What frustrates landscape business owners more, the spring rush or the winter slow-down?
After 34 years in landscaping, I know first-hand how demanding the Spring season is.
Personally, I’ve NEVER been able to keep up with EVERY OPPORTUNITY the Spring season offers.
It seems like no matter how many people I hire, I can NEVER keep up with the full demand during April, May & June.
What about you? Can you take on every opportunity this Spring? Hit reply and let me know.
But there is one part of your company that should be getting easier and easier to manage this Spring…
That’s your sales system…it should be getting easier every year. Why?
Buyers are more comfortable than ever with the idea of buying online.
And if your company embraces the idea of SELLING online, taking ORDERS online and DELIVERING customer service online…this year may be your best ever.
I know…
Spring has arrived…and your phones are starting to really get busy…
And with all those calls, the workload to provide all those estimates gets tough to manage.
But should writing estimates and winning bids be tougher today?
I don’t think so.
You see, if you own and operate a website, I’d like for you to consider these thoughts.
Think of your website as a digital sales system. It is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year. In other words…it’s possible that your website can sell when you are sleeping…or on holiday…or when the weather is beautiful…or when the weather stinks.
Your website becomes an asset MUCH more valuable than any skid loader or lawn mower…because it continues to work morning, noon or night without the costs of 24 hour labor.
But there’s a problem.
I look at hundreds of landscaper’s websites each year…and hardly any of them are selling anything! They are little more than electronic brochures. They don’t offer a product or service…they simply “talk” about the products or services the company offers.
Hardly any landscaper websites ASKS anyone to BUY NOW.
Nope…no one offers a $100 on site consultation with a big fat BUY NOW button. No one offers a one-time Spring Clean-Up for $1500.00. No offers for a backyard paver patio for $15,000…nada…zilch. It’s a tragedy! It’s a waste!
And look…I hear all the reasons why this would NEVER work for YOUR company…in YOUR town or with YOUR customers. But I disagree.
Today…
Money finds SPEED…and…
Speed finds MONEY!
Customers want to BUY NOW!
You can sell faster if YOU would simply get out of the way and let buyers buy! Give them three options of something to buy…even a gift certificate on your website could help you get the ball rolling with online sales.
My landscape company built our first website in 1996. I invested $20,000 in the marketing experiment. I learned enough during those early years to know that online marketing and selling would be a cornerstone in my future marketing plan.
Unfortunately, many landscapers would not even consider investing $20,000 in a website today. That’s too bad. Because a website…that is designed to SELL could be like adding an employee to your team!
Here’s a quick test for you.
How many individual web pages make up your website?
Seriously…Go count them…
Just so you know…the majority of landscaper websites we have studied have less than 10 pages of published content…puny…inadequate…just short paragraphs that tell about the services.
Now listen…
Think of each web page as a Salesperson…
Most salespeople are hired to respond to customers questions, needs and wants. This is the role of your web pages today. The more web pages you publish, the more salespeople you employ!
The most important exercise you could undertake in 2021 is to simply keep a journal of QUESTIONS that you get from prospects and existing customers.
Then…before you answer the question…whip out your smartphone and press record!
Here’s something you probably already know…but you may not have understood how to take action to duplicate yourself.
The questions about landscaping you get are very similar year after year.
The better job you do answering lawn and landscape questions in a thorough and professional manner on your website, the more your business will grow!
Duplicate yourself!
Record yourself in audio or video format…then hire a transcriptionist (or anyone who understands your language) to type up your answers!
Boom…you create content that helps you sell…automatically.
As you add content to your website, our friends over at Google index your web pages and serve them up to future customers when they are looking for answers to the same questions you’ve answered again and again.
That’s why I KNOW that selling in the Spring of 2021 is far easier than the Spring of 2011 or 2001 or 1991…(at least for me). Selling your services could be much easier for you too!
I know that some of you who read this will be skeptical. Could selling really be made easier by answering questions on your website? Let me wrap up today’s lesson with this.
Your ability to create WEALTH from landscaping is directly tied to your effectiveness creating client relationships. Today…a great majority of your future customers will find you online…IF YOU HAVE A SELLING WEBSITE.
And your website can lead a new customer through your sales system 50% to 75% to 90% down the road to purchase from your company. I’d like to explain more.
So listen…
We recently held a webinar titled the 3-part Client Attraction Campaign. Click here to get immediate access. You can watch and listen for FREE and learn the details of what you can do to make selling easier than anytime in history.
I don’t know if you get more frustrated by the slow-down in the winter or your challenge keeping up with the Spring rush. But I do know this… I look forward to sharing more details about how you can make selling easier this Spring and next Winter. I’ll see you on the webinar.
Tony Bass, founder
