education, the key to healthy trees and business

8/14/2019 Education, The Key to Healthy Trees And Business

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Informed management,working with and through

informed associates, forinformed clients will result ina higher quality of work,

greater satisfaction andhealthier landscapes.


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Management (The Boss?)

Do you need more education,business, time, help or money?

Do you still do things the same way

you did when you started? What is your customer base?

Do they want answers or just service?

You showed up today, so thatanswers part of the questions!


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New Techniques and Ideas

How has your business changedsince you started? My DaveyDays.

Where do you get new ideas?

How has your support changed?

Suppliers (equipment and supplies)

Service People (technical support,parts)

Employees (full time, seasonal or

contract)


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Sources

Meetings

Professional Journals

Trade Magazines

Ads and Product Brochures

Visiting with your peers

Other ----

How do separate fact from opinionand BS?


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What do your Customers Thinkand Want?

Do you know?

Do they know?

Here is some information collectedwhen ISA, NAA (now TCIA) and USForest Service put together thePlant Health Care workshops andtraining sessions in 1992.


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Positive Perceptions

Arborists are best prepared to dealwith large trees (pruning andremoval)

Arborist enhance the physicalappearance of a property

Tree experts are best at handling

pest and disease problems Tree Services save me time

Arborists can prevent future damageto my trees


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Is Image Important?


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Demographic Characteristics ofTree Care Customers


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Information desired by treecare customers


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Do you diagnose problems by

studying on the cause of theproblem or do you just treat thesymptoms Bugs and Disease?

Do you use a checklist whenevaluating a clients landscape!

Do you do follow-ups to see if you

were right about a problem?Observation is a form of selfeducation.

Alex Shigo learned through treeautopsies!


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The study revealed three types ofcustomers, each driven by differentdesires for their landscape and

trees.

It also identified the selling points

that you should concentrate on toget their accounts.


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Contact Driven Customers

Environmentally indifferent Service-conscious Trees are a resource, a commodity

Trees will sustain themselves if treatedproperly Caretaker view of the landscape Arborist must stand behind service

address problems Pest problems are arborists concern

Selling points: Professionalism,Service Package


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Aesthetically-DrivenCustomers

Environmentally responsible care whatneighbors think

Status conscious (often new

homeowners) Trees represent history, longevity,

wealth

Service and treatment must haveimmediate effects

Pests must be eradicated (all pests).

Selling Points: Proven Results,


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The Artist

Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden, Bishopville, South Carolina

Pearl Fryar began work on the 3 acre garden in 1984 in an effort to win "Yard of the Month" for his home on the outskirtsof Bishopville, SC. The well-manicured, sculptural plant forms that comprise Fryar's living vision of peace, love and

goodwill often times began as salvaged seedlings from a local nursery. Recognized by art and botanicalenthusiasts, the visually whimsical garden is maintained year-round by Fryar for visitors from around the world. TheFriends of Pearl Fryar's Topiary Garden has been organized to help care for and preserve the garden and assistPearl as he educates and inspires others to achieve their creative potential.


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How does this informationapply to you?

Professionalism and Credibility aregoing to be enhanced by yourknowledge.

Are your employees knowledgeable?


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Your Employees


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Do you currently provide training foremployees?

Or receive it from your employer? Safety classes?

Skills

Biology

Customer Relations


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My Bismarck experience with a less thanknowledgeable employee.

What was one of the negativeperceptions?

Your image is definitely at stake!!

Is education for your workers a cost or aninvestment?

Do your workers appreciate theopportunity to go back to school?

Is there any reward to the employee forlearning more?


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Do you have a vision of where you

expect your business to go andhow you will get there?

Do your employees know?

Have they bought into your vision? If they know what they are working

toward, it will be easier for them tofeel excitement about what theyare doing and why they are doingit.


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Customers

How much knowledge is good for acustomer to have?

Where is the fine line betweenknowledgeable and a pain in the

_____?

Do you want customers to ask

questions for which you do notknow the answers?

Do your customers know your vison?


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Businesses, such as pharmaceuticalcompanies spend millions to

educate their customers. It is partof the ad campaign.

They want you to know why their

product is better, even though ithas 47 side effects that could killyou.

Like these companies, in a tightmarket, we must provide more tomake our company stand out fromthe crowd. Education may be thekey.


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Let them know that you are stillbeing educated and do not know all

the answers yet. Dont be afraid to say I dont know,

but I will find out for you.

I have often told my students thatthey are the smartest they will everbe when they finish high school.

They know everything. A little advanced education points

out how much they dont know.The more you learn, the more you

find you dont know. I am almost


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Where does this educationcome from?

For many of you, from meetings suchas this.

From trade magazines (TCI)

From journal (ISA Journal ofArboriculture)

From visiting with your peers

From questions asked by customers

And most importantly, from beingobservant and documenting whatyou have seen.


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Formal education is also an option.

You could go back to school

If you have the time and there is aschool nearby

You could study on-line

Usually this is scheduled so you do itat your pace, when you have thetime.

It does require disciplineYou can take individual classes or a

whole program

How many have tried this Did you like it?


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Correspondence classes are anotheroption.

You can also hire a consultant.

Now you have the instructor there to

explain things quickly

Some see this as being too expensive,but many large companies depend

on this to keep themselves and theirstaff up to date.

You might spread the cost even moreby including customer education in

the process.


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Dont limit your options too much. A person from out of town may have

new ideas. Not all of them may work, but some or a

variant of some probably will.

I visited Zelenograd (Moscow area), Russiaas the guest of 4 tree care companies in

2003 When I demonstrated my preferred

method of tree climbing, I found that itdid not lend itself well to the tightcrotches of European White Birch andthe descending branches of the Norway

Spruce.They used a double lanyard system for

climbing, with one long lanyard for limbwalking and a second shorter one on afoot loop for ascending. Workedgreat.

All the companies have greatly increased

education, the key to healthy trees and business

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