How to win better work for your Landscaping business
There can’t be a landscaper alive who wouldn’t relish the opportunity to work on more interesting projects. Garden Design is the perfect tool to help you win better work for your landscaping business – here’s why.
Managing customer expectations
For me, “better work” doesn’t necessarily mean bigger budgets (although that would be nice!). It’s about working with clients who are supportive, who take an interest without interfering, and who don’t try to change the brief part way through the build.
In fact, it’s just possible that my most and least favourite thing about landscaping is the clients. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve worked with some amazing clients over the years, but there have also been one or two that really ground my gears.
Problems are most likely to arise if the landscaper (aka you) and the client have a different interpretation of what the final garden might look like. Alan Sargent in his guest blog for My Garden Design warned of the perils of using such vague terms as ‘I want a Wow Factor’, ‘Maintenance Free’, ‘Non-slip’, ‘Attractive All Year Round’, ‘Rabbit Proof’, ‘Child Friendly’ . These, terms mean different things to different people.
Read Alan Sargent’s article here
Working from an actual garden design which has been agreed but the client is the only way to manage expectations. A 3D visualisation is by far a better way of ensuring that your clients are happy with the design before you break ground. And then, if the client queries your work you can refer them back to the design they agreed on. It’s simple
The other great thing about a good garden design as opposed to a vague brief, is that you can quote accurately. Thus ensuring that there are no nasty surprises for the client and a respectable profit for your business.
Client queries your work? – refer them back to the design they agreed on. It’s simple
Raising the bar – upselling ideas
This homeowner wanted a patio beside the sun room. Our garden designer also suggested some other changes to make the whole of this awkwardly sloping garden more useable.
In my experience, landscaping customers don’t always fully understand the potential that their gardens hold. In most cases they have identified a problem and want to hire a landscaper to solve it.
Some have what my Dad would describe as “Champagne tastes but lemonade pockets”. Others have simple ideas and cannot visualise anything beyond “put the patio there please”. And then of course, there are those who are reluctant to invest in their gardens.
Garden design is all about unlocking the potential of an outdoor space. Any outdoor space. Perhaps your customer has a modest budget and would like to enlarge an existing patio. For a small proportion of their budget they could have a garden designer take a look and suggest ways of using interesting materials, connecting the patio to the rest of the garden and/or incorporating lighting. Simple changes that offer best value for money and make the work more satisfying for you. Plus your client gets to boast about having their garden professionally designed and built. This of course results in more recommendations for your business.
Offering more than your competitors do
It’s rare for a client to invite just one landscaper to quote for work. And to be fair, when I’m planning on spending a lot of money, I’ll always shop around for best value.
If you are looking for better work for your landscaping business, you need to offer a better service than your competitors from the get-go.
It’s all in the way you answer the phone or how quickly you reply to emails. How professional you appear to be, what previous customers say about you and the type of work you’ve done to date.
Keeping your website up to date is important. Even if your potential clients don’t use it to contact you, trust me, they will have checked out your online presence.
Another factor in outcompeting your competitors may well be offering a hassle-free design and build service. Become the one stop shop for professional garden makeovers in your area.
Offering garden design as part of your landscaping business
Have you ever considered using garden design as another income stream for your landscaping business? Not only does it have the potential to increase your profit margins, it offers a seamless experience for your clients.
How many times have you encountered a hitch on site and experience delays while you contact the designer to fix it? How about if you could make an instant decision based on the original client brief and the survey results?
That’s what My Garden Design is all about. It empowers landscapers to take control of the garden design process without needing to fiddle about with computer software.
In a nutshell, when you use My Garden Design’s service, the landscaper (aka you) communicates with the client, takes measurements and uploads all the details to an easy to use website. The design brief is picked up by a qualified garden designer, turned into a buildable plan and emailed back to the landscaper. All of the branding is in the landscaper’s name – the client need never know it’s been outsourced and the designer will never try to direct the build.
Why try My Garden Design?
My Garden Design is the brainchild of Paul Baker, himself and experienced landscaper and APL member. Paul has worked with many talented garden designers during his career and his Company, Holland Landscapes has built some fantastic award winning gardens.
Paul Baker, creator of the My Garden Design service for landscapers
As a landscaper, Paul has also encountered some less experienced designers who don’t necessarily understand the practicalities of landscape construction. This prompted him to open his own garden design company. Tapestry Design Studios.
“Clients really enjoy that seamless connection between designer and landscaper – it means they have less work to do in researching suitable service providers. They also like having one contact to look after the whole garden makeover” says Paul “I have certainly found that offering design and build has helped me to expand my businesses and get better work for my teams”.
The My Garden Design platform allows other landscapers to do the same – only without the financial strain of starting a garden design business. The only expense with MGD is the cost of the design itself – and that is at trade rates so that a margin can be added to cover the cost of site visits etc.
Want to win better work for your landscaping business? Here’s what to do now
If you too would like to explore the possibilities for adding a garden design service to your landscaping business – please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Email Paul here to request a call back and an informal chat
Explore our website – it’s free to sign up and start creating a garden design brief. There’s nothing to pay until you are ready to buy the design.
