What happens when people fill out the contact form on your website? Do they get an automated email or a text message letting them know what's happening? Do you have a cool thank you page with a video? Or do they get something lame like thanks for submitting the form or nothing at all? Find out why this is such an important thing to dial in ahead of spring so you close more sales in this interview on The Landscaper's Guide.
Hey everyone, welcome to The Landscaper’s Guide podcast where we share sales, marketing and leadership inspiration for the snow and landscape industry.
My name is Jack Jostes and in this interview I talk with our Senior Landscape Marketing Strategist, Robert Felton about things that you must have on your website, including the all important contact form and thank you page. A lot of people are missing this and several other things that, if you have this fixed, would help you generate more sales. So if you'd like for me to take a look at your website, just fill out the form at ramblinjackson.com/webreview and we'll send you a personalized review of your website with some tips on things that you can improve.
Check out our show notes for a link to that. And now let's get into the conversation with Robert.
Jack Jostes [00:01:18]:
All right, so right now we are at the top of. Where are we right now?
Robert Felton [00:01:22]:
Winter Park. We're on top of the gondola. We're by the Sunspot Mountain lodge.
Jack Jostes [00:01:27]:
This is pretty good. It's a Wednesday and we are skiing with Jessica Winkler and Andy and your dad. Living the dream.
Robert Felton [00:01:36]:
We are. I love skiing, especially on a weekday. There's no one here. It's always a good time.
Jack Jostes [00:01:40]:
So one of the fun things about going skiing is learning about people. So tell us a little bit. You're on some sort of board or a committee?
Robert Felton [00:01:47]:
I just joined the CHUN board, which is the Capitol Hill United Neighborhood. So it's kind of like the neighborhood association that helps represent the neighborhoods on the government. So we attend different city board meetings on public transportation. We give our opinion on different public projects such as public transit, bike lanes, different things like that.
Jack Jostes [00:02:11]:
And so it sounds like you're an advocate of bike lanes.
Robert Felton [00:02:14]:
I am an advocate of bike lanes. I mean. I grew up in Minnesota and driving along, we had the greenway. It was a fully plowed highway for bikes. And I could actually beat my friends going somewhere in Minneapolis on my bike than they could in their car. And I loved that lifestyle. And Denver is a little different. But where I live is kind of the oldest neighborhood and one of the only walkable neighborhoods in Denver. So I kind of advocate pretty hard for walkability and different things.
Jack Jostes [00:02:39]:
That's cool. That is one of the things that I noticed in Boulder when I moved here was the bike lanes and everything. And it's convenient if you're a cyclist. It's terrifying if you don't have it.
Robert Felton [00:02:50]:
Yes, it's really scary. It's a little scary in Denver, there's just like certain roads. We're like, there's a bike lane. I'm like, it's a 50 miles per hour highway. I don't know if I'm going to bike on that, but I'm pretty brave. And if you almost hit me, I'll give you the death glare. So that's kind of.
Robert Felton [00:03:06]:
But I like to bike.
Jack Jostes [00:03:05]:
So you did a great job at the ProGreen Expo. How was it? How was your first time?
Robert Felton [00:03:13]:
Really good. I really enjoyed it. I was surprised how much I enjoyed speaking and, yeah, there's some things I got to work on, but it was fun. It was kind of like, there's little challenges. I don't know. There's just a lot of different dynamics that I haven't done in a while of just like, public speaking to a crowd. But it was really fun.
Jack Jostes [00:03:29]:
Yeah, it's kind of like doing stand up comedy. I don't know if you watch a lot of stand up on YouTube, but seeing people get heckled.
Robert Felton [00:03:36]:
Yeah, I did get heckled at one point.
Jack Jostes [00:03:12]:
I wouldn't say that you were exactly heckled, but there was somebody who really wanted to tell me some stuff.
Jack Jostes [00:03:44]:
That guy had a lot to say, and you did a good job of keeping answering his question.
Robert Felton [00:03:50]:
I gave him a beef jerky and that seemed to shut him up. Like, here's a snack.
Jack Jostes [00:03:52]:
That’s the reason why we give people jerky.
Robert Felton [00:03:54]:
Is to shut them up.
Jack Jostes [00:03:42]:
No. Well, sometimes it has that effect. What are you seeing as we head into the spring? When you're talking with people. So for people who are listening, you're a Senior Landscape Marketing Strategist. So you help people design their marketing plan and figure out their strategy and what's going on. What are you seeing as we head into spring 2024?
04:17 - Why Roadmapping The Customer Journey Is Essential For Landscapers
Robert Felton [00:04:17]:
I think roadmapping is really important, just like laying out the customer journey. I mean, you're building a website, maybe, or you have a website. How do you want them to go through that website? What roadblocks are they facing? Most people I talk to don't even know what roadblocks they're facing. I mean, I ask, hey, what happens when I fill out your thank you page? Does it send me an email, send me a text message? Most of the people I meet with don't know, so we do it in front of them, and it does trigger an email, and it says certain things. So it's just like, what is your process? Are you roadmapping? How do you lay out when someone is interested all the way to becoming a customer? And are they facing, is it easy to buy it by your design? Is it easy to pay you? Is it easy to sign up, to talk to someone just like, what is your process? And what is the goal of your website? And have you laid it out on paper and looked at it like a flowchart?
Jack Jostes [00:05:08]:
Yeah, we're starting to use flowcharts and visuals, and Jessica and I are looking into different tools for doing that. But even drawing it out of, like, after they get this email, they get this email. I think you can kind of keep it simple. And I, like, actually like using a whiteboard to do it.
Robert Felton [00:05:25]:
Yeah, you and I are both paper and just kind of write it out, people. And the flowcharts are way easier on paper. We were working with Alan. He is in Carson City, Nevada. And it was just really fun because it was just like, he's like, I don't know what happens. And then we were typing in, and we got the email that you would get if you filled out his contact form. And we kind of looked at the content, and you're like, wow, it'd be so much easier if we set up the next step here, or this email tells them what's coming next. And just those simple tweaks of, hey, we can change the 15 words on this email to make your life easier and make the customer's life easier.
06:09 - How The First Experience Sets The Tone For The Entire Sales Process
Jack Jostes [00:06:09]:
Well, I recently had to hire a roofing company. Unfortunately, they're like, you never want to hire. Super grateful that I found somebody. And so I did find them on Google, and then I realized one of our clients, 24/7 Restoration, does some work. Like, the lines kind of blurred with what they do. So I texted Mike, our client, and luckily, he actually recommended the same company that I had picked from my Google search. So I kind of was like, hey, Mike, before I hire this other company, do you do this? And he's like, no. So I contacted that company, and they did a good job.
Jack Jostes [00:06:33]:
They did some of the stuff that you're talking about. They sent me a text message. They sent me an email. And I think people talk about losing on price, stuff like that. I think those little moments after that people contact you are really important, and you can automate so much of it because I think part of the reason why homeowners get three bids is because they don't hear back from the first person they contacted.
06:58 - How Fast Communication And Trust Are Crucial For Sales Conversions
Robert Felton [00:06:59]:
I completely agree. It's just like that first few minutes, it kind of defines as this whole thing, this whole getting my roof done, my whole getting my backyard redone. Is this going to be easy or is it going to be hard? And if that first step is difficult, complicated, or uncomfortable, I'm going to assume the rest of the experience is going to be the same and I'm going to go. But if I start with a good email that triggers and sends to me and tells me what's coming next and answers some of my big questions and kind of gets rid of my big fears right away, now I'm like, well, they are already doing a great job of communicating with me. I have a feeling that the rest of this process is going to be great. And that's kind of how trust is built. You do something and you do it how you say you're going to do it and you do it again and again and again. Now I'm just going to assume everything I do with that company is going to be easy.
Robert Felton [00:07:45]:
It's going to be like this. Yeah, I think it really make or breaks the sale.
Jack Jostes [00:06:58]:
I think it does, too, because also when you don't hear back from people and then you end up contacting several, you kind of forget the name of the other companies. So even getting an email, that's like, hey, thanks for contacting Jack's Landscapes. We're going to call you today. Like, oh, okay. Jack's Landscapes. Like, it's one more little thing. And I think you mentioned the trust thing. I think sometimes people think that. Sales is all about trust.
Jack Jostes [00:08:21]:
And the digital stuff doesn't replace your need to do a good job and show up on time and be you. I think it just assists you. It makes it easier. You show up with a little bit of trust already in the bank when you have this automation set up.
Robert Felton [00:08:37]:
I completely agree. I think that's a funny thing is people always compliment my emails of like, hey, I'm going to see you tomorrow. If anything's changed, text me. And I'm backed up by so much automation that I have some of this little bit of time to, like, this person needs that little personal touch, or it's not like I have to rebuild the. What is it? Rebuild the wheel. Rebuild the wheel. Thank you. Reinvent the wheel.
Robert Felton [00:09:00]:
Reinvent the wheel. Every single email.
Jack Jostes [00:09:02]:
Yeah, exactly.
Robert Felton [00:09:02]:
No, I just need to tweak it or make it a little special for this person. It's so much easier to do that when you don't have to rebuild the wheel for every single person. You're like, this person's a little bit more like this. So I know I can pivot my strategy.
Jack Jostes [00:09:15]:
Yeah, I think so. That's one thing for people listening that you can take away from. This is like, what happens? Fill out the form on your own website. This is something that we do for people. Like, what happens? Does anyone get an email? Sometimes you get the default contact form. Like, you get an email subject line that says contact form. We'll get in touch with you shortly. So that's like an easy, inexpensive question.
Jack Jostes [00:09:40]:
It's an inexpensive thing that can make a big difference in that sale.
Robert Felton [00:08:20]:
We were at Green and Growin’ and Jamie and I were working the booth, and I was just like, my number one question was, like, when someone fills out your thank you form, what happens? Do you know? And I would say, I don't think a single person can answer my question.
Jack Jostes [00:09:54]:
Well, I can tell you we've audited at this point. I've done hundreds of paid audits, and I've looked at thousands. And most websites don't have a thank you page. And so that's simply when someone fills out the form, it shows a thank you page and that page. So right now, we're going to see Dan Kennedy together. I'm really excited. So he's my favorite marketing author, and I studied very carefully while I was buying the tickets. Seriously, I took, like, an hour to buy.
Jack Jostes [00:10:27]:
I'm not even kidding. And I was just studying in his thank you pages. So I get to this one thank you page, and it was a long form thank you page. I was about to buy the tickets, and it was like, you get this bonus and this bonus and this bonus, and I was like, oh, my God, I can't believe that I get all of this extra stuff. And it just made filling out the form like a no brainer.
10:50 - Why You Should “Train” Your Website Visitors To Keep Their Attention On Your Website
Robert Felton [00:10:50]:
Yeah, I think it's also just like when you buy an airline ticket, it's not like you click one button, you're going to click six buttons. So I mean we're trained. You have my attention. And I always talk about, like, if I'm filling out your contact form, I've made a decision. I've decided to fill out this form, which means something's happening. So you have my attention. You may only have it for a few minutes, but if it just says, thank you for filling out this form, someone's getting in contact with you later, someone could be, a child could start crying, something could happen, and my attention's somewhere else completely. But if you can use these three, five, eight minutes, I mean, Dan Kennedy is good.
Robert Felton [00:11:22]:
He can keep you for, like, six or seven minutes. But on a landscaping website, even just setting up that next step, communicating, so they can go, oh, honey, don't worry. This is what's coming next. Or you can communicate what's happening and what's next in the process to people.
Jack Jostes [00:09:54]:
Well, the Oh, honey thing is very relevant because, I don't know, with the roof thing, Kara, it was like, all right, Jack, you're good at vetting people and searching them and finding terrible things and disqualifying them and finding the good. So I do that. I went down the rabbit hole and I vetted. But getting to the point of, hey, I've contacted someone, like, we're good because we literally had a leaky roof. So getting to the point of having an appointment, Kara's like, hey, did you get somebody yet? And I was like, yes, I did.
Robert Felton [00:12:09]:
It's kind of similar with me and Andy because it's funny because I'm very decisive, and Andy is a little more wishy washy, but he always wants to know what's coming. So when he's like, well, you found someone. What's going to happen next? And if I can't answer that question, just makes my life more difficult. Like, now Andy feels like he's in the gray zone and doesn't know if he wants to do the decision. And I'm like, so if I know what's coming, it's like, this is what we do have a roofer coming, and they're coming next Tuesday. And this is the thing that we need to prepare for. And that really just alleviates his fear and my fear and my issues, and it makes my life so much easier. So when a client or a service that I'm buying does that, I don't know.
Robert Felton [00:12:08]:
We always joke about this. It’s so hard to buy other things because I'm, like, filled out a form and there wasn't any email, and now I can't do anything and, oh, my God, I should sell marketing to these people.
Jack Jostes [00:12:59]:
It does kind of ruin your experience.
Robert Felton [00:12:56]:
Yeah. Buying stuff is hard because I'm obsessive over sales process, and it's just what I like, and I don't know. It's probably my favorite part of Ramblin Jackson is helping people kind of figure out the roadmap and the strategy.
Jack Jostes [00:13:14]:
Well, so I think that how you sell and your sales process differentiates you alone, like, even if you're just good at the basic stuff of following up, sending that email, sending a text, sending a phone call, people will buy from you more than if you're the best landscape designer in the country, but you don't follow up with people.
Robert Felton [00:13:36]:
Yeah. Jeremy Miller. Is that his name? Right?
Jack Jostes [00:13:38]:
I think Milner.
Robert Felton [00:13:39]:
Milner. Okay. You just said, it's like, I saw one of his posts. It was like, salespeople who care about solving people's problems. So it's just like, you mean part of that problem is that unknown, that uncomfort. So I know a lot of people want to help people, but you also need to think about how you can help them alleviate that fear early and make them feel comfortable, and they'll be so much easier making decisions and you'll be able to.
Jack Jostes [00:14:02]:
Yeah. I think the first feeling is like, oh, I've got someone. So I'm kind of like, oh, I've got a roofer coming.
Robert Felton [00:14:07]:
That's so true. I know. Oh, this person responded. They did all the right things. I feel there's like, that stress leaves. You're like, I got someone. Like, when Kara asks you, do you have someone for the roof? And you get to say, yes.
Jack Jostes [00:14:20]:
I've got someone. They have 140 Google reviews and one of my clients.
Robert Felton [00:14:26]:
That's a good one.
Jack Jostes [00:14:27]:
Yeah, see, now I'm good, and they're coming.
Robert Felton [00:14:29]:
And every once in a while, those people disappoint. But most of the time, those are good. First, hey. Yeah, I filled out 20 forms and no one's got back to me. And that's a real experience.
Jack Jostes [00:14:37]:
That happened when I was trying to hire a painter.
Robert Felton [00:14:40]:
Yeah, that's happened to me hiring people, too.
Jack Jostes [00:14:42]:
And then, like, five days later, people called me about the painting and I was like. What are you doing?
Robert Felton [00:14:50]:
We're done. Are you one of the nine people I called?
Jack Jostes [00:14:54]:
All right, well, thanks for the chat. Yeah. So don't be one of the nine painters who doesn't reply. And you're going to do great.
Robert Felton [00:15:03]:
Fill out your contact form and see what it does. See if it sends an email, text message. Does nothing.
Jack Jostes [00:15:09]:
Fill out your own website.
Robert Felton [00:15:10]:
Oh, also tell us what it does.
Jack Jostes [00:15:13]:
And if you want us to look at it, we can do a website review video for you at ramblinjackson.com/webreview. We'll put a link in the description. We'll fill it out for you, see what happens.
15:28 Request Your Personalized Website Review Today
Jack Jostes [00:15:28]:
Thanks so much for checking out today's podcast. There are some key things that you should have in place on your website. Ahead of this spring to generate Hell Yes, Customers when they're on your website. So let us record a website review video. Just go to ramblinjackson.com/webreview and we'll send you a personalized screencast video of things you're doing well and some things that you can improve that'll generate better results for your landscape company. Check it out at ramblinjackson.com/webreview and see our show notes for a link. My name's Jack Jostes, and I look forward to talking to you next week on The Landscaper's Guide Podcast.
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
Request your personalized website review: https://ramblinjackson.com/webreview