Ten Proven Strategies to Boost Your Landscape Business — Taken from my Design Build Growth Summit.

Labor Day was perfect for taking a break, and building up your reserves to tackle the final leg of the season.

Those who came to my Design Build Growth Summit told me this event gave them an extra boost of motivation and superb direction in order to end the season with a bang.

The average attendee left with 50-70 specific ideas. Here are just 10 strategies they learned including a few I learned.

1. Optimism is an infectious drug - Some days can be very upsetting if you focus on the things you are not doing well. Don't dwell on the negative. Life is tough enough already. Lift up your team up and yourself by taking a "silver lining" to the challenges that come along. 

2. Don't wait too long for success. You either have the right team, or you don't. Jason Cromley from Hidden Creek showed us that he almost trippled the size of his company while having to replace almost his entire team. Unfortunate, and stressful, but the new team prevailed and kicked serious butt.

3. Define your lane, and stay there. Jason and co-owner Matt Seiler shared with me personally over dinner how their company jumped forward when they better defined roles and got out of each other's lane. 

Personally I am consulting with two companies this week (at my new office in New Orleans) that have similar issues. Both companies will pop up like styrofoam under water, once we straighten this out!

4. Ignore conventional wisdom. Just because it sounds logical, doesn't mean it's the smartest way to go. Brandon Lair (client, and speaker at my event) shared how his install foremen direct the schedule and run the scheduling meeting. This may sound inefficient due to the extra steps it requires, but their entire company has screamed to the top of the charts in profitability and morale with this strategy. 

5. Belief in your own ideas. Jason and Matt built their brand new facility for clients to come visit - counter to advice from smart people who told them to 'save your money for equipment, people and acquisitions'. It paid off tremendously.

6. Gamify Your Business – Common feedback I heard from attendees is "we haven't discussed score in a long time with the team and I think it's weighing on them, sapping their motivation" and "We need to get better at talking about what a win is in our company and celebrate that more intentionally." 

7. We all make mistakes – learn and move on. Kevin McHale pointed out some big blunders he made over the years and what he learned.

Heck, it was even pointed out to me that I made a few mistakes during my presentation (my handout did not match my power point which did not match the order of one of my talking points.) Stay in the moment and bring the best you have, and you can still rock the day! 

8. Be the Best, not the biggest. Even McHale Design and Hidden Creek, which are among the biggest, are driven by being the best. It's ironic, because if you aim to be the biggest, you can easily fail. Being the best wins out every day.

9. If Confidence is High---Profit margins rise with it. Price the job according to amount of time estimated to complete the job, not according to what you perceive is the market. Don't fall into that trap. Then add the profit you need to earn. My Pricing Paradox states that the smaller the job, the larger the profit margin you can attach, as high as 35%.

10. Cultivate partners to help you grow. The top presenters had relationships with multiple partners, including Interior Designers, Decorators, Pool Contractors, and Builders. Their opportunities are diversified. How about yours?

Finally a couple quotes to get your juices flowing.

"1st impressions + lasting results = Clients for life"

"We are a Home Improvement company"

"Growth means constant change"

"Exceed Expectations on Communication at every step of the process"

"Improve the speed of your delivery, from design to sales"

Copyright Jeffrey Scott 2019, Please ask for permission to reprint.