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The Landscaper's Guide To Modern Sales and Marketing Newsletter
SEPTEMBER 2023
(Hint: It Isn’t ‘Sit Around and Enjoy the Slow Season’) The Best Thing You Can Do for Your Business This Fall
Every fall, I spend a few hours planting daffodil, tulip, and iris bulbs in my garden. It’s not the most exciting task ever, but it’s nice to get my hands dirty after hours of sitting behind a computer! Plus, it’s incredibly rewarding. In the spring, those bulbs I planted and patiently waited for will bloom into some of my favorite perennial flowers. Fall is also the best time of year to plant your marketing bulbs. Searches for landscape services typically dip in the fall and reach their lowest point in the middle of winter, which means this is the ideal moment to plan and implement a digital marketing campaign. If you plant your bulbs now (aka create your marketing plan, work on your website development, etc.), then your online presence will bloom, thrive, and generate leads in the spring when demand bounces back. Take my word for it: Even if it seems way too early to think about next spring, starting today is much smarter than waiting until the last minute. Even landscape owners who have been in business for years underestimate how long it takes to do a marketing project well! Great marketing plans and websites take many months of planning and implementation, just like successful landscape projects. The sooner you plant your “bulbs,’’ the sooner you’ll see your web pages ranking and blooming on the first page of Google, ready to capture next spring’s search traffic. Even better, if you start work now, you won’t have to rely on Google ads for that growth. You can count on ranking organically, which has a lower cost per lead and will save you marketing dollars. If you already have an established website and SEO presence, you still shouldn’t waste your fall and winter downtime. Instead, you should use this slow period to strengthen your Foundations of Digital Marketing (which I outline in my book, “The Tree of Good Fortune”) and produce the kind of high-quality video content you wouldn’t have time to make in the spring!
You don’t have to do that scripting, filming, and editing on your own. A lot of our Ramblin Jackson clients — like the Fort Collins landscape company Alpine Gardens — prefer visiting our studio here in Colorado during the fall and winter and taking advantage of our Landscape Executive Video Experience instead. They go skiing with me, enjoy the Colorado mountains, and work with us to script, write, and shoot videos for their websites and social media pages. In the past, Alpine Gardens has worked with us in the fall to shoot what we call milestone videos — short videos explaining different steps of the landscape process to their customers. These videos help their customers understand where their project is in the landscape process, boost customer satisfaction, and increase referrals! If you don’t already have milestone videos, shooting them now is the best way to ensure they’re ready to go this spring.
If you want your company to succeed next year, you can’t just hope and pray through the winter — you need to plant the seeds of that success today! To get started, visit LandscapersGuide.com/call or scan this QR code to book a 15-Minute Marketing Brainstorm with my team.
Scan to Book Your 15-Minute Marketing Brainstorm!
JACK JOSTES, CEO RAMBLIN JACKSON
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THANKS FOR ATTENDING OUR CLIENT APPRECIATION PARTY! We LOVED Seeing You This Summer
Thank you so much to everyone who came out for the Ramblin Jackson Client Appreciation Party in Lyons, Colorado, on Aug. 2! It was fantastic to see you in person and enjoy some good food and conversation at the gorgeous park in Lyons. Hopefully, you had as much fun meeting our team in person as we did seeing you. Looking back, the party was definitely a highlight of our 2023 Ramblin Jackson Retreat. Another was seeing one of our client’s landscapes in person! We got the rare opportunity to visit their customer’s home, walk through the landscape, and even interview the customer about their experience with our client’s marketing. Jack will share more about what we learned from that process in an upcoming newsletter, so stay tuned for those insights.
Thanks again, and we’ll hopefully see you soon!
–Your Ramblin Jackson Team
P.S. Can you spot the Ramblers apparel in these photos? Of course you can! We all came out dressed for success. When your team shows up to a job, event, or photoshoot, make sure they do the same thing to maintain a professional image and raise awareness for your brand.
Should Landscapers Use Twitter ... or X ... or Whatever it's Called?
When we surveyed landscapers for our 2022 Landscaper Sales
In particular, Michael loves Instagram Reels (short videos). He uses a mix of reels and still shots to reach his audience and says that Instagram’s templates make the process easy. “On Instagram, they have these little templates … You click on [the template], and it's already set up for you,” he says. “It's just fantastic that I can go to a template with music already calibrated for it and pop in my little [landscape] shots there.” Michael also uses hashtags to reach his audience and occasionally boosts his posts to target customers in specific areas like Johnson County, Kansas, or Lenexa, Kansas. If you’ve never paid to boost a post on Instagram, try it — you might be surprised by how specific the targeting can get.
One tool that Michael doesn’t use regularly is Twitter … or X … or whatever Elon Musk is calling the platform these days. And I think that’s a smart move! While using X won’t hurt your business, it probably won’t help you achieve your goals like Instagram. Instagram is incredibly visual, so people are already going there for inspiring design ideas — and your content can fill that need. If you’re struggling to choose the “right” social media, start with Instagram Reels and repurpose your videos for Facebook. Also, don’t overlook the importance of email! Keep gathering those addresses because if one of the social media platforms goes under (like X might soon …), you can still reach your audience in their inboxes.
Survey, you told us social media was your No. 1 driver of new business. But does that mean you should be on every social media platform if you want to grow your company? We’ve gotten this question a lot lately, so I sat down with Kansas-based landscaper Michael Ashley from Michael Ashley Landscape Architecture to answer it. We talked about social media on a recent episode of “The Landscaper’s Guide to Modern Sales and Marketing” podcast. He told me he relied on two platforms to grow his landscape business from a $2 million company to a $5 million company: Instagram and Facebook.
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Schedule a 15-minute Marketing Brainstorm with our Senior Landscape Marketing Strategist, Robert Felton! In just 15 minutes, Robert will: • Offer game-changing feedback on your marketing ideas. • Find gaps in your existing campaigns. • Discuss your best marketing strategy. • Share next steps for success! This is a quick, easy, no-pressure call — and we’ll even send you beef jerky or candied almonds for your time. Visit LandscapersGuide.com/call to schedule your Marketing Brainstorm today. Ready to Level Up Your Marketing and Get More Hell Yes Customers?
UPCOMING EVENTS
2023 NALP ELEVATE Expo Sept. 10–13, 2023 Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Dallas, TX Stop by Booth #1110 for a bag of jerky! Leadership: How To Be An Intentional Leader vs. An Accidental Employer Sept. 28, 2023 • Webinar The 4th Annual Landscaper's Summit Oct. 26, 2023 • Virtual Workshop Brand Your Sales Process To Get The Owner OUT Of Sales Nov. 29, 2023 • Virtual Workshop
TAKE A BREAK
LandscapersGuide.com/events
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1 Have You Planted Your Marketing Bulbs Yet? 2 Did You Miss Our Client Appreciation Party? 2 A Quick and Easy Guide to Using Social Media Successfully 3 Upcoming Events 3 Ready to Level Up Your Marketing? 4 3 Ways to Gain More Muscle INSIDE
YOU CAN FEEL YOUR BEST AGAIN — JUST LIKE I DO! 3 Tips for Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle
About a year ago, I got really into fitness, nutrition, and experimenting with my diet. I have to credit Craig Attkisson from Green Side Up Landscaping Inc. for getting me started. When we met up at GROW! 2022, he told me over dinner that he’d lost 40 pounds in the last six months. He looked incredibly fit!
I should reduce my intake of fatty meats like pulled pork and start eating more smoked pork loin, chicken breast, and cod.
2. Invest in an air fryer. This gadget cooks food ridiculously fast, and using it to make things you’d normally deep fry can reduce their calories by 70%–80%. 3. Add DHEA, zinc, and vitamin D supplements to your diet (men only). These supplements are great for keeping your testosterone levels high, and creatine also helps with muscle growth. I also try to increase my levels naturally through exercises like squats and deadlifts and by reducing estrogenic foods like beans and certain nuts. I’ve found that strength training and eating well have big mental health benefits for me. I can adapt to stress better and operate at a higher level. I also get my best business ideas after a tough workout! To read some of my ideas for your business, check out the front page.
When I asked about his secret, Craig said he focused on adding muscle, not losing weight. The weight came off along the way. That conversation inspired me to sign up for a kettlebell training program called Kettlebell Transformation, which included advice from a nutrition coach. I learned a lot from my coach and through trial and error. I’m no nutrition expert, but I’ve gained 10 pounds of muscle now, and I feel great! If you want to get fit, these are my top three tips. 1. Start counting your macros. There are three macronutrients in our food: proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. You can use an app like MyFitnessPal to track your intake of each one and stay within a healthy ratio. This has been a huge help to me! I realized
JACK JOSTES, CEO RAMBLIN JACKSON
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Get a Free, Personal Video Review Of Your Website! • ramblinjackson.com/webreview
Which Strategies Are Really Working in Landscape Sales and Marketing Right Now? Find Out Oct. 26 at Our 4th Annual Landscaper’s Summit!
At our fourth annual Landscaper’s Summit, you’ll score valuable advice from our expert guest speakers and sit in on a “What’s Working Now” competition between your fellow landscapers. They’ll present their most successful business ideas and vie to win your vote. You’ll also learn which sales and marketing strategies are working for landscapers RIGHT NOW and how your sales close rate stacks up against your competition! These brand-new industry insights come from our 2023 Snow & Landscape Sales Survey. This data is ONLY AVAILABLE at the Landscaper’s Summit — you can’t get it anywhere else before Oct. 26. Attend this summit, and we guarantee you’ll get at least one takeaway worth 10 times the price of admission. If not, Ramblin Jackson CEO Jack Jostes will personally refund your ticket and donate $100 to your favorite nonprofit. That’s a 100% satisfaction guarantee or your money back — with interest! • You’ve never settled for the status quo and want fresh ideas to challenge you. • You’re sick of your employees relying on YOU to fix all their problems and want to train more proactive problem-solvers. • You’re excited to scale your business quickly, but aren’t sure which metrics to track to help you achieve your goals. • You want to up your social media game and learn exactly where, what, and how to post to get results. • You want your marketing to work for you and deliver quality leads predictably and cost- effectively — freeing up your time to do the things you love. • You enjoy seeing successful business people compete with each other. THIS ONE-DAY VIRTUAL WORKSHOP IS FOR YOU IF …
So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to invest in yourself and your business. In a single day, you’ll learn how to dial in your marketing, boost your business growth, and achieve the lifestyle you deserve.
SCAN THE QR CODE TO REGISTER NOW!
Friends, Are you tired of leading inefficient meetings, underpaying yourself and your staff, and working IN your business instead of ON your business? I have good news: You don’t have to resign yourself to years of employee retention issues, recruiting problems, and cash flow struggles. You can figure this out and claim the freedom you deserve — and I can help. Join me on Thursday, Sept. 28, from 10–11:30 a.m. MT for a no-fluff, tell-it- like-it-is virtual leadership workshop. This workshop is NOT full of business jargon. I designed it for ordinary people like you and me who own small landscape businesses and want to step up their leadership game. I’ll show up with advice that’s simple, clear, and, most importantly, actionable. It’s the same advice I used to improve my own income, cash flow, and retention. You’ll walk away with: - A Fill-In-The-Blank Business Leadership Reflection Worksheet to help you understand your strengths, weaknesses, and areas to focus on as a leader. - The knowledge you need to create Mission, Vision, and Core Value statements that will increase your recruiting and retention. - REAL examples of successful strategies from thriving landscape industry leaders. - A cigar. One lucky attendee will receive a cigar from me in the mail. Smoke it while you work on the worksheet I give you!
If you’re exhausted and ready to make a change, visit LandscapersGuide.com/events or scan this QR code to register for “Leadership: How To Be An Intentional Leader Vs. An Accidental Employer.” It only costs $47 to start fixing your business and your life.
JACK JOSTES, CEO RAMBLIN JACKSON
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