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Are You a Design-Driven Landscape Company?Introducing the
“Upward Spiral”
 To charge or not to charge for landscape design work? I absolutely LOVE this topic,unlike most landscape contractors who would rather discuss the latest model of skidsteer rather than discuss charging design fees. As design/build professionals weMUST charge for our design work. I’ll explain why in a moment.But first, let’s talk about two distinct types of landscape companies—“DesignDriven” companies and “Sales Driven” companies.I define “Design Driven” companies and landscape designers as those who put thedesign above all else. This is the company who strives to exceed the clients’expectations by providing appropriate solutions to the stated concerns andproblems. By “appropriate solutions”, I’m referring to solutions that are best for theCLIENT, not the company.“Sales Driven” companies are those who put THEMSELVES before the client. Thesecompanies and individuals provide solutions that help themselves more than theirclients. These companies are not focused on providing landscape design solutionsas much as they are on making a “back-end” sale in the form of aconstruction/installation contract.If your landscape design process is guided by what plants you have in inventory,materials left over from previous projects and the skill set of your landscape crew,then you are a sales driven company. If this is you, then I say keep on giving yourdesign work away. If you are in the minority and consider yourself to be a designdriven company, then read on.Landscape design professionals deserve to be paid a fair fee for their design time,creativity and expertise. Enough talk about how a design should be treated as a“Sales Tool” and given away. Each time I hear this, I just want to slam my headagainst one of the numerous segmental retaining walls that dominate ourlandscapes.I consider there to be 9 reasons why we must charge for our landscape design work,but in this article I will only cover one concept which I refer to as
“The Upward Spiral” 
. I coined this term to describe the effect on a company, or landscapedesigner, when a commitment is made to becoming design-driven. Thiscommitment, plus the ensuing convergence of 4 factors, all amplifying each other,creates a spiral upward. The 4 factors are:
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