Stop Sending Enhancement Proposals That Go Nowhere

Finding enhancement work isn’t the hard part for most landscape companies. Getting the client’s approval is.  

Two landscape companies can propose the exact same drainage upgrade, but your timing, presentation and follow-through will impact the client’s final decision.

Brook Haygood, vice president of sales for Visterra Landscape Group, based in Rosemont, Illinois, says the relationship you have with the property manager will also play a role, as the more trust they have in you, the easier it is to sell enhancement work.

How to Avoid Coming Across Too Salesy

If you want to create a reliable enhancement sales engine, you have to start by building strong relationships with your clients. Once trust is established, there is far less pushing as they understand enhancements provide solutions and bring value to the property.

“Consultative selling is always a more effective approach,” says Clare Munie, a national account manager with Munie Greencare Professionals, based in Caseyville, Illinois. “Understanding customers’ vision, budget, and purpose will always turn it into a winning solution rather than an upsell they had to be talked into, which can run into dissatisfaction through the project.”

For instance, upgrading an old irrigation controller to a smart one can result in monthly water savings and lower bills for a commercial property. Tyner Tew, vice president of sales for Bland Landscaping Company, based in Apex, North Carolina, recommends focusing on selling enhancements that are truly beneficial for the client.

“When we’re looking for enhancement opportunities, we’re coming from an angle of value, and we’re not coming from an angle of revenue generation for our own benefit,” Tew says. “We want the sites that we’re managing and maintaining to look good and as a reflection of our brand.”

Having an open dialogue with the client about their budget thresholds and goals for the property can also help you identify the best enhancement opportunities.

“The things that really resonate the most are when we’re providing value from either from a real estate value standpoint, or value in terms of ROI,” Tew says.

Persistence Without Pressure

One challenge with selling enhancements is finding the balance between being persistent and pushy. Tew says they are respectfully persistent, especially if a client has voiced an interest in an enhancement project previously, but the window of opportunity for planting is shrinking.

“For me, I’m a pretty laid-back person in general, so I’ll give it to them, and I might ping them one more time just to make sure if they had any questions, anything I can clarify,” says Montana Barrow, an account manager with Pacific Landscape Management, based in Hillsboro, Oregon. “I’ll ask did they have a chance to look it over? I’ll pose it that way rather than, ‘Hey, do you want to do this or not?’”

Anything that the client doesn’t sign off on this year, Barrow says she will include it in the enhancements budget for the client to consider next year.

Being organized and following up regularly can help ensure enhancement proposals don’t fall through the cracks. Haygood encourages being proactive and providing property managers with enhancement budgets as they head into their new budget year.

“I really think that is the big needle mover, because that money has already been budgeted,” Haygood says. “They know what they’re going to do there. It really helps the customer; it helps the company. It helps everyone by having that conversation.”

Why Visual Proposals Win More Often

Unlike other projects, enhancement work is often pitched via email, but this doesn’t mean you have to handicap yourself by sticking solely to Word documents and numbers.

Tew says aside from communicating the value of the enhancement, they also produce renderings to help the customer see the before-and-after of a proposed enhancement project.

“There’s still a lot of groups out there that are providing just Word documents,” Tew says. “They’re not doing any kind of design for the customer. A lot of people that we work with respond to visuals. By providing that visual for folks, it really helps them in the decision-making process, too. We can’t be there in the room to speak to a design, especially if it’s third-party managed or something like that, where a rendering can help speak for the project when we’re not there to do that.”

Barrow notes she tends to have more success when she includes photos or a simple design that helps visually explain the project and the intended outcome.

Barrow says it’s also useful to get on site with the customer so they can see the problem for themselves. She says she’s more likely to make a sale this way or for the client to request a quote for the work.

“Visuals are always a helpful tool, and in person helps create a dialogue where our account managers are able to take more time to understand and gather feedback, rather than a blunt yes or no to an emailed proposal,” Munie says.

Selling During Economic Downturns

When clients are looking to save money during economic downturns, selling enhancements can become more difficult, which is why Haygood recommends having a diversified portfolio.

Tew agrees that often when one client type is slowing down, another will start to ramp up, allowing them to pivot their focus.

“The markets that we’re in, basically North Carolina down through Florida, have traditionally always stayed pretty strong, not totally unaffected, but pretty strong through economic downturns,” Tew says. “The alignment shifts on where people are spending money and what customer groups are spending money.”

Munie says during these times, their clients’ focus often shifts to creating enhanced function rather than beauty.

“Grounds are often used as a selling point to talent recruitment as well as brand management, which are often things that can’t take a step back when companies such as our customers are trying to grow,” Munie says.

Barrow says even during these times, enhancements that address liability and safety are important because, no matter what, the property still needs to be safe.

“That’s where I focus my attention on for the most part, just until the economy recovers,” Barrow says. “But it is more difficult. People are still buying things. You just have to propose the right thing.”