Both Are Right, Both Are Wrong

“I’m not getting the leads” says one contractor. “I’ve got too many leads” says another. Both are right, both are wrong.

Not getting leads sounds like the bigger problem, so we’ll attack it first. The questions I go through with each call like this are: What have you done to build leads and keep customers for the last 3 months? (You’ll note the question is NOT “what have you done this morning”.)

If that answer includes adherence to a marketing plan with a good supply of response-oriented ads sifted into the market with a portion of every sales dollar earmarked for retention, then that’s really good.

I’ve spoken with only 4 people this year (out of 400) who have legitimately done this and NOT seen their market results flourish. That’s a pretty decent “hit rate” on results, understandably resultant from strategy, not panic. It’s that old “pro-active vs. reactive” argument, for the 100th time. Those who have done MOST of the right stuff have faltered somewhere in the “monkeying” around with otherwise proven ads, or “sort of forgot” to do customer retention. That party has a way of coming to an abrupt halt, which brings me to this —

Those with “too many leads” sometimes short-circuit their success by saying, “I’m so busy, I don’t really need to market anything.” Had a guy call and cancel his summer newsletter for this very reason. So the very things that got him busy, he’s willing to cut off in the busy season, not recalling that “all this business” will not be there in the Fall, or in the winter without an attempt of retaining them.

As I’ve oft repeated, marketing is a mix of math and behavioral psychology. If one of those doesn’t “hit”, then they both fail. Often the “hits” are made in combinations of efforts, such as we’ve discussed.

The killer newspaper ad – if not followed up with good sales skills, timely installers or techs, service reminders and newsletters – is no better than a LOUSY newspaper ad because the “bottom line results” don’t really change. Remember, keeping a customer costs 1/6 of getting him. Generally his referrals are free.

Get a plan. Work the plan. If you’re successful with it – like most of those of you who do follow the strategies we advise – then let it continue to pull customers, rather than leaving you in the unenviable position of having to push yourself on them later.