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As we look ahead to another year, many folks are continuing to plan both from a budgeting and a forecasting perspective for their business in 2021. With the COVID-19 pandemic still causing ripple effects that will impact business in the future, many landscape business owners are being prudent about planning.

It has always been a goal of Include Software to offer a comprehensive product that fully meets our clients’ needs. That commitment has even included building new capabilities into the software in order to eliminate the need for outside platforms. Most recently, that effort has resulted in the introduction of iEsign, an in-house e-signature platform that will mean Asset users no longer have to connect with an outside e-signature provider to get documents like proposals or timecards signed.

With the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic creating a need to social distance and forcing a limit on large gatherings, many planned conferences and events were left scrambling to figure out what to do next. Rather than cancel altogether, many chose to shift to a virtual model. This has created the unique opportunity to reach more people in a new way.

Include Software was amongst those that had to make a shift. With the iCollaborate User Conference already announced and planned, we had to decide whether we were going to pivot or cancel. We chose to pivot to a virtual model—and frankly, are so glad that we did. Just like so many lawn and landscape businesses have found ways to survive and thrive in this new climate, we were excited by the success of this virtual event.

In life—and in sales—we often make things complicated. That could mean working tirelessly trying to track down new leads but coming up empty handed. When we’re busting out our best effort, this can be incredibly frustrating. 

Of course, we don’t always mean to take the harder route. It might be because the short-cut isn’t always so visible. Even when the solution is right in front of us, it can be missed as we assume we have to work harder. In reality, we may just need to work smarter.

What that means in terms of easy sales success is that it’s important to actively seek out the “low-hanging fruit.” That is, the simplest or easiest sales to make. You want to find those sales that will help to fill up your pipeline at the end of the season as regular work may be starting to slow down for the year. 

Here are a few low-hanging fruit sales strategies that will help you cherry-pick some ripe opportunities. 

If snow management services are part of your business model, then it should never be too far from your mind.

Even though the warm weather can dramatically shift your focus, if you wait too long to plan for the snow season, you could risk hurting your winter revenue—something that is vital to keep many landscape businesses afloat in the off season.

We talked to Bret Achtenhagen, of Bret’s Achtenhagen’s Seasonal Services and

Richard Kuperus of Farmside Landscape & Design to find out how being proactive is the key to success in snow.

Have you been thinking about going paperless? Besides being an eco-friendly option that will support your efforts of being a good steward of the environment, going paperless can also boost your efficiency tremendously. A lot of landscape businesses get bogged down by paperwork—whether it be sorting and filing incoming paperwork, sending outgoing paperwork like invoices, or even manually entering data from paper into a computer system. All of these take up time and labor.

Going paperless can help you eliminate wasted paper, cut costs, and ultimately streamline your operations. Plus, it is something that your team members and customers will appreciate.

If you’ve been pondering going paperless, here are a few considerations for you to keep in mind.

There’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic has made business challenging for many landscape business owners. Although our industry was lucky enough to ultimately be deemed “essential” across the country, when state shutdown orders first began, many were left scrambling to figure out where their business stood. And even though many continued to work, it meant following new protocols and adapting to a lot of changes. Office staff was required to work at home and many safety changes were made in the field.

It’s what many have been calling the “new normal.” 

Labor is a critical element of the profitability of your landscaping business. If you aren’t charging enough for labor, you’re going to hurt your bottom line. But how do you know if you’re falling short? 

As a landscaping operations manager, you have a tough job simply based upon how much you oversee. You are the one that keeps the day-to-day “show” running and there are certainly times when that can feel like a lot. So often, you are the liaison between the crews, the office staff, and sales. Plus, you need to make sure that everything is operating smoothly with the schedule.

Successful sales are driven by metrics. As a salesperson, you recognize that numbers are everything. Whether sales are up or down is the heart of what it is that you do as a landscaping sales manager. The fact is, you could have an amazing sales team but if you aren’t staying on top of how your jobs are performing, as well as what’s coming into the pipeline, then things can quickly start to go awry.