If you own a lawn and landscape company in the United States, you've got to join the National Association of Landscape Professionals, NALP. What is NALP? Find out in this interview. If you're already a member of NALP, check it out where I interview NALP CEO Britt Wood about why NALP has branched away from the GIE+EXPO to start their own show called Elevate, which starts this September. NALP's take on sustainability and government affairs, just what is going on in California with battery powered landscape equipment laws, how you can use the collegiate landscape competition for recruiting, and much more.
Hey everyone, Jack Jostes here, and welcome to the Landscaper's Guide podcast. If you're new to this show, it's all about helping the green industry grow with sales, marketing, and leadership ideas. Check out the full transcript of this interview at landscapersguide.com/podcast, where we have links to some of the things we talked about, and some incredible free gifts to help you grow your lawn and landscape company with marketing. Check it out, landscapersguide.com/podcast, and without further ado, let's have a great conversation with Britt Wood, the CEO from NALP.
Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Landscaper's Guide. Today, we have Britt Wood, who is the CEO of NALP, which is the National Association of Landscape Professionals. I've personally been an NALP member for about five years now. It's an incredible association, and they've got a lot of new things going on. Today, I wanted to invite Brit on the show to share some of those new things, and Britt, welcome to the show.
Britt Wood:
Well, Jack, thank you so much for having me. Really appreciate the opportunity to talk a little bit more about NALP and everything we've got going on, and just making sure all your listeners are on the same page. I know many of your listeners have been members for years, and so they know everything there is to know about NALP, but there's some folks out there that still aren't members. Again, we're a national association that represents both landscape and lawn care companies. Really, we provide several different services, whether that be education, mentorship, government relations is obviously something that we do that really nobody else does, as well as just trying to be a resource for the industry as a whole.
Jack Jostes:
Well, one of the things I wanted to hear a little bit more was about the mentorship aspect of NALP, because I know in my own business, I'm in a mastermind, I have a business coach, and I have some people who are really mentors to me that have been through challenges that I've been through before. When I meet with my landscape clients, a lot of times I'm like, "Oh, you should really be in a group of people and get a mentor." At one point, I think it was called Trailblazers. I know that there have been some changes. Tell us a little bit, what does the mentorship aspect of NALP look like these days?
NALP's: Navigate Program
Britt Wood:
Right, Jack, and you're absolutely right. It was formally known just as The Trailblazer Program, and what we've kind of modified it, a little bit of a rebrand, is The Navigate Program, because really in essence, it's designed to help people who are newer to the business really navigate their way through some of the flips and turns that everyone encounters when they run a landscape or a lawn care business. What's unique about the Trailblazers is that all the mentors actually have to be go through an approval process. Just not anybody can volunteer to be a mentor. There's a pretty strict approval process, and that approval process actually ends and is finalized by our board confirming someone as a Trailblazer, so they're very well vetted.
The goal behind this is that, when you become an NALP member, you have the opportunity to get paired up with a Trailblazer. That Trailblazer, it used to be the Trailblazer would always just come to your facility and meet with you for a day and walk you through, and then be available for you for follow up questions and everything else along that line. They kind of stick with you. We've since modified it due to COVID so that people can still do a Zoom, but they'll dive into every aspect of your business.
Jack Jostes:
I really like that. One of the sayings that I learned early in business was givers gain. I remember I went to a BNI, I think that's Business Network International. I went to this networking event and they were talking about how, to really get the most out of BNI and out of networking, you really need to give. What are maybe some of the benefits to the people who are the Trailblazer who are giving? What are maybe some stories you've heard from them about things they've learned by mentoring someone else?
Britt Wood:
Well, I think there's two primary things that our Trailblazers consistently talk about that they get out of it. One is, first, that when you help someone, it always makes you feel better. I think we can all look back on times in our lives when we've assisted someone, and in a result, they've solved a problem, become successful, and there's a certain element of pride in being able to help people and allowing them to grow and evolve as an individual.
I will say, though, that our mentors always talk about the fact that it's interesting to deal with people who are newer to the business, because sometimes they approach things differently. That will sometimes give the mentor pause to say, "Well, have I thought about that in my business?" I think it's this thing that, and this industry's really good at this Jack. This industry really is truly unique in how well it shares, right, and how well the individuals in this industry care for each other. I think it's always interesting when you have a mentor who could be like, "Well, I know everything, and no, you're wrong," but when they listen to a different perspective and a different approach, they really gain from that as well. Those are some of the benefits, the two really primary ones we get consistently back from our mentors.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, that's absolutely spot on. I found when I am working with other people in my mastermind group through challenges they're having, I'm learning a lot just by talking with them and seeing them approach things in a new way. What are maybe some of the other aspects of NALP membership that are underutilized, or you wish that people would take advantage of that they just, maybe they've been a member for 10 years, and what are some things that you're seeing that could be helpful to people who are already a member that they're not using?
Britt Wood:
Well, and there's so many different flavors to that, Jack. Because, as an individual, and I know you get this just in your business, sometimes people get myopically focused on one thing, and so they utilize the association for that. I mean, we have an extensive array of training programs that we have that are available to folks, and that really are designed to help you grow your team. But, the other thing that I would say is that, in many instances, people are turning a blind eye towards advocacy and government relations, and being informed about what's going on in their world. Also, getting engaged in that.
This is typical of any industry, but we really want to encourage the folks in this industry to get engaged, because you do make a difference. Many of the things that are happening to our industry that are adversely impacting it from a legislative standpoint are happening in the states. Then, there's just a myriad of things that we try to make available to folks. Certainly, we have our conferences and our education that we provide, and that's an excellent resource. We want to also enable it so that people can do more networking. That is the one thing that this industry, you go to other industries, Jack, and you'll see folks that really want to sit in education sessions and don't want to talk to anybody.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah.
How You Can Use The College Landscape Competition For Recruitment And More
Britt Wood:
Want to stare straight ahead and get lectured to, and they feel good about that. This industry, part of what we're struggling with and we're challenged with is creating educational opportunities that benefit people, but also allow them the opportunity to network. You're going to see us look at more and more ways to do networking better. We do have what we call our networks, Jack, and those are, we have one, our Women in Landscape network, we have our Latino Landscape network, and we have our Young Professionals network. These are things that people need to take more advantage of.
The women's network has actually grown like a weed. I mean, I think it's well over 1,500 now folks that are in it, and it's not just for women, by the way, men can join. But, it really provides this great space where women can tackle issues that are a pertinent to them, and they really feel safe. Latino Landscape network, same thing. Young professionals, they're kind of competitors of yours, Jack. They do a podcast as well, and I only mean that just in the competitors in the podcast world. They don't do any sales and marketing expertise like you do.
I think people don't take as much advantage of our national collegiate landscape competition. That's a grand opportunity to recruit people. We had over 55 colleges this year, just our first year back after COVID, we're going to probably have upwards of 80. In fact, we're engaged in an effort right now to also get more Historically Back Colleges involved in NCLC, so we're also trying to ring the diversity. Let me tell you something cool about NCLC this year, Jack. I think our industry gets a bad rap, sometimes, for being a bunch of white guys, and especially at the leadership level. I will tell you, the students that were there, the overall winner of the competition was a female. Winner of two of the individual competitions was an African American. The winner of the cheer competition was an all female team, and I would say the audience was well over 50% female, and was much more diverse than we've seen in years.
Jack Jostes:
Well, that's awesome. I've been to that competition before. It's really exciting to see all the young people come out, and I know it's definitely a great recruiting opportunity, like you said. I have some clients who have found great employees or even interns or apprentices through that. Definitely get involved with that. When is that? It happens every year.
Britt Wood:
It's in March.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah.
Britt Wood:
So next year, and I don't think we've hammered out the exact dates yet for next March. But, it's every year in March. It's generally right around the middle of March. We'll be at Mississippi State this year. Let me tell you something cool. I know you know Mike Bogan of Landcare. Correct?
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, right.
Britt Wood:
Mike is going to be our president next year. Mississippi State is his alma mater, so he's going to be president when Mississippi state is hosting NCLC. Mike competed in NCLC when he was at Mississippi State, so it's this really cool evolution, if you will, that here is a guy who runs one of the top 10 companies in our industry, he went to Mississippi State, he participated in NCLC, and now he's going to preside over NCLC as its president. Just kind of another neat thing about this industry and about NALP that we just get really jazzed up about.
NALP's Take On Sustainability And Government Affairs
Jack Jostes:
Well, tell me a little more about advocacy. That was one of the things that you were mentioning that, with government relations, that you'd like to see members get involved, especially at a state level. What are some of the priorities for NALP this year? Also, how can association members get involved in a local level?
Britt Wood:
Absolutely. Three primary issues for us. First, obviously, dealing with labor, the H2B program. This is more of a federal issue. Okay? Again, what we're advocating for is really a primary focus, is the returning worker. In other words, if you have an H2B worker, if they want to return and work for you, they won't be counted against the cap because there's only a certain amount of H2B workers that are allowed in. The state level, though, we've got two really significant issues that we're working on. One is obviously the ability to utilize fertilizers and pesticides that are approved by the EPA and have been shown to be safe and effective at the state level, and not having bands go in place that are arbitrary and create challenges for our companies.
Then the third overall item, but the second one that's really critical in the states, is now this switch from gas to electric. As you may be aware, California has mandated that they will no longer sell gas powered equipment that our industry uses after 2024 in the state of California. Now, that doesn't mean you can't use the equipment, but you can no longer purchase it. It's kind of forcing the industry to shift over to electric. We've actually partnered, Jack, with a group called AGZA, the American Green Zone Alliance. They really have taken a lot of time to study the equipment and have done a lot of research in terms of where it is. We're partnering with them in this effort because AGZA and NALP agree that electricity is going to be great for our industry, but it's not quite ready yet, and so those are things that we need to work on.
Jack Jostes:
Good, yeah. Well, I'm glad to hear that because, I mean, I do believe in the power of electric powered lawn care equipment, and we've had people on the podcast who are using it. You and I were at Marty Grunder's event where STIHL had that incredible trailer with all their different chargers and things. There's a lot of innovation happening. I think it's all on track, and yeah, we can't just suddenly arbitrarily say in two years the whole industry is going to be battery powered. We're just not there yet.
Britt Wood:
Yeah, and we want to do what also the auto industry got, which the auto industry got a lot of incentives in order to switch, and we want to do the same thing for our industry. That's really where AGZA comes into play. AGZA really is a big proponent of, look, if you're going to make people switch we want to take as much time as we can, but darn it, governments, if you want this to happen, you got to help people, because you don't want to put small businesses out of business because they can't afford the equipment.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah, definitely. Yeah, because then the cost of everything will increase that much more in a time where inflation is rampant.
Britt Wood:
Yeah. Well, and Jack, you deal with this, so I'd love to get your perspective on it. But, you think about passing on price increases that would be substantial to customers, and how would landscapers go about that? I mean, you think about our friends in California, we were unable to stem the tide there. But, as you think about that from a sales and marketing perspective, what is your take on, "Hey, we're going to deal with a 30% price increase here." How do we best explain that? Through a sales and marketing mode, what do we do there?
Jack Jostes:
I think in sales and marketing around pricing is just being honest with people. On the construction side, many people have never hired a landscape construction company, and they may only do this once or twice in their life. One of the things that we do with our clients is help them build pricing pages or pricing guides that help them understand, hey, a front yard refresh is going to range from here to here, a backyard starts here, when you add an outdoor kitchen, and so on. Here are the things that impact the pricing. We already do a lot of education around how much things cost. As far as these price increases, though, customers watch the news. They see what's happening. In California, they're definitely aware of the price of gas, right?
Britt Wood:
Yep.
Jack Jostes:
They already know these things. But, I think there's a certain point where, I don't know, how much can we all just keep increasing our prices? There's got to be a cap at some point. I had a client on the podcast who increased their labor wages 30%, and that was the thing they needed to do to be competitive from a labor standpoint and they finally started getting their positions filled. They just went to their clients, their new clients all in their estimating software that day, they changed the cost of goods sold for the line items for labor, went up 30%. Then for contracts they already had, they kind of just needed to eat that cost. But, for their maintenance, they did increase. That was just from the labor side. Then there's the gas. I see people doing fuel surcharges. I don't know what I would do if I were a landscaper in California and suddenly had to invest in a whole new fleet of equipment and vehicles and chargers. How are you seeing people handling it?
Britt Wood:
Well, I think the interesting thing is right now, it's very specific. It is large, publicly traded technology companies that are insisting on all electric equipment, so they can kind of afford it. A 30% hike for them is like, eh, whatever, no big deal. They prefer that they have this label. I think your example, though, of your client that raised labor costs 30% may be a good model for people to think about in terms of how they articulate the cost to their clients. I think the other thing is, what's triggering in my mind based on just this conversation and some prior conversations is, start talking to your clients now. Start saying, "Hey, look, we're going to have to make a switch. We want to be responsible. We want to do this, but you need to understand it comes with a significant cost to us, and we're going to look to increase some of our prices." Just based on this conversation, like I said, and others, I think a really important thing for people to do is to be open, to be honest, and to get ahead of the game. Right.
Jack Jostes:
Yeah.
Britt Wood:
Don't just wait. Right?
Jack Jostes:
Well, yeah. I mentioned this in another podcast. I've mentioned a few times, one of the things I learned early on in my career is bad news gets worse with age. Right? I think the sooner you let people know that there's a delay in a timeline or a shortage of material, or in this case that these changes are coming, because the average homeowner might not be aware that all of these things are coming. I also think there are many clients, people I know who use battery powered equipment already, and they have clients who are willing to pay more for that. There are many people who would pay more for a company that is environmentally friendly. Or we have clients who do sustainable landscapes, or different things like that, and have a client who does organic lawn care. He's already 30% more, and many of his clients are willing to pay that. I think there will be people willing to do it, and getting the word out about the cost of those things earlier can definitely help.
Why NALP Has Branched Away From The GIE Expo To Start The NALP Elevate Conference in 2022
The next thing I want to chat with you about is Elevate. For the past five years, except for the one year it didn't happen, I've been going to the GIE Expo, the Green Industry Expo, and NALP's Landscapes was there. It was kind of done together. It was super confusing, I have to say. When I was getting started in the industry, there were so many things to remember. NALP, GIE, Landscapes, all these things. I think that also kind of contributed to the reason why you ultimately decided to start, or break away the show from that show can. Can you kind of just clarify what's going on, and also what's going to be great about Elevate?
Britt Wood:
Yeah, no, I'm more than happy to and Jack, honestly, you're not alone, and I think everybody experiences that. GIE, first of all, is a massive event. Right? It's enormous in scope and size. There was a great deal of confusion about, where is NALP? Wait, Landscape, what's Landscape versus GIE, et cetera? Certain people would tell me that, "Well, I was over at GIE, and I never even knew you guys were over here." I think a lot of that led to the idea of changing. Really, it came down to a few things.
First of all, NALP, if you're going to participate in a trade show, you want people to be able to identify you as the leader of that conference, that event, et cetera. I'll tell you, Jack, one of the things I experienced in my first year, even with COVID, was talking to west coast members and them saying, "Well, you're an east coast organization. Right? You only do your show on the east. It's really hard for me to get to it. You never come west. What's going on?" One of the objectives the board had was to be able to move the event around, and so that we can go to different places.
I think the other thing that had gotten lost was, is that we no longer did site visits to local landscapers, because there were only so many in Louisville and you can't keep going back over and over and over again. I used that analogy to say everything that was wrong with GIE, we're seeking to do right with Elevate. The hall is not going to be this enormous sea of STIHL. The biggest booth you can get is a 20 by 40 booth. Most of the booths at GIE were a hundred by hundred. I mean, those are huge things.
Jack Jostes:
They were.
Britt Wood:
You can think about it, and for an individual like yourself who wants to meet people and see people, the odds of you running into people in a hall that was that large are really minimal. Where, we're going to have a much smaller exhibit area, so it's going to be much easier for individuals to interact, to talk, and to meet each other. The hall will not be open when we're doing educational sessions, because we want to make sure that the educational sessions are attended and valuable.
We're trying to create a lot more networking time. We understand that this industry really appreciates the opportunity to talk to each other. You're going to see a balance on that. But, we also want it to be really fun. But, going back to why we chose the Gaylord for our first event, you'll see when you go to the Gaylord Palms in Florida, it's fairly isolated. It's kind of hard to get to other places. The idea behind that is that we want the industry to be together. We want you to run into people. We want you to have conversations that may have never naturally occurred in Louisville because you were so spread out. There are also no buses. Everything's walkable.
Jack Jostes:
Yes.
Britt Wood:
Yeah.
Jack Jostes:
Woo hoo.
Britt Wood:
Trust me, that's ...
Jack Jostes:
No more buses.
Britt Wood:
No more buses, but it's a huge thing. Right?
Jack Jostes:
Okay. Yeah, I love that logistic of this, because going to the GIE was this big production of, where do you stay? Then you spend a couple hours riding around on the shuttle, and then, yeah, it was enormous. It was also, it was great. I mean, I met a lot of really great people there, and I definitely appreciate what that show was. I'm excited about Elevate. I think everything you said sounds great, and the field trip aspect of it really sounds cool. This year, it's in Orlando, Florida. I think you've already, where are the next few?
Britt Wood:
We'll be in Dallas, Texas next year, and then we'll be back east with Charlotte, North Carolina, and then we'll be in Phoenix, Arizona in 2025. The challenge when you start a new show is that people, as you can tell, we're booking this four years out now, four or five years out.
Jack Jostes:
Right.
Britt Wood:
We were challenged to get a good location in the west early on. Dallas is as west as we can get at this point. We're going to come back east, and then we're going to go back to Phoenix, and we're excited about that. Like I said, the opportunity to have different state associations, even get more engaged. We immediately, when we booked in Florida, we reached out to all three Florida state associations. We've reached out to Texas already, had good conversations about them engaging in this show, because the last thing we want to do is come into a state and adversely impact the state association because they run their own trade shows. The goal here is to work with the state associations to ensure that they have every opportunity to get engaged, and that it can be a benefit to them and their membership base as the show arrives.
Jack Jostes:
Well, that really sounds great, and we can learn more about that on the NALP website, landscapeprofessionals.org/elevate.
Britt Wood:
Yep.
Jack Jostes:
Check that out. Thanks so much, again, for coming on the show Britt. Yeah, everyone check out NALP and the 2022 NALP Elevate Conference. If you're not a member, it's an incredible association, and if you are a member, yeah, think about some of the things we learned today about how you can become even more involved if you aren't already. Thank you.
Well, that was a really great conversation. I definitely recommend that you check out NALP and the NALP Elevate Conference at landscapeprofessionals.org. Connect with Britt Wood on LinkedIn. Hey, when I first heard that NALP Elevate was branching out from the GIE Expo, I was kind of bummed. I was like, "Oh, I've been going to the GIE Expo for years." But, after talking with Britt and hearing what the association is doing, I'm really excited for Elevate. I'm definitely going to be there. If you're going, connect with me. Connect with me on Instagram or LinkedIn, send me an email, Jack@ramblinjackson.com. I hope to see you there. Again, check out landscapersguide.com. Subscribe to our podcast for more exciting interviews. My name's Jack Jostes, and thanks so much for checking out the Landscaper's Guide. Talk to you next week.