We've had an exceptionally wet summer here in Southwest Ohio: we had almost 9 inches of rain in August when normal for us is about 3. This summer has been marked by flash flooding, not drought.
I know our audience is reading this all over the country. For some of you this problem will be relatable, for others you're probably praying for more rain.
Here's the thing about what we do though: for a savvy salesperson there are always opportunities. Here are three things my sales team is focused on right now:
Weather Issues Impact Properties
You know what we're proposing a lot of right now? Drainage solutions. You know what we'd be proposing a lot of if we had a drought this summer instead? Watering visits.
No matter what the weather has done for you this year, look around and see what problems it may be causing for your clients and then propose ways to solve them. This isn't just a way for you to find more sales, it's also a way to be a real, valuable partner for your clients. We can protect their homes and investments by proactively suggesting fixes.
Look Ahead
It's Labor Day weekend and we have just 4 months left to make the most of 2026. At Grunder Landscaping Co., we have a couple of big commercial installations that should be starting, but we know that delays happen with those. So we're looking at what jobs we have sold that could move up if we have space, and going ahead and marking utilities on all jobs on the schedule for the next month now. We want to give ourselves as much flexibility as we can on the schedule.
We're also looking for enhancements and revisiting old proposals to drum up sales to fill the remainder of our schedule. Fall is for planting, folks, we just need to remind our clients of that!
Be Proactive
Commercial properties are starting their budget cycles for 2027 now, and it's time to be looking at renewals for maintenance contracts for both commercial and residential properties. We have a meeting set for September 16 to talk as a team about renewals and requoting. Some things that we're considering during this season are:
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Is it near our routes? There will be some clients that we decide not to requote for 2027 because they're too far from our other stops.
- Is the margin good? Our margins are a little too tight on some properties, and we'll be raising the prices. That will give us more wiggle room to deliver on the level of service our clients expect.
- Standardizing our program. All our residential clients moving forward will be getting at least biweekly visits. We have a handful of monthly maintenance clients, and we know we may lose their business with this switch.
The changes boil down to proactively going after the kinds of work we want and letting some work go because it's causing us headaches, draining our efficiency, or not allowing us to do work that we can be proud of. But we'll have a better shot of retaining clients when we raise our price or change the program if we're proactive about it and communicating early.
Our Landscape Pro's Sales Training is scheduled for September 28-29, and I'll be sharing more of our tips and tricks for selling landscape work then. This program is based on the training that I do with my own sales team and it was a big hit in the spring. If you're worried about finishing the year strong or starting 2027 off well, join us online!
Marty Grunder
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.