From software to robotic mowers, learn how four landscape contractors are using technological advancements in the industry to better their companies. The presenters will explain how they trained themselves on new technologies and implemented them into their businesses, and the challenges they faced along the way. Visit bit.ly/ImplementingTechVC for more information.

As commercial property managers incessantly handle daily responsibilities, the last thing they want to take care of is a minor landscaping hiccup.

That’s what Marc Fisher says. Fisher, president and CEO of InspiRE Commercial Real Estate Services, has worked as a property manager for over 25 years.

“You want to be a solution provider,” Fisher says. “What you really want to talk about is how you can reduce headaches.”

Commercial landscaping can be quite lucrative, but it comes with responsibilities and challenges unseen in residential work. For one, there’s plenty of competition because the jobs are highly desired. One contract alone could be worth more than $100,000.

Then there are the heightened expectations that accompany large-scale jobs. Property managers might meticulously demand the highest quality from your crew.

Still, if property managers can trust your company to take landscaping concerns off their plates, chances are good you can land and successfully manage the jobs. “This is a relationship business, just like anything else,” Fisher says.

Identifying the right clients.

The first step to landing a potential commercial client is figuring out exactly what kind of property you can service. Finding the right match can be tricky. Each type of property has different objectives, so the landscaping needs will vary between accounts. A hospital, for instance, will likely demand more from its landscaper than a “blow and mow” apartment complex just looking to keep the lawns clean.

It’s best to be realistic with yourself before making the pitch. Fisher says one size of service does not fit all, as smaller landscaping companies without enough labor or equipment may not be able to service a top-level property that demands keen attention to detail.

If you’re thinking about getting into commercial landscaping, close your eyes, take a picture and find out what that means to you, Fisher says. “Rather than just go to a meeting and approach different potential clients, I think it’s important to really think about what are your skill sets, and where do you fit into the commercial marketplace?”

Making the bid.

Understanding what a company wants is especially important when you’re submitting a bid. While every company will initially ask about cost, potential clients might care more about the appearance or quality of the final product than the price tag. Some clients might want you to run everything by them first, while others might ask that you just take care of problems, like a dead tree, and alert them later.

Small details can set you apart from your competition. For example, if a company’s mission statement includes a line about sustainability, it wouldn’t hurt to include an explanation of how your company stays sustainable, too. Maybe you mulch excessive waste, or perhaps you can point out how your crews limit water use in irrigation.

“You really need to do your homework about every single opportunity that’s presented in front of you,” Fisher says.

Retaining business.

Fisher says quality service is the best way to keep the job. He says at the lowest level of a buyer-seller relationship, there’s little loyalty involved at all. Meanwhile, at the highest level of buying, which Fisher tabs “joint planning,” it’s all about value and trust. The buyer and seller collaborate on a shared vision, and price is no longer a concern.

“I think one of the most important things to do is to put in your mind this mantra of, ‘If (you) owned or managed the building, what would you do?’” Fisher says. “That’s the way you want to approach almost every building you’re responsible for.”

Fisher also says that when you’re first entering the commercial industry, you may need to take a job that doesn’t make a profit or even take a loss simply to build trust.

People talk, Fisher says, and when you’ve done a quality job and built a lasting relationship with a property manager, new jobs could open up to you elsewhere.

If a manager leaves to take another job, you could follow them to that new business. You could even ask managers to recommend your landscaping company to other businesses, although Fisher says that may already begin happening after you’ve established a relationship.

Fisher adds that another great thing to do is to get plugged in on LinkedIn. He compares his list of connections to the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Much like how every actor is in some way connected to Bacon, Fisher always knows somebody who is tied to the person he needs to reach.

“I just have to dig hard enough to find what that connection is,” Fisher says.

Ultimately, Fisher acknowledges it’s not always easy to make and keep connections. Sometimes it takes extra steps like showing up at HOA meetings or small courtesies, such as ensuring your crew turns down blowers when people at those properties pass by.

Still, going the extra mile will go a long way to landing your dream commercial accounts and keeping customers happy.

“You may be trying to get into that contract, and you may be unseating somebody who has been in that contract for 10 years,” Fisher says. “There’s relationships that have been built; there’s connectivity that has been built. This is not something that’s going to be that you decide tomorrow and get a $200,000 contract … It’s going to take a lot of work to get to that point.”

I’ve driven more than 1 million miles as I’ve consulted with clients throughout North America these last 32 years. Three deer, numerous birds and a couple of groundhogs joined the ride along the way and helped me total two pickup trucks as well a brand-new Hertz rental Volvo. My objective in all of this driving was to keep the wheels on my vehicle going ‘round and ‘round in the right direction and underneath it. Unfortunately for my animal “hitch-hiker” friends, this wasn’t always the case.

Get the right people on the bus.

Rob and Michelle Munn were looking for a vehicle to help them achieve their financial goals. They purchased a residential landscape maintenance company, English Garden Care, near Sacramento, California, to help them do so. Having no experience in the landscape industry, their “wheels” weren’t always going in the right direction and their ride was a bit chaotic at times. It was challenging, to say the least, and it brings to mind the lyrics of the song, “Take It Easy” by the Eagles: “Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy.”

First, they realized that the residential maintenance market wasn’t best suited to them and their goals. They began a painful process to transition to the commercial maintenance market. This took a number of years, but they did it successfully. As they did so, they realized that they needed to implement Jim Collin’s sage advice from his book, “Good to Great.”

“… (L)eaders of companies that go from good to great start not with ‘where’ but with ‘who.’ They start by getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus and the right people in the right seats. And they stick with that discipline – first the people, then the direction – no matter how dire the circumstances.”

It was also at this point that I began to work with Rob and Michelle.

Few of the people who started with Rob and Michelle lasted and personnel changes had to be made. Making those changes wasn’t fun but it was necessary. The existing account managers had to be replaced with ones who were willing to change and grow with the new management team and its direction. The same occurred with a number of the crew leaders. As uncomfortable as it was, Rob and Michelle knew that they had to get the right team in place.

Next, I helped them implement accurate benchmarking, budgeting and bidding. As I worked with the new owners, we benchmarked the business by means of a detailed budget and properly formatted P&L statement. Once these were in place, we made sure that bids were sufficiently detailed and accurate.

The Munns took to all of this with enthusiasm and over a five- to six-year period saw their entire company transform from one going in the wrong market with the wrong people and the wrong results to one that provided good profits in the right market with the right people. All of the changes and the accompanying chaos were extremely challenging to deal with. Add the fact that not only were Rob and Michelle raising three daughters during, but they also had to deal with a cancer battle.

The Munns knew that running a small business was not for the faint of heart. They were neither intimidated nor deterred by challenging circumstances as they faced some brutal setbacks and made the necessary changes to turn things around.

Get tough.

How’s your financial vehicle doing? Is it taking you to your desired destination or are you letting its wheels “drive you crazy?” If you aren’t getting the results you desire, be like the Munns. Show your grit! First, face the facts, then be creative to find and implement a solution that works.

If you’re not achieving the goals that you desire, be like Rob and Michelle. Face the situation, be creative and get help. If you do, you might be surprised at what lies just around the next bend or two.

Jim Huston runs J.R. Huston Consulting, a green industry consulting firm.

When LaMont Hess and Kimberly Rowe joined the Turnaround Tour, they hoped to build Outdoor Expressions PA to the level of success it had before they bought it in July of 2017 – a $3 million company. While the couple made improvements in 2018, the year didn’t go as planned. But that’s not souring Hess for 2019.

That’s because he has $100,000 worth of new work booked next year. And because his crews weren’t at full capacity, he will only have to bring on a couple of part-time employees to fill in the gaps. They can hit the ground running in 2019 with a better outlook for 2020.

Hess says a main lesson he took away from the project was knowing the cost of his jobs. He also learned the value of budgeting for new equipment. “I bought used stuff and I think new is probably the best way to go if you can get it financed,” he says. “You have to watch when you buy used stuff because I have a mower that's done nothing but cost me money.”

Even though 2018 fell short of expectations, Hess is confident they will hit their revenue goals in a few years.

“I wouldn’t doubt that we’ll make somewhere near a million two to three years from now,” he says. “We'll be close to where I wanted to be this year, next year and if we're on track for that, I should definitely do the same thing the following year. I bet at least another $100,000 above that. I've got good connections now.”

Harvester’s Take

LaMont and his wife Kimberly found out just how difficult operating a landscape business can be, even though they’re seasoned business veterans. They experienced Murphy’s Law throughout 2018. What could go wrong did go wrong. They had equipment, vehicle, people, customer and, to cap it all off, weather problems. This year proved to be one of the rainiest seasons in Pennsylvania’s history. Just in the month of August it rained 42 inches.

Because of the obstacles the company faced, Kimberly took an outside job to support the family, which turned out to be a very wise move. In the meantime, LaMont persevered, working through and solving one problem at a time.

Most of the problems LaMont faced were inherited from the company he purchased. Although this company had enjoyed a good reputation, they were experiencing a severe decline in sales. Many of the jobs were underpriced, the equipment and trucks were old and in need of repairs and the employees were not up to par.

Despite these problems, LaMont finished the season and did quite well.

His overall sales goal was to go from $200,000 with a 48 percent gross margin to $375,000 but only reached $240,000 with a 40 percent GM. Why? He dropped unprofitable jobs and lost weeks of work because of the rain.

He essentially reach his second goal of moving $100,000 of reoccurring revenue to $260,000 in that most all his work is now contracted maintenance work.

As for his crew, his goal was to hire one new capable crew leader with a solid driver’s license. He did that and also hired two additional crew members to finish up the season with six good people.

His last goal was to have no lost time accidents. However, he did have one accident that had to be reported where worker’s compensation was used.

As for next year, he has multiple new contracts that were priced right and he’s positioned to possibly double sales. Despite his problems, he did an amazing job and his cool head and tenacity in dealing with problems should be applauded.

Tiffany Tucker and Michael Mould were operating at a record-breaking pace when Hurricane Michael hit Panama City, Florida, putting a halt to the jobs New Visions was working on. For-profit work turned to helping neighbors, friends and family clear debris.

“It was more or less checking on the elderly and widowed and just making sure everyone was OK,” Mould says. “Then, after that, just finding what type of service they need so we can assist them in that.”

As of late October, Tucker says operations are getting back to normal, and the company is on pace to close 2018 around $850,000.

A big win for the company in 2018 was finding a manager for the maintenance side of the division, allowing Mould more time to sell instead of working in the field. He also implemented a quality control system to grade projects, since the high number of jobs the company performed meant some work didn’t live up to Mould’s expectations.

“Every aspect of doing business has changed,” Mould says. “We knew we were doing OK last year but we just didn't know how and where it was coming from. We couldn't put our finger on it. So being able to break it all down and start over and put in the work in the beginning as far as building the structure and becoming a business instead of just people offering the service and knowing the business – you can't put a price on that.”

Mould and Tucker would like to hit $1.5 million by the end of 2019 and possibly add chemical lawn care.

“We definitely want to be able to bring that in house instead of subcontracting the fertilization,” he says.

Harvester’s take

Michael and Tiffany were growing at too rapid of a pace entering 2018, so it’s no surprise they surpassed their goal of $600,000 and will land at $850,000 to end 2018. But they fell short of the goal of 48-50 percent gross margin, only making 45 percent gross margin. They beat their revenue goal because Michael is a great salesperson and they are currently in a great market. The gross margin suffered because they had so many new people and inefficiencies.

Their second goal was getting Michael out of the field and having him focus on selling. A while ago, Michael assisted another landscaper with a flat tire and kept in touch, letting him know the door was always open to come to New Visions. Eventually he came over in a foreman role, but had the qualities for an account manager role for maintenance clients, which he is now in. You should always be recruiting and keep in the mind that the next person you meet can be your next star employee.

Michael and Tiffany also wanted to develop vision, mission, and core values statements and success behaviors. After taking some time to discuss with each other what they wanted to represent as a company, they were able to develop those core components. Vision, mission and core values are must-haves for any company to have a successful culture. Employees also need to learn these so they have an idea of how they should operate when they leave for jobsites every morning.

Finally, the duo needed to have an established maintenance agreement signed by customers, which they did develop. This agreement is important because it details what they are doing for their customers as well as what the charges are. And if they want to sell the company one day, owners are not going to buy a company without contracts or agreement.

Last time we checked in with Gabe Lobato, he was going to meet with the new property manager of his lone commercial property. Unfortunately, the property manager decided to go in another direction and find a new landscaper, leaving Lobato, who was already skeptical about commercial work, even more so now.

So, he will focus on residential work in 2019, which has been doing well. Looking back on the year, the Turnaround Tour experience didn’t go the way he imagined.

“All it does is reaffirm why I gave up pursuing this market a few years back, because the whole situation (with commercial work) is that clients prefer their own vendors and you just really don’t have much opportunities unless you are already in with them,” he says.

Lobato does feel more confident about figuring out his hourly average wage (HAW). He is in the process of implementing that for his residential maintenance accounts in order to figure out the cost of jobs on a daily and weekly basis.

While he won’t hit his goal of $1 million at the end of 2018, he thinks he can hit his goal by the end of 2019. At the start of the Turnaround Tour, he wanted to sell the company in the near future, but now is reassessing that plan.

“My goal is probably in the next three to five years to be able to step aside and do something else but continue to own it and oversee it, but not be in it as much as I am at this point in time,” he says.

Harvester’s take

La Cholla’s first goal was to increase overall revenue to $1.1 million at 48 percent gross margin. While Gabe did not achieve the overall goal in revenue, we were aiming pretty high, in all fairness. Gabe started off by hiring his brother to help in the sales area; however, Gabe quickly found that this was not a good hire. He then tried a telemarketing program with very mixed results and he also scrapped that program.

La Cholla has gone back to its traditional source of leads through SEO Google searches mainly from the residential market.

Gross margins remained healthy and within the targeted goal. La Cholla also remains profitable within an acceptable range for net profit even with the added $12,000 in sales costs. Family and business do not always work out. Gabe learned that hiring his brother was not a good match and made a quick decision to change course. Once you have determined a team member is unlikely to come around in fairly short order, especially in a skill position, it’s often best to make the change, especially if they are a family member.

The company’s second goal was to add $100,000 a year in new recurring maintenance revenue, which Gabe did not achieve. He has gone back to focus on his original lead source through his website. His focus will remain in the residential market. He will be trying other lead sources through mailers and referral programs.

His third goal was to sell more than 25 percent of recurring revenue in enhancements, which he is making progress on.

Gabe is also making progress with his supervisor Michael continuing to spend the vast majority of his time writing up extra work proposals for the existing base of homes they maintain. If they follow up effectively with these proposals, they will achieve this goal.

Finally, La Cholla had a goal of growing the commercial maintenance business and shifting to 95 percent commercial in three to five years. This isn’t going to happen and Gabe’s comfort zone is in the residential market. He will continue in this market and if the right commercial or non-residential jobs come his way, he will consider them.

Change is often very hard to embrace. If a company is going to embrace a change, it must start from the leader. If the leader does not have the buy in and make the commitment, change is even more difficult. Breaking into a new market was not in the cards for La Cholla at this time.