How to Be Ready for 2021

2020 brought us a big windfall from the residential “forced staycation”.

It also brought a lot of pain in impatient consumers, product shortages, awkward meetings and ongoing labor challenges. Planning got thrown out the window as everyone struggled to keep up.

Power up! No question that every company is ending the year with plenty of fatigue. It’s time to relax, regroup and make a plan for the coming year.

Hold an off-site planning meeting. Tap into the wisdom and energy of your leaders to identify your strategic path for 2021. Bring in a facilitator to help you in transforming your company to achieve higher profits and higher team satisfaction. Develop an action plan that you’ll actually implement!

Make a list of 2020s biggest issues – and fix them! Find out what keeps your team from being more productive. Eliminate persistent roadblocks. Fire customers who constantly complain.

Invest in your crew. Bring your leaders together and re-commit to your company values. Complete performance reviews for every employee on your team. Really take time to ask for and listen to suggestions for improvement.

Go for the “green light” projects. What makes your company unique? What can your team do better than any other firm in your market? There’s plenty of competition out there (and more entering every day). Maximize your success by using your strengths to your advantage. Stop saying “yes” to work that doesn’t fit. Train your team to understand what types of customers and projects you want to take.

Get your team to buy-into selling upgrades and add-ons. This is the easiest way to grow your bottom line, but often fails from lack of effort. If the market softens a little, you’ll be glad you have something to fall back on. Is your team equipped to sell add-ons effortlessly?

The Team at Aqua-Flo Supply

2021 is Going to Wreak Havoc on Your Bids. Get Ahead of It!

The pricing of PVC pipe, fittings and wire has already been extremely volatile in 2020, as companies deal with supply chain issues impacted by COVID and recent gulf coast hurricanes.

Starting in January, we also expect many irrigation manufacturers to announce price increases. They've been running their plants at full speed and have the opportunity to push through cost increases. It's now a duopoly market, with most contractors using one of two top brands. In this environment, the competitors often match each other's increases. Expect higher product prices in 2021.

Beware that commercial and infrastructure-related bids may see project delays or cancellations, depending on market conditions. While residential markets are unbelievably robust, other sectors of construction (campus, retail, tax-supported) are likely to be challenged next year. The fact sheet for the Democratic-sponsored Moving Forward Act states that it is a $1.5 trillion plan to “rebuild American infrastructure—not only our roads, bridges and systems, but also our schools, housing, broadband access and so much more.” Depending on government cooperation next year, this plan may bail-out infrastructure projects, or it may die without a vote. Plan your focus and workload accordingly!

Tackle Special Projects with Loaner and Rental Tools at Aqua-Flo

Solve problems easily or make installations go faster with specialized loaner equipment from your local Aqua-Flo store.

Demo kits and test equipment can be a costly investment, especially for jobs that are rare and one-time. Rent what you need from us!

We offer the following to our loyal customers:

Complete Socket Fusion Kit (3/4"-2") for HDPE water and sewer pipe
Landscape lighting demo kit
Synthetic Sod Power Broom
Wire Tracing / Fault Finding Equipment
Volt Meter
Flow/Pressure Gauge

Call your local store to reserve these and other loaner tools.

Must Have for Irrigation Problem Solving: A Digital Volt/Ohm Meter

Stop trial-and-error methods. Diagnose irrigation electrical malfunctions using a step-by-step approach with a volt/ohm meter.

A volt/ohm meter allows for the easy analysis of power, solenoid and valve wires. Use the Voltage setting to test for power and the Ohm setting to test for proper continuity of the wiring and solenoid coil. Proper testing will save you time, unnecessary component replacements and hours of digging. Get a professional Armada digital multi-meter from us. On Sale This Month!

On-Line Reviews: Why Your Business Needs Better Ones!

Consumers are strongly influenced by on-line reviews. When customers search on-line for landscape professionals, Google makes it easy for them to each company's review score and to dive in to read candid reviews.

Sometimes customers vent frustrations by posting bad reviews. And once you have a bad review, it's hard to make it go away.

It's a misconception that asking for more reviews will gather bad ones. Most often when we approach customers, it's the happy ones who take the time to write a review.

How do you grow your list of positive ratings and reviews? Do a mix of these things:

Be worthy of a great review. Deliver an experience that stands out from what's expected.

Have the technician leave a card with the customer requesting a review. The card should provide encouragement and instructions on how to gather the review.

Provide a means for the customer to easily click to complete a review. Modern software like BirdEye or ServiceTitan provides a follow-up method to collect reviews automatically. Contractors using this software see a 200-300% increase in review rates.

Go back to past customers. Reach out to past clients and ask them to review you. This can also trigger them to order new services.

Smart Socket 2 Upgrades Lighting Transformers to Wi-Fi App Control - Be A Hero to Your Customer!

Give your customer phone-app control of their outdoor lighting or pond - without needing to change the existing transformer or wiring!

The Brilliance Smart Socket allows users to control virtually anything plugged into a socket using a mobile device. Install it in existing landscape lighting transformers (replacing the traditional timer) to make an instant upgrade to WiFi app-based control.

Use it for instant on/off remote control plus timed on/off. It works with both iPhone and Android devices with the free app, available for download in the app store.