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Bobby Jensen Speaks to DCTC Landscape Students
November 27, 2007
Watch Video KARE-11 garden wizard discusses need for professionalism in landscape industry.
ROSEMOUNT, Minn., Nov. 27, 2007 - Bobby Jensen traveled to Dakota County Technical College to share his insights and experience with a group of students in the college's Landscape Horticulture program. Jensen, who co-hosts KARE-11's Grow with KARE with Belinda Jensen, explained why today's landscape designers should conduct business as trained and knowledgeable professionals.
"What separates you from some guy with a shovel is your know-how," Jensen said. "Anybody can dig a hole and stick in a plant. We used to call that Chuck in a truck. You are the expert. Sell your knowledge and experience to the customer, not your labor."
As a landscape designer with more than 36 years of experience, Jensen went on to describe how novice landscapers must establish themselves as professionals who know what they're doing. "You have to sell yourself, not the product," he said. "Listen to your customers and explain the benefits of working with you. Present yourself as a professional and list all the reasons why you are the best person for the job. If you do that, you will get their business."
Jensen also stressed the value of finding a specialty or niche in the landscape field. His own landscape company, bobby jensen's LANDSCAPE JUNCTION, fills a niche by promoting "boulderscaping," a custom service where experts design and build natural glacier-stone retaining walls using handpicked rocks and boulders.
"Don't try to be everything," Jensen advised the college students. "Narrow your field and use your education. DCTC has an excellent reputation in the landscape industry."
Jeffrey Kleinboehl and Matthew Brooks, two DCTC Landscape Horticulture instructors, attended the seminar with their students. Kleinboehl noted that everyone was impressed by Jensen's recommendations and hands-on knowledge as well as his enthusiasm for the future of professional landscaping.
"Bobby reinforced what we tell our students every day," Jeff Kleinboehl said. "Overall, landscaping is not a well-regulated field. Homeowners come to me all the time with horror stories about poor product and shoddy service. As trained landscape professionals, our students need to emphasize their education and expertise."
According to the Minnesota Nursery & Landscape Association (MNLA), the landscape industry has never been stronger in the state. In 2006, nursery and landscape companies in Minnesota produced more than $2.3 billion in sales.
The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) reports that the nation's green industry generates an annual output of nearly $150 billion. Landscape designers and installers are an indispensable part of that economic engine.
Matt Brooks understands Jensen's appreciation of the landscape industry. As an instructor with more than 10 years teaching at DCTC, Brooks knows that talent takes a landscape designer only so far. Real success comes from hard work plus a commitment to professionalism that is conveyed to the client on a daily basis.
"As a career choice, landscape design is rewarding in the sense that you get to be creative and do good things for our environment," Brooks says. "On top of that, you get the opportunity to earn a very comfortable living. I have seen some graduates surpass $40,000 annually, which is the industry average salary, and earn six figures a year."
Landscape professionals who graduate from the Landscap Horticultural program at Dakota County Technical College are ready to design, install, and manage landscape and garden projects on residential, commercial, and public properties. The DCTC program is the only one of its kind in Minnesota to earn accreditation from the Professional Landcare Network, or PLANET, the national trade organization of the landscape industry.