This month I wanted to talk about what clients and prospects don’t want to hear from those of us selling lawn care, landscaping and other related services. With no delay, here they are. I hope you see some ways to improve your efforts in the process.
Here’s what your customers wish they could tell you, but have been afraid to:
I want to know about you, not your competition. Please don’t talk about the competition. I don’t care what you think or feel about them. I called you to learn why I should work with you, not why I shouldn’t work with the competition. Every time you slam the competition, it makes me wonder why you’re so worried about them. If you must say something about the competition, then say you’ve never heard of them and move on.
I don’t want to know about your equipment, your computers, your trucks or your famous clients. I want to know how you’re going to help me and make my property look its best. Show me the value you’re going to bring to the table. Sure, nice trucks are evidence that you are who you say you are, but they aren’t a reason to buy from you. Showing me a photo of a house that could not be sold before you revamped the yard and a photo and testimonial from a client whom you helped sell their home by doing some landscaping are very compelling.
I don’t care about then Latin names of plants, the chemical makeup of your insecticides, the horsepower of your Ditch Witch or technical reason a plant died. You intimidate me when you talk about that stuff and confuse me. If I want to know those things, I’ll ask you. I want to know the colors the plants bloom, how big they get, how fast they grow, why I would love them, and so on. I want to know that your products are safe for my family and that they are legal and work. And while it might be kind of cool to know why a tree died, I really just want a new one.
Show me you want my business. Do some extra things. Send me a card thanking me for my time with you. E-mail me some photos of some work you’ve done. Give me some room, but show you’re interested in a professional way. By all means, follow up and ask me for the business; just don’t be a pain and make me wonder if you’re so desperate to get my work because you’re on the verge of bankruptcy.
If you said you’re going to do something, do it. I’m so sick of businesses that don’t do what they said they would do, I’m actually surprised when someone does what they said they would do. I hate yard work and don’t know a darn thing about it either, so please give me what you said you would, and I’ll be loyal to you. I promise I’ll tell others about you and help you grow your business.
When I call you and all I need is something small, just do it for me and don’t bill me. My accountant just billed me $100 bucks to tell me I could take a $20 tax deduction; don’t be like him. I’ll pay you in a timely fashion, and I’ll treat you with respect. But if there’s one limb down in my yard, and I have a party in two hours, can’t you just come over and help me out? Heck, sneak it in on the next bill, but at least make me feel like I’m important to you to some degree.
Listen to me. Please listen to me. Why is it that your salespeople don’t listen to me? I tell them I don’t like red annuals, yet I still get red begonias. I wanted you to meet with me before you started the job, yet I come home from vacation and the job is done. Geez, you’re a nice guy, but it doesn’t seem like you care a whole lot about me and my satisfaction. I’m actually pretty easy to get along with, but understand this is my property, not yours. I want to know about your ideas and learn from you. I only ask that you consider my requests and treat me the way you’d want to be treated.
Please share this list with your sales team. That should be everyone in your company, as everyone is a salesperson, right? Doesn’t everyone play a role in a client or prospect buying from you?