Let’s Hear it for the Extras 
It’s March the 29^th and the old adage that “Spring comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb”, is true.  It’s 65 degrees here in Ohio and the buds are on the trees and the sun is bright and warm.  Winter, finally, is over.  So, big deal you say?  Well, let’s think about it.  Your job, your life as an interiorscape salesperson just got a whole lot easier.  To begin with you won’t have to wear a heavy coat.  That’s good for at least 5 minutes extra a day.  And, you won’t have to scrape snow and stuff off your windshield a couple of times a day.  There’s another 15 minutes.  And, driving will be more expeditious (at least until the road construction crew gets back on line) that’s another 13 minutes savings per day.  Plus, the sunshine will give you added energy - another 10 minutes.

So, Partner, What Are You Going to do With All that Extra Time?
 That extra 45 minutes a day? 
How about making a solemn vow not to just fritter it away.  How ‘bout making two extra phone calls, writing one extra letter, and stopping at one extra prospective clients office a day?

Two phone calls, one letter, and one client visit can produce great dividends.  Multiply them by, say ninety days of spring and come the dog days of summer you should be living high.

Work Smart 
The good salesperson is always working, the great salesperson is always working - smart.  Maybe, its time to pull out those old non-accepted bids and make some calls.  Remember, you’re not the only one feeling the positive effects of Spring - so are your prospects.

And, truth be told, there are other ways to streamline your life and to do so all year long.  A good library of resources.  Now, there’s a time saver.  Paperwork that really communicates.  Another winner.  Check your paper trail at least once a year and get rid of the dead wood and plant new saplings.   Travel costs rising?  Get a corporate gas card that gives you at least 5% rebate or discount on your fuel bills, get a corporate price for oil changes, and, as a last ditch effort, consider adding a fuel surcharge to your client’s bill.  This last idea may only be a couple of dollars a month but with over 200 accounts it adds up.  Example:  $2.00 per month surcharge x 200 accounts = $400.00 per month or $4,800 per year.

Ah, Spring.  The season to renew, rethink, rework your interiorscape business.

Now go out there and get‘em Tiger.

Sad but True 
Just as every company has a toxic employee, they also have at least one client that drives them up the wall.  The client’s knowledge of plants is sparse at best and they think their job is to to always get the most out of their vendors both dollarwise and workwise.  Yep, they drive you nuts.  "Why is this leaf yellow,  Barb?  I hate seeing yellow leaves.  How long before you are going to replace this plant?  Shouldn’t I be given a credit off my maintenance monthly bill?"   And, worst of all, is the fact that most of this questioning and complaining falls on your poor, dedicated technician.

Game Plan 
Just as no General goes into battle without a Battle Plan and  no coach lets his team take the field without a Game Plan, you  need one too.  The best time to form your plan is while you are small, new, or both.  Before you even have a difficult client.  First of all, understand that the contact person represents the real client.  This is the contact’s job and they are protecting their young. like a Mama Lion.  Ah, but what if you helped them do their job even better?  What if you helped them become the best, the most knowledgeable contact person in the whole world of Horticulture? 

Set Expectations
Inexperienced managers think that because they are paying monthly fees for service and replacements, there should never be a yellow leaf.  They aren’t ignorant, they just need education and experience. That’s where you come in.  Immediately after installation, walk with the client to view the job.  And, while you are walking, explain that the plants are the only  living thing in the office other than the people.  And, as a living entity, they are constantly growing and changing.  This means new, green leaves and this means old, yellow leaves.  It is a 24 hour continual process.  He should expect a fair number of yellow leaves and that is not a sign that you aren’t doing your job, but, rather that the plants are acclimating to their new home or growing.  Point to the ridges on a dracena cane.  "See these, you say?  That is where a leaf "used to be".  A sign of growth , that’s how they get taller."   Then look at the 16 foot tall Ficus trees.  Tell the client that "these trees need to acclimate.  Expect them to drop 50% of their leaves in the next few weeks and then they will start to fill out again.  The just need to adapt to their new home".  Two weeks later you return and as the two of you walk through the account, I bet the contact will tell you that the Ficus Trees are doing  "just great.  They only dropped 20% of their leaves not 50%".   So instead of getting an irate call that the trees had dropped (om’gosh) 20% of their leaves, instead you  are told that "you guys are doing a great job, they ‘ve only dropped 20% of their leaves".  See, it’s all about Expectations.

Replacement Time Frames
Often we shoot ourselves in the foot by promising unrealistic standards that the client would never have thought to ask for in the first place if we hadn’t mentioned it.  Example,  "We make replacements within 48 hours"  some say.  Why set the bar so high?   The client doesn’t have a fixed time frame in mind for replacements only the one yu give him.  Oh, it shouldn’t take a month but give yourself a reasonable goal.  Think of the stress, the pressure, don’t kill yourself or your techs.  Instead, let the client know that most replacements are made within XX days but every so often due to scarcity of the plant material or weather or the angle of the moon, it may be a few days later.  Reassure the client that when that occurs you will have someone put the empty container or the dying plant out of sight until the replacement can take place.  That way you have made your job so very much easier and have still have a happy client.
    
Blooming Plant Programs  
Once I tracked for a month the client calls my office received.  I was shocked to find that the majority were about their Bloomers.  "My mums are dead, my kalanchoe are crispy,  get out here right away."  Why all the calls?  Well, bloomers are colorful.  They catch attention.  Plus, they are usually positioned where everyone sees them and, most importantly, they are a high cost.  Guys,you had better have a Plan.

Does it have to be Real? 
I used to keep a couple of dozen "bloomer backups" in the warehouse.  They were dried Liatrice, purple, staged in styrofoam in 6" grow pots.  Then, when we discovered that the mums had whitefly we would install the dried material instead even for just 1 week.  Then, when the healthy mums came in,  we’d make the switch.  The client loved them.  To quote him,"They’re so unusual".  In fact, later that year he expressly requested we put them in again for a few weeks he liked them so much.  I loved it.  Happy client and lower costs.

You Get the Idea
By thinking ahead, remembering situations in the past, by educating, setting expectations and by letting the contact person know you see a big part of your job as making their job easier, their rough edges just might be smoothed.   And, if they are around for a time and if you are as well, you just might look back someday and see that you’ve become great partners and friends and they are one of your very best Clients.

Hey, don’t laugh, it could happen.

My Zebra Jacket
I have a black jacket that has zebras all over it and I usually wear it when I’m speaking.  I do this to remind everyone that one of the best ways to sell is to include a "zebra" in amongst all the "horses’.

In This Case
A "zebra" can be an unusual plant or planter, a prop next to the Holiday tree, or an orchid color bowl.  A "zebra" is anything that grabs the client’s attention.  Something they can’t get out of their minds and the "hook" that gets you the job.
 
The Story  
To illustrate I’d like to tell you a story.  Years ago my IP company was asked to come up with a design for a small strip shopping center.  The main focal point was the inground planter that surrounded the elevator.  This all happenend many, many years ago when Southwest Design was just starting.  Now, I traveled quite a bit at that time so when I saw the colors chosen, turquoise, beige and deep rust, I knew that they were going Southwest even though we were in Ohio (Southwest Ohio though). 

Four Other Bidders
All five of us were told, "the best design gets the job, not the lowest price".  The day of the Presentation, while the other companies waited outside, I was ushered into a room with 6 people seated around a conference table.  I went through my pitch, talking about  the terra cotta planters and the Southwest theme I wanted to use.  Couple of the decisionmakers smiled and I thought I was doing pretty well.

Bring Out the Zebra  
Then I explained that I intended using needleless cactii and succulents and they all nodded.  I continued.  " And, of course,……….tumbleweeds. "  Instantly, 6 pairs of eyes blinked and then opened wide.  "Tumbleweeds?," said the Boss.  "Yep, tumbleweeds, I replied.  You can’t have a real Southwestern design without tumbleweeds.  Not only that, I said, but you will be the only place in all of Cincinnati to have them.  Heck, they might be the only ones in all of Ohio."

Set the Hook
Well, that did it,  They couldn’t get the image of tumbleweeds out of their heads.  We got the job and we definitely were not the low bidder.

The Hard Part
The installation went off without a hitch.  The hardest part turned out to be two weeks earlier as I chased a couple of tumbleweeds down a Las Vegas street in a pretty brisk wind.  Who knew they were so prickly?  Still, I managed to catch them, box ‘em up and ship them to Ohio where they "lived" for years.

Let’s hear it for the Zebras.

The Sales Blitz
For the past few days I’ve been on the phone.  I’m calling  a bunch of TOPsider customers - past, present, and future.  I’m doing a SALES BLITZ!  First I thought of a mailing but you know how much stuff you get and it lacks the personal touch I was trying to achieve.  I’ve only just begun but well, onward and upward as I always say.

 Get Caught Up With Your Customers 
It’s amazing what I’m discovering.  I’ve found that there are a lot of you that can’t, for one reason or another, get to the trade shows. Still you want information, literature, and just to talk to another ‘scaper.  I’ve answered questions, taken names for the TOPsider e-mail newsletter and I’m having a ball talking with all of you.  I also highly recommend you join my Inner Circle.  In the next few days we are starting an in depth Sales Training Module.  The Newsletter and the Conference call will focus on Sales, Sales, and more Sales.  What to say, what to ask, with plenty of tips.  If increased Sales is your goal, you really should join.  The fee is $49.95 a month and the time to sign up is now since the fee to new subscribers will be going up May 1st. 

What You Can Learn  
I’ve discovered that the ‘scaper biz is slowly coming out of the decline we’ve been in for the past four years.  There is still some attrition of clients (they’ve either cut back on services or gone to a lower bidder), still clients want to be loyal and appreciate your hard efforts.  I’ve learned that there is new work out there and that’s a very good thing.  Some ‘scapers have added services like containerized exterior and have increased their Holiday offerings.  Still it isn’t easy.  We still have employment problems, workmen’s compensation issues, increases in operating costs, and the list goes on and on.

Ya Gotta Have a Plan 
So, knowing how busy you are and how much you have on your plate, I still have to ask, “What does your Five Year Plan look like?”  Its so easy to just keep doing the day to day routine, putting out fires along the way and, then, one day you look up and 5 years have gone by and you are definitely not where you wanted to be.  Scary, huh?  You betcha!  Now, today set aside some time for reflection and projection.  Come up with game plans “A”, “B”, and “C” for your company’s future.  Best case, worst case, and middle ground scenarios.  And don’t just pull numbers from mid air.  By looking at your past history you can develop some pretty realistic scenarios.  How much will you grow each year?  15%?  20%?  For each scenario what will this mean in employment numbers?  Will you need additional non-service people?  A new facility?  Renewed leases?  And on and on.  Develop the scenarios and then periodically track them.  And, what if your best guess 5-year plan isn’t so rosy?  What can you do to change that?  What costs can you cut?  What new income stream can you tap into?  You get the idea.  The whole thing is to avoid any nasty surprises.  You are on a journey, my friend.  You know what the beginning was like, now how about along the way?

 Stay in Touch
Now, back to the SALES BLITZ.  When was the last time you called your clients just to say “Hi”, “Thank You”, and “Is there anything we can do for you”?  I highly recommend it.  You don’t have to call them all at once.  Divide your list into 3 or 4 segments in alphabetical order and tackle one segment at a time.  Bite off small chunks to keep the task from seeming overwhelming.  Maybe your goal is to call 30 clients per week.  A very doable number.  Have pen and paper and work orders handy ‘cause you’ll probably get several requests for something.

Now go out there and get ‘em Tiger!

Advertising Costs
A few years ago M.J.Gilhooley (of Gilhooley Consulting and Plants At Work fame) gave a terrific presentation on how small companies can make a huge impact not through advertising that costs money, but through publicity which costs nothing.  She cites the example of The Body Shop, a company that used no advertising but massive amounts of publicity to achieve worldwide name recognition.  M. J. suggests that “branding” is built through publicity and that “branding” creates an emotional connection, elicits a response, creates trust and makes the audience feel good as opposed to “advertising” which is viewed as self-serving.

You Can Do This 
Now, how can the average ‘scaper company achieve brand status in their community?  By figuring out what may be newsworthy and of interest to the local media. Here are two examples from my own experience.

Think Photo Op  
Several years ago around Thanksgiving we were going to be installing decorated trees in our local library.  I called our local newspaper, spoke to the writer in charge of local human-interest items and suggested she have a photographer on hand while we carried these beautiful items of the season into the building.  A few days later there it was in the Middletown Journal, a photo of two Something Different employees (in company uniforms) carrying in a beautiful tree.  The caption underneath said, “Something Different beautifies the Library for the season”.  We got tons of comments.  Now why would the Newspaper think this event  worthy of a free photo?  Because we were doing this the week before Thanksgiving, the beginning of the Holiday Shopping Season and the paper has all those retail advertisers.  Perfect win/win situation.

Another time we were installing a 30 foot Christmas Tree in a local Riverboat Casino.  I met with the Casino marketing people and gave them particulars about this huge tree. The item they jumped on was “27,346” white lights on the tree.  This number was then used in all their media releases newsprint, radio, and direct mail and, in most instances, our company name was part of the article.  The next year they used, at our suggestion, a picture of the tree on the Holiday Greetings postcard they sent to all their patrons.  Talk about free advertising.  Through a little moxie combined with a little creativity ,we had established ourselves as the local Holiday Décor Interiorscape company.  And it cost us – NOTHING!  The opportunities are there – you just have to work it.

We Need Stories
The headline read, “ODIFEROUS PLANT DRAWS CROWD”.  The article that followed this attention grabber described in detail the titan arum plant.  It explained how this unusual plant only bloomed every 5 years or so, that the bloom only lasted a few days, and that the nauseating smell it gave off reminded its visitors of garbage or the stench of a corpse.   Still, thousands of people came to see it.  In fact, crowds jammed the U. S. Botanic Gardens to see (and smell) this horticultural oddity.  Over the next few days, accounts of the titan arum plant appeared on TV and in magazines and newspapers across the country.  It was big news.

 We Need More Stories
Then, I began to wonder.  How could we ‘scapers, plant people all, elicit more attention and enthusiasm for our own palette of interior plants?  Is there a lesson we can learn from the foul smelling titan arum?

There Are Lots of Unique Stories  
Clients, for the most part, lump all our plants into one all encompassing entity - “green plants”.  Oh, some may recognize a few by name, the ficus, pothos, and the ubiquitous “corn plant”, but usually clients do not differentiate one plant from another.  I believe this is because they do not know the unique story each possesses and that is a major failing on our part.  It’s the same as attending a Dog Show and seeing all the entries as “just dogs” when, in fact, there are hundreds of different breeds each with a unique coat or color or personality.  So, just as the announcer educates the audience about the difference between the Dalmatian and the Bloodhound, we need to tell our plants stories.

What Stories You Ask?
  Well, take for example the Kentia Palm - besides residing in almost every hotel known to Man, the client might just find it fascinating that the Kentia is grown from seed.  It takes years and years to reach the height of 7 feet and because of this slow growth are more costly than many other plants the same height.  Or, what about the Pothos plant?  Have we explained how this plant grows in the Rainforest under a thick canopy of foliage and that to survive it has to climb and climb and climb to reach light?  It almost brings a tear to the eye.  And, what about the twisty Drac Marginata?  Have you explained that every place there is ridge on its stalk that is where a leaf used to be?  I did this once and the client was in absolute awe.  Hand to heart, I heard her repeating this fact in hushed tones to other co-workers all that afternoon as we installed the other plants.  Trust me, this particular client never again thought of a Drac Marginata as “just a plant”.  And, I’ll bet she will never empty her leftover coffee into its container either.

We Need to Look With Fresh Eyes
Probably, we fail at this story telling because we see the plants day in and day out and maybe, over time, we have lost some of our amazement.  I’d like to see us get it back again and share these stories with our clients.  I’d like to see us develop a database of all the stories for all the plants we work with.  Then when you get a new client give them a printout of the stories for each of the plants you just installed.  Keep the stories unique and romantic and not about care or pests.  And get creative about how you present the information.  Fill a Baby Scrapbook or a School Yearbook.  Suggest they share this information with the other employees.  Maybe this will stop all of them from dumping coffee.  Suggest they print a Plant Profile in the company Newsletter.  Sounds crazy I know but these efforts encourage bonding with the plants.  Don’t laugh, you know that clients bond with their plants all the time without any input from us.  Can you imagine what might happen if we encouraged it?  Just one more way to form a tie with your client, promote your product, and differentiate you and your service. 

Thanks "Corpse Plant" 
Now, if you do this and it has positive results, you can thank that rank smelling, once every 5 year blooming, crowd drawing plant the titan arum.

Think Summer
TOPsiders leases office space here in Ohio and every year in the middle of our hot summer weather, a Good Humor Ice Cream truck pulls up outside our office.  People from our landlord’s office smilingly hand out ice cream, cold drinks, and candy.  It’s their way of saying “thank you for your business” and letting us meet them face to face.  Talk about a great goodwill gesture.  They do it every year and let us know a month in advance of the day and the approximate time.  Even though it’s just an ice cream bar, it always brings smiles to our faces.

I Know that Snow is on the Ground 
Still, Summer will be here at some point and when it gets really hot outside you will have this opportunity but it takes planning now.  First, I thought about client retention, doing it for existing clients, than I realized it would only work for smaller clients with few employees.  I can’t imagine doing it for a large downtown multi-story, 1,000 plus employee firm.

Then I had another idea.  What if you did this for specifiers of our services – the 5 man architectural firm, the local office furniture dealership with a design division?  What if you did it for the management staff at the Shopping Mall or the rental office personnel at the high-end real estate division where you do the model homes?  You get the idea.

It’s a unique idea that while memorable it only works for certain situations.  But it does work.  Imagine you the scaper salesperson pulling up behind the Good Humor truck, jingle bells ringing, six or seven architects coming out smiling, laughing, ordering their ice cream, talking to you, the interiorscape salesperson, taking your card.  Then imagine a few weeks later when you call and ID yourself as the “ice cream guy”.  There just has to be a job buried in there somewhere among the chocolate sprinkles.  Now even though it’s not hot and muggy outside – yet, go get’em Tiger!