6 Tips for a Productive Commercial Landscaping Consultation

You’re so busy that every time you add another meeting to your calendar, a small part of you sighs heavily, swears, or needs to take an antacid.

You don’t have time to waste.

So when you meet a potential new commercial landscaping company on your property for the first time, make every minute of this walk-through count.

Level Green Landscaping business developer Jordan Foss and director of business development Larry Leon share tips for making this important on-site consultation a great and productive use of your valuable time.

1. You Attend the Meeting — Not Your Maintenance Staff

Yes, there are 52 things on your to-do list. And that doesn’t count the leftover stuff from yesterday’s list.

It’s really tempting to send somebody else to this meeting.

But even a trusted maintenance manager isn’t a good substitute for you, the property manager, Foss says.

We really want to meet with you.

“On these walks, issues are presented and conversations can be had on the spot rather than brought up at a later date,” Foss says. “The more time spent with them around the property, the better for me to understand what they want from their landscaping vendor.”

Walking your property together is a great opportunity to point out not just the big issues, but the small pet peeves and wish lists that can help us create a commercial landscaping plan that will make your job easier and your property stand out from the competition.

2. Tell Us What Your Current Commercial Landscaping Company Does

Be prepared to share exactly what your current commercial landscaping vendor handles, from spring cleanup to irrigation to snow management.

“This is important as it gives us the opportunity to provide an apples-to-apples proposal compared to what’s currently being done,” Foss says. And it helps us recommend ways to do things even better.

“Explain the history of landscape maintenance on the site,” adds Leon, “and how the appearance of the property has changed over time, for the better or worse.”

3. Hone in on Enhancements

Landscaping enhancements are the attention-grabbing features that bring eyes to your property, like the fantastic flower show at your front entrance or the community fire pit patio at your shopping center courtyard.

Are these features a priority for you?

“Clarify how much the site spends on enhancements as a percentage of the maintenance contract,” Leon says.

4. Bring Your Flower Count

Flowers are the bright, blooming attention-getters of great commercial landscaping.

Those dragon wing begonias at your entrance. The giant planters packed with tropical bananas, coleus, and sweet potato vines in your courtyard.

Check your current contract so you know exactly how many flowers your current commercial landscaping company provides for your annual flower rotation.

“Differing flower counts between vendors involved in the bidding process can cause large discrepancies in pricing,” Foss says.

Maybe you want more flowers. We might recommend more. But it helps to start with the number currently on your property.

5. Tell Us What’s Going Wrong

Your commercial landscaping vendor doesn’t show up?

They keep forgetting to check your irrigation system?

Flowers are dying?

You have more gray hairs since you’ve been working with them?

We’d love to turn things around. But we need to know what’s made you frustrated and unhappy, Leon says.

“Be honest about the extent to which you are happy or unhappy with the incumbent,” he says.

Why are you looking for a new commercial landscaping company?

The more information you share, Foss says, “the better we can speak in detail in our proposal on how we can make the positive change they‘re looking for.”

6. Who’s in Charge?

Plan to tell us who’s the ultimate decision maker for your property’s commercial landscaping.

Even better, what are their landscaping pet peeves? What do they love in a vendor? What will make them compliment you on how great the property looks?

Maybe this person is you. Great! But maybe it’s a regional manager or a condo or HOA board.

“Tell the landscaper about the owner's or HOA/condo board’s goals and objectives for the property,” Leon says.

“Give us a clear understanding of who will make the final decisions,” Foss adds, “and what factors will be most important to that person.”

Trust Your Commercial Landscaping to Level Green

Level Green’s proactive approach to commercial landscape maintenance means we’ve got your property’s landscaping under control — no need for those antacids.

Intrigued? Find out more. Let’s meet.

 
If you’re not already a Level Green Landscaping client, we’d love to add you to our growing list of happy customers.

Our focus is on commercial properties like offices, mixed-use sites, HOAs, municipalities and institutions in Maryland, Washington DC and parts of Virginia.

Contact us at 202-544-0968. You can also request a free consultation online to meet with us one-on-one.

We’d love to hear from you.