Since the early 80s, I have achieved a 92% ratio of enquiry into contract. I call it Nine out of Ten, which is not bad going! Admittedly, these were mainly landscape contracts, primarily domestic clients, but with a reasonable number of hard landscaping ‘commercial’ projects where accuracy and quality were prime factors.
I am convinced that the success rate – I won’t call it a ‘secret’ as I have mentioned it so many times in the past – was achieved through a mixture of confidence and competence. Convinced that I knew my subject, and always careful to research my potential clients long before the days of internet facilities, and the refusal at all times to utter the magic, tragic words “I don’t know”, meant that I was confident in my manner. That confidence has stood me in good stead for many years!
In the forthcoming series of workshops entitled Positive Imaging – Selling Your Skills, we will be examining this confident approach, and more importantly, how to achieve your own version of this ability. There is no classroom in the world where you can be ‘taught’ confidence as a general subject to a group of clones. We are all individuals and need to develop our own version of the confidence ‘package’.
Starting with our own personalities, their strengths and variations that make us stand out as individuals – and celebrating that individuality – we can begin to learn how to use those strengths to promote ourselves and abilities. Even the most basic feature of any business – its trading title – will be discussed and examined to create the right image for individual firms and their aspirations.
This confidence package becomes a whole business strategy, from initial survey and visit through to completion and invoicing, ensuring that monies are paid in full and on time. The rules are simple, yet require a formula or process to complete the ability to Sell Your Skills via Positive Imaging.
These workshops are unique. They are not based on any College training – they have been learned through nearly fifty years of sweat and a lot of tears! Although I have written many times and in different ways to try to pass this information on to Designers and Landscapers, Contractors and Gardeners, the atmosphere of a workshop – real people discussing real issues – brings the whole subject to life.