Phil Rea: Perfect Pitch!

The Pitfalls of the DIY Mindset

The DIY consumer market has taken on a life of its own! With the “do-it-yourself” themed television shows and easy access to “how to” information on the Internet, many people try to “do it themselves” before turning to the professional. Very often this choice is not driven by homeowner desire, but by the confines of the homeowner’s budget. While the homeowner may be able to complete the job on their own, very often the results are less than ideal and the cost in time and labor much higher than if they’d hired a professional.

Believe it or not, we face the same dilemma in the marketing industry. Every day we have business owners who choose to save money spent on marketing, using in-house employees or even doing it themselves in the midst of daily tasks! Take a look at these reasons why choosing to DIY is not so smart for the life of your business.

Measure Twice. Cut Once.

We all know this is the mantra for every apprentice and is still repeated by the seasoned builder. Wise advice for all! In marketing, just like in building, profits are lost through poor planning and acting impulsively. Just as a builder uses a blueprint to build a dream home for a client, a marketing expert will use a strategic marketing plan to build a successful campaign for a business.

Check Your Tool Box

Do you have the right tools to grow your company? Are you in control of the content on your website and is it operating as your best employee? Can your customers find you when searching on local search engines? Do past customers, current customers, and potential customers hear from you regularly with a custom, targeted e-newsletter? Are you posting interesting blogs or educating your followers in today’s social media world at least three times a week? Check your tool box, and if these marketing tools aren’t in there, you need a professional to handle the job.

Good Intentions Are The Foundation Of Failure

Most homeowners attempt the DIY remodeling project, get bored with the process, and leave the task half done. The people who live in the house are usually not too happy. This same thing happens in the marketing world. Businesses will start on a marketing plan, implement several strategies, lose interest, and then leave a task incomplete. The major difference is that while the livelihood of the homeowner does not depend on the completion of the project, the business owner and his employee’s livelihood depends on the completion and success of the marketing plan.

Whatever your profession may be, we all know that any job worth doing is worth doing well – and thus it makes perfect sense to turn to the expert who knows exactly how to do the job at hand and do it well. Before you decide to “do it yourself” – trust the expert to guide you to the best solution for your success!

Customer Retention

Customer retention is the bedrock of every business and is vital to the predictability and stability of your overall income. As you may already know, retaining customers is much easier and less expensive than acquiring new ones. So how do you transition your customer from a short-term to long-term basis? Here are a few key strategies:

1. Give them a solution – not a sales pitch. Figure out how to help them find the answers that work best for their needs – not yours. Be a solutions generator. Let them know that you are always equipped with the latest research and ready to guide them to an answer.
2. Establish a relationship that allows them to shine. When you talk to your customer, include sincere conversation about “their” world – their profession, their hobbies, and their loved ones. This allows the customer to get engaged, creating a “trust” relationship that goes beyond the services in question.
3. Become invaluable to their decision-making process. To achieve this, you must bring more to the job than simply your service (which is a commodity in your customers’ minds). Create an environment and a relationship where your customer relies on your expertise in all services related to the initial job that brought you together.
4. Treat your loyal customers like royalty. Don’t you hate companies who give freebies, extra perks and discounts to new sign-ups and completely forget about you, the loyal customer? Treat your customers like they are your #1 priority. Be loyal to them and in turn, they will be more inclined to do the same for you.
5. No communication is not a reason to forget past customers. Never assume that a past customer doesn’t need your services once the initial job is complete. Use technology to “touch” these customers with something as simple as a thank you, a “customer-loyalty” percentage discount, or a simple phone call to say “hello”.
6. Don’t run from dissatisfied customers. If you think a customer isn’t happy with you or your services, be up front and discuss it with them to try to find a solution. It could be a simple case of a misunderstanding. Whatever it is, you must not let dissatisfied customers remain dissatisfied.

Follow these simple strategies to keep your customers happy and loyal for years to come!

Converting Leads

Smart business owners know there are two main tasks they need to keep in mind to help ensure long-term success:

• Identifying Opportunities
• Converting sales

Sounds pretty simple, right? But how many of us get so engrossed in “the work” and “the process” that we forget the two simple tasks that keep our business afloat?

You need to take a step back from all the detail and remember your goal – finding an audience that needs, will benefit from, and finds value in your product, and sell them on its benefits.

Delivering on what you sell and having a strong customer support team in place is still very important to your mission but secondary at this point, because you can’t support clients you don’t have to begin with!

A few key tips that will help you keep your eye on the ball:

• The majority of a home remodeler’s business comes from referrals and repeat business. That means your database is your most important asset. Reach out to them regularly with newsletters and eblasts and give them a reason to stay connected
• Keep your database updated and build it. Let your leads work for you; deliver a message to them monthly and when the timing is right, they’ll often reach out to you.

Make sure your sales team is reviewing all lead channels. Did someone submit a contact form from your website? Did a prospect call in from a newsletter special? Make sure you work to convert those leads as soon as they come in the door!

Understanding the Value of Your Sales Team

As a smart business owner, you know the importance of having a strong sales team in place to build your business and more importantly, your bottom line.  But are you thinking strategically when it comes to hiring, training, motivating and retaining that same sales team to help set them up for success?

Here are a few interesting facts about sales that may help you think about the process in a different way before taking on the next new hire:

• Over one trillion (that’s nine zeros) is spent annually on building sales forces
• Average cost of customer contact:
  Telephone sales calls = $33.11
  Field sales calls = $276.48
• Replacing your bottom 20% of salespeople with only average performers would improve sales productivity by nearly 20%
• Over 50% of sales managers are too busy to train and develop their sales teams. Sensible investment in recruiting and developing real sales talent produces amazing returns
• A 5% reduction in the customer defection rate can increase profits from anywhere between 25% and 80%
• 92% of all customer interactions happen via the phone.
• 85% of customers report being dissatisfied with their phone experiences
• Satisfying and retaining current customers is anywhere from 3 to 10 times less costly than acquiring new customers

Source:  Interesting Sales Facts, Outbound Excellence.

Competition Can Be The Secret To Staying Ahead Of The Pack!

The goal in business is to make a profit by selling a product or service. Many times, companies are faced with selling in an environment where they’re competing for sales and market share too. A wise businessman once said . . . “Competition in the marketplace should not be feared. If there is no competition –there is no need for your business!” Take a look at these insights and how you can use the competition to your advantage:

Treat your competitor with respect – and learn from their successes and mistakes. Look at their products, how they market, the type of customer service processes they have in place and fine tune your business plan accordingly. The goal is not to mimic your competition, but to implement strategies that you believe are appealing to YOUR customers and prospects.

Anticipate change and stay ahead of your competition. Instead of reacting to problems that arise, arm yourself with an understanding of the challenges to come, as well as the systems required to handle them. Consider hiring a marketing expert that can analyze the economic, marketing and sales trends impacting you and your competition. This allows you to make any adjustments and keep your business moving forward and on the right track.

Connect with your customer on a consistent basis. Your customers want to hear from you even if they don’t need your services at the moment. They will – and you want to be there when they do! Make sure to use marketing tools that work for you: an e-newsletter, an interactive website, and social media are all great ways to highlight yourself as the “expert” in your industry.

Talk to your customers. Find out what they need. Always give your best to your customer and consider it an honor that you have been asked to serve them. Your ability to stay ahead of the competition can often depend on how well your team supports the products and services that you offer.

When it comes to your competition, take a step back and have a closer look and you’ll find that it can actually help your business if you approach it with the right mindset!