All eyes are on Brazil for the month of June as 32 top soccer teams compete for the right to be called the world’s best. As you can imagine, it was no easy path to the soccer spotlight.
Before the teams even got to Brazil, they had to look at all of the players who were invited to try out for the teams. In some nations, 30 players were invited to earn a spot on the roster. Then each nation’s coach picked the 23 best players to participate in the World Cup representing their country. What a let-down it must have been for those seven players to get that far only to see their dream end short of the goal.
We can see the same analogy in our businesses as we try to get more sales. We work hard putting a bid together, making a great presentation and get to the final decision-making time, only to be turned down and the job given to someone else. We ask ourselves over and over…”What could we have done differently to be the chosen firm?”
Let me point out a huge sales tool that is underutilized. It’s called certification. Do you have Landscape Industry Certified personnel on your team? If you use your certified team members as a sales tool and let your customers know the qualifications of your team, that could be a deal maker.
I’ll repeat advice we’ve discussed in certification communications before.
As a Landscape Industry Certified Manager or Technician, you and your team set the standard for professionalism in the industry. Using your toolkit, your imagination, and simple strategies, you can promote your certification, impress and assure customers, enhance your career and gain recognition from your colleagues and supervisors.
In my personal life, I am a soccer official and have officiated over 1500 matches in my career. In the spirit of the game, let me issue you a yellow card and ask—WHY ARE YOU NOT LANDSCAPE INDUSTRY CERTIFIED or promoting your credentials? Better yet, why is your staff not Landscape Industry Certified or promoting the credentials of your team?
Use this certification sales tool to set you apart from others and increase your sales.
Contact PLANET at 800-395-2522 or email certification@landcarenetwork.org to get started on earning your certification, or request your certification toolkit for promotional ideas, logos and more.
David Hupman, Landscape Industry Certified Manager & Technician
BRICKMAN – Blue Ash, Ohio
Chair, International Certification Council
