I have been selling landscaping for more than 40 years now, and I've found that the more things change the more they also stay the same. 

In many ways selling is much easier now than it was when I started out, in a time when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. I'm kidding, but we didn't have the technology that makes our jobs easier today: cell phones, the internet, or a laptop computer to name a few. We had to measure all properties by hand, bid work using a calculator and a pad of paper (we didn't even have excel to calculate for us), and deliver proposals in person or by mail. 

But just like today: little things like the professionalism, selling the vision for the property, and speed of your proposal increased your chance of closing the sale. We leverage our technology to be more effective in these areas today by:

Using Web Measuring Tools to Bid
We are able to measure and see properties from our desks now and quickly put together stats that help us create an accurate proposal for maintenance or for a design-build project. Our sales team can create maintenance proposals super quickly thanks to this software - sometimes without even visiting a property. It also makes it possible for our sales team to get more proposals out the door than they could without using this tool, so they can be more effective in the limited time they have each week. If you are my age reading this: could you imagine if we had this tool in 1995?

Creating 3-D Designs
We began doing 3-D renderings of our designs when we hired a salesperson who showed our team the value they could bring. These renderings help our clients see what a design-build project will look like when complete, and have helped us to close jobs that can be hard to visualize. We're creating more and more of these and even though it's more work for our sales team, it's paying off in closing rates. 

Focusing on Lighting
We use FX Luminaire's online software to help our clients visualize how a lighting project could improve their property. It's simple to create the design and simple to bid these jobs, and it's been a great solution we can sell to maintenance clients or clients who have done other projects with us in the past. And the by the way, the margins on lighting can turn an "okay" job into a homerun! They're a great upsell. 

My message for the week: technology is there to help us do the things we know work, but do them better and faster. As you're looking ahead to next year, think about ways you could add value for your clients or make closing sales easier and faster. Maybe one of these three tools can help you, or maybe there are others that your team has their sights set on. 

I'm excited to be online next week teaching our Virtual Sales Bootcamp 2.0, where me, Chris Psencik, and Emily Lindley will share what we see working in the industry so companies can prepare to kick off 2025 sales strong. We'll share more on specifically what companies should be focused on this winter, and how you can set your sales team up for success next year with strong goals, the right priorities, and technology to make it all easier. Will I see you online?