Let Me Tell You A Story

Ahh, the nostalgia of car trips. Took one this summer with the whole family, written about in these pages and was only KIDDING about trying to drive and swat my children simultaneously. I actually stopped the car. Anyway.…

Just got back from taking my son to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. It’s a 5 ½ hour drive there, even with 515 horsepower from my grossly “un-green” car that may cause Global Warming all by itself. Yes, I’m a consumer pig. But to all you Prius owners, I only drive it 1500 miles a year, causing less than half the pollution your battery packs take to make and properly dispose of. So there.

The above paragraph is an illustration of how numbers don’t have to be boring. There are 4 sets in there, but you got caught up in the “story” a bit. I teased you emotionally with my son; others wondered, “What car has 515 horsepower?” or “Why only 1500 miles a year?” Still others got your Lithium batteries in a wad because you thought I was running mate to the Al Gore Anti-Christ. I created “opposition” and tension on purpose. A scant few of you might’ve wanted the story to go on.

Even though I really DID make the trip outlined above, I’m asking you to make your contracting ‘story’ more interesting. There’s a story in every job, every home, every drop of energy saved (or wasted), every procedure you offer. And it sells.

The clients of ours who have been getting a lot of press for having their best years ever in 2008 (some of it NEGATIVE if you can believe it) know a “story” sells. They sell their story in their ads. Their CSR sells their difference instantly, their techs know and tell why they’re better, how the homeowner WINS by choosing them, “…just like all these others in these testimonials.” (Social proof.) Their support materials – proposals, leave behinds, newsletters, even invoices - reflect the story. It’s a good one, every time. People buy.

Mostly, they compound the reasons (we call these “Sales Stackers”) why the customer should buy, pay more, buy more often, stay longer, and refer willingly. That little list, properly addressed in your sales and marketing process, can make you millions. (Note: Sales Stackers will be ONE strategy discussed at our next national Seminar at the ACCA Conference & Indoor Air Expo, Fort Worth TX, February 24th. (I’d register now if you haven’t already.)

The record-setting guys are beating up many of you –even subscribers to this very newsletter – partly because they’re getting more leads. Duh. You knew I’d say that because that’s what I’m overpaid to do. Many think my job ends when the phone rings. They’re telling a story in the ad, however, that’s only 1 of the 4 parts it takes to multiply your sales in this or ANY economy. The entire list is:

1. Lead Generation
   
2. Conversion
   
3. Margin Boosters
   
4. Repurchase and Referral Rate

That’s it. There are no more. Sure, you can “save” some expenses, but name all the business breakthroughs you know about from “great savings”. Growth comes from the above.
Your ads are the most “visible” place you tell your story. Lay two ads side-by-side, same size, same product, same color usage. In less than 5 seconds, ALL of you can pick the one that “appears” higher-quality, higher imaged, and more professional.

You’ve just proven – again - that legitimacy desensitizes price resistance while adding to quality perception. (This is scientifically proven by people who do such things for a living.)

Gosh, and I never mentioned COMPETENCY of the contractor in the ad, did I? Clearly, I didn’t need to.

No one will ever get to know your competency if your ad repels people from the start. (I’ve published lists of contractor ad mistakes for years; no space to cover again.) But don’t mistake a good ad for a “slick” ad.

I got a Manufacturer’s Marketing book the other day (HVAC) and almost laughed. All the ads were all very slick… and mostly stupid shrines of self-absorption.

Here’s the kind of questions that only about TWO manufacturers out there will NOT be offended by:

Have their “marketing people” ever been to a prospect’s home? Do they have any idea why customers call you? It’s pitiful. These ads tell virtually no story about why a prospect should choose you – the contractor – yet more than enough to present that “Manufacturer X” is a big, bloated blow-hard whose products have a nice paint job.

Then, on occasion, an ad gets you inside a home. Once there, you’ve been brainwashed into selling “against” others (brands, competition) instead of “for” the homeowner. (Unless you’ve been coached by Drew Cameron, Joe Crisara, Rick Hutcherson, Charlie Greer, Bob Sinton, alarmingly few others.)

I’ve hired enough contractors, spoken to several thousand others, interviewed hundreds of customers on their experiences and it’s all basically the same.

For the most part, contractors rehash boredom, blending into the sea of sameness that virtually assures that the contracting image problem will remain healthy for decades. There’s no excitement, no energy, no story.

The Formula Works. Not Implementing the Formula Fails.

Most “sales presentations” have less enthusiasm than a funeral program. (Component 2 in the Formula fails here.) Most contractor value propositions for upsells are boring or non-existent. (Component 3 fails here.) Reasons to stay in the information loop or get the Agreement program are told about as convincingly as a Rod Blagojevich campaign promise. The follow-up process generally consists of an invoice, followed by immediate short-term memory loss that you actually had a customer. (Component #4 fails here.) Good luck on that referral stream.

You think this economy is going to reward that? It’s not. You’ve got to change it, and 2009 seems like a darn good time to get started. The economy is going to eliminate marginal players anyway, but why become collateral damage because you “seemed just like them” in your story? Guilty by association is rarely rewarding.

Get different. Get a little radical. Tell a Marketing and Sales Story that makes me want to buy, and I will.

Tell a story just like your competitors and I’ll yawn. Hide like the scared ones and I’ll forget you exist. Thump me ‘til I pay attention, make me glad I did, and I’ll tell the world.

Questions for You to Consider

1. Can I instantly pick my ads out in the Yellow Pages?
   
2. What distinction am I “known” for? (If you say, “I don’t know”, that is a problem.)
   
3. Is my customer funnel a pro-active process… or a manic reaction?
   
4. Why would someone call me again and refer me? (If you say, “Because I’m good and fair” please know that I “guessed” this because 90% of your competitors said the same thing. Think “process”.) And lastly…
   
5. Why does Adams drive overly powerful, gas-guzzling cars with little or no social redemption and even less luggage space?

Need a Marketing and Sales Story of your own? Get a plan, some quality marketing, a solid sales process, and retention methods that are so good they’ll scare your competition either into obscurity… or working for you.

“Your Marketing Map for the Next 90 Days” Teleseminar (free to register) is January 20. Click here to join. I’m only getting a couple hundred lines this time and about 160 are gone. Register for free here.