BEST OF THE WEB: Just Sign, Already

In an ideal world, landscape contractors could provide services to a client with a verbal agreement and a handshake. But in the real world, contracts are necessary to ensure that everyone is on the same page before and after a service is completed. And sometimes customers can complicate matters by delaying or hesitating to sign a contract. Participants of a recent Lawn & Landscape Online Message Board discussion offered their opinions on how to deal with customers who are reluctant to sign contracts and tactics for closing a sale.

Clint Christman, owner of Sacramento, Calif.-based Baja Landscape Co., kicked off the discussion when he asked fellow Message Board users: “How do you get your customers to quit procrastinating and just sign the contract already? I get tired of doing the ‘dance’ with everybody, getting verbal approvals without a signed contract. By the time everyone signs, they all want their jobs done right away, and when they sign later in the spring or summer this isn’t always possible. I try to explain to customers that a signed contract now will guarantee them a spot on the schedule. But everyone always drags their feet in signing.”

PUT IT IN WRITING. Contractors in Christman’s situation may be tempted to proceed with the job without a signed contract, but that might not be in their best interests, says Andrew Aksar, owner, Outdoor Finishes, Walkersville, Md. “You should never do work without a signed agreement,” he writes. “Now, there’s no doubt the agreement may not do you much good in court, but it will sum everything up as far as what you will do and what you won’t do. It’s a good guide and aids in preventing misunderstandings.”

Christman agrees, saying he never works on a job without a signed contract because customers who don’t want to finalize the deal typically have a hidden agenda. “I learned a long time ago that if the customer does not want to sign the contract, that sends up a red flag,” he says. “There is only one reason someone won’t sign the agreement but still wants to proceed: They are already planning on screwing you.”

So what should a contractor do then in this situation? Aksar says in many cases, there’s not much a contractor can do. “As far as getting people to quit procrastinating, that’s one aspect of this business I haven’t conquered yet,” he says.

One possibility is to set a deadline for when the contract must be signed after already making a verbal agreement, says Patrick Johnson, owner of Reflective Gardens, Knoxville, Tenn. Or contractors can send a contract and tell the customer that the faster they send it back signed, the quicker they can get on the schedule, Johnson suggests.

Landscape contractor Sal Mortilla says he tells customers the company already has a six-week backlog to jumpstart the process, even though he’s usually not that booked. After providing an estimate, he then informs the customer that the contract will guarantee the estimated price, barring any unforeseen costs, and that the customer’s project will be placed at the top of his list. Mortilla, owner of Long Island, N.Y.-based Landscapes Unlimited, also tells the customer that he’s making a rare exception and asks that the customer not mention the favor to other prospective clients. Once the customer agrees, Mortilla says he will “push a little further” by telling that customer how to write the deposit check.

But some Message Board participants disagree with this method, saying it could be misleading to the customer. “The practice of giving customers false information about your work schedule and telling them to ‘keep it a secret’ that you are putting them at the top of the list does not seem like a very honest thing to do,” says Chad Stern, owner, Mowing & More, Chevy Chase, Md. “I can personally tell you that when someone tells me that all hell is breaking loose in their company, but they are going to give me top priority anyhow I think they are full of B.S.”

Mortilla counters by saying his tactic may be “a bit high pressure” but still honest. “I never promise anything I don’t deliver,” he explains. “My customers get what they pay for and, in all cases, more. The backlog statement is an exaggeration that causes injury to no one.”

Mortilla adds that in New York a customer can cancel a contract within 72 hours. He notifies all customers about this law in the body of the written agreement and with a separate form required by the state that the customer must sign and date. Customers who feel they have been pressured to sign a contract have the right to cancel and receive a full deposit refund, Mortilla says. Perhaps more importantly, Mortilla says his customers have already agreed to the services – they just haven’t signed the contract yet. This is simply a technique used to speed up the process, he says.

After reading Mortilla’s response, Stern agreed that it’s less of an ethical dilemma if Mortilla is using this tactic after a verbal agreement. But Stern says that it’s still not his preferred method. “What do you think would happen if customers found out that you did not have a six-week waiting list and that you did not in fact bump them to the top of the pile?” he says.

Stern sometimes offers incentives to customers who sign up early but he doesn’t put the client on the spot. “Sometimes I do offer incentives if they sign up by a certain date,” he says. “I do not view this as a high-pressure sales tactic – telling a customer that they will only get the discount if they sign up right there and right now is a high-pressure sales tactic.”
 
SEAL THE DEAL. As the discussion continued, participants shifted the conversation’s focus toward ethical issues relating to certain sales tactics. In the end, “strategic, honest, humble, zero-pressure” sales presentations will win jobs for contractors, Aksar says. But some customers need a little nudge to finalize the deal, according to Mortilla.

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“It’s been my experience that the customer is the humble element,” Mortilla says. “A zero-pressure sales presentation is a sure way to lose the sale. Tempered aggression, perseverance and a convincing closing pitch are the rules that most successful sales people use. There’s no room for being humble in business.”

In Mortilla’s case, his sales range from $6,000 to more than $25,000, meaning he could lose more than $1,000 per day in net profit from a lost sale, he says. “So the sales approach has to be somewhat aggressive because for every job I estimate there are three or more guys ahead of me or three or more that will follow behind me with an estimate,” Mortilla says. “The objective is to eliminate and outsell the competition. If you don’t do that, they will eliminate and outsell you.”

Such tactics are often mistaken as high-pressure when they’re actually strategic sales pitches, says John Palasek, owner of JonKar Design Group, Yaphank, N.Y. “That is not pressure; that is persuasion,” he says. “Pressure is a used car salesman in a loud sports jacket and a too-white smile, telling you that if you don’t buy the care right now, he can’t offer you the same deal tomorrow. Persuasion is doing the same thing but in a way that makes the customer believe that they have purchased something, not that you have sold them something.”

Aksar counters by saying that quality work usually sells itself. “I believe if you do not have anything of significance to sell, then sure, pressure tactics are needed,” he says. “But if you really have something of value, usually the sale is made before you even get to the property. There are so many analogies – custom homebuilder vs. a tract builder, sale of a Mercedes compared to the sale of a Ford. Bottom line: Any approach can be successful. There is no one answer. It’s all in what you’re comfortable with.”

The answer may be a combination of sales approaches, Stern says. “My initial concern had to deal with deviating from the truth in the interest of securing a sale,” he explains. “I would also agree with anyone who says good work does not sell itself. “I believe that one has to be aggressive and on top of things in order to secure sales. However, one can still be aggressive in sales without telling half truths.”  

Instead of pressuring clients or taking a passive approach to close deals, Stern says he realizes success with the following approach:

• Wear khakis and a Polo shirt with a company logo when meeting with clients.
• Make sure the company’s truck is clean and shiny.
• Present unique business cards.
• Show detailed proposals on quality paper with company letterhead.
• Behave in a professional and businesslike manner.
• Return all client phone calls within one business day.
• Follow up with the client one week after submitting a proposal.