Contrary to common thought, landscape companies don’t actually have to sell their services to their customers, says Tom Oyler. The client already knows they need their grass mowed, beds mulched or whatever it may be. All contractors really have to do is suppress their competitors.
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Suppressing the competitor, it turns out, comes down to the all important role of the account manager, attendees learned at the Wilson-Oyler Group Success Series seminar in Atlanta last month. About 35 landscape professionals attended the event, titled, “Foolproof Methods to Develop World-Class Account Managers,” which was sponsored by Husqvarna. Lawn & Landscape is the media sponsor.
The account manager’s role is to proactively manage the customer relationship and if account managers are effective, they’ll move up their customers’ value chains to be more than just the “landscapers.” Doing so makes a firm “strategically relevant” to its clients, thus suppressing the competition.
Oyler and his colleague Drew St. John outlined how account managers can achieve such success.
First, account managers must possess a business mindset. While horticultural and landscaping knowledge may be important, key business criteria like the ability to lead and inspire others, good organization/time management skills and self confidence are necessary, St. John says.
Effective client communication is vital, too. St. John recommends account managers come right out and ask clients how they prefer to communicate. Some customers prefer e-mail only; others favor the phone or face-to-face. Another tip: After a phone call or meeting -- especially if it relates to client concerns -- send a follow-up e-mail with a recap of the conversation, St. John says. “Just ask them, ‘Did I capture everything we talked about?’ It’s an invaluable thing to do. What you heard is not always what the customer meant.”
Beyond the basics, the best account managers have a thirst for knowledge about their territories, Oyler says. “They become hyper-vigilant about their area, seeing new buildings and opportunities to improve density,” Oyler says.
Good account managers also have a keen understanding of their clients’ values. Oyler calls this “market segment IQ,” or “MSIQ.” It’s important to understand that each type of customer’s value chain is different. For example, a private developer of a high-end office building with triple-net leases has different priorities than a third-party manager of an apartment complex. Oyler recommends landscape companies develop “value chains” for every type of customer. These are essentially lists of priorities that depend on a client’s market and individual circumstances.
Account managers can better understand these details by reading magazines relevant to their customers and their businesses, attending their meetings and joining their organizations (consider reading Real Estate Portfolio or Commercial Property News magazines or joining the Building Owners and Managers Association). The goal is to understand “what the customer thinks of when they wake up,” Oyler says. In other words, "Crawl behind the eyes of the customer."
Once the account manager has market knowledge, he or she is equipped to create and retain “lifetime customers,” Oyler and St. John say.
After the customer signs a contract, it’s time for the account manager develop an operations plan, establish timelines, coordinate with the support team and inform the client, all while keeping their value chain in mind.
Within the first 30 to 90 days, the account manager should photo document current job conditions, evaluate the condition of the landscape, determine a 90 to 180 plan for curb appeal, turf care, water management, etc., and discuss long-range plans. During this process, it’s important for an account manager to be prepared to defend his or her plan and provide supporting documents, keep the customer informed and seek counsel when necessary. It’s all part of becoming a “subject matter expert,” Oyler says.
The Wilson-Oyler Group continues its Success Series with the account manager discussion on the following dates: February 21 in Baltimore; March 6 in Los Angeles; March 20 in Denver; April 3 in Chicago; and April 17 in Columbus, Ohio.