Landscape and Irrigation is read by decision makers throughout the landscape and irrigation markets — including contractors, landscape architects, professional grounds managers, and irrigation and water mgmt companies and reaches the entire spetrum.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/351389
P icture this: you are standing on your client's property discussing the service you provide. Congratulations, you have already accomplished the most difficult part of your job — getting on the property. Since we are in the service industry and every job we perform requires us to show up on site, it is easy to forget how you got there. Sure, maybe they saw your ad, or maybe they received a recommendation from a neighbor, but there is also a good chance they saw one of your competitor's ads as well, and know another friend who used another service. So why are you standing there and not someone else? Often, it boils down to trust. They are trusting that your service will fulfill their need, in the time agreed upon, and for a fair price. Building on that trust, there are opportunities to expand your business in a manner that is valuable to your clients, and, as a member of the green industry, is a logical exten- sion of what you are already doing. Tree health care is a fairly simple service to add to your business and market to your clients. The start-up costs are low, the profitability can be rewarding, and protecting your client's trees can set you apart from your competitors. If your clients already trust you with their landscape, lawn, or property maintenance, you are in the perfect position to start caring for their trees. That said, tree health care is also a service that can seriously damage your reputation if you do it wrong. Screw up someone's turf pretty bad and you might get stuck re-sodding a sec- tion of the property. Screw up someone's 100 year-old oak tree and there is very little you can do the remedy that. When you take on a new venture, you put the reputation of your business on the line. Your customers won't care if you're new at this — they have service expectations that have to be met. So what resources are available to help you be successful? Starting a tree health care division can seem daunting. There are hundreds of trees to identify, myriad insect and disease problems, not to mention all the products and equipment needed. Maybe the old adage that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step offers some reassurance. In this case, the journey to the first thousand dollars can begin with a single tree. As overwhelming as it may seem, the vast majority of urban forests are only populated with a dozen or so prominent species. Out of these, there are typically three to five main species that have common health issues, and, from those, one or two can be treated fairly easily without specialized and expensive equipment. Resources such as the International Society of Arboriculture, the Arbor Day Foundation, and Tree Care Growing Your Business With Tree Health By Brandon Gallagher Watson 26 Landscape and Irrigation August 2014 www.landscapeirrigation.com Adding tree health services can sepa- rate you from com- petitors.