Mastering Sales and Accountability for Landscaping Success

In this week’s episode, I want to share my interesting journey, starting back in my early days in retail sales and eventually moving up to sales manager in a gym. I loved working in health and fitness, especially with the free access to gym facilities. My career took off there, and I learned a lot about managing staff and hitting sales targets. Fast forward to now, I’m applying those skills to my current business, Aura Landscapes. Recently, I’ve been working into our figures with Annmaree, our fantastic admin lady. We’ve been analysing profitability by looking at different teams and setting KPIs, which are key performance indicators. These KPIs help us understand how much money each team is bringing in and, more importantly, the profit margins. We’re also looking at job costings to see if we’re staying within budget and how efficient we are. I’ve noticed that our soft landscaping team, for example, has some inefficiencies. They spend a lot of time driving between jobs, which isn’t billable. To fix this, we’re thinking about better scheduling and possibly changing work hours. It’s all about finding ways to be more efficient without compromising on service quality. One big change is that I’m stepping back into a more hands-on sales management role. We’ve set up weekly sales meetings every Tuesday with key team members. These meetings are designed to review figures, set goals, and discuss how I can support the team better. It’s about holding everyone accountable and ensuring we hit our targets. In these meetings, I’ll be asking for weekly job costings, sales figures, and site visit reports. This information will help us track performance and identify areas for improvement. I’m also interested in how many quotes have been sent and followed up on, and the conversion rates from these quotes. To maximise our efficiency, we’ve also implemented trackers on our vans and a timesheet app. This helps us monitor how time is spent and ensures accurate job costing. It’s crucial for understanding how much time is billable and how much is lost to things like driving. Marketing efforts are also a big focus. Each team member is encouraged to engage in activities like networking and distributing leaflets. I handle the broader marketing strategy, but their input is valuable for generating new ideas. We’re also working on building our email list and creating referral campaigns. Overall, I’m excited about these changes. Stepping back into a sales manager role feels right, and it’s essential for driving our business forward. By staying organised, holding regular meetings, and focusing on both sales and profitability, I’m confident we can grow Aura Landscapes successfully. Sales are the lifeblood of any business, and with a clear focus and strategy, we can achieve great things! The Landscaper’s Coach & Podcast Call us on: 02381 800 102 Email: [email protected] Send us a DM on Instagram with any questions you might have @thelimitlesslandscaperspodcast. Follow TLC on Instagram: @TheLandscapersCoach Follow our Podcast on Instagram: @thelimitlesslandscaperspodcast Follow me! Paula Warman on Instagram: @warmanpaula Website: https://www.thelandscaperscoach.co.uk