Time To Get Personal

• “S/he is the ‘face’ of the company, and ensures that each and every customer is provided professional, courteous, superb customer service.”
• “The Landscape Foreman is directly responsible for retaining each and every customer through the quality and professionalism of each and every crew member, on each and every visit.”
• “The Landscape Foreman provides service to residential or commercial customers by making timely lawn/landscape applications, diagnosing and correcting lawn/landscaping problems through service calls and other customer communications, and selling/upselling services to new and/or existing customers, resulting in growth of the customer base.”

Toss the rotten fruit

On the other side of the coin, Ground Hog receptionists are trained to properly screen calls so Twomey doesn’t end up chasing less-than-desirable leads. They ask questions such as:

• “Have you ever had a landscape service provider before?”
• “Do you have landscape lighting?”
• “Do you plant flowers?”
• “Why did you call us?” as opposed to just “How did you hear about us?”

“By the time the lead is turned over to me, I know it’s a good opportunity for our company,” Twomey relates. “Then I follow up immediately with a phone call, and follow that up with a detailed email if the client prefers, or typically a site visit on larger jobs.”

No more excuses – get online

Ground Hog Landscape Management has changed quite a bit since Hurricane Katrina nearly put the company out of business in late 2005. So has the Green Industry in general. “Before Katrina,” Twomey relates, “if you could spell grass it seemed like you could make money in this business. Not now.”

The simplest, most influential thing a landscape contractor can do, Twomey says, is get a nice website. “There’s no excuse anymore. You shouldn’t have to apologize to a customer for not having a nice, educational website. You also need to spend time with search engine optimization (SEO) so customers can find your website. There are plenty of companies that can help you with that.”

As a revitalized landscaping company with a focus on upscale residential maintenance, Ground Hog Landscape Management is now looking to help its clients “create memories”. When you sell that concept, Twomey says, price becomes less of an issue.