Landscape Management, November 2014
YOU DECIDE IF THERE IS A DIFFERENCE LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET November 2014 28 V I S TA L A N D S CA P E L IGH T I N G SOL U T IONS IN ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR Vistas well established way of doing business continues to empower success Specifi cation grade lighting solutions for wide ranging applications Vertically integrated manufacturing processes assure product integrity and accommodate customization On site reliability durability and ease of installation A level of customer service that is second to none Industry leading technical support and hands on training American made right down the line EXPERIENCE THE VISTA DIFFERENCE Explore all the resources that will prove invaluable for your business here vistapro com landscape 800 766 8478 www vistapro com i Design BuilD installation secured many high earning accounts with a niche sales strategy Hes always placed a strong emphasis on aesthetics and design integrity His eye for design is rooted in his background as a certifed landscape architect Prior to starting his company OBrien worked as a landscape architect designing large scale projects for developers He decided the work wasnt gratifying so he launched OBrien Co in 1993 He started with one employee whos still with the company and a single client He became involved with industry associations and began building a business he describes as a boutique landscape frm The company now has 29 employees and operates four to fve construction crews and two maintenance crews Its all In the detaIls OBrien trains his sales staff to educate prospective customers and learn about their personal preferences The process does not involve a checklist or questionnaire Instead OBrien and his staff walk the property and learn about the owners lifestyle and needs For instance if he sees a swing set in the yard OBrien may try to get the owner to think about how the property will look when the clients children are grown I dont have prepared statements when I sell OBrien says For us every property is different Theres no design formula with the same materials and same layout We look at each piece of ground and mold it into its unique space OBrien also uses visuals to show customers different possibilities That doesnt mean pictures on a cell phone he says Instead a portfolio should include professional detailed pictures OBrien shows customers before and after photos on his iPad in a slideshow format He also shows customers computergenerated designs on the iPad You need to have pictures of the details and thats where you can convince customers to spend more money OBrien says The focus on personalized service and proft margins helped the company weather the recession in 2008 2009 OBrien says The company didnt lay off any employees during the economic downturn OBrien preaches this consultative strategy to his sales team as part of an elevator speech he calls his 100000 landscape challenge During sales Continued from page 26
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