Staying Calm, Cool and Collected During Busy Season
How do you stay calm, cool and collected during the busy season? Do you have a system that works well for you? I asked my best and highest performing clients this question, and the answers were eye opening in their consistency. There is a common thread in what the...
Removing the Culture Killer
A single culture killer can disrupt the performance of everyone on your team, if you let that person's behavior persist. A culture killer is a person who's strong personality plus bad behavior combine to form a poison that slowly (or quickly) infects the output and...
The Art of Talking About Money and Pricing with Prospects
Not enough salespeople enjoy talking money and pricing with their prospects. Too many are uncomfortable with it, or even avoid it altogether to their own detriment. Does that reflect you or someone on your sales team? Here are insights to help your salespeople improve...
Hiring in a Hot Economy
Hiring in a hot economy is the key to growth this year. Any edge you can get, in both recruiting and retaining employees, is worth exploring. To this end, I am currently reading about Netflix’s explosive success in Reed Hasting’s new book, No Rules Rules. It outlines...
100 Days to Sell
There is an expression in our industry “100 Days of Hell.” While it is humorous, it also sets the wrong tone. I like the following upbeat expression better: 100 Days To Sell. Spring is here and it’s time to sell, sell, sell. Last week, Paul Reder (who came up with...
Don’t Wait Till Next Year
The Economy Is Ripe For Making Big Decisions This Year Have you found yourself wrestling with a key decision, and then putting that decision off for six months or a year? Welcome to a main challenge of the leader, making uncomfortable decisions in a timely manner....
The Four Sales Questions
Selling profitable work requires more than just having a good product and good people, it requires a sales strategy. I was reminded of this as I talked to a $10M landscape contractor from the west coast last week, who has more leads than his team can work through...
Have You Figured Out Your “Business Model”?
The landscape and irrigation companies with the highest and most consistent profit have figured their business model. They have figured out what drives their profitability, and thus how to scale their business with ease and efficiency. Are you serving too many niches?...
How Employees Can Write Much Better Emails To Clients
Do all your employees write clear and proper emails to clients? Do they represent your company at its best? It’s a generational thing. People don’t write letters any more, not even cards (Christmas cards are often pre-printed with messages, and often the signatures...
Should You Hire a COO or CEO to Run your Business?
Should you hire a COO, or even a CEO, to run your business and to help you grow it to the next level? (Note: COO stands for Chief Operating Officer) My good friend and client George Tucker, owner of LanDesign in St Louis, has hired BOTH for his business. Why does one...
