Builders and Breakers

There I was, sitting on the beach, minding my own business. We were at Spring Break in northwest Florida, otherwise known as the Redneck Riviera. We took our 11th grade daughter and friend, plus our 12th grade son who didn’t stay with us, but came by for necessities like food, money, and directions to the hospital.

Since there were tens of thousands of teenagers per acre, there was rampant glandular overload. When any traffic would back up, car stereos would impulsively compete for “Dude, Where’s My Eardrum?” Then all youths within earshot – meaning closer than Connecticut – would gyrate and flail about rhythmically, occasionally spilling their fake IDs but never their real beer.

As I watched, I reminisced about my youth. Yet just before acceptance set in, I had an increased desire for a custom Taser with night-vision goggles. That’ll take gyrations to a whole new level.
Anyway, the beach was my escape. It was peaceful, beautiful, with gentle waves in the background. Families strode by, the pace slowed. Yet the contrast was too much, so I decided to liven things up a bit by building a 30 foot sand alligator.

My interest shifted from building the thing to people’s reaction to it. Several dozen people stopped by. Most were complimentary; others just didn’t know what to say to a crazy person who’d do this. Little kids were amazed. And after I’d leave, others took delight stomping on it. Though I briefly considered adding Punji sticks as a fun surprise, destruction happens.
Got me to thinking about building up and tearing down.

You get a great business idea; someone shoots it down saying, “That’ll never work.” Sort of like Twitter. Or you think you can write, and a dozen editors say you stink. Sort of like J.K. Rowling.
Maybe you question yourself, then talk yourself out of what had formerly seemed a good idea. Then you see someone else break through and wonder, “Gosh, I could’ve done that.” And it happens again.

You don’t have to look far for someone to tear down an idea. Here are two examples of contractors who DID NOT LISTEN to the Demolition Crew. And their sales soared. Get ready for something different …

“That’ll Never Work You Silly Nincompoop Person”

Don’t tell that to these people. Read between the lines of how these contractors broke through ‘normal advice’ to create new sales paths.

1. Neill Worlsely (I can’t pronounce it without spitting either) had heard all he needed to hear about Social Media.

“Everywhere people kept telling me, ‘you should do it’ but no one said exactly ‘how’. Also, not one of these people ever said they’d gotten an ROI.”

So Neill applied a Direct Response strategy (courtesy of your favorite marketing firm) in his blogs. “We just did the classic 2-step marketing. First to give away advice, which got us readers and followers. Second to follow up with those people on a service or item for sale."

Of course people said it would never work because he was “giving away” information, some of it controversial such as ‘How to Avoid a Service Call’, and ‘How to Spot a Contractor Scam’.

“I had competitors tell me I was ruining the market. But customers were appreciative and a bit surprised, which gained us the differentiation you always advise.” Results?

We started with under 20 fans on Facebook, but after 5 months of a weekly blog that was about 70% advice and maybe 30% mild promotion, we picked it up to 260. In that time, we generated 61 appointments directly attributed to two-step approach, for about $25,000 in sales. “The way I figure it,” Neill concluded, “this is $25grand in sales we’d have never gotten without this approach, and it costs us roughly zero $. In the same time, I spent $9000 in Yellow Pages <$1800/mth> and its produced only slightly more phone calls, but fewer sales. We’re kind of ‘alone’ in Social Media.”

Bottom Line: Two step Direct Response has worked for eons. Why would it be any different now?

2. “My manufacturer builds awesome systems, and their customer support through the distributor is second to none. But they are not marketers” said Ron. (I can’t use his last name because of some of the info is not terribly flattering.)

“They kept telling me to run their co-op ads in their way and I kept telling them, ‘You’re wasting your money and mine. Let me market differently and we’ll both come out ahead.” They didn’t listen.

Ron got creative and this is important. “I said, ‘I’ll pay for my own ad, done my way, in my choice of media. If I don’t sell more than your method, I pay for my mistake. If I do, I’ll ask you to reimburse me for the ad. Fair?” (Editor’s note: Always negotiate toward the solution the other side wants as long as it gets you what you want.)

After two days of posturing, the distributor called to say, “Fine. We’ll do it. So what are your plans?” When Ron told them he wanted to do an FSI (Free-Standing Insert) in the newspaper, she chuckled. ‘Last time we did that’ she said, ‘we thought the phones had been disconnected. In the entire Pacific Region, we got less than 2 dozen phone calls for 80 dealers.”

Ron gulped, but did it anyway.

“In two days, we got 24 calls, set 16 firm appointments, sold 11 HVAC systems for $37,400.” Not bad for a $600 ad, which the stunned distributor gladly paid, though she said it was probably “a fluke”. Ron went with his instincts again.

“We went on to do a nick under $100,000 in sales, during a fairly slow time off that insert. Then our competitors tried to copy us, and we moved into direct mail. That’s the key. Do the ‘different’ thing – without fear – and you’ll stay ahead of the copycats.”

Bottom Line: Differentiation is a key component of marketing superiority. Following the crowd gets you an amalgam of their results.

Folks, it’s your business, your path, your destiny, your decision. Be willing to understand that there are people who ‘build up’ and those who ‘tear down’. Take sound advice and apply proven strategies, regardless of whether its ‘popular’. (NOTE: Reread the above and note who the ideas were initially unpopular with. Was it customers?)

Questions for You

1. What is something you’ve been ‘thinking about doing’ but haven’t tried? Why not? What – exactly – is holding you back? If it’s the ‘opinion’ of your peers, ask someone else.

2. Why – exactly – do your customers choose YOU over the competition? Convenience, habit, price (I hope not), company image? Whatever list you come up with, build on those strengths and other customers will come in droves. That question, by the way, is the basis of a two-hour consulting call. I just saved you $560, or you can call me and I’ll charge you that to ask you the same question in person.

How to Go Bankrupt

Mary B’s Family Buffet closed down last week. This place had been a near institution in my town, having come around when the ‘buffet style’ eatery was born.

Back then we called them Cafeterias, but that name faded about the time that Shopping Centers got renamed as Strip Malls. (Sort of like Hobos became Homeless and Getting Fired became a Downsizing Victims, except those phrases conveniently shift responsibility. Discuss.)

This place just fell out of favor, failed to change. I’m fairly certain that at least one of their baked potatoes had been there since opening in 1964. I’m positive a couple waitresses – and their hairdos – were original. Yet so too was the décor, the menu, the ‘cattle call’ feel of eating there. Plus another thing never changed:

Their patrons. It was routine, in the best and worst ways. As their average age approached ‘deceased’, tables no longer filled. Groups of 5 dwindled to 2. Multiple table turns became singles… on a good day. Dinner went from a bustling nighttime family occasion, to a late afternoon salt-free and mostly flavorless event. You could tell this from the outside looking in.

Not changing sounds ‘safe’; yet it is the riskiest of all business propositions, and a complete illusion to the practitioners. It is the precursor to certain demise.

It’s funny. Change frightens most of us, but “new and improved” are the best-selling words in advertising, have been for eons. There’s an important distinction here that will help you sell more, in any environment, at any time, to anybody. Ignore this principle and you too can become the forgotten baked potato of contracting.



What is the Distinction?

We may not embrace personal change readily, but we expect and pay for change in the things we buy, own, and use. The reason is the same: Don’t make me change if this has done the changing for me. Brief example with the ‘answer’ contained in these behavioral files…

For Example: Training seminars for businesspeople were at one time about “movements”. The movement from the employed downtrodden to the eager employee primed for advancement. Then the star had to actually ‘fit in’ so the movement went from the frightened and incommunicable to the Toastmaster. The Toastmaster could speak well enough, but lacked confidence to “do”, so the Self-Actualization movement of the 70’s helped people meet a job task with confidence.

By the 80’s, this false confidence was deemed impotent (at best) and thus Personal Power emerged, mostly out of the EST (Werner Erhard) and NLP (Tony Robbins, its most famous spokesperson). The “you can do it if you see yourself doing it” and mental power over obstacles enlightened nearly 20 million people to buy the Personal Power audio training series. Self-help exploded with product.

By the 90’s, we were exhausted from doing it ourselves. The motivation and self-actualization waned; we just wanted someone to do most of it for us. “Kits” and “Packaged solutions” were born.

You could Deal-A-Meal your way to weight loss, you could lie on the Ab Roller and get a washboard stomach, you could stick on a patch and quit smoking… will power be darned.

Now we’re fully into the “just do it for me” zone. I want a personal trainer who’ll do everything but actually lift the weight. (I guess that’s next.) Instead of teaching me the principles of sales mastery, I want a sales coach in my ear, telling me what to say to each prospect. Better yet if you just come and close the sale and give me credit. Millions upon millions are spent on coaches – and deservedly for the good ones – to “unstick” us from our complacency to where we started this…

Change.

The ‘rule’ is that either you’ll change or the world will change for you. And if you haven’t picked up on it, the “mass” behavior hasn’t changed an iota. Sure, each stage sounded like a solution, but throughout there are the “changed” and the “unchanged”. The money flows FROM the second group TO the first group. Happens every time.

The cool thing is that just realizing this can change your money flow.

Pondering and productivity are rarely linked. Actually doing the steps takes you to change. Yet most don’t. They sit, they “wait” to be changed, they “wait” for the crowd to come back. They wait, and eventually turn the “OPEN” sign the other way around.

Sears Holdings. Borders. BlockBuster. OfficeMax. Pier1. And yes, Mary B’s Homestyle Buffet.

Your Action Plan:

1) if you’ve been “thinking about” getting better at something for the last few years, look around. My guess is others had the same idea and a few did it. So, your “thinking” is great; your implementation may lack. Get a coach and follow the advice.

2 ) If you’ve “wondered about” online marketing, or retention marketing, or consultive selling, or contractor publicity but didn’t know where to turn, your curiosity is asking the right question; but incomplete research has become an excuse for you.

We keep a list of “hot” advisors in most every topic related to contractor sales and marketing. Doesn’t matter to me where you get help as long as you’re willing to change for the better.

3) If you’ve had a “Nagging concern” about any topic in your business related to change, your subconscious (or the Holy Spirit) has dropped that on you for a reason. It is trying to get your attention. Seek those who have been through this same challenge because they love to tell the story of how they changed and beat it. (If you’re a contractor consultant and wonder how a lazy pig like me who doesn’t love travel gets to have the best job in the world and be with his family every night, email me. I’d love to tell you.)

It has been said that you can tell the age of a man by measuring his resistance to change. I say you can equally foretell his proclivity for business irrelevance by the same measure.

Get out of the buffet line. A feast awaits those willing to change.