The Landscape Pros Playbook: Your Year-Round Guide to Training, Pay, and Growth

Marty Grunder announces the new Landscape Pros Playbook, an 8-year dream project created with Landscape Management magazine. Learn why training should target specific pain points, how to answer "Would you want to work for you?", and why competitive pay with career paths transforms seasonal workers into department leaders.

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Episode Chapters:

00:41 - The Landscape Pros Playbook: A Dream Realized
01:23 - The Importance of Landscape Management Magazine
01:57 - Unveiling the Landscape Pros Playbook
04:16 - Training: An Investment, Not an Expense
06:35 - Would You Want to Work for You?
07:34 - The Importance of Competitive Compensation
11:34 - Career Paths & Growing Opportunities
14:29 - Please Subscribe to The Grow Show!

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp  

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips  

The Grow Group   

Grunder Landscaping   

Marty Grunder LinkedIn  

Stihl  

Show Notes:

Training Should Be Based on Last Year's Problems – I tell companies to look at where you had issues: client complaints, callbacks on plants or pavers, team member injuries, workers' comp claims. Track when these problems happened, then build your training calendar around preventing them proactively—you're better off in fire prevention than firefighting.

Time Your Training to Your Calendar – I don't think it makes sense to train on snow removal in May. Train on snow removal in October, November, and again in December through February. Match your training topics to when your crews will actually be doing that work.

The Playbook Came from My Own Need as a 19-Year-Old – I was a sophomore at the University of Dayton running my business, and I'd rip open this newsletter and start reading it walking up the driveway. It told me when to buy fertilizer, when to apply it, how to sell pruning and maintenance packages. That newsletter gave me direction—and the Landscape Pros Playbook is that resource for today's professionals.

Turnover Costs More Than Just Wages – I see companies focus only on what they're paying to replace someone. But look at what turnover really costs: efficiency losses when retraining crews, work you have to do yourself because nobody else can, clients stopping service due to quality issues. These are real costs that could be avoided if you raised wages.

Benefits Matter When People Hit 26 and Start Families – I get it—a 22-year-old on their parents' health insurance isn't thinking about benefits. But when that person turns 26, gets off their parents' insurance, and starts thinking about family, those benefits become very important. One of my favorite interview questions is when candidates ask about benefits, 401k, and vacation—that's someone looking beyond today.

Growth Creates Opportunities That Keep Your Best People – My mentor Mike Rory said 10 years ago: "Marty, the best reason to grow is you have so many good people pushing you. If you don't create opportunities for them, they'll leave." It took seven years to register, but now growth each year is mandatory because it enables us to create opportunities for our team.

We Promote From Within First—Always – This morning in our leadership meeting, we discussed hiring someone new but realized we have four internal people who could take the role. We're figuring out which is best. When new hires see Joe started on a crew and now runs the department, or Brent moved from operations to top salesperson—that shows a real career path.

Reflection Questions

1. If you looked at every client complaint, callback, and injury from the past 12 months—what are the top three training topics that would prevent those issues next year?
2. What is turnover actually costing you beyond replacement wages—in lost efficiency, manager time, client frustration, and work you're doing that someone else should handle?
3. Can your newest employee clearly explain the career path from their current role to the next level up, including what they need to do to get there and when opportunities typically open?