The patio component up-sell

Some people say that up-selling is an art that takes years of sales experience. For me, up-selling is simply making my clients aware of all of the options they have available. I remember back in the early 1980s when I was the king of railroad tie and pressure-treated timber wall installation. Those products were what was available for many years.Then along came SRWs. Look where we are today with all of the different wall face technologies. Wow, have we come a long way in 25 years! The paver and SRW component availability continues advancing at a rapid pace. We have pillars, fire pits, modular kitchens, glow-in-the-dark pavers, dozens of wall capping options, wet-cast pavers and on and on.The opportunities for up-selling clients are huge. You just need to be able to show them the options. When I get a call for a patio installation quote, I know this is my opportunity for an up-sell. On most of my quotes, the client does not ask for any additional hardscape components, but I always include 4 up-sell items:1) Pillars & seat walls2) Lighting3) Fire pits4) PaverartI give separate line item cost quotes for each of these components. I show clients photos of jobs with these components and invite them back to my showroom so they can see these components first hand.

Pillars & seat walls

For me, this is by far my easiest up-sell because the client easily grasps the value added. A 14' double-sided seat wall with 2 pillars will add 8 seats, and the pillars will add 2 more tables without taking up any space on the patio.

Lighting

For years I had convinced myself that I was not capable of doing my own low-voltage lighting installations. I had always subbed it out to my irrigation contractor. Then I went to a few seminars and learned it's not that tough. For the last 3 years we have done lighting in house. I include lighting as a separate line item on all my patio quotes. Under-cap lights increase visibility and add a soft, elegant ambiance to the patio living space. Up-lights on trees showcase the client’s investment in softscaping.

Fire pits

Fire pits are the fastest growing components of our business. Gas, wood, square, round, above ground, in ground….so many choices. Fire pits are the one component that truly brings the family together. Installation of fire pits involves knowing the fire codes for the town where you are working. In my town the distance the fire pit is required to be from any structure is based upon the size of the burn area or inner ring dimension. For every foot larger the inner ring dimension is, you need to move further away from a structure.

Paverart

Paverart is my newest up-sell guilty pleasure. Paverart kits can be custom made for any client or you can search their wide array of stock kits. I love the Paverart fire pit kits (and so do my clients) which come in a variety of designs. The flames design (pictured) is my favorite. Paverart is a project addition that really allows clients to feel as though their project is truly unique and reflects their personality and sense of style.Up-selling is less of an art than you may think. Go to any car dealer and the sales rep is going to show you a model with all the options first. You should give your clients all of their options and let them decide if they want to make the cuts. Give a lot of information on your quotes, be detailed, explain the process, outline the value of added components, and don’t leave anything on the table. Make these options part of your story. One of my favorite sayings is, "If the price is too high, your story is too short."Bill Gardocki is the owner of Interstate Landscape Co., Inc. in Londonderry, NH. He has been installing hardscapes for over 30 years. Bill has taught over 75 classes as an ICPI and NCMA Certification Instructor. He also provides hardscape installation seminars to sales reps in the hardscape and softscape industry. Contact Bill at Bill@InterstateLandscapeNH.com.‍

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Paverart: fire pit flame kit, glow-in-the-dark compass rose, and patio Elements Collection décor (with seat walls/pillars). Paverart's glow-in-the-dark products require no wires, bulbs, underground conduit or other infrastructure.

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