LATE SUMMER & EARLY FALL Tree and Plant Healthcare Opportunity Sales Guide This guide is intended to provide ideas and tips on what services you can prescribe to your clients at this time of year. Training is available for your company to maximize your opportunities this late summer and early fall season. www.treecarescience.com info@treecarescience.com 877-272-6747
The Tree Care Seasons In the spring, companies are so busy they have little time to focus on adding or growing their tree healthcare services. Eventually, client calls, which were plentiful in the spring and early summer, begin to taper off. By the time the late summer and fall arrive, many companies are looking for ways to grow their business and tree healthcare services. This is an ideal time to be prescribing certain protocols to improve the health of your client s trees and shrubs. LATE SUMMER SELLING FOR THE FALL Late summer is a great time of year to begin discussing plant healthcare services for the fall. During this period, trees begin to show signs and symptoms of common plant healthcare problems this makes late summer an ideal time to offer new services to your clients. You can treat for many of these plant healthcare problems at this time and even into the fall, allowing you to extend your plant healthcare business further into the season. For a complete list of fall tree and shrub problems that you can be proposing treatment services for, check out the Late Summer and Early Fall Treatment Quick Guide at the end of this guide. WHY FALL IS IMPORTANT We often think of the fall as a slower time for plant healthcare business. The days get shorter and colder, and it s a precursor to winter, when very little to no plant healthcare is being done. But the truth is, there are a lot of opportunities during the fall for many tree care professionals to take advantage of. The key is to educate your customers throughout the summer so they are aware of these issues. This guide will provide you with tips and information on how to develop a successful fall plant healthcare marketing and sales program and plan.
What Services Can You Offer in the Late Summer & Fall? TREES SHOWING SYMPTOMS Symptoms from many tree insect, diseases, and abiotic problems are apparent in the late summer and fall. You ll want to identify: What are the 2-3 most common trees in the area? What are the 2-3 most common symptoms or issues associated with these trees? Get on the property: -- Identify the trees -- What tree healthcare protocols can I propose? -- What pruning can I propose? PREVENTIVE TREATMENTS Many common invasive pests (such as emerald ash borer) can be treated in the fall to prevent attacks the following year. Treatments in the fall help to reduce the production workload the following spring, while still providing effective control for the next year. It also provides you the opportunity to prescribe services to clients who want to get a head start on protecting their tree for next year. OFFERING SPRING TREATMENTS Some issues which generate symptoms in the late summer and fall cannot be treated during the fall. However, this is a chance to be proactive and offer treatment services to your clients for next spring. Damage from foliar diseases such as apple scab or anthracnose is highly visible in the fall, so educate your clients about services and sign them up for treatments next spring. Showing Symptoms Treat Late Summer and Fall Sycamore anthracnose Chlorosis Mild chronic tree decline Planting issues Japanese beetle damage Construction damage Borer damage Scale insects Cool-season mites Aphids & Adelgids Chlorosis is easy to diagnose and is prominent this time of year. Preventive Services Treat This Fall for Protection Next Season Early spring insects including plant bugs, white pine weevil, aphids, soft scales, leafminers, emerald ash borer, and more Winter moth and other spring caterpillars Bronze birch borer Two-lined chestnut borer Showing Symptoms Treat Next Spring Apple scab Anthracnose (Ash, Oak, etc) Powdery mildew Bacterial leaf scorch Gypsy moth Bagworm Pine wilt disease Diplodia Rhizospharea
Define Your Offer and Make it Simple FOCUS YOUR EFFORTS Sure, you offer dozens of tree health services, but to reach your objectives with fall opportunities it is best to narrow your focus. This makes it easier to communicate to your customer. Since you are focusing on 2-3 services, it is much easier to schedule applications which can result in higher profit margins by increasing your operational efficiency. See the Late Summer and Early Fall Treatment Quick Guide for ideas on 2-3 services that would be a good fit for your clients. UTILIZE YOUR CURRENT CUSTOMER DATABASE Fall is not always the best time to be looking for new clients to offer your valuable services to. Rather, late summer is an ideal time to ensure your existing client s trees are taken care of. Do you have an inventory of your customers trees? Having a database that you can filter by tree species can be very useful for creating a client list for late summer and fall marketing efforts. Reaching out to a smaller group of your clients with a focused offering of services can yield a higher return in responses. IDEAS & TIPS FOR SALES AND SPECIAL OFFERS Fixed pricing Green-up your tree for $150! will generate a greater response from current clients, as they are not as willing to go through the consultation/proposal/acceptance process this time of year. Loyalty discounts Offer fall savings programs for clients that used your services earlier in the year. Easy add-on services Offer to treat other trees on the property for a small fee, or offer an additional service for a tree you are already servicing. For example, offer to treat their birch tree for an additional lower fee if you are already treating their ash tree.
Reach Your Clients WHAT? Decide on 1-3 services to focus on (see the Fall Treatment Quick Guide). WHO? If you have the ability to filter your client list by tree species you can ensure your message reaches your ideal customer (for example, only send a Protect Your Ash Tree message to clients with ash trees). Target a problem with observable symptoms the client can see. HOW? Decide the best way to reach your client base. Remember that it often takes more than one touch before customers make a buying decision, so consider more than one approach this fall. A. E-newsletters and E-mail Blasts These can be cost-effective ways to get a message in front of clients. Send 5 or 5,000 for the same cost. NEED HELP? We have content and photos you can use to make your campaign a success. B. Direct Mail Postcard A postcard can be a great way to get a simple bulletin to your clients. NEED HELP? We can add your logo and contact info to a postcard you can bring right to a printer to get produced. C. Website Your website should be updated to include your fall services and any specials you may be offering. NEED HELP? We can help you with what content should be included on a webpage and even provide photos for you to use on your site. D. Face-to-Face Meeting Meeting clients in person is the most effective way to let them know the issues their trees may have, and solutions you offer. NEED HELP? We have sell sheets on a variety of tree health care topics that can be fully customized with your logo and info to use when working with your clients. FOLLOW UP Nothing s worse than generating a ton of leads with no way to call them back. Be sure you have a plan for following up with leads.
Late Summer and Early Fall Treatment Quick Guide TREE/PLANT ISSUE TREATMENT APP METHOD TIMING Ash Emerald Ash Borer Emamectin Benzoate Tree Injection Up until fall color Ash Emerald Ash Borer Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Azalea, Eucalyptus, others Southern red mite Lucid Spray When mites are active Birch Bronze birch borer Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Birch Chlorosis Verdur, Cambistat Tree Injection, Soil Injection/Drench Just prior to fall color until ground freezes Birch Leafminer Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Black walnut, Honeylocust Fall webworm Lepitect Soil Injection/Drench Until early fall Boxwood Leafminer Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Boxwood Psyllid and BLM control Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Elm Dutch elm disease Arbotect Tree Injection Until fall coloration Hemlocks Hemlock woolly adelgid, Scale Xytect, Transtect Soil Injection/Drench, System Bark Spray Until ground freezes Holly Leafminer Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Honeylocust Plant bug Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Compacted soils Drought resistance Foliar diseases Air-Spade, Cambistat Air-Spade, Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Cambistat Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Myclotect, others Spray Spring Injured roots Cambistat Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Planted too deep, girdling roots Air-Spade Air-Spade Until ground freezes
Late Summer and Early Fall Treatment Quick Guide TREE/PLANT ISSUE TREATMENT APP METHOD TIMING Size Maintenance Cambistat Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Scales RTSA Hort. Oil, Transtect Spray Through dormant season Soft Scales Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Thrips Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Urban tree stress Cambistat Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Winter moth (preventive) Emamectin Benzoate Tree Injection Until fall coloration Whitefly Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Oaks Oak Gall Wasp Lepitect Soil Injection Spring Oaks 2-Lined Chestnut Borer Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Oaks Oak wilt Alamo Tree Injection Until fall coloration Palms Pin Oak Lethal yellowing of Palms Chlorosis Bacastat Tree Injection N/A Verdur, Cambistat Tree Injection, Soil Injection/Drench Just prior to fall color and after leaf drop Spruce Spruce Gall Adelgid Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Spruce White Pine Weevil Xytect Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Spruce Spider mite Lepitect Soil Injection/Drench Until mid-fall Spruce (especially CO Blue Spruce) Spruce, other conifers Spruce, other conifers Cytospora Canker Cambistat Soil Injection/Drench Until ground freezes Spruce spider mite Lucid Spray When mites are active Spruce spider mite Lepitect Soil Injection When mites are active Sycamore Anthracnose Arbotect Tree Injection Until fall coloration 2015 Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements Solution Center: www.treecarescience.com info@treecarescience.com 877-272-6747