"I've seen that sign before," I thought! It was less than 2 years ago I was here to speak at the Ohio State University Short Course! No wonder it looked so familiar. What a spaceball. Anyway, the OSU/CENTS program is a good one. If you've not been, it's worth your time.
The reason I was in Columbus was to attend my first PLANET Green Industry Conference/Expo. I'm told they draw nearly 2000 landscape professionals from all over the U.S. Indeed, I met folks from California, Oregon, Wisconsin, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Texas and the Carolinas. PLANET as an organization serves the landscape contracting industry, and the focus of its educational programs tends to be all business: Marketing, branding, pricing, profit, selling and succession planning. There was little, if any, design on the agenda. I enjoyed very much the programs I attended, though my first love is design. It was time well spent.
Landshapes
My appreciation of good design is shared by the editor of Landshapes magazine, Stephanie Rose. I spent some valuable time speaking with Stephanie at the show. She informs me that an article I wrote will appear in the January/February issue which should show up near the end of the year. The article is a project profile which you can read if you are a subscriber. The cost to subscribe is..... NOTHING! If you are in the landscape design/architecture business, all you have to do is sign up at their web site. Simple.
Buying and Selling
Buying anything should be simple. Especially if it is something you're selling! When it comes to selling, one of the great truths about people is this: People don't like to be sold to. But they LOVE TO BUY! Selling landscape design or contracting services is no different. A good sales system is set up so that it is easy for both buyer and seller. Not only does it give the buyer a sense of control, but it takes a lot of pressure off a designer who might not be comfortable "selling" in the traditional sense. The system does most of the work. This type of system is one of the topics covered in AALD's Barnsley House as well as Sissinghurst courses. It's such an important topic that it is the only one we repeat.
Speaking of AALD courses, the Early Bird deadline for the December Sissinghurst course has been extended to 11/13, so hurry if you want to join us!
Check our website for the most current information.
Lastly, just last week we were excited to receive our printed brochures! If you would like a copy, please let us know by phone or email, and we'll gladly put one in the mail to you.
Thanks for reading.
I'm Tim Thoelecke, and I approved this message.
Sincerely,
Tim Thoelecke
