| | | | American Academy of Landscape Design
| September 17, 2009 | | | | | Greetings! You haven't heard from me in awhile. To some, that's good news I'm sure.
There have been some big changes in my professional life which I'll share below. As always, I'll try to be brief because your time is valuable.
Sincerely, 
American Academy of Landscape Design
www.aaldweb.com
847-657-7900
P.S. Still have some book bargains left. If you see something you like, but you don't like the price, make me an offer.
Click here
| |  Take Pride In Your Ride
 First things first. I made a career change. How? Well, I bought a 22-year-old auto detail shop. Huh? What does Tim know about cars?
Those who know me know that I'm not a "car guy," but, ironically, that is the problem with many detailers. Bear with me here. If you are so deep into the technical aspects of the business, often the business side gets neglected. Sound familiar?
It is a service business, and in many ways, it is not a whole lot different from a landscape design business. Rule number one is, "Take care of people." It's not that complicated. It's not always easy, but it's not that complicated.
Having said all that, I do plan to keep teaching and lecturing and writing. But I have no plans to be sitting at someone else's kitchen table at 6 pm after putting in 12 hours already!
| A Good Deal
Remember when it was trendy to toss money around and not care what things cost? People had money to spend and wanted people to know it. Even if you didn't have it, it was trendy to appear like you did. Well, the pendulum has swung the other way.
In my landscape life, I was always positioned near the top in terms of cost. I believed that what I had to sell was deserving of a suitable price. I still do. But I also believed that the high end of the market was more recession-proof than the lower end. That part I'm not too sure about any more, at least not in this current downturn.
The curious thing is that it is now trendy to get a good deal. That is, even if you are otherwise unaffected by current economic conditions, the trend is to look for bargains, or at least something perceived as a good value. So, if your product or service is a high end product, it may be smart to reconsider how you market it.
I'm seeing it in my new business as well. Affluent people with expensive cars are looking for a deal. They clip coupons and try to negotiate for a better price. Do they need to? Doubtful. But it's cocktail conversation fodder.
So, as you wind up your business for the year, consider how you might make people feel like they got a deal. It's a tough thing to do, because you don't want to cheapen your product. Maybe you come up with a scaled down version of your normal services, offered at a lower price. Or you offer a bonus item or service with your normal price structure. Or include some follow up services.
In any case, make people feel like they got a good deal.
|  Speaking of Deals
Over the years, many people have asked to see the documents we use in our office. Very few outside our office have seen them. Now you have a chance to get them for yourself.
A full list is on the web site, but the set includes our Design Contracts, Construction Contract, Change Orders, and the one that changed my business the most, the Pre-Contract Agreement.
Click here to order!
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