Sell When It's Dry

To encourage their use, Lindsley doesn't charge customers extra fees for rain sensors. The prime time to sell irrigation services is when customers feel the pain of a dry spell. So Joe Lindsley and crews at Landscape Solutions cue in to the obvious while driving their daily routes.

“If we see someone dragging a garden hose across their lawn, we throw a door hanger in their door that highlights xeriscaping,” Lindsley says. “Beats passing out fliers to everyone in the neighborhood.”

That’s targeted marketing. For existing irrigation clients who complain of high water bills and dry patches, Landscape Solutions provides options for every budget: a basic sprinkler head system, a mid-range efficiency system and Lindsley’s recommended high-efficiency irrigation systems.

“In today’s economy, homeowners are really concerned about price,” Lindsley says, noting the best option may cost 10 percent more per station during installation; but the immeasurable payoff is lower water bills, water conservation and no brown patches, which is most important to customers.

This year, the majority of Lindsley’s work is sprinkler system conversion, where the company retrofits an existing overhead spray system to drip irrigation. “Homeowners are still requesting landscape improvements, but we are not starting from scratch on projects,” he says, referencing sluggish new construction.

Meanwhile, Salt Lake City has experienced rapid growth in the last five years, Lindsley says. Water availability is a growing concern. In response, Lindsley has changed the way his company addresses irrigation services by providing the even-water distribution systems, which he says are relatively uncommon. Therefore, educating clients about water conservation is a big part of the job.

But not everyone is interested in water efficiency. The fact is, if the grass is green and growing, drought is the last thing on a homeowner’s mind, Lindsley relates. “We’ve had rain the past 13 out of 17 days, so no one is talking about drought now,” he told Lawn & Landscape in June.

But by mid-July and August, his client conversations will be different. “Customers will see their water bills, their dry patches in the lawn and look for ways to correct those problems,” he says.

So year-round, Lindsley utilizes tools such as his blog (at www.letstalkdirt.com) to offer helpful reminders to clients. For instance, in early summer, he posted this advisory: If you do not have a rain sensor that automatically turns off your sprinklers when the sky drops its nectar, then please remember to turn off your clocks. Save our water and the grass.

During drought times, a dedicated sprinkler crew performs regular checks and the focus is on the benefits of xeriscape. Landscape Solutions partners with a firm that specializes in low-water landscapes; Lindsley’s crew provides the drip irrigation part of the package.

The company does not slap extra fees onto system enhancements like rain sensors, programmable controllers or monthly irrigation checks. The cost is labor plus time plus materials. “We want to encourage our clients to be environmentally responsible,” Lindsley says.

Even though Mother Nature’s whims can stress a landscape business, Lindsley says his company adapts and thrives despite long winters and rainy springs through observation and creativity. “We have rented large heaters to melt snow so we could lay pipe for a sprinkler system,” he says.

“You find ways to work through storms and unappealing conditions like drought,” he continues. “You watch the Weather Channel 24/7 and constantly change your schedule.”

And if and when the ground dries up, crewmembers still have those informative door hangers.

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The author is a freelance writer based in Bay Village, Ohio.