Talks for trade shows, landscapers, garden centers, nursery retailers, and other horticultural professionals.

 

It’s A Visual World Why garden centers, landscapers and growers need in-house photographers.

As your current and potential customers turn to the internet for their information, your business is increasingly challenged to present it self visually. Learn why you need employees who have photography and Photoshop training. Hear ways to compile a company photo library and use those images for inexpensive marketing. Get the information your garden center or landscape business needs as you decide if you can do it in-house or if it’s better to “go pro” and hire photography experts.

 

The 21st Century Garden Center Changing Landscapes, Customer Connections and The Same Old Same Old

Looking for a motivational talk that offers garden center employees information along with the inspiration? Tired of presentations that stress Facebook as the answer to everything? This talk is aimed solely at those who work in horticultural retail businesses. For these folks it’s no surprise that this business is changing, but sometimes it’s hard to decide what a garden center’s first response should be. In a world that moves very quickly, where should our attention be focused? As someone who works with the public and advises home gardeners, C.L. knows what your customers want and need in the 21st century. As a 20 year employee of a garden center she also understands that there are trucks to be unloaded, plants to water, and product to carry to Mrs. Smith’s car. And as a writer, speaker and photographer C.L. is well versed in communication skills. This energetic and entertaining talk recognizes our common challenges while providing actionable suggestions for moving into the future.

 

Perennials for Professionals Matching Plants, Planting, and Maintenance Practices to Your Clients

Your client wants perennials that “are low maintenance” and you want to keep the customer happy. As a garden professional, however, you know that a perennial garden can be the most high-maintenance landscape there is. This talk is about picking the best perennial plants, planting them appropriately, and caring for them with methods that create beautiful gardens with less involvement. Yes, it’s possible to please your clients, create beautiful gardens and simplify the job for  your employees.

 

The 21st Century Garden Educator

It isn’t news to anyone that times have changed. The way people are gardening and the demographics for those planting and tending landscapes is different from just thirty years ago. The ways that the public seeks guidance and the information that people need is rapidly transforming and master gardeners, garden center employees, writers, speakers, and other garden communicators need to adapt. This presentation addresses the ways we can nurture a new population of gardeners in 21^st century ways. Specific suggestions for the cultivation of horticulture and our own goals are given, tailored to the needs of the audience.

 

Plant Picks that Please Clients (Some Plants Aren’t For Everyone)

There are thousands of great plants, but not every plant is right for all people.  As an avid gardener I recognize that some of the selections that are appropriate for people like myself are not good choices for most of my customers or clients. Plant geeks have different standards for their gardens than home-landscapers or the general public. This talk is designed to help landscapers and garden center employees recognize which plants will make their customers happiest. I show a few examples of gardeners’ plants and explain why they may not be the best choices for many of your clients. This is followed by a large range of annuals, perennials, and shrubs that will keep your customers content and coming back for more. 

 

Making it Personal Connect With Your Customers through Blogs and Beyond

Are you tired of hearing presentations that tell garden centers and landscapers how “the world has changed and you really need to be social networking” but giving no details about how to do so?  Me too. It’s old news that the world has changed. Yes, independent garden centers do need to distinguish themselves from box stores, and every green industry business has to cultivate person to person connections, and this is largely being done online. This talk explores the ways that garden centers and landscapers can create and nurture those links in the digital world.  I’ll cover specific things you can be doing on a daily basis without giving your life over to social networking. I promise that this is a how to, not a should do talk. Learn a “blogging recipe” to make frequent posting easier for non-writers. I’ll give concrete ideas, schedules and tips that you can put to immediate use.

 

The 21st Century Flower Garden Helping Customers and Clients Design The Garden They Crave

The 21st Century flower garden is a mix of shrubs, perennials, and annuals…with occasional veggies thrown into the mix. It’s also a garden that we are called to be more thoughtful about. From fertilizers to water usage, and from climate change to quality of life, this talk helps landscapers and garden center employees design flower gardens so that they are beautiful,  functional, and sensible. Attendees will quickly understand how to compose such gardens and how to help their customers and clients whether they’re doing it from scratch or adding to existing landscapes.

 

Guidance to Go
Consultation Services

Does your garden center or landscaping business make house calls? This talk explains how on-site consultation services can build customer loyalty, boost sales, and position you as the local go-to source for landscaping needs. Learn how a coaching/consultation service builds trust, drives sales and becomes a profit center for your business.

 

Gardening Revival!

I see signs that this country is ready for a gardening revival. From newspaper stories about new front yard vegetable gardens to the preponderance of gardening photos shared on Pinterest, the indications are there. Young people are attending seminars on seed starting and retiring baby boomers are going into their landscape for the first time. Millions are willing to put time and money into quality-of-life matters, whether they’re shopping at Whole Foods, going to Zumba class, or finding occasions to laugh through cartoons and jokes shared online.

What does this mean for garden centers, landscape professionals and garden goods vendors? Opportunities, of course. We are called upon to revive our businesses and help the public to create The New American Garden. Our communications with our customers and how we assist them with their gardening must grow.

This presentation focuses on the power we have to cultivate the interest in plants and gardening, and specific ways to do so.

 

Sell The Excitement! Communication Skills for the Green Industry

I’m sure you’ve attended many green industry trade events where the speakers either failed to excite the audience or missed opportunities to do so. Frequently Power Point Poisoning is the rule. This is unfortunate because dynamic presentation skills can be learned. Whether you are the owner of a horticultural business, volunteer Master Gardener, grower, or an employee of a garden center, you may be occasionally called to speak in front of an audience. This presentation will help you improve your presentations so that you can truly sell the excitement of plants and gardening.  This talk can be expanded into a day-long workshop if desired.

Note: C.L. is also available as an individual speech coach to help those in  horticultural-related professions improve their presentation skills.

We Can Grow This! Uniting to Promote Plants and Gardening

What does it take to get an entire industry focused on a common goal? Learn how and why we need to put aside our cherished opinions and all start working together to promote the benefits of plants and gardening.

 

Annuals That Deliver

If your clients and customers are paying for new annuals every summer, they want plants that deliver color. From the brand new to the tried and true, this talk shows plants that are an asset in the garden from planting to hard frost.

 

Landscape Design Bloopers

This talk looks at design mistakes that are commonly made by landscapers and home-gardeners alike. By looking at where things have gone wrong, and sometimes seeing a corrected version through the magic of Photoshop, I explain the reasons why some garden designs look better than others. Learn how to provide plantings that please your customers on the day the job is finished, and for years afterwards.

 

Gardening With A Purpose

One of the buzz-phrases of 21st century gardening is “Gardening with a purpose” and I have to admit that when I first heard this phrase, I thought, “well duh!” We all have reasons for being in this business and our customers have their reasons for coming to us for plants, products and advise. But sometimes it’s easy to lose track of this purpose, or to forget how important our business truly is. This presentation is appropriate for garden center employees, professional landscapers, master gardeners and home garden geeks: we are all involved in one of the most life-affirming activities there is.

Educating Your Customers or Employees About Perennial Plant Maintenance

If we want our customers and clients to keep coming back for more plants or continued maintenance, they need to remain happy about their gardens long after the plants have been placed in the ground. Garden center customers and landscape crews need to know the strategies for keeping their perennials looking good all season. And green-industry professionals need to know how to convey this information to their customers.

This talk is about demystifying and simplifying perennial plant maintenance for your clients, customers and crew. Covering basic maintenance, simple strategies, commonsense reminders, and educational aides, this talk is geared to garden retailers and landscape professionals.

 

Cultivating Success
Creating an Educational Program for Your Customers

Garden centers are often the first place the public turns to learn about the plants in their yards and gardens; like it or not, we are in the education business as well as the garden retail business. This talk explains how, without spending much time or money, any garden center can develop a comprehensive educational program that will benefit you and your customers. Subjects include: attracting program attendees, building repeat customers, winning presentations, cross-merchandising, using the off-season, and information stations.

Download my Green Industry Speaker’s One Sheet pdf file here

Read speaking endorsements of C.L.

Contact information:
For details about these or other talks and workshops,
please contact me by email at: clfornari@yahoo.com
Mail: C.L. Fornari P.O. Box 355 Osterville, MA 02655
Phone: 508-428-5895