Hey, everyone. Happy spring. I'm excited to share some exciting new sales and marketing initiatives we've been working on here at Ramblin Jackson. A weather report, if you will, about the market and some current marketing strategies to help you right now, this spring and some upcoming events I want to share with you and some new services that we're rolling out.
Jessica Winkler [00:00:20]:
One of the important things we've also been focusing on is making sure those landing pages are tuned for speed.
Jack Jostes [00:00:27]:
Because if you think about it from Google's perspective, why would they want to send someone to a slow website?
Jessica Winkler [00:00:33]:
Let's face it, a website is a digital asset and it needs to be solid.
Jack Jostes [00:00:37]:
We're helping our clients get more results faster. So I'm here in the Ramblin Jackson studio in Lyons, Colorado, with our Director of Operations, Jessica Winkler, who last time you were on the show, we were skiing with Robert only like a month ago or something. So anyways, thanks for hanging out on the podcast today.
Jessica Winkler [00:01:01]:
I'm happy to be here, and this time, not bundled up in snow gear. And it was. It's a beautiful spring day. We just ate some delicious barbecue.
Jack Jostes [00:01:11]:
We did. So I wanted to do this podcast for a number of reasons. One, we just finished our quarterly rock planning. So for people, if you're watching or listening, we do Traction. We implement EOS at Ramblin Jackson. So Jessica and I meet typically twice a quarter in person for almost a full day. So today we were planning our rocks. We were reflecting on the rocks from the first quarter, and the rocks are our 90 day projects that we figure out for the company to push us towards our annual goals. And I really enjoy doing this because it forces us to think of, well, what do we need to do next? And we put it in the calendar way in advance.
Jack Jostes [00:01:54]:
So I partly just wanted to share that because I think a lot of our clients are working on implementing Traction. Or even if you're not, I think, getting time in the calendar with your operations people. If you're the owner of the company, hopefully you have somebody who's in the operation seat. I'm really grateful to have Jessica on the team. She's worked here for over seven years and is a key part of what we do.
Jessica Winkler [00:02:21]:
Not just the quarterly rocks. It really helps. I take the time to meet, even just with our individual departments for a couple of hours once a quarter, just to sort of nail down maybe some of the bigger problem areas or gaps where we can solve things. But the time that we get together more at that executive level really helps us keep the vision of the company moving forward. And, yeah, we've got these quarterly strategy meetings scheduled already for the rest of the year. So we know it's happening, we know when it's happening. We could plan in advance. And, yeah, it gives us great time to reflect. And I think even just reflecting today, we saw how much we got done in the last three months.
3:03 - New Product: Google Ads for Landscape Companies
Jack Jostes [00:03:03]:
Well, and so I wanted to share this because it's very relevant to the people listening, our clients or people in the industry. So one of the first things is that we've rolled out Google Ads as a service, so we've been kind of quietly rolling it out, working on clients. And I'm really excited because some of the things that this allows us to do is while we're building out, we're still focused on the Foundational Four: branding, website, local SEO, online reviews, and that takes months to build out. And what AdWords is allowing us to do is to get traffic faster for clients while we're building their sites. We gotta give a shout out to Rebecca, who's been really. It's exciting to share that she's back on the team. Not everyone listening.
Jack Jostes [00:03:55]:
So Rebecca has been on our team for three years ish, now going on three years, left for a little bit, came back, and we're really glad to have her on the team. And some of the other things that we've been working on is; landing pages. So that's been something that you've been working on quite a bit. What is a landing page and why is it important?
Jessica Winkler [00:04:16]:
So a landing page is really just like a page you would have on your website, except the purpose of it is to be super, super focused. So it usually doesn't have any navigation at the top, typically doesn't have any external links. The goal of that page, especially for our clients in this case, is to be very lead generating. It might have a video, it has a very clear form, a good offer, a good call to action, and the goal is to really drive that traffic from Google Ads, or maybe a postcard campaign to contact the company and turn into, hopefully, a customer. So that's really the purpose of the landing pages. And one of the important things we've also been focusing on is, especially with Google Ads, making sure those landing pages are tuned for speed. Page speed is one of the important parts, especially with Google Ads, as it can actually affect where your ad is placed. You're much more likely to have a higher placed ad if the page that ad is going to has a higher speed score.
Jack Jostes [00:05:17]:
Well, yeah. And so for people who aren't familiar with page speed score, essentially, yeah. Like. So Google, if you think about it, has a lot of people that are willing to pay. And if you're in a competitive market, in an urban market, especially if there are a bunch of landscape companies paying to advertise, a lot of people don't realize that Google is going to reward the businesses who are running a better ad campaign. They're going to give them a lower cost per click. They're going to give them more clicks. Because if you think about it from Google's perspective, why would they want to send someone to a slow website or to a landing page that isn't relevant? And they track all the things like how many your click through rate and the conversion rate.
Jack Jostes [00:05:59]:
And all of those things help you ultimately get better performance from your ad campaign. So we have created an audit, a Google Ad audit, and we found that a lot of people are paying someone for Google Ads maintenance. And I don't know what they're getting. I don't know what they're getting. They're running traffic to their home page or to a contact page or some willy nilly page that isn't working very well. So that's where we start with people. The other thing that we found through our audits that we've been doing is people are often targeting the wrong keywords and they don't know that they're paying for residential phrases when they're trying to get commercial leads and that they're paying. They're wasting money for that.
6:49 - Common Mistakes with Google Ads and Keyword Relevance
Jessica Winkler [00:06:49]:
Yeah. Yeah. And that's been true really almost with everybody we've looked at, we have found keywords that are completely irrelevant. 24/7 Restoration is a really great example. They were targeting plumbing keywords. They're not even a plumber.
Jack Jostes [00:07:05]:
They're not a plumber.
Jessica Winkler [00:07:06]:
And that's just wasted ad spend and it's so, and unfortunately, most people really don't know. They don't know. And so this audit gives us an opportunity to really look at what they've done for ads, find the red flags, find the strengths and give them an opportunity to really use and maximize their ad spend dollars.
Jack Jostes [00:07:27]:
Yeah. So if you're listening or you're watching and you're running Google Ads or not, we can do an audit for you and we're super transparent with you of like how does it work and what are you doing and how is it being spent? So reach out to us for that. The other new product that we've really fine tuned. We've been doing this for a while. But the Spring Lead Generation Boost is something that you and I worked on quite a bit. And essentially this helps people when they come to us. It's kind of like a spring cleanup on a landscape. So over the winter, debris blows into your yard and there's trash and there's stuff, and maybe you're waiting months to get on the installation schedule for a full project, but just like you can get in and in a day get a lot of cleanup done on a landscape.
8:16 - New Product: Spring Lead Generation Boost
Jack Jostes [00:08:16]:
We're getting in and tuning up people's websites. We're setting them up with a review collection software, Ramblin Reviews. We're sending out requests for feedback from all of your existing customers and we're doing some heavy hitting SEO on your current website. And many people are getting amazing results from that right away. So that's, again, between that and Google Ads. We're helping our clients get more results faster while we're building out their Tree of Good Fortune. And then we also introduced the new Landscaper's Ultimate Recruiting Package partnering with Team Engine.
Jack Jostes [00:08:57]:
So Team Engine has, you've probably seen them on our podcast. They've sponsored many of our events. I'm speaking at one of their events. They're one of the few softwares that I actually recommend to all of our clients. I get hit up every day on LinkedIn. People are emailing me, calling me, trying to get me to sell software. I'm not into a lot of it, but. But we've seen Team Engine work and when we've implemented our recruiting employer branding strategies with Team Engine, we've seen some amazing results.
Jessica Winkler [00:09:31]:
Yeah, it really has been the special sauce because their recruiting system and software and the capability that they're able to be so fast with their applicants because of text messaging, along with how we've crafted our job ads and our employer branding has really just. It's the perfect fit and we really have seen some great results.
Jack Jostes [00:09:54]:
Yeah. And in a nutshell, what we do is we help landscapers figure out why would someone want to work for you over someone else? Because most of them, it's like the industry copies and pastes each other's job ads and they're all awful. And we help with like, copywriting. What's in it for me? Writing a really compelling job ad with all your benefits and perks. And then what I'm excited about Team Engine is the speed, right? So especially in spring when you're frankly replacing people who are working for a week or two and quitting, you gotta be fast at communicating with people because they can pick and choose where they're gonna work. And a lot of clients are slow. A lot of landscape companies are slow. They're using email, some are using fax, some, no joke, are still telling people to fax a resume.
Jack Jostes [00:10:48]:
And what we're doing is a lot of people are applying on mobile. And so what our whole system does is it literally puts the recruiting process in the fingertips of an applicant. They may not even have a computer, some landscape positions. You're communicating with people who may not have a computer. They might even be buying minutes to use their phone. And so getting into that text world with them to confirm their appointment is increasing the show up rate. That's one of the things that Terry Shaffer saw. People are showing up at a higher rate to the actual interview and ultimately they're working.
11:29 - How to Improve Recruiting Strategies for Spring Hiring
Jack Jostes [00:11:29]:
They're getting better employees. So that is something that we've built into our online recruiting course. So it's a whole experience that we guide people through. There's an online course, there's us getting the work done for you, getting done with you, and then the technology part. And we're going to share a cool date coming up. We've got an event on that.
Jessica Winkler [00:11:51]:
Yep. And of course the other thing with that too is the best way to get started with us is to do a recruiting audit. So we can actually go in and review the employer branding and information that you have, take a look at your job listings and give you some insight into what is working and what's not. And that's an easy way to get started.
Jack Jostes [00:12:09]:
Yeah. So even if you're a current client of ours or you're not a client of ours, we can do an employer branding and recruiting audit for you and you can check that out at ramblinjackson.com/recruiting. And have a recruiting brainstorm conversation with us. So the other thing that we've done is our new tech audit. So who wants a tech audit and why do we do so many audits? I'm now realizing like, yeah, you know, and honestly, so I just had a client here in the studio, Green Jay Landscape Design, and they shared how much value they got out of it and how with their own clients they don't do an audit like we do, but they go and do a thorough site analysis and they get paid for this and they're looking at your site plot and they're looking at the drainage and all these different things in order to then propose a landscape to you. And we're essentially doing the same thing with your website. But in particular why would I get my pretty website audited? What might we find?
13:12 - New Product: Tech Audit for Websites
Jessica Winkler [00:13:12]:
Yeah, unfortunately, your web design may be amazing, it may be gorgeous, you may love it. But unfortunately, the sad truth is a pretty website doesn't mean a well developed website. I'm sure landscapers have experienced this, where they've looked at other installations and they've realized the foundation wasn't done correctly, whether it was a patio or maybe they built a deck wrong and now the bottom's rotting out. So even if that deck is super pretty, if there's wood rot, that thing is toast.
Jack Jostes [00:13:44]:
Right.
Jessica Winkler [00:13:44]:
And that's really what our tech audit solves for now, is we're able to look under the hood, take a good, deep look at all the little components of your website, and give you an easy to understand summary of what's going on, so that you can make an educated decision of what you want to do next. So let's face it, a website is a digital asset and it needs to be solid, because what if it's the middle of spring and suddenly, like, that deck could fall down during a storm, your website goes down and it's peak lead season.
Jack Jostes [00:14:15]:
Yeah, and it's true. That can be that bad. And there's also like a cybersecurity element to this. And a lot of people have websites that are built poorly and they don't realize it, but they're actually putting their customer data at risk and that can have very serious consequences.
Jessica Winkler [00:14:34]:
Yeah. I mean, Google blacklists almost 10,000 websites a day for phishing. And if you get a manual flag from Google, it can affect your reputation, the domain you're on pretty much forever.
Jack Jostes [00:14:49]:
Or cause email. Cause email issues. Yeah. So it's really. And the good news is that sometimes we audit people's sites and they're great and we're like, hey, cool. Good news, we don't need to do website development. We're able to work on this site and we know it. We're not just so, that's just, I mean, we've done that, but in the past, we've done it sometimes after we've been hired or now, it's just part of the process of our audit.
Jack Jostes [00:15:19]:
Is that technology analysis for people.
Jessica Winkler [00:15:23]:
And, I mean, for landscapers in that sense, too, if they're not doing a site analysis, I think that's a really great opportunity because then you have so much more information to go off of. You know, you're not going into a proposal blind. I mean, going out there and collecting as much information as you can, but you also get a much better educated, a chance to really educate your client so that they know and understand, oh, this irrigation, I didn't realize it was doing this or, you know, oh, this plant, no wonder it's not thriving. It never gets hit by the sun. I mean, all of those things.
Jack Jostes [00:15:54]:
Yeah. So for those of you listening, for sure, you could have your own audit or inspection. And then communicating in plain English what it means to people is, I think, the most important part. And as an example, we're helping with, I'm doing some consulting on product development with one of our clients, and they do an irrigation audit. And I asked them to share some stories with me, and one of them was that they had a client that they helped save $8,000 a year in their water bill. And I said, hey, are you telling every client about that story? And they said, no. And so now we're putting that story in. So that way people, those are the things that people are like, oh, yeah, I actually do want you to audit my irrigation system and tell me how much money I could be saving.
Jessica Winkler [00:16:42]:
Yeah, I'll pay $200 to save $8,000.
16:45 - How Ramblin Jackson is Improving our Web Design Process
Jack Jostes [00:16:45]:
Thank you. There you go. So now, when you put it into the real world consequences, it helps people with that. The other. So development is kind of geeky, but one of the fun things is design. No, development is actually really cool.
Jessica Winkler [00:16:57]:
I love it.
Jack Jostes [00:16:58]:
Development's cool, but design is the thing that people typically notice. We've updated our website design process, so tell me a little bit about that.
Jessica Winkler [00:17:05]:
So, yeah, I mean, it may seem like a small thing, but one of the things that we did is we really sort of beefed up our custom website design package. We do work with a lot of landscape design, build companies who are more designed forward and they want to have more options and everything else. And so one of the things we did was we added more options to choose from when it comes to your homepage, web design, and ultimately your site design, so you get more to work with. And actually, Green Jay was the first client who got to experience that. And I know it was a really good, really good process for them.
Jack Jostes [00:17:40]:
Yeah. And that's a great thing for designers. You know, some of our clients are designers. Some of them are snow removal companies. Like, there's a whole spectrum of services in the landscape industry. And I'm excited that we have that. And then also we have our own WordPress templates that we use for clients who maybe they're just starting out and it doesn't make as much sense to spend on design, but they still need a great looking website. And we have the lead generation.
Jack Jostes [00:18:15]:
All what's working for other clients built into all these iterations. So every time we're designing a site, it's leveraging what's working for our other clients.
Jessica Winkler [00:18:25]:
Yep. And so we're really capturing the whole spectrum now.
18:28 - Why Ramblin Jackson is Moving from Wistia to Loom
Jack Jostes [00:18:28]:
We are transferring our video hosting from Wistia to Loom. And we have. I don't know. You might know cause you've been involved. How much video did we have?
Jessica Winkler [00:18:41]:
We had over 3000 videos on Wistia.
Jack Jostes [00:18:44]:
Yeah.
Jessica Winkler [00:18:45]:
So this was not a small undertaking.
Jack Jostes [00:18:48]:
Yeah. So I remember I actually clicked on a Facebook ad for Wistia. And I still love Wistia. It's still cool, it's a great program.
Jessica Winkler [00:18:58]:
But it just wasn't the right fit for us.
Jack Jostes [00:19:00]:
It wasn't the fit for what we needed anymore. And so I'm sharing this on the podcast, partly because one of the things that we didn't include in this little list is like, we're going to do a spring cleaning at Ramblin Jackson, meaning we audit our own profit and loss statement. We look at our software and I think it's important to do this every year, at least once. And like, what software am I using? Does it still make sense? Do I need to pay to host thousands of videos that I made ten years ago that no one has watched? And the answer is no. But that's going to save us thousands of dollars.
Jessica Winkler [00:19:37]:
Yeah, thousands of dollars.
Jack Jostes [00:19:39]:
And so that then goes into new hires. We have new hires, we have marketing. We have our entrepreneurial pay plan bonus. It comes back into the company and into the people that work here. The other cool thing is we've overhauled our podcast guest process. I'm really grateful to everyone who listens to and watches this show. And it's grown.
20:02 - Be a Guest on the Landscaper's Guide Podcast
Jack Jostes [00:20:02]:
It's grown. I think actually this month is our fourth year of doing it. So Happy Birthday podcast. And we have a new process where you can be interviewed to be interviewed. Right. So anyways, we've had a lot of people reach out to be guests, and we've created a way of formulating a story to tell on the, on the show. So if you're listening or if you're watching and you'd like to be a guest on The Landscaper’s Guide, you can reach out at landscapersguide.com/guest.
Jack Jostes [00:20:34]:
And reach out to us. We'd love to share your story. I'm always looking to interview people about sales, marketing, leadership, recruiting, generally giving back to the industry these great stories. I learned from it. The audience learns from it. So that's kind of a cool thing. And we have also joined the North Carolina Nursery and Landscape association, the NCNLA, and big thanks to Robert and Jamie for wrangling our booth without me. That was one of our goals, was to get the Ramblin Road Crew out at more shows, and there's only so many that I can do.
Jack Jostes [00:21:13]:
So I wanted to thank Robert and Jamie for going and doing that because I was able to stay and do these video shoots with clients and develop product, and I'm working on a new book. Here's one other thing that I think landscape companies could take away is we have a new process for onboarding a new point of contact. Meaning when our client, a landscape company, hires a marketing coordinator or they are, I don't know, the owners typically has been working with us, and now they're like, hey, we've hired this marketing person. We have created a way of onboarding that person so they know what we're doing, how we work, so it continues and we complement what they're doing. And how is this similar to when, like, a commercial landscaper gets a new point of contact? Maybe there's turnover at the property management company or whatever. What are maybe some of the things that we're doing that landscape people could do?
Jessica Winkler [00:22:14]:
Right. Well, I mean, this is an opportunity to really sort of restart and reestablish that relationship with the company. Now. I mean, at Ramblin Jackson, we've got new point of contact coming on. And this would be true, too, for our commercial landscapers is you want to make them feel welcome. You want to sort of make them feel like they're a part of the team. One of the things we do is we send them a gift, and we also set up an appointment where we can really sort of dive into, you know, the work that we've done and what's, you know, what's next and everything else. And I think that'd be really important when you have maybe a new project manager or a new person you're working with, not just from a relationship level, but from a retention level.
Jack Jostes [00:22:53]:
Absolutely.
Jessica Winkler [00:22:53]:
This is usually a point in time where if there's a management change, that's usually a very high risk time that that client, you could lose that client potentially.
Jack Jostes [00:23:01]:
Right.
Jessica Winkler [00:23:02]:
You know, so really being super proactive, having a process in place where you can make that transition as smooth as possible and really show up for it, I think, can make a big difference of whether you keep them or not.
Jack Jostes [00:23:15]:
Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, this show is about sales and marketing, but it's also about client retention, like you said. So the gifts and then the gift isn't going to retain the account if you're not good at what you do. But the gift can contribute to a positive experience of conversation and clarity around what are you doing and how does it work. So I definitely think there's a takeaway for that. And then lastly, this is partly just me geeking out. I've got some new cameras. So I upgraded to Sony a 6700 cameras, and I had been using my Panasonic GH five and G 85 for like six years.
Jack Jostes [00:23:55]:
I realized that it was a long time ago that I bought that GH five and it, man, it took me a long time and I've spent so much time learning it. But I'm excited to have the Sony cameras. They have AI in the camera, so it has this ridiculous. You used it today? We're using them right now. The autofocus is just off the hook. It's so silly. You can literally program. This is kind of creepy.
Jack Jostes [00:24:22]:
I could program my face into it. Isn't that? So, if I were on a stage as an example, and I wanted to shoot video myself from somewhere else and I was on a panel, it could focus on me. I also used it to shoot some birds when I was at the ocean. And anyways, really excited. It allows me, though, to shoot podcast interviews faster when I'm at trade shows and ultimately shoot better looking footage for our clients when they come here for the Ramblin Jackson landscape executive video shoot. But anyways, it's spring, and here in Colorado, I'm looking outside, it's sunny, it's like 65 degrees. The snow is melting. So this will vary regionally.
25:10 - Seasonal Marketing Strategies Based on Google Trends
Jack Jostes [00:25:10]:
And we're like, typically the searches on Google start to peak around. They start really ramping up in March, and then typically May is the peak. And so I don't know what's going to happen this year. It's an election year. Really wonderful. There's inflation, there's lots of things happening. But the searches. The peak of the searches last year was 20% to 30% lower than the peak of the searches during COVID So 2020 had a peak.
Jack Jostes [00:25:46]:
So according to Google Trends, they'll show us, I think 15 years of data. 2020 was the all time high. And then, so there was enormous demand for landscaping. I think a lot of people bought it. They had stimulus money, they couldn't travel. There was all these reasons to buy landscaping, and then it kind of went back down to pre pandemic levels in 2023. And we'll see what happens in a few months to see what it was.
Jack Jostes [00:26:17]:
But in any case, the snow will melt and the grass will grow. There will be searches, there will be customers. And one of the things as far as, like, what to do about it if you're listening, is to get Google reviews. So one of the people in the local SEO industry that I follow, that we follow, that we read, is Joy Hawkins from Local U, Local University. And she did a study that showed that Google review recency is a ranking factor. So this is part of our audit already, is how recently have you had Google reviews? But this would be something that if you're watching or listening, that you could do is like, dude, pull out your phone and Google yourself and go onto Google Maps and sort your reviews by newest and, you know, see, do you have a review within the last six months or a year or better, like month? And if not, that would be a key priority.
Jessica Winkler [00:27:25]:
One thing you can do, too, is look at your competition. You know, how recent were their reviews and how many reviews do they have compared to you?
Jack Jostes [00:27:33]:
Totally.
Jessica Winkler [00:27:34]:
If you've got ten reviews and your biggest competitors, like 150 reviews, you've got some work to do.
Jack Jostes [00:27:40]:
I agree. And this is actually a key part of my new audit. And the new book that I'm writing is local market competition. So I think what's really important is like, yeah, in your local market, if you haven't done this and you should do this on Indeed, too, by the way, sometimes people might say, hey, have you ever looked at what your competition is paying on Indeed? In your town for irrigation technician people, oh, I can't hire an irrigation technician. And they're paying like dollars per hour less than other open positions. And that's a problem. So the same thing with Google reviews.
Jack Jostes [00:28:16]:
How many do you have? The other cool thing that we're doing with Ramblin Reviews, the software that our clients are using for reviews, is AI generated response. So AI, the AI tool that we're using, will write essentially a first draft of a reply for you that you can just click and it'll post it. I recommend editing it. It's a starting point. And as always, Be Human and Pick Up the Damn Phone. If you get a negative review, I would post a response that's like, hey, thanks so much for your feedback. I'm gonna call you. I look forward to talking with you about this, and call them.
Jack Jostes [00:28:54]:
And a lot of times that'll solve the issue. And they'll even write that. I can't believe the owner of the company called me or the, whoever called me. The other kind of seasonal thing is to schedule your photo shoots now. Call your photographer, reach out to us. We can come and help you. We actually have clients all around the country that we do photography for. Get professional photographs in May and June.
Jack Jostes [00:29:24]:
So a lot of landscape companies wait until November, and then the trees are dormant and you want photos. You want green, lush, well maintained May June landscapes. And for your maintenance pages, get those. Go shoot a property you've been maintaining for a long time. So that's one. And talk to me about pricing pages. What do they do?
Jessica Winkler [00:29:51]:
So it does a couple of things. One, and probably the most important thing is it gives your customers realistic expectations of what they should be paying. And two, it kind of sets a minimum. So if you've got a lot of leads coming in and you're just inundated with phone calls where it's, hey, can you chop some firewood for me? And that's not something you clearly do, or they keep asking for, like, one mow, go check out your pricing page. Is there a minimum on there? Try to eliminate those people so you're not paying your office staff to tell them no. And also, it educates your Hell Yes Customers, because your Hell Yes Customers, if they're going to spend a quarter million dollars with you on a new outdoor living kitchen, they're going to read every single word of that pricing page.
30:36 - New Product: Lead Wrangler - Sales and Marketing Software for Landscapers
Jack Jostes [00:30:36]:
So they're up to date. So get your pricing page and your recruiting page. Make sure that your salaries are current for this year. Your price ranges are current for this year. We've only got a few minutes left, but I wanted to hear from you about Lead Wrangler. Okay, so we are rolling out something super cool. We've been building it together, and we are now testing it. We are beta testing Lead Wrangler.
Jack Jostes [00:31:03]:
Love that name. So what is Lead Wrangler? And, like, what does it do for people?
Jessica Winkler [00:31:07]:
So Lead Wrangler version one, which we just entered beta testing with, is our new sales and marketing software, and it's really gonna complement our Foundational Four. And some of the things, some of the problems it's going to solve is it's going to fill that gap of managing the time a lead fills out your form to the time they become a customer. We've got, there's amazing landscape softwares out there. We've even worked with some of them. They've been sponsors on our summit and everything else, but where they tend to fall short is the sales part. And so this is the gap we're really trying to fill, unfortunately, yes.
Jack Jostes [00:31:48]:
Yeah. And it's not even that we like, wanted to do this, it's that we have to do this. We have to do this. So what this does is what we're going to help people do is respond faster and in a more organized way. So that way, instead of the leads going in email and they get lost or the phone calls get lost, like be able to log it in a CRM, you'll be able to see the source of the marketing. How did you hear of us? And if you fill out the part, when you close a sale with how much did they pay, we'll be able to share with people how much your marketing generated in revenue. So I'm excited about that. And text message notifications.
Jack Jostes [00:32:26]:
So that way you get a text that's like, hey, you got a lead and you can just click on it and call or automatic text messaging to your customers, to your customers. So you can send out updates to your customers. Or if you miss a call, let's pretend you are a guest on the podcast and you're not answering your phone during the podcast interview, we have an automatic text back, like, hey, sorry I missed your call. It's Jack from Jack's Landscapes. How can I help you? Can I give you a call in a little bit? So that's cool. So we're going to be testing that on a few clients. It's also going to help with online scheduling, accepting payments for things like audits or if you charge for consultations, so much more.
Jack Jostes [00:33:14]:
So I'm excited. And that's just like touching, like the surface of scratching of what this is going to do. So we've got a lot of things in store over the next year, but this is a big, a big one. And thanks for coming on the podcast, Jessica. And it's fun working with you and telling people about what we're up to. Hey, if you're watching, if you're listening, we've got some exciting updates. We've got some exciting events coming up on Thursday the 18th of April. We're doing the Landscapers Guide to Recruiting and Retention.
33:45 - Connect with Ramblin Jackson in Person - Upcoming Events
Jack Jostes [00:33:45]:
It's a virtual workshop, so come join me. I'm going to the Dan Kennedy Super Conference. So if you're going by chance, let me know. It's in Dallas. We're going to, I'm going to get some clients together for Nachos and Networking. So if you're in the Texas, Dallas, Fort Worth area, we're getting together on May 1. Reach out to me. We're going to get some nachos.
Jack Jostes [00:34:04]:
I'm serious about the nachos. We're going to be at the North Carolina Summer Education Summit on June 20th. We're going to be in Pittsburgh at the Snow and Ice Symposium on June 25th through the 28th. And save the date for our annual Landscaper Summit. And I'm looking for people to speak at that. So reach out to us if you have something in particular for our What's Working Now? It's been our most popular segment where we invite landscape professionals to speak. Reach out to me for that. And hey, we've got to go.
Jack Jostes [00:34:46]:
Thank you so much for listening to today's show. My name's Jack Jostes. You've been listening to The Landscaper’s Guide to Modern Sales and Marketing Podcast, where we focus on sales, marketing and leadership inspiration for the snow and landscape industry. So make sure you subscribe at landscapersguide.com/podcast so you never miss an episode. We'll also send you invitations to our upcoming events. And hey, have a great spring. We look forward to talking to you soon.
Show Notes:
Watch the full episode + see the transcript at: https://landscapersguide.com/podcast/
Tell us where to send your beef jerky: https://landscapersguide.com/toolbox
Register now for our upcoming webinar: The Landscaper’s Guide to Recruiting & Retention: https://landscapersguide.com/the-landscapers-guide-to-recruiting-and-retention/
Be a guest on our podcast: https://landscapersguide.com/guest
Find more details about the upcoming events: https://landscapersguide.com/events