We've made it to the unofficial finish line of the 100 Days of Victory, and the 4th of July is now behind us. That doesn't mean we can let up on the gas.
If you've been following us for a while here at The Grow Group, you've heard us talk in this weekly email about the importance of salespeople being on the lookout for enhancements year-round. It's quite possible that if you manage commercial accounts that this is the most important time of year for you to be doing walkthroughs and looking for enhancements to propose. It's probably not news to you that NOW is when commercial properties' budgets are being set, but as you're out touching up your proposals I wanted to provide my best tips for finding enhancements to sell.
You have to be organized and have a system for walking properties so that you make sure you're getting eyes on every property you manage a few times each year. Our team uses Aspire's Property Audit feature to do walkarounds, and our salespeople strategically plan out their site visits to be efficient with their own time.
When walking a property, here's what I look for:
I usually start with the trees: are there any that I question the health of? Do we see any at risk of falling? Are there low-hanging limbs that could post a danger to our crews mowing the property safely?
Next I look for tripping hazards. Think uneven pavers, crumbling asphalt, or cracked walkways.
I look for ways that I could reduce the maintenance expense or make the property manager's job easier. This may be things like upgrading the landscape lighting to be controlled remotely, replacing a hard-to-mow strip of turf with a bed of perennials, or removing plants that are making messes.
Does a mulch bed washout every time it rains? Are we seeing salt burns on plants in medians or near roadways? Is there a tight turn where cars keep putting ruts into the grass?
Is there a bare spot in a mulched bed? An opportunity to put pots or annuals near the entrance? How can we blow away the people who use the building and really take curb appeal to the next level?
This is also the time to look for the ways the property is used and how you might be able to add value. Outdoor living spaces can be valuable to office spaces and HOAs or apartments.
We're the experts, and our clients are counting on us to say something when we see something. We're supposed to be making their property the best it can be. It's part of our job as salespeople, and it's also critical to hitting our sales goals and providing operations teams with enough work to keep the schedule full through the end of this year and into 2026.
As you chip away at your own list of property visits, I'd like to add one more to your to-do list: come see me at the mothership this fall during our Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trips. During this event, you'll meet and learn from our Director of Sales Operations to see exactly what we do to support our team as they look for the sales we need to crush our goals. Will I see you there?
Founder & CEO
The Grow Group & Grunder Landscaping Co.