Tough Competition for Landscape Design, Lawn Maintenance and Irrigation Businesses

As an owner of a landscape design, lawn maintenance or irrigation business, you are well aware of the competition you have for new customers. The fact that your business is seasonal also poses a number of challenges. So how do you make sure you are gaining the competitive edge?

As with any business, it starts with a professional image; one that lets your prospects and customers know you are serious about and take pride in your work. The quality of your company logo, marketing materials, website, vehicles, and proposals will tell a story about your business. Equally important is finding and hiring reliable and trustworthy workers who will help you provide the highest standards in customer care.

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Automotive Repair Shops Succeed with Targeted Marketing

As a shop owner, the bottom-line profitability of your shop depends on keeping your bays filled. To accomplish this, you must hire trained technicians and provide excellent customer care. Equally important is how you tell your message to gain greater visibility and build trust with prospects and customers. That involves making a commitment to marketing.

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Confrontation

When was the last time you were confronted about a bad situation or you had to confront someone? The easy thing to do is avoid the confrontation, right? Wrong. Why do we want to avoid confrontation? There is a real fear that when your confront someone, you will not be liked and kicked out of the social circle. By avoiding confrontation, in most cases, it will make situation worse. If done properly, addressing the issue will help you grow as a person, and hopefully, the other person will grow, too.

When you confront someone, you should always do it with class and respect. You should never confront someone to make them look bad or make yourself look better. Below are some excerpts from the book “Developing the Leaders Around You:"

1. Confront ASAP. The old saying is, "Crow is easier to eat when it’s still warm."
2. Address the wrong action, not the person. Never ever make it personal.
3. Confront only what the person can change. They can only manage what they have control over.
4. Give the person the benefit of the doubt. If they said they messed up, believe them.
5. Be specific. This is so the act can be identified clearly.
6. Avoid sarcasm. Adding this to the mix, it becomes personal.
7. Avoid words like “always” and “never.” These words are absolute. Just think if they were coming back the other way.
8. If appropriate, tell the person how you feel about what was done wrong.
9. Give the person a game plan to fix the problem. If you’re their supervisor, this could be documented officially or non officially.
10. Affirm him or her as a person and a friend. Shake his or hand or give them a pat on the back and tell them you still appreciate them and their work.

In the end, you want to have the best interest in place for the person you’re confronting. There’s a good chance this person may grow from the conversation and learn from the experience.

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey.   

Give Yourself the Competitive Edge by Forgetting about the Competition

Business owners are always wondering and worrying about what the competition is doing. When they develop their marketing, they see what the competition is saying and then they say it differently or they position their company differently...based on the competition.

There's a problem with that mindset.

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