By Jacki Hart CLM
Prosperity Partners Program Manager

Last March, I remarked on the great Leaders’ Summit put on by Landscape Management Network (LMN) in Collingwood, Ont. Having just returned from the event this year, I am unable to resist sharing my experience with you once again.

LMN have outdone themselves and raised the bar higher again this year. The event featured two days of professional development workshops great keynote speakers, fun break-out sessions and opportunities to meet peers from across North America.

I asked some of our Ontario members what they took away from the event. Below are their top answers.

Develop your marketing and sales strategy
From one of LMN CEO Mark Bradley’s workshops, here is a list of questions Mark included in his recommendations for developing a marketing and sales strategy:

1. What type or work are we going to do?
2. Where do we see the best opportunities?
3. What are customers asking for?
4. Who are we planning to work for?
5. Where are we going to do business?
6. How are we going to obtain new clients?
7. What worked last year and what didn’t?
8. Are we sending out the right message?
9. Is our website accurately showing the type of work we are trying to sell?
10. Do we have a clearly repeatable sales process that communicates value to clients?
11. Do we have a unique selling proposition (i.e. best in class service, fastest response time, unique production methods, higher quality, more personal service, etc.)?
12. Do we show we care by tailoring conversations to meet actual client needs and form relationships?
13. Do we identify customer’s desired result and sell that outcome?
14. Do we create customer-focused proposals with flexible business terms?
15. Do we follow up and show our gratitude for their business?
16. Do we measure the results of our sales and marketing programs?

 

Create and use a quarterly performance evaluation template

Scott Wentworth of Wentworth Landscapes shared his Six Step Performance Review System:

1. Start of the season: Ensure the team knows the goals for the season as well as three- and five-year goals. Have a detailed action plan to meet goals, including detailed roles and responsibilities, and updated performance evaluation forms which mirror the roles and responsibilities of each position.
2. Personal development plans: Everyone has one created with their direct supervisor —detailed with goals for technical, management and personal growth for the first three months.
3. Performance evaluations: Every position has six to seven key performance responsibilities. Review evaluation forms as part of employee personal development plans for the year.
4. Last week of June: Review progress relative to the personal development plan, performance evaluation (completed by each the worker and supervisor, then compared). Update personal development plan for the next 12 weeks.
5. First week of September: Repeat step 4.
6. First week of December: Repeat step 4. The total score on their final performance evaluation will count toward calculating employee profit sharing, bonus entitlement or consideration for promotion.

 

Consistency and measurement

Mike Lysecki, CTO at LMN, shared some important points as part of his job costing strategy.
 

Keys to mastering consistency:

1. Are there repeatable systems for staff to follow?
2. Is there clear information and task assignment?
   1. What are we here to do?
   2. When do we have to complete this task?
   3. Who is responsible for what?
   4. How do we communicate? How are we being measured?
3. Training. What is really required and how well is it working?
4. Accountability. If they can clock in, they can track everything else you ask them to.

 

Keys to mastering measurement:

1. What do we really need to measure? What do we need to pay attention to?
2. How simple can we make it (while still being effective)? “What can’t be made simple, can’t be made clear. What can’t be made clear, won’t get done.”
3. Are these measurements going to drive the correct results?
   1. Speed vs. quality?
   2. Job profit vs. accurate tracking?
   3. Job profit vs. overall profit?
   4. Will measuring result in employees thinking: “Show me how you will measure me and I will show you how I will behave.”

All great advice, which at some point in time, probably should be deployed in your business if it isn’t already (along with all the things you learned at Congress and other workshops).

One of the parting conversations I had with one of our members was probably my biggest take-away. He and his wife attended both days of the Summit and were stressed about how little time they had to apply and implement everything they learned.

My advice to them, and to those who leave an event with their heads spinning is to slow down and create an initiative strategy. First, identify what’s broken in your business and what needs attention or changing the most. Next, adapt, adopt and implement new tools that will fit with those challenges. Deposit the rest of the great ideas into your solutions tool box for future use when you need them or can fully implement them.

It’s important you remain focused and realize the best solution is to introduce each change at the right time. Customize and adapt before you adopt.

Use only the those tools your business needs now, and use only those you are sure will get you where you want to go.

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Jacki Hart may be contacted at peertopeer@landscapeontario.com.

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