Landscape contractor:
Would you like to sell more landscape construction this year?
Start with design excellence.
I’m Mike Lehmann, the creative talent behind the Lehmann Design Group, landscape architect and garden designer. I have been designing custom residential landscapes and gardens for 40 years…for homeowners and for landscape contractors like you. Before that, I spent seven years as a design/build landscape contractor myself. I have also been a hands-on project manager for more than thirty years.
I am also unique in that I am a horticultural expert with near world class horticultural knowledge and a near world class horticultural collection to match. I am in the early stages of developing a private botanical garden right here in the Triangle. As you know, the right plant in the right place does make a difference and of course goes a long way toward preventing call backs and expensive replacements.
I can bring decades of experience in design, horticultural knowledge, landscape contracting, gardening, construction and project management, to work for you and your company.
High quality design work is a key factor in selling more construction and planting work, and more work per job, and in keeping and retaining high end customers, not to mention subsequent high end referrals. It’s the first and most import step in the construction process.
The Lehmann Design Group is looking to supply high quality landscape contractors like you with equally high quality landscape design services.
Already have design staff? Why?
It may be more cost effective to hire design talent on an as needed basis. For those of you who already have design staff, you’ll be able to kiss payroll, payroll taxes, insurance and training expenses goodbye.
Many companies, perhaps yours, rely on young, relatively cheap, inexperienced junior designers and this can be fine for low end, small scale projects. It can be very shortsighted for bigger installations in the $30,000.00 to $50,000.00 range and up. These customers expect and deserve quality design work.
Do it yourself design work?
Doing design work yourself, on the run between appointments, late at night or at the last minute? Many landscape contractor/owners do this, but by not giving design the proper time and creative attention it deserves you are, in many cases, lowering the quality of your work, mortgaging your reputation and losing valuable sales. Don’t let that happen! Don’t shortchange yourself and your business. High quality design services are the key to higher construction and installation sales.
If your company targets mid to upper end residential planting and construction customers, or you hope to do so, you cannot afford to overlook good design as a key factor in maintaining customer satisfaction, sales growth, market share and profitability going forward.
I can work independently by direct referral to your customers, or work “undercover” as “a part of your sales and design team”. I can fill in for you on that all important initial sales call, go for you or go with you.
The same would be true for design presentations: I can do this independently for you, we can present design work together or, potentially, I can review design work with you and you can “take it from there”.
Many landscape contractors allow me to price design work out independently to the customer directly then refer the customer back to you for installation. The important thing to remember is I’m flexible: whatever works for you and your customer is generally going to be okay with me.
I work fixed fee, work with written design agreements and guarantee my work. Hourly rates (discounted for you the landscape contractor average $75.00/hour. Design fee’s can range from maybe $1,500.00 or so to $3,500.00 or more for large, complicated projects. Overall, my design fee averages between three and eight cents on the installation dollar, making it a shrewd, cost effective investment.
In some cases lowering or discounting my design fee to the customer then reimbursing me for a part of the design fee out of your own pocket (assuming you’ve already got the job!) makes sense (you’re then building it into the cost of construction)…..again, the decision is yours. In any case, don’t be afraid of design fees…..yes, people will pay for design services!
I’ve found that for many higher end customers, price is not the important deciding factor, service and quality is: these customers may be perfectly happy to pass you up and hire the next guy if you are not providing them with the level of service, professionalism and quality they expect and feel they deserve.
The Lehmann Design Group stands ready to provide you and your customers with high quality design and sales services.
Don’t delay any longer; call, text or email me and let’s set up a time to talk.
By the way, if you already provide your customers with very high quality landscape, planting and construction services, bringing experience, construction know-how, flexibility, sophistication and team spirit to every job you do, and you respect and appreciate high quality design work, I’d like to talk to you about joining a very select group of contractors installing projects for the Lehmann Design Group.
Mike
