The New Year is fast approaching and right now you are immersed in Holiday. Yep, you are busy. But what about the days after all the trees and wreaths have come down? What about your green plant and maintenance sales

Plant The Seed
If you haven’t planted the seeds in November and December there will be no harvest in January or February and that is a shame. The lifeblood of every interiorscaper is the monthly recurring revenue, not one time Holiday Sales. Holiday is just the icing on the cake and not the cake itself. That is why it is imperative that even while you are hanging that wreath or making that bow you must also be tilling the soil for regular plantscape jobs. Keep in mind that, on average, it takes approximately 90 days from first appointment thru proposal, to install. And also keep in mind that it takes XXXXcontacts to get XXX appointments to generate XX proposals to get X contracts

 Put it on Paper
 I start helping my consulting clients and InnerCircle members by devising a Plan. I recommend you start one too. Make so many calls a day, so many appointments a week. Don’t keep the client waiting for that proposal. Get it to them ASAP. Set your goals and fill the squares. It’s important or otherwise all the pluses of November and December will be canceled out by January. And, since we are coming up on Year End, take some time now to review this year’s Sales Record. How much did you sell in Plants and Planters? How much in Guaranteed Maintenance Annualized? How much Holiday? Who didyou sell it to?   By teasing out the dollars generated by sales to the different market segments you’ll get an interesting snapshot of your company and, possibly, a map of where you want to concentrate efforts in the coming year. For example are you strong in building lobby sales? You might want to offer exterior blooming as well. Or, are you a giant with corporate offices? You might want to concentrate on this segment. This kind of information gives you a compass and is a powerful ,powerful tool. Take the time now and I promise you’ll be enlightened.