SALES AND MARKETING: More of My Biggest Mistakes

In my July column I outlined a few of my greatest snafus made during my 20-year career in the green industry. We learn our greatest, and albeit most painful, lessons from our everyday errors. My intent was perhaps you could find value in some of these life lessons, but without the anguish of actually making the mistake. To continue on that theme I’ve added a few more of my biggest mistakes. Please learn from these  in a way that makes your landscape operation better.

Not DEVELOPING a board of advisers soon enough. My board of advisers has pushed me and forced me to try new things, do what I said I would do, generate more sales, communicate more clearly and hold people accountable. As entrepreneurs we need this structure. After all, who’s holding us accountable? The bank? Our spouse? Our friends? I’m not sure anyone is. A board helps you see the trees through the forest and pushes and guides you toward success. To my board, Ed, Les, Frank, and Karl, thanks for your help. And that leads me to my next regret.

Not saying thanks enough. There have been many people I haven’t thanked enough. There was Eugene Gomolka, a UD professor who pushed me to continue on with my business when I thought I wanted to quit while in college. Unfortunately, he passed away unexpectedly awhile back. There was my brother, Rich, who today is a successful money manager in Seattle. He was my first employee and overcame being fired a record 37 times to help me get the work done when we were starting out. There was my dad, who is no longer with us, who helped me make my first trailer and was always there to listen to me. My mom, who to this day is my biggest fan, and to my wife and kids; thanks for putting up with me and all my late hours.  

But the people who have not been thanked enough are the folks who work at Grunder Landscaping Co. They are the true heros. They help me make my dream a reality on a daily basis and don’t get thanked enough. Maybe in some small way, their reading this will help them realize how much I appreciate all their support.
 
Keeping people because they were nice and tried hard. Yep, I have done this and I’ll bet you have, too. No one wants to fire someone who is trying hard. But in business results matter, and if a member of your team clearly understands the expectations and still is not producing results, then you need to ask them to leave.  

There is great question you should ask yourself about each person on your team: Knowing what you now know about that person, would you hire them again? If the answer is no, then the obvious question is what are you waiting for? 

Companies all over America are full of underperforming employees and that’s not their fault. It’s our fault for allowing mediocrity to be acceptable in the workplace. Candor is something that needs to be implemented more in companies. If we all just said what was on our minds and we were smart, professional and tactful about how we did it, we wouldn’t have so many people who never realize their full potential. 

I fired one of my best friends in 1989. He didn’t speak to me for a long time until he saw me one day and told me that was one of the best things I could have done for him. Don’t look at firing someone as a bad thing; look at it as what you both need to do to be successful.

Marty Grunder is a speaker, consultant and author, as well as owner of Grunder Landscaping Co., Miamisburg, Ohio. Reach him at 866/478-6337, landscapesales@gie.net or via www.martygrunder.com.