July 30, 2025

Sales: Turning Damages into Opportunities

15 minutes

Lights in the turf, grass running all the way up against a building or fence, low-laying branches, and more. Sometimes the landscape design sets up maintenance crews to fail by making it way too easy to damage properties. In this episode, Marty shares how landscape designers can be mindful of these things when creating plans and how account managers can use these damages as opportunities to sell enhancements. Looking for more work with your existing clients is a great way to drum up more sales!

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00:00 - Intro

01:18 - Appreciation and Team Morale

02:26 - Finding Opportunities in Client Properties

03:04 - Deep Relationships and Client Focus

04:23 - Sales Strategies and Client Engagement

06:23 - Route Density and Business Growth

08:43 - Practical Examples for Your Advantage

14:02 - Please Like & Share This Episode!

Show Notes

Focus on deep relationships over quantity: Build 40 thousand-foot deep wells rather than a thousand 40-foot deep wells. Concentrate on developing meaningful, long-term client relationships that generate significant ongoing business. "80% of that business came from 55 people. We could put 'em on a bus... about 70% of the $18 million worth of business that we will do this year is gonna come from about 30% of our clients."

Sell more to existing clients first: Before chasing new prospects, exhaust opportunities with current clients. Send handwritten notes, conduct property audits, and proactively identify additional services they need. "The best two opportunities are, number one, selling more to existing clients. We don't look at that enough."

Be a proactive professional consultant: Act like a doctor who identifies every possible issue. Point out problems before clients discover them to maintain credibility and avoid having to fix issues for free. "When you are a professional folks, that's what you should be doing... You're a consultant, you're there to tell them what you can do to help make their property look better."

Protect your property managers' reputation: Help property managers look good in front of their bosses by identifying issues before they become visible problems during site visits. "We would never want one of our property managers to look bad in front of their boss because we didn't tell them there was a dead tree or a drainage problem."

Identify maintenance hazards and design flaws: Look for low branches that could injure crew members, lighting without proper protection, or fencing that will get damaged during routine maintenance. Quote solutions proactively. "How is our team going to mow that and not damage those lights?... You need to cover your rear end."

Route density drives profitability: Actively pursue work near existing clients to maximize efficiency and minimize travel time between jobs. "Route density is picking up jobs that are by the ones that you already have... there is literally half a million dollars worth of maintenance work that we don't even need a truck for."

Every landscape needs improvement: Adopt the mindset that every property has potential enhancement opportunities waiting to be identified and quoted. "Every landscape in America could use a flat of pachysandra, metaphorically speaking... every landscape could use something."

Control the narrative on problems: If you identify and quote issues first, you can charge for solutions. If clients point out problems first, you may have to fix them for free. "If we point out to the client something's wrong on their property... we can probably get them to pay us to fix it. But if they have to point it out to us, we may be in a bad spot."

Think creatively about maintenance solutions: Look for innovative approaches like prairie areas or modified mowing patterns that can reduce costs while providing unique value. "We're gonna let about eight or nine acres of the area just kind of not be mowed and kind of look like a prairie... We ended up being able to give the client a much lower price."

Show appreciation for your team: Small gestures like carrying candy and recognizing good work create positive team culture and boost morale. "What can you do to let your team know you appreciate them and how can you make them smile?"

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips

The Grow Group

Grunder Landscaping

Marty Grunder LinkedIn

Stihl

...more