What “product” would you like/expect to receive from a gardening consultant?

cpslo96: What “product” would you like/expect to receive from a gardening consultant?
I would like to take jobs as a gardening or landscaping consultant, working with homeowners as clients. I do not want to take measurements/draw landscape plans. That takes too much time outside of the meeting/appointment. I feel many people just want to pick my brain and ask questions anyway. But I feel I need to leave them with something, written notes, a list of plants, etc. I want them to feel they got their money’s worth. What would comprise a good product? I’d like to make up a form or sheet to use.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Rey
SEEDS/FERTILIZERS/PLANTS

Answer by reynwater
If you don’t have “time” to draw design plans and it doesn’t sound as though you’d actually be doing any physical work for them other than making a list of plants, what good can you be to the “homeowner”? Why should anyone hire you?

Answer by canuck1950
You had better rethink what you will and will not do. How do you honestly expect to be able to recommend plants, trees, shrubs etc without “taking measurements” and having some sort of a plan drawn up. It is virtually impossible to be able to look at a “space” and know exactly how many plants etc are not only going to fit but flourish. While I never left any formal drawings, I would have a list of materials I was going to use. It is vitally important to leave a customer with something in their hands. Something that worked very well for me was setting up a second meeting at a local landscape / nursery Business. This gets the client involved, they SEE not only the plants/products, but SEE the price (lessens Sticker price shock), you will get an insight into what appeals to them and places you and the customer into a closer “relationship”. This isn’t always possible, but whenever possible involve your client. Your idea of a form / sheet will definitely work, be sure to have your name and logo prominently displayed, and as mentioned above, an informal list of whatever the client is going to get, it doesn’t have to have dollar values on it unless you are bidding.

Answer by Kevin C
Garden Consultant eh?

I’ve done it before… but you’d better be well versed in all manner of garden products. What I’ve done is offered a ‘garden calendar’. All the things you recommend doing, you compile as a ‘to do’ list, at the appropriate times. Home owners are smart, but unless they know when to do it, they might not get the results they should. So if you suggest a water soluble fertilizer every other week, note it on their calendar. When should they trim their Forsythia? Note that too… Sort of instruction manual for their garden. Offer it at a small charge (print calendar pages on your computer), otherwise let them take their own notes.

I wouldn’t expect to have a whole lot of customers, but if you target younger home owners, without a lot of experience- you might do okay.

Good luck-