When clients request rare plants, do you cringe just a bit? Sure, you want to give your clients what they want, but sourcing rare plants can be time-consuming and difficult.
What’s trimming your margins? There’s a good chance there are many factors. Changing prices, seasonality, time-consuming product hunts—can all shrink your margins.
Has it been awhile since you've been to a trade show, conference, or industry event in-person? You're not alone. Sadly, many of the in-person events we love to attend to connect with our industry colleagues were canceled this past year due to the global pandemic. But, it looks like many are coming back later this summer and fall.
We figured you may need a few tips on how to make the most of your travel this year. Here are our best tips for a profitable show.
Order the Essentials on Time
There are three things no company should be without, and you will need to jump right on this to be ready. Those include:
- Wifi
- Booth furnishings, including tables, chairs, carpet, and tablecloths
- Electrical hookups
Contact the venue hosting the trade show or the organization putting on the trade show to organize your order. You might be able to order from one vendor, or you might juggle multiple vendors, but it’s important not to leave anything out.
You might be thinking, “Why do I need to order wifi? Can’t I just use the hotspot on my phone?” We wouldn’t chance it. Some of these trade show halls are concrete bunkers and you don’t want to risk not getting a signal for important business.
Must-Have Supplies that can Make or Break Your Trade Show
Whether you’re new to managing your own trade show booth or an experienced road warrior, you’re sure to find something new on this list to add to your kit. Don’t leave home without these things.
Booth Setup
- A small tool kit with a variety of screw drivers, wrenches, a flashlight, duct tape, and pliers.
- Extension cords & power strips: because no matter what electrical gives you, it will never be enough and you don’t want to have to hunt down more.
- Zip ties for tweaking your display
Show Day
You’ll feel less hassled if you can fend for yourself with these show day supplies.
- Gum or mints so that you’re always fresh when talking to hundreds of visitors to your booth.
- Aspirin or Advil because you will get a headache.
- Hand Sanitizer both for booth visitors and for yourself.
- Comfy shoes, including an extra pair so you can switch halfway through the day.
- Portable steamer (for your clothes, tablecloths, or display).
- Snacks, because the exhibit hall food might be far away, is usually expensive, and generally requires time you don’t have to stand in line.
- Bottled water to stay hydrated and keep your energy up. (Or encourage your staff to bring water bottles and bring several jugs so they can fill up.)
- Sharpies for writing notes on business cards. Click sharpies are extra convenient!
- A small notebook to make notes about contacts, including a few business details and how you need to follow up.
- Click top ballpoint pens for making notes. (Just say no to pen caps that will get lost!)
- Tons of your own business cards and business cards for others in your business. Maybe you’re not the best contact for one of your booth visitors but someone else in your organization is.
- Candy to give away. Everyone walking the show floor has low blood sugar from long days and candy is a great way to get people into your booth and engage. (Don’t forget the candy bowl.)
- Collateral that leads back to your website. If you’re giving away printed materials, tuck them in a tote bag with your website on it. Branded flash drives are always helpful because they’re easy to use, useful to customers, and will keep you top of mind.
- Branded apparel. Outfit your staff in smart shirts, and provide logo pullovers or vests because exhibit halls can be chilly! (There’s still time to order before winter, but you’ll need to hop to it.)
Ready to roll? You are now! Here’s to a prosperous season ahead.
Drone usage goes way beyond the amateur flyer. In fact, drones have become a key tool for many industries. These applications include use in landscaping, so meet your new favorite piece of equipment. This one actually does the work for you.
There is no mistaking that 2020 was an unprecedented year that affected industries worldwide, including the landscaping sector. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many businesses in our industry. It will continue to do so in the months ahead, but we at LandscapeHub are approaching 2021 with cautious optimism. The industry generates $99 billion annually, with 3.3% growth over the past five years, and employs over 1.1 million people nationwide. We are hopeful that a rebounding economy, nonresidential, and residential construction will continue to drive demand for landscaping services.
As economic activity rebounds from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, consumers and businesses will have a renewed ability to pay for professional landscaping (woot woot!). We've outlined four key opportunities to take advantage of to keep you excited and motivated for the year ahead.
There are lots of great reasons to have multiple sources for your products. A million things, big and small, can happen to compromise a single source. As a landscaping company, you probably already know the importance of having a network of trusted sources, but are you missing out on opportunity, time saving, and a chance for better margins by keeping your network closed?
In a year like 2020, it's easy to look at the challenges facing our industry. However, as we move towards cooler temps, we are taking stock of opportunity areas for both landscape buyers and sellers to take advantage of in the year ahead. Now is a great time to start thinking about the business areas where you should invest in 2021. Not surprisingly, given the turn of events this year, investing in technology is a big one.
LandscapeHub’s goal is to strengthen the green industry by providing solutions to reduce operational costs, generate market insights, improve workflow efficiency, and promote standardization. As a buyer, you probably find the value of LandscapeHub to be the ability to use one tool/platform to source and secure all your landscaping material needs, and we love to hear that! After all, our goal is to make it easier for buyers and suppliers to work together.
We get it. LandscapeHub is a new way of doing business, different than the way you've bought and sold plant material in the past. And let's be honest, that can be a little scary, right? Change and growth often can be uncomfortable, but anything worth doing is bound to raise some questions.