No matter the outcome, this’ll be followed by “Identity Theft Tuesday”. There’ll be the traditional day of rest to filter your personal data, and then it’ll be “Male Enhancement Offer Thursday.” There’s nothing like Spam for the Holidays.
True as this is, there’s much to be learned from the onslaught. “Congruence” with the season matters, as does incremental timing within the season. (You wonder why we put “Holidays” instead of “Christmas” on our Card offerings? It ain’t for being PC boys and girls – my stance there is well-known – it’s so ‘your’ card has a chance of staying relevant ‘til New Year’s.)
Likewise, we’ve all heard the lazily disregarded radio ads that tout “Summer’s almost here!” in September or “School’s just around the corner” in November. Sadly, we’ll continue to hear Christmas references until it becomes an utter embarrassment to all Wise Men.
The money spent on being perceived as “late, lazy, and/or irrelevant” undoes most any claim you’d have to being fast or efficient. Your example trumps your words, sort of like parenting, but with faster public humiliation. (Spears and Hilton families may beg to differ on this point.)
The antidote for the perception of being behind is of course, to lead. You may ask, “Lead what? Lead how? And what ever happened to your request for submissions on the not-so-sharp non-salesperson who missed 3 sales opportunities while he was replacing your water heater?” Talk about timing!
Leading is an even more fearful concept in a time of great hand-wringing, “holding back” and “Let’s just wait and see what happens.” I’ve long persisted that the last one is more correctly stated as “Waiting to see what the leaders in my market do first, so I can make sure it’s safe to do something.” The leaders lead. The followers follow.
Most would say they would unfearfully lead if they only “knew” what was coming. Let me remind you I’m not talking about going into battle. Or before a Grand Jury. I’m only talking about marketing leadership, or in the case of the current economy, a marketing presence while others retreat. An unrisky strategy if ever there was one.
So, “marketing leadership” becomes easier when a bunch of “me too’s” falls from existence. The marginal contractor, made moreso by his marketing invisibility, will likely fail in 2009. There’s not enough excess to support the invisible. The corollary of “visibility” holds true and can easily be deemed as leadership. Would you rather run a race against 25 competitors or 10? The timid’s response is “Depends on who’s competing!” And the answer will always be, “The leaders”. I presume you’d like to be included.
Yet this year, marketing visibility with efficiency will be our push at Hudson Ink. There will be no “street wise” example overlooked, no tightwad’s angle cast aside. Likewise, though I’ve been saying it for 5 years, your bloated YP budget has got to go. Now. Your resistance to lead before the need arises, cannot wait any longer. A healthy market is forgiving to slackers in the pack; a tight market grants no leniency. Same goes for us.
I’m in this thing with you. (I won’t bore you with our plans, but suffice to say they’re identical to the ones suggested for you.) I’ve joined another Coaching Group, helping create an entirely “different” Coaching Group (more about this in upcoming months) and am staunchly encouraging readers to join in their own. Why?
A mastermind group’s input is potentially the most efficient system on earth. Problems get sliced, diced, repackaged, solved by example, and focused upon with laser-like intensity. You don’t feel like your market’s only pioneer (the ‘arrows in back’ analogy coined by followers no doubt) when you hear a gaggle of “Go for its” from those who’ve been there, done that.
Yes, we offer Coaching Groups but I’m not trying to “sell” you ours (Platinum is sold out anyway) yet I urge you to get involved in one filled with a leadership mentality. You rise – or fall – to a bracketed level of performance and attitude.
NOTE: We are having a F*R*E*E ACCESS Teleseminar for ALL SMI READERS on December 10, 2008. I’m putting 6 of the highest paid Contractor Coaches on the phone for ONE HOUR. All are required to share a strategy or tool worth at least $10,000 to you. I cannot accept more than 500 attendees. You must register here.
Quick Report on a couple of Groups to Avoid and Embrace here.
Now, this finally brings me to the smorgasbord of “Group Think” support by listing the answers to a question posed two issues of SMI back.
The Missed Sales Opportunities
Sometimes I think I have all the answers, and just then God laughs at me and makes me trip over something. Like the other week, I asked for “three ‘missed’ sales opportunities" from the plumber who was at my house. From a DELUGE of reader emails, it appears he missed FIVE opportunities. Counted ‘em myself. Here you go…
- The Sump Pump. This was so obvious Stevie Wonder and Estaban both wrote in with the right answer. Of course, I told the plumber that I wanted him to look at it before he left and let me know. He didn't. I still have the problem and will call another to solve it. Sorry.
- The “Tankless” water heater. Ugh. He actually told ME about this option, to which my wife, also known as, “What’s a budget and why would you want one?” expressed interest. Never told me the price, availability, installation time, benefits… nothing. Me and my “budget” are secretly relieved.
- The Maintenance Agreement. Talk about a softball. I’m standing there in 4” of mud on a Sunday, faced with Emergency OverTime Double Secret Upcharges with hints of gas fumes in the background… and not ONCE did the word “Agreement” emerge. (This company DOES offer them. I guess you have to beg them for it, along with certain quotes.)
Nearly all of the respondents got those right, for example:
“I would recommend our Maintenance Plan or complete home plumbing inspection – this reduces the chance of another one if these last minute, Sunday afternoon issues and maybe save water,” said Tim Bruce, General Air Conditioning, Inc.
“He missed the upsell on the water heater (tankless or high efficiency), cost to bring gas installation to code, and replacement/repair sump pump. Not to mention a service agreement on the new unit,” explained Garth Hepler, Roth Heating & Cooling.
Yet the real “thinkers” added the following….
Paul Guzman of O'Connell Plumbing, Inc. wisely suggested a Flood Detector/Alarm.
And Tom Hawkinson of Air-Tech Services saw another angle when he suggested, “Hey, Ronnie turned off the water heater for you so you wouldn’t die from carbon monoxide poisoning. Good move on Ronnie’s part (maybe the only one). But wait…how do you prevent carbon monoxide poisoning in the future? Well, sell the customer a carbon monoxide sensor, of course.”
So there you have it. Timing, success, and mastermind thinking all rolled into one. Makes you think there might be a connection among them. Hope you’ll join us on our F*R*E*E* Coaching Teleseminar on December 10. I may not ever invite these people back here again, so you’d better go register and see what the heck’s going on. You might learn something from us, and almost certainly, we’ll learn something from you.
Have fun,
Adams Hudson
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