If you want to attract great landscaping clients and great employees to work on your team, you've got to show them excellent photographs on your website. But not only just photos of your landscape portfolio, you've got to show them photos of your team too. But don't wait until this winter to realize you've got to take new photos to update your website. Capture your well-maintained and mature landscapes this May and June, while they're looking fresh and green.
If you're wondering which photos have the biggest impact on potential customers and potential employees, check out today's episode where I share the visual identity chapter from my book, The Tree Of Good Fortune, to share which photos are going to help you get the best results. While I absolutely recommend hiring a professional photographer to take photos for you, watch to the end where I share an example of how one landscaper has figured out how to create a game with his employees, to get them to take the photos and win prizes for the best ones.
Hey, it's Jack Jostes, and welcome to The Landscapers Guide. You're about to hear a chapter from my book, The Tree of Good Fortune, The Landscaper's Guide to Modern Sales and Marketing. Did you know that it's available as both an audio book and a video book? Well, if you dig this sample chapter, get the recording and print version available exclusively at treeofgoodfortune.com.
How To Take Pictures Of Your Staff
Sadly, many landscapers fall short when it comes to photos. Staff photography, "Who's going to on my property while I'm not here?" Is a fear of many customers. Show people on your team in professional uniforms, with clean equipment to instill a sense of confidence in potential customers. Now, you've got to check out either the print book or the digital book to see the examples of strong staff photos. We have a whole bunch of them here.
And a few things that I really like about them that I'll just describe to you is, they're well-lit. They are clean. They're not in the middle of a job site. They're looking at the camera, they're smiling, they're branded, they're wearing uniforms and they just generally look professional. The team power shot. Oh yeah.
If you have a sweet fleet of vehicles and uniformed staff, flaunt it. Yes, line everyone up early in the morning, dressed in clean in uniforms in front of the vehicles. This communicates to customers that you're ready to do projects. And it shows potential employees that you are a potential employer and team to join.
How To Best Reflect Completed Landscape Projects In Your Portfolio
Portfolio photography. Can you design the backyard I've always dreamed of? Can you maintain my commercial property so I look professional? Whether you're selling residential landscape design projects or commercial maintenance, inspire potential customers with your best work using current, professional photography of finished, well-groomed properties. Not some sweaty guy digging a hole.
Now, sometimes this is harder to do because your client would have to agree. But if you can get your clients and their dogs to be in the landscape, your golden. People are, after all, hiring you to build a place they can enjoy with other people. You've got to check out these other examples of the portfolio photography in the print or digital component available at treeofgoodfortune.com.
Real Life Examples Of ‘’Hell Yes’’ Photography
Now, one of them that I really love in here is a photo from one of my clients. They have a pig roast, it's MVP Snow And Lawn. And they hired a professional photographer to come to their team appreciation event, where they had a pig roast, they played this giant Jenga game. And there's this great photo of all these guys wearing hats, branded shirts, and they're having a blast. It looks like a place that you would want to go work.
Another great photo on here is the Cocal team. Now, Cocal Landscape is a $18 million commercial landscape company in Colorado and their team looks amazing. They've got their fleet of vehicles, everyone's laughing, they got their hands up. They're having fun, right? So add some personality to it. Adding quality photos for your recruiting is tip two out of 11 tips for the Landscaper's Ultimate Online Recruiting Plan, which will revisit another chapter.
So pull out your phone. Or if you're on your computer, Google yourself. Look at your website and Google listing. Do you have individual photo galleries for each service you offer? For instance, if you do fire pits, do you have a gallery of fire pits? If you do patios, do you have a gallery of patios? If you do driveways, do you have a nice gallery of driveways? And so on. Are there photos of this staff dressed in uniform on the website?
Hey, you, dozing off there. Is there a photo of you, the business owner, on the website? And do your images pass the hell yes photo test. So get out your smartphone right now, go to your company website and take a look at each and every photo on the website. Look at the photos on your Google My Business listing, and on your Yelp listing on Facebook. And while you are looking at these photos, answer this question; does this photo represent the type of project I want to sell today? Does the photo represent the type of lead I want to get more of?
If the answer is a hell yes, then awesome. Keep that photo. If the answer is a hell no, I don't want to do those projects anymore, then get rid of that photo. This is a test I have my audience do when I speak at conferences and other events. I have the audience remembers get out their smartphones and take a look at this. And what was a big project to you 10 years ago may not be what you want today.
So prune your website and Google My Business., Facebook, Yelp, really anywhere that you're having photos at least annually. So you're continually putting your best images forward. Yes, take some photos of the installation and construction projects that are behind the scenes and along the way, but remember to come back and get photos of mature landscapes, two, three years later, when they're really looking great. And photos of your team.
And whenever possible, photos of humans enjoying the landscape. Like your or clients, maybe they have a party or something, try and get some photos of people actually enjoying the space. Because that's what this is all about, is people enjoying these landscape.
One of my clients, Craig Atkison from Greenside Up Landscaping in Virginia, has figured out a way of creating a game with his employees. Where they're taking photos. And in particular, they're doing a killer job, getting photos of maintenance. Because maintenance is awesome. But a lot of times people don't get great photos of it.
So check out in the link, I have a link to his podcast interview, How To Get Your Team To Take Great Landscaping Portfolio Photos. And if you enjoyed this sample chapter from my book, I invite you to get the whole thing. Again, we have a video book and audio book, so you can listen to it this spring while you're on the way to job sites. And it's available exclusively at treeofgoodfortune.com.
My name's Jack Jostes, and thanks so much for checking out The Landscapers Guide. I look forward to talking to you next week. Well, if you dig this sample chapter, you can get the full recording and the print copy available exclusively at landscapersguide.com.
See these photos in action on the following websites: