Session snippets

Preparing to sell? Date around!

That’s the advice the Thinking About Selling Your Lawn Care Company panel had during the WorkWave Beyond User Conference.

“As part of the due diligence process, I visited all the other brands in the platform before coming on board,” says Matthew Scott, of Highest Quality Lawn & Pest who was recently acquired by LawnPro Partners.

The other panelists agreed that the best way to find the right fit is to shop around and take meetings with multiple private equity groups or platform companies. This way you can ensure they align with your core values and what you want out of the sale.

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But Scott notes what you want may wind up changing during this process. His sure did. Originally, Scott says he wanted to sell the business and move on. But now he’s working even harder than he did before joining LawnPros.

“You go through a complete range of emotions,” he says of the process of selling your company.

Feeling stagnant? Bring in some fresh eyes!

And one of the most effective ways to do this can be through industry-specific peer groups. The benefits of which were shared during the Power of Peer Groups panel at the conference.

Bob Brower, of Lawn Plus, says members of his peer group rotate turns hosting as the group meets twice a year. Typical visits include a walkthrough of the host’s shop as well.

“You go through their office and their shop and when you’re in it every day you can turn blind to some of the problems or inefficiencies,” he notes. But Brower says bringing in those fresh eyes helps, and his fellow members are there to ask the tough questions and make him defend, or reconsider, his choices.

“We’ve all been there before,” Brower says of the peer group sharing successes and difficulties. “(Peer groups) help change the mindset from working in the business as opposed to on it. Accountability is huge.”

A day is 100s of small actions. What does that add up to? Decision fatigue!

That was Dr. Robert Coop, PhD’s, point during his session Beyond Human: AI and the future of field services.

Coop adds the best thing about AI is that it allows us to simplify the hard things and automate the boring or mundane tasks. All of this equals more time for employees to focus on their passions and what they find engaging.

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 That’s why Coop says AI isn’t about replacing employees but retaining them.

“It’s gotten really, really good,” he notes.

Coop, who is WorkWave’s head of AI, shared some interesting technologies the company is working on, including Wavelytics, that will allow users to use AI for things like on-demand estimating and measuring, conversational analysis and much more.

Eventually, Coop says he’s optimistic that AI gets to a point where it can provide “auto-play for the workday.” Meaning it will create a list of what’s important and identify priorities that need human connect while automating the more day-to-day and tedious tasks.

“Would you ask a man that question?” Have conversations that educate!

As women leading the charge at service-based companies, the Closing the Gender Gap in Field Services panel took a deep dive into some of the difficulties they’ve faced on their way to the top.

“When I look around the room, I’m pretty much the only female,” says Theresa Smith, senior vice president of NaturaLawn of America. “But having a variety and balance at that table would be best.”

According to the panel, only about 10% of the landscape industry workforce is made up of women. Additionally, when it comes to who is holding leadership roles within the industry, that number is just 8%.

Panelists agree that inclusion is key to attracting not just more females into the industry but all minorities. That’s why education, training and teaching those soft skills and ethics classes are critical.

“You have to hold them accountable,” says Sharon Roebuck-McBride, senior executive vice president with Triangle Home Services.

Roebuck-McBride says her company has taken certain terms out of their everyday vocabulary to help with inclusion.

“There’s no more saying ‘My guys in the field’ or ‘The gals in the office,’” she adds.

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Want to improve your recruiting / retention? Understand the generations!

Tuesday's keynote speaker Jason Dorsey spent his time telling attendees all about the different generations in the workforce today and what motivates them.

“Generations are just clues and we get to decide if we do something about it,” he says. “We all operate in the world through a generational lens.”

Here’s some quick, fun facts Dorsey gave about the 4 major generations:

• Gen Z (Ages 13-29) — Gen Z is the fastest growing generation in the workforce. They are driving technology adoption upward for the first time in history.
• Millennials (Ages 30-48) — They are the largest generation in today’s workforce and are the largest in the landscaping and field service industries. According to Dorsey, Millennials aren’t necessarily tech savvy but tech dependent. “We don’t know how technology works but we know we cannot live without it,” he says.

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• Gen X (Ages 49-60) — Dorsey explains how Gen X is often being pulled in three different directions as they are most commonly the generation raising children and caring for aging parents. Dorsey adds that Gen X will decide in the next two years if they’ll stay and finish out their careers with their current company or move on. “They are the most important generation to retain,” he adds.
• Baby Boomers (Ages 61-79) — Dorsey says its this generation that clearly has the most life and work experience making them invaluable. And this generation was brought up craving things like stability which is reflective of how the Gen Z generation is feeling now entering the workforce.
  

Why are customers leaving? The KPIs you should be tracking!

During the Mastering Business Metrics — 4 Key Numbers Every Business Should Know panel, panelists explained what key performance indicators they are constantly tracking to give their companies a competitive edge.

“Being too fixated on the P&L drives a different mindset and culture,” warns Dave Bradford, CEO of Certus Pest.

Instead Bradford and other panelists, including Colonial Lawn & Garden COO Nathan Colby, suggest measuring such metrics as employee satisfaction and retention rates. Looking at the same things for customers is essential too.

“We know we need to keep that customer about a year in order to break even,” Bradford notes. “If they don’t stay at least 12 months than I’ve spent more money getting them than I’ve made.”

Colby agrees saying that about 80% of his company’s cancellations come from customers who haven’t stayed longer than 2 years.

Is the next gen about to lead the charge? Get them ready!

For a lot of family-owned companies, when it’s time to pass the baton from the founder/owner to the next-generation leader, things can get tricky. Panelists on WorkWave’s Navigating Generation Transitions in Business panel agree that it’s all about communication and collaboration.

For Grace DiBenedetto, now general manager since working for her father’s company Grassmaster Plus since 2020, it was all about learning the ropes while questioning how things could be done better.

“I learned the entire company,” she admits adding that she first came onboard to answer phones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Since joining, DiBenedetto has made numerous technology upgrades to the company — mostly utilizing tools the business was already paying for.

“I like to say there was a shed in that back that was never opened before,” she says. “I just went back, opened it and started digging around.”

Though she admits she didn’t go gung-ho with changes at first. Instead trying a few things here and there to speed up processes and work more efficiently.

“I’m a pretty conscious person,” DiBenedetto says. “My philosophy is more try it and track it. I like to start with just one technician and see how it goes before we roll it out to the whole team.”

Now, with five years under her belt, DiBenedetto says she’s more confident making decisions for Grassmaster Plus on her own.

“I used to go to him for everything to get approval,” she says. “Now I’m making some decisions on my own and running with them.”

Are you looking to attract private equity? Here’s what they look for!

It’s no secret that mergers and acquisitions are continuing to heat up across the green industry.

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During the Understanding Private Equity panel at WorkWave’s Beyond User Conference, panelists talked about what they first look out for when finding companies to buy.

“Valuations are starting to creep up a bit,” says John Moehn, president of ExperiGreen Lawn Care.

Moehn and other panelists shared there’s a multitude of things that are noted on a buyer’s scorecard when going through a sale — including everything from EBITA and what software the business is running on.

But here are a few other key factors that they are on the lookout for:

• Growth & profitability
• Customer & employee retention
• Level of recurring revenue
• Customer concentration
• A well-diversified business

“It’s not just about the value you have, but the value it creates for us as well,” Moehn notes as ExperiGreen’s recently done 19 acquisitions.

Check back with Lawn & Landscape for more coverage from the WorkWave event.