Landscape Management, November 2014
i Design BuilD installation How to sell a landscape experience Chicago area contractor maximizes profit with his 100000 sales pitch By Jonathan Katz good job Jim oBrien attributes the success of his company oBrien Co landscape to focusing on quality and profit over volume Continued on page 28 Jim oBrien LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET November 2014 26 PHOTO OBrien CO LandsCaPe im OBrien encourages his customers to be active participants in the development of their landscapes The owner of Wilmette Ill based OBrien Co Landscape believes property owners are willing to invest more in their properties if he sells them as an experience rather than a landscape For example OBrien has been known to purposefully leave out a single patio brick or an unplanted plant after an installation job We tell them you are going to plant that so you can have pride and ownership in your landscape OBrien says His knack for connecting with customers on a personal level helped grow his residential landscape frm into a 32 million business over 21 years In his frst year revenue was approximately 170000 Part of OBriens success is related to a focus on profit and quality instead of volume he says Design build accounts for approximately 80 percent of OBriens business The remaining 20 percent is lawn maintenance With such an emphasis on design build OBrien says he cant afford to offer free designs to customers Landscape contractors who dont charge for designs set a bad precedent for the industry he says This industry is plagued with people giving away free ideas and free designs OBrien says I frmly believe you have to charge for that stuff If you present a nice product people have to be willing to pay for it Its not a commodity or something that should be just given away Its intellectual property that you need to protect While OBrien has lost some potential jobs because of the design fees he has kubota skid steers Kubota Tractor Corp will enter a new market in 2015 when it releases its SSv65 and SSv75 skidsteers Among other features the machines have an overhead front door and optional high flow hydraulics Year of the The National Garden bureau dubbed the Coleus and Gaillardia the annual and perennial flowers of its 2015 Year of the program respectively Cat produCts Caterpillar beefed up its product offerings releasing its 297D and 297D XHP multi terrain loaders and its 903C wheel loader
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