Beyond the Estimate: Elevating the Sales Experience to Win More High-End Landscaping Projects and Commercial Contracts
Image Courtesy: Proposify
In today’s discerning market, lawn, landscape, and outdoor living companies are discovering that craftsmanship alone no longer guarantees a signed contract. Whether servicing a portfolio of commercial properties or delivering luxury outdoor living spaces for high-end residential clients, the firms that win consistently are those that have mastered one key element: how they sell.
And in this industry, selling often starts—and stalls—with the proposal.
This shift is more than semantics. It reflects a deeper evolution within the industry. Leading companies are moving away from hastily written estimates and toward high-impact proposals that reinforce their value, showcase their professionalism, and close deals faster.
From Estimate to Experience: Why Proposals Matter More Than Ever
For years, many lawn, landscape, and outdoor living companies—especially on the residential side—relied on quick, transactional quotes. A price, a few line items, and a handshake often sufficed. But in both commercial and high-end residential sectors, the buying process has become more competitive, more complex, and more driven by perception.
Commercial property managers now demand transparency, timelines, and trust—often reviewing multiple bids with stakeholders who never met the vendor. Meanwhile, residential clients are investing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars into outdoor spaces that serve as extensions of their homes. In both cases, the “quote” is no longer a formality—it’s the moment of truth.
“A quote might give someone a number,” Kyle Racki, Co-Founder and CEO of Proposify, explains, “but a proposal tells a story. It tells them who you are, why you’re different, and how their life or property will be better when they choose you.”
The Psychology of Choice: What Premium Buyers Are Looking For
Consider this: When a commercial facilities director receives three bids for a seasonal maintenance contract, how do they differentiate between three seemingly similar lawn care providers? Or when a homeowner is reviewing two proposals for a $150,000 backyard transformation, what tips the scale?
Often, it’s not price. It’s trust, clarity, and the perceived quality of the experience ahead.
Proposals give companies an opportunity to:
Reinforce professionalism through visual design and layout
Establish credibility through social proof and past work
Communicate unique value beyond the list of services
Create emotional connection with visuals, copy, and messaging
Streamline the buying decision with clear calls to action
By contrast, a spreadsheet-style estimate or a templated Word document—no matter how accurate—often fails to convey the sophistication of the work or the reliability of the team.
Positioning is Everything: Clarifying Your Value in a Newly Crowded Market
One of the most overlooked aspects of a winning proposal is positioning. While many companies claim to be “reliable,” “high quality,” or “full-service,” few articulate what truly makes them different—and fewer still carry that message throughout their proposal documents.
“A proposal is your chance to sell when you’re not in the room. It’s the packaging, positioning, and polish that can determine whether your company feels like the clear choice or just another bid in a stack.”
Kyle Racki cites marketing strategist April Dunford’s approach to positioning: “The key is to answer a simple but profound question: Why should the customer choose you instead of someone else? Your proposal should show—not just tell—how you’re uniquely equipped to serve them.”
For a commercial-focused lawn care firm, that positioning might center on scale and consistency: showcasing fleet size, regional coverage, technology used for reporting, or low turnover among field teams. For a residential outdoor living firm, it might highlight design capabilities, material selections, sustainable practices, or client concierge services.
What matters most is that the unique differentiators are clear, relevant, and repeated—starting with the executive summary and carrying through the scope of work, imagery, and even pricing presentation.
The Structure of a Proposal That Sells
The most effective proposals follow a strategic, repeatable structure. They are not overly long, but they are thorough. They lead with clarity, not complexity. They sell benefits, not just tasks.
A strong proposal for a lawn, landscape, or outdoor living company should include:
Cover Page – Visually impactful, featuring a compelling project image, your logo, and the client’s name or property.
Executive Summary – A personalized narrative that recaps what you heard during discovery and previews how you’ll deliver value.
About the Company – Include relevant certifications, affiliations (e.g., NALP, ICPI, LEED), company values, or a short brand story.
Client Testimonials or Case Studies – Real words from real clients, ideally aligned with the type of project being proposed.
Scope of Work – Clear, detailed, but jargon-free. Separate by service area or phase. Highlight what is included and excluded.
Visual Timeline or Gantt Chart – Particularly for seasonal work or phased builds, this offers transparency and urgency.
Pricing Sheet – Easy to digest. Roll up line items. Emphasize benefits. Optional upsells can increase deal size.
Next Steps & Signature – Include clear instructions and embedded digital signature functionality to reduce friction.
This is not a brochure. It’s not a technical spec sheet. It’s a persuasive tool.
And the good news? Much of this content can—and should—be templatized. With smart systems in place, your sales reps (or your office manager or owner-operator, depending on your team structure) can quickly customize each proposal while maintaining brand integrity and professionalism.
“The more efficient your proposal process, the faster you close deals. Companies that take a week to send a proposal are getting beat by competitors who can deliver a polished, interactive document within hours.”
Leveraging Automation to Create Efficiency at Scale
If your company is still copying and pasting proposals from old Word files or estimating in QuickBooks and emailing PDFs back and forth, you’re not alone—but you’re also losing time, visibility, and control.
Proposal platforms like Proposify integrate with CRMs like HubSpot and Aspire, automate parts of the proposal creation process, and provide real-time analytics on client behavior—such as which sections are viewed most often and how long recipients engage.
These insights can help commercial sales reps refine follow-up conversations, while also enabling smaller residential firms to operate with the polish of a national brand.
Pricing with Purpose: Strategies That Build Trust and Grow Revenue
In both commercial and residential proposals, how pricing is presented can be the tipping point. Transparency matters, but so does framing.
Itemized breakdowns are appropriate—but should be structured in a way that speaks to outcomes, not just inputs. Rather than simply listing “hand-stacked stone wall – $8,450,” consider reframing it as “custom hand-stacked wall to frame the outdoor kitchen and elevate the entertaining space – $8,450.”
Where appropriate, include optional line items (lighting packages, seasonal color enhancements, annual irrigation maintenance). These not only increase revenue but empower clients to self-select add-ons without feeling pressured.
For larger residential design-build proposals, it can also be effective to separate pricing from detailed scope. Keep the pricing page clean, with the scope of work broken out further into an appendix or secondary section. This avoids overwhelm and allows the pricing to stand confidently on its own.
Lastly, be cautious of hourly pricing. Racki warns, “When you charge by the hour, efficiency becomes your enemy. Clients feel like they’re paying for time, not value. Flat rates tied to deliverables often create more trust and better margins.”
Storytelling That Sells
One of the most overlooked advantages in proposal development is narrative power. Storytelling isn’t just a marketing technique—it’s a decision-making catalyst.
Think of the executive summary and “About Us” section as your opportunity to align emotionally. Help your prospect visualize the result. Make them feel what life will be like after they choose your company.
Even in commercial sales, where logic often prevails, emotion plays a role. Facility managers want peace of mind. HOA boards want simplicity. Developers want reliability. Speak to those outcomes.
Support your story with:
Before-and-after imagery
Testimonials matched to the service type
Short bios of your key staff (e.g., account manager, foreman)
Industry certifications and awards
Values and commitments that matter to the client (e.g., sustainability, safety, responsiveness)
And consider video. A brief, personalized walkthrough of the proposal using tools like Loom or Vidyard can increase engagement and humanize your brand—especially when stakeholders won’t meet you in person.
The Bottom Line: Better Proposals Mean Better Clients
Great proposals don’t just help you win more work. They help you attract the right kind of work.
When you position your lawn, landscape, or outdoor living business as a professional, high-performing partner—backed by clear messaging, strong visuals, and a streamlined experience—you naturally repel tire-kickers and attract higher-value, more committed clients.
As the industry continues to mature, sales expectations will rise. Smart companies are investing not only in their field operations, but in how they show up at the moment that matters most: when the client is deciding.
And as Kyle Racki puts it, “The proposal is the one part of the sales process that gets shared, forwarded, and scrutinized. It’s not just a sales tool—it’s your brand in action.”
The companies that understand that—who elevate their proposals from transactional documents to persuasive sales assets—won’t just win more jobs.
They’ll build a reputation, grow margins, and lead the future of the green industry.
