Landscape Management, October 2013

BESTPRACTICES BRUCE WILSON The author of the Wilson Oyler Group is a 30 year industry veteran Reach him at bwilson@ wilson oyler com Finish strong for a good year W hatever your economic outlook ending your business year positively is important Avoid slipping from a good year into a so so year by never letting your guard down Its imperative when things are looking up not to ease up on the sales efforts and watch your profits slip away To that end if your year has been disappointing dont give up You can certainly make it better with a strong focus There are two sides to finishing strong revenue management and cost management And focusing on both sides at the same time will give you the most leverage Improving revenue One of the most immediate opportunities is in upsells or enhancements Make this is a focus Some companies run contests or give incentives to those who sell the most or exceed their targets Give guidance to less experienced employees who might start to nickel and dime your customers by trying to oversell or sell things that clients dont need Give them ideas or consider promotions that move inventory these can be especially effective Fall is a great time to sell renovation and overseeding so lawns look great next season Some other proactive customer centric ideas include helping clients prepare for winter offering enhancements related to drainage as a LANDSCAPEMANAGEMENT NET OCTOBER 2013 8 result of heavy rains replacing wear spots in turf and beds from wear and tear removing plant material nearing the end of its life cycle freshening entry areas or vacant spaces to increase property value or reducing maintenance costs through water savings modified irrigation or using drought tolerant plant material Another efficient technique is to offer discounts to get pending proposals closed if done before Dec 31 Managing costs Your best opportunity to recover savings is to productively manage your labor For example dont replace positions if someone leaves Youll most likely be reducing labor as winter approaches so its more beneficial for crews to work some overtime than to add an inexperienced replacement who has to be laid off in a month or two Also a common mistake is not reducing labor quickly enough Field managers always hang on to people too long because they think they might need them and they dont like to lay people off Senior management has to drive this labor reduction process or labor dollars will be wasted either ruining a good year or adding to a bad year You get only one chance to do it right Another savings area is a well managed inventory control system Create a detailed database of equipment assets and supplies to prevent adding unnecessary purchases or spending money you dont have Hold off on requests for equipment or tools that you probably can get by without The workload is declining and with a little effort you likely can move equipment around and postpone purchasing until next seasons buildup For a successful yearend you must drive the last quarter strategically Delegating could work but if you delegate to an employee who loses focus or gets busy even the best intentions slip If you own the focus you own the results Its imperative when things are looking up not to ease up on the sales effort and watch your profits slip away