Selling premium landscape services means hearing “no” more often—and waiting longer for the right “yes.” In this episode of The Landscaper’s Guide Podcast, Jack Jostes sits down with Chris James of Perfect Cut Landscaping to talk candidly about rejection, long HOA sales cycles, and how top sales professionals stay confident through it all.

Chris shares real-world lessons from selling residential, commercial, and HOA landscape services in South Florida, including how to follow up without damaging relationships, why professionalism pays off months or years later, and how mindset, systems, and communication separate average sales reps from top performers. They also cover how AI, KPIs, and industry events are helping sales pros buy back time and close higher-quality work.

You’ll Learn:

• How top landscape sales pros handle rejection without losing confidence
• Why long HOA sales cycles are an advantage when handled correctly
• How professional follow-up leads to premium work later
• Practical ways AI can save time in estimating and communication
• How sharing KPIs helps align crews and leadership

Connect with Chris James

🌳 Perfect Cut Landscaping: https://561lawn.com/
📸 @perfectcutlandscaping
🏢 @perfectcutlandscaping

Get Started With The Landscaper’s Guide:

🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/

🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox

📅 See upcoming live and virtual events:
https://landscapersguide.com/events

In this solo episode of The Landscaper’s Guide Podcast, host Jack Jostes reflects on the hardest leadership lessons he learned last year—particularly around letting the wrong people stay too long, dealing with toxic behavior, and the personal toll poor people decisions can take on business owners. Jack shares real stories from his own company and from client conversations, offering an honest look at why leadership often gets harder before it gets clearer.

In the second half of the episode, Jack shifts gears and looks ahead to 2026. He previews what’s coming next at Ramblin Jackson, including new products, services, and systems designed to help landscape and snow companies grow with better sales processes, smarter automation, and less stress. This episode blends leadership insight with practical business direction for owners who want to build stronger teams and more scalable companies.

You’ll Learn

• Why waiting too long to let people go creates long-term stress and culture issues
• How to identify toxic behavior—even when performance looks “good on paper”
• What Jack learned about leadership fear, clarity, and accountability
• What new tools and services are coming to Ramblin Jackson in 2026
• Where Jack sees the biggest opportunities for landscape and snow companies next year

Connect With Jack Jostes

🌳 Ramblin Jackson: https://ramblinjackson.com/
👤 Connect with Jack Jostes on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackjostes/
📸 https://www.instagram.com/jackjostes/
🏢 https://www.instagram.com/ramblinjackson/

🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript:
https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/

🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky:
https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox

📅 See upcoming live and virtual events:
https://landscapersguide.com/events

Book a 15-Minute Marketing Brainstorm:

https://landscapersguide.com/brainstorm/

As the year winds down, landscape and snow business owners face important decisions around renewals, pricing adjustments, and profitability. In this episode of The Landscaper’s Guide Podcast, Jack Jostes is joined by Maggie Wymore from ServiceTitan to discuss what service businesses should be reviewing at year-end to finish strong and plan confidently for the year ahead.

Maggie shares practical insights on reviewing financial inputs, evaluating profitability by service line, improving renewal conversations, and using tools like site audits and client budget worksheets to increase retention and enhancement sales. If you want clearer numbers and better conversations heading into next season, this episode will help you get there.

You’ll Learn

• What to review before closing the year and renewing contracts
• How to evaluate profitability by service line
• Why clean financial inputs matter more than reports
• How year-end planning improves retention and enhancement sales

Connect with Maggie Wymore from ServiceTitan

🌳 Aspire Software: youraspire.com
👤 Connect with Maggie Wymore: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-wymore-6811b247/
🏢 Aspire on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aspiresoftware

Connect with Jack Jostes and The Landscaper’s Guide

🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript:
 https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/

🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky:
 https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox

📅 See upcoming live and virtual events:
 https://landscapersguide.com/events

In this episode, Jack Jostes sits down with Vania Mickos of Mullin Landscape to explore her remarkable journey from growing vegetables on her family’s farm in Brazil to becoming an account manager in Baton Rouge. Vania shares how grit, agronomy expertise, and a deep commitment to kindness shaped her leadership style and career path.

We discuss her early start in agriculture at age 11, her transition into agronomy, her move to Europe, and eventually her growth into the U.S. landscape industry. Her powerful message about communication and kindness as core leadership skills makes this episode a must-listen for landscape and snow pros.

You'll Learn:

• How agronomy shaped Vania’s career in landscaping
• Why kindness and communication are essential leadership skills
• The role of multilingual skills in managing teams
• How early entrepreneurship impacts long-term career success

Connect With Today’s Guest

🌳 Mullin: https://www.mullinlandscape.com/

👤 Connect with Vania Mickos: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vaniamickos/

📸 @vania.mickos

🏢 @mullinlandscape

Get Started With The Landscaper’s Guide

🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/

🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox

📅 See upcoming live and virtual events: https://landscapersguide.com/events

After five years, 300 episodes, more than 75,000 audio downloads, and over 110,000 YouTube views, Jack Jostes shares the biggest lessons he’s learned from producing The Landscaper’s Guide. In this milestone solo episode, Jack breaks down the marketing mindset that has helped hundreds of landscape and snow companies grow with social media, storytelling, consistency, and simple video production.

You’ll hear the real behind-the-scenes journey—starting the show in a tiny shed, leveling up gear over time, learning video and audio by doing, and why “done beats perfect” remains the #1 success principle for content-driven landscape companies. Jack also shares the single best microphone setup to instantly improve your social media videos.

You’ll Learn:

• Why consistency matters more than fancy gear
• The mindset shifts landscapers must make to win on social media
• How Jack built the show from a shed to a full studio
• The surprising gear that delivers the biggest video upgrade
• Why one weekly video could transform your marketing in 12 months
  
  
  

Connect with Jack Jostes:
 🌳 Ramblin Jackson: https://ramblinjackson.com
👤 Connect with Jack Jostes: https://linkedin.com/in/jackjostes
📸 https://instagram.com/jackjostes
🏢 https://instagram.com/ramblinjackson

 🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
📅 See upcoming live and virtual events: https://landscapersguide.com/events

In this episode, Jack interviews Edward Morales, second-generation owner of Tropical Landscaping Services in Buckeye, Arizona. After years of the company relying on hard work and word-of-mouth without a clear sales process, Edward stepped back into the business and realized it needed structure, clarity, and consistency. He rebuilt their sales process from scratch and discovered how communication and predictable workflows create a better client experience.

Edward also shares how he uses AI as a thinking partner—clarifying decisions, improving communication, and refining processes without replacing the personal touch. If you’re a landscape or snow contractor looking to modernize your operations, sharpen your sales process, or understand how AI actually fits into a real-world company, this conversation is full of practical takeaways.

You’ll Learn:

• How Edward rebuilt TLS’s first-ever sales process
• Why structure and clarity are essential to a great client experience
• How AI can enhance communication and leadership
• What it takes to grow a multi-decade family business
• Why refining processes separates pros from amateurs

Connect With Today’s Guest

🌳 Tropical Landscaping Services: https://tropicallandscapingservice.com/
👤 Connect with Edward Morales: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edward-morales-67115437a/
🏢 @tropical_landscapingaz

Get Started With The Landscaper’s Guide

🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
📅 See upcoming live and virtual events: https://landscapersguide.com/events

In this episode, Jack Jostes breaks down one of the simplest and most profitable sales activities any landscape company can run: the Call Jam. Jack shares why calling customers still outperforms every other marketing channel, how to structure a winning Call Jam with your team, and how to prioritize your leads so you focus on the prospects most likely to buy. He also explains the Hopper Dropper method for doubling your response rates and gives a real example of a landscape company that generated $52,000 in slow-season revenue using this exact strategy.

If you want a repeatable system for booking more appointments, reactivating cold leads, and closing jobs faster—without adding more complexity—this episode gives you the entire Call Jam playbook.

You’ll Learn:

• Why calling customers still beats email and text
• How to run a high-energy, high-accountability Call Jam
• The Hopper Dropper method for doubling callbacks
• How to prioritize hot, warm, and cold leads
• A real example of $52K generated from two Call Jams
  
  

Connect With Ramblin Jackson & Jack Jostes
🌳 Ramblin Jackson: https://ramblinjackson.com
👤 Connect with Jack Jostes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackjostes/
📸 @jackjostes
🏢 @ramblinjackson

Get Started With The Landscaper’s Guide
 🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
🥓 Get your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
📅 Upcoming live & virtual events: https://landscapersguide.com/events

In today’s episode, Jack sits down with Jeff Riddle, founder of Alterra Landscape Design in Dallas, to talk about what it really takes to keep a landscape company growing—even when the market softens. Jeff shares how Dallas is seeing more competition than ever before, why lead volume has dipped, and the surprising reasons many landscape firms are feeling anxious even in a still-healthy market. Yet instead of cutting back, Jeff explains why Alterra has intentionally increased marketing investment, upgraded their website, and leaned into long-term branding strategies.

You’ll also hear how video, reviews, deep content, and boots-on-the-ground storytelling help Alterra stand out in a market with 75% more competitors than two decades ago. From navigating AI-driven search to using ChatGPT for content creation, Jeff offers practical, real-world lessons landscape companies can apply right now.

You’ll Learn:

• Why cutting marketing in a downturn is a costly mistake
• How long-term marketing investments “harvest” results years later
• What landscape companies need to know about AI-driven search
• Why deep content, reviews, and video outperform competitors
• How Alterra creates steady demand in an oversaturated market

Connect With Today's Guest:
 🌳 Alterra Landscape Design: https://alterradesignllc.com/
👤 Connect with Jeffery Riddle: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jefferyriddle/
🏢 Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alterradesignllc/
📘 Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rockmygarden

🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
📅 See upcoming live and virtual events:
https://landscapersguide.com/events

In this episode of The Landscaper’s Guide, Jack Jostes interviews Stacey Hinson, Director of Sales at Snow Systems, one of the nation’s leading commercial snow removal companies. Stacey shares her inspiring journey from starting as an office manager to selling over $50 million in commercial snow contracts while helping grow Snow Systems from a Chicago-based operation to a national service provider in 44 states.

You’ll hear how Stacey earned credibility as one of the few female sales leaders in the snow industry, how she leads with honesty and communication, and why building long-term client relationships beats chasing new bids every winter. This episode is a must-listen for snow and landscape business owners looking to strengthen sales, trust, and retention.

You’ll Learn:

• How Stacey built trust in a male-dominated industry
• Why honesty and communication close more long-term contracts
• The sales principles behind $50 million in snow revenue
• How Snow Systems scaled from local to national operations
• Tips for retaining customers year after year

Guest Contact:
🌳 Snow Systems: https://www.snowsystems.com
👤 Connect with Stacey Hinson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-hinson-39440957
📧 [email protected]
📞 (847) 808-7800
🏢 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/snow_systems_nationwide/
📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/snowsystems

 🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
📅 See upcoming live and virtual events: https://landscapersguide.com/events

When you start a landscape company, you wear every hat — salesperson, account manager, and operations lead. But as your business grows, scaling becomes harder without a defined process.

In this episode, 2025 Landscape Leader of the Year Stuart Ward of Buckhead Landscape & Design shares how his Atlanta-based company created a clear and repeatable sales process that drives consistent growth, improves onboarding, and gives every team member a roadmap to success.

If you’ve ever struggled with unpredictable sales or employee turnover, Stuart’s practical framework will show you how to build systems that scale — without losing quality or customer experience.

You’ll Learn:

• How to eliminate chaos by documenting your sales process
• Why consistency and accountability are the foundation of scalable growth
• How Buckhead Landscape & Design uses systems to train new employees faster
• The benefits of measuring, refining, and improving your process over time

Connect With Today’s Guest:
🌳 Buckhead Landscape & Design: https://buckheadlandscapedesign.com/
👤 Connect with Stuart Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuart-ward-a918522/
🏢 Company Instagram: https://instagram.com/buckheadlandscapedesign/
📘 Company Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckheadLandscapeDesign

Get Started with Ramblin Jackson
 🎧 Watch the full episode + read the transcript: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
🥓 Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
📅 See upcoming live and virtual events: https://landscapersguide.com/events

Learn more about Ramblin Jackson: https://ramblinjackson.com