High Quality prospective clients for Custom Landscape Lighting systems

High Quality prospective clients for Custom Landscape Lighting systems

By Mike Gambino

Streit-Olive treeSmall business owners are faced with the challenge of having too much to do and not enough time to do it all. Even more so for owner operators like myself who are working along with our crews everyday on job sites designing , installing and servicing landscape lighting systems on top of running the business. Simply speaking, the small business owner wears dozens of hats and as a result, has limited time and resources.

For those of us in this position, time is the most valuable and limited resource we have.  With time being such a valuable commodity, effective business owners limit their focus to “high impact activities”.  These high impact activities are specific actions that will have a positive impact on many different areas of our business.

Qualifying the right prospects before going on an unproductive sales call is a high impact activity. Our time is too valuable to go on sales calls without a reasonable chance to make the sale. What do I look for in a high probability prospect ?

High Motivation

The single most important attribute to have as a prospective landscape lighting client besides having a workable budget is motivation. Without it there is very little impetus or drive to move one off dead center. Highly motivated individuals have done their homework already and come to us with a specific time frame that they want the work performed and completed and usually have definitive deadlines.

They also know their likes and dislikes and don’t need to be sold on the value of a quality custom built High Performance Low voltage LED landscape lighting system. Nothing can diminish their desire and they are not worried about electrical usage or maintenance requirements. Whatever needs to be done is what they will do to make it happen.

Enthusiasm- You can hear it in the tone of their voices- “I want to capture that feeling I had while on vacation at that fancy resort, I want to relive that in my own backyard every day of the week”. “I would love to spend more time in my yard, a custom landscape lighting system will make me want to do that”. ” I want there to be a seamless integration between the outdoors and in during fair weather”. “This is a dream, something I’ve always wanted and now is the time to get it”.

Definiteness of Purpose- They know you are not there for a social call and are there to help them buy a custom landscape lighting system. They are cooperative and information is freely shared as to what the budget is, what the primary objectives of the design are and any other information that will help them achieve their goals.

Excitement- You can sense their excitement and are like kids on Christmas morning that can’t wait to see what santa left them under the tree.

Flexibility-  They are willing to make concessions if they realize what they initially want does not fit in their immediate budget. Instead of cancelling the whole project or putting it on the back burner they want to at least complete some portion of it now and phase in the zones as time and budget permits. They take a very pragmatic approach in this regard and realize that a little bit of something now is better than a whole lot of nothing. Patience is a virtue.

Accommodating- The high quality prospect knows the design professional is very busy and is willing to accommodate tight meeting schedules and make themselves available during off hours to discuss their projects. Since finding the best landscape lighting provider is a high priority they put it ahead of most other things vying for their time.

Money is not their primary focus- This is not to say that they have an unlimited budget and are willing to throw any kind of money that it will take to get what they want. Everyone has a budget no matter how wealthy. However it is very refreshing to have a dialogue that is not continuously interrupted with- “How much is this, how much is that. Can I save if we shave here and add there etc.” Or talk of “value engineering” or using cheaper and inferior components and still hold you to very high performance and warranty standards.

I can tell you that I feed off of the energy of a new prospect and get as enthusiastic about their project as they are and that is a good thing for everyone concerned. It is a lot more fun working for a hyper responsive landscape lighting client. You know that they appreciate and enjoy your creations just that much more and are prone to tell others about it and share their enthusiasm which can be very good for business.

Facebook-iceThis landscape lighting blog is published by Mike Gambino of Gambino landscape lighting inc. all rights reserved. Mike is a professional landscape lighting system designer/ builder and has been designing, installing and maintaining landscape lighting systems for more than 25 years. Mike resides in the Los Angeles area with his wife and 2 sons. To visit his website go to www.gambinolighting.com . To inquire about hiring Mike please click here .

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