In life and in sales, it’s not uncommon for us to make things complicated. And sometimes that means working harder than we really have to when it comes to sales. But it can be incredibly frustrating for your sales team to chase down leads that never come to fruition. When your team is putting out their best effort and coming up empty-handed, you can be sure that they’re going to be stressed.
That’s why there is good reason to encourage your sales team to “go for the low-hanging fruit.” What that means in terms of sales success is seeking out the simplest or the easiest sales to make. For every company, those leads might look a little bit different.
Here are some potentially low-hanging fruit sales opportunities that your team could be tracking down.
Reconnecting with old leads
For most sales teams, chasing after brand-new leads is the biggest challenge. It can be a lot of work and not turn into anything. But what about some of those past opportunities in which you already have a connection? It could be that circumstances have changed since you last checked in. In many cases, it can be worth following up.
Simply the act of rekindling a conversation can transform an old lead into an actual job. Maybe a prospective client was interested in your services but ended up deciding to hold off. And maybe now they’re interested. They could have even chosen another company but weren’t happy with the service they’ve received.
It never hurts to ask.
Selling an add-on service
Another low-hanging fruit is an add-on sale. This means selling an additional service to an existing customer that already knows and trusts you. In many ways, these are viewed as a huge value-add to the client. If you’re on their property performing a mowing service but you notice they have some shrubs that need to be trimmed, that could be an add-on sale.
The key is to make sure it doesn’t come across as you looking for ways to nickel and dime the client—but instead, come across as you looking to help them. Pose add-on sales as a way for the client to receive more value from you and it will become a win-win for you both.
Offering a discount
Discounts are somewhat controversial in the lawn and landscaping business and some folks really don’t like to offer them. They’d rather not land the sale then lower their price and set an expectation. But we’ve also heard from landscape pros who have used discounts to their advantage. Sometimes a slight discount can still be a profitable lead and be better than losing it completely.
But it has to make financial sense. You never want to discount a job to the point of losing money. And you definitely have to be careful about setting the wrong expectation. You don’t necessarily want a client that is going to give you pushback on every service going forward because of the fact you discounted it once.
Those who have had success with discounts are usually upfront that it’s a one-time, first-service deal. You might say something like, “Give us a chance to show you what we can do at a discounted price. If you like our work, then you can consider hiring us.”
If it’s a large account and that approach will “get you in the door,” it could be worth it!
Using landscape business software for sales success
All of these sales efforts (and more) can be made easier with the use of landscape business software. That’s because software can help you track leads and easily reconnect with past opportunities. You’ll be able to have data as to why it didn’t work out in the first place and what the circumstances were—and then you can recall that information when you reconnect.
You can also have all the financial data at your fingertips so that you can know when discounting makes sense.
Plus, you’ll be able to track all of your incoming leads and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. You can set reminders, search for clients (past and present), and track valuable data with the use of software. Using both technology—and going for the low-hanging fruit when warranted—you can keep your sales leads churning!
