Neil Rackham on Selling in a Recession

Many sales professionals have read Neil Rackham's book SPIN Selling. Rackham advocates a consultative sales approach with lots of questions. His approach is well suited to process sales and high ticket items.

Rackham was interviewed by Gerhard Gschwandtner, the publisher of Selling Power Magazine about selling in a recession. Rackham noted that the instinctive reaction of salespeople is to sell price during a recession. This is a mistake.

More than they want a good price during a recession, people want to avoid risk. In fact, people will spend more for a safer solution. Successful salespeople should show people how their solutions minimize risk.

This reminds me of a research study on air conditioning purchases in a Midwestern market that I read conducted 20 years ago. The conventional wisdom was that high efficiency was more likely to be purchased by affluent homeowners. After all, the affluent consumers had the money. Yet the study revealed that middle class and lower middle class homeowners were more likely to buy high efficiency. At the time, it was a head scratcher for me. It didn't make sense. My boss, Garry Upton, instantly knew the reason high efficiency sold better to people with less money.

"They can't afford a mistake," Garry said.

In other words, they didn't have enough money to risk losing it by making a bad decision. They would spend a little more to buy what was perceived was a better product. It was an inherent form of insurance.

In the interview, Rackham noted that salespeople feel pressured to close and communicate their nervousness to the prospect. In risk-avoidance mode, the prospects shy away from the nervous salesperson. Rackham advises sales managers to relieve some of the pressure on salespeople so that they feel safe in their jobs and communicate confidence, which is interpreted by the prospect that the company is a safe bet.

I agree with Rackham to a point. The absence of sales incentives usually results in lazy salespeople. By nature salespeople are usually money motivated and competitive. Keep them incented.

Rackham also notes that companies go into panic mode during recessions and flail around, mistaking activity for results. They chase every opportunity, but fail to devote the time needed to win more. Rackham suggests focusing on the sales you can win, not winning more opportunities.

But how can you identify winnable sales opportunities in advance? Personally, I advocate the pursuit of every possible opportunity to the point where you can determine the potential for a payoff. Always pursue those you have a good shot at winning. Drop the long shots unless pursuing them doesn't interfere with higher payoff activities. This works in good times and bad.

In summary, Rackham's advice is sound...

• Minimize buyer risk
  
  
• Be confident, not nervous
  
  
• Focus and optimize your effort.

By the way, if you're in sales and haven't read SPIN Selling, you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.

33 Approaches to Overcoming the Price Objection

The most feared objection for most salespeople is the price objection. The salesperson might hear a prospect state outright that it’s too expensive, that someone else offers similar products or services for less, or simply demand a better number.

The price objection never goes away. I’ve encountered it when selling HVAC products in the high rise plan & spec market (about as competitive as it gets), when selling pure intangible products like consulting services, and when selling a product (i.e., the Service Roundtable) that costs 1/20th of some competitive products. People complain about price at every price level. The absence of any price objections is taken as a sign by most business people that the price is too low.

Price objections are normal, expected, and even welcomed by top sales professionals. Stated objections can always be addressed and overcome. It’s the unstated ones that concern most professionals.

Price objections are really buying signals. The prospect is telling you he’s ready to buy if you’ll give him a little help. According to research studies, price is the most important factor in roughly one out of seven purchases. In six out of seven, it’s secondary! Nevertheless, the price objection remains the most feared of all objections.

Here are 33 approaches to overcoming the price objection for in-home sales. Some are very similar and simply represent different ways of saying the same thing. Others are formulistic, like “feel, felt, found.” They come from different sources, such as Ziglar, Hopkins, Tracy, Novak, McCart, Greer, McCormick, Cunningham, Howard, Piscitelli, Cameron, and dozens of other sales professionals who have influenced me through the years. Each should be used situationally, based on your read of the prospect, your comfort level with the response, and your internalization of the response.

Pick a few that you like and practice. Make them yours. Adjust them for your company and industry. When appropriate weave stories around them. Ziglar tells a great story about buying a cheap bike for his daughter that broke after a few months and had to be replaced. He describes how he figured he better spend more for a bike that would last. He notes how his daughter rode the more expensive bike for years. He then drives the point home by breaking down the monthly cost of ownership for each bike.

Here are the responses…

1. Really? My price is too high? [Then, shut up.]
   
   
2. What do you mean by “too high?”
   
   
3. If I may ask, what is your budget?
   
   
4. Compared to…?
   
   
5. Is price the only factor in your decision? Is it the most important factor?
   
   
6. Okay, let me recap. We sat down and built this system together, taking into account utility costs / health concerns / comfort / safety / home value. We didn’t account for price. Is it more important that one of your other factors? What should we remove?
   
   
7. This is a beautiful home. Since others in the area cost less, price must not have been the only factor or even the most important factor when you bought this home. Now, you’re faced with one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your home. You don’t want to make this decision based on price alone do you?
   
   
8. It’s a fair price and I can’t lower it without taking something out of the job. Do we need to see what we can cut to meet your budget?
   
   
9. I know this sounds trite, but it really is better to spend a little more than you planned to get what you want than to spend too little and risk losing everything [or being miserable for the next 15 years].
   
   
10. If we can arrange for financing, would that make it more affordable / attractive / comfortable?
    
    
11. Of course it is. Let me explain why.
    
    
12. It’s true that the initial cost or first cost is higher, but when you factor in operating and maintenance costs over the life of the product, you’ll find a different story. First cost may be a little higher, but the total cost of ownership is far less.
    
    
13. Why do you think it’s higher?
    
    
14. That’s interesting. How do the price, products, and other companies you’re considering compare?
    
    
15. Most companies in our industry have comparable net profit margins so price shouldn’t vary much from one company to the next. If it does, there’s a reason. Did you ever see the movie, The Towering Inferno? The movie is about a fire in a skyscraper. The fire started when project costs were running over budget and the electrical contractor cut costs by using lower quality wiring. It’s the type of thing few people would notice. Unfortunately, the wiring didn’t handle the load and short circuited, resulting in a devastating fire. I’m not saying that other companies are using substandard materials, but there’s got to be something different.
    
    
16. You’re right. We do charge a little more. Do you know why? We’re worth it.
    
    
17. If you can show me a cheaper proposal, I would be happy to match it item for item with identical warranties and guarantees.
    
    
18. Years ago, quality expert Phil Crosby wrote a book entitled, “Quality is Free.” Crosby noted how higher quality pays for itself, the savings are hidden. Here the savings are breakdowns you’ll avoid, emergency service calls you won’t have to pay, and hassles you’ll miss. The point is that it’s worth spending more for better quality.
    
    
19. I understand that my price may be a little higher. A long time ago when I started my company I made a decision. I decided I’d rather explain a higher price every now and then, than apologize for poor quality forever.
    
    
20. Hmm. I suppose I could lower my price. What would you like me to take out to get the price down?
    
    
21. You’re right to be concerned about the price you pay. It’s a big decision and most people can’t afford to make a poor choice. Do you think there’s a difference between our company and the others you’ve talked with?
    
    
22. Do you want me to show you something cheaper?
    
    
23. Yes, our price is higher but you won’t have any regrets with us. It’s why we offer such a strong guarantee. Isn’t it better to invest a little more than to invest too little and risk your entire investment?
    
    
24. I understand how you feel. Mr. Jones, one of your neighbors felt the same way a year ago, but after buying he found that the added performance we delivered, the quality of our work, and the support we provided after the sale was worth far more than any money he might have saved with someone else.
    
    
25. Yes, it is a little more expensive. It’s the best on the market. Don’t you and your family deserve the best?
    
    
26. How much is the difference? You say that we’re $500 high? Well, this product carries an average life of 15 years. That works out to $33 a year or 64 cents a week. Isn’t it worth an extra 64 cents a week to get exactly what you want and do business with an established, reputable company like ours? After all, that’s what… a cup of Starbucks every month?
    
    
27. Am I offering more than you want?
    
    
28. It is a significant investment and not the type most homeowners make very often. But, you’re going to have to live with this decision for years. Isn’t it worth a little more to be sure?
    
    
29. I bet you hear the same thing in your business. You know, I can probably get [high school kid / offshore programmer / Legalzoom or other website / etc.] for less than it costs to hire you. [Then, shut up.]
    
    
30. I’m sure it’s tempting to select a company desperate for business and willing to work for less. However, may I suggest that anyone who charges more than a couple of hundred dollars less is probably either cutting corners or cutting profits? You don’t want the first and may not care about the second. You should. It’s a sad fact that a lot of companies in our industry close every year. A year from now you probably won’t remember what you paid but five years from now you may take great comfort from the fact we’re still around to honor our warranty.
    
    
31. My price may be higher, but I offer you something no one else can match. Me. You get my personal service and attention now and in the future.
    
    
32. If you don’t mind, let me ask, have you ever paid a premium for a product or service? Why did you pay it?
    
    
33. I’m sure they believe they match up with us. When I was in junior high I loved baseball and looked up to one of the high school pitchers. This kid could do it all. I was sure he would go pro and pitch in the World Series. After practice he used to talk with us, telling stories about the home runs he hit and the batters he struck out. One day he bragged that he could strike out anyone. “What about Hank Aaron,” asked one of my friends.
    
    “Sure, I could strike him out,” he said casually. “I’d take him down with three pitches.”
    
    Wow, I thought. This kid was so good he could strike out Hank Aaron. A few years later, I was watching a home run derby on television when I remembered the comment about striking out Aaron and laughed out loud. There was no way he could’ve managed to get one strike. The greatest home run hitter of that day would have shelled him. The competition is a lot like this high school kid. I liked the kid and know he believed his boast when he made it. Likewise, I’m sure the other company believes they can match us. That doesn’t mean they can.

Do you have any you would like to add? Email me!

© 2009 Matt Michel

Philip Kotler on Marketing

Philip Kotler is the top academic marketer in the world. He's marketing's counterpart to Peter Drucker. In this six minute video delivered at the London Business Forum, Kotler explains the difference between product management, brand management, and customer management.

Inside Contracting: How Top Contractors Win In HVAC

Inside Contracting, a new book from Service Nation Press, is a must for any HVAC contractor's library.


Why Go It Alone?

Building a successful HVAC service company is not without its challenges. Inside Contracting provides you with the collective wisdom of dozens of the country’s most successful contractors and consultants to help you meet those challenges head-on. This includes top HVAC professionals like Drew Cameron, Roger Costner, Ken Goodrich, Charlie Greer, Bob Haak, Dave Holt, Martin Hoover, Jeff Lee, Jeff Marl, Steve Miles, Tom Piscitelli, Matt Prazenka, Bob Ring, Ben Stark, Stan Stupor, Larry Taylor, Aaron York, and dozens of others.

The tips, tricks and traps within provide real-life examples—not unproven theories—of how to profitably grow, manage and one day, exit your business.

Inside Contracting presents the best practices of leading contractors including...

• Internet Advertising: SEO vs. SEM
  
  
• Private Use of Company Vehicles
  
  
• Private Labeling - Selling Your Brand
  
  
• Advice for the Desperate Contractor
  
  
• Buying a Company: Valuing The Customer List & Phone Number
  
  
• Buying Service Vehicles
  
  
• Hiring Salespeople
  
  
• Manufacturer Co-op
  
  
• Reducing Yellow Page Advertising
  
  
• Woman in HVAC Sales and Service

Build a Bridge From Your Island

One of the most challenging aspects of running a business is the isolation. Sometimes it feels like you are alone on an island with all of your employees. They’re looking to you for all of the answers, but there’s nowhere and no one for you to turn to. Inside Contracting is like a bridge from your island to top HVAC contractors and consultants from across the country.

Inside Contracting plugs you into the real world experience of other contractors representing hundreds of years of contractor experience. Learn from their best moves and biggest mistakes.

Inside Contracting is an essential reference in every HVAC contractor’s library. Topics include:

• Advertising
  
  
• Angry Customers
  
  
• Branding
  
  
• Callbacks
  
  
• Co-op
  
  
• Financing
  
  
• Green Marketing
  
  
• Hiring
  
  
• Internet Marketing
  
  
• Lead Generation
  
  
• Management
  
  
• Marketing
  
  
• Mergers & Acquisitions
  
  
• Motivating
  
  
• Networking
  
  
• Pricing
  
  
• Referrals
  
  
• Sales
  
  
• Scheduling
  
  
• Service Agreements
  
  
• Succession Planning
  
  
• Technician Selling
  
  
• Women in HVAC
  
  
• Yellow Pages

Inside Contracting is only $32.95 (contractors enrolled in Roundtable Rewards receive a $5 rebate) plus shipping & handling. Texas residents, unfortunately, get zapped for sales tax.

Click Here To Order Your Copy Today! Order several. It makes a great Christmas or Hanukkah present.

Inside Contracting was built from the Service Roundtable’s 85,000 record knowledge-base management archive.


About The Service Roundtable

Formed by leading contractors, the Service Roundtable® offers an incredible array of HVAC and Plumbing best practice tools and diverse communication outlets to help you generate leads, close more sales, market your company, recruit technicians and plumbers, price for profit, manage your service agreements, and create an exit strategy.

Every week contractors receive new tools to supplement the Service Roundtable's vast library of existing brochures, letters, post cards, pricing calculators, consumer newsletters, sales sheets, marketing guides, training tools, and more. They tap into the company's 24/7/365 Industry Roundtables with leading contractors and consultants. They save with the company's Roundtable Rewards buying program. And they get it all for just $50 a month! Learn more about the site HERE. Call toll free 877.262.3341 and request a FREE private tour.

The Service Roundtable is the one contractor business alliance without a long-term contract. CLICK HERE to try it for a month. If you don't like it, quit. It's that simple. Of course, you won't quit. Once you see all of the value, you'll wonder how the Service Roundtable is able to do it. Then, you'll wonder how you ever survived without it. Go ahead. Give the Service Roundtable a one-month trial.

Toilet Rebate Clearinghouse

Contractors should be aware of local government and utility rebate programs. They should be aware. In reality, many contractors are not aware of the programs. The reasons are numerous, including poor promotion on the part of the rebate authority, contractors who are so busy chasing work they fail to stay informed, and so on.

Plumbing contractors, at least, can stay up with the flow on low flow toilet rebates at ToiletRebate.com. The site lists toilet rebates in the U.S. and Canada by state and province. Rebate programs are also highlighted through a Google map. Low flow showerhead rebates and other water conservation rebates are often listed with the toilet rebates.

Some of the rebates are substantial. And some, according to a New York Times article, are flush out of cash.

Check it out at ToiletRebate.com.

Ellen From New York Wants to Start a Consulting Company

The public seems convinced there's some kind of glamour in consulting. Hardly. Anyone who thinks it's glamorous has never done it.

It's a little like business travel. I was scheduling an upcoming trip to San Diego and a friend made a comment about how nice it was to visit San Diego in December.

"Yeah," I responded. "I fly in, check into the hotel, go to a dinner meeting, speak after dinner, go back to the hotel, and get up and fly home. It might as well be Cleveland."

Nothing against Cleveland. Actually, I kind of like Cleveland. In fact, I'd rather go to Cleveland than San Diego for business because it's easier to get around. The streets are straight.

Well, it's Saturday and I'm channel surfing during college football time-outs when I run across a call-in business show on the Fox Business Channel. The subject appears to be financing start-ups and the show is struggling to attract calls, so they send a camera and mic outside to find someone to ask a question. The camera crew finds Ellen, a student at Columbia.

Ellen wants to start a consulting company after she graduates. The show's experts correctly advise her that she doesn't need much in the way of financing to start a consulting company. In fact, all she really needs is a client. Another tells her to bootstrap.

The "experts" then proceeded to tell her a few ways to attract clients, but none of them addressed the most fundamental question. How in the heck is a university student qualified to consult with anyone about anything? What has she done? What does she know? Who would hire someone who hasn't done anything and doesn't know anything?

Sorry Ellen, but you aren't ready to be a consultant. You are, however, perfectly qualified for a life of politics.

The Continuing Relevance of Direct Mail

I ran across a good article by Herb Torgersen, president of Direct Innovations, about direct mail in the magazine, Direct. For small business, direct mail remains a great way to market, even as other forms of traditional marketing are losing their punch. Here's part of what Torgersen had to say...

It's an understatement to say the ability to reach consumers with a targeted message through mass media has become fragmented. Audience share on the big three networks has diminished considerably, cable options are endless, magazine and newspaper circ is down, and audience shares for radio have also taken a dip.

Through it all direct mail—if done properly—has continued to consistently produce return on investment on a consistent basis. The sheer amount of databases available enables any marketer to precisely pinpoint their audience. If marketers continue to apply the tried and true "principle of affinity"—a common denominator between product, offer and audience—they will no doubt be able to acquire new customers.

Read the rest of Torgersen's article.

Emerson CEO Speaks Out On The Economy

As a believer in free markets, I've been curious why Fortune 500 CEOs have largely been silent about some of the destructive economic policies currently being pursued. Finally, a CEO speaks out. Even better, he's an HVAC and plumbing CEO.

As reported in Supply House Times, Emerson Electric's CEO, David Farr, made some blunt statements at the Baird Industrial Outlook conference about the impact of cap & trade, socialized medicine, and anti-business labor laws...

• Companies are creating jobs in China and India because they are "places where people want the products and where the governments welcome you to actually do something."
  
  
• "My job is to grow that top line, grow my earnings, grow my cash flow and grow my returns to the shareholders. My job is not to shrink and roll over for the U.S. government."
  
  
• "I’m not going to hire anybody in the United States. I’m moving."

This type of candor from the Fortune 500 is good news. I'm sure it's being said in private, but not so much in public. By speaking out, Farr is helping to highlight the consequences of foolish policies while there's an opportunity to prevent them.

Kudos to David Farr! We need more business leaders with Farr's gumption.

Read the article in Supply House Times.

Effective Communication

This is a well-done slide presentation on effective communication IF you are already well versed in the subject matter. It would make a good presentation to download and use in a company training meeting.

Download as a PDF.

KC CO Poisoning

Source: KMBC TV, Kansas City
Thanks to Rick Allgeier for finding this:

A faulty furnace emitted the dangerous fumes and two people were rushed to a hospital...

"We've had incidents where people haven't been able to walk out of their house because they've been in it too long," Overland Park Fire Lt. Chris Palmer told KMBC's Peggy Breit.

Link to the Story

Share this with your customers.

News That Doesn't Depress You: The U.S.A. Leads World In Undeveloped Fossil Fuel Resources

I bet you didn't know the United States leads the world in undeveloped fossil fuel resources. I didn't. I knew we had a lot of coal. I knew we had new oil and gas finds. I knew our shale oil reserves were huge. I didn't know we lead the world, but that's what a report by the Congressional Research Service stated.

Check out these charts from Human Events...







So how come we import 60% of our energy, with much of it from unfriendly and/or unstable regimes? Part of the answer is economics. Some of our reserves, like the shale oil, is expensive to extract and the technology is not quite in place. However, the technology is rapidly advancing. A few years ago the technology didn't exist to extract a lot of the current natural gas fields.

Part of answer is regulations. The bulk of domestic energy reserves is untouchable due to regulations and restrictions.

While it seems foolish (even suicidal) to me to artificially restrict domestic energy production, I take some comfort from the fact that the reserves aren't evaporating. We'll wake up and utilize them some day, though we will have to endure some self-inflicted pain first. It takes years to ramp up production. It's better to start now, before we need it.

30 Things Every Technician Should Know

Field service personnel know a lot about making repairs. Yup. They can fix stuff. But service is more than turning a wrench and all of the technical knowledge in the world isn't enough. Here are 30 things every technician, plumber, electrician, and mechanic should know...

1. Payroll is the starting cost of a technician to a company. Other direct costs include everything from payroll taxes, uniforms, trucks, vehicle insurance, and worker’s comp to benefits. When all is said and done, the non-payroll costs of employing a technician range from as little as 30% to as much as 100% of payroll.

2. Education is a professional’s lifetime proposition. Only the ignorant think they know it all.

3. Technicians must fix more than the problem. On every service call, there is broken equipment and a broken customer. Both must be fixed for a complete repair.

4. The technician is an ambassador for the company when in uniform or behind the wheel. A technician’s driving habits on the road and personal courtesy everywhere reflect on the company. Since no one knows when someone is watching, a technician should act as though someone is always watching, unlike the technician who was caught on camera by Dateline when he relieved himself in the customer’s bushes.

5. Every technician is a supplier. Technicians are suppliers to some poor soul in the office who depends on the legibility and completeness of the paperwork to do their jobs.

Read more at Contracting Business.

Read Part 2 at Contracting Business.

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?

Selecting a Specialist

Rigid SeeSnake: Gastroenterologists Use Devices Like These
Recently, I've had to select two specialists: a gastroenterologist and a podiatrist. The way I picked each was wholly different, but entirely similar to the way people select any specialist, including plumbers, air conditioning contractors, electricians, etc.


The Gastroenterologist

During a check up, my primary care physician recommended a colonoscopy. If you aren't familiar with the procedure, it's a little like a plumber performing a video inspection on a pipe... only you're the pipe. Yikes!

If the mere imagery makes you shift uncomfortably, imagine hearing that you're going to get to go through it. Guess what? Sooner or later everyone gets to go through it (or the other way around).

Colonoscopies are performed by gastroenterologists, the sewer & drain cleaners of the medical profession. Since a gastroenterologist isn't the type of professional one sees for fun, I had no idea who to choose. No problem, my doctor provided me with a handy list of local gastroenterologists, complete with phone numbers and addresses. "They're all pretty good," he offered unhelpfully.

How was I to choose? How would you choose? Probably like me. I picked the first one on the list and called. I got a recording, telling me the office was closed, informing me of the hours, and asking me to call back. It was 11:00 a.m.!

So I called the next one. I got another message.

I called the third. Eureka! A human answered.

How did I select this specialist? I picked the first one who answered the phone.


The Podiatrist

I've also been diagnosed with achilles tendonitis, which means I'm not supposed to run. I like running. My alternative is the elliptical, which isn't as good a workout and confines me to the gym. My primary care physician, who is into sports medicine said the next step is for me to see a podiatrist. I wasn't too enthusiastic.

On one of my wife's neurological appointments, I asked her doctor if he knew of anything that could help with achilles tendonitis. This neurologist is also a pharmacologist. This guy knows drugs.

He suggested some pain medications, then recommended a podiatrist. He was enthusiastic about his podiatrist, claiming that the podiatrist really helped him. He wrote down his name and office location on his prescription pad and handed me the sheet.

I'm going to see this specialist. I'm not even considering anyone else. Why? Because he was enthusiastically recommended.

Consumers often have no basis for prejudging specialists. Who's good? Who knows? So the smallest difference can be the difference between getting a call and getting passed. Review your telephone procedures. Call your company from time to time. Use an answering service after hours (and use a good one). Review your external image, your advertising, your trucks, your website, your uniforms. Are you doing anything that could turn off customers?

Of course, the small mistakes won't matter if the consumer is referred. Referred consumers generally don't compare or shop for health care or home services specialists. So do all you can to encourage your customers to refer others. Bland referrals generally result in calls. Enthusiastic ones almost always do.

Now, if I could just read the neurologist's writing...

Keep customers out of the Yellow Pages

From my latest Contractor column...

Whatever your opinion is on the Yellow Pages as a way to get new customers, you probably want to keep existing customers away from the Yellow Pages and all of your competitors' ads. Here's eight simple ways to keep them out of the Yellow Pages.

Read more at Contractor Magazine.

Personally, I'm kinda proud I got called a marketing "authority." Someone needs to tell my wife and kids I'm an "authority." They don't know.

Contractors, Ed O’Connell and Alex Walter Honored

Matt Michel, Ed O'Connell, David Heimer

Matt Michel, Alex Walter, David Heimer

Somebody turn out the brights... Wait, that's just David Heimer's tie.

Ed O’Connell and Alex Walter were voted “Contributors of the Year” by the members of the Service Roundtable® and honored at the company’s Las Vegas Roundtable national meeting.

Read more at Contractor Magazine.

The Social Media Leap of Faith

My new "Rant" is out...

Social media is sweeping the business community. Ford Motors, for example, is spending 25% of its marketing budget on digital/social media. Yet most contractors are slow to adopt it. Stunningly, there's apparently no shortage of industry skeptics willing to speak out and shout down digital technologies, proclaiming everything this side of email to be a fad.

Read More At ContractingBusiness.com

The Return of Earl King

Earl King is leading a seminar on commercial service sales!

The first time I heard about Earl King was during my days at Lennox. It seemed that Earl was writing in every trade magazine and speaking at every conference. When he wasn't writing or speaking, others were writing or speaking about Earl's approach to commercial service sales or the United Service Alliance that Earl started. The guy is a sales legend.

Earl won his first national sales contest at the age of 17. He was the national sales champion at Honeywell for four years, back to back. In two years as a branch manager Earl was #1 in sales and #1 pre-tax profit growth. As a regional director and later, a national sales manager for Honeywell, Earl wrote and/or contributed in the development of the selling techniques for the commercial division.

Earl then joined MCC Powers and realigned the national service agenda. He set out on his own, founding the United Service Alliance (USA), the largest network of independent, commercial contractors.

Earl has consulted with companies like Carrier, Trane International, York, TAC, Schneider Electric, Otis Elevator, Johnson Controls and McQuay. He's spoken at ACCA, MCA, MSCA, SMACNA, BOMA, and IFMA meetings. Earl has written more than 75 feature articles for the trade press. He's trained sales professionals from 32 countries and all 50 states. The guy is good.

For the past few years, he's been completely tied up in consulting work. A few months ago, he began writing once again for Contracting Business. On December 6-9, Earl will teach his first public commercial service seminar in years in Dallas.

Click for more information about the seminar.

Why Adding a Blog Makes Sense for Local Contractors

I spoke recently at the Las Vegas Roundtable where I mentioned how much I like blogs–especially for a local company trying to gain some Internet market share. I didn’t get a chance to discuss it in detail however. I’d like to do so now. Surely you’d be interested in knowing how to save thousands each month on advertising expenses? Yes?

One of the first things I tell contractors who want to generate more business online is to start creating content. The new customers who find you online will typically do so as the result of a search on Google, Yahoo, Bing or some other search engine. The more content you have online–either on your site or on unrelated sites that may link back to your site–the better your chances of being discovered by that potential customer.

For example, a video on YouTube.com about “plumbing repair in Macon” could lead someone right to your website. An article titled “Shopping for Air Conditioning in Tempe” and submitted to EzineArticles.com could likewise bring a new customer right to your door. And fresh content added directly to your domain every day will make the search engines positively giddy. Those are proven methods for attracting shoppers and increasing your search engine placement results. A blog can do the same thing, and often do it much better.

"Your blog posts are like targeted strikes for the area or service you want to promote!"

A blog is really nothing more than a really easy way for one or more people to add content to your website, without having to mess with navigation issues or sitemaps or any of the regular things that come into play when you add a page to a website. It also enables your readers to comment on your post and, in essence, create content for you.

Adding a blog to your existing website shouldn’t be difficult. If you’re unable to add one for technical reasons, or don’t want to take a chance on installing something that may not get used, you can install it on a new domain. That’s even easier and can sometimes be better. Putting your blog on a new domain, for example “PlumbingRepairinPodunk.com” or something similar will allow you a little more freedom than you might have otherwise (I'll elaborate on that in a future post). If it’s hosted someplace other than your main website, it can also provide a link back to your site. That’s not a big deal but every little bit helps.

So where do you get content for this blog? I often hear people say they don’t know what to write about or they don’t have the time to write or they’re not good with a computer. All those things can be overcome, and should be, especially if you understand the power of the blog.

Earlier this year I created an air conditioning blog for a client that targeted an affluent suburb outside of a major city. After putting up a home page, about us, contact us and about 5 blog posts, he started getting traffic to the site (Wordpress rocks for search engine optimization if you use the right plugins!). Since then, he’s averaged about 70 visitors a month (for the last 9 months). That may not sound like much,  but consider this. Using pay-per-click, he can spend over $15 per click for major keywords in that area. If each of those 70 visitors had clicked on his ad instead of finding him organically, it would have cost him almost $10,000 over the last 9 months. Not bad for a 10 page blog. If he was more diligent about posting to the site, those figures would increase dramatically.

This particular contractor is one of those guys who can’t type and is very uncomfortable on the computer. Because of that, I developed a hands-free blogging system. It allowed him to call a voice mail box and leave a message from wherever he was. That message was then transcribed and uploaded to his blog. Simple and effective.

So what should you blog about? Everything! Every day there are interesting stories taking place in your company. Think about the things you tell your husband or wife when you get home. Think about the funny things that customers do or say, or that technicians see on the job. Have your techs email photos from the job site that can be posted online. Have them email videos. Still stumped? Try making a list of frequently asked questions and then post them with your answers online, one post at a time. Just write something, but when you do, try to include your targeted keywords in your title and throughout your text. These targeted keywords will be the search terms that you’d most like people to find you under. Your blog posts are like targeted strikes for the area or service you want to promote!

One of the most useful features of a blog is that you can set it up so multiple users can post to it. If you can’t update it yourself, assign a few people to take turns. Have your dispatcher post some quick thoughts once a day – maybe tips for making the service call more convenient. Have the install manager highlight some great jobs you’ve done. Run a poll. Do a survey. Ask a simple question. You can add pictures, videos, links, podcasts and whatever else you can think of. It’s not hard, and it can pay off big time.

Think of your blog as a social media tool. Use it as a way to touch base with your customers in a less formal way. Once they get used to seeing new info on a regular basis, they’ll start coming back more often and they’ll share it with others. Of course it’s now a 2-way tool for you. Be sure to engage your customers and don’t forget to acknowledge them if they leave a comment.

12 Ways To Build Memorability