Meet Growing Demand for New Services
Meet Growing Customer Demand for New Services
Grow your revenue and profits without adding employees.Resolve to add new products and services to your business model.
With an accelerating economy, your buyers have more money to spend and want a full menu of enhancements for their landscapes. They would prefer to buy from a trusted professional - that's you!
Grow your offering. Customers have an ever-expanding list of landscape needs. Get a flavor for the many options available at MPR: landscape lighting, water features, drainage, bbq grills / fire pits, and more!
Get ready to sell. Get the right sales presentation materials at hand and then train your team to make the sale. Set prices for upgrades in advance. Prepare demonstration or sample kits. Design presentation brochures. Streamline your "pitch" so it's easy to deliver.
Master your market. Become the best contractor at selling upgrades. You’ll be surprised how much you can grow your results.
The Team at MPR Supply
Kichler Tip: How to Up-Sell Your Customer to a Better Landscape Fixture
Your customer's best investment is typically an integrated LED fixture. But they definitely cost more! If your customer is leaning toward inexpensive accent lights with a drop-in lamp, this is an important opportunity to upsell - with benefits for you and your customer.In terms of price, the closest alternative to a drop-in accent is Kichler Lighting's 12V integrated LED accent, sometimes referred to as the Gen 1.5. If your customer can afford the price difference, the integrated accent is a better long-term value. Explore why here.
Design Irrigation Systems Faster with Rain Bird's New Resources
Find the information you need faster in Rain Bird's updated Design Resources portal.You can access Land F/X data, CAD drawings, tech specs, editable specifications for easy copy/paste and format, application drawings, product iconography, and more.
Click here to see all design resources.
Labor Shortage: How to Attract and Keep the Best Technicians
A recent national survey by Strategic Force, Inc. found job need for over 1,000 new irrigation service technicians for the 2021 season! Their take: Aging irrigation systems + current technician retirements + exits to other industries = shortage likely to persist for several years.
So, what can you do to keep your service techs happy so that these numbers don’t impact your business?
1) Understand any cultural or bureaucratic issues that might be frustrating your techs. Be sure you're using the winter to do employee reviews and listening for opportunities to streamline things for your techs. Remove barriers to getting the work done in the field. Encourage better cooperation between the office and the technicians. Get communication issues worked out before spring!
2) Adjust your pay structure. Give them certainty of working hours, and offer incentive-based bonuses for up-sells and working off-hours.
3) Implement productivity tools like routing software and flat rate pricing. Get your service operation out of the 1970s and move toward an Amazon-like experience. These changes reduce your techs paperwork load and ultimately increase their happiness.
Protect Backflows with Polar Parka Covers
We carry a full range of irrigation weatherization products including insulated backflow blankets from Polar Parka. We carry the Polar Parka, an insulated backflow cover that protects backflow preventers year-round.
- Winter: provides protection in cold-weather conditions.
- Spring: sudden temperature changes can require "re-winterization" of many systems. Polar Parka protects the device.
- Summer: protects device from damaging UV rays.
Features of all Polar Parka covers:
- Rugged 18 oz fabric, vinyl coated for water resistance
- Double-stitched construction
- Polar insulation, polyester fiber
- Waterproof / fire resistant
- Lockable eyelets prevent unauthorized removal
Grounding Techniques for 2-Wire Decoder Systems
The components used in decoder systems are very vulnerable to voltage surges. Surges can come from lightning strikes or source surges. Proper grounding is required for protection to work. Good grounding dissipates the surge to a path to ground.Poor grounding frequently leads to unnecessary component failures, system down time and customer complaints. Since lightning and surge damage is never covered by manufacturer warranty, it is in the installer's best interest to follow these guidelines to install the most resilient system.
Depending on the manufacturer and the size of the system, several different methods of grounding might be used. This video from Regency Wire is a great way to learn about the proper techniques.
Salt and Snow Damage? Artificial Turf to the Rescue
When plows scatter salt on and around roads, parking lots, sidewalks and driveways, any nearby plant life that becomes exposed to that salt can develop salt burns. Come spring, what you're left with is a brown, patchy lawn.Planning for a resilient landscaping solution is a must. The answer is not just artificial grass, it's the right kind of artificial grass. On the surface, most artificial grass will do just fine; however, the solution is in the drainage. Why? As snow melts away, drainage becomes imperative. Too much water on the surface can build up and cause slippery conditions. Stagnant or slow-draining water will develop unpleasant odors and bacteria buildup, while dogs and other pets will have a difficult time finding a place to go to the bathroom.
When looking at artificial grass options, EasyTurf is the only artificial grass manufacturer on the market that offers MaxxFlow, a 100% permeable backing that allows liquids to drain freely at every stitchpoint. MaxxFlow drains at a rate of 250 inches per hour - ten times faster than real grass!
To learn more about EasyTurf and MaxxFlow products, please visit easyturf.com
Winter Planning? Here's Why You Need to Meet with MPR
Just about every contractor takes advantage of the winter months to make plans for the coming season. But only a fraction of professionals take advantage of all of their supplier resources.Your MPR account manager can help you tap into the latest market knowledge and smart new resources that can grow your bottom line. Book an appointment with him/her now to identify programs and advantages that could help you in the 2021 season.
Discover ways MPR can help you connect with:
Opportunities to purchase materials more efficiently, leveraging bulk discounts, getting ahead of price increases and scheduled deliveries.
Industry trends in your area so you’re up to date on which products and services are growing in popularity. Find out about successes others are having with new items.
Essential resources to grow your business, including resources to aid in hiring quality employees, marketing tools, educational seminars and more.
Redeem rewards from manufacturer customer loyalty programs.
Make use of the winter downtime to grow your bottom line. Schedule an appointment today.