Is Your Sales Team Just "Taking Orders?" Here's How Landscape Pros Can Prepare to Sell in 2023
In the past few years, many landscaping companies have been able to get by with their salespeople functioning more as "order takers." Our clients, and potential clients, already had ideas and already knew they wanted to invest in their landscaping. They came to us with ideas, and we brought them to life.
As the economy remains uncertain and we look ahead to 2023, one of the smartest things that sales teams can do is to prepare to actually sell. Whether the economy is good or bad for us next year, your company will be more successful if you invest in teaching your sales team to effectively prospect, nurture, and close leads.
December, January, and February are great months to refine and learn new sales skills. Chris Psencik, Executive Coach and ACE Peer Group facilitator with our partners at McFarlin Stanford, and I recommend that sales teams take time this winter to work on:
- Practicing real-world situations with role-playing
- Soft skills like how to greet a prospect on the phone, ring a doorbell politely or follow up with clients
- Team strategy sessions, so everyone is on the same page when it comes to the company's goals and what types of jobs they should be selling
- Visiting job sites or attending industry events to gain inspiration
- Ride-alongs: have more junior salespeople shadow senior salespeople to learn from the way they operate
Many of these skills you can work on together as a team. At Grunder Landscaping Co., we do all of these things regularly, and this winter, we'll be scheduling more time to work on role-playing, soft skills, and refining sales strategies. Investing in teaching our team has helped us transfer skills to the younger generation so that no matter the years of experience a salesperson has, our clients are getting the same level of service.
Chris and I will be joined by Emily Lindley, The Grow Group's Content & Event Manager, for Virtual Sales Bootcamp 2.0 on December 14-15. During this event, the three of us will share strategies, tips, and tricks that can take your sales efforts to the next level. We'll go over sales management strategies, how to train your team, what metrics you should watch in 2023, the marketing tactics that are working for us, and more. This two-day, live, virtual event will be a fantastic way to jumpstart your sales team's professional development this winter.
Will I see you online? Remember, nothing happens until someone sells something!
Marty Grunder
President & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.