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Outdoor Living

Back to April 2022 PRO News
Outdoor Living Article
Sell the Dream to Your Clients 
Tips and Ideas to Help Transform Your Customers' 
Outdoor Living Space
They say that your best sales prospect is the customer you already have, and that’s why it makes sense to understand the options for upselling hardware and enhancements to homeowners who’ve already hired you to create and improve their outdoor living spaces. Product options in this space are expanding, so chances are good that many of your clients don’t yet know everything that’s out there. This is where you can help.

Railings, Lighting and Outdoor Privacy

When it comes to outdoor living spaces, these are the three biggest areas for education and upselling. Homeowners are more receptive than ever to learning more about these options because the home has become more of a leisure destination and workplace than ever before. This isn’t likely to change any time soon, and is particularly important here in Canada where we need to make the most of the short outdoor living season. But before we get to specifics, what do you really know about upselling? Do it right and it can improve your bottom line and your reputation as a contractor.

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How to Upsell

Upselling is all about offering additional, complementary products or services that could be appealing to a particular homeowner you’re already working with. This should not be a pushy process at all, but rather something organic and natural you do as an educational service to clients when you meet with them. “Have you seen this new type of outdoor lighting fixture?” for instance. Or “My other clients really like this maintenance-free deck railing system.” Ultimately the homeowner will choose, but they can’t choose what they don’t know exists. 

Besides increasing your sales and profits on a job, upselling properly will build deeper and more durable customer relationships because you’re offering your clients an educational service. You may see yourself as a tradesperson, but getting good at upselling can make a big difference to your bottom line and the quality of clients you work with. The best contractors use some version of these seven steps for successful upselling.

  1. Work to understand your customer’s real needs and goals.  Upselling must always be primarily for the customer’s benefit. 
  2. Ask permission to show upsell items that solve specific problems. Some people want to know more, others don’t. Go with the flow.
  3. Price your upsells fairly and combine them in bundles to boost perceived value. 
  4. Offer upsells at the beginning of project planning, or somewhat before they come up in the project construction process. Suggesting upsells in mid stream puts the idea in a setting where homeowners can more easily see the need and benefit.
  5. Explain how other homeowners have used upsell products and show photos of their applications.
  6. Never push an upsell item more than once unless you’re asked questions about it. There’s a fine line between helpful an educational service and wearing out your welcome.
  7. Always supplement photos of upsell items with a small sample of the actual product that homeowners can hold and examine. Besides doing a better job at communication, actual samples help homeowners take the guesswork out of their decision.
  8. Provide a three-option quote after you’ve made a site visit. Spend plenty of time listening to and recording your customer’s needs, then respond with a quote that reflects these needs and solves them at different price points. 
​Railings

Homeowners are more interested than ever in low-maintenance decks and porches, but traditional wooden railings have always been the most maintenance-hungry part of outdoor structures. This is why manufactured railing systems may be the easiest item to upsell.  Maintenance-free railings come in metal and plastic versions, and they not only reduce the maintenance burden, but they also save you a ton of installation time. This savings on labour can partially compensate for the cost of a ready-to-use railing system, so you want to mention the math to your client. Your markup on a railing system is better than getting paid to build a wooden railing because markup is almost free money. You can earn markup at the same time you’re getting paid for actual hands-on construction.

Product knowledge is the most important part of upselling and knowledge takes time to develop. With so many upsellable products out there, you need to get focussed. When it comes to railings, identify three or four low-maintenance options (you can’t be an expert on every option in the world), learn the details, gather sales images and samples, then use these on your next upsell sales meeting. 

​Lighting

Outdoor lighting is obviously about safety and security, but it’s also about beauty and togetherness. If a client invests in a new deck or gazebo, for instance, chances are good that they want those features illuminated so they look great after dark. Most homeowners will want to extend opportunities to comfortably entertain friends and family after dark, too. Outdoor lighting options involve illuminating trees, walls, decks and railings, ground and stair lighting, plus illumination of entire exterior walls with wall washes. Low voltage systems are popular, practical and safe for small, accent installations, and they don’t require an electrician to install them. If there’s any homeowner concern about safety, low voltage solves that problem. Low voltage outdoor lighting can include solar-powered fixtures or lights made to be powered by a low-voltage transformer plugged into an outdoor receptacle. 

The best way to upsell outdoor lighting enhancements is to begin with photos of the space. Print them out, then use a fine-tip marker to show where light fixtures can go and how they will cast a beam in different areas down a wall or around the floor of a deck. As with all home improvement planning, the more visually concrete you can make things the better. Few homeowners are comfortable imagining what something will look like in their minds only, and this is where visual examples and mockups can help.

​Privacy

The more time a homeowner spends on a deck, porch or gazebo, the more important visual privacy becomes. Explain this if your client hasn’t already mentioned the topic of privacy screens or fences, then explain the different options for privacy. Site-built screens using low-maintenance synthetic lattice is one option, but there are others, too. 

A vertical garden wall is a structure that delivers privacy on its own, but also includes potted plants that sit on the wall, boosting appearance. Some privacy screens are like walls that sit on a deck, while others sit on the ground. Strings of light fixtures are one of the best things anyone can do to enhance the appearance of a privacy screen. As you explain this option to homeowners, be sure to mention how energy efficient modern LED lights are. 

As building products become more sophisticated, and information is easier to share, it’s all the more important that you make use of chances to upsell your current clients on items they might genuinely want but don’t yet know about. 


Inspiration is always handy

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