INSTALLATION: Diversifying with Design/Build

Business owners often hear they should create “unique value propositions” – something that sets them apart from their competitors. Doing so can be a challenge in the price-driven world of landscape maintenance, says Bob Langille, owner of Landscaping Concepts in Seekonk, Mass. That’s one reason he expanded his company into design/build about seven years ago. “Mowing is almost a commodity,” Langille says. “Design/build is more branding and emotional; it depends on whether clients like your designs and if they’re comfortable with you.”
 
Langille founded his business in 1988 with the intention of entering the design/build world one day. He has a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and this sector of the industry allows him to use his experience and education more so than mowing does. But it took some time for him to build up the clients, staff and equipment base to begin the service, since design/build generally caters to higher-end clients and requires a more skilled staff.
 
Today, design/build is about 40 percent to 50 percent of his business. “That’s really where the money is,” Langille says, noting he’d like to grow this service because of the gross profit margin around 50 percent. “But I’m worried about putting all my eggs in one basket with the economy.”
 
Downturns in the building sector are certainly something to think about when entering the design/build arena. To plan for potential slow times, Langille’s strategy is to carve out a specific niche in specialized installations like pondless waterfalls and synthetic putting greens.

SALES & DESIGN. At design/build firms, salespeople and designers are often one in the same. As owner of Landscaping Concepts, Langille is the chief designer. With a horticulture degree, he says he already has many of the nuts and bolts he needs to do landscape design, but he’s still thinking about going back to school to complete a landscape design certificate program. “You might not need a certificate, but having a credential is one more piece in your arsenal,” he says.
 
For other would-be designers, he stresses the importance of knowledge about plant material and design principles. “You need to know or learn about whether plants do well in full sun or shade, the flowering times of different types of plants and also the design side – like color and texture,” Langille says. “Even though it’s in the same field as mowing, it’s a completely different ball game. You need to have more technical expertise.”
 
When it comes to sales, the best place to start out is a company’s existing maintenance customer base, Langille says. “Go to the people that you have a relationship with,” he says. “Use your existing customers and try to upsell them.”
 
Langille encourages contractors to remember they’re selling something visual. He emphasizes the importance of providing clients with a sketch of their plans and pictures of the plants you’ve specified. “Remember, you’re creating an image for them – of relaxation and quiet time or a place to entertain.” And don’t forget the all important “before and after” photos.
 
Also, expect increased client hand-holding in design/build vs. maintenance, Langille says. “You’re dealing with different clientele, the jobs are more upscale and they cost more money,” he says.
 
Lead qualification is important in design/build, otherwise consultations quickly can turn into “free advice,” Langille says. Design fees and retainers are common at design/build firms, and while Langille says he has not yet instituted a system for such fees, he’s thinking about it. “We try to qualify by asking where they live, how they heard about us, what type of work they would like to have done and if they’ve ever had professional landscaping done before,” Langille says. For him, a red flag would be a client who found the company from his free Yellow Pages listing vs. a referral. “Qualifying leads is a sensitive thing,” he says. “Sometimes I’m right and sometimes I’m wrong.”

OPERATIONS. Contractors should note that landscape design/build crews require a higher skill level than maintenance crews, Langille says. When first starting out, he emphasizes the importance of hiring an experienced foreman. That foreman can either train competent maintenance employees on the job or lead a new crew of experienced construction workers.

PRICING FOR PROFIT. Proper estimating and pricing is necessary to ensure a design/build division will be successful. Contractors need to be methodical about pricing – not just rely on arbitrary “materials times two” or “by-the-square-foot” fee structures, Langille says. Instead, estimates should account for labor, materials, equipment, overhead, labor burden and profit. In addition to buying a landscape industry-specific estimating book, Langille says contractors need to conduct their own time studies to see how long it takes their crews to complete each task and refer to that when budgeting for man hours. Then estimating and pricing aren’t such a shot in the dark. Also, don’t forget tasks like prepping and travel time, Langille says.
 
“It gives you something black and white to go off,” he says. “You have to have a system in place for estimating or you’ll give a lot of work away.”