[Stonehenge]

A landscape contractor, he stars in the home improvement show This Old House. He offers landscaping advice and promotes the Bobcat line of equipment.

He is a textbook example of personal branding. I don't know if anyone outside of his market even knows the name of his landscaping company (it's K & R Tree and Landscape Company, in case you were wondering). That's how well he's branded himself. He appears as a speaker at trade shows, writes regularly for magazines (though I believe some of the material is used across a few platforms - but who can blame him?), and of course there's the TV thing.

Frankly, I wonder how Roger Cook is ever able to get any work done. I do a fair job of personal branding in my local market, and it seems to eat up time that I feel I should be spending on my business. But somehow he's able to juggle it all, and has built himself a brand that nobody can take away; himself.

With that in mind, how do you market your landscaping business? Are you the faceless owner behind the company banner, always directing attention to the company, or do you find more success presenting yourself to your community, and then funnel that attention to the company behind you?

Roger Cook seems to have successfully blended this media attention with his landscape contractor business - how are you doing with it?

[GLAN]

Ya know Stone.......that is a very interesting question.


I always had this illusion that I was the faceless owner behind the business...or tried to be. And was funneling attention directly to the business.

In reality.....I just now realized it when you posed this question to us. I present myself and funnel the attention to the company behind me.

I am after all selling myself each and everytime I do an estimate, present a design, answer or make phone calls. This is not so unusual. I knew long ago that regardless of my business name not being my own personal name, that no matter what I was doing.........I was always selling myself.

There is a logical reason for that......I am the point of contact. I am the one that sets the pricing, rules and gets things in motion. I am the one with the degree in landscape architecture. I am the one with the pesticide applicators license.......and on and on...

And that my friends is a rather simple definition of being a small service business owner.

It would be ideal to be the faceless owner behind the scenes. If that were the case.....I would be doing millions upon millions in dollars of annual work.

[Stonehenge]

But I think of a guy like John Allin - he may not be as media savvy as Roger Cook, but you do think of him before you think of his company, and he does do millions in business every year.

It's funny, the things you can do to brand yourself. I think my mantra when I first started was "stand out without spending a bunch of money." This, along with a desire to protect my skin, led to my wearing my now locally-famous straw hat. It's to the point where people "see" me in places I've never been; they caught a glance of a guy in a similar hat and were sure it was me. (Either that or I really am everywhere....). I'm so tied to the hat that I can become virtually anonymous just by taking it off. After a brief chat people will ask "Are you the landscape contractor with the hat?" Other media expsoure has further embedded the hat into our little market's psyche. And it's such a small, simple thing.

Watching the Olympics many years ago I saw Chevy pickups that were completely chromed, top to bottom. I thought if I were to ever start a lawn service business, I'd have trucks like that. In a sea of lawn maintenance businesses, trucks like that would certainly stand out and be remembered.

[GLAN]

Hmmm.

Had an idea John Allin would come up.

The thing with John Allin is....many know who he is and what he does....But how many know the name of his company? Is that a concern? Unless your name is on the side of the trucks. I think it does....

It's one thing to be known as the landscaper with the hat. Or the guy with the snow business. Or the tree sprayer with stainless steel trucks.

Would it not be equaly important to have recognition or association for and to the company?

Who runs Brickman? ValleyCrest?

But think of this.......John Allin is pretty much only known in the trade.

Brickman and ValleyCrest have public recognition....

About the only people that have public recognition..........Donald Trump and Bill Gates....These individuals are immediately associated to their companies.

[Mac]

Lets add Marty Grunder into this list of well branded individuals. He works the press like it is his only job.

Glan, i have to disagree about Brickman and Valleycrest. I would be very surprised if anyone outside our industry or their clients knew who they were. However, TGCL does have the public's attention. What does TGCL do that brings so much attention to themselves?

Once you get to a certain size (im sure Paul knows where that is) i believe that it is more important that the company be known rather than the owner. Afterall, once you are so large, its the company, its processes, and key employees that actually interact with the clients, and no longer the owner.

[jwholden]

The majority of members here are trying to run a smaller company and not create a 'brand' for their multi-million dollar company. I believe our branding is our own unique personality. My pecular mannerisms and excitement about a job is what people recognize about me along with returning their calls and doing what I say I'm giong to do.

Roger Cook 'lucked out' by being selected as a landscape contractor for a tv show. If I'm not mistaken he was working for another company that was on TOH and when he started his own company they decided to use him because they liked him. I don't see anything that different about him than most members here, except he has been doing it longer and does more masonry work along with the plantings.

I admire his bits on TOH because he presents himself as a straight shooter (as all contractors on that show do) and doesn't go for glitz, just gets the job done. I think he is a good role model.

Marty Grunder, I have no idea what company he owns or runs, but I make sure to read his piece in lawn and landscape every month because I like his message.

[cutntrim]

Please, pickups are expensive enough. I can't afford stainless steel DeLorian-style trucks!

[Green4Me]

Better to have your work stand out than your trucks.
Although a neat and clean and well maintained truck is a sign of professionalism in my book.

About being the nameless faceless guy behind the company. Not a good idea in our small businesses, but I do envision the day when someone else will be doing the hard work and I will be there to make sure it happens and be the nice friendly guy behind the company that absolutely stands behind customer service.

But someday I expect these company wheels to turn whether I go in to the office or go fishing. So I do not want it to depend on me.

[trees]

I think it's imperative that you get out there to the public. Our business is one of relationships. We have a very personal effect on people's lives; what we do gives them happiness and touches them daily. Due to this, our customers need to see us as not only approachable, but as the experts in our local markets.

I give 20-30 speeches a year to local garden clubs, hort. societies, community college continuing ed. classes, etc. Not to mention the seminars hosted here at the nursery. I'm also available to the garden editor of the local paper. She can call whenever she has a question and I'll give her whatever time she needs. It's a great relationship to cultivate.

The bottom line is that in our business, the customer needs to feel all warm and fuzzy about the people they are dealing with, and if you can let the media and personal appearances get the idea out that you're that guy, the battle's half won...

[Bill Schwab]

When you use the examples of Bill Gates or Donald Trump, or even True Green, consider all the freebies they have gotten along the way by the press.
Trump builds his tower, he gets press. He fles BK for the 3rd time, he gets press. Gates makes software that is used by every PC owner in the US, he gets press. True Green, gets press, even though it is by the liberal whackos who feel that by occupying the earth, we humans destroy it, (bad press) they become known. Remember the 2-4D scare in the 80's? Who were hey interviewing on 60 minutes? The CEO of Chem Lawn, who by the way has not had a single person get cancer from apllications of 2-4D to date....They still got press...An d when Chem lawn made their name better, and when they improved, the PR was right there in the press. All free....

That is why it is so crucial to get involved with your community, to press release every thing you add to you resume, and for that matter, every new piece of money saving equipment. When you see an article about grubs for example, call in as a professional and ask to speak to that reporter to express your views. You just might get a story out of them.

Free is free. That is the best advertising you can get. We are getting interviewed by the Coast News next week sometime for our truck lettering.

"If you don't have Naturescape Landscape Co. hold up your bank, you just got robbed"

Not only does that get a chuckle, it makes people think....Our goal is that anytime someone wants a retaining wall, that Naturescape comes to mind. From those walls, also comes alot of design build landscape.

Look at how Gates gets his press and model yourself after that. I don't know if it will work, but it sure is fun trying!

[Stonehenge]

Bill, you bring up an interesting point with the trailer/truck lettering. Does anyone know if Roger Cook's vehicles simply say K&R, or do they have "This Old House" star Roger Cook's K&R Tree and Landscape Company? Neither here nor there, but I was just wondering. I guess I wouldn't be surprised with either answer - a straight-shooter might cringe at a 3' tall pic of his face on a trailer, but a media magnate (or maybe "magnet") might see the further branding possibilities.

If I can find it, I'll post a link to an article in Inc. Magazine about personal branding and it's benefits and shortcomings.