It’s kind of overwhelming to be a brand new account manager at a landscaping company.
So many clients. So many needs.
“Clients realize they don’t know everything about their property’s landscaping, but they expect us to,” says Emilie Roper, account manager at Level Green Landscaping.
Roper graduated with a horticulture degree from Brigham Young University-Idaho, so she knew plenty.
But it was the several months she spent in Level Green Landscaping’s management training program that really set her up for success. She learned on the job how to be an account manager before being promoted to the role, spending time in every department of the growing company.
“I’ve had jobs before where I was just thrown into it and I had to figure out everything by myself,” Roper says. “If that happened with this job as account manager, I would have failed.”
Hit The Ground Running
Instead, Roper was on a fast track to a management position.
Since Level Green started the management training program, three college graduates have completed the program and been promoted in the company.
The management training program prepares qualified candidates for a position as an operations manager or account manager.
Get paid while you learn the ropes of the landscape management business. Then, when you’re done, you’re ready to hit the ground running.
Working Smarter
Sometimes it was little things, like the day she spent with a crew removing old, overgrown juniper shrubs from a high-end HOA. They were planted on a hillside, which made the job extra tricky.
Sure, you can dig out old shrubs with a shovel. But Roper learned a new trick.
“We tied a chain or a rope to the junipers and to the skid steer, and the machine pulled them out,” she says.
“It was cool to see how they did it with less labor — working smarter, not harder.”
She laughs.
“I really hate junipers,” she say, “so pulling them out was really satisfying.”
“We Make Relationships”
Roper recalls another day when she learned a skill more about people than plants.
She visited a shopping center property manager with an experienced Level Green account manager.
“The way he joked around with the client, it was more like a friendship, even though it was a working relationship,” she says. “I realized you don’t have to always be serious with clients. You can be friendly.
“I learned that one of the reasons customers like Level Green so much is that we make relationships,” Roper says. “If a customer likes you, they trust you more.”
“I Can Ask Anybody Anything”
One day toward the end of her management training, Roper was sent out to estimate the cost of taking care of a property.
How many trees were on the site? How much turf? How long would it take to mow it?
She meticulously considered everything, from how long it would take to walk from island to island in the parking lot to how long it would take to clear fall leaves.
“I felt like I was putting everything I learned to the test,” she says.
In the end, when her supervisors checked her figures, she was a bit off. But that’s ok, she says, because she’s always surrounded by helpful colleagues who continue to teach her.
“The great thing about the management training program is you get to meet so many people, from all over the company,” she says. “Whenever I have a question, I feel like I can ask anybody anything.”
Is This Job For You?
We hope so.
Our management training program is ideal for a recent college graduate or a person new to the landscape industry. Maybe you studied landscape management or forestry in college. Or you might have a business degree and are interested in account management.
It’s among the best horticulture degree job opportunities out there, but it might be perfect for you even if you started down a different path.
How Does It Work?
The training program is set up much like our internships — which means you’ll get a great, well-rounded look at the entire operation.
Choose the operations manager track or the account manager track, then learn on the job what the position entails, from sales calls and customer relations to writing proposals for enhancements and supervising crews.
You’ll shadow team members, visit job sites, observe crews, attend management and financial meetings.
You’ll work in the field, getting your hands dirty.
Want to be an operations manager? Better know how crews work.
The whole experience typically lasts between six months and a year.
Next Up: Welcome To The Team!
When your training is complete, we hope you’ll join us as a new operations or account manager.
As our company continues to grow, we’ll need one new account manager and one new operations manager a year.
After our comprehensive landscape management training program, you’ll be ready to step into one of these jobs. Sure, there are other horticulture degree job opportunities. But this one puts you on an immediate fast track to success.
Interested? We’d Love To Hear From You
If you’re looking to gain valuable, real-world experience in an exciting team environment that values your fresh ideas, consider the landscape management training program at Level Green Landscaping.
Contact us at 202-544-0968.
We can't wait to meet you.
