Have you ever thought about the value of a professional membership and how you can use it as a selling tool? You can sell your customers on the many benefits that exist because you belong to an industry safety organization.
 

Benefits for your company

Firstly, let’s look at the some of the benefits of being a member firm of the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance. For an annual fee of $125, your company receives:

1. Free industry “Best Practices Manual” (a value of $30).
2. Free industry Statistics Report, DIRT (a value of $30).
3. Free “Ear To The Ground ” publication (a value of $10).
4. Member rate for Landscape Ontario winter seminar registrations (savings of $100 for each seminar).
5. Discounts from ORCGA Members Value Suppliers Program.
6. Your company could save as much as $3,000 in costs (which would pay for 20 years’ worth of ORCGA memberships) by learning how to prevent a utility hit.
7. Access to networking and other professional ORCGA members at meetings, symposiums, Geographic Council sessions and local committee functions.

Your real annual cost is virtually zero and you can actually make money by utilizing some of the above benefits.
 

Benefits for your customers

Let’s look at some potential benefits you could discuss with your customers:

1. Your company is contributing to public safety (reducing utility hits) through your membership in ORCGA.
2. Customers are dealing with a professional company dedicated to industry safety and saving of lives.
3. Customer utility bills are lower and minimized because your firm and other ORCGA members are obtaining locates through ON1CALL and thus reducing utility hits.
4. ORCGA firms endorse the Dig Safe brand and promote the damage prevention message to other industry professionals and to the public.
5. ORCGA members are always strategizing and discussing new ideas for public awareness so we can continue to keep utility bill increases to a minimum.

By promoting the Dig Safe brand and obtaining locates before you dig, the ORCGA attempts to inform and remind the public they too are responsible for this law in Ontario. Your membership in the ORCGA allows you to be reminded of our social responsibility to the public and your customers should know about these values, which are provided with your membership in a professional association. As a professional landscape company, and as a member of the ORCGA, companies abide by the law (Bill 8) and obtain locates for all projects before digging. You should also consider having a page in your portfolio that lists your memberships in professional associations such as Landscape Ontario and the Ontario Regional Common Ground Alliance. This goes a long way in positioning your firm as professional and gives your customer many excellent reasons for doing business with your company.
 

Cost of ORCGA membership

The cost of $125 for an ORCGA membership is extremely low for a professional organization. For a limited time, you can now join for the low rate of $62.50. The ORCGA needs more members to continue our mandate of damage prevention and promoting ON1CALL to contractors. Your involvement is very important to the industry and to the ORCGA. See contact information below on how to join now.
 

Conclusion

There are many real benefits for your landscape company to join ORCGA. Your membership is an investment in professional management. It actually pays you back more than it costs. We want you to advertise and tell your customers about this professional membership and use it as a selling tool to help you get new business and reinforce your professionalism.

Further information on ORCGA memberships can be obtained by calling Jennifer Parent at the ORCGA office. Call 1-866-446-4493 or 905-328-7063 or email jennifer@orcga.com.

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Terry Murphy can be contacted at tvmurphy@ca.inter.net.  

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