SUPPLIER PROFILE
By Gregg Wartgow
Faster Bidding with Far Less Hassle
Web-based tools can help speed up the estimating and proposal-building process for landscape contractors, resulting in less cost, happier customers and more time to focus on other areas of the business.
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andscape contractors should always look for ways to save time on laborious, unbillable tasks that not only add cost, but also fail to add value for the customer. The estimating and proposal-building process is a chief example. That’s not to say it isn’t important. In fact, competitive prices and a healthy bottom line depend on meticulous attention to detail. But when you look at the traditional ways many contractors estimate and bid, there is often a tremendous amount of redundancy, inefficiency and wasted time. Go iLawn’s built-in tools allow quick and accurate online property measurements. Anything that can be seen in the image can be measured or counted.
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Measuring Properties Online Property measuring is one of the first things that comes to mind. Mike Rorie, CEO of GIS Dynamics, knows this well. He was a successful landscape company owner before joining GIS Dynamics in 2010. GIS Dynamics is the creator of Go iLawn, a web-based tool that allows users to measure properties remotely. “If a prospective new client called from 20 miles away asking for a price, the first thing you’d probably want to do is drive there to take some measurements with a measuring wheel,” Rorie says. “When you’re using Go iLawn, on the other hand, you can look at photos of the property right when you’re having that first phone conversa-
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tion with the client. You can have the property measured in less time than it would take to drive out to the property.” Through the use of high-resolution aerial photography, Go iLawn allows users to view properties online. Users can then capture accurate measurements and make notations using Go iLawn’s built-in tools. “Anything you see in an image can be measured and counted,” Rorie points out. Back in 2009, when Go iLawn was first introduced, devices like smart-
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11/30/18 9:40 AM