Standing out from the crowd

Imagine that you are the one looking for a gardener to do some work in your garden. You don’t know of anyone personally, so you have to set about finding a suitable gardener.

Opening the Yellow Pages, Thompson Directories and the classified section of your local paper, you’re faced with a bewildering choice of companies. So where do you start? Probably you’ll do what the majority of people do, and scan the advertisements for someone who appears to be professional and lists in their ad whatever you need to have done.

In my opinion most people will avoid the ‘Beat any price – guaranteed’ merchants. Neither will they rush off to phone anyone with ‘We’re the best, stuff the rest’, type of message, especially when no evidence is offered to support their assertion. Of course were the advertisement to read:

BJ Landscaping Company

Gold Medal Winner Chelsea Flower Show 2002

RHS Diploma, Dip Hort

Tel – 000 000000

this would certainly indicate that the company not only had horticultural qualifications but had also achieved an enviable award. But don’t be surprised if when you phone up such a business they tell you they’re booked out for the rest of the season.

Selecting a suitable business from pages of advertisements is a difficult task which most people will go to great lengths to avoid.

Now imagine you’re driving home from work one evening and you see a clean, tidy vehicle, tastefully sign-written with the name of a gardening company. You stop and take a further look and you see a gardener at work trimming a hedge. You note that at each end of where they are working they have placed warning signs: Caution – Hedge Trimming in Progress. You’re even more impressed when you notice that the gardener is suitably attired and not dressed like a football hooligan. It’s likely that this is the company you would ask to quote for your gardening requirements. Nothing beats a real, live demonstration.

Creating the right image means that you devote sufficient time and energy to appearances. This means:

• Dressing appropriately.
• Having your business name tastefully sign-written on your vehicle or, if this is not possible, having an advertisement board that you can place where you’re working.
• Making sure that your tools are always clean and in good working order.
• Paying sufficient attention to the safety of everyone who may be at risk because of the work you are doing. These can include yourself, your client, passers-by, neighbours etc.
• Parking your vehicle where it doesn’t cause unnecessary obstruction.
• Making sure you leave everywhere, especially any public footpath or road clean and tidy when you finish.

Generating sales enquiries

Don’t rely solely on advertising to generate your sales enquiries.

The vast majority of my business comes from the following sources:

• existing clients
• client referrals
• being approached by a neighbour or passer-by while working at someone’s garden.

I consciously avoid expensive advertising to make things happen in my business.

I believe the money spent on large adverts in expensive publications could be far better used in your business, for example having your van sign-written or investing in some time-saving tools. By getting your outward appearance right, you will invite people to approach you when you’re working and ask for your help. Nothing beats having a complete stranger walks up to you when you’re working one day and say: ‘Excuse me, I’ve been really impressed with your gardening skills, I wonder are you available to do some gardening for me?’

This will happen time and time again provided you project the right image.

Business stationery

Is business stationery important and do you need it?

Business cards and letterhead

Whether or not you invest in a complete stationery suite will depend on:

• the type of business you’re planning to run
• the size of your proposed business
• the services you offer
• whether or not you can initially afford to.

If you’re planning a small local gardening round, one where you will quickly achieve a full diary, then I’d suggest you don’t need a set of stationery. But for any other business I believe that a smart, crisp business card together with matching letterhead, is a necessity as opposed to a luxury.

Beware of doing it yourself

I believe there is nothing worse than a homemade business card. With the arrival of personal computer software it seems that everyone is now a graphic designer. Unfortunately, if what you see about is anything to go by, gardeners should stick to gardening and leave it to the professionals.

Even if what you manage to produce at home looks appealing, it won’t stay that way for long. For as soon as you hand your card to your prospective client it will start its rapid descent towards dog-eared, ink splurged deterioration. Professionally produced business cards don’t just look better; they are made from quality materials including the ink. The ink that we use in our PCs is certainly not designed to be used in documents that will spend some time outdoors in all weather, which is where you will be meeting most of your clients.

Printing booths

The alternative to having business cards printed by a high street printer is to use one of those instant printing booths. I think they’re on a par with the machines that print your passport photo in terms of presentation and quality. They’re fine for passports but that’s it. Likewise instant business cards are great for notifying everyone of your change of address, summer barbeque, party or whatever. But they’re pretty uninspiring if you’re trying to convince potential clients that you’re the person who is going to make or keep their garden beautiful.

Online digital printing

It’s now possible to go online and create your own business cards, letterheads, brochures etc, order the quantities you want and have them delivered to your door in around 14 days.

What I find useful is to create a set of postcards, which I use for a variety of seasonal sales campaigns. For example, I have cards with a picture of a perfect lawn, which I use to promote our lawn-care services and cards with pictures of hedges for promoting our hedge-cutting, re-shaping, planting and removal service and so on.

On the back of all my promotional cards I head with the word – ESTIMATE followed by a suitably large blank space. Where the job I am quoting for is reasonably straightforward, for example a hedge cut or border clearance, I then give my written estimate there and then to the prospective client. My aim is to get the order immediately as opposed to having to send written estimates at a later point. As soon as the client says yes, I whip out my diary and pencil in a provisional date. They’re happy that the work is now booked in at a price we both agree, and I’m happy that my efforts in visiting their garden haven’t been wasted.

Who should you use?

There are lots of companies now offering this service and I suggest you surf around until you find one that you’re happy with. In our business we use Vista Print. You can find them at www.vistaprint.co.uk and to date we’ve been happy with the quality of work and the service they offer. I also like the wide variety of templates they offer for everything from letterheads to brochures.

Start-up packages

Most high street printers offer start-up stationery kits for small new businesses. While charges may vary, you should find that you can obtain a set of business cards, letterhead and compliment slips for under £100. Or if you opt for business cards alone, the damage should be no greater than £50. Considering the price you pay for DIY business card paper and the cost of your ink cartridge, I really do believe that it’s cheaper to use a professional printer.

Before rushing off to the printers work out a number of different drafts of how your business card will look. Whatever you come up with, leave them alone for a few days before deciding which one you’re going to have printed. If you are thinking of having a dedicated business line in your home but haven’t yet arranged it, then obviously you need to wait until you get your number before having 200 cards printed.

Business cards are important. When you’re working on someone’s garden you’ll be surprised how often neighbours will ask you for your card. Nothing is worse than handing your telephone number over written on the back of an envelope.

When I first started I handed my cards out to everyone who asked me for one. Now I don’t. Instead I offer them an appointment. People seldom refuse. After all it is they who have approached you. This is a great, cost-effective way of getting new clients. When I gave my cards out to all who asked for them I found the results disappointing.

There are a number of reasons why these initially very interested people don’t call you. Often it’s because they are not the decision-maker in their homes and when they tell their partner that they’re thinking of hiring a gardener, you can imagine the response. Others simply lose your card, change their minds, didn’t really need one, are working undercover for the Benefits Agency, Inland Revenue, local council and so on. So if approached by anyone looking to hire you – book an appointment.

Make your business cards earn their keep in your enterprise by putting them wherever people have to sit and wait, for example:

• hairdressing salons
• barbers’ shops
• supermarket noticeboards
• garden centres
• DIY stores
• dentists’ and doctors’ waiting rooms
• give some to your friends and ask them to put one up in their work canteen.

Your letterhead

Treat your letterhead as you would were you having a brochure. Have it done by a high street printer on a quality, bonded notepaper. I prefer to buy white A5 envelopes with windows in them. This way you don’t have to waste time addressing envelopes. It also looks more professional. If you have an email address think carefully before having it printed on your letterhead. Only have it included if you’re going to keep this email address in the long term, and if you’re going to check your email box daily. I prefer not to include my email address on my business letterhead, but it’s up to you.

Whatever you decide to use in the way of stationery, go for quality. You don’t have to invest fortunes, but don’t end up with something the texture and longevity of newspaper.