How We Do It: Feb. 2001 - Managing Design/Build Projects

Four or five people answer our phones and are trained to screen client calls and to look for high-end, design/build residential clients. We get an average of 400-plus new calls each year, so screening these calls is important.

The employee answering the phone fills out a general client information form. This form includes client name, address, phone numbers, e-mail, referral information and details about landscape design work possibilities.

If the person answering the phone recognizes the caller as a “hot” lead, meaning a client who is specific to our niche, a sales person is notified immediately. All clients are contacted by a sales person within 12 hours.

We monitor sales calls with a sheet that tracks original call date, client appointment dates, potential project cost, percent confidence in closing the deal, project phases, etc. This keeps sales personnel organized and helps them update their departments during weekly meetings.

After a salesperson is assigned to the project, a design team is selected for the job. The head of the design department chooses designers for projects. The salesperson and designers meet regularly to discuss project updates.

During the initial meeting, we try to establish a rapport with the client and discuss budget up front. If we don’t find out a client’s budget, we aren’t communicating with him or her and could be wasting time on a project that will not meet that client’s expectations. Knowing a budget up-front also helps us sell a bigger project.

After a preliminary sketch is presented to the client and expectations are discussed, we can usually establish if we are on the right track and determine whether we can produce a final design and finalize project costs. We are trying to shy away from design-only sales, so we charge for the design and then, if the client wants us to do the job, we return 15 percent of the design cost. Three years ago, our average design cost was about $1,400. Today, it is between $1,800 and $2,800.

We try to get a design proposal back to the clients within two days after the initial meeting. We also try to give them a date when we can start the work - usually within three to four weeks.

During the second meeting, we discuss project costs again. This is when we can really see where the client’s budget is set, and if the presentation of the final design wowed them into spending a little more on their landscape.

If the client accepts the design, the design and sales team will go out to study the site and a preliminary plan and layout is done. Last year was the first year we tried this. It is costly because we’re eating the cost of spending four to five hours on the site, but we’ve caught a lot of mistakes early this way. For instance, adjusting the size of a proposed patio so that it is more proportional to the site even if it’s only a 2- or 3-foot change can make a big difference in the overall finished project.

Estimating project costs correctly is something we didn’t do well two years ago. Conducting the preliminary plan and layout onsite has helped us improve this. For instance, checking grades on the site when laying out proposed drainage solutions or catching omissions from the site study like the location of downspouts or underground utilities impacts our ability to install per the plan. Addressing client problems quickly also helps us avoid costly errors.

Typically, by the end of January we are booked for the first part of the season. We sell work over winter to establish this schedule. Longer three- to five-year projects are charted on a master plan so teams can focus on them while other projects are being planned and installed