How American Turf & Tree Thrives with Coalmarch
Who They Are
American Turf & Tree Care has been taking care of lawns and trees in Northern Colorado since 1982. They’re a family business, they’ve built a reputation on great results, and they care a lot about the culture they’re creating inside the company. They’ve been on RealGreen since the late ‘90s and teamed up with Coalmarch in 2014.
Where They Were Stuck
By 2014, they could feel the momentum slipping. Growth had slowed, leads weren’t coming in like they used to, and the day-to-day operation felt heavier than it should.
“We had too many tracks and too many employees. We were all running in circles instead of using the tools we needed.” - Brad Woods, Owner
He knew the team needed a reset because, as he says, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying. What we were doing just wasn’t working.” They hired a dedicated sales and marketing leader that same year and got serious about fixing both sides of the house: how they ran service, and how they generated demand.
The Solution
They didn’t rip everything up. Instead, they got a lot better at using what they already had — and paired it with marketing that actually fit the business. On the operations side, the RealGreen Users Conference was a turning point. Brad describes finally seeing what the platform could do: “We were blown away. Going to those conferences, we really learned how to use the software – more about the routing, Mobile Live, CAW, Captivated and obviously Coalmarch.”
That learning translated into action. The team tightened their service lineup, bundled programs more thoughtfully, and built routes that made sense. Fewer wasted stops. More work per visit. Better revenue per property. RealGreen became less of a “system they had” and more of a system they used to drive efficiency.
At the same time, they looked at marketing and realized they were leaving a lot on the table. The old approach felt generic and limiting. When they switched to Coalmarch, the difference was immediate. Brad again:
“It was night and day on the approach. The other company’s energy – they were more of a cookie cutter type platform.”
With Coalmarch, they started running marketing like an operating lever, not a black box. Monthly strategy check-ins gave them a clear read on what was working and what wasn’t. Lead tracking became part of the rhythm of the business — daily, weekly, monthly — so decisions weren’t guesswork anymore. And because our team understands how RealGreen SA5 connects to the front end, the handoff between marketing and ops stayed clean.
The combination of smarter routing + tighter programs + targeted digital marketing changed the trajectory.
Leads increased, cost per lead dropped, traffic climbed, and revenue jumped by nearly $1M in a single year — from about $1.3M in 2021 to $2.1M in 2022 for example.
What’s even more telling: they didn’t need a massive headcount spike to do it. The business got sharper. The same-sized team produced more because the work was structured better and the lead flow was healthier.
This wasn’t a “one magic trick” story. American Turf & Tree Care grew because they paired strong systems with the discipline to use them well. RealGreen helped them run a tighter operation. Coalmarch helped them fill the pipeline with the right work, consistently. Together, that let Brad and the team spend less time chasing problems and more time building the business they wanted.
“RealGreen and Coalmarch do a really good job at taking thousands of customers and organizing their data… We’re able to concentrate more ON the business instead of working IN the business.”