Marketing Lessons from My Dentist

Like many who are fond of their teeth, I go to my dentist every 6 months for a check-up. Basically, this is a $320 detail job and they don’t even shampoo the carpet.

The dental hygienist lady has a habit of referring to me as “we”. She’s either aware of my multiple personalities or lives a parallel life as a pre-school teacher. “How are WE doing today? Are we having any trouble with our teeth?”

Worse, she half sings these questions, which is – or should be - punishable by death in many states, all of which I’d like to now live in.  Soon she has at least three hands in my mouth, and I can barely make out ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy’ straining through a 5” speaker covered in tooth dust.

Then she says this, which is a lesson in sales and marketing of the highest order. (You may want to floss before reading.)

See, I used to dread the dentist. As an 8 year old, I hid behind a sofa until my appointment had long passed. Then, incorrectly assuming the coast was clear, was spotted by my frantically searching mother. My rear-end took the pain originally intended for my molar regions. It was a good swap.

I mean, dentist dude had seriously hairy arms, a syringe borrowed from the zoo, and a drill that sounded like mosquitos on crack. He focused all his activity in my mouth, which was just fine when it was me and the Three Musketeers. But no, Der Drill Meister had to spoil my fun and talk about gumlines, flossing, and keeping my teeth. What a killjoy.

As a result of my dental defiance, by age 12 I had enough silver in my mouth to effect the currency market in Bolivia.

Yet by college age, modern dentistry was here. Gone were the torture rituals of old, no longer did they use pulleys and horse drawn carts to extract teeth. “Oh darn Mr. Crumpley! Wrong one! We’ll just saddle ‘er up again to get the right one. Here, chew on a bullet.”

The bullet, I might add, remains preferable to the People Magazine featuring anyone who has known or married a Kardashian.  

Yet we all learn that Preventive Maintenance is key. And it leads to…

Salesmanship for Non-Salespeople

Today I am in a comfortable chair (like a La-Z-Boy with handcuffs and a rinse cycle) while micro-abrasive cleaning tools gently erase a subtle hue of coffee and red wine. “We” are being sung to, sort of, and I’m caught by the following –

“And todayyyy…”, sounding like she’s about to announce recess, “We’re due for our X-ray as part of our routine.” I make a noise like I have a whole baked potato in my mouth which she correctly interprets as approval.

Soon, a machine suitable for Darth Vader selfies is aimed at my check, a gentle buzz emanates, and she says, “Now we’ll do the other side”. ZZZap. In 40 seconds, I’ve just spent another $240. But remember, this is part of our routine.

“So while we wait for the Doctor, let’s get your appointment scheduled. I’ve got you down for 6 months out, and I see you prefer mornings, right?”

“Yes, that’s right”, I mumble, rinsing out the cleaning cocktail in the little swirly sink.

“And what day of the week do you not prefer, knowing that we don’t take Friday appointments?”

“Uh, Tuesdays and Thursdays are fine.”

“Okay, we’ve got you down. If there are any changes, let us know ahead of time. Here’s your written slip, plus we’re sending you an email and a text reminder to put into your Outlook calendar.”

I’ve just committed a morning 6 months from now to spend a few hundred more dollars having “our” teeth media blasted. The scheduled visit after that? “We” get our X-ray.

There was no selling, only assumption. There was no, “Do you want to do this again? I sure hope so! Mandy will send a card then call you to set something up.” None of that.

Are you listening, oh ye filled with ‘How to sell and renew Maintenance Agreements’ woes? Go re-read her script.

There was no scheduling meltdown.  No, “The office will get back with you later.” It was scheduled plus Alternate of Choice.  a) It’ll be 6 months. b) Morning or afternoon. c) Which day of week. Oh, and they don’t do Fridays. Smart limitation, creates mild scarcity.

There was no upselling “Do you want me to (check ductwork leakage; adjust your water heater; do a fuse panel test)?” It was, “As part of our routine, the X-ray (upsell) is included.”

Here’s an assumption for you: Your customer has you out. You tell them Preventive Maintenance is the cure for the equivalent of their painful drillings and fillings. You tell them of your automated routine, happens like clockwork, they don’t even have to think to keep their home system maintained and working like new. Just check here, you’ll get a reminder, plus a call as it nears.

Too many contractors give too many customers the “option” to opt-out. To forget. To intend to call you again, and to use you next season, but – by darn – they got busy and didn’t. Now they use someone else. Or Mandy calls to schedule the appointment this week and you know, the darn washing machine went out, so we’re going to have to wait. Until never.

See folks, this “Retention Mission” I’ve been on is not just some esoteric marketing mantra. It is a way to virtually eliminate competition, to reduce the rigors of ‘selling’, to quit having to prove and reprove yourself every time. And I’ll not turn this into a commercial; I’ll accept a nod of agreement. In fact,

Every home with heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical should have an agreement. Just like those of you with teeth might want that twice a year check-up. Don’t we?

Adams Hudson

1.      Do you have a Maintenance Agreement Program? 

YES, works perfectly.      

YES, has some issues    

NO, but I’d consider one    

2.      My Agreement program ‘Auto Renews’?  YES    NO

3.      I offer an Agreement to every customer.   YES    NO  

4.      I’d like to learn more about Maintenance Agreements in an upcoming Coaching Call.     YES      NO

Why Do Contractors Punish Customers?

It seemed like a simple request. Two years ago, we turned down an invitation to put our house on a Historical Tour since it was discovered our kitchen had Formica. My wife remedied that (as painfully told in SMI). She felt showing off your Formica was like shaving “Wrestlemania” in your back hair.

Anyway, this year we agreed. Of course, this meant “touching up” the house a little. Started with the painters. Who mentioned rotten wood to carpenters. Who mentioned damaged roof flashing to roofers. Who mentioned tree limb encroachment to arborists. I think you can see where this is going. Yet I was NOT prepared for this…

This touch-up has turned into a near renovation, since we’d never want complete strangers to think we didn’t polish the screws on the brass mailbox. Then they might assume you put your feet on the coffee table or something.

Can anyone out there relate to project creep? Click "Amen, brother!” here to post to Facebook.

As usual, some interesting endeavors in contractor land, as seen through the eyes of a normal consumer. Okay, normal was a stretch, but here goes –

ALL of these services are grouped as contractors, and all the “good and bad” mentioned relate to “your” contracting field regardless.

Painting – Gave clear “scope of work” on day one, with options for us to choose. This related to full house washing, partial painting of trim, partial ‘body’ of house with various options. The best thing he did was “set expectations.”  He said what he would and couldn’t do, plus what it would cost for each service, how long it would take, how many men would be there. If there was ever a rain or supply delay, he let us know before we were looking for him. He also had a yard sign out from day one, and has picked up over $10,000 in neighborhood work on that single, simple element. He did a great job too.

Marketing and Sales Grade = A-.

Carpentry – Though every wood house ever made is decaying as you read this, our 105 year-old wood is so tough I’ve broken drill bits in the baseboards. The new wood in the Lowe’s bin can be drilled with a Q-Tip. Our carpenter sought the correct thickness, seasoned wood, showed me he backprimed before installation and hid his seams perfectly. As impressive as this was, he had no card and made no attempt to network our neighborhood, so in our minds – and everyone around us – he has vanished.

Marketing and Sales Grade = C.

Roofer – The first question is … which one? I called a guy who has done 4 other roofs. Then my wife called. Then I left a final plea with his thoroughly inept Customer Repellant who said, and I quote – “He don’t always check his messages that much.” I asked, “Since he’s done a lot of other work for us, may I have his cell number?” She says, “He don’t like for me to do that. Maybe you can try back tomorrow.” I promise that happened. Are YOU getting the idea she could be costing him some business? And she did. The $2,400 minor repair went to Roofer #3, who was able to actually use a phone and show up. We basically chose him because he DID show up.

Marketing and Sales Grade = C. My guess is there’ll be no follow up after the first rain. If he does, I’ll move my grade to a 

B. If he stays in touch, an A.

Landscaper – Now this is interesting. My wife is a master gardener. She understands her yard, whereas I only understand not to walk directly on the flowers. When the “Mow, Blow and Go” service seemed a little reckless on adding pine straw, she called our specialist landscaper (does the fish pond, bedding plants, irrigation) who has recently gone into the weekly maintenance business. She switched our entire account to him because he “gets it” and is genuinely interested in the yard. The former company has been indifferent, treating her yard like a production line.

Marketing and Sales Grade for “old” landscaper = D.
Marketing and Sales Grade for “new” landscaper = B+.

Brick Mason – Our brick pathway was so crooked, only extremely drunk people could navigate it. Given that the average “old house tour” patron in our neighborhood is around 112 years old, I didn’t want to risk a “Life Alert moment” in the yard, or the lawsuit. So we were referred (by the landscaper) to an eager, delightful and skilled young man to redo a small portion of the pathway. Yet he perfectly pointed out to me other “problem” areas, priced the entire job instead and tripled his sales in about 15 minutes. His work is excellent. We’d definitely call him back and refer him. He’s too young to critique on marketing, but his work speaks for itself.

Sales Grade = A.

Marketing Grade = C-. He should at least get a sign, flyers and business cards. Minimal investment, maximum return.

You’ll notice that some of the contractors did excellent work, but sorry marketing, which is a crime. That’s because it “hides” your expertise from those who’d willingly pay to enjoy it. And refer it. And buy for years, or as long as you care. You’ll also notice – though I’m a recovering perfectionist – that their “prices” weren’t really part of whether they got the job.

They were all pre-screened as referrals, one from the next (though the first roofer was a sorry letdown. I guess the $8,600 job on Hudson, Ink’s ‘new’ building is too much trouble to call me back for). The third roofer was entirely unmotivated, unappreciative. I have seen more energy in a mud pie.

Any contact with customers is a chance to shine or stay in the shade. Some of these will get “Online Reviews” from me (provided they’ve claimed their listing and have a website to make that easy). If they’ve NOT claimed their listing, this is a crying shame, destined to shortcut their potential sales.

And if they want to continue to feed their business pipeline, they’ll stay in touch. Sadly, the landscaper is likely the only one to stay in regular contact, and that’s due to his “capturing” of a recurring revenue stream from us.

Though some of this sounds “negative” about the marketing and sales performance of contractors, actually it is an opportunity for others (you!) to stand out. How?

• Acquire – Be diligent in seeking referrals from non-competitive businesses. Be diligent in keeping your name visible. In this case, the basic and primitive yard sign yanked in sales a $50,000 website did not.

• Engage – Set expectations, show examples, references and testimonials. Keep communication strong. Assume nothing.

• Keep – Regular contact can be as basic as a newsletter two times a year, but today’s consumer requires more regular contact and visibility from you. Is it too hard to send a short, helpful email once a month? (Our PowerSuite marketing program was founded on the premise of short, snappy, memorable contact in various media to stay ‘visible.’)

I hope this helps you in your business. I’m about to go home and enjoy my “refreshed” home. But if you expect to see me on the next Home Tour, I plan to decline.

Adams Hudson

Ever had project creep?

Tell us about an experience where you were either the victim … or the victor!

- See more at: http://salesandmarketinginsider.com/article-why-do-contractors-punish-customers.html#anchor

"What's So Valuable About THAT?"

Mood, Money, and Meaning during Christmas

To me, trampling fellow shoppers to save another $10 on a flat screen TV is not in the true spirit of Christmas. Even if the price tag has a smiley face, and the significantly over-nourished counter attendant is wearing a Santa hat.

This one scene contains the elements that Christmas forces us to ponder: mood, money and meaning. Yes, I just used the word "Christmas" instead of the very PC "Holidays". The day signifies Christ's birth, so the celebrant's name is used for the day. Same reason we call it George Washington's Birthday on - oddly enough - his birthday (although advertisers have used it to mean, "Get a great buy on bed linens!").

Since I'm not adept at rewriting history, "Christmas" it is. So let's change the mood. This time of year calls to our very core to "be of good cheer". The embittered feel that this is fakey or insincere if you don't really "feel" it. That's great if the Grinch is your hero, but most neurologists would disagree.

The scientific community (many of whom are embarrassed to be in this editorial) contend that if you do smile, if you do utter affirmatively, if youdo flood your mind with pleasant thoughts, the "pattern interrupt" redirects endorphins causing at least a tinge of euphoria. If those feelings are supported (by others, music, doing a pleasant chore) then the tinge becomes a mood. Thus giving the only credence you'll ever hear to the phrase 'Fake it til you make it'.

The corollary is also true, since bleakness fed is bleakness strengthened. Reminds me of Arthur Miller's fine comment: "Some people brighten a room when they enter it; others when they leave." So, without a hint of fakery or insincerity, I encourage and wish for you to be of good cheer. Beats the alternative.

Now for the real mood changer: money. Today this comprises 3 groups: the "haves", the "have nots", and the "haven't quite paid for the haves yet". The last two groups ain't all that happy about their money situation. Been there.

However, years ago in my earlier quest to absorb every mental stimuli known as "self help" I remember that Robert Allen and Dr. Joe Vitale both alluded to a startling, very different way to view money that changed my perspective forever.

The Coconut Pie Theory of Relationship Building

Her face reflected the kindness of mothering and intelligence of years. You know these ladies; the ones who have tricked their husbands into thinking he makes the decisions. They dress age-appropriately, yet are well-enough preserved enough to bend age to their interpretation. They’re fun to talk to, socially intriguing, elegant, yet tough – the steel hand in a velvet glove approach.

All regions have their versions. The South mints a particular kind that ‘seems’ to be surface-without- substance. Yet the genteel exterior has a core that is unafraid of confrontation. Like the South itself I guess.

She looked at me when describing a relationship problem with her nearly grown daughter and said, “Honey, if a coconut pie won’t help heal the wounds, you need professional counseling.”

Her look told me the truth had just been spoken. I only needed a little explanation. I resisted telling her my version of this as an inept car fiddler, “If a hammer won’t fix it, you have an electrical problem”. Nope, hers made sense. For all of us.

Around here, anything is a reason for good food. Southern funerals have generated more catering contracts than all the marketing combined. Most any Southern mother’s first and last questions for any houseguest are the same:

“Do you want something to eat?” A note to those of you visiting from other regions, “I just ate” is not an acceptable response. The question wasn’t “Are you hungry?”

Though the jokes about expanded waistlines hold merit, the act of having a meal is the binder of relationships, the settler of emotions. It is the “breaking of bread” carried forward in rich tradition.

My interlocutor had confided a slight family problem with her daughter. She found herself unable to even get to “the subject” without her daughter getting defensive, averting blame and avoiding the topic. Her mother’s response: Arrive with a coconut pie.
“I didn’t care if she ate it. It opened the door toward peace without me opening my mouth about it.” She paused. “By the third bite, we began talking. By the time we finished a piece, we were both crying. By the time we mutually decided to ‘sneak’ a bite from the next slice, we were laughing.”

The soft side of relationship-building works.Can be conversation. Time together. Giving without expecting return. A coconut pie. Just being there and willing counts for plenty.

Just returned from a National Conference where the ill-guided event planners asked me to speak (as in “publicly”). At these conferences, I get to meet all sorts of members, clients, prospects, organizers, other speakers. Fellowship, fun, and food all in abundance. Good stuff, but I must admit something right here:

I have on occasion had the ever-so-convincing devil of “Why Bother?” on my shoulders before these events. The “Does it really matter?” questions. The “Don’t they know I’m ‘available without me actually proving it?” lazy streak. Yet the afterglow snatches those thoughts.

Conversations were struck that would’ve never happened in any substitute media. Many of you shared current problems and challenges (why I attend). Other shared the joys of record-setting years looking for ways to get to the next level (the second reason I attend).

Yet the most rewarding part of these conferences is the interaction. The relationship-building that’s done by just being there and willing.

It is the exact same with your customers. You cannot be effective and absent at the same time. You cannot truthfully say you appreciate customers without proving it. You cannot settle concerns by ignoring their presence. All require availability.

Kindle the relationship with your customers. Fling open the door of being available. Prove you value their presence. Don’t let “Why bother?” take over. Build the relationship and the revenue comes.

Relationships are the slice of life. Enjoy.

Questions for you:

1. How many ‘touches’ do you have with customers per year? (Ideal is 24, that is = 1 appointment reminder by phone, 1 thanks by phone, 1 thanks by mail, 1 follow up/referral request, 4 newsletters, 2 holiday-cards, 8 non-sales emails, 4 sales emails, 2 ‘sales’ pieces mailed. Note, you DO NOT earn the ‘right’ or the response rate to sales offers without the other pieces. Our newsletter customers get way higher response rates from their sales offers than non-newsletter customers. Not a coincidence.)

2. Do your staff members exhibit true relationship-building with customers? Do you give them authority to solve problems? Do you have an incentive for them to go beyond “normal” customer service? (Example: We have a “Customer Service Spotlight” story to end our weekly meetings. In this, we hear how a coach ‘fixed’ or greatly enhanced the results for a customer. Part of the culture, can easily be a part of yours too.)

The Real Wealth in Contracting

Hallelujah. We now have a kitchen. Or most of one. At least I have a sink where I can wash my coffee cup without first having to remove some ladies' undergarment apparatus from Woolite. (Once it took me nearly two hours to untangle a halter top that had some origami kind of twisted front. I still don’t know if I got it right.)

We can now cook food in something other than a microwave. Since my teenagers eat roughly 11 meals per day, our home – when viewed from Google Earth – looks like a glow stick.

My refrigerator is no longer stylishly perched in the entrance hall, seemingly saying to guests, “Hi, welcome to our home. Please have some butter.”

And tracing my 12 weeks of family torment back to where it all began, we are once and for all…

Formica-less.

I hadn’t realized the kitchen design embarrassment my wife had endured all these years. The indestructible Formica had served us well, though it was potentially more suited to the Space Shuttle belly pan.

We now have quartz and marble countertops. Yet with manufacturing cleverness, they could be reconstituted Formica made to look like other materials, only priced 400 times higher. In fact many “hardwood floors” are really Formica with different names, same as many politicians.

Though my first home cost less than this renovation (I have no idea if that’s true, but you must make this type comment so others will do the “renovation gasp”) my wife is happy. And that counts for everything (unless you’re attracted to misery, punishment, weeping, gnashing of teeth, and sleeping in the yard).

You should be excellent at a) getting and creating “happy” customers, and b) committed to keeping those customers. Sure, you can have a “satisfied” customer and “hope” they call you back, but that’s so yesterday, so basic, so not you.

Though your job skills are important, no skill is more important than getting and keeping the customer. Why?

What value are your skills without customers? In this economy, not much. A fantastic plumber with no work is heading toward being broke. An “okay” plumber good at keeping customers and with a constant 2 week backlog is heading towards wealth.

You’ve got to be more than “just” skilled. Things have changed.

Here’s How The Contractors Fared, And Who Is Most Likely
To Take Their Business To The Next Level…

• The GC – Stayed in touch after he did a smallish bathroom job for our daughter’s room. He stayed busy while others moaned, and remembered to keep the pipeline full by treating ‘past’ jobs as ‘current’ customers. Smart. He scored this job and has a nice backlog of work. 2009 was his best year ever. Grade A

• The Plumber – Did fine work. However, he never said his name, never left a card, never asked to look at other plumbing issues in the house. We had to be reminded he was the plumber on the previous bathroom job. Guess he doesn’t care that we have plumbing in rooms other than the kitchen, or neighbors, all in 100 year old houses. He just does his work, disappears, hopes. Hard to call or refer a phantom. Grade D-

• Electrician – Did fine work. Uniforms, truck signage, left a card on every visit, we get his newsletter, postcards. Also called behind the work to check. Subsequently (and I’m no big customer) this company has done Hudson Ink’s 3 commercial properties, a warehouse, another house, and neighbors on both sides. Grade A

• Floor Dudes – Did ‘fair’ work. Has the people skills of a bruised turnip. Swept sawdust into our new floor vents, like we didn’t notice. Lucky they didn’t come on while the floor was wet. Fast, rushed, left zero company info, never called back to check or make good on the misstep. Our house and offices all have hardwood, as do all our neighbors. Oh well. Guess they don’t need more customers. Grade D

• Painters – Neatest painters I’ve ever seen. Cleaned up daily. Left swatches, mixed custom batches, really exceptional. To their discredit, never checked to see that we have other walls, or that I was planning to repaint our office façade, like I do every year. Even the company that did that job last year disappeared too. Never called, emailed, recontacted, nothing. I have no idea who it was. Guess I’ll just Google for painters. Grade C

• Countertop/Cabinet Contractors – Fabulous work. My wife’s birthday was during this time, asked if the marble could at least be ‘set’ while she was away as a surprise. They willingly complied, did an excellent job going “one step beyond”. I won’t forget that, nor them. They left company info and called after both jobs, Recontact works folks. Grade A

You may notice that the grades have little correlation to the quality of work. They have everything to do with getting called, referred, or remembered by a good “retained” customer. Recontacting customers means you’re keeping them by keeping yourself relevant.

A message from your customers to you: We’re paying customers. You paid to earn us. We want to remember you, call you, refer you, buy more from you, but need your help. Please don’t ignore us.

Once you’ve gotten a customer, your most important job is to keep that customer.

Driving Me Crazy

Who could imagine that my ‘baby’ girl just turned 16? I remember when my wife told me ‘we’ were pregnant with this, our second child. I was driving the trusty Chrysler minivan (legally mandated for all young parents back then) on a heavy switchback road in western North Carolina called ‘tail of the dragon’ to give you an idea of the curviness.

In a car with sporting pretense, this is a dream road. A minivan on this road was like wearing a burlap bathing suit to the Queen’s coronation. Hardly appropriate. For several seconds after she told me, I was in stunned silence, mouth agape, almost plummeting into several ravines. A little personal aside:

We’d tried for 5 years to ‘finally’ get pregnant with our first child. Yet that little miracle was 10 months old in his car seat when she told me of the second. And this little girl has been regularly surprising ever since.

She’s an accomplished pianist, outstanding student, and has a smile that could melt cast iron. And like all dads of teenagers, I am stupider than a turtle on crack. (I’m waiting for that to change, hopefully before I’m too senile to appreciate it.)

Yet the real surprise of the day, is she is now a legal driver, piloting her very own (used) car. Wow. Another shocker was shopping for this car. Double wow.

Let’s just get this out into the open: Car dealers used to have a reputation slightly lower than most sewer rats or even plaintiff attorneys. Some of this was undeserved, but mostly it was because they were conniving, lecherous, money-grubbing deceitful organisms in snappy outfits.

In those days, you’d walk onto a car lot, looking for say, a nice used Caprice in the $12 grand range. An hour later, you’d drive out in a bent Cadillac Brougham with the Wayne Newton package and a payment book totaling $48,724. In your review mirror, a guy with a Televangelist hairdo and a white belt would be counting money that used to be yours.

Not any more.

Possibly due to being sued every 30 minutes for 20 years, car dealers wised up. Then CarFax came along, and the internet happened, and ‘reviews’ started. Then ebay, traderonline, cars.com, yahoocars and craigslist all illuminate the ‘global car lot’. (Hint: Same with your business today.) Prices, options, and reviews could be relentlessly shopped. Reputations got earned or lost far faster. (Ditto.)

My daughter narrowed her search to a particular year, color, and body style of Jeep. Mean old dad gave her a firm “do not exceed or bodily harm could ensue” price range. Luckily, this necessitated a diligent search. She’d come home from school and zero in on 3-4 cars daily that ‘fit’ most criteria, saving links for me to contact

Dutifully, I emailed each (24 in all) with the same message, same parameters. The responses and reactions varied wildly. (See Bonus article at end.) This gave me a cross-section of sales and marketing methods, with suggestions for you on each.

What the Smart Guys are Doing Right

1. Systemized Yet Personal – The top-tier guys use the information gathered online to ‘aim’ a personal email message, in sequence. The call was equally personalized, effectively scripted. Additional links in emails in case I “upsold” or “cross-sold” myself. Pure genius. They realize people aren’t making inquiries for fun.

Suggested: Have a sequence of 3 personalized AutoResponders, give options to contact, and that you’ve assigned a specialist to them. Use links back to your site, suggest upgrades or accessories. Give options to get your mailed newsletter (forces them to give address and another opportunity for relationship.) If people are inquiring, they’re serious.

2. Transparency and Disclosure – The top tier guys are making sure you’re hyper informed. Just ‘offering’ a CarFax and a Consumer Review whether people get it or not (often free) earns huge credibility points. People are nervous out there, for good reason.

Suggested: Inform prospects on your website – not just about how great you are – but about product comparisons, energy costs, reviews, testimonials. Your mailed newsletter will also contain product and service cross-selling. Today’s buyer wants to ‘know’ you, and that’s often done through multi-media, smart marketing.

3. “Cheaper” isn’t Better – Interesting. If I didn’t bring it up, the dealers I considered ‘best’ did not force ‘cheap price’ down my throat, yet the old school cheesy guys did regardless. To me, this cheapened them. The better guys talked of reputation, warranty, options to make this car what I wanted. The top guys told me they could add a sunroof, leather interior, navigation, and a host of ‘cost plus’ upgrades. The cheap guys only talked cheap.

Suggested: Don’t assume all your buyers are in bargain mode. Assume they want quality, then go from there. Good to have bundled pricing ‘tiers’ for all, naming them accordingly. Cross-selling and upselling other benefits typically has a far higher margin, thus a worthwhile part of every script, communication, newsletter, follow-up.

In all, I ended up buying from the guy who was probably 2nd most impressive dealer, but had the car. Credit to the most impressive guy: When I told him what I’d found, he said, “If I were shopping, I’d buy that one too.” Yes, I kept his contact info as well.

The least impressive dealers, probably the bottom 10, never called back, never emailed again. Four of the top dealers have sent me follow ups – automated thus zero cost – just as impressive as the first.

The difference between ‘top’ and ‘ordinary’ is huge in image, sales, and reputation. But doing the ‘right things’ versus ‘hardly anything’ isn’t much – a few well-worded emails, some excellent sales training and the shockingly rare ability to listen to prospects and help them spend their money.

Answer to the Marketing Brain Teaser from Last Entry

Help me. I posed a question to all readers, got a ton of responses, some of which were actually correct and devoid of curse words. ALL were interesting. Very cool to get different perspectives.

Summarized question: “There are four elements in your ‘Marketing Equation’. Two mentioned in the article were ‘incoming leads’ and ‘conversions’ (or commonly ‘closing ratio’). What are the other two?”

Before you read the answer, my intention was to gather the four BIG elements for those of you not running your marketing by formula. I said in the article, “other numbers are just fluff”.

Since I uttered that statement, I’ve been asked to step down by Democrats, Republicans, and the Sham-Wow guy, who is now the Slap-Chop guy. I regret any convenience I may have caused and humbly apologize to everyone except the Yellow Pages.

Admittedly, there ARE other meaningful numbers and I’ve given credit where due.

Here are the winners AND numbers to know in your Direct Response marketing formula, plus another highly insulting remark to the Yellow Pages.

1.Leads generated– only attributable to Direct Response marketing. Direct Response ads have – as their name implies – a lead generation component and are accountable thereto. If you sent out a Holiday Card or TOMA or Retention piece and were hoping to count “leads” as a result, you may as well plant a strawberry vine and start looking for cumquats.

2.Leads converted – Often based on #1 per campaign, but also as a general measure of closing ratio for all leads. I do NOT like blending “all leads” together since a customer calls in as a lead with a 70-80% closing average vs. a ‘first time caller’ with a 30% closing average.

3.Cost per lead – This figures in the media and fulfillment costs and as such, gives you a baseline for measurement. Advertising during the SuperBowl might get you 1,000 leads, but the CPL will likely be rotten. This figure generally runs between $75 and $200, still a potential loser at the lower price (insolvent unsellable prospects) or very profitable at the higher figure. Has to do with transaction size and of course…

4.Profit per sale (I’d have accepted ‘transaction size’ too, since that’s way easier to figure, is more part of marketing than operations.) People often ask, “How many leads should I expect from this campaign?” and there are general numbers (1% from Direct Mail a long accepted but now shrinking ‘standard’) yet even these overlook this more revealing figure. Not only is the list smaller for an $8000 bath remodel for example, it’d take far more $79 drain cleanings to make them equally profitable.
The above is why it is very important to know and use the “Break Even Rate” in direct response marketing, which is revealed below, but FIRST…

The Winners Circle:

There were several correct answers yet the most concise AND correct answer goes to Chris Kowalski who had a 7 word email that said, in its entirety:

1.Cost per lead
2.Profit per closed lead
I like it when people get to the point! All who submitted a correct answer will get a copy of Marketing Secrets. Hope you’ll write us a review!

Yet since I’m completely unfair, biased, and make up the rules as I go along, I’ve decided to award 2 honorable mentions –

The Runners Up:

1.Keith Calicoat wrote, “Decrease acquisition cost per customer and raise the frequency of transaction per customer”, which gets partial credit. Keith also put in, “If I win, I don't want the hot dogs!” Fair enough. That makes two of us.

2.J.S. Woolery from Home Energy suggested “raise average order size”, which is a great way to increase profits NOW from virtually every sale. I still contend that most contractors could increase prices by 10% today, not lose one customer (okay, the cheap ones) and put the entire bump on your paycheck.
BONUS feature today is the Break Even Rate Formula:

A/B = C

(C/D) x 100 = E

(E/F) x 100 = Break even response rate


A= Cost of Direct Response campaign

B = Profit per job/service offered in ‘A’.

C = Minimum job/services needed to break even

D = Average conversion (closing rate) on leads for this type job

E = Number of total leads needed to break even

F = Number of pieces mailed/audience


Obviously, the goal is to exceed “D” and “E” by the largest number you can. Now you know why the combination of these factors rules your fortunes.

I recommend a break even rate on ALL Direct Response ads you do for 2010. But then again, I recommend the slap chop, but only if the Yellow Page ad rep’s finger is in close proximity.

Have an awesome day. Let us help you make it even more of one!

No Private Investigator

One of the biggest complaints I hear from contractors is, “I just need more leads.” And for the most part, the more leads you get the better. (There are negatives to “too many leads”, but I’m getting ahead of myself which isn’t that hard to do.)

Anyway, absent the need for more leads, we’ll assume you’re getting leads at rate ‘x’ and converting ‘y’ to sales. Ridiculously, MOST contractors focus way harder on the ‘y’ (closing or conversion rate) than increasing ‘x’.

The trick to massive sales growth is increasing both.

NOTE: There’s a ‘third’ and ‘fourth’ element in this equation that are the ONLY numbers worth following in your sales stream. Most everything else is just fluff. The next 10 people to tell me EITHER of those will win either a) A pack of unrefrigerated hot dog wieners or b) A first-class marketing book that I just happened to write. If you choose ‘a’, I’ll assume you have a copy. The email link to send your answer is found after the ‘click’.

So, delving into your current leads – the ones you’re getting today, right now - there are two questions to consider:

1. Where did they come from? (Media source, which includes your own database.)

2. What happened after the call?

About 70% of contractors DO NOT gather the source. Since all marketing should have an ROI, this is like not asking the bank about the interest rate. This economy rewards prudency. The days of “guessing” with unproven marketing are over.

As far as “What happened” after the call, slightly more than 70% only know TWO things: It sold. It didn’t sell. And that boys and girls, is flat out silly.

I’ll get right to it:

The five things are –

1.Sold: Transaction size? Previous/new customer? Attempted upsell? Attempted Agreement sale? Equipment survey? (That is, do they need IAQ, adding a bath, discuss security lighting? etc.) The survey alone is free, leads to far more gold from the database in this ONE step.

2.Sold: Follow up procedure. Thank you call with referral bump. Thank you letter with referral bump.

3.Sold: Relationship and referral procedure started. (Added to hard copy Newsletter, ezine list.) A 30 day schedule of recontact becoming more prevalent, but if you have none, every 90 to start.

4.Didn’t sell: Reason? Elimination of reason? Set follow up appointment? Incentive to call YOU back? Clearly state next action step.

5.Didn’t sell: Result of follow up contact. (Minimum of 3: >Phone call plus email. >Letter/postcard. > Phone call. If remains unsold, then low cost relationship procedure started. Email reminders, always included in direct mail campaigns.
If you can just change your response to the outcome, you can generate far more sales with very little effort or out of pocket costs. You’ve already PAID for the lead, why not extract full value? (Yes, I’m cheap.)

And now for the promise to improve your CSR’s performance today -

Tracking leads is important because if not, you might be wasting money on dud ads. It’s so easy to do. All you have to do is instruct your customer service representatives (or whoever answers the phone and fills appointments) to simply ask the customer how they found out about you.

You may be shocked by what you discover. What media brings the best ROI? How strong is your word of mouth? How many referrals are you getting now? How can you triple that?

Even better, you get a chance to prove your superiority on the phone. First, I make no secret that I hate automated attendants. The world in fact, would like to strangle the next auto attendant they see.

Yet even if your callers aren’t forced to press buttons for five minutes or aren’t on hold for listening to some top 40 station – a CSR can still blow it. Here are 3 things your customer service reps should always avoid saying:

1.“Well, you’re going to have to…” No. The first thing the customer is going to think is, “Come on! I don’t have to do anything!” Ask nicely. Try, “In order for us to provide you the best service, would you mind…” or “Could you please provide me with this information so that we can be sure to omit any possibility for a mistake?” Let the customer know that he or she is helping to facilitate the fixing and they’ll be much more likely to respond with something other than a quick hang-up.

2.“I’ll try…” Don’t try. Either say you’ll do it or tell them no. If you don’t give huge discounts on new systems, then say you can’t do that at present. Don’t say you’ll try to get them a discount if you know it won’t happen! Customers resent a lack of commitment, so don’t show that weakness.

3.“It’s against our policy.” It’s hard to dodge this for one main reason. The company policy is there because it needs to be followed. Just don’t use this phrase. Customers can’t stand to hear it and it has become one of those horrid business clichés that CSRs use as a scapegoat to avoid extra work or explanation. You owe the people who pay your bills (your customers) an explanation. At the very least, substitute this worn out phrase with words like “our best procedure” or “proven approach”.

Okay, I’ve given you more than your money’s worth for today (especially considering the price) and ask you to pick an action to go implement.

Soon you can be reading a profitable book or have a nice lunch to send your competitors.

Calendar Marketing

I don’t like it when contractors read the weather page to see whether they’ll be busy or not. To me, an utter loss of control. Yet in the 5 “Ms” of marketing, “month” is number 4 and thus mightily important. (This week’s poll: What are the other “M’s”? Guess and you may win fame, shame, or something in between.)

There is great validity to marketing within a known field of “timing” relevance. That is, chocolates during valentines, anti-depressants during the evening news, stuff like that. For another example…

At last report, it had rained 732 times in the past 4 days. It’s so wet, the fish are complaining and I’m going to see if Al Gore can arrange some “Global Drying”. This is neither politics nor weather.

This is about relevant timing and opportunity. In the past 45 days…

We have called a plumber for persistent drainage problem. A roofer for small leaks in two buildings. An HVAC contractor about dehumidifier in one of those buildings. An electrician for a leak-related fault in some track lighting. A neighbor about his gutter system (that he couldn’t see). A landscaper about a diverting berm and French drain.

There were 2,600,000 homes (NOT including commercial) affected in the recent high rainfalls in the southeast alone. Though I’ve occasionally felt like it, I trust I’m not the only one who needed a contractor. Multiply that by at least 6 trades, that’s lots of service calls.

Question: You want them Google searching or YOUgle Searching? Thought so.

This applies to the first cold snap. Most lightning strikes. Most burglaries (for home lighting and security). Most rain, hottest, driest. Energy prices up, energy prices down. And for you, your slowest months need the most attractive off-season offers. (See “Swimsuits in the Winter” ads in your PowerPack and many others, for example.)

All have a timely relevance in the mind of the homeowner, and YOU need to be in their mind when the need hits.

So, while other contractors are scanning the weather page, crime reports, or moaning about how energy prices have risen, you’re forcing your way into their conscious mind, up front and out front of the others leaving it up to chance.

Look at your calendar right now. There is your ‘map’ to marketing relevance. Each month, a wave of consciousness overtakes and replaces the previous. Your job is to be in front of that wave to get the call, as opposed to behind it waiting and hoping. Big difference.

• Did you get your free 12 Month Marketing map yet? We publish about 2,000 per year, and give all of them away, with ZERO chance of “reprinting” once they’re gone. Friendly advice: Make a polite request and get one now. You are now in competition with 12,000 other contractors.

Aside from getting into prospect’s minds ahead of the need, you’re also ‘programming’ your marketing, sometimes up to a year in advance. Think of the load off you, your staff, your budget, and your media contacts. You can use your calendar or ours, but use the season as the reason to program your marketing plan.

If your “negative” voice is saying, “Hey, WHAT IF I market for an item in a month that does NOT produce the highest need for that product?” Then what have you lost?

Was it second highest? Did it only make new 3 times instead of 5?

You may wonder, “What if something just HAPPENS and it was not on the calendar?” Then you readily and aggressively market that.

Quick Case Study: Tornados had stricken an area, resulting in much insurance-covered roofing work. Yet HVAC contractors started getting calls for repairs that should’ve been part of the now-released coverage. Our tactic: Created newspaper, postcard, and radio scripts that began, “Do NOT settle with your Insurance Company until you read this”. And that my friends, landed millions in necessary, legitimately covered work for hundreds of happy homeowners.

The market has a barrier of relevance and you want to penetrate it, with consistent regularity. Be the company who’s “there” in their consciousness as the needs arise. Lead the market, don’t trail it.

Questions for you:

1. What are the TOP ‘calendar driven’ items coming up in the next 90 days?
2. What products and services help solve problems related thereto?
3. What marketing pieces do you have exactly relevant to that solution?

The opportunities are there. Are you? Contact us for help.