NUMBER SEVEN
NUMBER NINE
OFFER A SERVICE, NOT A SOLUTION
PRESENT A POOR IMAGE
Regardless of internal people and processes, contractors are only as good as their last job.
Dealers, like customers, can gauge the quality of a landscaping company by its trucks. If the fleet is dirty, in disrepair, with crooked magnetic signs or if employees jump out wearing unkempt, mismatched clothes, the firm’s overall image and brand suffer.
“Your product or service speaks for itself,” Lewinski says. “The more successful guys are focusing on the quality of their service, taking pride in that and having a customer-first mentality.” Contractors who partner with customers to solve problems build loyal, long-term relationships. “The ones that look out for the needs of the customer, keep them informed of products, how they work and how they save labor, time and resources – whether it be water, electricity, etc. – are going to do well,” NUMBER EIGHT
OFFER THE SAME SERVICE FOREVER There’s value in focusing on your core competencies, but the best contractors add new services when opportunities arise. Since CPS was founded in 1983 as Colorado Pump and Supply with a focus on irrigation, the distributor has expanded beyond sprinklers to provide landscape lighting, water features, fertilizers and fire-pits as contractors have diversified. “We keep adding product lines because customers keep adding product categories,” Kaufhold says.
“Creating and maintaining a professional image separates every (successful) landscaper,” Kaufhold says. “Whether it has to do with clean, labeled trucks or neat, uniformed employees – the top companies excel at that.” But contractors today have to look beyond branded trucks, uniforms and signs. An effective web and social media presence can strengthen a contractor’s professional image online. “If you don’t have a website, you’re in really big trouble,” Kaufhold says. “That speaks volumes to your inability to be professional. The first thing prospective customers do is go to the website, and the best companies have a lot of imagery to show off their work.” NUMBER TEN
DO IT ALL YOURSELF
“If a contractor’s not comfortable learning about those products, that’s certainly a problem. The more diversified you are, the more opportunity there is to grow.”
These failures can be tough lessons to learn the hard way – unless you learn from other contractors who’ve already faltered and prevailed. Education, training and idea-sharing are crucial to a landscaper’s success, whether it comes through industry associations like the OLA, trade publications, networking events or consultants.
Becoming everything to everyone can be a recipe for disaster, so diversification should be strategic and driven by profitable services. Contractors who successfully launch new offerings understand how to effectively allocate resources for maximum return.
“The guys that have been growing quickly, a common thread is their involvement with some type of outside guidance, whether that’s an industry group, a peer group, a consultant or a mentor,” Lewinski says. “Everyone needs to seek outside feedback or expertise on how to grow their business.”
When the housing boom dented new construction, for example, successful companies shifted away from installations toward maintenance.
Periodically take a step back from your business to tap into other examples of success in the industry.
“When that dries up, you have to be smart enough to say, ‘I’m going to focus on maintenance now because that’s steady,’” Winstead says. “I’ve seen landscapers shrink their organizations or cut departments when installation’s not going on.”
“You’re crazy not to use those resources if you’re struggling in your business,” Kaufhold says. “That’s absolutely key to running a business that will last.” This is reprinted with permission from the January 2015 issue of Lawn & Landscape Magazine. Visit them at http://www.lawnandlandscape.com
The Growing Concern | May 2018 | 35