The Edge March/April/May 2026

BOOSTING YOUR BUSINESS

THE HOOKS THAT LEAD TO YES If you want more clients to sign off on your enhancement proposals, three main pressure points resonate with property managers. The easier enhancements to sell are often related to tree work, drainage, erosion control, plant replacements, and the renovation of high-profile areas that get a lot of use. As Barrow and Haygood mentioned earlier, safety is a major sell ing point for many property owners. “The safety issues always need to be highlighted, even if they know,” Haygood says. “So at least we gave them a heads up and gave them an opportunity to fix it before anyone gets hurt.” Barrow says liability is particularly a concern for older properties with large mature trees. Offering enhancements that boost ROI, increase operational efficiency or reduce costs is another angle that can lead to a property manager saying yes. Haygood says beyond safety issues, account managers should be on the lookout for ways they can lower their clients’ maintenance contract value. An example would be replacing mulch with rock. Haygood says while there is a bigger upfront investment, over a few years, the client has paid for that, and they are no longer paying for mulch in their contracts. “It’s taking mulch out of those con tracts, but the reality is you’re deepening relationships,” Haygood says. “You’re mak ing properties better. It’s almost karma at this point that property is just going to continue to give you more because you take care of them at the end of the day. It’s just better to improve the property. It’s the right thing to do.” Moody says they’ve seen a lot of inter est in replacing old irrigation controllers

share with the team if there is something that is affecting their ability to work efficiently or detracting from the overall beauty of the site. Haygood says they have incentive pro gram where if a crew member identifies an enhancement opportunity that then gets sold, that individual is rewarded with a piece of the account manager’s commission. “Even if business development people are out looking at new sites, but see old sites, we’ll even allow them to sell enhancements, especially if I see that the account manager hasn’t been there in 30 or 60 days,” Haygood says. “We have honey in the pot for everyone to sell enhancements.” Additionally, how you go about exe cuting the work will greatly determine the likelihood of the same clients saying yes to future upgrades. “We want them to be enthusiastic buyers, and I think the way to do that is by giving them a good product and a good outcome of what they’re buying,” Barrow says. “I take it on myself to come up with the scope, but if there is a part where I can involve them and get their opinion that tends to also help the out come, because they had some say in it. Overall, I try to make their life easier and figure out the best things to recommend to them because I am the professional.” It is best to have a dedicated enhance ment team in place as they will be able to execute these jobs with consistency and speed. “These enhancement folks, they understand the challenges that come with working on these existing sites and existing properties versus a brand new construction site,” Moody says. “We also have built very strong internal relation ships with these enhancement crews and the design estimating team because I want them to be able to call right away if they have a question or any kind of concern about what they’re installing.” Munie says after they deliver a quality enhancement project, their clients are more likely to trust that their sales aren’t for the sake of sales; they are solutions. “Once a property manager sees the process, it was painless, we did what we were going to, we did it at the time we said we were going to do it pending weather that conversation becomes easier and easier,” Haygood says. TE

with smart controllers as buildings pursue LEED certification. “Water conservation is huge with property managers, especially in this day and age,” Barrow says. “The tenants are usually the ones who are paying for the water bill, and so they will sometimes put pressure on the property manager, like ‘How can we save water?’ A great place to start is with the landscape.” Lastly, improving overall aesthetics and amenities can’t be overlooked. Many commercial properties value curb appeal and amenities as it helps with their leas ing and branding. Moody says the best combination is where an enhancement will save a client money while providing environmental benefits, like adding a pollinator meadow. “When they’re trying to lease and somebody drives up in the summer, and there’s just this beautiful meadow all out the back of all of the units on that particular area where they’re going to walk their dog, that feels good,” Moody says. “It feels good to them because they know they’re doing something good for the environment, and then they’re also saving money.” The hardest enhancements to get approval for tend to be for big infrastruc ture changes, hardscaping or changes where the client is unable to see the value. “If we’re providing enhancement proposals for things that they do not see themselves that they’re coming to you for, those generally take an extra conversation or two, or a walk on prop erty to actually point things out and talk through,”Tew says. THE POWER OF BOOTS ON THE GROUND Your field staff can also play a powerful role in the equation of growing the enhancement side of the business. First off, your crew members are the ones who are visiting properties on a regular or even daily basis, making them even more likely to spot opportunities to upsell if you’ve trained them to look for certain indicators. “It’s part of the expectation of their work that they are the eyes and the ears of the site, so they’re there to bring prob lems up for our attention so we can stay ahead of it before the customer finds out, and then it’s a reactionary thing at that point,” Barrow says. Moody says their crews take pride in the properties they care for and will

 KEY TAKEAWAYS ■ Enhancements work best as a proactive partner ship, not an upsell. When

proposals with renewal and budgeting cycles see far higher approval rates and smoother operation al planning. ■ Dedicated enhancement crews, clear ownership by

framed around solving problems, improving safety, and protecting as set value, enhancements deepen trust. ■ Budget timing is the biggest key for consistent

account managers, and strong follow-through turn one approved project into long-term momentum.

enhancement revenue. Companies that align

34 The Edge // March/April/May 2026