Green Selling Tip: Expanding your Portfolio by Targeting Building Service Contractors
Jeff Pease, Director of Distributor Programs

As the economy continues to consume much of our attention, it’s easy to lose focus on our job at hand – selling. Yes, there are a lot of concerns out there (and rightfully so); however, don’t lose sight of the opportunities to gain greater market share by providing a superior value proposition. Your knowledge of Green is part of that value proposition and one thing is for sure, even in this economy – Green continues to open doors.

And, while some large, capital intense projects may be put on hold (i.e.: upgrading the HVAC system, replacing out-of-date lighting fixtures with energy efficient alternatives, etc.), green-cleaning initiatives continue to be an impactful, cost effective solution to moving the building toward green.

In this issue of DestinationGreen, I want to specifically talk about Building Service Contractors (BSC’s) and the market realities they are faced with – an every growing demand for green-cleaning expertise.

An Update from the US Green Building Council - Implementing the Economic Recovery Plan
USGBC is a resource in the work to ensure green building is a cornerstone of the new economy

As federal, state and local governments work together to rebuild and re-energize our economy through the economic recovery package, the U.S. Green Building Council is focused on supporting the implementation of the federal investment in green and energy-efficient building. Green building is among the cornerstones of a clean energy economy. The building industry makes up 14.7% of U.S. GDP and uses 40% of our nation’s energy. Greening our existing buildings would result in an estimated savings of $160 billion in energy costs, while creating green jobs that can’t be exported. And that's good news for our nation's economy, state and local government budgets, business bottom lines and the financial well-being of American families.

From the Green Selling Tips Archive:
Green Selling - Fish Where the Fish Are

As a sales person you know that selling is a numbers game. The more calls you make, the more you sell. But what do you do if you are already working the maximum number of hours? You can’t expand the hours in the day. And while you can spend time at night or on the weekends getting organized, writing reports, planning, doing expense reports, etc, but there is a limit to the hours you can work. Thus one of the keys to improving your success is to become more efficient with the accounts you call on and to use one of my favorite sales expressions to “fish where the fish are.”

Expert Insight: Clinton Byard
Director of Facilities, Jonesboro (AR) Public Schools

"I maintain a large inventory of large 6' x 10' entrance floor mats to reduce the amount of dirt entering each building. I currently contract out approx. 700,000 square feet of buildings to four different janitorial services and maintain approx. 300,000 square feet of buildings with district staff. I am not mandating that the contractors use all Green Seal products at this time, but I do require that all products used be earth friendly and that any product used must have my approval before being brought into our buildings. Many of the contractors have chosen to use the same products as we are currently using."

Ashkin Group News:
Steve Ashkin to Speak at ISSA Forum, CleanMed Conference

On April 14th & 15th in Washington, DC, there will be the annual ISSA Green Cleaning & Regulatory Forum. This will be a terrific opportunity to listen to and meet a number of leading experts who will discuss the developments relating to Green Cleaning. Among those confirmed as speakers, in addition to Steve Ashkin are the USGBC, EPA’s DfE Program, Green Seal and the USDA. For more information click here.

Additionally, Steve has also been asked to speak at the upcoming CleanMed Conference which will be held in Chicago May 19th. For those focused on Green Cleaning in Health Care, this is the premiere event for this market segment. For more info click here.

For complete details on all of The Ashkin Group’s presentations, see the Calendar of Events at the bottom of this page.

Earth Day 2009:
Links to helpful, educational and fun Earth Day websites

The following are links to Earth Day resources. Some of these pages contain a wealth of information about organizing events, participation ideas, Earth Day history, lists of celebration schedules, and some are just for fun.

I hope these pages helps get your wheels turning on how you can get involved in Earth Day 2009.

Please share with us your Earth Day plans, or memories of past Earth Day celebrations, by emailing us here.

Green News Roundup: This Month's Top Headlines

Green Labeling Good Housekeeping Seal Goes Green. Good Housekeeping magazine, whose seal of approval has been a hallmark of reliability for household goods for 100 years, will soon join the fight against greenwashing with a new label for eco-friendly consumer products. Read More Here

Green Regulation Obama expected to kill key Bush EPA program. The Obama Administration intends to close an EPA program heavily promoted by the Bush Administration that rewards voluntary pollution controls by hundreds of corporations with reduced environmental inspections and less stringent regulation. Read More Here

Green Jobs Climate debate focus shifts away from environment, toward jobs. The debate over climate change is shifting away from saving the planet and toward rescuing the American worker. Read More Here

Climate Change Update Obama's climate challenge: winning the carbon game. When it comes to perhaps the largest and most complex policy challenge facing the Obama administration—finally slowing the pace of global warming before dangerous changes become unstoppable—the new president stares down a Dickensian paradox. Read More Here

Green History Exxon Valdez oil-spill recovery still is work in progress, 20 years later. Twenty years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill, pockets of oil remain. And herring, a cornerstone species of Prince William Sound's ecosystem, is one of two species "not recovering"--one of the most perplexing ecological mysteries of the spill's legacy. Read More Here

The Ashkin Group Calendar of Events

Click below for The Ashkin Group's schedule of upcoming events and presentations.