Recently the National Association of Landscape Professionals announced that GIE+EXPO will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And that LANDSCAPES 2020 is going virtual. This year’s theme for LANDSCAPES 2020 is Learn, Connect, Grow – LIKE A PRO. 

Which got the enterprise value specialists at Ceibass thinking about what it means to be a pro and how a pro is different from an amateur. 

“Being a lawn & landscape pro means that you aspire to be at the top of your profession, a top performer. Amateurs dabble. Pros work at it,” said Tom Fochtman, Ceibass CEO. “A pro is characterized by their duty, dignity and discipline. First of all, they remember their commitment to being a pro at all times and under all circumstances. They maintain their integrity and increase their value constantly. And they have enthusiasm for their work and the discipline that is required to be a superior performer.”

The team at Ceibass went on to identify other traits of lawn & landscape pros:

Pros are self-governed and create continuous, methodical and orderly practices to improve themselves and their businesses.

They learn common knowledge but seek uncommon, superior knowledge to get ahead in their business and with their practices.

Pros are honest with themselves and their performance. They compare themselves to other businesses and other professionals to rate themselves. They don’t fool themselves like amateurs.

Pros have a willingness and enthusiasm to keep improving and growing and learning.

They seek to enhance their value to their customers and employees.

They are willing to take on the costs – time, energy, money, lost opportunity – to improve their networks, tools, knowledge and practices.

They are not “cheap” or “short-sighted” like amateurs often are.

They are almost always the first to adapt and adopt new technologies for the businesses. They believe in being first.

Pros seek out the knowledge of experts to help them advance. They do not try to figure things out for themselves like amateurs.

Pros seek to understand the principles, laws and mechanisms that help them produce competitive advantage. They look for underlying fundamental knowledge rather than tips, secrets and top take-a-ways. 

Pros are keenly focused on creating uncommon offerings for their customers. They are wired differently and think differently than amateurs.