Interview recorded at the NALP Elevate Conference 2024 in Charlotte, NC. Host Paul Giannamore speaks with Chad Diller, CEO of Landscape Leadership, about branding, marketing, and storytelling for lawn care, landscaping, and tree service companies. Topics include why some green industry businesses struggle to generate leads, using storytelling and emotional connection in branding, positioning a business as the market leader, leveraging client case studies for authenticity, and the growing role of video marketing in 2024. Timestamped chapters cover connecting with customers through empathy, the industry's shift from websites to content marketing, emotional connections for business growth, case studies, and using video to build trust and engagement. # Channel Presentation Observations ## Format & Presentation Style - **Interview/podcast format**: The host interviews a guest ("Chad") about branding and marketing for landscapers; conversation includes casual banter about Amish Country Pennsylvania before substantive topics. - **Guest-expert structure**: The host asks questions and lets the guest deliver most expertise (e.g., "how important is video now in 2024... how many folks are actually using it"). - **Industry-event tie-in**: Title includes event hashtag `#NALP2024`, suggesting coverage tied to a landscape industry conference ("that's how I got down here this afternoon to talk to you"). ## Intended Audience - **Landscape industry business owners and managers**: Discussion centers on marketing practices for landscape companies, e.g., "companies are showcasing their services and external solutions instead of really focusing... on what is their prospective client's real deep problem." - References to industry-specific context like "property manager facility manager" for commercial landscape clients. ## Claimed Scope & Topics Covered - **Marketing, branding, and storytelling for landscaping businesses**, per the title. - Substantive themes demonstrated in transcript: - Customer-empathy messaging: "your message is not about you it is about your customer." - Storytelling frameworks: guest cites *Building a StoryBrand* by Donald Miller. - Video marketing: "we've produced hundreds of videos for clients... recruiting videos to marketing videos explainer videos." - Industry trends: websites, content marketing adoption, AI-driven distrust of written content. ## Guest Self-Description Evidence (Creator Claims by Guest, Not Host) - Guest runs **Landscape Leadership**, described as "a marketing and digital sales agency that only specializes in the landscape industry," founded 2010. - Boutique model claim: "we work with like 20 to 25 clients... go deep with very few clients." - Guest background: started in the field in '98, became account manager, then ran marketing at a "$13 million company," joined Landscape Leadership in 2016. ## Observable Presentation Patterns - **Conversational, jocular tone**: Host jokes about puppy mills and the guest's dog ("it has three eyes"). - **Practical, tactic-oriented content**: Advice like "anyone with a smartphone and... a Gimbal and a good Bluetooth microphone can produce a fairly good quality video." - **Closing praise**: Host summarizes value: "you've had some great insights today," framing episodes as insight-delivery. ## Notes on Claim vs. Demonstration - The channel's own identity is not explicitly stated by the host; scope is inferred from title hashtags (`#CustomerCare #DigitalMarketing`) and demonstrated guest selection (a landscape-marketing agency leader). # Delivery Observation: "Branding, Marketing & Storytelling for Landscapers" ## Format Overview - **Interview/podcast format** with two speakers: a host (who asks questions, opens with "first Chad great to have you on the show") and Chad, a guest from a landscape-marketing consultancy, who delivers the bulk of the content. - The opening line of the transcript is actually a **cold-open teaser** of Chad's key point ("don't just show up and throw up in your marketing"), which recurs verbatim later in the conversation. --- ## Guest's Communication Patterns (Chad) ### Recurring Phrases & Verbal Habits - **"long story short"** appears at least twice: > "and long story short a couple years later turned into a marketing and digital sales agency" > "and I talked to him and long story short I came to work at landscape leadership" - **"you know"** is a very frequent filler — appears dozens of times throughout, e.g., > "and it's not here it's not even here it's way down here" — the only extended physical bit observed. - Repetition for emphasis: > "there is a place for Authority there is a place for communicating" — duplicated sentence structure. - Self-restart and repair mid-sentence, e.g., > "but I wouldn't haveand to get them there if they weren't a willing participant" — a garbled splice in the transcript. ### Teaching Habits - **Cites external frameworks/authorities**: he references *Building a StoryBrand* by Donald Miller and its "you're not the hero" principle — his only named-source example. - **Uses concrete before/after question contrast** as a teaching device: > "describe to me what was life like before you started working with this company like walk me through a given day... instead of saying what do they do here for you" - **Frames everything around a single central thesis** — customer-first messaging — repeated in varied wording: > "your message is not about you it is about your customer" ### Self-Deprecating/Deferential Framing - Downplays his agency's role even while describing his contribution: > "I want to make them the hero in the story not our agency" > "they probably wouldn't be where they are in their strategy unless I was involved" --- ## Host's Communication Patterns - **Colloquial, jokey interjections**: the exchange about Amish puppy mills and "the Mexican has a dog... it has three eyes" shows a bantering, informal register in the opening minutes. - **Reflective listening then redirecting**: > "I think you're going somewhere on the emotional connection so how can you get deeper into that" - **Mirrors the guest's thesis in blunter language**: > "customers don't give a like got an issue and they want it solved" (apparent censored profanity) - **Closes with brief praise and a wind-down**: > "it's fascinating stuff and you've had some great insights today I appreciate you joining me" --- ## Uncertainty Notes - **Turn attribution is inferred** from conversational cues (questions vs. answers); the transcript has no speaker labels, so a few short exchanges may be misattributed. - Whether Chad's "you know" frequency exceeds typical conversational norms is a **quantitative claim not verified here** — it is frequent, but an exact count was not performed. - The "way down here" gesture is inferred from repeated spatial language; **no visual confirmation** is available from the transcript alone. # Position Extraction: Branding, Marketing & Storytelling for Landscapers | #NALP2024 ## Speakers - **Host** (unnamed; conducts interview) - **Chad** (guest; runs Landscape Leadership, based in Lancaster County, PA — "Amish Country") ## Background & Firm Claims (Chad) - Landscape Leadership was founded ~2010 by **Chris Heller** as a **paid message board/subscription site** for landscape professionals, born from Chris's background in landscape design and passion for content marketing. - It evolved into a **marketing and digital sales agency specializing exclusively in the landscape industry**. - Chad's track: started in the field in **1998** "just needed a job to pay the bills," became account manager, then ran marketing at a **$13 million company**; joined Landscape Leadership in **2016** and now runs the organization. - **Deliberately small client roster**: ~20–25 clients, "go deep with very few clients instead of going shallow with 100–200." - Chad's current role: moved out of account management into **high-level strategy and creative**; the rest of the team handles relationships and responsiveness. ## Stated Positions on Industry Marketing ### Pace of change - **"I don't think a whole lot has changed in the last 5 years but maybe 10 definitely"** — the industry lags behind others in marketing adoption. - The bar has risen: companies no longer build "one-page virtual brochure" websites; sites must serve recruits and prospective clients. - Concepts Chris once taught via PLANET webinars (e.g., content marketing) are "now becoming more common knowledge." ### Core thesis: connection over self-promotion - Main goal of marketing is **"connection and deep connection and meaningful impact in someone's life."** - Companies still lead with **services and "external solutions"** rather than the prospect's "real deep problem and how that makes them feel." - > "Your message is not about you, it is about your customer." - Lead with "I know your problem and this is how it makes you feel" — **not** "we're the number one this in this area." - Authority claims have a place, but: > "Don't just show up and throw up in your marketing. You have to really build that connection first." ### Emotional depth and customer empathy - Draws on personal reflection: people operate on surface logic, but shared human experience connects at a deeper core level. - Collaborative message-crafting with clients is "a stretch" for business owners when asked how problems make customers *feel* — people default to a few shallow emotions ("angry, hungry, tired"). - **Against putting awards atop homepages**: celebrate awards internally, but "there's no reason to throw that plaque in someone's face." ### Storytelling framework - Cites **Donald Miller's *Building a StoryBrand***: **your brand is not the hero — the customer is**. - Common industry messaging still positions the company as hero. ### Use of video and case studies - Chad "loves video" — firm has produced **hundreds of videos** (recruiting, marketing, explainer). - **Case studies are the most connecting format**; maximize client screen/voice time relative to team time. - Effective interviewing: ask "describe what life was like before you started working with this company" rather than "what do they do here for you." - Authenticity argument: prospects distrust self-praise ("it's advertising... I believe a percentage of that") but believe enthusiastic clients telling the story. - Chad practices this by publicly praising and thanking clients on social media: "I want to make them the hero in the story, not our agency" — which "establishes brands as an authentic leader." ### Video in 2024 - **Barrier to entry is much lower** (smartphone + gimbal + Bluetooth mic), though storytelling, hooks, and messaging still require skill. - Trend of 10+ years: "people hate reading and want to watch." - **Prediction**: consumers will begin to distrust written content suspected of AI generation; video retains trust longer — though he concedes AI may affect video too "hopefully it's a little bit farther behind." - Advice: stay **on camera and don't over-edit/over-polish** video to show personality and differentiate. ## Host Positions - Customers "don't give a —" about employee counts and awards; they have a problem and want to know if you can solve it (host's framing prompting agreement). - Host notes Route 30 runs through Lancaster County and jokes about the area and a mutual friend's dog. ## Qualifications & Tensions Preserved - Chad's timeline claim is qualified: little change in 5 years, significant change over 10. - He acknowledges AI could eventually erode trust in video as well, only "hopefully" later. - He credits client willingness, not just his agency: "they probably wouldn't be where they are... unless I was involved, but I wouldn't have [gotten] them there if they weren't a willing participant." # Speaker & Role Attribution Record **Video:** Branding, Marketing & Storytelling for Landscapers | #NALP2024 #CustomerCare #DigitalMarketing **Video ID:** `01a168c8-2446-7112-8d76-2a18669ae0f6` ## Speakers & Roles ### Host / Creator (unnamed) - Interviews the guest throughout; opens with a teaser line ("don't just show up and throw up in your marketing") and closes the interview ("you've had some great insights today I appreciate you joining me"). - Host self-references: mentions driving through Lancaster County previously, knowledge of Pennsylvania geography, and a mutual friend, Christian. ### Guest: **Chad** - Identified by name in the transcript ("Chad great to have you on the show"). - **Role:** Leader of **Landscape Leadership**, a marketing and digital sales agency specializing in the landscape industry; joined 2016, now runs the organization. - **Background stated by guest:** Started in landscaping field work circa 1998, then account manager, then marketing lead at a ~$13 million landscape company; based in "Amish Country Pennsylvania," Lancaster County. ## Third-Party People Referenced (not speakers) - **Chris Hepler** (transcribed "Chris hler") — founder of Landscape Leadership (2010), originally as a paid message board; previously did PLANET webinars on content marketing. - **Christian** — mutual friend; a client of the guest's agency for roughly five to six years. - "The Mexican" — referenced by host as owner of a dog from Lancaster-area breeding; identity not established in transcript. ## Referenced Sources & Claims - **Book:** *Building a StoryBrand* by **Donald Miller** — cited by guest as the source of the "your brand's not the hero" messaging framework. - **Organization:** PLANET (prior name of a landscape industry association) — referenced regarding Chris's webinars. - **Client examples:** Commercial landscape management (property/facility managers) used as a generic segment example; no named client case study beyond Christian's engagement. ## Promotional Segments - Guest describes his agency's model and selectivity: "we work with like 20 to 25 clients... go deep with very few clients" and praise of client Christian — **promotional/self-referential content for Landscape Leadership**, though delivered as interview answers rather than a distinct sponsored segment. - No explicit sponsorship, ad read, or call-to-action segment is present in the transcript. ## Provenance & Availability Notes - No curated metadata was supplied; no comment availability information is available. - Hashtags in the title (#NALP2024, #CustomerCare, #DigitalMarketing) suggest association with a NALP 2024 event; location/context of recording is not stated in the transcript. - Speaker role labels are inferred from conversational structure (interviewer vs. interviewee); the host's name is not given in the transcript. there is a place for Authority there is a place for communicating everything that you do but don't just show up and throw up in your marketing you have to really build that connection first Chad great to have you on the show sure glad to be here so remind me what are you based out of uh so I live in Amish Country Pennsylvania Langster and your second followup question no I'm not Amish because that's typically where we get so if I remember correctly you take Route 30 dead West it is Route 30 is right through Langster County you got it I'm driven through that godforsaken area of the country as a matter of fact the the Mexican has a dog that was breeded out there I think it's an inbred it is known for the puppy mills so pretty sure I'm sure he got it from a legit breeder it has three eyes it's a sweet dog though it's Elsa she's great his dog is Amish yes 100% the owner is Mexican um so your Consulting business focuses on helping landscape businesses develop leadership give me the details on this yeah so the name sounds a little cryptic landscape leadership and actually as the organization was founded back in 2010 it was something very different different than what it is now okay so this kind of dates us so Chris hler the the founder started this thing that was a paid Message Board you know that's how it was that time frame in there he uh he had went to school for landscape design and had his own company doing that and there was no online communities like LinkedIn and those sorts of things where you could exchange professional advice with people in your Niche and so he created this thing it was a subscription site and he passionately loved content marketing and social media so 2010 people weren't doing that um so they were turning to him they were saying how can you how can you can you help me and long story short a couple years later turned into a marketing and digital sales agency that only specializes in the LA landscape industry so that was Chris's track and now taking you back a little bit '98 I started um just like a lot of people in this industry were I just needed a job to pay the bills to support my family so I started in the field working and uh did that for a number of years then I started uh acting as an account manager which I really enjoyed selling the work consultatively to homeowners and and some business owners and then I took over the marketing at the 13 million company that I worked for and so in that time frame Chris and I became professionally Associated and um I loved marketing and I talked to him and long story short I came to work at landscape leadership in uh 2016 and now I run the organization there and the landscape firm that you worked for out in Amish Country yeah it was yeah we did like a four count radius area there so yeah I say Amish country but there's there's Suburbia is that like York PA stuff like that we did go to York County yeah you know your Pennsylvania geography unfortunately unfortunately I do okay and so we have a a mutual friend Christian you guys I guess he's a CLI of yours no yeah he's a client of ours um you know we work with uh we're a little different from a marketing agency perspective um we don't want to dominate the world and have a gazillion client so we try to make sure we have really quality people like Christian really great organization so Christian he's he's been working with us I think five six years now and we've become actually really good friends um so that's how I got down here this afternoon to talk to you so really awesome guy um so we work with like 20 to 25 clients um go deep with very few clients instead of going shallow with a whole bunch of you know 100 200 clients so that's what we're all about so then how active would you be you know if you're focused on 25 clients you're clearly going extremely deep so how active are you on any with any particular client as far as allocating your time and resources yeah for me my role has really changed I started in the organization as an account manager um and so I was doing a lot of the project management campaign driven things um but I'm a creative person and I like to find problems and fix them and think of new ways to do things and so the progression has been moving me out of account management so I still help them with the the high strategy and high Lev creative and then the rest of our team are brilliant at being able to you know take those tasks and develop those relationships and be you know really responsive and in touch a lot with with the business owners and what have you seen change from a marketing perspective in the industry over the last 5 years or so you I don't think a whole lot has changed in the last 5 years but maybe 10 definitely I think I think that you know this industry in some areas is very Innovative and in other areas they lag behind other Industries so marketing is one of those things that you know as a role um our industry has kind of kind of lagged behind and followed and been late adopters but I'm seeing I remember when you know I remember the the argument and the and the the point we were trying to impress on people 10 years ago was you need to have a website that showcases these things and so the bar has gone up people are starting to accept that and I would also say the entry point for most most companies now they're not most of them at least the ones that are here this level company they're not just creating a onepage virtual brochure website they they understand that it has to provide something more important and more impactful for the people that are coming to it whether that's a job recruit or uh prospective client so I just feel like the bar has gone up the understanding um you know when I remember when Chris used to do these planet webinars with you know this organization when it was called planet and he was talking about these you know new things like content marketing and now it's it's great to know that all these things that we were trying to impress now are becoming more common knowledge now you talked about in some areas the industry is advaned and some areas that lags behind you know what are some things that you're seeing out there that folks are still getting wrong well I think it all comes down to you know what is the point what is the point of marketing and what is the main goal I mean the main goal is connection and deep connection and meaningful impact in someone's life so the one thing that I mean I'm seeing progression and I'm seeing people get better but companies are showcasing their services and external Solutions instead of really focusing first and foremost and most of their recipe on what is their prospective clients's real deep problem and how does that make them feel and you know in my own personal life um I'm learning that there are layers to me as a human and I often operate in this logic and the surface things and making decisions and doing whatever but what I've I've experienced personally is that why do I do certain things why do I feel certain things about um one matter or another and what is really driving that and and I think there's a common human experience that just really connects people we all really want the same things when you get way down to the core of it and so the one thing that I would just I just really hope that and I always talk about this in my social posts and content that we write that that the industry really starts to embrace understand is that your message is not about you it is about your customer and it's not here it's not even here it's way down here and you have to do a really good job empathizing with what their aspiration is or what their pain is and when you can do that it's really connect and people realize on a subconscious level that you truly do get what's important to them instead of saying we're the number one this in this area that's not what you lead with you lead with I know your problem and this is how it makes you feel and this actually impacts me a little bit too as a brand or us as a team and then there is a place for Authority there is a place for communicating everything that you do but don't just show up and throw up in your marketing you have to really build that connection first I I think you're going somewhere on the emotional connection so how can you get deeper into that can we talk a little bit about an example of what that problem is your typical clients what sort of problems are their potential customers experiencing because I know you know Everyone likes to say we're the number one lscape we're the number one lawn care we got this many employees we got this many awards that customers don't give a like got an issue and they want it solved and they want to know if you're the right person so let's talk about that well we could do this for any different segment so if you want to talk about Cal man Landscape Management there's a property manager facility manager there and they are pulled in so many different directions the last thing that they want to have to do is babysit their contractors or they have an inherent distrust that people are going to follow through and what they do um recognizing in whether it's your marketing copy whether it's the images on your website whether it's how you construct a video script or the questions you ask to the people on camera you have to lead with giving weight to their problem and understanding that first before you jump in and say we're here to save the day um there's a famous marketing book um called building a story brand by Donald Miller um it's a story brand messaging framework and the one one of the key points in it is is your Brand's not the hero you're not the hero and a lot of uh marketing messaging I'm still seeing you know in the industry is who's the hero here you know like take a back seat take a little bit of Humble Pie and just let them shine let them do you know let them succeed and then just showcase that so I guess you're spending a lot of time at your firm and actually crafting that message identifying what the problems are identifying capabilities of the client and how there's alignment there yeah we do that and I like to do it collaboratively and it's a stretch it's a stretch for some business owners and and you know higher level management when you're asking them how does this problem make your customers feel it's hard you're like ah uh Angry you know like we often go uh to like we have like three emotions we're like Angry hungry tired or whatever but there's there's so much like uh impact in the word choices that you use um or the actual visual pictures you paint in video and and showing either aspiration or pain and that sort of thing so I love to in involve clients if they allow me and if they engage um and we have them watch a number of videos to work through that process and brainstorm you try to pull those messaging core elements together and I'm always bringing it back to them because the reversion back to what everyone's doing is strong you know to be like hey we just want this award can we put this at the top of our homepage well no like you shouldn't do that there's a place for it celebrate the hell out of it with your team but there's no reason that you need to throw that plaque in someone's face instead show somebody that looks like them or have a story that's that they're telling about how they actually want and you're just kind of behind them in the in the back background you you talk about story brand but I mean how do you use customer story actually in your marketing well you know I love video we've we've produced hundreds of videos for clients anything from recruiting videos to marketing videos explainer videos all that stuff and I love case studies those to me are the ones that I feel like are the most connecting and so the amount of screen time and voice time that your team actually has in your videos related to how much the client actually is talking in there so if you can find a really enthusiastic client and if you know how to ask engaging questions and follow-up questions you can get really really powerful statements and even the nonverbals that they give just the body language and them you know you ask them what describe to me what was life like before you started working with this company like walk me through a given day and they start opening up and telling stories instead of saying what do they do here for you in the property that's you know that's up here so when you can position I your client telling your Brand's story and singing your Brand's Praises um it has so much more deep authentic impact than if you're trying to do it yourself because people you know it's advertising they're like I I I don't believe that you know I believe a percentage of that or whatever and so that's why you know like one of the things like I I practice what I preach so one of the things that I I share constantly on social media is examples of how our clients are doing something and I raise them for what they're doing and I thank them for allowing us to be involved that's what all the brands in this industry need to do too um you know I recognize that yeah they probably wouldn't be where they are in their strategy unless I was involved but I wouldn't haveand to get them there if they weren't a willing participant so I want to make them the hero in the story not our agency and that is what establishes uh Brands as an authentic leader in their Market so that is connective and that will bring great team members people want to be involved with that because it's something way bigger than than you just trying to make more revenue and get more customers well how important is video now in 2024 and how many folks are actually out there using it in the industry well the it's catching on it's getting better I mean the barrier of Entry is so much lower now I mean anyone with a smartphone and you get a Gimbal and a good Bluetooth microphone can produce a fairly good quality video um there's still a lot that goes into you know like driving a good story and having good Hooks and doing that sort of thing but it's it's great so more and more um companies are creating that content but it still comes back to how do you tell a story how do you message something how do you hook somebody as does my viewer am I really relating with what really matters to them and do that so video is getting huge because uh I mean it's been a trend for the last 10 years where people they hate reading and they want to watch and so there's all kinds of places that you can use video whether it's that fulllength testimonial video uh client story or you cut it up in little pieces and share it to social um whatever you want to do with it so video is big and especially now all we're going to start to get to a point where we're going to start to distrust uh written content and think that AI created it so video and video as well at some point right well yeah hopefully it's a little bit farther behind but that's that's why you keep saying um on camera and don't overedit and over poolish your your video too because I think that's going to be a place where Brands can really differentiate what they're doing and show way more personality and I think consumers are going to start to distrust a lot of written content because they might feel like there was really no one at the helm when this was created and it was just kind of regurgitated and spit out that way so video is a great way to connect you know show personality um and and have way bigger impact than you can with a lot of other marketing stuff so it's it's going to get bigger and bigger it's fascinating stuff and you've had some great insights today I appreciate you joining me Chad sure thanks so much thank you you