We made it through the peak of our busy season at Grunder Landscaping Co., but there’s always a new challenge just around the corner. We woke up Wednesday morning to a power outage, which made for an unusual morning roll-out. It wasn’t easy, but fortunately the tools we’ve implemented in the last several months to enable our team to work remotely made it possible to get our crews headed to the right places even without electricity at the shop.
The next challenge on the horizon: a vanishing sales backlog. You don’t want to get to mid-August and realize you only have a couple more weeks of work for your crews. Here are three steps we’re taking at GLC to build our pipeline:
1. Know the backlog.
Don’t put yourself in a situation where you suddenly realize your crews will be out of work to do in the next week or two. Owners, salespeople, and production managers should all know how many weeks of work are in their backlog at any given time so they can accurately forecast and refill the pipeline.
At GLC, where we do a lot of design-build projects, we strive to always have at least four weeks of work. Four weeks gives our sales team time to close new sales and allows our production team to plan and optimize the schedule for efficiency. How much work do you have in your backlog right now?
2. Don’t take your foot off the gas.
At GLC we’re fortunate to currently have projects scheduled through mid-September, but we’re still continuing to work fast and furiously on our sales and marketing. Our sales team is focused on closing on our best leads, we’re sending out direct-mail postcards to targeted homes and neighborhoods that fit our ideal client profile, and I am always networking by connecting with new and old acquaintances on LinkedIn, staying actively involved in our community, and supporting the local causes our clients care about. The companies that succeed year after year keep their eyes on the near term and the future.
3. Work smart.
With many people working from home due to the coronavirus, smart landscaping companies are realizing that now is a great time to set up meetings with new residential, HOA, or apartment complex leads, or check in with existing clients. People are spending more time outdoors, and property owners and managers are seeing work they want done to make those spaces more enjoyable. At GLC, we have found that now can also be a great time to pull in-ground pool permits from ten years ago in the counties that we serve. A ten-year-old pool may be due for a renovation or upgrade, and pools are often an indicator that a homeowner is willing to invest more in their property.
Plan for fall, fill your pipeline, and have a great week! As always, if we can help you in any way at The Grow Group, drop us a line at grow@growgroupinc.com.
Marty Grunder
President & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.
August 13, 2020
Your company works hard to win sales—learn how to get the most out of the jobs that follow!
Are you getting all you can from the landscaping jobs you’re doing, or are you wasting time and money and losing out on profits that should be yours? In this virtual workshop, Marty Grunder, president and CEO of Grunder Landscaping Co., will lead you step by step through what to do before, during, and after a job to ensure you net the most profits with the fewest headaches. Includes three live online sessions, worksheets and checklists, illustrative videos, and Q&As.