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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.

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.

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.

As the CEO, it is your responsibility to oversee your landscaping company as a whole and make sure that it’s running as best that it possibly can. In order to ensure that, you’ve likely implemented various tools over the years, including potential software solutions. But how do you know when the tools you’ve implemented are no longer enough?

How do you know when it’s time for new landscape business management software?

Technology is part of our everyday lives—and becomes more so every day. From online shopping to using devices to remain informed or connect with others, technology is used daily and that’s no different for those age 50 and older. Over 90 percent of adults over 50 own a computer or laptop, 70 percent have a smartphone, and more than 40 percent own a tablet, according to a national study.

Data is so important when it comes to how you run your business. If you’re regularly looking at data through a landscape business report, then you’re likely making major decisions based on what you read.

But what you see is also so important. In fact, one might argue that seeing is understanding.

Technology has made our lives faster and more efficient in so many areas. From banking to airline check-ins or even making purchases, technology allows us to perform tasks at a faster rate than ever before.

Of course, when it comes to your landscaping business, there are many great benefits to technology but in terms of speed, an important one is your response time. With the use of various tools you can respond to customers faster than ever.

Do you ever wish you could predict the future? After all, planning for your company’s future when you have no idea what it holds is challenging. It can feel like quite a bit of pressure to make decisions that impact the future of your business (and its people) when you’re not sure what to base them on.