Posted:  08 Oct 2015 23:52
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Mar 2014	Posts:  14 Reputation:  2 User Rank: 1 - Seedling
Does anyone else have this problem? How do you explain your profession to people that conveys the idea simply?

Posted:  09 Oct 2015 15:33
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  798 Reputation:  43 User Rank: 10 - Blossom
It's only a problem if you cannot explain what you do to potential clients.  And they generally already know what you do, because they've already contacted you for a consultation or proposal, right?  Are you referring to the general public?

Posted:  09 Oct 2015 21:47
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Sep 2013	Posts:  7 Reputation:  2 User Rank: 1 - Seedling
Plant Janitor. Plant Care Specialist.

Posted:  28 Oct 2015 23:21
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Mar 2014	Posts:  14 Reputation:  2 User Rank: 1 - Seedling
It happens in casual conversations, networking groups, sold calls.. As far as your experience, What has been the best approach to explain it to someone who is unfamiliar with the industry?

Posted:  29 Oct 2015 04:49
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  798 Reputation:  43 User Rank: 10 - Blossom
I can't say that I've ever met a prospective client who wasn't already aware that there are businesses that sell plants and service them in some context.  Sure, the details of how it works are sketchy to many of these folks until we explain it to them, but interior plants are ubiquitous enough that people are comfortable with the fact that there must be some entities out there that supply and care for them (some better than others). As for the general public, sure, you get the "plant lady" or "plant waterer" comments, but that's only because there's bound to be a certain percentage of any group that lacks the awareness of how the world works and needs to be educated from the ground up.  But they aren't the people we deal with except in very limited cases of event rentals or similar applications. Many people assume that greenhouses and florists are responsible for interiorscapes, possibly also exterior landscapers who do some interior work to placate their clients, but whatever their perceptions may be of how it's done, they know we're out there doing it.  What really surprises me is that you can walk the halls of any large or small office building and find one or two tenants with fully planted spaces, while the rest of the building is devoid of life.  Why these other folks don't get it is beyond me, and in the post-9/11 age of heightened security and privacy consciousness, it's very difficult to gain access to these potential clients by just walking into their reception area and introducing yourself.  That creates whole additional layers of effort required to generate the initial contact to set up a sale: telemarketing, direct mail, e-mail marketing, etc.  That's unfortunate, because so many businesses and residences out there could be benefiting from what we do if only they'd let us show them how to get it done at an affordable cost.  That's showbiz.

Posted:  29 Oct 2015 15:02   Last Edited By: Julie Blymire
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  102 Reputation:  5 User Rank: 3 - Plant
I used to chuckle when I was servicing the plants in the lunchroom of a Fortune 500 cereal production facility and they regularly announced, "The plant manager is here now!" when I arrived.

Posted:  29 Oct 2015 16:32
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  798 Reputation:  43 User Rank: 10 - Blossom
Yep, Julie, I've been called that on several occasions.  We should start a group and have cocktails once a month.

Posted:  29 Oct 2015 19:04
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Mar 2014	Posts:  14 Reputation:  2 User Rank: 1 - Seedling
Very True Clem, I don't mind being the 'plant girl' I get irritated when called the 'flower girl'.. There is a difference dummies! lol I just have always had a hard time explaining my career. What is yall's 10 sec description of being an interior scaper?

Posted:  30 Oct 2015 01:34
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  798 Reputation:  43 User Rank: 10 - Blossom
We design, sell, lease, install and maintain decorative indoor live and replica plantings for the beautification of living, working and shopping spaces. How's that?

Posted:  30 Oct 2015 01:35
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  798 Reputation:  43 User Rank: 10 - Blossom
BTW, if any of you decide to plaster that on the side of your vehicles, I'll need to get my cut.

Posted:  03 Nov 2015 00:35
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Mar 2014	Posts:  14 Reputation:  2 User Rank: 1 - Seedling
Hahaha!! Now that description is pretty 'idiot' proof! I think I might have to steal it.. Checks are on the way!!!

Posted:  03 Nov 2015 16:27
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jan 2011	Posts:  798 Reputation:  43 User Rank: 10 - Blossom

Posted:  11 Nov 2015 03:54
Registered User Currently Offline Join Date: Jun 2012	Posts:  39 Reputation:  3 User Rank: 1 - Seedling
I've always gone with an even simpler "I take care of the plants you see around you in places like hotels, restaurants, office buildings, hospitals, and so on."

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