all services with rechargeable equipment from blowers and trimmers to mowers can give you

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The Husqvarna robotic mower is quiet, at 58 decibels, and mows for approximately 70 minutes before returning to port to recharge for 60 minutes.

Greenworks

ND GO

Husqvarna

cost, performance, and run time. “Take costs as an example,” said Marchese. “Greenworks zero-turn mower sells for around $24,000 compared to a price of between $10,000 to $12,000 for a comparable gas-powered mower. If you add up fuel savings alone, users will pay for their battery within three years. Add in oil changes, service charges, and overall less vibration traveling through the mower and savings on repair and service costs are greater yet.” He pointed out that performance shouldn’t be an issue, either. “Our professional backpack blower delivers 700 CFM (cubic feet per minute), in line with the industry’s gas-powered workhorses,” he said. “Battery power also delivers extreme Within the last year, Greenworks added a stand-on mower and torque. Gaszero-turn rider to its rechargeable product lineup. powered mowers experience a degradation of power transfer a true marketing advantage.” from the engine to the transmission, He noted that there are several belts, pulleys, and so forth, something productivity advantages, as well. rechargeable mowers don’t experi“Generating less noise allows ence. Power goes directly from the rechargeable equipment to work on battery to the blade and wheel motors.” a property early in the morning and Then there’s the issue of run time. late into the evening,” Marchese said. Professional users can take along “Operators don’t need to be mechaniextra batteries for their hand-held cally savvy to start and operate units, but Greenworks stand-on and equipment, nor are there downtime zero-turn mowers will need to be issues with a broken throttle cable, recharged, just like a Volt or Tesla. plugged air filters, and the like, not “When factoring in windshield to mention early morning stops at a time, an average mow, blow, and go Quik Mart to get fuel and coffee.” company will spend approximately 4 Despite their growing popularhours a day mowing,” Marchese noted. ity, many landscape contractors are “Depending on the conditions, our reluctant to give up their gas-powstand on and zero turn rider will mow ered equipment for rechargeable ones, for between four and six hours before having concerns about their initial

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needing to be recharged. It takes 10 hours to recharge the battery, but we also know there are occasions when larger properties, such as corporate accounts, will require longer mowing stints. Later this year, we will introduce a high-speed charger that will reduce charging time to two hours.”

Growing market

Greenworks product lineup is exclusively battery-powered, but the company isn’t alone in the growing market. STIHL, Inc., for example, introduced its first battery-powered product in 2010. “Battery products are lightweight, start instantly, and are easy to operate and maintain,” said Mike Poluka, STIHL, Inc. product manager. Echoing Marchese, he emphasized that today’s products also “offer excellent run times, with no exhaust, little to no noise, and no gas or fuel to mix while on the job. Battery-powered equipment might have a higher upfront cost, but over time users save on maintenance costs and have a product that requires little upkeep when compared to the alternatives.” Over the last nine years the company has introduced 35 battery-powered products into the marketplace, including several that are appropriate for the professional user, explained Poluka. “Of the three tiers of performance, the STIHL AP Battery Series is designed for professionals and delivers the power landscape contractors require and are ideal for extensive use on a variety of properties,” he said. In this product category, he includes just about every hand-held product a landscape contractor would want, everything from hedge trimmers, handheld blowers, and chain saws to string line trimmers, a walk-behind lawn mower, pole pruners, and extended-reach hedge trimmers. STIHL also offers battery-powered garden shears, a robotic mower, and what Poluka says is the world’s first

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GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 15

Weed Man

ELECTRIFICATION

represent a large battery-powered cut-off machine. portion of this A new top-handle chain saw will growth, but probe available in August 2019. fessional users The growing popularity of battery will be part of this power among landscape contractors expansion, as well. has been fueled in part by stringent emission and noise standards. They’ve also witnessed first-hand Dreams can the evolution of this technology as come true their truck and trailers continue Several manuto share the highway with more facturers, like hybrid and plug-in automobiles. STIHL and There’s no question battery techHusqvarna, have nology has improved vastly over successfully the years, both in terms of power introduced robotic mowers to the and run time, two prior obstacles rechargeable product marketplace. for their use by professionals. These mowers are designed pri“Our battery products feature marily to take the legwork out of optimal power-to-weight ratios, mowing for home owners, but Weed making the equipment easier to use Man is testing another franchise and maneuver and considerably lighter concept that will get the profesthan gasoline-powered models,” sional users involved, as well. Two Poluka said. “To provide user comfort former landscape contractors and during long work days, several of our current Weed Man franchisees, Kevin AP Series battery products offer an Adan, and Jim McClure, are part external battery connection allowing of the test in the Atlanta market. operators to shift the battery weight “We’re in the very early stages of from the unit to their back or hip.” the automation age when industries STIHL is continuing to expand its are looking for ways to solve the labor offerings of battery-powered prodshortages,” said McClure, who along ucts for with Adan, both homeoperated a lawn Battery products are owners and maintenance professional company prior to lightweight, start instantly, and are landscapbuying a Weed easy to operate and maintain. ers while, Man franchise in at the same 2001. He noted time, working to improve upon they joined Weed Man in part because gasoline-powered products. running a lawn maintenance company “We are evolving with the landscapwas too labor intensive. Now, they’re ing industry,” added Poluka. “Because planning on getting back into the lawn the Li-Ion market is rapidly growing, maintenance business with robotic we have a new research and developmowers doing most of the legwork. ment center in Germany devoted to The new franchise being develtheir development and refinement.” oped by Weed Man called TurfBot Marchese agreed. Robotic Mowing Service, is expected “The growth of this market has to be formally introduced into the been nothing but amazing,” he said. U.S. market later this fall. Adan and “By 2023, we anticipate the rechargeMcClure are testing the concept able market will exceed that of gas with a Husqvarna robotic mower. products.” He noted that sales to “Powered by a Li-Ion battery the homeowners through chain stores will mower is quiet at 58 decibels. It liter-

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Weed Man franchisees Kevin Adan, on the left, and Jim McClure look forward to getting involved in the mowing side of lawn maintenance.

ally maintains a lawn 24 hours a day, taking off an eighth of an inch of grass per cut. It mows for approximately 70 minutes before returning to port to recharge for 60 minutes,” said Adan. “Unlike a mowing crew, it mows rain or shine, doesn’t scalp, and doesn’t leave ruts. The lawn is a deeper, darker green than one that’s mowed weekly, and it always looks and even smells freshly cut, because it is.” As part of the new service to homeowners, Adan and McClure would purchase and program the mower, install a perimeter wire around the property to guide the mower, and offer a bi-weekly service to tidy up the lawn and landscape with a trimmer and blower and check on the mower to ensure its operating as programmed. “The contractor may even want to expand the service offering by installing shrubs and seasonal color, but the bulk of the work would be done by the mower quietly and emission free,” added McClure. Adan and McClure are excited about the program and look forward to once again getting involved in the mowing side of lawn maintenance, if they don’t need a covey of trucks, trailers and workers to do so. They wouldn’t be entertaining their reentry into the marketplace without the robotic mower, which relies on advancing battery technology to get the job done. “Advancing” is the key word. As batteries continue to improve, finding new ways to take advantage of them will be on the agenda of both manufacturers and the operators who use their products. ❯

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CONTRACTOR PROFILE

by Angie Mellor

‘Lawn Man’ delivers instant quotes to make lawns

green, thick an K

endall the “Lawn Man” Hines has been involved in the family business, Lawn Doctor of Grand Rapids, Mich. since he was eight years old. “I grew up on the lawns with my dad out there, learning every aspect of the business,” Hines said. “I got to see it from a first-hand perspective; the agronomic conditions and how to treat weeds and fertilize a lawn.” But Hines offers more than just his background in the green industry. Over the past five years, he’s grown his client base from 100 to around 2,000 accounts by changing the way he sells the service, via a chatbot platform he’s developed.

The Hines Lawn Doctor Franchise

As Hines and his brothers grew up, his parents maintained the Lawn Doctor franchise part time and after playing college baseball for a few years, he took over sales and marketing and grew the company exponentially. Recently, he and childhood friend and now business partner, Henry Eggers, purchased the family franchise and added four more Lawn Doctor

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next level,” Hines said. “We have some pretty big targets that we want to attain. We started with one truck and one machine now we have 11 trucks and 15-16 employees this year.”

Services Offered

 Business partners Henry Eggers, left and Kendall Hines display their trademark “Green, thick and weed-free” plaque.

franchises in Western Michigan. Hines and Eggers grew up together on a street called Castlebrook, where they played football together in the front yard. Now the pair has named their holding company after this fond childhood memory and are working together to grow both their Lawn Doctor franchises and their new holding company. “It’s been growing fast and we have huge aspirations for where we want to go, and we’re putting together the team now that’s going take us to the

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Hines’ Lawn Doctor franchises service mainly residential accounts, and offer services such as fertilization, aeration, and power seeding to keep lawns green, thick, and weed free. Additionally, the insect division is rapidly growing with a rise in mosquito borne illnesses. “We show them results in the lawn, then they get a friendly phone call when the mosquitoes are out,” Hines said. Lawn Doctor offers treatments to spray foliage around the property, keeping the area mosquito free for 30 to 40 days. “It’s a real problem from a safety aspect, and families want to make sure they’re protected,” Hines noted.

Innovating and Changing Sales Strategies

Hines used a variety of methods to build his client base over the last five years. He described the increase

 Kendall the “Lawn Man” Hines has earned his green thumb as he continues to evolve his business model to keep up with technology.

Lawn Doctor franchise owner in Michigan continues to grow with services and technology

and weed-free Photos: Lawn Doctor of Grand Rapids

in business as “bootstrapped organic growth,” generating leads from knocking on doors, utilizing social media advertising, developing a customer service call center, and perhaps the most innovative tool, a chatbot that sells lawn care. One can often get a price quote by visiting any company’s website, but Lawn Doctor of Grand Rapids takes that a step further. “As soon as you request that quote from us, you’re texted and emailed a link to the instant quote chatbot, then you enter your phone number,”

Hines said. “The chatbot recognizes who you are from your phone number and where you live. It shows you a picture of your house, measures your square footage, and asks how you want your lawn to look. From there, it puts together a program and pricing and asks if you would like to sign up.” He feels this development is the natural next step for selling lawn care services. “You can buy every other service online, but in the green industry you can’t buy lawn care online. Why is that?” Hines said. He considers the chatbot as a tool that never shows up late, works weekends and allows customers to buy at their convenience. “Often, a lot of customers call the office with the same questions, such as ‘when’s my first and second treatment?’ Now we can use chat technology to answer those common questions those customers have,”

 Quotes for service are provided instantly via phone through a chatbot plaform.

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 A Turf Tamer power seeder is utilized to provide customers the best lawn power seeding results possible.

Hines said. Not only is he using this in his own franchise, but other Lawn Doctor franchises and businesses in the green industry are onboard and purchasing the bot platform to increase business and revenue for themselves. In addition to the customers gained by the chatbot, Hines also credits his aggressive approach to building the franchise’s online presence and reputation as another strategy that helped him increase his customer base by 1,000 clients in a single season. When he took over sales and marketing for Lawn Doctor of Grand

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GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 19

CONTRACTOR PROFILE

Rapids, Hines made it his mission to build his franchise’s reputation by increasing the number of google reviews left by clients. “It’s hard to get a Google review because it requires time,” Hines said. “I made it an ongoing mission to get estimate requests and reviews.” Hines and his team employed several strategies to encourage customers to leave reviews. He described the effort to get the first 30 reviews as “hand to hand combat.” He used his chatbot to send out satisfaction surveys, which directed customers either to write a review, or provide feedback and the opportunity to improve services. “Nobody’s perfect and things happen,” Hines said. “But we always try to make it right, that’s the most important part.” At the time of publication, Lawn Doctor of Grand Rapids has a 4.6 star rating and 127 Google reviews. Hines has also seen customer growth through multiple advertising strategies. Getting engaged through community events or home shows has been successful for Lawn Doctor. At such events, Hines uses a big flat screen TV to pull up a potential customer’s lawn. He can then measure it and get them set up right there on the spot. Another popular technique has been taking advantage of social media,

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particularly Facebook live. “Lawn Doctor Live involves interviewing different business owners and guests, while providing tips for homeowners,” Hines said. For example, episode one of Lawn Doctor Live (www. youtube.com/watch?v=xJr7B8oM9C8) reviews how to hire a home service.

Millennial leadership

In addition to chatbot innovation and use and social media, Hines credits his young staff for much of their success. He often describes the young team as “hungry” to grow their business and thinks that age has something to do with it. “They [employees] don’t have responsibilities of kids, mortgages, etc. things that might cause them to work less,” he noted. Hines sees his franchise in a unique position. Growing what his

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parents built and refined over the years, and combining young talent and new innovations in technology will keep his business going strong. “We’re building a business and can feel and see the energy of what the future is. We’re in a unique position in this industry there’s not a lot of younger owners doing what we’re doing,” Hines said. “This lends to a more vibrant culture and it’s very much selling them on the vision of where we’re going, what we want to do here.” ›  Kendall Hines, co-owner of Lawn Doctor of Grand Rapids and four other franchises in western Michigan has used the latest in technology, including his own chatbox platform to continue growing his business.  He credits much of his success to his young staff, whom he describes as “hungry “ to grow the business.

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By Bryan Ostlund, Grass Seed USA

Getting the new season off to a good start by implementing five best practices

SPRING LAWN CARE TIPS

to help expand services and business

pring is in the air, and as a landscape pro you’re no doubt eager to get the new season off to a good start. If you’re looking for ways to pitch prospective clients on spring lawn care services or simply nurture existing relationships, here are five topics you can bring up to educate your clients, demonstrate the value of additional services you can provide and build confidence in your expertise and advice.

Problems and expectations

Spring is a good time to identify potential problems and address them before they become more serious and more costly to fix. A broad conversation with clients about expectations for their lawns, and any issues they’d like to resolve, can

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help you identify how to better meet their needs through additional specific offerings. If the lawn has problem areas that you suspect might be related to soil quality, or if the client wants to overseed or plant new grass, offer to test some soil samples which will give you data about the soil’s acidity levels and any amendments that might be needed to help the grass thrive. This information will help support any corrective measures you recommend.

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Dethatching

A little thatch is healthy, but if the layer is more than about half an inch thick, it’s probably time to take action — and dethatching is usually a job for

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the pros. Removing thatch enables water, air and nutrients to penetrate the soil more easily, and it also helps fend off root rot, pests, fungal growth and drought stress.

Aeration

Like excess thatch, compaction — due to age or excessive traffic — can prevent water, nutrients and oxygen from moving through the soil. Core aeration can improve drainage and help prepare the soil to receive seed or fertilizer. It’s certainly possible to rent a core aerator, but since you have the skills and equipment already, your clients will likely entrust this task to you.

Overseeding

A lawn that is thin or has bare patches can sometimes benefit from overseeding, and planting in the spring can give the grass a head start on the weeds and allow the development of deeper roots so mattjeacock / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Big Stock

BEYOND THE BLADE

the lawn is more drought-tolerant come summer. You’ll want to explain why the type of seed you recommend is a good match for the growing region and the characteristics of the particular site.

Watering

Spring is a good time to offer irrigation system inspections and assess their efficiency. Whether or not your clients have an irrigation system or are watering by hand, they should be aware of basic best practices: don’t overwater (most cool-season grasses need only about an inch of water a week, including rainfall), water deeply once or twice a week rather than lightly every day, water during the

cooler hours of the day and use a sprinkler that delivers large drops of water close to the ground rather than releasing a fine mist into the air. Help your clients help you keep their lawns looking good. If you take the time to educate your clients, provide tips and advice and explain the rationale behind your recommendations, you’ll

inspire confidence in your expertise. While clients who are avid gardeners or DIY enthusiasts may choose to handle some maintenance activities themselves, they will value your input and turn to you when they have a job that requires a pro’s skills and experience. Together you can make sure your clients’ lawns not only survive but thrive. ❯

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was written by Bryan Ostlund, Grass Seed USA. Grass Seed USA is a national coalition of grass seed farmers and academic turf specialists with a wealth of experience in studying, growing and harvesting grass and grass seed. The coalition seeks to inform and educate residential and commercial customers about the benefits of grass and best practices for responsibly growing and maintaining healthy turf. For more information, visit www.weseedamerica. com or follow @WeSeedAmerica on Facebook and Twitter.

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GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 25

EQUIPMENT FOCUS

By Gregg Wartgow

WHY UTILITY VEHICLES

MAKE SENSE IN LANDSCAPING Today’s utility vehicles can handle a variety of terrain, quickly transport employees, haul heavy loads and power attachments. Plus, they are less expensive to operate than a pickup truck.

n the game of baseball, a utility player is one who can play a variety of positions. In landscaping and groundskeeping, a utility vehicle (UTV) can also play a variety of positions in a variety of working environments. It is that element of versatility that makes them so popular and continues to fuel demand. “From farmers and ranchers to surveyors and contractors, all types of users find UTVs to be a valuable part of their equipment lineup,” says James Little, dealer development manager for KIOTI Tractor, a manufacturer

Kubota

Utility vehicles are becoming more popular with landscapers because of their ability to efficiently travel in a variety of environments, from wide-open spaces to more congested areas with rough terrain. Pictured is Kubota’s new RTV-XG850 Sidekick UTV.

of tractors, zero-turn mowers, utility vehicles and attachments. “Landscape contractors rank high on that list— probably as one of the top three or four heaviest users of UTVs.” According to Roger Gifford, Kubota product marketing manager for utility vehicles, the primary audiences for UTVs often vary by vehicle and manufacturer. For example, some UTVs are designed more for recreational use, and some manufacturers cater more to certain customer segments such as landscapers, rural property owners or farmers. “Kubota’s full line of workhorse utility vehicles serve landscapers and contractors, construction sites, large-property owners and ag customers,” Gifford says. “Landscape contractors rank ahead of the construction market and are in Kubota’s

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top three customer segments along with our agriculture and residential customers.” Kubota is a manufacturer of tractors, loaders excavators, mowers, UTVs and attachments.

Ideal landscaping applications for a UTV

Landscape contractors often have to haul heavy materials and tools around a jobsite. According to KIOTI’s Little, a UTV with a large cargo bed, strong weight and substantial towing capacity can greatly improve production. Another thing to think about is traveling around congested areas of land, such as a bustling commercial site or heavily landscaped residential property. “A UTV is more maneuverable than a truck,” Little says. “A multirow UTV is helpful when transporting tools across large landscape sites.”

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EQUIPMENT FOCUS

Gifford adds that because UTVs are fun to ride and drive—and easy to get in and out of—some jobs that were done with pickup trucks are now being done with UTVs. “UTVs are much more maneuverable, don’t cause as much turf damage and are often cheaper in capital and operating cost,” he said. “UTV versatility is endless. As more landscapers invest in them, they are finding more ways to get their jobs done efficiently and effectively.” One example is in irrigation and lighting applications. UTVs can be helpful in traveling around sites to check KIOTI sprinkler heads for leakages, or lighting fixtures for damaged wiring. The ability to power a long list of attachments creates an equally long list of productivity-enhancing possibilities. “A horticulture application may call for a spray rig to be mounted on a UTV, while a snow removal application may call for a snowplow, snowthrower or broom on the front and a salt spreader in the bed,” Gifford cites as examples. Kubota offers roughly a half-dozen attachments that can be used on its utility vehicles: a spreader, sand/salt spreader, sprayer, 60-inch broom, and 72-inch straight, V and general purpose blades. Bobcat, a manufacturer of compact construction equipment, UTVs and attachments, says users can operate roughly eight standard attachments and select power take-off attachments with the Bobcat 3650 UTV. Bobcat’s Toolcat Utility Work Machine can power more than 40 attachments.

Choosing a UTV

There are many brands and models of UTVs today, giving cus-

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KIOTI’s Mechron UTV provides more than 55 inches of cargo bed space and 1,100 pounds of bed capacity, making it an ideal match for hauling a variety of landscaping materials and tools on smaller to mid-size projects.

tomers a mind-boggling array of options to choose from. Gifford says it’s important for a landscaper to determine what their needs are based on the projects they’ll be doing both today and in the future. If a landscaper is looking to tow and haul, important features to consider are payload, towing capacity, cargo bed capacity and engine type (diesel vs. gas). “These features are especially important for a landscaper, as they allow for maximum ground speeds and hauling potential of what can be bulky landscape materials,” KIOTI’s Little points out. “A hydraulic dump kit is an excellent add-on to make jobs quicker and easier for the crew.” Ground clearance is another important consideration. “The higher the ground clearance, the more the landscaper can navigate any environment with ease,” he said. And speaking of navigation, the landscaper must also consider twowheel drive vs. four-wheel drive. Additionally, some kind of protection package—including full-coverage

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skid plates and a grill guard—can prove important on long days and more challenging terrain. Long, tough days can also necessitate some additional creature comfort features to make things easier on crewmembers. “Don’t forget to look for intuitive usability and perks like extra storage, comfortable seating and ergonomic design,” Little says. On that note, the landscape contractor also needs to think about how big a crew will be utilizing the UTV. A two- or three-man crew may only need a single-row model, while a larger crew likely needs a multirow UTV. Climate is another consideration. Some UTV models provide air conditioning and heat. In-cab climate control can be an important feature if operating in a very hot environment or if utilizing the UTV in the winter to plow snow. Finally, Little adds that it is important to purchase from an equipment dealer that has a good reputation and can be trusted. “He or she will take care of you during and after the sale,” Little reminds. “A good relationship with your dealer is key to any purchase.” Speaking of equipment dealers, Kubota’s Gifford says a landscaper should walk into a dealership with a clear understanding of what applications they want to use the UTV in, as well as any necessary attachments or accessories. It is not uncommon, then, for the utility vehicle itself to become a secondary qualifier. It is easy for a professional user

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scapers to investigate and research such as a landscaper to make a bad the durability and reliability of a choice when it comes to a UTV. vehicle by talking to their peers.” Gifford says it is important to underKIOTI offers two series of UTVs: stand the difference between “work” the K9 and the Mechron. The K9 is and “play” vehicles. Those lines have powered by a 24-hp diesel engine that become somewhat blurred in recent provides for ground speeds up to 31 years due to the increasing number of mph. Additionally, UTV brands that are this UTV has out there, some of which From farmers and a 1,598-pound have track records with ranchers to surveyors and payload (hauling) commercial customers contractors, all types of capacity and while others cater more users find UTVs to be a 1,300-pound to recreational users. valuable part of their towing capacity. “Landscapers who want to get a serious equipment lineup. The Mechron UTV amount of work has a 22-hp engine, James Little, done should focus a towing capacity KIOTI Tractor on true commercialof 1,300 pounds, duty work utility vehicles,” Gifford and either a 1,325- or 1,598-pound says. “The standard work specificapayload capacity depending on model. tions between vehicles may be very Kubota offers two series of UTVs: similar, so it’s important for landthe mid-size RTV Series and the full-

size RTV-X Series. Its new RTV-XG850 Sidekick is powered by a 48-hp engine and can travel up to 40 mph with cargo. “This is our fastest gas-powered utility vehicle yet, and really blurs the line between work and fun,” Gifford says. Kubota’s RTV-XG850 Sidekick features a 1,435-pound payload capacity and 2,000-pound towing capacity. If a contractor wants as much hauling capability as possible from Kubota, the RTV-X900 has a 1,664-pound payload capacity. However, the RTV-X900’s towing capacity of 1,300 pounds is roughly 35% less than the new RTV-XG850 Sidekick. The Sidekick represents the optimum blend of speed, towing capability and hauling capacity from Kubota. Several other manufacturers with notable footprints in the

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Kubota’s new RTV-XG850 Sidekick can travel 40 mph with cargo, making it a great match for landscape maintenance firms servicing large commercial properties where speed and hauling capacity are equally needed.

Kubota

landscape contractor market also market UTVs. For example:  Toro’s Workman HD Series has a 3,500-pound towing capacity and 3,352-pound payload  The Kawasaki Mule Pro-FXT has a 2,000-pound towing capacity and 1,616-pound payload  Bobcat UTVs have a 2,000pound towing capacity and payload up to 1,250 pounds  The Gravely Atlas JSV has a 2,000-pound towing capacity and 1,900- or 2,100-pound payload

Optimizing performance

When evaluating whether or not a UTV makes sense for their landscaping operation, one thing a contractor cannot overlook is how they will transport their UTV to a given jobsite. Little says that to safely haul a UTV, a

14- to 16-foot trailer and a minimum of two 3,500-pound axles with brakes on both axles is necessary. Landscape contractors must also think about the ongoing maintenance and overall care of a UTV in order to get the longest, most productive life possible. Gifford notes that contractors should refer to their UTV owner’s manual in order to establish a good preventive maintenance schedule. “Be sure to lubricate all grease fittings, check tire pressure, and check the levels of your fluids such

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as antifreeze, especially in the colder winter months,” he said. Before each use, Little suggests operators should look over the engine, transmission compartment, suspension dust guards and air filter to ensure that everything is clean and free of debris. “Also check the oil level,” Little adds. “If necessary, be sure to top it off.” Since a UTV is typically being asked to do a lot of things on a variety of terrain, proper tire care becomes really important. “Visually check the tires and keep track of tread wear,” Little says. “If the treads are worn to 50% or less, it is time to replace them. It’s always better to replace your tires proactively than to experience a tire failure on the jobsite.” ❯

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GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 31

DEALER PROFILE

by Angie Mellor

DEALER SUCCESS GUIDE

THE TOOL SHACK: Building a reputation on honesty, equipment and customer service

Founded in 2003, the company demonstrates a commitment to customer service as a dealer for KIOTI Tractors, Avant, Hustler, Toro mowers and much more.

ing the economic bust of 2008,” owner Colten Wright said. “We’ve continued to grow, and The Tool Shack is now considered an integral part of our community and has a reputation for honesty and fairness.” Founded in 2003 by Wright and Jack Davis, the original Tool Shack store was opened in Gulf Breeze. The business relocated three times due to rapid growth, and by 2011 Davis retired, and Regina, Wright’s wife, came on as an owner. The second location opened in Pensacola, Fla. in 2014.

According to owner Colten Wright, both stores are dealers for KIOTI Tractors, Avant articulated loaders, Hustler, Toro and Gravely mowers. Additionally, they carry handheld equipment by ECHO and STIHL, Titan implements, and Honda power equipment. When selecting manufacturers and distributors, Wright places importance on the needs of his customers, who range from landscape contractors to homeowners. “We believe we have to work together to achieve mutual goals and to solve the needs of our customers,” he said. “We don’t do business with companies who are just looking for a quick sale or have an interest in loading us up with inventory. If a manufacturer wants a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship, that’s who we partner with.” For his landKIOTI

hrough expertise and quality equipment offerings, a large parts inventory, and top notch customer service, The Tool Shack has demonstrated its commitment to customers since 2003. Now found in both Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, Fla. The Tool Shack has spent the last sixteen years building a reputation among landscape contractors, arborists and homeowners alike for expertise in outdoor power equipment, a wide range of parts inventory and honesty. “We are most proud of our ability to grow from a small single-store rental company to a multi-store equipment dealership in a relatively short period of time, while surviv-

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DEALER PROFILE

KIOTI

DEALER SUCCESS GUIDE

KIOTI Tractor is among the brands carried by The Tool Shack. Owner Colten Wright makes an effort to establish mutually beneficial long-term relationships with the brands he carries.

KIOTI

scape contractor customers, commercial lawn mowers are among the top sellers. Wright specifically names the Hustler stand-on model as one equipment line that offers value. “We focused on demonstrating how they are more efficient and how they will save the landscape contractor time, money, and space,” Wright stated. “Now, at least half of our landscape contractor customers are running at least one stand-on mower in their fleet.” Two additional lines The Tool Shack carries, KIOTI tractors and Avant loaders, help them stand out from other outdoor power equipment dealerships in the area. “Our landscape contractors and homeowners with acreage have found that our partnership with KIOTI provides them with the best

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value for a tractor,” Wright stated. Avant articulated loaders are appealing to landscape contractors for their performance. Wright noted that these loaders have “provided a solution to landscape contractors and tree companies that need to access back yards through narrow gates and perform tasks like tree and shrub removal, while having minimal impact on the turf.” In addition to equipment lines Tool Shack carries, they also offer a

large selection of rental equipment. According to its website, www.thetoolshack.com, rental equipment ranges from concrete and masonry, lawn and landscaping, earth moving and even power washing tools. “We have a large inventory of rental equipment in addition to what we sell, which allows us to provide a solution for almost any project or job for most any customer that walks through our door,” Wright said. Along with a variety of rental equipment, The Tool Shack also boasts a large parts inventory. Thetoolshack.com “parts” page provides a search system to locate parts that customers may need. “We’ve developed a reputation for

We are most proud of our ability to grow from a single-store rental company to a multi-store equipment dealership in a relatively short period of time.

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DEALER PROFILE

DEALER SUCCESS GUIDE

We try and find ways to help our landscape contractors become more efficient and profitable, so they operate a more successful business. knowing what is needed and where to find it, even if it’s something we don’t stock, so we are typically the first call a customer makes when looking for something,” Wright stated. “We’re happy to help and point them in the right direction.” While The Tool Shack services a variety of customers, they place a priority on landscape contractors. “We believe in long-term relationships and loyalty,” Wright said. “We try to find ways to help our landscape contractors become more efficient and profitable, so they operate a more successful business.” The Tool Shack provides landECHO

STIHL

The Tool Shack operates two stores, one each in Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, Fla. Both stores are dealers for multiple brands including KIOTI Tractors, Avant articulated loaders, Hustler, Toro and Gravely mowers. Emphasis is placed on the needs of the customer base, which ranges from landscape contractors to homeowners. In addition to the mowers, loaders and compact tractors, The Tool Shack carries handheld equipment by ECHO and STIHL, Titan implements, and Honda power equipment.

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scape contractors with preferred pricing on parts and priority placement for service. “We believe in giving them honest answers and setting reasonable expectations. We hope that will help build loyalty and trust in The Tool Shack,” Wright said. He also believes that good customer service and recognition are also keys to maintaining solid customer relationships. He often recruits individuals who have demonstrated excellent service skills. “I’m always looking for good service, and if I get it, I’ll try to recruit that person,” he said. “I don’t need someone with a lot of technical knowledge. I want someone with character, integrity, and a positive attitude; we can teach the rest.” According to Wright, new employees are taught “the rest” by learning about the different brands The Tool Shack carries, why those brands were selected and the purpose STIHL of the equipment. Additionally, employees shadow experienced members of the team to learn the ropes. Wright also builds loyalty with his customers by promoting specials or new equipment on social media. For example, The Tool Shack posts photos of customers and their new equipment on their Facebook page. “When a KIOTI tractor is purchased, we post a photo of the customer and tell their story about what model they chose and why,” he noted. “We like to show customers how the Tool Shack and KIOTI can make their life easier.” ❯

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DEALER DATA

by Jeff Winsper

DEALER SUCCESS GUIDE

Do more with dealer data to drive profits

The simplest way to get one’s head wrapped around the journey of data is input – throughput – output – outcome

INPUT

THROUGHPUT

DATA

JOURNEY 04

OUTCOME

OUTPUT

he notion that data management is something new is, well, a bit old. Organizations of all industries, sizes and levels of sophistication have been collecting data for decades. What is making data management more of a mainstream topic for business and consumers alike is the proliferation of the amount of data being collected, the disparity of its location and the structure of the data itself. Because of this new generation of complexity, data management is no longer a nice to have, but a must have. If there is no plan in place, it will be more of a challenge to deal with if you kick the can down the road as it grows exponentially daily. For old school outdoor power equipment (OPE) dealers who still use paper, you are not out of the woods in this conversation, as at some point running a more contemporary system may be necessary if you desire to survive and thrive against the dealer next door. For those OPE dealers who already have a structured method of collecting and processing data, below provides the backdrop of the challenge and some guidance on how to leverage it to make your dealership more productive and efficient. The simplest way to get one’s head wrapped around the journey of data is input – throughput – output – outcome. • Input – what, how and where the data is being collected. • Throughput – how and where the information is integrated, stored and accessed across systems, people and processes. • Output – meaningful and actionable insights to help make smarter and faster decisions. • Outcome – measuring incremental profit change, which matters most to running your dealership

DATA CHALLENGE

In broad strokes, there are some basic and common operational workstreams to support the every day tasks at a dealer that more or less uses data to help inform decisions. Inventory management/ordering, financial planning, merchandizing, local marketing, field/in-house sales staff, financing and customer support, to name a few. Depending on the dealership and the

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brands you represent, there are mandates that are out of your control as regards to these workstreams. For example, if you are a John Deere, you must use their mostly non-integrated proprietary systems to provide estimates, ordering, warranties, etc. If you sell Deere and say another line, the same principle applies. This one example starts to bifurcate your data collection, not to mention the ineffi-

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ciencies that can be created if and when customers buy two or more different brands at the same dealership. Further, some dealerships need to log into different brand’s parts-look up, product registrations, distributor dealer portals, etc. which even further increases labor costs just to ring up a sale. Of course, having a DMS system is yet another software tool needed to run the retail location which ties in data around service centers, parts, wholesale pricing at point of sale, general ledger, and customer accounts. Sometimes key data sets within a DMS can connect to an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) like EZ Link, but most of the time it doesn’t. It doesn’t help from an OEM’s perspective that the DMS industry is very splintered across their dealer network making it nearly impossible to integrate or provide bi-lateral data flow between entities, with the likes of HBS Systems, Infinity (c-Systems), Ideal Computer, Epicor, JDIS (eQuip), Basic Software, CDK Global, Charter Software (Aspen), nizeX Inc. (Lizzy). Further, depending on the DMS system, you may be handcuffed to easily access

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DEALER DATA

trend data across months or years, by model, customer type, profit centers, etc. This is more apparent with onpremise software versus those hosted in the cloud (private or public). As sales and marketing continues to become more sophisticated at dealerships so does the need for another set of software tools that also generate a new set of data and integration issues. Commonly used Customer Relationship Management tools (“CRM”) best in class offerings aren’t always best in class. The myth that a vanilla CRM product like a Salesforce can be used “out of the box” by any industry from healthcare to hotdogs companies is just that, a myth – it actually require substantive customization and costs to make it work for you in the OPE space. And not all of these CRM systems will “talk” back to the DMS. With over 7000+ marketing software tools on the market today (aka Martech), some dealerships unknowingly may be using 3-5 concurrently. This continues to add more and more data sets. Examples may be Google Analytics, HubSpot, Mailchimp, branded OEM dealer locator sites, ecommerce, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, media spend on radio, local cable, direct mail response, etc. These are intended to perform inbound and outbound demand generation to darken the door with existing and new customers. The good news for dealers is that most of the data collected is structured in a database format such as SQL. That said, DMS products are not well known for playing nice to run cross-referenced analytics even within their own eco-system - meaning how the data is collected and stored in the DMS could mean you need additional labor and software to map to files in the DB to get analytics. More bad news: marketing data such as customer behavior is more unstructured, leaving even the most sophisticated dealers with in house IT needing to

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have additional expertise surrounding master data management, data science and analytics (if integration with DMS is needed). And it is needed. Is it worth investing in integrating data for even for the smaller dealers? You bet. On average you can gain an additional 7.3% annual revenue by creating efficiencies just for overstock and out of stock inventory management. In fact, retailers lose over $1.1 trillion globally because of mismanagement or lack of visibility. Of that Data Disconnect/Systems ($222.7B) and Supplier Issues ($158.5B) are two top core issues. Source: IHL Group

DATA OPPORTUNITY

As outlined, the Input and Throughput tend to just happen without much thought, because all these data points being collected just happen. What gets overlooked is how to integrate the data to provide business Outputs and Outcomes that can help you strategize, plan and execute for a lean retail environment. There is no sense keeping the status quo hoping progress will happen. That is called inertia. Since many dealers have a scatter chart of software systems across OEMs, dealership and marketing that do not and will never integrate the data, step one is to provide a Master Data Management platform to extract and load to further provide a singular universal truth of the business. This takes expertise and constant DB expertise support. A separate database is needed whereby all the data can get mapped to it in order to add a layer of analytics on top. I’ll site an example use case: Show me all my high-valued customers for landscaping company greater than 5 trucks located within a 15-minute drive time of my store who have bought product A but not product B in past five years but do not always get seasonal service. They will more likely buy product B by the time my open house starts in 2 weeks. (aka

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cross-selling to a target market)” This may seem like commonsense question to ask, but from a data management perspective it’s a heavy lift to give you the answer you seek. It requires customer files matching for names and addresses. It needs cross brand purchases for whole goods, parts and service married up with any relevant warranty data. That in combination with geo-spatial lat. long., propensity modeling, price optimization, inventory on hand and marketing stimuli deployment and response tracking. In short, a Master Data Management (MDM), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Geo-coding, Geo-mapping (GIS), Business Intelligence (BI), and Marketing Automation (MA) hand built algorithms from data scientists, all working together in real-time with one click feeding into easy to understand outputs with a tech response time of less than 3 seconds across all your systems. One missing data set could throw off your outcome and provide a false positive or an incomplete answer. Metrics that matter most “The single most critical and basic metric for any retailer is to know, by square foot, what is the revenue, gross margin, and net income.” Source: Larry Nagle, Vice Chairman of Floor Covering Industry Foundation and former CEO of Color Tile and Burlington Industries. “In addition to profit per square foot, we use inventory turnover, as a critical financial metric to judge the health of our retailer.” Confidential Source: President of Home Goods, a TJX Company. All retail companies should have the most basic key performance indicators to run their operations with precision. Is OPE so unique that is should divorce itself from all other types of retailers out of its category? Not at all. However, many dealer management leaders are so heads down trying to keep the shop humming that they can’t see the forest through the trees. Big Box companies

DEALER SUCCESS GUIDE

live and breathe by key health metrics and so should you. Typically, these are the top retail KPIs reviewed daily or weekly to understand the health of the retailer and dealer business: • Gross margin on inventory (GMROI), • Profit per square foot (linear and/ or floorplan), • Product turnover rates (by model) • Same store sales • Sale count • Average Transaction Value/ Basket Value • Product return rate • Sell through percentage • Gross margin by profit centers (e.g. whole goods, service, parts) Let every OPE dealer remind them-

selves that they are competing against big box analytics that is world class, and in real-time. (Why do you think they moved the Christmas selling season to early October, and why Valentine’s shows up in December?). What they don’t have that you do is knowledge of the end user customer. This is your competitive advantage with 100% coverage. Marry that up with best in class retail data-driven analytics, and you can continue to get, keep and grow your customers ergo your business growth. If you nail this down, then you can take on your next challenge regarding ecommerce omnichannel execution. That, my friends, is for another day. ❯

Jeff Winsper is the president of Black Ink Technologies, which helps the premier manufacturing industry sell more, faster and smarter. Please feel free to contact Winsper at jwinsper@blackinktech.com or on Twitter at @jeffwinsper.

ADVERTISERS INDEX Billy Goat Industries, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Briggs & Stratton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Buyers Products Co. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 DeerPro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Earth & Turf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Edgit Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Ford Motor Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23 GIE+Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Husqvarna Turf Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 John Deere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Kawasaki Motors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Kubota Tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Kuriyama of America, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Naturalawn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Peco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Performance Advantage Co. Inc. . . . . . . . . . 13 Propane Education & Research Council . . . 35 RedMax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Rotary Corp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12, 30, 39, 43 SiBore Drill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Stihl Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Sunbelt Outdoor Products Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Synchrony Financial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Verizon Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Windy Ridge Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Zoro Tools, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

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GREEN INDUSTRY PROS 41

CUTTING-EDGE BUSINESS

by Steven Cohen For more information, please listen to the associated podcast at www.greenindustrypros.com/21068522.

Bonny Indrasena / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Finance for landscaping business owners of all sizes

Part 5:

Managing business cash flow like a pro helps ensure payment by customers while maintaining payroll for employees and cash for materials and supplies.

Factoring

ne of the biggest complaints I hear from clients and read about on online landscape forums is getting paid on time. This creates serious problems that negatively affect: • Meeting payroll. • Hiring new employees and not add pressure to existing staff. • Cash or credit to service sales purchasing materials and supplies. • Funding marketing and gaining new customers.

Processing

There are steps you can take to help clients pay promptly. One is making it easy to pay by enrolling in an online payment service. It is nothing more than an internet payment system that processes transactions that expands your reach and ability to make sales. Direct customers to their site or set it up on your website they manage. For example, landscapers that use QuickBooks for accounting can collect payments using its merchant account. The service allows you to get paid online via credit card from any invoice you generate, whether it is mailed, emailed, faxed, or printed. Your customers can also access their own 24/7 online Customer Account Center, which is a personalized and password-protected web page where they view billing history and pay invoices. Other major online suppliers provide options like PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Another frequent thread on landscape forums is the difficulty of securing a loan. Most banks and credit unions are hesitant to lend money to businesses short on income and assets.; small businesses have fewer cash generating options. One available, but often overlooked, is invoice factoring. It is an excellent way to get quick cash without adding debt. While debt is sometimes necessary, most businesses would prefer to raise cash without borrowing. More often than not, when a company is in a cash crunch, they have little time to figure things out. Their employees have to be compensated, there are supplies to buy, and rent to be paid, etc. These things often can’t wait and factoring allows them to act quickly. The company’s first transaction may require a 4-7 day waiting period. However, from then on it can be as quick as 24 hours. For example, a company sells invoices to a factoring firm at 90% of its value. A $100,000 invoice generates $90,000. It is up to the factoring firm to collect on the invoices and all the original terms apply. After they have collected the money, it is returned to you minus the factorer’s fee (between 2 and 8%). It’s as simple as that. Remember one thing and this is critical. Those invoices require enforceable contracts. If your customers are not signing service contracts, start now and not when you need money.

Borrowing

Lastly borrowing can come from an array of sources. The first and best choice is friends and family. It is not uncommon for small landscape business owners to borrow money from friends, family and sometimes even good clients for short term cash flow problems. While the terms are often more ‘looseended’ than traditional borrowing, your integrity is still at stake. Other options. Using a credit card is not the optimal method because of restrictive terms and high-interest rates. Before using it for funding your business, make sure all your payments are on time and try to negotiate the lowest interest rate with your credit card company before running it up. Other options include non-bank lenders like Kabbage, Fundbox and Snapcap to name a few. Regardless of what options you choose for cash flow improvement or business funding, the one thing that remains critical is repayment of the money within the terms and conditions plus using prudent financial controls within your business. ❯

Steven Cohen is president of the GreenMark Consulting Group . For more information please contact Greenmark at info@greenmarkgroup.com or @GreenMark or visit a www.greenmarkgroup.com.

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a 10-part series that focuses on financing for landscaping business owners of all sizes. Part 4 covered putting together an effective budget. This article starts at the level of receiving payment from customers relating to payment processing, factoring and simple borrowing.

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