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I’ve long said that the secret to my success as a landscaping company owner really comes to doing just one thing — exactly what I said I would.
We call it “DWYSYWD” — Do What You Said You Would Do — and this simple phrase is a reminder at Grunder Landscaping Co. that it’s up to every member of our team to follow through on the promises we make to our clients. It’s something I remind other landscape professionals about when I’m teaching or hosting our events, too. It’s the not-so-secret secret to my success.
When we looked at the data from 2025, the top drivers for new leads for our sales team were all things that can be broadly categorized as having a great reputation. I remind my team frequently that the work they do on their current job is what sells the next job. And this applies to every role within the organization.
For sales
Our sales team is the starting point for our clients. We use Aspire to standardize our bidding and estimating, and then we train our sales team on the process we want them to follow to ensure that every client has a consistent experience with our company, no matter who they work with.
In sales, DWYSYWD looks like:
- Following up when we said we would.
- Hitting the deadlines we set with the client for delivering proposals and designs.
- Doing due diligence ahead of time to make sure what we’re proposing can be installed.
- Detailing notes at every stage so that the production team can do everything we told the client they would.
- Fixing any issues and communicating well if things go wrong.
For production
Our production teams are well-trained and experienced, but that doesn’t mean they can go out into the world without their own systems in place. To have consistency across crews and ensure quality work, no matter which team is on a property, we are constantly training our team on exactly how the work should be done. It also means using Aspire to its full potential with detailed ticket notes, issues and pictures at the end of each visit.
In production, DWYSYWD looks like:
- Looking at the next day’s schedule when we return to the shop.
- Asking questions of the sales team when we have them.
- Reading the ticket notes before we start work on a property.
- Taking a photo and attaching it to the work ticket before we leave a property.
For leadership
You’ve probably heard that people don’t leave jobs, they leave bosses. We can’t overlook the managers we have in place and ensure that they’re well-supported if we want our teams to be successful. This means investing in their training, too, and mentoring new leaders. We can’t expect our team to treat our clients well if we’re not treating them well, and that starts at the very top.
In leadership, DWYSYWD looks like:
- Following through with promises we make for promotions, raises and role changes.
- Genuinely getting to know the team members we work with.
- Complimenting our team when we see them doing great work.
- Creating a great, safe workplace.
I realize that this column may not be the most earth-shattering thing that you read this week, but it comes down to a theme that I’ve been pushing since the start of this year — the little things are the big things. When we build great habits and stay consistent on the small details, they add up to great success. When things get hectic, I like to get back to the basics of DWYSYWD; it’s never led me wrong!
If you’re looking for inspiration on implementing systems that help teams to DWYSYWD, join us at one of our Grunder Landscaping Co. Field Trips this year. We have dates available in June, August, September, October and December, which fill up quickly. Click here to learn more.
