Bill Arman and Ed Laflamme gave a recap of Lawn & Landscape’s 2018 Turnaround Tour during the GIE+EXPO. The tour features Arman and Laflamme working with three companies on the challenges they encountered since November.
For more background on the Turnaround Tour, click here. Check out our December issue for a complete wrap-up.
Some takeaways from the session were:
- The customer is always right, but they may not be the right customer. Comb through your customer list and drop clients that are troublesome.
- None of the companies involved in the Turnaround Tour had safety programs. That should be one of the first things you setup as a company.
- Even in the busiest time of year, you should make cleaning up your shop and vehicles a top priority. If you have a dirty, unorganized shop, it not only makes you less effective, it sets a negative tone for your culture.
- Always be recruiting. Have an “elevator speech” ready to go that describes your company and culture. And when you are recruiting, don’t approach it from the standpoint that you are in the landscaping business. Instead, approach it like you are in the people business and you provide landscaping services.
- Don’t assume that someone who is successful selling a product with succeed selling at your landscaping or lawn care company. Selling a service like landscaping is less transactional than product sales, and requires a different set of skills.
- Stick to your core business. Too much diversification can take the focus off where you are most successful.
- Your company’s minimum gross margin should be 45 percent.