At what point do you hire an agency?
I'm at the point in my business where I really need to not be doing stuff that I'm not good at and I have enough money to invest in different areas of the business to improve the operations. I'm actually rebranding as well so I'm changing our website then it got me thinking - My old website was good, I put a lot of work in to the back links, SEO optimizing it myself, but it does look a little DIY. I got to thinking, this would be a good time to do it correctly and potentially have a professional do it, and maybe I've been missing out on potential traffic because of the website. Has anyone hired an agency with success? What about failures? What things should I be thinking about when approaching this?Is your business showing up in AI search? šāØ
Have you ever asked AI something like āWhoās the best plumber in [your city]?ā or āFind me a landscaper near meā just to see if your business pops up? If you appeared, what are you doing to make sure you maintain visibility? If not, PhilRisherā has a few website tips that could help. š In this Masters of Home Service episode, he covers website best practices that can help your business stay visible as search changes, from answering real customer questions to sharing pricing and local information and putting more work into your āknowledge baseā. š Want to put these tips into action? Download our free website optimization playbook for this episode. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Marketing for a Growing Landscaping Company (When Youāre Still Wearing All the Hats)
For those running small-to-mid size landscaping companies (especially maintenance-heavy businesses), how are you handling marketing as you grow? Iāve been managing ours in-house due to my convenient design background, but between operations and crew management itās becoming unsustainableāespecially when it comes to SEO and lead generation for higher-value projects (which I have less experience with) Are you outsourcing to a freelancer/agency, or hiring in-house? And at what point did that investment start to make sense for you? Do you have any recommendations for Canadian companies?Is a Salesperson Different from the Person Who Makes The Quotes?
I had an interesting discussion with my mentor lately. Some background: I promoted a team member from carpenter to operations manager. I gave a base salary plus a percentage of gross profit above a certain mark. We didn't hit that mark so he basically just got his base salary for the quarter and was really disappointed, came in and just asked for a really high base instead. I was talking to my mentor about how our sales flow is structured and he mentioned I need to be thinking of the sales person as a lead generator, then the person who would be managing the execution as the person who needs to put the estimates together. That kind of blew my mind a little bit but the more he talked about it, the more it made sense. Keep in mind our projects are all custom essentially so there's different details for everyone, even if it's kind of the same thing. If I go and make the job walk, make the estimate then sell to the team, but then try to incentivize it based on a budget, it's not necessarily fair because the production staff had no part in making that budget. BUT if I'm able to create the "at bats", the foreman walks it with the client then assigns the amount of time and material it will take. Then there's less opportunity to miss details or something get lost in communication. I can give him a plaud unit to make sure to summarize everything. This would also solve the problem of clients treating me like the project manager even though I'm not supposed to be the project manager. I was the one that shook their hand and took their deposit so why wouldn't they send me the grout selections right? Anyway, if you read through all that - I'm curious what your opinion on this is.Are You Selling Your Serviceā¦ or Selling the Experience?
Customers have more choices than ever. Sometimes the difference isnāt just the service you provide, but how you make people feel from the first interaction to the final follow-up. What are some ways your business creates an experience that keeps customers coming back?Dial In Your SEO without an Agency
Hey team! i wanted to share a really good episode of the Waste No Day podcast. I just listened to it today and it had some really good tips on what things are important, things you can do, etc to organically strengthen your google business profile. One thing I learned that's it's ok to have an agency but you want to approach them after you already have the basics covered. If you try to completely hand off your marketing, you are asking for disappointment. When you take responsibility for this part of your business, you will understand how to measure success with an agency, and the value they provide will be like putting gas on the fire instead of trying to start the fire. Check this episode out, it's definitely worth the hour. Waste No Day Podcast - Lorne SederoffWhy Is It So Hard to Get Your Business Verified on Google Business Profile?
So....I have been trying to get "validated" by Google for about 2.5 years now and I dont understand why I need to and why it isn't easier. I own a Junk Removal company and Google is sending me through the ringer! PLEASE TELL ME IM NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH THIS? Does anyone have insight on what to do? Thanks in advance, Hannah, DriveBy Junk Removal, Ltd.How I Create a Landscape Design, 2D Plan, and 3D Rendering Before Leaving the Client's Driveway
To close premium landscape deals on the spot, I use a fast, mobile-and-AI workflow that visualizes the final project before leaving the client's yard. Here's my method, and links to the programs I click on. Map I walk the property with Cam to Plan to instantly generate an accurate 2D layout using augmented reality. Sketch I drop that map into Procreate on my iPad with my Apple Pencil and start listening and observing. As the client shares their vision and seatbacks, I sketch design layers and notes directly over the map layout to build instant trust. This part is where you really design. You're listening to the client and creating solutions based on your breadth of knowlege and your uncanny talent to see the past, present, and future by looking at a plot of dirt. That part is 100% you. Itās about this point that I go sit in the client's driveway for 10 minutes and hash out my design, and when Iām getting close, I turn to AI. Polish I run that rough sketch through my own app that I spent months developing (not a developer) called PlotTwist: GrowingShade, created with Opal. It instantly transforms hand-drawn sketch into a clean 2D landscape plan with legible text, improved symbols, and architectural shading. Itās my design, but presentation ready. I use these glow ups in website and social media posts. Close PlotTwist 3D, another of my Opal apps overlays that finished 2D plan directly onto the original photos of the client's yard. Seeing a realistic 3D concept of their future space layered onto their actual home creates an immediate emotional connection that closes the deal. You do want to emphasize that it is conceptual, because this app isn't as accurate at the previous. Now you know all my secrets! Comment below on the programs and apps that you use! -La Madrina
