sales culture means everyone’s in sales and everyone knows the way to help a customer say “yes.” Regardless of the position you hold in a company, you do something every single day that has a systemic (and in some cases direct) impact on a customer’s decision to do business with you. This is a proactive and conscious belief system that you and the organization uphold. It is built on a foundation of trust that begins with the CEO conveying a culture that every employee matters, and acknowledging that creating a happy customer is not easy.

So, what is the relationship between a great sales culture and a culture of great customer service? They are tied to each other in several ways.

Customer service is about making sure clients are happy before and after a purchase, and that’s why people come back. Right? Delivering great customer service and taking care of issues and complaints is a big reason for repeat purchases and increased sales. Everyone who meets clients and customers has a role in making them happy. It’s not just the front-line person who owns customer service. Everyone does. That demonstrates that everyone’s in sales – sales culture.

Metrics are not customer service, and they are not sales culture. Yes, things must be measured so people can fill out some form and can say, “I did it.” Cool. What exactly did you do? Congratulations that you beat some arbitrary metric that says you delivered good service. The real measure of customer service is the proactive behavior that occurs when employees know how their actions impact the client, the way in which their actions lead to more sales, and when they take the time to build the bridge between what they did and how it had a positive effect. That takes time and a proactive attitude of showing people that what they did makes people want to come back.

Customer service is so much more than answering the phone nicely or being measured on how quickly one responds to a client’s problem. Customer service is knowing that when a sterling level of service happens, it has a systemic effect on the company and the customer, who remembers it and buys more. One of the basic guidelines of sales culture is everyone impacts the customer whether they know it or not. People need to be encouraged to recognize this fact and point it out every day.

Making clients happy takes a team. Your virtual sales team – those who work behind the scenes to solve problems – are the sales culture anchor. Knowing where to turn in the event of an issue arising means getting to the client quickly and correctly. When a company transfers customers to “the next person who can fix this,” it creates a gap in effectiveness and efficiency, and leaves customers angry – which hurts business. When you foster a sales culture, your employees realize their value is not merely tied to their title. They are people with a value proposition who can truly articulate what they do and know what others do as well.

A great sales culture builds a better company, provide better service and creates more satisfied clients. The people delivering customer service have a direct impact on the clients’ desire to make referrals. When have you received a positive referral because of a lapse in service?

It’s all about the mindset. Building a sales culture and a customer service culture starts and ends with the core belief that this is about a mindset; not a book, guide or manual. It’s not a flowchart. Delivering the right stuff means your staff has a mentality to do the best and right thing and not feel forced to do it. You can’t make someone have the right mindset, but you can encourage, train and motivate people to use their best and bring the right attitude to the job.

TreeTown USA acquires Hines division of Color Spot Nurseries

TreeTown USA, in coordination with Wells Fargo’s acquisition of Color Spot Holdings, has announced an agreement to acquire the Hines division of Temecula, Calif.-based Color Spot Nurseries, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The deal was expected to close in early August.

The division has three facilities totaling more than 2,000 acres located in California and Oregon. With its foray into the Pacific Northwest, TreeTown USA’s operations will include 19 farm locations throughout California, Texas, Florida, and Oregon encompassing more than 6,000 acres in production.

TreeTown CEO Jonathan Saperstein anticipates there will be future horticulture industry growth in the landscape professional segment of the business. As a result, he foresees there will be a significant need for shrubs, foundation plants, and trees within the large commercial space as well.

“The size and locations of the Hines facilities will allow us to take advantage of the inherent economies of scale over the next decade,” he says.

For more: treetownusa.com

DCA Outdoor buys 2 nurseries

Oregon's Fishback Nursery and Valley Hill Nurseries, a 350-acre Kentucky nursery, are DCA's latest acquisitions.

Keith and Dan Fishback founded Fishback Nursery in 1978. The purchase of the 500-acre Oregon nursery expands DCA Outdoor into the commercial fruit tree market. Fishback Nursery will be renamed to Schwope Brothers Tree Farms.

The company also reached an agreement to purchase Valley Hill Nurseries in Springfield, Ky. Valley Hill, led by Todd Ryan, opened in 1972 as a producer of B&B caliper shade trees and continues to do so today on 350 acres.

For more: dcaoutdoor.com

ForemostCo to acquire Orcosa

ForemostCo, a global grower and distributor of young plants, announced that Orcosa, a producer of ornamental plants in Costa Rica, will be joining the ForemostCo family. Orcosa is a subsidiary of Handelskwekerij van der Velden in Holland, which has more than 75 years in the business of ornamental plants in Europe.

Orcosa was established in 1988 by Piet van der Velden of Handelskwekerij van der Velden BV and Joost van Abeelen. Orcosa has evolved into a large producer of indoor and outdoor bromeliad young plants as well as producing a select group of indoor foliage plants, supplying both North American and European growers. By adding Orcosa’s offshore bromeliad production to ForemostCo’s Florida based bromeliad liner production at its Phoenix foliage operation, the ForemostCo family will now be able to offer extensive volume and selection for more than 200 varieties of bromeliad young plants.

For more: foremostco.com

Oklahoma State University

Greenhouse Learning Center to provide cutting-edge educational opportunities at Oklahoma State University

This summer, Oklahoma State University broke ground on The Greenhouse Learning Center, a $6 million facility. It will replace and improve functions of OSU’s existing teaching greenhouses that have been in use for decades. Construction is expected to be completed next fall.

Greenleaf Nursery, headquartered in Park Hill, Okla., committed $1 million toward the project.

The Greenhouse Learning Center will feature six greenhouses, including an isolated entomology greenhouse, and head house, which includes a classroom, office space and plant-preparation area. It also will house cutting-edge irrigation systems, intense climate and humidity control and other technology standard in today’s horticulture industry.

K-State delays decision to immediately close research center

In June, Kansas State University announced it would close the 120-acre John C. Pair Horticultural Center in Haysville because the College of Agriculture and K-State Research and Extension’s 2019 budget was cut by $3.5 million. After an uproar to save it, the university has delayed the decision to immediately close the center and requested a plan be created that would allow the research station to become financially self-sustaining in the future, according to Matthew McKernan, K-State Research & Extension horticulture agent.

The John C. Pair Horticultural Research Station Task Force, a committee composed of K-State horticulture personnel, has been assigned to this responsibility. Over the next four months the task force's current goal is to create a financial plan that would generate $230,000 annually to pay for the yearly cost of operating the facility. The horticulture industry’s input is imperative to make this a reality.

The center provides research and extension activities related to woody ornamental crop production and utilization that’s applicable across North America.

To collect ideas, gauge interest, and assign dollar values to potential ideas moving forward, a horticulture industry survey has been created. Go here to take the short survey: http://bit.ly/saveJCPCenter.

McKernan says the university administration needs to hear from more horticulture industry members, specifically letters. He asks that the industry sends letters to:

• K-State President Richard B. Myers, 110 Anderson Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506
• Associate Dean of Research Ernie Minton, 112 Waters Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506
• Associate Dean of Academic Programs Don Boggs, 117 Waters Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506
• Associate Dean of Extension Gregg Hadley, 123 Umberger Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506
• Horticulture & Natural Resources Department Head Candice Shoemaker, 2019 Throckmorton Plant Science Center, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506

Danziger and Syngenta Flowers create joint perennial brand

Danziger and Syngenta Flowers have announced the launch of a new marketing initiative that will include their respective perennial portfolios in the U.S. and Canada in one offering under the brand name ThinkPlants (www.thinkplants.com).

This new marketing initiative not only supports the respective efforts of Danziger and Syngenta but also opens the door for additional breeders and suppliers to market their varieties under the ThinkPlants family of products, enabling brokers and growers to more efficiently create and book their perennial program.

For the 2019–20 season, Danziger Guatemala will provide the supply chain for both Danziger’s and Syngenta Flowers’s offerings under the ThinkPlants brand.

National Garden Bureau

National Garden Bureau announces four plants for 2019 'Year of the' program

National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization promoting gardening in North America on behalf of the horticulture industry and its members, is pleased to announce the four plant classes that will be featured in the 2019 “Year of the” program.

• For perennials, 2019 will be the Year of the Salvia (nemorosa and others).
• For the bulb crop, 2019 will be the Year of the Dahlia.
• For annuals, 2019 will be the Year of the Snapdragon.
• For edibles, 2019 will be the Year of the Pumpkin.

The “Year of the” program chooses crops specifically for the North American market that are easy to grow, genetically diverse and with a lot of new breeding to showcase. Breeders, brokers, seed companies, growers and garden centers throughout the U.S. and Canada are urged to highlight these flowers and plants when planning their marketing for the 2019 season as the publicity generated from this program is substantial.

Both members and non-members are encouraged to take advantage of the publicity this program generates by using the attached logos in their 2019 catalogs, websites, advertisements and other marketing materials.

By mid-November 2018, NGB will have photos of varieties of all four crops posted on their website. NGB also provides PDF’s of fact sheets, flyers, handouts, signage etc. After November 15, all of the above can be downloaded at no charge from the NGB website. Special POP posters are also available for order from the NGB office. These tools will help the North American home garden industry promote the crops to consumers and encourage gardening with these specific crop classes.

Garden writer publicity will begin in August 2018 and consumer publicity will begin in January 2019.

For more: ngb.org/year-of

Nursery operations must deal with many types of hazards – both on and offsite – as well as employees who are susceptible to workplace injury. Various factors, such as the size and type of greenhouses, crops grown, size of the vehicle fleet and weather factors, can help to determine what those hazards are.

Hortica^®, a brand of the Sentry Insurance Group, offers four main types of insurance for nursery operations: Business Auto insurance, Workers Compensation, Umbrella coverage and the company’s Business Package Policy, says John Hodapp, director of agency operations at Hortica.

Industry-standard policies

While agent expertise, Loss Control, and Claims services may vary widely, Auto, Workers Compensation and Umbrella policy forms are standard throughout the insurance industry, Hodapp says. Workers Compensation is required by statute to protect workers in any industry, and auto insurance applies to nearly all nurseries.

“I’ve never seen a nursery operation that didn’t have at least a small fleet of vehicles,” he says. “They may use common or contract carriers, but they usually have some of their own trucks. They have some service trucks, maybe some company cars.”

General liability and auto policies provide protection up to the policy limits amount, Hodapp says. Umbrella coverage goes beyond that, providing additional coverage in situations such as a bad accident or general liability claim.

“It’s a policy that provides protection in the event of a very serious loss that exhausts the limits of insurance provided by the other policies,” he says.

A policy above the bar

Hortica’s Business Package Policy, which provides property, liability and business income insurance, is geared specifically toward nursery operations and growers.

“It’s really unique,” Hodapp says. “It’s not like you can buy it from every insurance agent on Main Street.”

The property coverage covers greenhouses, buildings, and what the company refers to as “business personal property,” such as fixtures, equipment and the plants themselves, Hodapp says. Plants are perishable, so growers need coverage for utility interruptions and equipment breakdowns to protect them, he adds.

The Business Package Policy’s liability coverage comes into effect if someone is injured on the nursery premise, or if the nursery sells a plant or product that is defective and causes injury or property damage, Hodapp says.

The business income insurance comes into play when companies lose profit because they can’t operate their company as they normally do due to a covered loss, Hodapp says.

“The policy provides coverage to pay for those lost profits and continuing expenses, so they can continue to employ key staff, such as their grower, and continue to meet their financial obligations – loans, taxes and so forth,” he explains.

Deciding on a plan

Nursery managers need to find the insurance coverage that works for them, Hodapp says. In general, owners of larger accounts select higher deductibles, and in terms of liability, purchase higher umbrella limits. Weather is also a determining factor: growers in cold and snowy climates are going to have different considerations than growers in warm climates. If a boiler breaks at a greenhouse in Minnesota, it is usually a bigger concern than if a boiler breaks at a greenhouse in south Florida.

The risk management process is a tool often used to help growers select types and amounts of coverage, Hodapp says. To manage risk, nursery managers can meet with insurance agents to identify exposures and formulate a plan for addressing them.

“It may not necessarily always be insurance, but there’s a process that we go through to identify what the risks are, figure out which ones should be insured,” Hodapp says. “That’s what we do. It’s not a one-size-fits-all sort of a program.”

Nursery owners have different levels of financial resources and “risk appetites.” Those with more financial resources or lower risk appetites often choose to insure everything they can, while those with fewer financial resources or higher risk appetites often choose to retain some risk.

Choosing the right insurance comes down to choosing the right insurance company, Hodapp says.

“To get the job done right, you need to work with a company who specializes and has the expertise to get it right,” he says. For more: http://www.hortica.com/nosubstitute/

Day length sensitivity is an important factor to consider when scheduling your fall plantings of ornamental grasses. This can vary in intensity between grass species and can have a huge impact on whether or not your fall plantings finish on time.

As day length decreases, long day grasses will finish flowering and move toward dormancy, while short day grasses will initiate flowering. It should be noted that it’s actually the length of uninterrupted darkness that truly controls this response in plants, which is why night interruption works. With that said, we’ll still call it day length because everyone else does.

Day-length sensitive grasses

Day-length sensitive grasses like P. virgatum respond strongly to the number of hours of continuous darkness. This can control timing of growth in spring, flowering, and the shift to dormancy which is what you need to pay attention to when trying to finish day length sensitive grasses in fall. How soon they will begin to shut down in fall will vary by the species you are growing and your location. Northern locations can expect to shut down sooner compared to Southern locations, no surprise there.

You can help extend this period by extending day length with supplemental lighting. This can be done by reducing continuous night length by lighting at the end of the day or by providing a night interruption somewhere near the middle of the night. This might not work as well with strongly sensitive grasses such as P. virgatum that want to shift to dormancy even with extended day length, but it might buy you some time.

Grasses that aren’t as sensitive

For species that are not as sensitive, such as Pennisetum sp., extending day length can give you a little leeway when trying to get plants finished before they shut down or even keep them growing through the winter. Keep in mind that grasses like P. virgatum, some Pennisetum sp., and many others will generally overwinter better and come out in spring much stronger when they get a good dormancy. Trying to completely fool them can open the door for problems later on.

At the other end of the spectrum, you have other grasses that don’t really seem to care if the sun is out for eight hours or 14 hours. Some crops don’t have a dormancy photoperiod response to speak of, and probably react to temperature more than anything. Miscanthus is a great example. It will continue to grow until frost or a hard freeze. We often find ourselves waiting for a good freeze to try to get our Miscanthus to go dormant, as late as December outside. Heat is also the way to wake them up in spring if you’re trying to get them moving early.

The bottom line: You want a finished plant with a solid crown and good root mass that shifts its energy stores into its root system as it moves into dormancy. Whether the grass you’re growing does this in September or December, your goal is the same—have well-rooted finished pots. This will improve overwintering success and help plants come out in spring with vigor.

When to pot

Adjusting your potting schedule to account for the different finish times based on dormancy gets rid of a lot of these problems. I’m a big fan of designing problems out of systems. Potting crops up on a schedule that gets them finished at the correct time solves a lot of problems before they start.

One way to control crops with a strong photoperiod response, such as P. virgatum, is by getting them potted early enough in the summer that they will be finished by September or early October. Crops with a weaker photoperiod response such as Pennisetum and Miscanthus can be potted later in summer, as they will continue to grow for an additional four to eight weeks depending on day length and temperature.

If you have potting schedules or other constraints that force you to do all of your potting at once, changing your liner size can also help control finish times. Starting with a larger liner can shorten finish times and get your crops finished on time.