SALES AND MARKETING: Three of My Biggest Mistakes

I recently addressed a group of landscape professionals in San Diego and  
I had one contractor ask me what my biggest regret was in my 24  years of running a landscape company. I’m asked this all the time, but for some reason, this time I really had to think.

I gave him the standard “Oh, too many to mention,” answer. But flying back to Ohio, I really thought about his question. What were the biggest mistakes I’ve made and could my readers learn from them?

Here are three mistakes I’ve made operating Grunder Landscaping.

NOT REALIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF PEOPLE. It took me way too long to hire my first salesperson. I thought I needed to do all of the sales myself. After all, no one could do it as well as I, and they would just cause problems. It wasn’t until my eighth year in business that I hired a salesperson. That person didn’t last too long because I had no clue how to hire a good salesperson. But I learned a lot from the experience and realized others could effectively sell my company’s services. In fact, if I planned to grow, I would need others selling for me. Don’t wait too long to hire someone to help you sell. In fact, I frequently tell contractors I’m coaching to hire a salesperson: “Remember, a good salesperson doesn’t cost you money, they bring you money.”

NOT ATTENDING INDUSTRY SEMINARS UNTIL 1991. If I had gone to the seminars offered by PLANET, ANLA, and the countless other groups  in 1984, there’s no telling where I’d be today. I didn’t go because I was afraid – afraid no one could possibly understand what I’m going through. Surely those companies had far bigger problems than those of my $100,000-per-year company. I was dead wrong. By being a member of PLANET, I had the opportunity to meet Frank Mariani, who arguably runs the best landscaping company in America. Today Frank serves as a mentor and has helped me grow and prosper. I also met many other landscape contractors who shared their ideas with me. 
   
Landscape contractors, I have discovered, pretty much share the same business problems, except they’re either bigger or smaller in scale. Don’t wait to go to a seminar. Attend the next one you can, find other successful landscape contractors and take them to dinner. You’ll be amazed at what you can learn for the cost of a steak.

UNDER APPRECIATING TIME MANAGEMENT.  I was in business for almost 10 years before I realized the more I knew about time management, the more efficient I would be, and the more profits I could make for my company. I have studied every piece of information I can get my hands on about time management. It has made a difference. No salesperson has a chance of reaching his full potential if he doesn’t use his time wisely.
   
For the past 15 years I have written a to-do list detailing what I planned to accomplish the next day. I’m not going to lie, some days I do better than others. But one thing is for sure, I’d be lost without my list and waste a ton of time and money.
    
My friend Ed Eppley says successful people do the things unsuccessful people don’t want to do. I would add that the difference between success and failure is often associated with doing those things we need to do vs. doing the things we’d like to do. Procrastination is the language of the poor. If you put off important tasks, then expect to be poor.

Please learn from my mistakes in a way that makes your company better. 

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.