Envisor Business Insights

Landscaping Business Profitability: What Good Numbers Look Like

Most landscape business owners know their revenue number. They can tell you what they billed last year, roughly what they’re on track for this year, and whether it’s up or […]

How to Find and Hire a Landscape Business Consultant

The decision to hire a landscape business consultant is one of the most consequential investments a landscape business owner can make. Done right, it can unlock the next level of […]

Green Industry Business Coaching: Is It Worth It?

The green industry – landscape companies, lawn care operators, irrigation contractors, tree services, and the broader network of businesses that serve the outdoor environment – has seen a surge in […]

How to Grow a Landscaping Business: The Complete Owner’s Guide

You got into the landscaping business because you’re good at the work. You built something from nothing – clients, crews, equipment, reputation. You hit a million dollars in revenue, maybe […]

The Importance of Customer Service: An Enduring Differentiator

The differentiator in highly competitive industries often comes down to one thing: understanding the importance of customer service, and delivering great customer service. In a competitive marketplace, we generally see one […]

Developing Divisional Leaders in Your Company

In the competitive world of the landscape industry, your company’s success is directly tied to the strength of its leadership. At Envisor Consulting, we understand the critical importance of cultivating […]

The Four Seasons of the Business Year

Aligning Growth with Nature’s Rhythms In the landscape industry, we live by the seasons. Each one brings its own focus, energy, and set of priorities, guiding us to work in […]

Solving Problems for Sales Success

A sign in one of our client’s offices reads: “The best salespeople don’t come to work every day trying to sell; they come in trying to help people and solve […]

Personal Margin: How to Give Work Life Balance Meaning

Margin, in our financial world, is that gap between our cost and the price. It’s the extra we need to pay our overhead and make a profit. More margin is […]

Leadership Weaknesses: Blind Spots That Might Hold You Back

When you hear the term “blind spot,” you probably think of an area of limited visibility associated with your vehicle. Blind spots are also a real thing in human relations. […]

3 Components of an Effective Estimating System

Envisor always emphasizes how important it is for companies to identify and document their “Business Process.” This refers to how work flows through the organization. In fact, we developed the […]

Measure What Matters

Measure What Matters Most landscape business owners are running their companies on gut instinct. They know roughly how much revenue they did last month. They have a sense of whether […]

Sales Process Steps: Developing Scope

The sales process often determines long-term success, particularly in services like maintenance or design-build projects. At Envisor Consulting, we have developed a streamlined sales process that focuses not only on […]

Start Clean Finish Clean

Phase I: Lead or Service Offering Have you ever visited a new restaurant and been given a menu so extensive that it stressed you out? I have, and unfortunately, I typically worry […]

6 Components of a Change Management Plan

As landscape industry consultants, our team is typically engaged for a few reasons. Either clients are having trouble breaking through some growth barrier, not making enough money or just not […]

Financial Literacy Tips to Improve

In sports, halftime is a great time to review the first-half results and make any adjustments to the game plan to finish strong in the second half. The coaching staff […]

The ‘What’ and the ‘How’

Strategy is the “how.” Strategy equals the specific plans for hitting your goals and achieving your vision. The term comes from military use: The plans for defeating the enemy and […]

Doing the Right Things Will Set You Free

At Envisor, we have the privilege to work with landscape companies across the country. We are typically engaged as consultants to help our clients increase sales, increase profits, improve quality […]

Leadership Advantage: Structure matters in maintenance

Business structure matters. As businesses grow, questions come up about who to hire and for what purpose. When the business is small, the owner wears all the hats: He sells […]

Leadership Advantage: Get out there

The value we deliver happens in the field, on our customers’ sites. Unfortunately, the more you advance, grow, and mature in this industry, the further away from the field you […]

Leadership Advantage: Retaining to grow

Ensuring great relationships requires effort. Charisma and charm are great, but charm is not a strategy. Clients of landscape services are primarily looking for trust, expert advice, proactivity, and effective […]

Account Managers and Field Operations Managers – Put Your Best Face Forward

In my years of experience in the landscape industry, I’ve come to believe account managers can be one of the most important differentiating advantages for our companies. After all, they […]

Pricing Fundamentals: Time and Materials vs Fixed Fee

This question of time and material pricing vs materials vs fixed fee pricing comes up on a regular basis, as I consult with clients around the country. So, let me […]

Why and how to fire bad clients

In the landscape maintenance field, clients are like stock portfolios. Some yield great returns; others don’t. In either case, you’re spending resources—including crew time, equipment use and management attention—to keep […]

What’s your type? Understand it and soar

Learning to deal effectively with people is one of the keys to success. Whether in leadership, sales, service or supervision, your ability to persuade, win confidence, gain respect and motivate […]

4 steps for onboarding landscape maintenance clients

So they finally said yes, and you have a new landscape maintenance client. You or your salesperson probably spent hours, days or even years cultivating the relationship to finally get […]

Organize production chaos

I started my career in the green industry working summer jobs at landscape companies. After college, I threw out a hard-earned biology degree and entered the landscape business full time. […]

The 4 Ps of Differentiation

The 4 Ps of Differentiation In all highly competitive industries, there are companies that somehow overcome all odds to rise above the competition. What is different about them? How does […]

Key to profits? Labor management

Quick, what’s the key to profitability? How do you ensure all your work results in something left over to make it all worthwhile? Is it growth? No. Windfall growth can […]

Creating Effective Enhancement Systems: A Landscaper’s Guide

Selling installations and additional services is a critical part of the landscape maintenance business strategy. Developing enhancement systems is a key way to boost profits and customer satisfaction. The benefits […]

Life cycle of a landscape business

Why do some landscape companies grow into thriving, multi-million dollar enterprises while others stay stuck at the same revenue level for years – or worse, fade away entirely? Ken Thomas […]

How to Create Respectful Tension for Results

How do words like, conflict, confrontation, accountability, debate and tension make you feel? Uncomfortable? Sure! I don’t blame you. Nobody enjoys confrontation. If there’s someone who does, I would avoid […]

4 Actions of Great Leaders

Leadership in the landscape industry gets discussed in abstract terms: be a good communicator, set a clear vision, lead by example. All true. All unhelpfully vague. What landscape business owners […]

Where Do Good Account Managers Come From?

Ask most landscape business owners where their best account managers came from, and you’ll get the same answer: ‘We got lucky.’ Maybe a great crew leader showed a natural talent […]

Achieve 100% productivity

Productivity is important in any business, and there are several ways to measure it. But the best way is to keep it simple, clear and actionable. For the green industry, […]

When is Overtime OK?

You’ve told your guys a thousand times, “No overtime!” It’s an unnecessary premium cost that cuts deep into your margins. Or is it? The unplanned, capricious use of overtime hurts […]