Tuesday, November 19, 2013

This business is just not for me.



I thought it would be. Things seemed aligned to serve my needs, to fit my desires, and fulfill the financial rewards I’d set as goals. As it turns out, they’re not at all, and I have got to get this off my chest.

I was very intentional about this business: help as many contractors as you can follow a better marketing path, and success will find you.

Each year, customers increased, staff grew, alliances strengthened, and the “returns” from input improved. I haughtily looked over financials to see what we brought in, what it cost, and count what was left. I felt that the success that found me was because I must’ve showed it the way.

In year three, it finally hit me.

There was something I had missed in the early, overly-eager years that I feel would’ve forever altered this course, changing the chemistry of this calling forever:

This business is not for me. It is for others.

If you’ve ever been in a relationship with someone for whom it was “all about them” (or even you!) then you realize this is a short-circuit to disaster. Yet, if you’ve ever been crazily in love, in a love that lasted – be in friendship, family, marital, or your favorite pet – you’ll realize it wasn’t about “you” at all. It was how you could serve, help, support, encourage and even be the “tough one” who spoke the truth…in a sense of love that is hardly even aware of itself.

After this realization here, everything became more about the customer and less about the dollars. We wouldn’t even allow a sales meeting to mention dollars. Odd I know, but the only numbers were people, customers, how many ‘items’, but never how many dollars. To me, this elevated the focus.

I admit here before God and all of you that we – meaning “I” – have failed sometimes. We’ve royally fouled up an order, ticked somebody off for something, but have kept the “customer as owner” mindset about things.

Soon, our guarantees became so slanted for customers it was like I asked YOU to write them. It became fun to think of business from your side of the desk.

In year seven, it hit me again.

This spread into our positive desire to inspire. During the economic “R” of 2007, we would not allow that word to be spoken. To me, that word became pallbearer to the platitudes of excuse. Often during that time I’d hear someone in business say, “If it weren’t for the ‘r’”, and I’d think, “No, if it weren’t for YOU flailing at the wind of a condition…” That was not said in arrogance, but in love of teaching a man not only to fish, but fish deeper, smarter, more selectively.

This was the year I quit doing “on site” consulting. At $9,800 for 2 days, I felt like Mr. Smug high-priced consultant until I realized two things:

1.       The travel was getting to me (I missed a child’s birthday, exactly once) and
2.       The price was a hurdle for those who really needed it.

Using the “not for me” approach, we introduced a few lower-priced products and launched our Coaching Program at $39 a month. This opened the door to hundreds more, and kept me and the Delta ticket counter at a more comfortable distance.

In year thirteen, it hit me again.

(Good thing I only need 5 or so year between ideas.)

We formalized our Profit Sharing plan for all staff. We went from an “Adams is Santa” approach to check distribution at year end, to a rather more structured “Pay for Performance” that reaches company-wide, measuring all on 5 solid performance ideals. Before, the profit was for me; how much to distribute was for me to choose. The accolades? Well, for me and my subconsciously prideful self.

I’ll not bore you with the details of this plan – because essentially they bore me – but after 6 or so months, the changes are significant. No, we’re not driving gold-plated Bentleys, but people speak differently. They see efficiencies. They feel customer loss. They celebrate testimonials and retention numbers. In other words, more like owners. (Thank you Sandy Steinman, www.profitabilitypartners.com.

I am positive more positive changes are coming, because this business is not for me.

As you tip back from your chair, consider that the relationships you want to flourish are not “for you”. Customers are not walking wallets, but people with needs you can fulfill.

Consider your staff not as overhead anchors (though I’ve known a couple that I’d have volunteered to moor the Titanic) but as mission multipliers. They are your hands, feet, eyes, and ears where you cannot be, helping serve those in need. Even Jesus couldn’t be everywhere; the ultimate outsourcer.

Your vendors are not the evil ones milking and bilking their way into overcharges and underservice. (Unless of course they are, in which case you’re CONDONING this behavior. We put a knife in a $97k revenue stream earlier this year because of the horrific customer service problems caused. Don’t ask.) Good vendors are your partners, further extending your service platform.

This may all sound as if I am attempting to lay claim to an idea documented as early as Solomon, but when you live it, words become more real. I’ve made lots of mistakes, have many more to make. It’s funny, experience is a tough teacher: you get the test first, and the lesson later.

This last week, it hit me again

Fortunately, some lessons are learned through those who serve as examples and mentors. A fast track to learning. Last Sunday, a living example for me left this world.

And last week, we laid to rest a man who was my father-in-law for 28 years. His kindness, extreme generosity, his 62-year marriage, and the inspirational example of love passed to his children, prove unequivocally you can be accomplished and humble. You can be wealthy beyond dollars. You can be great by making others feel good.

Your business is not for you. Your marriage is not for you. Your gifts and talents are not for you. A gain awaits those willing to give them to the rightful owners.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this: click here to respond or feel free to comment below.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Do You Know Your Competitors?



We often refer to “your competitors,” or “the competition,” but who are these people exactly? 

Whether you’re in a small market or a large market – whether you’re the dominant company or the challenger – you probably have in mind the company most likely to be vying for your piece of the market share. So you might be thinking of specific names. That’s certainly one type of competitor. But there are also three other types who could be peeling off your potential.  

Direct Competitors

If you were thinking names, your direct competitors were probably the names that came to mind. A direct competitor is someone who offers the same products and services to the same market. They earn money from the same thing you do, from the same type of people. When providing quotes and estimates, who do you go head-to-head against? Who do you lose out to? Who do you win against?

Indirect Competitors

Indirect competitors are a variation of direct competitors. They offer some of the same stuff but have a different goal; they drive revenue differently. For service contractors in a residential market, the large home improvement retailers that provide products for do-it-yourselfers could be in this category. They don’t come up against you directly, but they make it possible for someone to circumvent you. Their marketing can compete with yours.

Replacement Competitors

This type of competitor is harder to pinpoint, but has the same effect: you don’t get the job. This “loss” happens when customers choose to spend somewhere else the resources they could have spent on your service/product. They could be thinking about a bathroom upgrade but decide instead to replace a garage door. Or they install a fence and opt out of security lighting. In other words, the same resources they could have committed to you went somewhere else – and so did their business with your company. 

To read more of the hottest marketing articles, go ahead and sign up for a no-cost subscription to the industry’s #1 training resource, the Sales&Marketing Insider e-Newsletter. Click here get your first copy.

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

A Good Headline Conveys Value

Headlines should be able to communicate one benefit at a glance: value. Whether your headline is for a Pay-Per-Click landing page, a print ad, a blog or an article, it’s got to draw customers in, and keep them there (at least long enough for them to get to the first paragraph). That’s done by demonstrating that there’s value ahead. 

So what does “value” look like, and will you know it when you see it? Yes, if you watch for these particular qualities…

4 attributes of value

Your headline is your compelling invitation – whether with subtlety, humor or hard sell – to read the next paragraph. With this headline comes an offer, or value proposition. Researchers say that the power of your value proposition can be measured based on four attributes, and these same attributes can be used to create your headlines:

Appeal – The appeal of your offer will be emphasized by showing the benefit it provides – not its features, product name or article summary. Appeal is also related to “relevance.” Is it relevant to your ideal customer? Timing is part of relevance. Furnaces don’t sell well in July (at least in this hemisphere), but they could have an appeal as the seasons change when the value of early action reaps a benefit.

Credibility  – Is your headline believable? An outlandish claim – “Save thousands on a new system” – could be greeted with skepticism. Is the equipment faulty? Is a scam in the works? If your claim is legitimate, but still seems too good to be true, support it with a subhead or other verifiable corroboration.

Exclusivity – Show how your offer is uniquely valuable – and that it can only come from you. The words of exclusivity sound like this:  most efficient, highest-rated, safest, strongest, newest, first-ever.

Clarity – Don’t use tech-speak, jargon or try to be so clever people don’t know what you’re talking about. Write a headline that readers understand, where topic and value are clear.

To read more of the hottest marketing articles, go ahead and sign up for a no-cost subscription to the industry’s #1 training resource, the Sales&Marketing Insider e-Newsletter. Click here get your first copy.

Friday, November 1, 2013

It can be complicated being simple.

We bought this house 16 years ago. My little girl had her 3 year old “animal-themed” birthday party right after we moved, and it rained so hard I expected Llamas to start trekking inside two by two. My son was just 4. His dark green room, overlooking the pine filled backyard, made the whole room seem like a treehouse.

Many birthdays were celebrated there. My mother’s last Thanksgiving was there. There were a bunch of Christmases, all the New Year’s Eve’s anyone could remain awake for, one wedding, and one cat funeral. (Prior to his departure, he prompted dozens of squirrel funerals, but we weren’t invited.)

And now, with children out of the house, and a few thousand feet more than my wife, myself, and a 24 pound dog can cozily occupy… we’re selling it.

Did Adams tell the new owners about the ghosts? Didn’t he just put a kitchen in it 2 years ago that he could’ve turned into a Ferrari if he’d only manned up to his wife? Find the thrilling answers here.

A house may be only a thing; something static that confines and protects what’s inside them. Yet in time, it becomes a living thing, a member of the family, witness and participant to the lives passing through. It was to ours, and many before.

Now, a couple with children exactly the age ours were when we moved, has been giddily making their plans for their life here. The cycle repeats.

Why Are We Selling?

Simply to simplify. Two houses, six commercial buildings, lots of things with engines, plus other decently consuming hobbies that conspire to distract from more meaningful pursuits. Sometimes you own stuff; sometimes it owns you. God has been whispering lately, and I sense he may not use his “inside voice” much longer.

So yes, we’re liquidating things. Going to downsize myself. (Not literally, as that might send me shopping for shoes in the boys department). Going to travel more. Pay off everything. Go off the grid. Elevate conscious thought to loftier viewpoint, hoping my subconscious will follow. (Though brain research says that’s exactly opposite; that subconscious started this whole thing in the first place.)

Coolest thing about this whole pursuit?

A Focus on What Matters

Since we must reduce our “stuff”, we’re finding that 16 dining room chairs might be a couple too many. Same with 4 sets of China. (Does this stuff multiply in the attic?)  And same with a gazillion other entirely unnecessary items that I’ll not shed a tear to shed. (None of this involves tools. It has been proven that no man ever has enough tools. Look it up. Everybody knows that.)

Many boxes of things have been given away. Some sent to family, some to friends, some to ‘half friends’ not expecting it, some to seriously-deserving service organizations. And there is much more to come, not all altruistic. Lots of furniture that has been accumulated will have to find a new home.

Just deciding “What do we really not need? Or what items give us pleasure to have, use, look at?” These are tugging questions. And so far, it’s been pretty darn liberating.

Speaking of which…

Work continues to provide immense pleasure and entertainment. Yet, we have goals so high that it will take some variations of leadership to get us there. (I wrote about our Profit Sharing restructure earlier; this is changing focus, realigning career paths.) My personal career path will shift more toward what I can do well, and what’s better left to people actually so equipped.

Admission Time: As a long-time entrepreneur (code for: “Not hirable under most circumstances”) I clearly see how my dogged commands and domineering nature are likely hindrances to the cause. So be it. Though I am right 146% of the time (!) there will have to be a “Clearance Sale” on my fallibility.

Fortunately, I have a staff of significant intelligence, new hires promising more, and plans for improvement in any areas of weakness. Staff, too, has had FAR more autonomy and authority in the roles that used to wear out my scepter.

What does all this mean to you?

Input Required!

Coaching members, PowerSuite members, CRC members and even you lowly non-members (that was a joke, you lowly non-member!) will be asked for feedback more regularly. Our “Report Cards” are keenly important to us, as they become our path directors.

You’ve already seen this in the way our Group Coaching Calls are structured. I answer WAY more questions personally than I used to. This is directly due to your requests, which is cool because it helps train staff on “our” methodology and singularity of course.

In fact, I will ask for more of your input starting now. Just give us feedback on any or all of the below.

  1. What is something you WISH we offered that we do not?
  2. What improvements to ANY product, service, or program would you like to see us make?
  3. If you had a magic marketing wand, what would it be able to do for your company?
  4. Do you have any input for a soon-to-be “relocated” empty nester and his long-suffering wife on how to make these years even more fun? (Keep your suggestions to a “PG-13” nature and below please.)

And with all, less stress and a clearer outlook are great bonuses.