Don't Keep It a Secret

Whenever I take shirts to my cleaners, the cleaners replaces any missing or broken buttons. Your cleaners probably does the same, but do you know about it?

The reason I'm aware is the cleaners sticks a small tag through the matching button hole and staples it. The tag declares, "Replaced Button."

The tag is a reminder of a small added value the cleaners provides. Without the tag, I might forget about there was a button missing or even be aware of it. The cleaners won't get extra credit if I don't know about it. Hence, the tag.

I bet there are little things that you do for your customers they are unaware of. A plumber might clean a faucet aerator. An HVAC technician might notice the time on a digital thermostat is off an hour due to a change in daylight savings time and set the time correctly. An electrician might casually test a GFCI outlet. A pool technician might cut out a small section of pool sweep hose where it's leaking.

Whatever the action, you won't get credit if you don't tell the customer what was done. Note it on the invoice and write, "No charge." And don't just note it. Tell the customer too. Think of the impact if the cleaners employee told me that three buttons were found missing and were replaced at the time I picked up my shirts.

When you do a good deed, even if it's part of the routine, don't keep it a secret.

The Pool Contractor Was Too Busy For Service

http://www.flickr.com/photos/realestatezebra/ / CC BY 2.0

During boom times many contractors avoid service work. It's small dollar. It's a pain. It involves too much management of those pesky employees. The big bucks lie in the big projects and equipment sales.

Yet service work is profitable and steady. When times are tough, installation and project work slacks up while service continues. By the time most contractors realize the value of service, it's too late. Let me give you an example.

After we built our pool, my wife and I were a little intimidated about maintenance. Neither one of us had ever maintained a pool and had no idea what was involved. We were ripe for a pool service pitch.

Instead, our pool contractor informed us, "You don't have to use a service. You can do this yourself easily. I'll show you how."

And he did. He showed us how to test the pool. He showed us how to maintain the right pressures, when to clean the filters, and how to clean the filters, pump, and skimmers. He explained about shocking the pool, how to do it, when to do it, and why to do it. He told us the best place to buy chemicals and recommended taking pool water to this store for analysis if we ever had problems. He explained everything we needed to know.

Not once did he remotely hint that he was interested in providing pool maintenance for us. In fact, he wasn't remotely interested. He was too busy selling and installing pools. The big bucks were in installation, not service.

But what if he took a different approach? What if he built the cost of the first year's maintenance into the price of the pool? He could say something like, "Matt, I want you to enjoy your new pool. Don't worry about anything. For the first year, I'll maintain it free of charge."

How could I refuse? Even if I was charged extra for chemicals, how could I refuse? I couldn't. And when the year was up, what then?

Panickville! "We can't maintain the pool," my wife and I would say to each other. "We don't know anything about it. How much will it cost to have the pool contractor keep doing it?"

If the contractor built 50 pools a year and captured the service on half, over the course of the ten years since our pool was built, he would have a maintenance base of 250 pools. Using some back of the envelope calculations, that would likely result in six figures of gross profit. Plus, when it was time for resurfacing (costing thousands) and equipment replacement (thousands more), he would have a lock on the work. Through the years, he could suggest additions to the pool and backyard, ranging from fountains and waterfalls to built-in backyard grills. Some customers wouldn't be interested, but others would.

Alas, the contractor who built our pool was too busy. He was too busy then. Today, he wants us to pay him to maintain our pool. Is he crazy?

24 Ways To Boost Your Average Ticket - Part V

22. Dispatch Service Personnel With Discrimination

Should you discriminate among your employees? Well, not in hiring or promotion with regard to race, creed, national origin or other stupid and illegal means. But do discriminate based on effectiveness and potential.

When I worked for a marketing research and consulting firm, I was stereotyped by the company president. For example, when a metal building manufacturer wanted help, I was the go to guy. I got the construction and high tech clients. I got the clients who made computer chips, but not those making potato chips. Food, fashion, travel, entertainment, and other marketing oriented companies went to other client service personnel who had a better chance of converting the prospects into clients.

As a salesperson, I didn’t like it very much. I felt locked out of the best revenue opportunities. The only way around it was to make myself available when other client service personnel were not. Working late and taking calls when no one else was around helped me land People, In-Style, and Time Magazines. It got me an opportunity with the Oxygen Channel (our first meeting was scheduled on 9/11 - great timing).

I didn’t like being discriminated against. No one does. Yet, I could see the logic behind the assignments. I also knew I had to create and take opportunities to prove myself so I would get better prospects going forward. It made me work harder. It will make your field service personnel work harder too.

Technical field service is no different than marketing client service. If a homeowner with a 20-year old furnace calls in with a no-heat call do you send the next available technician or wait to send a technician who will do the best job communicating with the homeowner about a replacement option as well as the repair option? The answer is, “It depends.”

If the outdoor temperature is 10 degrees, the homeowner’s not going to wait for Ubertech. You need to position someone as fast as possible. That presents an opportunity for the eager, but less polished professional. If he does well when given a good call, he’ll get better calls in the future.

Of course, if it’s early fall weather and the customer has been loyal for years, she might be patient enough to wait for you to send the best guy. Meanwhile, the less polished tech gets another tune-up. Sorry.

So send the plumber who passionately believes in tankless water heaters on calls where a water heater tank is leaking. Mr. Tankless will have more success upgrading the purchase than Mr. Standard Recovery Storage Tank Fan.

Match your field service personnel with the available opportunities that will maximize company revenue. Some contractors hesitate to maximize revenue through dispatching. The most successful do not.


23. Use Props, Pictures, And Diagrams In Sales Presentations

When Lennox Industries introduced the Pulse furnace, it was a dramatic departure from conventional, condensing gas furnaces and carried a huge premium. On the outside, the furnace looked like any other. They were all big rectangular boxes (and still are). Yet, the heat section was very different.

To help introduce the furnace to contractors, someone in the marketing department had thousands of desktop models of the heat section made in a prototype shop. Each was a miniature of the heat section, complete with a blinking light to simulate pulse technology in action. It was a cool desktop toy and that’s where most of them went: to someone’s desktop.

A few enterprising contractors recognized the potential of the model as a sales aid. They used the models on sales calls to explain the differences between the Pulse and other furnaces. The models helped these contractors close more sales, and more high-end sales.

The models were effective because two people out of three are visual learners. This doesn’t mean they can’t learn by listening to the glib speeches of your sales and service personnel, only that most people learn better when they can see props, pictures, and diagrams.

If possible, bring the product into the home to let the homeowner see, touch, and hold it. Plumbers can hold a faucet by the spout and hand it to a homeowner so the homeowner can feel its weight. Plumbers can show homeowners the differences between a faucet sold through the trade and one sold through the retailers (i.e., lots of plastic parts).

HVAC contractors can hold a thermostat or humidistat against the wall for the homeowner to envision. They can cut sections from tubular and clamshell furnace heat sections. They can show a section of a spiny fin aluminum coil, 3/8” copper coil, 5 or 7 mm coil, and or microchannel coil. Cut a filter drier in half and glue clear plastic over it to show homeowners how this protects the compressor.

Electrical contractors can show homeowners the differences in higher quality switches and ballasts with lower end products offered in the big box retail stores. Pest management companies can display rodent bait boxes and traps. Pool contractors can use tile samples, sections of pool filters, and more.

All companies can use diagrams to show homeowners a typical plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or pool systems. Diagrams can also be used to show homeowners the scope of work, such as a pest control technician using a diagram of a home to highlight for a homeowner where he will apply treatment.

Brochures and fliers can help people visualize products that are too large for samples, that can’t be easily shown, or that require action. Examples include termite infestations, dust mites, air infiltration, pool fountains, and so on.

Show people the products or illustrate the service and you will close more sales and sell more add-ons.


24. Pre-frame

Pre-framing is pre-selling. It’s setting the stage. It’s like foreshadowing in a book. Some pre-framing works over the course of a service call. Some takes years. Everyone in your organization should pre-frame.

Your dispatcher, if unable to sell a service agreement, should pre-frame an opportunity for the technician. The dispatcher says, “Mr. Homeowner, after the repair’s complete, would it be okay if I ask our technician to show you how you can save another 15% off today’s work with a service agreement?”

If the homeowner agrees, it’s an open invitation to explain how a service agreement saves money and will likely result in a new service agreement customer.

The technician can also pre-frame. He says, “Mr. Homeowner, here’s some literature about a few products other customers have expressed interest in. Take a look at them. After I finish the repair, would it be okay if I go over these and why they’re a good idea?”

Ask politely and it’s tough to refuse. If the homeowner agrees, he or she is more likely to scan, if not read the literature. The homeowner starts to think about the add-on products and accessories, making the discussion to follow much more natural.

As Ron Smith points out in his book, HVAC Spells Wealth, technicians can always pre-frame forward. The technician sets the stage for future work by noting wear and tear, telling homeowners that they’re going to need to take action in the not-to-distant future.

Pre-framing sets up sales conversations and makes them more comfortable, which is especially important for service personnel who might be uncomfortable with the notion of selling in the first place.

© 2009 Matt Michel

More next time

The Impoverished Craftsman

This is an audio version of a Comanche Marketing article called, "The Impoverished Craftsman." It was written for the craftsman who cares about his work and customers, but who can never seem to get ahead.

The file was prepared as a Windows Media Audio (wma) file. Download it from the Service Roundtable's Free Stuff section.

24 Ways to Boost Your Average Ticket - Part I

This is the start of a new Comanche Marketing series on boosting your average ticket, or average sale. I’ve compiled a couple of dozen tactics, but this number may change before I’m finished. I’ll add tactics when readers suggest new ways to boost the ticket I haven’t thought of (hint, hint) or when I stumble across new approaches. And also, when it comes time to write about the tactics, what seemed brilliant when building the initial list seems hopelessly stupid when I try to describe it. Well, let’s get started…


Why It Matters

Raising your average ticket even a few dollars can make a tremendous difference to your bottom line. Let’s consider the following scenario. A pure service company has an average ticket of $325. The company promotes braided steel washing machine hoses for $49 installed on all service calls. The company buys these hoses for $9. The time required to install one is so minor, it’s incidental (e.g., 5 to 10 minutes). On every 10th call, a customer opts to add the house on the ticket.

This works out to an increase in the average ticket of $4.90. The material cost increases $0.90, resulting in an increase of $4.00 in gross profit per call.

Hose Price	$49
Material Cost	$9
Gross Profit	$40
% Buying	10%

Increase in Avg Ticket	$4.90
Increase in Avg Material Costs	$0.90
Increase in Avg Gross Profit/Call	$4.00

Ho hum. Yawn. Four bucks. That’s a whopping net increase of 1.2% of sales ($329 / $325). Wooooow. I can retire.

Don’t get hasty. Let’s get into the numbers in a little more depth. For grins, let’s say the following roughly describes the company’s income statement. The company is profitable, but barely once Uncle Sam gets a cut.

Gross Revenue	$800,000	100%
Cost of Sales	$440,000	55%
Gross Profit	$360,000	45%
Overhead	$320,000	40%
Net Profit (Pre Tax)	$40,000	5%

Now, what happens when an average $4 of gross profit per call is added.

Gross Revenue	$809,846	100%
Cost of Sales	$442,225	54%
Gross Profit	$367,631	46%
Overhead	$320,000	40%
Net Profit (Pre Tax)	$47,631	6%

The company has increased pre-tax profitability 20%! Slight increases in a company’s average ticket can result in significant increases in the bottom line. While not the only one, this is certainly one path to prosperity. Let’s walk down this path and see what we find.


1. Raise Prices

Yes, the simplest way to increase your average sale is simply to increase your prices. If this seems completely obvious, it’s not. Many a contractor moans about average tickets without really pondering the notion of a bump in prices.

A recession may or may not be the right time to bump prices. If you aren’t profitable at your current price levels, you should figure out a strategy to raise prices or increase volume while holding overhead in check. Otherwise, you might as well cut prices to the bone and go out of business faster, sparing yourself the prolonged agony of a long, slow bankruptcy.

Let’s return to our pure service company. Assume the company’s billable hour rate is $125 and the company charges a $65 diagnostic or response charge. With a 40% material gross profit (i.e., 67% mark up), and average of 1 billable hour per call, the company’s average service call looks like the following.

Average Ticket	$325
Diagnostic	$65
Repair Charge	$260
Labor Rate	$125/Hr
Billable Hours	1.0
Labor Charge	$125
Material Price	$135
Material Cost	$81
Material % of Total (Average Ticket)	41%

Bump the billable labor rate, 10% and the following results.

Average Ticket	$338
Diagnostic	$65
Repair Charge	$273
Labor Rate	$138/Hr
Billable Hours	1.0
Labor Charge	$138
Material Price	$135
Material Cost	$81
Material % of Total (Average Ticket)	40%

The total charge increased $13 or 4%. Let’s see the impact on the bottom line.

Gross Revenue	$831,818	100%
Cost of Sales	$440,000	53%
Gross Profit	$391,818	47%
Overhead	$320,000	39%
Net Profit (Pre Tax)	$71,818	9%

The pre-tax profit increased 80% or $32,000!

Of course, price increases might scare away customers. How many calls would this reduce? Let’s say 5%. That’s likely unrealistic. It would lower total company revenue. Yet, the company still makes more money!

Gross Revenue	$790,227	100%
Cost of Sales	$418,000	53%
Gross Profit	$372,227	47%
Overhead	$320,000	41%
Net Profit (Pre Tax)	$52,227	6%

The company would need to lose just over 8% of its customer base for the price increase to have a negative impact on the bottom line. In all likelihood, no one would notice. As Jim Kimmons, who developed the original Callahan-Roach flat rate system used to say, “If the customer’s upset at $338, would he be thrilled at $325?” The answer, of course, is no.

Increasing your prices a small amount, even during a recession, may have a huge benefit to your company profitability. And if you aren’t profitable, what’s your choice?

Surprisingly, many contractors hesitate to raise prices because they don’t want to order new price books. That’s the silliest notion of all. Who wouldn’t spend an extra $2,000 if they could be guaranteed it would result in $32,000?


2. Courtesy Inspections

Charlie Greer teaches service personnel how to perform a “courtesy inspection.” Friends of mine have used Greer trained companies, reported that the inspection uncovered other issues – some had been festering for years – resulting in higher tickets AND… happier customers.

At the end of the work, the homeowner spent much more than the original problem necessitated and thanked the service personnel.

Charlie describes his approach to a Plumbing Courtesy Inspection on his website. It’s worth the read…

Here’s the scenario: I went to the immediate problem that prompted the service call, checked it out, and said, "Okay. I can fix that. That won’t be a problem," thereby putting the customer’s mind at ease.

I then said, "You know, Mrs. Smith, whenever I come out to someone’s house, I always do a quick, courtesy inspection of all their fixtures and drains, just to see if there are any little free adjustments I can do."

Charlie proceeds to check stuff out, tighten things that are loose, clean aerators, and so on. In the process, he builds his value, builds customer rapport, and creates a sense of obligation. In the course of the inspection, inevitably problems or deficiencies are revealed. In many cases, addressing these now will save the homeowner a lot of money down the road. Other times, the problems are like open sores, festering and irritating.

Sometimes the homeowner knows the problem should be fixed, but lacks the skills, knowledge, or inclination to tackle the job. That’s where you crack team of professionals comes in. It’s why you were called in the first place… to solve problems the homeowner couldn’t solve for himself or herself.

Other times the homeowner isn’t even aware the problem could be fixed. Millions of homeowners live with comfort problems, unaware that it’s possible to have even and consistent comfort levels throughout the home.

Remember, no consumer knows all of the things you can do for them like you do. You offer products and provide services that could improve their lives, but you can’t keep them a secret.


3. Sell Service Agreements

This is another no-brainer. Service, or maintenance agreements are contractors between you and the customer to perform repetitive annual maintenance at discounted rates scheduled at times convenient to both of you. Service agreements help you fill in valleys of demand, keeping your service force working during slack times.

Because they are prepaid or charged monthly, service agreements also help with cash flow. And, they represent an unspoken agreement between you and the customer that the customer will do business with your company exclusively during the term of the agreement.

Service agreements are well accepted in the HVAC and pool industries, less well accepted in plumbing, and practically absent from electrical. Often, plumbers and electricians express skepticism about their ability to sell and maintain a base of service agreement customers. The trick is to build sufficient value that the service agreement is an obvious value for the homeowner.

Pool & spa varies around the country, but generally the contractors build up maintenance routes and then, incredibly, sell them. Why not keep the route and keep the future add-on, accessory, toy, and backyard oasis sales? Why not keep the future equipment replacements and resurfacing?

Call takers and dispatchers should start the service agreement sales process by stating at the appropriate point, “I’m required to inform you that we give priority service and discounts to our service agreement customers.”

Pause, and if the customer asks about the service agreement say, “You can save quite a bit of money with our service agreement. In addition to priority service and a ___% discount on repairs, the service agreement includes… [benefit, benefit, benefit]. The investment is only $______. Would you like to save money with a service agreement or simply schedule your repair today?”

Even if the homeowner refuses the service agreement, the stage has been set for field service personnel to repeat the offer. One of the best approaches is to use an apples to apples comparison sheet that compares today’s repair plus the service agreement with today’s repair plus the maintenance services covered by the service agreement.

© 2009 Matt Michel

Free Marketing Ideas – Part VII

This is the final post of the free marketing ideas series. Next week, I’ll start a new series. In the interim, keep checking the Comanche Marketing blog. Also, you can follow my updates through the Service Roundtable, Twitter, Linked In, and Facebook.


21. Speak At HOA Meetings

Homeowners Association (HOA) meeting vary from rigidly formal to loose. Some are well attended. Others are not. However, all are attended.

Some HOAs feature regular speakers at their meetings. Those without speakers probably would include them if it was easy to find someone with something relevant for the audience. That someone could be you.

In the Internet age, almost any functioning HOA has a website. Simply search for homeowners associations by neighborhood name or by town. Some municipalities even list the HOAs with full officer contact information on their websites.

Offer the speak at each HOA meeting. Send a letter or email to the officers indicating your willingness to speak and propose topics. Here are a few…

HVAC: The upcoming refrigerant phase out
Plumbing: Water conservation
Electrical: Advances in lighting technology
Pool: Salt water pool systems
Pest Control: Natural pest control solutions

Propose a length. Generally, these organizations want to give speakers no more than 15 to 20 minutes.

In your letter, promise to follow up with a phone call (assuming you’ve got the phone number) and give the recipient your number if he or she wants to call sooner.

The same approach can be used with garden clubs and with other service and civic clubs. Don’t worry about rejections. Focus only those who welcome you. Give everyone who attends a gift certificate with your company (remember, a gift certificate is little more than a coupon people keep).

A template for HVAC and plumbing contractors will be released soon on the Service Roundtable.


22. Teach Home Improvement Seminars

Years ago, I attended a two hour home improvement class offered through the city’s parks & rec department. I don’t remember the subject of the class, but I do remember who taught it. The class was taught by a Home Depot employee.

It turned out that a number of classes offered by the city were taught by Home Depot employees. I wondered if Home Depot was encouraging employees to teach these classes. It wouldn’t surprise me.

So why would a big box retailer encourage, and maybe even pay its employees to teach home improvement seminars? It’s simple. Teach a home improvement seminar and you’re positioned as the expert by default. Home Depot benefits by driving people to the store to ask for more information and to buy stuff.

Obviously, contractors have different objectives. You don’t sell over the counter to homeowners, so you’re trying to stimulate future service calls, replacement leads, and project quotes.

You can be successful, but only if you avoid even the hint of solicitation when teaching. People attend these classes to learn, so teach. Offer reasonable DIY advice that any homeowner can manage.

For example, an air conditioning or electrical contractor might advise homeowners to install outlet insulators for the energy savings. Or the contractor might instruct homeowners to check the breaker box before calling for service. Don’t try to turn the homeowner into a technician or plumber, but don’t be afraid of offering helpful advice.

Here are a few topics that might be appropriate for a home improvement seminar…

• How to build a pool
• How to select an air conditioning contractor
• Strategies for cutting home energy
• Water conservation strategies in the home
• Your home’s electrical system
• All about ants and other pest protection
• Conduct you own home energy audit

To find opportunities, start with your own community parks and recreation departments. Next, see what opportunities are available at area home and garden shows. Many host free seminars to help attract homeowners. Some colleges and community colleges offer non-credit continuing education classes.


23. Write Home Improvement Articles

With the Internet, anyone can publish today. Add a blog to your website or create a free one using Blogger or Word Press.

Write about the homeowner problems you uncover in the course of your daily service work. Tell people how you solved the problems. If the problems are preventable, tell readers how.

If you are overly promotional in the body of your article, it will backfire. People won’t read it. However, it is okay to include a promotional paragraph at the very end.

Post your articles on the article sharing sites. When posting on another site, link back to your blog or website in your promotional paragraph.


24. Promote Your Writings

When you post new articles, let people know by email and by social media, such as Twitter, Linked In, Facebook, and so on.

© 2009 Matt Michel

21 Free Marketing Ideas

Free Marketing Ideas - Part V

Originally Posted 2.23.09

13. If You Are Drug Free, Promote It

Years ago, a contractor in Auburn, California told me he was randomly testing his employees for drugs. Being somewhat of a libertarian, I was horrified. He explained why and I was even more horrified.

One of his technicians developed a cocaine habit. The tech would case customers’ houses on service calls and return at night to rip them off. “Do you know what my liability would be?” asked the contractor.

“No.”

“Neither do I, and I never want to find out.”

Flash forward a few years. When I worked in franchising, one of our franchisees lost track of a truck. This was pre-GPS. No one knew the vehicle location. The plumber didn’t answer the radio.

The highway patrol found him. He was sitting in his service van on a freeway shoulder, slumped over, dead from a heroine overdose. Fortunately, the plumber hadn’t hurt anyone besides himself.

In Philadelphia this week, a plumber was arrested after getting videotaped stealing pipes from suburban fast food restaurants. He was selling the pipes as scrap to pay for drugs.

Unfortunately drugs are a problem. And people know it.

According to the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), over 8% of full time workers use illicit drugs. Among full time employees, the construction trades witnessed the second highest amount of illicit drug abuse (15%) of any occupation. Less than one third of companies use random drug testing.

Source

Drug test. Drug test to protect yourself. Drug test to protect your (clean) employees. Then, promote it.

Let your customers and potential employees know your company is drug free. Proclaim it on job applications and on your website.

It will attract the employees you want and dissuade those you do not from applying in the first place. It will also attract customers who want peace of mind about the individuals who are allowed inside their homes.


14. Insert A Business Card Into Every Returned DVD

When you rent a DVD, stick a business card into the box when returning it. The kid who opens the box to verify the DVD will probably toss it, but you never know. It’s only a business card!

Of course, it will be more effective if you have a coupon on the back of the business card for dollars off a service call.


15. Join A Leads Club

Leads clubs exist in every town. Some are affiliated with national organizations. Some are independent. Usually, the Chamber of Commerce knows about area leads clubs.

Leads clubs are focused networking groups. Non-competitive businesses meet for lunch or breakfast. The idea is to help each other with introductions and business opportunities.

Everyone in your club is a prospect. More important, everyone in your club is a community center of influence and source of quality referrals.

Leads clubs are different than service clubs. Service clubs exist to be of service to the community. The networking that occurs is a fringe benefit. In a leads club the networking is the purpose. As a result, the meetings tend to be focused and no-nonsense. Each member tries to help others gain business.

Contact your local chamber for more information on the leads clubs in your area.


16. Knock On Doors

Tom McCart was the first salesperson in the heating and air conditioning industry to sell $1 million of replacement products. He did it in a small, one season market, one system at a time, with many sales coming from leads generated by knocking on doors.

Knocking on doors? It sounds crazy. Yet, soon after Tom broke the million dollar ceiling, Pat McCormick sold $1 million worth of high efficiency air conditioners in mild Southern California. Pat generated ALL of his leads by knocking on doors.

Mention “knocking on doors” and the image of the pushy salesperson immediately comes to mind. And, a lot of door-to-door salespeople are pushy. The best are not. They don’t have to be pushy.

Think about Tom and Pat selling air conditioners. Air conditioners are replaced every 15 years on average (though they should be replaced a little more often than that). This means that 7% of the installed base of air conditioners needs replacement every year.

Knock on 15 doors and the odds suggest that one homeowner will own an air conditioner that needs replacement. Why hasn’t he replaced? It’s probably because he doesn’t know who to call and dreads the process of calling contractors, scheduling appointments, and listening to the pitch. He imagines the contractor salesperson to be dishonest and pushy.

So why will he buy from you? Because you are the opposite of the salesperson he fears. McCart used to knock on the door, smile, introduce himself, and declare that he was the neighborhood contractor and was letting people know that he had some special financing available for homeowners in the area. He just wanted to know if the homeowner had any interest.

Tom said the next part was key. “Shut up,” advised Tom.

Minneapolis contractor Gary Katz says that silence is the only pressure you ever need to apply. Tom McCart certainly used it to great effect.

Following the pregnant pause, the homeowner will do one of the following:

- He might dismiss you, declaring a lack of interest.

- He might ask for more information.

- He might invite you to take a look at his old air conditioner.

If he dismisses you, thank him for his time. Hand him a business card and give him permission to call you when he decides it’s time to replace.

Pat McCormick said knocking or doors will eventually result in a sale. It’s a numbers game. Pat would divide the commission by the number of doors he knocked on until he made a sale to come up with an average value of each door. On each rejection, he reminded himself of the value of that door.

If the homeowner asks for information, give it to him. If he asks for you to look at his air conditioner, do it. Chances are good that this is a homeowner who lacks a relationship with a contractor and knows it’s time to replace. You’re in the right place at the right time.

All marketing requires an investment of money or time. Knocking on doors costs nothing, but does take time. If you lack leads, knocking on doors beats the heck out of sitting around the shop. Give it a try.

© 2009 Matt Michel

Repair Work Booms

Originally Posted 2.23.09

One group that’s thrives in a tough economy is shoe cobblers. Jim McFarland in Lakeland, Florida says, “I haven't seen shoes like this in 25 years.”

People are repairing shoes, plumbing, furnaces, air conditioners, pools, etc. Ain’t service great!

Source

Source 2

Source 3

Free Marketing Ideas - Part IV

Originally Published 2.11.09

9. Load Up On Testimonials.

Testimonials are powerful. Expert testimonials are even stronger. They reassure uncertain consumers who lack the technical ability to judge the quality of your work.

For most companies the problem isn’t getting testimonials, it’s *capturing* them. After a service call, a grateful homeowner complements your plumber or technician. There’s the testimonial. Too bad it’s lost.

At a home show, your customer stops by your booth and tells you how wonderful your company is. It’s great to hear, but unless you capture it, it’s lost.

Now, a new product from Dan and Dave Squires makes it easy to capture testimonials. The product is called Voice Q. Essentially, Voice Q is a telephone comment line that digitizes the comments and instantly emails you a wav file with the customer’s message.

Ironically, the Squires brothers developed Voice Q as a means of improving field efficiency, not increasing testimonials. Dan saw it as a way to eliminate wait time when technicians call in to debrief after a service call. The techs didn’t like waiting on hold while the call taker or dispatcher was on another line. The call takers didn’t like having to drop everything to debrief a technician.

Each tech has a separate line, which is identified by the tech’s phone number and the date and time stamp. Separate lines cost a little more, but search and sort makes it worth the cost. An additional line is available for parts orders.

Voice Q helps improve field efficiency. The office staff will love it. Yet, it works even better as a testimonial catcher.

With Voice Q, the technician can ask the homeowner who gives the complement to call the message line and repeat the message. In fact, he can whip out his mobile phone, dial the message line and ask the homeowner to repeat the message on the spot. In all likelihood the message will be even better if the technician is standing there while the homeowner gushes.

The catch, of course, is the field service personnel. They must be given an incentive to collect the testimonials. Plus, the need to collect them should be reinforced every week until it becomes a habit.

Dave used Voice Q recently to capture testimonials during a trade show from his contractor customers. Click here to hear how clear these sound, despite being recorded in a busy show with background noise.

Get expert testimonials by asking your peers in other towns to provide expert testimony about your quality and craftsmanship.

Take the customer and peer testimonials and transcribe them or place them on your website for people to click and listen. Even better, incorporate them into your on hold message so that prospects hear your customers rave about you (if they must be placed on hold).

Voice Q isn’t free, but it is affordable. It only costs $3/month for a line ($5 for separate debrief and parts lines). Check it out at http://voice-q.com/.

Help me test it by calling the new Service Roundtable and Comanche Marketing comment line at 810.320.3118. Leave me a message about the Service Roundtable, Comanche Marketing, your best clean joke, whatever.

You don’t need Voice Q to collect testimonials. It just makes things easier. When you learn from your field service people that a customer paid a complement, you can call or email the customer and ask if he or she wouldn’t mind repeating it in an email you can quote.

At a home show, you can hand the complementary customer a business card and ask the customer to send you a quick email with the same message. Some will and you lose nothing by trying.

Expert testimonials are easier. Simply email your peers in different markets. Start by offering each peer a testimonial of your own. Be sure to tell everyone you contact that it’s okay to say no.


10. Give Creative Titles

Let’s say you are starting a new career. You just got your first job. You can’t wait to tell your mother.

“Hey Mom, I just got a job!”

“Why that’s wonderful. I can’t wait to tell the ladies in the bridge club. What’s you title? I know it will take a few weeks before you’re named vice president, but I’m sure you’re important.”

You puff up your chest, stick out your chin, and proudly proclaim, “I’m a ‘Helper.’”

What a proud day for your mother!

Titles are cheap. At different points in your life, they matter to people or to customers. Let people have creative titles if it will help them feel better about themselves or better represent themselves.

Instead of “Helper,” call the kid an “Assistant Installation Technician.” Give him a title he can brag about with mom and more important, with his girlfriend. And give him a business card. Give him a real business card with his name and title, not a blank line for the kid to write his name in.

At Turbo, I had an intern working with me during the summer. I ordered business cards for him and gave him the title of “Student Engineer.” There was no obvious reason for him to have business cards. He didn’t meet with customers and was unlikely to run into any. His main use of the business cards was to hand them to girls in bars.

You probably think giving him business cards was a waste. Maybe it was. Yet, the business cards were cheap and the title was free. A couple of years after he graduated, he returned to Turbo as a full-fledged mechanical engineer. Did the good feelings and identification he felt with the company while a “Student Engineer” have anything to do with the return? Absolutely. And the cards and title reinforced both.

When I worked at Decision Analyst I used to joke, “What do you call a salesperson at Decision Analyst?” “Vice President.”

In truth it wasn’t a joke, it was a business strategy. While I did my share of true research, business analysis, and consulting at Decision Analyst, I was fundamentally a high level salesperson. Before I could perform an engagement, I had to win one. I had to sell. Since I called on corporate CEOs and Vice Presidents, I had an easier time when I was a Vice President.

Taking it the other direction, the late Tom McCart gave himself the title of “Assistant Buyer” when he was selling for Ron Smith at Modern Air. It was an ice breaker. Tom would hand prospects a card at the start of a sales call. When a confused prospect commented on the title Tom would answer, “Well, I’m here to help you buy the best comfort system for your home.”

Do you have an employee who wants a more prestigious title? What about a more creative one? Will a title help your employee feel better about his job? Will it help him sell more? Don’t be stingy with the free stuff. Make your better salespeople vice presidents if that will help them sell more.


11. Have Employees Park Their Trucks At The End Of Their Driveways, Perpendicular To Traffic

This runs counter to conventional wisdom. Park your vehicle in the driveway of the customer’s home so the billboard is perpendicular to traffic and to every other home up and down the street.

Do you see any billboards placed parallel to the highway? Of course not. They are all perpendicular. If you decaled the truck for the advertising impact, turn it perpendicular to traffic, not parallel.

I hear the gasping now. You say the homeowner will be mad. Okay. Get permission.

“Mrs. Homeowner, I parked on your driveway to get the truck out of the way of traffic. I don’t want it obstructing a driver’s view if a kid is riding her bike down the street. Is it okay where it is, or should I move it to the street.

The homeowner will either say it’s okay where it is, giving you permission, or say she prefers it in the street, which means you move it. What’s the problem?

But what about oil leaks, you say. Personally, I’m not happy about oil leaks in front of my house. Once, a couple of plumbers showed up at my house driving the Exxon Valdez installation truck. It was big as a supertanker and left an oil slick everywhere it went. The only reason I didn’t complain after they left and I saw the oil slick was fear that they might return.

If you vehicle leaks oil, there’s a simple solution. GET IT FIXED! Even if you’re too afraid to try parking on the customer’s driveway and asking permission, GET THE OIL LEAK FIXED!

Service trucks are the primary advertising medium for most contractors. Park so more people can see them.


12. Hit The Service Club Rubber Chicken Circuit

Local service clubs (i.e., Rotary, Lion’s, Kiwanis, and Optimists) feature weekly speakers. These clubs are always on the lookout for speakers who can address relevant issues affecting the community and club members. That’s you.

When you speak to a service club, you speak to a room full of community leaders. These are connected people whom others turn to for advice and recommendations. If there’s any group you want to influence, it’s a group of influencers. If there’s any group you want to connect with, it’s a group of connected people.

Search the Internet to find the clubs in your area and contact the club president. Tell the president that you’re trying to spread the word in the community about electrical fires, refrigerant phase outs, ways to save water, practical solar technologies, and so on. Describe the topic and offer to speak on it when the club has an opening.

You will get approximately 15 minutes. Don’t use all of it. Be sure to leave time for questions and answers.

While this is an informational talk and not a sales pitch, it’s inherently promotional. When more people learn about your business, more business opportunities will come your way.

© 2009 Matt Michel

New Products/New Marketings

Originally Published 2.11.09

Even the best companies suffer from customer attrition. In good times or bad, everyone who did business with you last year, will not do business with you this year.

Some customers move. Some die. Some switch to a competitor (the jerks!). Some skip annual maintenance and only call when something is broken or needs replacement. No one gets their business.

Unless your repeat customers increase their spending enough to overcome the losses from natural attrition, you’ll have to replace part of last year’s customer base just to stay even. But how?

One of the oldest marketing planning tools is the new products and services/new markets grid. Start by estimating how much business you can expect from your existing products and services and from your existing markets without making changes. Is it enough? Can you gain more business from the market by taking share from competitors? Can you take enough share to grow?

If not, consider new products/services, new markets, or both. A service company with a solid, strong customer base might add new products and services to its portfolio and offer them to existing customers. Some examples…

A pool builder who previously ignored service and maintenance opportunities, adds them.

An HVAC contractor adds electrical service.

A plumbing contractor adds in-ground sprinkler system installation and maintenance.

An electrical contractor offers security system monitoring.

The advantage of adding new products and services to your existing customer base is the customers already know and trust you.

What if your customer base is relatively new, small, or is in decline? Consider new markets for existing products and services. Some examples…

A service company opens a satellite operation in the next town, using a local number that’s answered in the main office to keep overhead low.

An electrical contractor who focuses on residential new construction moves into the residential service market.

And of course, companies can begin offering new products and services both within existing markets and to new markets. Most service companies are small enough that adding a market and/or adding new products and services is sufficient to ensure growth, if the opportunities are pursued.

© 2009 Matt Michel

Free Marketing Ideas - Part III

Originally Published 1.07.09

6. Develop An Electronic Sales Presentation

In many ways selling is teaching. Part of the sales professional’s role is to help prospects understand the different options available to them and how these might meet their needs.

Good salespeople try to uncover the needs and desires of a prospect. But sometimes this can prove difficult since prospects may not be able to articulate what they want or even know what they want. When you teach a prospect about a product or service, you open up new possibilities for consideration.

For example, you probably have a number of products you cannot live without today, but that you could not envision yesterday. Could you survive without an MP3 player or iPod? No? How about your LCD or plasma TV? Your Wii? GPS? Your mobile phone? Bluetooth? Broadband Internet access?

It doesn’t have to be high tech. My wife bought me a handheld lime juicer. Before I saw it I never knew I needed one and now I can’t live without it.

You might be wondering what the heck a handheld lime juicer is. It consists of a pair of hinged cups with handles. One cup fits inside the other to squeeze half of a lemon or lime. I can see it clearly in my mind, but I bet you can’t.

This is the problem. Some concepts are simply hard to convey with words. I could probably give a detailed explanation of the juicer that would give you a better idea what I’m talking about, but you would tune out long before I could do it. It’s far better, clearer, and faster to show you a picture.

Click here to see a picture of a juicer.

If it’s difficult to grasp the concept of a juicer without the picture, imagine how difficult it is for your prospects to understand what you are describing.

According to Prentice Hall eTeach, 65% of the population consists of visual learners. Two out of three people need to see things. If it’s an unfamiliar concept, it’s worse.

What do you think happens when your verbal description is inadequate? Some prospects will ask for clarification. Most will politely nod and wait for you to finish, but won’t buy.

It’s hard for consumers to envision an air conditioning zoning system, a tankless water heater, a solar pool heater, and any one of a million mundane products if they’ve never seen one. Pictures are worth a thousand words and showing prospects pictures of before and after kitchen remodels, installed power vents, pool fountains, the effectiveness of air cleaners on microscopic particles and dust, and so on helps them consider possibilities they had not imagined. And once imagined, some prospects will decide they must have them. Your sales increase.

It should seem obvious that you can increase your effectiveness by incorporating visual aids into your sales presentations. Use literature, photographs, and samples (the easiest way). Or, use electronic presentation software (the most flexible).

Despite their flexibility, a lot of sales managers and sales trainers frown on electronic presentations. They are afraid that the salesperson will use the presentation like a crutch, that it will take away from the sale, and that it will turn off and bore customers.

Frankly, that’s old school thinking. A good salesperson uses technology as a tool. As a tool, it doesn’t turn off customers or get in the way of the dialogue. It enhances the presentation. Proficiency comes with practice and once someone is proficient with a laptop, its use is no more awkward than a tape rule.

A laptop offers a wealth of visual aids. With sound it can also be an auditory aid. For example, sound is logarithmic like an earthquake Richter Scale. An increase of 0.3 bels doubles the sound level. It’s one thing to say it. It’s quite another to play the sound of one fan, followed by the sound of another 0.3 bels higher. Don’t you think a prospect is more likely to pay a premium for a quieter product after the sound difference has been demonstrated?

If you already have a laptop, it costs nothing to build an electronic sales presentation. If you need a laptop, I’ve got good news. Asus has an ultra portable laptop for less than $400. It’s limited in its memory, hard drive capacity, and display size, but good enough to help convey basic ideas. It comes with Open Office, which is a free open source counter to Microsoft Office.

Read Cnet’s review of the Asus.

I think the best solution for salespeople is one of the tablet laptops. Unfortunately, these are among the most expensive laptops. I had one of the early ones for a few weeks. The functionality was great, but the laptop left something to be desired. I bet the bugs have been worked out now.

For field service personnel who find themselves in sales situations or simply must give explanations to customers, a laptop may not be practical. Yet, the need for visual aids remains. In fact, it may be more important since service personnel are not usually as glib as salespeople.

The answer for service personnel is to use literature and pictures. Rather than ask a homeowner to climb into an attic to look at a rusted drain pan or try to explain it, take a digital picture and show it to the homeowner. Pocket digital cameras are priced so that anyone can own one. A camera should be an essential part of a plumber or technician’s toolbox. Like other personal tools, the employee should be obligated to supply a digital camera.

If your personnel lack a camera, buy cameras for them. Let them pay for the cameras over time through a payroll deduction.

Remember, without visual aids, two thirds of your prospects and customers have trouble following your explanation.


7. Enter Every Contest

Hobaica Refrigeration is the Air Conditioning Contractors of America’s National Residential Contractor of the Year. I asked Paul Hobaica how they won it.

“We entered,” he said.

Now, there was a lot more to it than that. First, Hobaica is an outstanding company. It took years of sweat and toil to build up the company.

Still there’s a lot of truth to Paul’s statement. Before a contest can be won, it must be entered.

While some contests and awards have lots of entrants, I wonder about others. I suspect that few companies enter many competitions, though no one on the outside knows and people are still impressed when you win.

Win an award and stand out for life. In 9th grade I won a Columbia Journalism Award. I don’t know what the award was and didn’t know I entered it (a teacher entered me), but from that day forward, for the rest of my life I will legitimately be “an award winning writer.” Cool, huh?

Once you win an award, your company is hereafter and forever more, “an award winning company.” It becomes part of your marketing. It’s a point of differentiation. It represents third party reassurance to prospects. It makes you a more attractive employer.

Of course, it all starts with the entry form. Well, it all starts with the search for entry forms. Talk to the people with your local Chamber of Commerce. Call the business editor of your local paper. Contact trade press editors. Search the Internet to find possible contests. Then enter them.

What do you have to lose? Who knows? You might find yourself an award winner!


8. Get Newcomers Lists From Town Hall

Did you ever wonder how the Welcome Wagon finds new homeowners to welcome? I discovered that the list is provided by the city, for free!

Newcomers lists are typically available each month. Some towns will mail them. Others require you to stop by city hall.

I’ve had contractors tell me they’re too busy to pick up newcomers lists and have too many communities in their service territory. Good for them.

I hope you’re too busy too. If you’re not, and if you’re looking for business, newcomers lists represent lists of new homeowners who typically lack loyalty or allegiance to any of your competitors. They’re good prospects.

If you have too many communities in your service territory, it’s probably an indication that your territory is too large. But you say you can’t afford to turn away any calls.

Okay, don’t. But don’t market to the entire world. Focus your marketing to the immediate vicinity of your shop, starting with newcomers.

What do you market to newcomers? Send them a gift certificate with your company. Add them to your newsletter mailing list. Offer a free inspection. Start the dialogue so that the new homeowners start to think of you as “their” plumber/air conditioning company/pool company/carpet cleaner/fill-in-the-blank service and repair company.

That’s it for now. More next time.

© 2009 Matt Michel

Free Marketing Ideas - Part II

Orginally Published 11.4.2008

4. Conduct Brown Bag Seminars For Area Employers

A brown bag seminar is a lunch seminar where people bring a sack lunch and listen to a speaker. Some employers sponsor brown bag seminars for employees on a variety of topics, usually things of interest to the employee.

When I worked in the Fortune 500, two of the brown bag seminars I remember were on vacation planning and financial planning. These were led, as one might guess, by a travel agent and an investment advisor. The company bought soft drinks and the seminar leaders gave out a door prize and an advertising premium.

If you can swing an invitation to lead a brown bag seminar, you get 20 to 30 minutes in front of a group of prospects. Who wouldn’t want that?

You might wonder, 20 to 30 minutes of what? What will I say? What do I talk about?

Think of three to five questions you hear from your customers. For example, plumber might get questions about tankless water heaters. An air conditioning contractor might receive questions about energy efficiency. A pool contractor might encounter questions about salt water pool systems. An electrician might encounter uncertainty about compact fluorescents.

Each question represents a potential brown bag seminar…

Plumber: “Everything You Wanted to Know About Tankless Water Heaters”

A/C: “How to Cut Heating Costs This Winter”

Pool: “Should You Consider a Salt Water Pool?”

Electrical: “Amazing New Options With Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs”

The questions asked by your customers are perfect for a brown bag seminar. It’s what people want to know. Of course, you aren’t limited by things customers ask about. You can add topics people should ask about, but do not…

Plumber: “What’s In Your Water?”

A/C: “Is Your Filter Making Your Home Uncomfortable?”

Pool: “How to Add a Fountain to Your Pool”

Electrical: “What Are Brown Outs, Why They’re Increasing, and Why You Should Care”

You can find other topics by perusing your trade magazines and looking for hot industry issues that may not be on the consumer’s radar…

Plumber: “Should You Buy an Ultra Low Flow Toilet?”

A/C: “What The Refrigerant Phase Out Means”

Pool: “New Pool Safety Requirements”

Electrical: “New Exterior Lighting Design Solutions for Your Home”

Coming up with three to five seminar topics should be no problem. Approach each topic with an eye towards education, not sales. You do not need to sell. Your mere presence is self-promotional.

To make a seminar more fun and memorable, come up with a way to involve one or more people from your audience in a hands on demonstration. Bring a (new) toilet and plunger to teach the proper technique for clearing a stoppage using a volunteer from the audience. You aren’t reducing the need for your company by teaching people how to clear a stoppage. You’re ensuring the audience members think of you when they can’t clear one.

Bring an unusual tool, like an infrared camera, for people to play with. Everyone will have fun using it to show body temperature like the Gatorade ads. Let people play, but then show how it can find air infiltration in a building, identify electrical parts before they fail, identify roof leaks, and so on.

Bring things homeowners don’t usually see, like a condemned furnace heat exchanger. Show them in detail how it failed, how the failure is detected, and why annual inspections are important.

Now that you’ve got a set of topics and some thoughts on how to present them, you’re ready to line up the seminars. Your best route will be through the human resources department. If the company is too small for an HR manager, it’s probably too small for a brown bag seminar.

Call the company and ask for the HR manager. Ask if the company provides brown bag seminars. If not, briefly describe them and probe for interest. Offer to drop by and spend a few minutes with him or her planning a seminar.

Some will be receptive to the idea. Some won’t. If the HR manager rejects the concept, it’s not a rejection of you. It’s the sign of an old school, unenlightened HR manager. Schedule a callback in a year when there might be someone else in the HR role.

Once you win over the HR manager and lead your first brown bag seminar, leverage it for future opportunities, starting with the HR manager. Ask the manager if she can recommend other companies or people to call. If the manager is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, she might know a number of HR managers in the area.

And don’t forget the leave behinds. While the seminar should be educational, you can leave promotional material. At the very least, leave refrigerator magnets. You might also give the audience members gift certificates (greater intrinsic value than a “coupon”).

A month after the seminar, follow up with the HR manager to see if you can offer the company an employee discount.


5. Create a Community Information/Resource Guide for New Residents and Give It to Realtors

Even in recessionary markets, people move. As a small business owner, you may stay put. That doesn’t mean your customers will. Ours is increasingly a transient society.

New homeowners in a community have to build their contacts and connections from scratch. They leave behind their referral networks. Sometimes it’s not that the new homeowner doesn’t know who to call, he doesn’t know anyone to call.

So help. Create a listing of all of the government and community services a new homeowner could need. Provide websites and phone numbers. This includes everything from the State Department of Motor Vehicles for drivers licenses and vehicle registration to the local pound for pet licenses. List the branches of the library, the public pools and parks, tennis courts, schools, etc. It’s easy to come up with quite a list.

Now add basic services. This includes electricity, water, trash, gas or oil, phones, hospitals, etc. Some are municipal. Some are private.

Next, add essential service businesses. List two or three leading companies for each category, except one. Which one? Yours of course.

Add restaurants, retail, and entertainment. Add key community events and dates.

You should wind up with a useful guide. Make sure you note your sponsorship of the guide on the front and back. Make room to add a newcomer’s coupon with your company. Print stacks of the guides and give them to area realtors to pass out to new homeowners.

Assemble an electronic version for your website, calling it a community links page. Ask every business you link with to reciprocate. This will boost your ranking in the search engines, reason enough.

© 2008 Matt Michel