This is your ProGardenBiz Newsletter! #5

To cancel your subscription click the link at the bottom of
this message. To post messages, ask or answer questions, send
your email to: pgbdiscussion@yahoogroups.com

For those who have email clients that do not accept HTML email
here is a text only version of our last newsletter. The HTML
version can be seen online at:
http://www.progardenbiz.com/ezine/Landscaping-People-Skills.html

Just to keep it interesting we've added some additional
articles to this issue. Enjoy!

____________________________________________

ProGardenBiz Landscape & Garden Magazine for the
Green Industry

ProGardenBiz is an online landscape & garden magazine for
professional gardeners and landscape contractors doing
maintenance, irrigation, installation, planting, and
waterscapes.

Quote for today: "Don't accept your dog's admiration as
conclusive evidence that you are wonderful."
- Ann Landers


Life's Quips...
Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no
influence on society. - Mark Twain

____________________________________________

In this Issue:

- Assumptions… Honing your People Skills
- Creative Landscaping with Railroad Ties
- Questions from our readers... and answers!
- Factoid - Daffo-what?
- Spring Lawn Care--It's Time!
- Listen Your Way to Sales Success
- Starting a Landscape or Gardening Business
- Contents Of the Current Issue of ProGardenBiz

____________________________________________

New this Week in ProGardenBiz:

Health Maintenance


You can read these articles at:
htt://www.progardenbiz.com
____________________________________________

Assumptions…
Honing your People Skills

Article by Joan Marques, MBA, Doctoral Student

Patrick was an outgoing person: happy, upbeat, and always well
dressed. People liked him in general. He had been managing the
logistics division of a mid-size company for the past three
years, directly supervising 450 employees at a variety of
levels. Yet there were a few people in his office who did not
seem too fond of Patrick lately. Oh, in the beginning they had
all been very positive about him. In those days he often
received notes and emails from co-workers about their relief of
having a pleasant person like him around, especially after their
previous manager, who had been infamous for his absolutely
apathetic approach. With Patrick such was definitely not the
case. He had made it part of his routine to walk around in the
plant on a regular basis, and make small talk here and there in
order to make workers know that he cared. What made them like
him even more: he knew most of his employees by name!

So why would the people in his office have this aversion against
him? Where did things go wrong? In Patrick’s opinion he really
went out of his way to give them all the opportunities they
deserved: Tanya got promoted from the storage room to the main
office where an extra assistant was needed now that the number
of incoming orders had increased; Shelley got transferred from
the reception to the computer department, where she was now
earning 40% more than her previous salary, and Bill was made the
new head of Human Resources, a once-in-a-lifetime chance in
Patrick’s perception.

Patrick really assumed that by thinking of, and placing all
these workers in the recently opened positions, he had
demonstrated his awareness regarding their possible ambitions,
his thoughtfulness of their hard work, and his eagerness to
reward them with the best opportunities possible.

Yet, the atmosphere in the office became gloomier by the day,
and one day Patrick decided to find out what was wrong. He
scheduled one-on-one appointments with each of his three
recently transferred employees. What he heard in the individual
conversations with them was a hard but important lesson for
Patrick to learn.

· Tanya expressed her dread about working in the hectic and
demanding main office, and articulated her regret of losing her
peace of mind by having to give up her job in the storage room
without being asked. She was not particularly a people-person
and had really enjoyed the serenity of working in a department
that accommodated her need for solitude. She sorely missed that
now.

· Shelley spoke out her gratitude for the salary increase and
the enhanced financial room she now had as a single mom of
three, but she also conveyed her concern about the nature of her
work in the computer department. She had always been a very
people-oriented person, and computers were not so cold and
quiet. She missed the smiles and the little chats of the people
she had come to know through the years, and wished she had been
asked before being transferred.

· Bill nervously communicated his concern about being able to
keep up with the stress of a management position, since he
actually preferred a low-stress job. He was not particularly
looking for a raise or a higher position: he had been perfectly
happy with his previous job, yet felt obligated to accept the
new position, since it was presented to him in such a
convincing, almost demanding way.

Patrick was, in the least, flabbergasted. But he was mature
enough to realize the enormous mistake he had made here: he had
a-s-s-u-m-e-d. He had portrayed his own personality and
preferences on his beloved employees, and thereby made the
capital mistake of disrupting their trusted world by offering
them one in which they felt threatened, stressed, and unhappy.

Fortunately, Patrick was able to find a satisfying solution to
the problem, and even managed to find these three valuable
workers a position in which they DID feel happy, yet did not
have to sacrifice the increased salary they had been earning in
their most recent position.

The moral of the story? It is so easy to assume. We effortlessly
suppose that others will want the same thing we do. But people
are different. And cultures are different. It is therefore of
extreme importance to communicate and find out whether a person
or a group of people is really receptive to the rewards, help,
support, or assistance we want to give them.

Joan Marques, MBA, Doctoral Student
http://www.joanmarques.com


------------------------------------------


Creative Landscaping with Railroad Ties

Article by Jack Stone

Did you know that people are still using railroad ties for all
sorts of decorative and functional purposes throughout their
landscapes? You didn't? Well, where have you been? Railroad ties
are used by landscape contractors as a main design component of
landscaping both homes and businesses. The use of railroad ties
make work easier for grounds maintenance.

Before we talk about all the great things you can do with
railroad ties let's talk about how easy and inexpensive they are
to use when compared to various brick and block structures...

For the rest of this article see:
http://www.progardenbiz.com/issues/v1issue2/Feature4.html

________________________________________________

Q&A
Questions from our readers...

Q. I have used railroad ties to build a wall around a brick
patio.  The ties are looking faded..how would you suggest I
treat them?  Pressure wash?  Can I use a regular wood stain to
darken them back up?
 
Doug in Indianapolis

A. If these are standard railroad ties they are soaked in
creosote to preserve them. The creosote may interfere with
stains, but probably only to the extant that you will need to
use more stain to achieve the desired result. The pressure wash
would be effective to prepare them prior to staining.

Q. The landscape industry trade show sounds interesting--do you
know if there is one offered this year (2003) in Las Vegas? If
there is could you provide me with the site as I have not been
able to find it. Do you have any updated calendar events for
April, May or June? Specifically Las Vegas?

Heather

A. We have not updated our online calendar yet, but I've checked
and I don't see any events planned for Las Vegas through August
of this year. At least nothing that my sources report.

Q. i have a question that i desperatley need answered.. i have a
friend who has a problem front lawn.. it is on a slope.. she had
it seeded last year.. we live in missouri.. the seed never took
hold.. and basically the mud slid down towards her house... not
like mudslides or anything that drastic.. but i think you get
the picture..

a guy suggested fescue grass.. he told me he use to do some
landscaping in san diago.. but i have no first hand knowledge of
this grass.. and would hate to advise my friend to plant it.. he
said it has long roots that will hold the soil in place.. do you
have experience with this grass.. do you believe it would do
the trick or do you think somethingelse would work better..

Is fescue grass.. and yes i think i read there is many varieties
of it.. lol.. but in general is it a good grass for your lawns..

leo
jungleboy6996@...

A. I also live in San Diego.  Fescue grass is excellent for
slopes.  It has deep roots and will hold well once it is
established.  If you want faster results, start with sod, but if
that's too expensive then use seed and get it well established
before the rain season starts.

Q. Out of the three landscape software for design you recommend,
which one would you buy?

http://www.taoherbfarm.com/
http://www.gardencomposer.com/
http://www.broderbund.com/SubCategory.asp?CID=467

Also, thanks for the great information you provide!
John

A. I haven't used these products myself, but "Floral Fan"
responded with this...

John,

I would buy Growit Gold v9 from taoherbfarm.com

Mary

Q. I have a question, how do you get rid of ivy growing on
trees? My neighbor has several tall trees (4) and there is ivy
from the trunk to the top. How can she get rid of the ivy in the
summer it is the pits.

Thanks
Damita

A. The only way to remove the ivy will be to physically pull it
off the trees. You can make the job easier by killing the ivy
first. At the bottom of the tree carefully cut all the ivy vines
away from the tree. Clear a space at least one foot high and all
around the tree. The ivy will no longer have the support of it's
root system and will die. It will then be a bit easier to
remove. The hard part is not damaging the tree bark as you
remove the ivy.


Have questions? We have answers. Send your questions to
editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and will be
answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?"
columns.

____________________________________________

Factoid: Daffo-what? Daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil all
refer to the same kind of flower. Daffodil is the common name
for all flowers in the genus Narcissus, and jonquils are
hybrid daffodils.

____________________________________________

Spring Lawn Care--It's Time!

Ahh, it's spring. The air is finally warm, the birds are
chirping and the sun is shining! Yes, it's time to turn our
attention to the lawn. What should be on our spring "to-do
lists" for the lawn in cooler climes? To get the current scoop,
I went to my "turf diva," Dr. Tamson Yeh of Cornell Cooperative
Extension. Here's what she had to say.

Tamson warns of snow mold (a fungus) damage to turf, especially
in areas where the snow was piled high. Look for turf that
appears wet, nasty and matted. The solution is to allow the area
to dry out. To help it along, you can mow the area low and bag
and dispose of turf clippings. To confirm your suspicions, bring
a sample to your local garden center or Cooperative Extension
office.

This article by Donna Moramarco, from Garden Guides. Learn
more at: http://www.mygardenguide.com

____________________________________________

Listen Your Way to Sales Success

Article by Kelley Robertson

There are many factors and variables that affect our sales on
any given day. There is however, one key skill that will
increase help you increase your sales immediately.

Listen to your customer!

That's it! That's all it takes to close more sales. Sounds
simple doesn't it? Unfortunately, the majority of salespeople
fail to do this.

In the countless sales transactions I watch, I notice that most
salespeople don't ask their customers enough questions. Sure,
they generally uncover a few basic needs that the customer has.
They know what they're looking for in a product with regard to
features, specifications, color, and price.

What they don't do is probe to uncover additional information
about the customer. They don't ask them why they want that
specific product, or why they're considering our store. They
don't learn where the customer has been shopping or what they've
seen. They don't ask what they like and/or dislike about the
other stores they've been in to. They don't find out what their
hot buttons are or what makes them tick or what will motivate
them to buy. They fail to gather enough information!

I believe that there are two primary reasons for this. First, we
don't believe that people will give us this information. The fact
is, people will tell you anything you want to know providing they
trust you and as long as you ask the right questions in the
appropriate manner. For example, if a customer tells you that they
are buying a product because they are going on a vacation, do you
ask where they are going? Do you show interest in their holiday or
are you too concerned with closing the sale? Are you more interested
in your personal problems or watching the clock to care? In many
cases, we are so preoccupied with something else that we miss vital
clues customers give us.

An amazing thing occurs if you demonstrate even a tiny bit of
interest in your customer. They'll begin to open up! They'll provide
you with information you may not have learned otherwise. They'll
talk. They'll tell you everything you need to know in order to close
the sale. People love to talk about themselves and they'll start to
feel more comfortable with you as they talk. When people feel more
comfortable they relax. We all know that a prospect who is relaxed
will be more likely to buy than someone who is tense and uptight.

The second reason for not gathering sufficient information is that
we feel it takes too much time. In my training sessions I frequently
hear that this time is better used overcoming objections. My
response is that if we gain more information and fully understand
the customer's motives and needs, we can often overcome objections
before they occur. Use your time more effectively during the sales
process. Instead of spending so much time overcoming objections find
out what your customer's true concerns are beforehand. This will
help you adapt your sales presentation to meet their specific needs,
address their concerns, and move you closer to closing the sale. Ask
yourself, "What information do I still need to help the customer
make the appropriate buying decision?"

We've all heard the expression that information is power. Gain the
extra leverage in the sales process by investing the time gaining
extra information from your customer. Do it consistently and you'll
develop stronger relationships with your customers, which, in turn,
will help you close more sales.

Kelley Robertson is a Senior Partner of The Robertson Training Group
and the author of, "Stop, Ask & Listen - How to welcome your
customers and increase your sales." Gain practical advice on how to
increase your sales by subscribing to his 59-Second Tip, a free
weekly e-zine at www.robertsontraininggroup.com. Kelley can be
reached at 905-633-7750, 1-866-694-3583 or
Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com

____________________________________________

Starting a Landscape or Gardening Business:
ProGardenBiz, a landscape and garden magazine for the Green
Industry is your online resource for starting and operating a
business as a landscape contractor or landscape and lawn
maintenance gardener. Related fields covered by ProGardenBiz
are irrigation installation and maintenance, sprinklers -
repair and maintenance, waterscapes, water features, and ponds.
You will also find information on plants, plant identification,
trees and tree maintenance, and many other topics that span the
Green Industry.

If the answers you seek are not readily found, then drop us an
email at: editor@progardenbiz. Your questions are welcome and
will be answered by email and appear in our "Letters" or "Ask?"
columns.
_______________________________________

Contents Of the Current Issue of ProGardenBiz
http://www.progardenbiz.com
Volume 1, Issue 2
Feature Articles

-Irrigation Time Savers
-Install a Water Garden
-Don't Get Ripped Off
-Creative Railroad Ties
-Innovative Irrigation Tool: The Chain Saw!
-I Survived the Landscape Industry Trade Show
_______________________________________

You can post questions, comments, thoughts, ideas and more to
our email discussion group at: pgbdiscussion@yahoogroups.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you,

Steve Fleming
Publisher
ProGardenBiz