In April, my team and I launched an exciting and new way for landscape professionals to continue growing and learning throughout the year. This is The Grow Show, powered by Stihl.
The Grow Show is a weekly show and podcast hosted by The Grow Group and yours truly. In it, I share thoughts, tips, tricks and strategies and interview leaders both within and outside of the industry to help us all grow and get better.
Our goal at The Grow Group is always to help you better your business and this will be one more medium we can do that with. In addition to our weekly Great Idea and this monthly column, you’ll now be able to listen and learn while you’re in your truck or working in the field.
I thought this month, I would give you a little synopsis of a few episodes. You can listen to the full episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or watch on The Grow Group’s YouTube channel.
Episode 2: Efficiency ratings
The economy has been strong for years. Most landscape professionals have benefited from that. As a result, it’s been easy to raise our prices to cover inefficiencies. That time is ending, folks. It may already be over.
As we navigate the changes in the economy and market, one of the best data points to rally your team around is your efficiency rating — simply a way to compare budgeted to actual hours. You calculate it by dividing your budgeted hours by the hours worked. A number above 1 indicates you completed the job in less time than you bid it for.
In this episode of the podcast, I detail ways we use the efficiency rating to motivate and reward our team and to track our performance throughout the year at Grunder Landscaping Co. This number has become so important to our success at GLC. It lets us keep a constant pulse on the company’s performance.
Episode 3: Marketing pieces you can’t live without
Many companies renewed their focus on marketing this year as the economy shifted, and I think that’s so smart. We’ve done the same at GLC. On this episode, Emily Lindley, who oversees content and events at The Grow Group and marketing at Grunder Landscaping Co., joins me. She shares her three favorite marketing pieces that companies can use right now, as well as these tips for optimizing them:
Keep the text concise: Be strategic about what text is on the marketing piece and highlight the information most likely to get a prospect to take the next step.
Use big pictures: Make sure the images you choose are large, clear and colorful enough to draw attention.
Always, always include a call to action: There’s research to back this advice. Including a clear call to action improves the rate at which recipients will take the action you want them to. Some examples? “Call us now!” “Visit our website to learn more,” or “Fill out this form to get started.”
Deeper dives
In addition to these short, topical episodes, I also interview professionals on the podcast once a month to dive deeper into their advice for landscape professionals. So far on our show, we’ve been joined by:
Roger Phelps, corporate communications manager at Stihl. He shared leadership lessons that anyone, no matter their position, can apply to be a better leader in everything they do.
Ed Eppley, a longtime mentor and respected speaker on teams worldwide. He shared what teams can do to foster a positive company culture.
Mark Sanborn, an acclaimed best-selling author and friend. Mark talked about why how you do the job often matters more than the job itself and how leaders can create a sense of purpose within their teams.
I hope you’ll enjoy The Grow Show. I think that it will be one more great resource for you and your team to continue to grow and get better. You can find links to all our episodes at GrowGroupInc.com/The-Grow-Show-Podcast.
