How Virginia Green uses RealGreen and Waypoint Analytical to Boost Revenue and Customer Value
About Virginia Green
Virginia Green is the largest locally owned lawn care company in central Virginia, with more than 250 associates servicing six locations throughout the state. They provide a wide range of services, including weed control and fertilization, aeration and seeding, pest control, tree and shrub services, and commercial services. In business since 2004, they started using RealGreen’s software solutions in 2019.
The Challenge
Too many soil samples. Too little time.
Virginia Green already offered soil testing services to customers, a potentially lucrative revenue stream. But with thousands of samples to review, adding the soil analysis results to every customer’s account became a data-entry and labor-hours nightmare. According to Joe Donchez, Director of Sales at Virginia Green, “We would get the reports, and then we’d have to have someone do the data entry, and it was just too much.”
The Solution
A new partnership. A new integration.
Virginia Green was already working with Waypoint Analytical, the largest agricultural laboratory network in the U.S., with operations in 14 states and the ability to analyze more than 1.8 million samples every year. Donchez approached RealGreen and suggested adding the soil testing integration to Service Assistant 5, since Waypoint already had their own API.
Now, after SA5 users sell soil testing to their customers, they simply have to send the sample to one of Waypoint’s test facilities. When the results are ready, typically within a day or so, Waypoint will push the information directly into SA5. Users will get a URL taking them to the soil sample in the Waypoint portal, a call log entry tied to the customer with a note about the sample, and the customer’s record will be updated with the pH from the sample. No need for manual entry of multiple test results – eliminating hours of drudge work and the potential for data entry errors.
The Results
More sales. More revenue.
With the Waypoint integration in place, Virginia Green now takes around 14,000 soil samples every year. Not only are these offered as part of certain lawn care programs, but they are effective upselling tools. “We look over the analysis and can tell our customers what they need for healthy soil. Maybe they have poor potassium but a good pH. So from that we can sell lime, seasonal potassium, phosphorus, an organic soil conditioner. That’s four different things you can sell from one test result.”
According to Donchez, the effect on Virginia Green’s revenue has been profound. “As we’ve grown and started presenting soil testing as an upsell, it’s been very beneficial. For 2022, we are looking to sell around 10 times more in soil testing than we did prior to the Waypoint integration.”
The Value
“It’s added value to our customers, which adds value to our top and bottom lines. That’s what we are in business for – to make lawns look good and to be profitable.”
Donchez says he would definitely recommend this integration to other RealGreen users, highlighting that it is seamless and easy to use.
“Soil testing is extremely valuable for us as a company and for our customers,” he continued, noting that performing soil analysis not only adds revenue, but enables Virginia Green to be good stewards of the environment by ensuring they are promoting healthy soil. “Our customers get the peace of mind that we’re not just calling to sell them something – it’s almost like getting the results of a blood test. It’s about the science. It’s the soil you live on, and here’s what it needs for your grass to look right. And through Waypoint soil testing, we can take care of it. It’s added value to our customers, which adds value to our top and bottom lines. That’s what we are in business for – to make lawns look good and to be profitable.”
If you’re interested in learning more about RealGreen products, click here.
If you’re interested in learning more about Waypoint Analytical, click here.
