{"id":3619,"date":"2021-09-08T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T10:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/?post_type=features&p=3619"},"modified":"2021-12-30T17:23:19","modified_gmt":"2021-12-30T22:23:19","slug":"watch-us-grow-2021-industry-standouts","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/innovativepixel.com\/IGIN\/features\/watch-us-grow-2021-industry-standouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Us Grow: 2021 Industry Standouts"},"content":{"rendered":"
Last year was a challenge for green industry professionals for a host of reasons. For many, the biggest challenge was keeping up with the rush of new jobs, balancing current customers and maintaining crews.<\/p>\n
The industry standouts program celebrates those service providers who have not only had a successful year but implemented new strategies to make the most of it, from marketing efforts to delegating effectively. The companies featured include large and small firms, and they range from brand-new to well-established. That diversity of background shows that it\u2019s always the right time to plan for growth.<\/p>\n
We hope the stories of Connor Zielinski, Juan Carlos Esparza, Mark Stuhlsatz and Mario Argentina help fuel your company\u2019s next steps toward becoming an industry standout.<\/p>\n
The Cold Caller<\/h2>\n
Connor Zielinski, president of Irri Design Studio, Kissimmee, Florida, never expected to be working in irrigation design. After college, he decided to pursue design in AutoCAD and stumbled across a listing for an irrigation designer.<\/p>\n
\u201cNever in a million years had I thought about designing for irrigation,\u201d he says. \u201cI just fell into it and loved every second of it. I\u2019ve just been enjoying it ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the course of the last nine years, the 26-year-old Zielinski developed his skills as an irrigation designer but still always felt the urge to run his own business. Just at the tail end of 2019 before the pandemic started to get notice, he made the move to create his own company.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was probably the worst possible timing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
At Irri Design\u2019s start, nothing was more important to Zielinski than bringing in new customers. So he employed one of the oldest methods for connecting with potential clients: cold calling. He dedicated a good part of each night to browsing online maps and searching for companies that might need irrigation design work, tracking down contact information and emailing them. He estimates that he sent about 40 emails each night for about two months at the height of the process. He eventually developed his own email template that he used to reach out to companies in business hub areas that he thought would be good locations such as Dallas or Los Angeles even beyond his Florida contacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt that point every firm or landscape designer was an option,\u201d Zielinski says. \u201cI refused to fail at this.\u201d<\/p>\n
A lot came back saying that they do the design work in-house or already had a consultant.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut a lot also came back and said, \u2018We would love to work with you. We\u2019ve been trying to find someone. Here\u2019s a project,\u2019\u201d Zielinski says. \u201cI got denied a lot, but it worked out way better than I expected.\u201d<\/p>\n
The moment he received his first positive response, it motivated him through the challenge of rejection, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat created a buzz for me and an adrenaline rush,\u201d Zielinski says. \u201cFor all these emails I\u2019ve sent, this one worked. And if one can work, why can\u2019t the others?\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as the company becomes more established, Zielinski still dedicates some time every day to sending out cold call emails to potential clients, he says.<\/p>\n
The majority of the new clients who are helping the company develop already had design services available but were impressed with his boldness in reaching out. One of the things he was able to use to set himself apart was his versatility as an irrigation designer just beginning his own company. \u201cIf someone emailed me asking for an estimate for a project, I would drop everything that I was doing and reply to that email instantly,\u201d he says. If he wasn\u2019t able to answer it directly, he would at least let the person know he was working on the response and when he\u2019d be able to get it to them.<\/p>\n
He pushed for fast responses not only in communication but in delivering solid design work. Overall, the increased number of available jobs and an overall employee shortage due to the pandemic worked in his favor, he says. It gave him a chance to reach a larger range of potential clients than he had anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cI base my entire business off of communication,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the thing I focus on the most because my clients absolutely love it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as the company grows, he intends to develop those communication guidelines as best practices for his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I have full-time employees, I will be implementing this into their skillsets as well so we can carry this throughout the business,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Another skill that serves him well as a small company is the ability to delegate, he says. He\u2019s developed a rapport with the contractors he uses for some of the design work and lines the jobs up with the designer who has the appropriate skill set. This allows him to focus on business development while still following up on each project and doing a thorough check of the design work to make certain it fits the company\u2019s style. In a sense, he sometimes thinks of himself as a coordinator of these projects.<\/p>\n
Though Irri Design saw a solid amount of growth in the past year, it\u2019s already doubled that growth so far this season. \u201cI don\u2019t see it slowing down. Maybe I\u2019m optimistic,\u201d says Zielinski. \u201cI have projects lined up for probably the next year and a half.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zielinski is the only full-time employee of Irri Design Studio, but he works closely with each of his contractors to develop a cohesive irrigation approach and design. As the company has grown, he\u2019s been on the lookout for a full-time employee he can mentor as a teammate.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tough to find someone who will enjoy the irrigation and who wants to start a new career,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s been fun trying to find someone like myself, though, who just jumped into it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Route Optimizer<\/h2>\nJuan Carlos Esparza built efficient routing to give his team more time to work on great landscapes for clients. (Photo: Urbanscapes Landscaping Service)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Focusing on efficiency has paid off for Juan Carlos Esparza, owner of Urbanscapes Landscaping Services, San Jose, California. The young company started in 2018 and already has a total of 18 employees on staff.<\/p>\n
Like many in the industry, Esparza\u2019s father was the head of his own landscaping business. Starting in Esparza\u2019s junior year of high school, he worked at his father\u2019s firm during the summers, he says. He started in a maintenance role, working his way up to being a crew leader.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey gave me the responsibility as a crew leader to take care of the route and do work with my colleagues,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
As he finished college with a focus on business administration, his father suggested that rather than coming back to the business as an intern, it was time for him to look into doing something bigger, he says.<\/p>\n
His father referred him to Gachina Landscape Management, where he was brought on first as an intern and then a full-time account manager. As he was learning the job, he kept coming back to the idea of being his own boss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to work for them, but in the back of my mind, I still had that plan,\u201d says Esparza, who is 26. \u201cI want to be that business owner. I want to run my business one day. So I took every step necessary to be where I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Urbanscapes developed quickly as Esparza prioritized a proactive approach to customer connection, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people don\u2019t believe the massive growth that\u2019s happened. I almost can\u2019t believe it either,\u201d Esparza says. \u201cI think proactiveness is what has helped me succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esparza has energized his company\u2019s capabilities by finding new routing efficiency and developing his contract maintenance business, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo years ago, the routes weren\u2019t really that profitable. They weren\u2019t efficient,\u201d he says. He restructured the routes to minimize travel time and spoke with clients about how he was optimizing the routes and changing service dates to improve overall response.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spoken with clients to say that it makes more sense for me to come out on a particular day,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
While most of his clients were understanding, one did push back to requesting a particular day for service. Esparza conveyed to the client that while it was possible to send a crew out specifically for a 45-minute travel time to the property on the requested day, travel time in the efficient route was only 5 minutes. \u201cWhen I\u2019ve got only 5 or 10 minutes in travel time, I can invest that time difference into your property,\u201d he says. \u201cFrom that standpoint, it made sense to the client.\u201d<\/p>\n
By really honing his routing into an efficient system, he was able to expand his client network as well, he says. He checked with the commercial properties near his current clients and asked for referrals, and both efforts paid off.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy clients have really been my business developer,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Another improvement to his workflow was reorganizing his crews into leaner, more nimble squads, he says. Esparza\u2019s team suggested that change directly, even after he offered to purchase more tools to help the work get done more quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told them that I could get them another machine, or whatever they needed,\u201d he says. \u201cThey says it wasn\u2019t about the machine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than having multiple crews of four members, he found that the teams were able to handle the work more effectively with three. That allowed him to use the remaining crew members as more versatile floaters to travel and help where it was needed most.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat advice came from the crew themselves,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m very fortunate that I\u2019ve got a very great, hard-working, supportive team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esparza also streamlined processes for his crew by distributing new work orders and customer requests via email both in English and Spanish. \u201cThen they have that info,\u201d he says. \u201cThat helps me to be more efficient and organized, as opposed to handing it out in the morning when we\u2019re all at the yard. And then I\u2019m trying to get information out to the crew that I missed or I forget to communicate something while I\u2019m networking with 18 guys at once at 6:30 in the morning.\u201d Instead, the emailed instructions help keep communication open with his crew leaders in scheduling and handling specific requests.<\/p>\n
Developing customers into contract maintenance clients was another main goal for him in the past year. Esparza looked at his current clients with established contracts and worked on ways to bring in more revenue. \u201cI wanted to build a network with the right clients that would allow me to leverage them to offer additional services,\u201d he says. Whether that was a water audit or a system upgrade, he pushed to make single-service clients into returning customers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I look at the past, we would do one-time installs, but then we\u2019d never hear back from the customer,\u201d he says. \u201cWith contract maintenance, you\u2019ve got that relationship. The opportunity to sell additional services builds up your business by working with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking forward, Esparza is already working on developing his current employees so that some can step up to leadership levels. That way, he can focus on controlling the business\u2019s growth effectively and the management structure will support itself. \u201cThat was advice I got from another business owner,\u201d he says. \u201cAny person who is going to help you has to be promoted from within your company. They\u2019ll know what you want in good leadership and the team knows each other. It\u2019ll pay off in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esparza\u2019s father used to offer business advice as Urbanscapes was starting up. But with its current growth, these days he sits back and watches his son work, he says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very happy with all of the connections that have helped me out,\u201d Esparza says. \u201cI feel like the support I\u2019ve had has helped me be where I am today.<\/p>\n
The Brand Builder<\/h2>\nRyan Lawn and Tree\u2019s bright red trucks are a well-known sight in its coverage areas. The company\u2019s marketing team worked to connect that branding to customer satis-faction through feedback and outreach. (Photo: Ryan Lawn and Tree)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The cherry red Ryan Lawn and Tree trucks have become a part of the Kansas City business culture\u2019s branding landscape across Kansas and Missouri for more than 30 years, but that level of consistency has not stopped the company from continuously aiming for growth. Ryan Lawn and Tree\u00b4s growth has been spurred by two factors \u2014 a new commitment to making improvements based on customer feedback and increased investment in search engine optimization advertising.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of our irrigation and lawn service growth in the past year has been enjoying the fruits of our labor and several factors converging at once,\u201d says Mark Stuhlsatz, vice president of regional operations for Ryan Lawn and Tree, who has been with the company for a decade. \u201cWe have been around for over 35 years but it seems like in the past year we are getting an even better name. Our trucks have been recognized around the community for years, but I feel like in the past year we have really elevated the experience of people getting to know the brand and the people behind the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a brand awareness that is growing all across the Midwest as Ryan Lawn and Tree has expanded markets in recent years into St. Louis; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Wichita, Kansas; and Springfield, Missouri, to go along with its stronghold in the Kansas City metropolitan area.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom a marketing perspective we did not do anything too crazy in the past year,\u201d says Stuhlsatz. \u201cWe just emphasized the professional clean look of our staff, our trucks and our brand overall. We want people to know that real professionals are coming to their house to take care of their lawn, and that is exactly what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ryan Lawn and Tree\u2019s recent expansion into new markets like St. Louis and Tulsa meant that they knew they had to double down on their analysis of the current customer experience.<\/p>\n
The company did not want its expansion to cause fewer touch points with its customers, leading to customers feeling that they were working with a faceless corporate entity that did not respond to their personal needs, concerns or comments. \u201cIt has been a concern of our growth,\u201d says Brady Smith, marketing coordinator for Ryan Lawn and Tree. \u201cTwo years ago we figured out what we wanted to do, and that was to double down on retrieving feedback from our most valuable asset \u2014 our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n
To formally gauge customer feedback, Ryan Lawn and Tree implemented the Listen 360 Net Promoter Score program that uses a traditional zero to 10 scale to identify how likely customers are to refer the company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started this in February and it gives us a much better view of what people are saying,\u201d says Smith. \u201cWe have been able to dig into customer feedback and follow up with the detractors individually, find a resolution and see if they change their score.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another valued communication vehicle of customer feedback Smith and the marketing team look at are their reviews on Google.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there are any negative reviews, we follow up with them immediately,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n
Ryan Lawn and Tree currently has more than 900 reviews on Google and fewer than 30 have the lowest one- or two-star ratings.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter we follow up with the customer, we say something in the comment about how we found a resolution for that customer,\u201d says Smith. They also take that information back to the marketing and operations team to ensure the situation doesn\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
In the past year an already successful search engine optimization campaign turned even more productive when Ryan Lawn and Tree decided to first lean in on the agency they were using, pushing them to be more strategic and proactive with their tactics, then eventually moving all SEO initiatives and activities in-house so it can receive the day-to-day attention it deserves.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom an internal perspective we now have an overall direction from a content standpoint,\u201d says Smith. \u201cOur content is more focused to be hyper focused in target areas in our smaller markets. We are glad we have brought all of our SEO services in house where we can live it and breathe it and take advantage of top-of-mind marketing. Agencies are good and serve a purpose, but nobody will ever live and breathe your own brand like the company itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
From an executive perspective, Stuhlsatz recommends using a company\u2019s market expansion as the perfect opportunity to go back to the drawing board about how they interact with clients, based on real scenarios and real feedback, not on best-case scenarios or best-case customer deliver circumstances.<\/p>\n
Ryan Lawn and Tree currently boasts a 85 percent Net Promoter Score, meaning that 85 percent of customers would recommend Ryan Lawn and Tree to family and friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best marketing is to create raving fans, and that is our goal,\u201d says Stuhlsatz. \u201cIt is our focus, and it will always start with our customer response \u2014 regardless of the city, it will be the same Ryan experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Technology Advocate<\/h2>\nMario Argentina used smart lighting services to expand customer options. (Photo: H2O Sprinklers & Backflow)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
For Mario Argentina, owner of the Long Island, New York-based H2O Sprinklers & Backflow, the past year has been one of unprecedented growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last year has been one long highlight for our business, and we are blessed and thankful the combination of these strategies worked at the time where we needed it the most,\u201d says Argentina, who operates a staff of five full-time employees.<\/p>\n
Argentina does not attribute his growth to a flashy new marketing campaign, or a new tagline or motto, instead he prefers to organically grow his company and brand through community-building and word-of-mouth client referrals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have forged a good reputation with the supply houses, so they know where to go if they need irrigation and lighting services,\u201d says Argentina. \u201cSponsorships of local events and teams along with word-of-mouth client referrals have also been a valued part of that growth. We have sponsored everything from little league teams to religious organizations and it has worked out for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Technology has played a role as H2O Sprinklers & Backflow has utilized Facebook groups for its online advertising campaigns. \u201cJoining the right Facebook groups was a large part of our targeted marketing success,\u201d says Argentina. \u201cI used my prior experience working for the water district to build the foundation of my strategy as a business owner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Landscape lighting has spearheaded the growth of H2O Sprinklers & Backflow over the past year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only started offering landscape lighting three years ago, and it happened to be a good time because of all the recent developments with LED lighting,\u201d says Argentina. \u201cWe offer integrated bulbs that you can change colors from your phone. The ability to beautify a house just by lighting from a smartphone with our fixtures has made it an around-the-year high-demand service.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Fourth of July holiday, along with Christmas, are the most popular holidays to showcase landscape lighting and the various lighting showcases across Long Island gave Argentina’s clients an opportunity to further grow business from word-of-mouth client referrals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have come a long way since halogen bulbs,\u201d says Argentina. \u201cWe make sure our client is going to like the light setup, so it is virtually a fail-proof process by this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
Argentina offers a test kit and let prospective clients live with the lighting for a few days to see if they like the look in the front of their house, the variety of color and the ease of operation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter a few days we have an in-depth conversation with them to see if it is truly what they want, and not just a passing mood that could eventually create an issue down the road,\u201d says Argentina. \u201cIt is a great touch that people like and about 95% of the time we sell the job. Lighting has changed a lot over the years, so people are very impressed with smart lighting features and functionality. The trial run is a simple, but successful solution, just the way I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with the colorful benefits of landscape lighting, Argentina also sells prospective clients on the functionality and safety provided by smart landscape lighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people are not home they can control the lighting and make it look like they are home when they are thousands of miles away,\u201d says Argentina. That level of control from a distance is great for family vacations and business travel.<\/p>\n
Landscape lighting and smart products provide a higher return on investment than some of the other services Argentina offers at his company. \u201cThere is less time to install, and the lighting provides more value because it can make a house look like a million dollars,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
To further increase operational efficiency, Argentina went to a completely paperless business in 2017.<\/p>\n
It was a decision that paid off with massive benefits in the last year as the business has grown. With the expansion, a high level of efficiency is already built into operations, allowing for more time to develop sales prospects and maintain a high level of customer service.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have no more receipts or forms. We even eliminated forms to the district about our backflow testing,\u201d says Argentina. \u201cThe extra time really allows us to treat efont-weight: 400;very home like it is our own and focus on buying the highest quality products, whether it is a smart lighting or smart irrigation product. We always choose the high-quality products because our name is attached to every project, and our reputation will always be the one thing we can control.\u201d<\/p>\n
This article originally appeared in Irrigation & Green Industry magazine.<\/em><\/h6>\n
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