Wanted! Certified Irrigation Contractor
Selecting and installing an irrigation system is an important investment for any homeowner or business. An irrigation system ensures that their other investment — their lawn or landscape — is nurtured and sustained. Offering them a Certified Irrigation Contractor can help you and your customer in making a deal.
As a landscaping professional, you already work with irrigation systems all the time. You field questions about them from property owners, and bid, install and maintain them. The obvious choice to you is to either subcontract out the irrigation work or to provide it yourself. Let’s look at the benefits of becoming irrigation certified.
Being Irrigation Certified
As a consumer, they have the right to conduct thorough research to ensure the professional they hire will perform the job to the standards and quality they expect. They will check out your qualifications and references, insurance, bids, and quotes, and the training will make sure these are covered.
Irrigation Qualifications
When it comes to who customers select to do the irrigation work, they will check qualifications and expertise. As a certified irrigation professional, you offer the expertise to assess their specific needs and design and install a system that will maximize both their water savings and the needs of your landscape. As a certified irrigation professional you should tell them about your formal training, references, certification by the Irrigation Association, and contractor’s license. These items show that you have acquired basic knowledge and skills required for the job.
You should be able to readily provide proof of professional certifications, training, and any state or local government-required licensing. (It would be a good idea to keep a copy of them in a binder in each truck.) IA certification shows the customer that you have passed exams that demonstrate in-depth knowledge of proper irrigation practices. To maintain your certification, you must complete continuing education, helping to ensure that you are up to speed on new developments in irrigation practices. Other qualified organizations that offer irrigation training include irrigation equipment manufacturers, colleges, and trade schools.
Business License
If you do not already, you should get a basic business license. Belonging to various trade associations shows that you are committed to the industry and desire to keep up with technological advancements and irrigation standards and trends. Your professional irrigation business should also be able to discuss how it provides safety training and education for its employees to ensure they perform their work in a safe and consistent fashion.
Insurance
As a reputable irrigation professional you should carry appropriate insurance policies, such as general liability and worker’s comp. The general liability for residential should cover at least $300K, to protect you in case of unexpected and unintentional problems on your property, like flooding or landslides.
Irrigation Bids and Rates
Customers will typically get more than one bid when contracting a professional irrigation contractor. As a contractor, you will be able to provide detailed information in writing, such as irrigation product brands you will use. Being licensed and certified will mean you can charge a higher rate, and you can explain to the customer that the value of an appropriately chosen, correctly installed irrigation system can make up for these extra costs over time.
Irrigation Contracts
The written contract you provide is for the protection of the customer. The contract should include proper identification of workers (including names and licensing numbers), a complete description of the work to be done and materials to be used, payment arrangements, details on products or work guarantees, approximate date when the work will be completed, and a statement regarding clean up and remove debris after the job is finished.
Expert knowledge
Most importantly, as an irrigation professional you provide have in-depth knowledge of how to properly assess the water needs of the project, how to design an efficient system that saves water, and how to instruct the customer on proper system use.
A smart irrigation system is only as smart as the professional who installs it and the customer who uses it. The Irrigation Association offers Certified Irrigation Contractor training and many technical resources and plenty of materials that you can use to educate yourself and your customers.
Get Reviews and Use Social Media
As an example, here the 2019 Video Contest Winner for Smart Irrigation Month. This could be your customer 😉
If you are not ready for that Certified Irrigation Contractor but wish to find an IA-certified professional to design, install, maintain, or audit irrigation systems, contact your local Wolf Creek Branch.
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