Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Image Image Image

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Image Image Image

    Worth a cut and paste since its raining!!

    60-Second Guide to Making a Good Impression

    It’s been said before, but this is one maxim that bears repeating: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

    In just 60-seconds, we’ll show you how to make a first impression to get the business you’re waiting for.

    0:60 Business Image is Important
    In business, image is crucial to success and as a small-business owner, everything from the way you greet clients to your style of dress reflects directly on your company. If this seems unfair, consider for a moment how closely people identify themselves with life’s smallest details. What about the car we drive? The paper we use for correspondence? And, the way we decorate our office?

    0:46 Take a Moment to Assess Yourself and Analyze Your Image
    Take a minute to assess yourself. Do you dress according to the standards of your industry? Are your clothes professional? Is your hair neat? What about your car? Are you in a field where you’re likely to be judged by what you drive? A realtor wouldn’t want to ferry clients around in a ‘72 Ford pickup with torn seats and a broken muffler, but a landscape artist could drive it to a work site and nobody would bat an eye.

    0:20 Make Sure Marketing Materials Reflect Your Image
    When you assess yourself, take a look at your marketing materials as well. In fact, you should put marketing materials on the front lines of your image-building efforts because they often serve as your prospects’ first introduction to you. Obviously you want to use high-quality paper, but have you considered using gold or silver embossing on your letterhead or business cards? Treat everything you do as gold, and your clients will, too.

    0:11 Project a Professional Image
    Of course, there’s no substitute for true professionalism. Treat the following suggestions as a code of behavior. Have someone proofread every piece of written material before it leaves your office. This means correspondence, proposals and marketing pieces. Always be pleasant and helpful when answering the phone. People like to do business with happy, positive people.


    0:03 Position Yourself for Success
    Give referrals when you can’t handle a job. People will respect your honesty and consideration. Offer a high quality of service and/or product. Do the job you promised and don’t let your customer down. Never disparage the competition. It doesn’t look good and it could backfire. When a client or colleague runs into a snag, assist them. Heroes are not forgotten.
    SENIOR MODERATOR LSF COMMUNITY CONTROL CORDINATOR
    Have a Nice Day, from the Lawn Service Forum S.A.S.M
    www.lawnbook.com
    www.lawnservicing.com
    Click Here: For Lawn Care Business Kit
    Click Here: For FREE Marketing "Mini-Course"
    Please ask questions about the business here, I'm unable to answer them 1 on 1.
    Please Visit Our Sponsors, They Make this Forum Possible!
    NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE LSF IN 5.0 !!! JUST PM GRASSMASTER TO GET YOURS TODAY!!

    ""POYMIT"

    ATTRITION :alien:

  • #2
    "Always be pleasant and helpful when answering the phone. People like to do business with happy, positive people."

    Answering machines can tell the caller ... don't bug me ... I'm busy, call back later you're not important enough to talk to at this time.

    Comment


    • #3
      it took me 65 seconds to read.
      I must be a slow reader

      That is good info. Thanks for sharing Seascape

      An example of proffesionalism:
      My mom had a couple business cards from some dentists. She had to choose one, so she chose the nicer looking business card. THe other one had more information, but the one she chose was in cursive(appropriate for dentist, not necessarily(sp?) lawn care) and was simpler looking. (on a side note, she could not pronounce the other guys name so she went for the easier one)
      Caleb

      Comment


      • #4
        Very good post. Certainly bears repetition.
        Conan, what is best in life? To crush the Democrats, to see them driven before me, and to hear the lamentation of the liberals.

        Comment


        • #5
          I agree w/ everything but the 72 Ford. Everybody please go trade in your 72 Fords.

          This just goes to show how some have damaged our industry reputation and image. I got this from a magazine online article. we need to start working on this right away. It bothers me. One easy way to seperate yourself from riff raff scrub,, is go out a little on a decent truck. Please.
          SENIOR MODERATOR LSF COMMUNITY CONTROL CORDINATOR
          Have a Nice Day, from the Lawn Service Forum S.A.S.M
          www.lawnbook.com
          www.lawnservicing.com
          Click Here: For Lawn Care Business Kit
          Click Here: For FREE Marketing "Mini-Course"
          Please ask questions about the business here, I'm unable to answer them 1 on 1.
          Please Visit Our Sponsors, They Make this Forum Possible!
          NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE LSF IN 5.0 !!! JUST PM GRASSMASTER TO GET YOURS TODAY!!

          ""POYMIT"

          ATTRITION :alien:

          Comment


          • #6
            I was wondering if you were implying we go out and get old beat up trucks.

            I try to keep my truck as clean and professional as possible. In the summer I try to wash and wax it every other week. It is a 96 ranger; too small for the trailer I pull but at least its a truck!

            I am now trying to make my trailer look presentable. It is an old rusty ugly red. I am going to paint it black, and after I am done welding the racks and box, I will either paint those yellow or black.

            Caleb
            Caleb

            Comment


            • #7
              Good read except for this line:

              "A realtor wouldn’t want to ferry clients around in a ‘72 Ford pickup with torn seats and a broken muffler, but a landscape artist could drive it to a work site and nobody would bat an eye."

              If that were true, I'd still have my '72 Ford pickup burping and couging to the job sites.
              '05 GMC 2500HD
              '02 GMC 2500HD
              '01 Silverado 1500
              Garage full of stuff

              Comment


              • #8
                Image is important. It doesn't have to say to others that you are wealthy... But it should suggest that you have got it together.
                If your truck, trailer, and equipment are in good repair, neat and clean... and your personal appearance is likewise, the image you are presenting is valuable. Your image is going to reflect an individual who is professional, neat and organized, clean, and a hard worker.

                What would dirty, beat up equipment suggest?

                Phil... I agree with the phone and answering machine. If someone can't get in touch with you, they're not going to do business with you. Carry a cell phone!

                Comment


                • #9
                  point #1
                  don't drive a peace of crap and expect people to think you are good at what you do. This dose not mean go out and buy a neww pickup every 2 years. You can get a mid 90's for less then 5 grand. The truck will still look great and you don't have to have the high payments.

                  Point 2
                  Awnser your phone, foward your office to your cell. This not only give a better image of you and your co. but you will not have as many calls to return at the end of the day.

                  Point 3
                  For those of you that dress like crap. Get some new clothes. Clean it up. you make the rest of us look bad. There is nothing that says fly-by-night the torn jeans and a whife beater.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Looks are everything ... people will "read you" without you saying a word.

                    Phil

                    P.S. See my nice photo I post? ... don't I look nice ... I mean aside from the big nose?

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      If a 72 ford is what you have, then work with it. I know a 72 ford short bed with 30 inch tires, chrome rims, a fresh black paint job, and the name Classic Lawn Care in gold on the doors would look sharp! I love the old ford short beds. I currently own a 01 ram and not that impressed.
                      Bo

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I appreciate all the comments and it all matters. Our company has landed jobs because of our royal blue hats and shirts, or because our trucks and equipment are in good condition. I have also lost jobs because of price even though we recieved the same compliments on how professional the company looked compared to the competion! Go figure, you don't get "there" working for crap wages that go with a crappy look!

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          completely agree

                          I completely agree with Image thats how franchise do well imagen and well known names. Also you do not want to go over board either I have been denied Jobs for over doing it when I was looking for a real job LOL cause I dressed to nice and drove a BMW so I was turned down had to learn to dress for the occaison......

                          SO I do not think that driving around in my BMW will get me lawn care mm however might for nice big landscape jobs or they may see it as being over priced
                          "Life was meant to be lived"

                          groundworks@charter.net
                          http://profiles.yahoo.com/groundworks2004

                          Lin

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Well our first year out we were "scrubs" didnt know a darn thing about how to run a lawncare business. Then we got smart and started looking at others in the area. Professional dress and the such, we got smart and have really noticed a big difference in the way a customer,or potential customer approaches us and speaks to us. We now have a uniform way we dress even tho there is only two of us we look alike and professional.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Also, everyone should give some thought to the vocabulary they use and the manner in which they speak at all times. When we are standing in line for lunch and we ( hopefully are wearing our shirts, having just gotten out of our presentable truck with signage on the doors ) run into a friend, remember that the people around you can not only overhear your conversation, they are also forming an opinion about you and this industry in general. Keep it clean and use proper english. Some folks think that if they are not on the customers property then they can behave in a way that they ( I hope ) never would when talking face to face with a customer. We are always being evaluated, and that lady standing behind you in line may have been in the market for someone to service her properties. With a little self awareness and the education provided by this forum, we can eventualy give this business the type of legitamate respect it deserves.
                              If the grass is greener on the other side, move your fence.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X