Pictures –Worth more than a Thousand Words



Crew perfecting the stone base

We all have heard the expression “A pictures worth
a thousand words”, but that might be selling it short. If you don’t take pictures, start immediately. If you are already taking pictures, take more. If you follow this blog you might have read about the four pillars of a landscape business – Marketing; Sales; Production and Finances. Pictures will help all 4. I’ll touch on just some of the benefits.



Accepting Awards at PLNA Conference

Marketing: This is obvious. We all need pictures to build a portfolio. Pictures are needed for Websites, Blogs; Publications, Awards, Presentations to Garden Clubs etc. The more unique you are the more important your pictures will be. Let your pictures show you stand apart from the rest.

 Sales: Good design and the help of 3D design show people what you are thinking, but nothing is better than showing pictures of similar projects. People want to know you are capable of achieving what you say. Pictures of previous project proof you are who you say you are. 



Brick Fountain



Production: Before pictures help production. This is especially true if the sales person is not the production crew. Crews love to see what they are getting into before arriving. This helps them be prepared physically and emotionally. Winning those awards mentions in marketing also lifts the crew’s moral and credibility. Make sure you show them pictures of projects they finished years ago.



Finances: This will follow from all of the above. Great pictures will help you get more and better
leads; resulting in more sales at better margins.

Production crew will have more pride resulting

Vegetable in the front yard of historic home

in better production with less call backs.



For more pictures http://www.rivervalleylandscapes.com/







Group Forums - Wise or Foolish Advice?

Today’s technology makes it easy to get advice on anything. You can find or start a discussion on anything. This can be a great thing or a dangerous thing. All in all I think it is great. Most people are honestly trying to help others while sharing their own experiences. It’s good to take advantage of what people have learned to reduce your learning curve. We have a lot of talented passionate people in the green industry and its great so many are trying to elevate our industry. I do caution you to think through the advice before acting.

Business is business, but no two situations are exactly the same. I know I don’t take it lightly when answering people’s questions. It’s hard to get all the facts in a group forum. If you are posting the question, make sure you are looking for the best advice. Check the source. The source doesn’t have to be the same type company as yours. Sometimes it’s better if it’s not. Also make sure you aren’t simply looking for conformation. Somebody will most likely agree with you, but that doesn’t mean it’s the best advice for you. Try posting the question to more than one group. If you have time, repost the same question a week or two later. 

Tip for big decisions:
Work with someone that knows your entire situation.
(Mentor, Spouse, Consultant, Accountant, Peer Group)

Again, I believe there are a lot of great discussions happening in these groups.

Keep the forums rolling. 

How do you prevent burnout?

Sorry for the delay on this one. I almost posted something before I realized I was completely wrong. Preventing burnout has to do with having a healthy body, mind and soul. This time of the year pushes many to work longer than usual. This can bring physical fatigue. Knowing and tracking your score can help prevent this. It’s a lot easier to call it quits at the end of the day when you know you have done enough to win or achieve your goals. Also remember to eat healthy. It’s easy to skip meals. I have to confess I need help with this.

The extra hours can also put additional tress to our minds. Obviously this can cause us make poor decisions. Make sure you have someone to keep you in check . Look to a business partner, spouse, or peer group for accountability. These first two are the easiest to prevent. Knowing the score in life’s goals helps a lot. Make sure your checking account isn’t your only gauge.

This last one is the hardest to measure, but can be the most powerful one. A healthy soul or spirituality helps us keep everything in perspective. Although it may vary from person to person, most of us need to have a purpose for what we do. We all need to know we are making a difference. This is hard to measure. My only advice here is to be still. We live in a fast pace world. After that, spend time with the people you want to influence.

Have a great week.

Monday April 16th Post Coming Soon

How to prevent burnout...

The Black Hole of Unbillable Activity

A wise consultant, Joe Mechlinsky from http://www.entrequest.com/ once told me, “Never confuse activity with achievement.” I still have this posted on my desk today. I find most designers are very passionate about their work. This is a good thing, but can also be their down fall. I find many designers end up spending more time designing, selling, and installing projects then they are charging. This will kill the design – build company.

The most profitable companies are often the ones that quickly go from call to cash (new lead to collecting). So where does that put the design – build companies? This is a process and often long process. Do we have to be a scratch and sign, in and out to survive? The answer is no. This would go against everything I and most of you believe in. So how do we compete and what’s up with the black hole?

The black hole is everything we are not charging for or say “it is built into my price.” Building it in is fine to an extent, but the reality what’s thrown into the black hole never comes back. The more that is “built in to the price”, the higher our price becomes. This gives you a disadvantage that’s hard to overcome. There is a good chance you are throwing it into the black hole, if you defend an activity by the following:

• It helps sell the job.
• I can’t charge them for that.
• It’s not that much concerning the size of the job.

Real examples could be: color designs, 3D designs, daily cleaning of the jobsite, tweaking (yes tweaking).

None of these things are bad. I actually I believe in doing all of the above. The problem is when we don’t charge for them. If we believe they add value to the job, we need to charge for it. Charging is the difference between activity and achievement.

Have a great week.

Why I don’t demand meeting with the decision maker.

I often hear people say they won’t meet without the wife and husband present. I understand the argument but hear me out. Who is the real decision maker? How do you identify the decision maker? Have you ever thought that maybe there is more to gain to win over the decision influencer? See this simple chart below.

More than once, I’ve been in meetings when I just had to shut my mouth. I’ve already won over the decision influencer in a previous visit. She knew exactly what she wanted, why and who she felt most comfortable buying from. She has done all the research and invested all the time. The husband had 100 reasons why they shouldn’t do this. I carefully watched her shoot down one argument after another. I also realized if this was my first meeting I would be trying to answer these questions. Also all people buy different. There are definite advantages letting them buy how they are most comfortable buying. Most couples have a system to buying weather they know it or not. They do what works for them. Trying to mix this up can do more harm than good.

Don’t get discouraged by only meeting with one spouse because you probably are talking to the decision maker.