Skip to content
That's How I Rollerboard…

The Official Blog of Max Effgen

That's How I Rollerboard…

The Official Blog of Max Effgen

Lessons in salesmanship

Max Effgen, November 14, 2011

Had a great lesson in asking for the business from an unexpected source last week — my landscaper.

Now I do not have a regular service, but did have some work done last summer. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I have come to learn that lawn aeration is not optional. The yard needed it, so I looked around at renting an aerator. Running rate for 2 hours is $125. I called Derek at Rainbow of Magnolia who did the work last summer. For my small yard, he charged less than half of the rental price. Sold.

Now, turns out I happen to run into Derek all the time in the neighborhood village. He is a marathon runner and often catches me finishing a 10K while pushing my 2.5 year-old daughter. He chat about running or exchange greetings. After the aeration, he was all salesman — but not in a bad way. He wanted to make sure I was satisfied. Since I was, he asked if I needed anything else or would refer business to him. This caught me by surprise since it is not often that I see anyone ask for the business.

Not only did Derek ask for the sale but he asked for my help. He and his company are extremely charitable. This year, the entire company voted to donate 1 week of wages to their Rainbow of Magnolia Fountains of Life Charity to build an addition to a school in Uganda. Pretty amazing.

I am a repeat customer and will have Derek and his crew back in the Spring. If you live in Seattle and need some landscaping, give Derek a call and tell him Max sent you.

CRM Rainbow of Magnoliasales

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Max Effgen

Max Effgen

Builds and grows technology companies as an entrepreneur and angel investor backing early-stage companies in AI, health and wellness, ultra-low power radio, and enterprise software. Snowboarding, baseball, swimming, running, coaching, photography, backpacking and skyscraper stair climbs happen off the clock. Also, I am a SABR Contributor, live in Seattle and from Chicago.

Tags

amazon apple autograph aws azure baseball beach boys behavioral books Brad Feld christmas cloud coffee collection computing CRM enterprise entrepreneurship eyeglasses fenwick Forbes Gist google Inc. interviewing microsoft Mobile photography reads REI Rock Star Venture Capitalist sales sales enablement salesforce.com seattle social startup TechCrunch techflash thoughts UW wallpaper weekend/coffee WSJ zappos

Contact Details

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • About.me
  • Salmon Bay Photography
  • Categories

    • Baseball (19)
    • cloud (41)
    • CRM (104)
    • IT (8)
    • Mobile (9)
    • Photography (21)
    • reads (75)
    • Recipes (3)
    • Rock Star Venture Capitalist (5)
    • thoughts (111)
    • Uncategorized (51)
    • weekend/coffee (68)
    ©2025 That's How I Rollerboard… | WordPress Theme by SuperbThemes