GrowingTrees
Selling your clients on semi-mature trees
Stop apologising and have confi dence in your landscape plan and trees, says Steve McCurdy at Majestic Trees. You are selling an investment which is well worth the money
Times are tough and many of us are watching every penny simply trying to make ends meet. After fi ve years of doom and gloom we are getting used to hearing landscapers tell us that they need to reduce the budget for the landscape design that they would be building. Undoubtedly the economic downturn has made people more cautious in their spending, but for most of our clients this translates to a determination to get the very best price for the things they desire. In short, it has become fashionable to negotiate!
However, as proven by record sales of luxury brands, there are customers out there who don’t blink an eyelid at spending £2,000 for another handbag or £150,000 for a car, yet we so often think that they couldn’t be persuaded to spend some serious money on their landscaping. Even the squeezed middle class, who you may say is more like your average customer, wouldn’t think it a big deal to spend £150 for a fi ne dining experience for two or £65,000 on a car. Yet we go around constantly apologising at what we need to
charge to the point that they know that they can squeeze you even further. Personally, I think we simply need to act and talk more professionally and with confi dence, what we do will beautify their property and is an investment.
So, how do you present your landscape plan that features semi-mature trees – a design that meets their design aspirations but not perhaps their budgetary ones? You are at a crossroads because you need to convince them of the merits of your decision. From my experience, there is no better way to inspire a client than to take them along to a tree nursery where they can literally stand in awe at the possibilities. Rather than using your tree books of close-ups or snaps of the tree you’ve selected, why not have them literally stand before your chosen specimens, appreciate their scale and beauty and visualise what they will look like once they are planted in their garden. After all a tree is an investment, appreciating in value when correctly selected as the years go by.
I have witnessed the fact that once your client experiences a high quality tree nursery with mature trees, they will think they are a bargain and no
more apologies are needed! Majestic Trees is designed to serve you and your customer in this way. Tour the few quality container tree growers and decide which will deliver each and every time, making you and your garden look good. Consider the liability and where the tree nursery stands on warranty. If the tree struggles or fails who will have to pay for the labour and equipment to make any necessary change. If you buy an AirPot grown tree it is very unlikely that it will fail, but it is important to understand where the liability falls.
Be bold and communicate to your client
your confi dence in the design, that you are a professional, and the value of a quality build, explain that you will deliver a fantastic project and semi-mature trees are a bargain compared to many other things they can buy. They will respect you if you confi dently but humbly explain and show them the difference in why they need a trained and experienced landscaper, one that charges professional fees, and they will accept it because they want the best!
To fi nd out more about Majestic Trees, please visit
www.majestictrees.co.uk and come to our Open Day on 19 September.
56 August 2013
www.prolandscapermagazine.com
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