Should I open our books?
An open-book management style that includes employees from every aspect of a business can improve its scope and take in the big picture. Most importantly, planning allows employees to develop a deep...
View ArticleWhat should I be doing to grow my business?
Talk to your customers to develop more intimate relationships with them, teach them what you know about your business and work together to create what hasn’t been done. There was a time when a business...
View ArticleHow do I avoid competing on price?
You send one of your employees to give a potential customer a quote. He thanks him for coming but says he’ll think about it. In less than half an hour, you receive a call saying he has found someone...
View ArticleHow do I market to produce a rainfall of leads?
To produce a rainfall of leads in the landscaping business, reengineer your mindset about marketing first; otherwise, you’ll never consistently produce enough high-quality leads to grow. Until...
View ArticleHow do I enrich my branding repository?
One of the more frequent questions I hear is, “What really should be a part of a marketing plan?” Effective branding and marketing starts with a communications strategy suitable to a company’s business...
View ArticleHow do I build a world-class sales team?
The one point all Green Industry folks agree on is the importance of sales. Let’s face it, sales is the engine that drives your business and your salespeople are the drivers. As the competitive...
View ArticleHow can I get more sales?
In describing the process companies go through to generate new customers, I refer to a big old sales funnel. You pour leads in the top and sales come out the bottom. All sales funnels leak leads,...
View ArticleHow can I generate buzz?
How can we get prospects to chase us instead of us chasing them? For most landscaping companies, marketing is difficult. You need to get noticed, but you can’t afford to break the bank on big-name...
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Help vs. hype
Headshot: Marisa Palmieri Welcome to the Business Planner 2014 edition of Landscape Management. I sat down to write an editor’s note about the importance of the three areas we focus on in this issue:...
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Finish strong for a good year
Headshot: Bruce Wilson Whatever your economic outlook, ending your business year positively is important. Avoid slipping from a good year into a so-so year by never letting your guard down. It’s...
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Confessions of a budget freak
Frank Ross I am all about eliminating the guesswork we face in our businesses. Yes, I am a budget freak. Some of this stems from what my mentor, Emol Fails, Ph.D., instilled in me a long time ago. One...
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1-Minute Mentor: Glenn Jacobsen, LIC
Headshot: Glenn Jacobsen Meet Glenn Jacobsen, president, Jacobsen Landscape Design & Construction, Midland Park, N.J. How’d you get your start? I get asked that all the time. I got in this business...
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