Spring is here and that means it is time for outdoor projects. And one of the hottest outdoor areas is landscape lighting. In order to maximize profitability in this growing category, team building is vital. Forming a solid group of reliable partners on outdoor landscape lighting projects can lead to much greater success. In this case, the team of partners might be a bit different than what custom integrators are accustomed to.
Finding the right manufacturer partner, rep firm and lighting design specialist is key to having more success in the category. Indeed, that team can help CE pros differentiate themselves from the white-van guy who is installing products he bought at the local home improvement center with no demo and no design.
In this week’s CE Pro Podcast, Frank Potoczak, owner of Freedom Technologies in Naples, Fla., describes how he found that expert team he can lean on about 5 years ago when he entered into the landscape lighting market. The result has been a 15% boost to the company’s overall bottom line.
Part of the team is his local rep firm Phoenix Marketing Group, which represents Garden Light LED. The company not only manufactures exterior lighting solutions but also has design assistance. Potoczak sends his plans over to Garden Light LED’s architectural and lighting design coach Luis Couttolenc, who takes it from there.
Potoczak says having someone to do the landscape lighting design lifted a huge burden off the shoulders of Freedom Technologies. The design turnaround varies based on the size of the project, but according to Couttolenc, Garden Light LED can have the plans back to the dealer within seven to 10 days on average.
“We provide comprehensive support to new AV integrators, guiding them through every step of the process, from sales to system installation,” says Couttolenc. “Our training videos and online resources are designed to help integrators plan and design their projects with confidence. As an experienced Architectural Lighting and Design Coach at GLLED for over 14 years, I use my expertise to recommend the most suitable fixtures and placement for outdoor lighting projects. My design for a project was recently awarded the AOLP 2022 Award for Excellence, and another project I designed is a contender for this year’s Commercial Award.”
“There is a lot of garbage out there,” remarks Potoczak. “In the past we did install a couple of other brands, and within a year it was disintegrating because it’s just junk. So, if you’re going to install anything, my recommendation from a dealer standpoint is to install the best product because you don’t want to be going back for service calls.
Two other elements of Freedom Technologies’ newfound success in landscape lighting is the ability to demonstrate the product. Garden Light LED has a Showtime Closer Kit and a Presentation Kit that enable integrators like Potoczak to close 95% of their sales presentations, according to Bruce Kenison, national sales manager for Garden Light LED.
“It is amazing,” he says. “When you go out to a customer’s home, and they have practically no lighting and you start setting the demo kit up, very quickly the customers are asking, ‘Hey, let’s try this and that.’ They keep upgrading and upgrading and upgrading, because it looks better and better and better as you add more light to different aspects of the trees and hardscapes. Then when you shut it all off, it is a huge difference.”
Potoczak recommends integrators arrive at the client’s home in the evening, and spend some time with the customer, then set up the demo. He says landscape lighting has been “a big, big addition” to his business, noting with the solid margins on the equipment, “it probably added about 15% to our bottom line.”