Ruppert Landscape Appoints Kang President & COO
Jessica Schwartz
Need Employees? Your Website Is The Key To Recruiting
If there’s one silver lining from the pandemic, it’s that growth has come more easily for many lawn and landscaping companies. However, the recruiting problem has gone from bad to plain ugly. Recruits are hard to find. Employer competition is fierce. Applicants don’t show up for their interviews. New hires quit. As you look upward, the tower of revenue now casts a looming shadow. If recruiting can’t be fixed, your potential for growth will decline. This reality compromises the foundation of your business. Staffing a green industry company isn’t for the faint of heart. For the past 22 years, I’ve seen the revolving door of recruiting. My former employers, industry clients, and LinkedIn connections all seem to be searching for missing pieces to their recruiting strategy. The Keystone Over the past decade, our company, Landscape Leadership, has been fortunate to work with lawn and landscape companies that have not only focused on revenue growth, but also positioned their organizations as employer “brands of choice.” These green industry companies understand that job seekers want to work for winners. An effective part of this strategy is creating websites that reveal their positive company cultures and unique positions in the industry. Their websites market not only to prospective clients, but also potential team members. Positive Culture According to LinkedIn’s Ultimate List of Employer Brand Statistics, 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying for a job. What would potential recruits discover about your company’s brand and culture when they visit ...
Real Green Launches Real Green Lite
Real Green by WorkWave, a leading provider of field service software and solutions to the green service industries, has launched Real Green Lite. The powerful and simple-to-use software solution is designed specifically for small, early-stage green industry businesses that need to streamline operations, service customers more effectively and efficiently, and move cash faster through their business. Real Green Lite services customers from all segments of the green industry, including lawn care and lawn maintenance companies, landscapers, arborists and snow plowers. “Real Green Lite utilizes the deep expertise of Real Green to offer a solution for green industry owner operators who want to grow their business but don’t yet need the full suite of solutions available through Service Assistant, Real Green’s flagship software solution,” said David F. Giannetto, CEO of WorkWave, parent company of Real Green. “At WorkWave, we understand what it takes to build and grow a business from the ground up. With Real Green Lite, we’ve addressed a gap within the green industry to deliver a software solution that small, early-stage companies across all industry segments need to grow and become the leading green service providers in their local areas.” Developed by Real Green industry experts, Real Green Lite combines the power and functionality of its market-leading green industry software with a simple, easy-to-use, and quick-to-implement new solution designed to provide small, up-and-coming green industry businesses with everything they need to run their growing companies, all in one place. Its field service and customer management functionality equips its customers ...
NALP, OSHA Renew Alliance Program Ambassador Partnership
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and OSHA recently renewed their collaborative relationship through the Alliance Program Ambassador partnership, helping to ensure that NALP members will receive OSHA regulatory and enforcement information as well as safety resources. NALP has worked with OSHA to improve workplace health and safety in the landscape industry since 2008. Both organizations continue to recognize the value of maintaining a collaborative relationship to improve safety and health practices in the landscape industry and have committed to continue their work together through the Alliance Program Ambassador relationship. Through the partnership, NALP has developed the 10-Hour OSHA Construction Safety Course for the Landscape Industry and shared hundreds of safety resources for landscape and lawn care companies. “Industry safety is critical. NALP is committed to raising the level of professionalism in the industry by helping companies strengthen their safety programs through our partnership with OSHA, our Safe Company Program, tailgate training, and our Safety Awards,” said Britt Wood, NALP CEO. NALP represents an industry of approximately 1 million landscape, lawn care, irrigation, and tree care professionals. Through national advocacy campaigns, the association is growing the industry and its workforce. NALP offers members professional development through education, networking, and training, certification and accreditation programs. To learn more about NALP Safety Programs, visit www.landscapeprofessionals.org/safety. Want to talk about workplace safety issues with fellow lawn care and landscape professionals? Join the discussion in the Business Operations forum at www.expired-link.com.
Maximizing Customer Referrals
Most landscape maintenance and lawn care company owners will tell you that the best marketing campaign is word-of-mouth advertising. It’s free and easy to obtain if you’re giving your clients what they want and need for their properties. Just Ask (Or Don’t Ask) There are many ways to ask for referrals, but three popular methods include: Incentivize your clients; Incentivize your field crews; and Giving excellent service, so you don’t have to ask for referrals—they just come naturally. But before you can ask for positive reviews, you need to provide excellent work. Jeff Scott, President of New Orleans, LA-based Jeffrey Scott Consulting, Inc. says that if you give five-star service, then you shouldn’t have to ask for any referrals. Your customers will be naturally motivated to send you new clients to grow your business. “The best referrals are when the customer is bragging about you. They can’t wait to talk to you,” says Scott. Maria Pallotta of Canopy Lawn Care in Cary, NC, says it’s easier for the company to ask for referrals because management encourages field crews to create the finest property on the street. And as Scott said, the referrals spontaneously come in. “We coach our field teams to make customers’ properties the best-looking ones on the street. It helps referrals come in more naturally,” says Pallotta. “Otherwise, you won’t see results from any marketing campaign if you’re not meeting your customers’ expectations.” Dennis Evans of Quiet Village Landscaping in St. Louis, MO, agrees with Pallotta and Scott ...
Lawnbot Sales Tool For Landscapers Gains Funding
Lawnbot.biz, a company that provides intuitive chatbot sales and payment platforms to lawn care companies, has won $20,000 of funding from local start-up incubator Start Garden of Grand Rapids, MI. Lawnbot.biz is an instant sale generator in an instant-messaging format that is white labeled to fit any company and its set of services. The application uses proprietary technology to measure the square footage of a lawn in real time, recommend a custom treatment plan, and provide a quote for services. The web chat application can be accessed 24/7, allowing customers to get quotes at their own time and pace. Lawnbot was born in the winter of 2018. Created by Kendall Hines, a 28 year old entrepreneur who owns a lawn care firm in Grand Rapids, MI. “We understand that people are busy,” he notes, “…and we wanted to make purchasing lawn care simple and frictionless for our rapidly expanding customer base.” He added, “Lawnbot makes it quick, secure and painless for people and lawn care companies to do business within a simple two minute chat conversation. In an industry that tends to be on the laggard side of things, Lawnbot’s mission is to allow consumers to buy lawn care like they would on Amazon.. instantly!” Over the past six years, Hines has grown his client base from 100 to around 2,000 accounts by changing the way he sells service. Utilizing a chatbot platform he’s developed and other innovative sales strategies, Hines is now selling his platform to lawn care companies ...
