Selling Landscape Enhancements: Finding your Company’s ‘Secret Sauce’
Even though we’d love for our customers to be blown away by our impressive mastery of sprinkler head spacing and our exciting new permeable paver system, this information is unlikely to inspire them to purchase enhancements. Unless your client is a landscaper or a giant nerd for construction, these details aren’t going to help them understand the lived experience of upgrading their landscape.
When it comes to generating more sales, storytelling is the most powerful tool in the landscaper’s toolbox. Painting a picture of how your customer’s life could be with that new fireplace, patio, or water feature is by far the best way to catch their attention. The customer wants to be able to visualize themselves and their family in the new space and to imagine all the exciting scenarios that could take place there.
This emotional investment makes all the difference.
And, while we all know great storytelling when we see it, it can be difficult to apply the technique to a technical industry like landscaping. How do you make gravel irresistible? It might sound like a long shot, but with the right tool, incorporating storytelling into your proposal and handoff packages is surprisingly easy.
Take a look at some of the proven effective methods landscapers can employ.
Overhead Views
A picture is worth a thousand words, and when it comes to helping your customer visualize a landscape enhancement, few tools are as effective as an overhead plan.
This type of illustration not only shows them the scale of the addition in comparison to the rest of their landscape but also allows them to picture how it will sit alongside other elements.
It used to be that landscapers manually created these types of overhead plans, meaning that things moved slowly and that the results were lacking. However, in recent years, there has been a boom in professional, user-friendly landscape design software, making it easier than ever for account managers to create impressive-looking plans in minutes. With LandOne, you can create detailed views of what the work will look like, with minimal effort. That means that every time you propose an upsell, you can accompany the proposal with a stunning visual aid.
Want to make your proposal and handoff package even more compelling? Consider doing aerial photography. LandOne Takeoff allows landscapers to markup and measure aerial footage to generate landscape enhancement estimates and proposals on the spot. Your customer is then able to see the design over an actual image of their property, helping to bring the vision to life.
Before and After Photos
Who doesn’t love a dramatic makeover? Tap into your customers’ natural desire to see their landscape transformed, and demonstrate exactly how much better their space will look when you’re done with it.
Using before and after photos also helps to reassure the customer that what you’re suggesting is attainable. Sometimes people become convinced that their property is already “the best it can be”. Before and after images help prove otherwise.
Plus, after seeing how amazing their space could look directly next to how it currently looks, they will find it much harder to say no to the upgrade.
Instant Material Lists
Nobody likes uncertainty when it comes to their money, and a smooth transition from design to production is key to keeping enhancement work affordable for your customers (and profitable for you).
A key way of getting your client on your side with a proposal is to include accurate, comprehensive materials lists in your proposal and handoff packages. In addition to being helpful for your team, it also increases customer trust.
LandOne helps you create plant and material lists instantly, which are updated every time you update your design. That means that you can show your customers how additions will affect the cost of the project and modify the proposal as much as you want until you come up with the perfect solution. No waiting, uncertainty, or complicated calculations required.
Software That Does it All
Landscaping is a competitive industry, and to be successful you need to be nimble. To sell enhancements, you must be able to understand and capture the vision of the customer in real-time.
Beautiful visuals and the ability to show people how a project will affect their lives are all essential components of a proposal and handoff package. The more you can bring a design to life, the more compelling the proposal becomes.
With LandOne, anyone can create professional designs and estimates in minutes. Use our integrated satellite imagery tool or upload your own photography, then use our simple click and drag system to create a design right in front of your customer. Through our integration with LandscapeHub, you will get accurate, up-to-date pricing for your materials, and have access to our extensive plant library.
Don’t leave your sales to chance. To learn more about creating takeoffs with LandOne software, check out this step-by-step guide to creating a Landscape Enhancement Design.
Start your Free Trial today to see firsthand how LandOne Takeoff can help transform your landscaping business.
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