Hard times wreak havoc with budgets and funds for marketing your firm’s services. You are not alone, as many others throughout the world feel the tighter economy — a direct result from last October’s huge market crash in the U.S., slightly less severe in Canada.

However, as one running a service-related business in the green industry, you could not be better positioned to weather whatever storms may come your way. After all, is it not less expensive to stay put right at home? Of course it is — we are doing it right now, while winter keeps us cocooned inside our warm abodes. Our expenses are lower, except for heat, food and maybe entertainment to get us through those long, dark, cold, wet or snowy nights.

Your customers need to hear from you monthly, so they know you are still in business. A newsletter with good helpful information is one tool not to be overlooked. E-mail programs like Constant Contact, Polite Mail and others are good tools to do just this, if used correctly. If not, they can be disastrous and cost you business that is already yours. Be warned that anything resembling spam is looked at unfavourably. Don’t spam your customers, their friends, neighbours, relations, mothers-in-law or their first born. Spam will upset many, and will hurt your marketing or selling campaign. There are many articles about how to market effectively — just Google the subject and you will be inundated with information.

Telemarketing calls — like the call that just interrupted my thoughts — are the worst and should be banned. If you are not going to talk to your customers one-to-one, then don’t bother. All you will do is irritate customers and lose their business right then and there. In-house seminars, presentations, get-to-know-you nights and other one-one events.

In-house seminars, presentations, get-to-know-you nights and other one-on-one events during your slow times are excellent. They need early promotion, as many calendars are filled months ahead of actual engagements. You might ask, what can we teach our customers? I am sure someone on your team is proficient in areas concerning the outdoors. People love to learn about plants, how to water plants, automatic irrigation systems, landscape lighting systems and maybe even outdoor music systems. After all, the more they know, the easier it will be for you or your sales staff to close a sale early in the year, as long as you offer some of these products and services.

Cash flow at this time is usually strapped. How can you get cash in before you open the door? It’s easy and legal. I would hope that whatever you offer, be it product or service, you offer a warranty and a service package to keep the purchase working as if new, right? If not, here is some good information to help out your operation.

Create and offer different levels of service plans. For instance, we used to offer bronze, silver, gold and platinum levels of irrigation system service. Each was priced competitively for the level of service delivered. The catch, which was a discount for the customer, was if paid by March 1, we paid the GST. That was the only discount offered for paying ahead of receiving service — and it worked wonderfully. Need help or more information? Just drop me a line.

Now, when it comes to face-to-face selling, hold your price. The competition is getting steeper each year. There are few if any barriers to opening up a business. Anyone can do it. You might consider pricing lower than your competition, so you can land the work. Yes, you will be successful landing the work — but at what cost to your company? Can you make a profit? I remember many years ago someone tried to capture a certain segment of the market and priced his services ridiculously low. So low, in fact, he priced himself out of business because he did not make a profit. No profit, no business. It’s that simple. If you don’t make and keep more profit than what your money earns sitting in a bank — well, you now know where to put it and just continue sleeping.

I was reading a recent article in Profit magazine by Rick Spence on “Embrace the Arrogance,” about selling and being arrogant about your price. If you do not believe in what you are offering, and its value now and for many years to come, then it is hard to be real when talking to a potential client. You must be convinced that yours is the best, and hopefully the only, choice for a successful transaction between client and your company to occur. From the article: “The lesson I learnt was that the moment of truth comes not when you sell prospect on your product or service — but when you’ve agreed on the price.”

In the harder sales world coming at us this spring, it will be imperative to be able to:
1) Get calls for your product and services. This is where marketing will help,as well as staying in close touch with your existing client base, and 2) Close the sale without giving away the business. Don’t lower your price just for the sake of the deal. Know that a 10 per cent reduction will require you to do around 20 per cent more business to make the same bottom line and profit. Do you want to work more for the same money, or less for more money? I am sure we all know the answer to that question.

Ok, so what to do? First — ask questions of the potential client and listen, don’t speak. This might be hard to do at first. You need to know what clients are asking you to do. You need to know their wants and what they require the product or service to provide without pain or disappointment. Second, now that you have gleaned good information, formalize (in your head and quickly) an approach that they can’t refuse. Make sure you state how your product or service will bring value not just now, but for many years to come. You need to show that the overall value will far exceed the price. This is very important and is a must to be successful before you discuss pricing and payment options.

Notice the word options. A price is one thing, the payment plan, if any, is totally another. Many times the price is not the deal breaker, it is how the payments must be made. Offer options like I did, for different levels of product — VW to Mercedes, Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum, both in new system pricing as well as for service packages. Offer deferred payment plans so customers pay the deposit and so much per month for a certain term, or offer payment with credit cards that earn the customer air miles. Everyone loves this, and you should be able to close more sales even in a difficult economy — which I hope we slide right on by.          

Lorne Haveruk is an Ontario-based water resource consultant, irrigation designer, author, speaker and educator.