Corduroy Pillows Are Making Headlines!

Get it? HA! Okay, that was bad, but it got you here. (Marketing Lesson #1: Your headline's main job is to get your prospect to your next statement.)

So, what got you where you are now, and where are you going next? I mean, humans are presumably the only of God's creatures who think of the 'future', though someone needs to tell me how we know this. (Did scientists poll wolverines and platypuses with questions about living out their dreams?) Regardless, the past is an awesome teacher about the future.

The core of every survey, the reason we "apply" for loans, insurance, jobs, etc., is to allow the past to be a vaguely reliable predictor of future behavior. (The sub-prime mortgage research teams apparently overlooked this fact. Too busy interviewing wolverines.)
I get calls from contractors who say they're 'stuck' at a certain sales level. As an overpaid consultant, I'm trained to ask, "And what have you done differently in the past 24 months?" The highly predictable answer is "Nothing much." No changes equals no change. And why was there no change? The core cause - usually unspoken but obvious - is fear.

During this "R-word" economic time, contractors more often call to get marketing 'suggestions' to get out of their financial calamity and make the phone ring. We make suggestions, by the dozens, in both broadly publicized media and to private coaching clients. Results shared, stories retold, strategies revealed.

Oddly, the ones who never did anything different during good times are just as resistant to change anything during bad times. Why? "Fear", plain and simple.

The past behavior weaves its nasty way, right into the future. Goes both ways.

The hyper-active, hyper-achievers seem to relish in differentiating behavior. (Marketing Lesson #2: Market leaders, by definition, don't copy and can't wait on the crowd. However, they often sensibly "reformulate" based on proven criteria.) Those stories, new successes, and "breakthroughs" carry them into the future. They tend to see a wave coming and prepare to ride it ahead, while others frantically splash about.

Which way are YOU going next?

5 Things the Super Successful DO NOT Do

1) Accept the Norm – A few examples: If “normal” contractors spend over half their budgets in the YP and perennially complain about the sorry results, the leaders shun same. Our top clients spend about 20% in the yellow pages – less if we can make a business case for it. Likewise, the “normal” ad is a stupid, puffed up, ego-driven and ridiculously ineffective ad designed for “Free!” by the staff whose design criteria is to “not stand out too much”. Leaders advertise with customer-focused direct response ads that DO stand out.

Likewise, if the “crowd” is not having success with Maintenance Agreements, the leaders find a way to pile them on. If the “crowd” is not getting publicity, the leaders focus on it. If the “crowd” doesn’t want to invest in customer retention, the leaders quietly amass legions of devoted fans by using it.

2) Resist Outside Advice from Qualified Experts – The “fear of change” aspect again. Leaders typically hire specialists in finance, estate/succession planning, insurance, legal, marketing, sales, personnel, and technical training. They see these as “investments”; the crowd sees them as “unnecessary costs”. In time, the gap between the investor and the fearful non-spender widens. The “crowd” calls them lucky. The leaders would call the crowd names, but they have bigger things to focus upon.

SIDE NOTE #1: Our Coaching Clients typically say things like “just having someone on my side, giving advice and urging me forward is worth several times the fee”. That was NOT a plug to join OUR Coaching Program, but to find someone, some place, where you get a regular “sense of mission”. Looking at the same walls, the same employees’ blank faces, generally will not do it.

SIDE NOTE #2: This month’s Coaching Call is with none other than sales superstar Joe Crisara, who had one of THE most provocative (and successful) short sales videos I’ve ever seen here. Coaching Clients WILL get a double earful of Joe’s “Triple Your Sales” magic on this call. Be ready. (Not in Coaching? Click to find out how to join.)

3) Refuse to look at the “Hole in the Bucket”. If the website visits are going down, there’s a reason. If the response to direct mail has sunk, there’s a reason. If your ‘old’ customers aren’t calling you back, there’s reason. If you regularly hear people ‘not’ requesting a certain tech of yours, there’s a reason. All are costing you. Turning the other way doesn’t make it go away or get better.

Self Admission Time: Though our ‘renewal’ rate for newsletter clients had gone up, I still wondered about those who did NOT renew. So we launched a 3 part mail/email/call campaign to all who – for any reason at any time – didn’t renew. It’s amazing. Many new phone calls, old clients feeling “appreciated”, and new orders came in. The hole in the bucket, now smaller.

There are negative habits, practices, trends in your company NOW that are reversible. Take a hard look at them. Be the leader who a) Admits b) Takes corrective action c) Measures and repeats accordingly.

4) Being ‘Hurt’ by Criticism. Sorry, but we’ve become wimpy, politically-correct, crybaby prone fence-sitters concerned about everyone’s self-esteem. This is, to me, the ‘fear’ behind change. We fear resistance, reluctance, ‘making a wrong move’ (so we make NONE) or offending. Respectful leaders forge ahead without bullying but also without regard to slings and arrows of sideliners. Most critics do little other than criticize. So, if you have something you’ve “been thinking about doing” for awhile, there’s a God-given reason it won’t leave you alone. Apologies to Nike, but just do it.

5) Expect New Results from Old Habits – The “old” model has died. This economy just gave it a not-so-respectful funeral. Those who change are going to manifest their destinies accordingly. Yet following the same marketing pattern, sales presentations, going to the same discussion boards and same industry events with the same speakers, are NOT going to bring change.

Best thing you could do is buy a plane ticket to visit a business you want to become and find what they did. Ask whose advice they sought, what ‘systems’ they have. You’ll find that they were never afraid to change. Emulate that.

Watch for these 5 nasty habits in your business, and pick one thing you can change now. You’ll soon make far more headlines than corduroy pillows.

Questions to consider:
1. Which of the above 5 are most damaging to you now?
2. What people can you involve to change it?
3. What’s the FIRST step you can take to change it?
4. What day will you do that? Now, go do it.