Marketing to Employees

Due to my ongoing power outage (today marks 14 days without electricity) and the resulting fatigue, I will be taking a short break from blogging after today.

I've previously written that employees are customers too, that we need to treat them much as we would treat our customers. After all, each can do business with someone else.

Bill Hogg writes about Engaging Employees. Interestingly, pay levels are one of the less important concerns in the eyes of employees. Hogg lists 6 issues that every employer should address:

• Offer interesting and varied work assignments
• Have a clear growth path and incorporate on-going training & development
• Provide tasks and projects that stimulate interest and give people the tools, processes and support needed to thrive and succeed, while being challenged
• Formally and informally acknowledge your employees’ contribution to you and your organization
• Actively solicit on-going feedback
• Express genuine and specific appreciation for a job well done in a timely manner

Many painting contractors tend to micro-manage. They fail to delegate responsibilities because they mistakenly believe that employees can't or won't do the job properly. While this may be true on occasion, the problem more likely rests with the owner rather than the employee.

Of the items on the list above, providing on-going training and development is one of the most overlooked by painting contractors. We cannot delegate if we do not properly train. If we simply assign a responsibility we have set the employee up for failure. Our prophecy that the employee can't do the job becomes self-fulling, and that does nobody any good.

A Family Affair

Many paint contracting businesses are family affairs. This can add to the complexity of the business, as the lines between our personal and professional lives get blurred. Unfortunately, many such businesses do not have clearly defined roles for each family member and the business is operated like a democracy.

While input from family members can be a good thing, too many chefs can spoil the soup. If each person is adding a pinch of this and a pinch of that, you can wind up with a rather nasty tasting soup.

As Erin Duckhorn writes on the E-Myth blog,

If you tell a child one thing, and your spouse tells them another, how does the child know what they are supposed to do? Mixed messages lead to trouble. The same thing goes for an employee, and it's especially important when the employee is reporting into a family situation. It's vital to have a clear management structure so your employees know exactly who they report to and what's expected of them.

A family business is no different from any other business, except that it can be more difficult to operate. A business should not be a democracy. Clear lines of responsibility should be drawn, as in any business.

Certainly, the emotions involved and the personal knowledge of family members can complicate matters. But family members must realize that when they enter the business door personal issues must be pushed aside. The success of the business demands it.

Tough Times

Tough times demand tough talk
Demand tough hearts demand tough songs
Demand...

Rush, "Force Ten"

It is no secret that we are in tough economic times. The stock market goes up and down faster than a roller coaster. Financial institutions are struggling with bad debt. Consumers are understandably uneasy, and that can translate to tough times for painting contractors.

So what is a small business owner to do? I don't think tough songs is the answer, but a tough heart might do the trick.

Weathering tough economic times can test the mettle of anyone. Selling skills can become more crucial. Leads can become more precious. Duct Tape Marketing offers seven suggestions for dealing with tough economic times. While all of these tips don't necessarily apply to the typical painting contractor, they do provide a good starting point.

More importantly, the advice offered applies to all economic conditions. The best time to deal with tough times is before they occur.

A Rising Tide

A rising tide lifts all ships. In the painting industry, this means as more contractors improve their professionalism and the value offered all participants in the industry will benefit.

I see too many contractors who think that sharing with their competitors is somehow harmful. Michael Stone addresses this issue in a recent post.

As the image of the construction industry slowly changes from “flakes in pickup trucks that you can’t trust” to “professional businesspeople who provide a good service at a fair price”, your image improves along with it. As more contractors learn how to run a business, conduct themselves professionally and raise their prices from starvation or going-broke to a point they can make a good living, the industry benefits. And it makes it easier for you to charge a fair price for your work.

You might think that helping competitors will take money out of your pocket, that competition will increase. I find this very dubious at best. The last time I looked there were plenty of homes and buildings to paint. There is no shortage of work.

The real problem most of us face is generating enough quality leads and selling at the right price. This latter issue is made more difficult by "competitors" who charge rock bottom prices. If these contractors had a better understanding of their true costs and were charging an appropriate price, the entire landscape would change for the better.

I am not advocating sharing every aspect of your business with your competitors. That is not necessary or prudent. But there are many things that could be shared-- such as how to determine and recover overhead-- that are beneficial to all involved.

Thinking Out of the Bucket

When faced with a problem, it is not uncommon for us to keep rehashing the same possible solutions. Even when these solutions do not seem viable, we simply can't find the answer. In those situations, we need to think out of the bucket.

I was faced with this on multiple occasions in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike. Our lives were tossed upside down. Things that we take for granted-- like water, electricity, and gasoline-- suddenly became scarce. Running to the store for a loaf of bread was more than an ordeal-- for a few days it was literally impossible because few stores were open and none had bread.

The inconveniences went beyond the inability to buy what we wanted when we wanted. It extended to simple things, like having a fresh cup of coffee in the morning. It included a generator with no gas and no way to see visual images of the destruction that had befallen our city.

Running out of bread was merely annoying. Running out of gas was going to be expensive. Some of these problems did not need a solution, while some were rather crucial. Solving any of them required some imagination-- some thinking out of the bucket.

For example, I rigged up a crude drip coffee maker. I boiled water on our gas stove and slowly poured it into my "invention". It was certainly a slow and tedious process, but it allowed us to enjoy fresh coffee each morning. In a world devoid of other creature comforts, it was a considerable treat.

Since my truck does not have a cassette player, my wife had previously purchased a converter that allowed me to get AC power from my truck battery. We used this to power a small television so that we could conserve our gasoline.

With the gas stations closed we were desperate for fuel for our generator. Our vehicles had full tanks, and I managed to find a siphon at an auto parts store. That allowed us to operate the generator until a gas station opened (and had fuel). When power came on at our office, we moved the freezer there, which reduced our need for gas.

None of these solutions were particularly ingenious, but each was a solution that was not readily obvious. Together they helped reduce some of the stress and fatigue that accompanies such situations.

The same applies to our paint contracting businesses. When the marketing that worked last year no longer generates leads, we must find new sources for customers. When we are continually told that our price is too high, we must find new ways to add value, differentiate our company, and sell more effectively. In short, when life hands us lemons, we can complain about the bitter fruit, or make a refreshing drink.

Sometimes the method for turning lemons into lemonade is not obvious. Sometimes the solution evades us, for whatever reason. Sometimes the tried and true simply no longer works. In these instances, we must expand our thinking and consider new possibilities. In these instances, we must think out of the bucket.

Going to Disneyland

I no longer recall where I first heard this: "If you want to go to Disneyland, would you prefer to talk to someone who has been there, or someone who hasn't?" The point of the question does not refer to a theme park, but to any goal you might have. In other words, if you want to accomplish something, will you do better by talking with someone who has accomplished this goal or someone who hasn't?

The answer, I think, is pretty clear. The person who has accomplished the goal knows what is required to accomplish it and can offer a great deal more advice than the person who hasn't.

I frequently hear painting contractors claim that some idea is inherently bad and won't work. Certain forms of advertising, such as yellow pages or door hangers, are often talked of in this fashion. Others may direct similar comments towards decorators or general contractors (I'll admit a certain level of guilt to this).

Such comments imply that yellow page ads or door hangers are never a good investment, or that working with decorators or GCs is always a mistake. Such generalizations are seldom, if ever, true. For example, it may be true that few decorators have any clue regarding paint contracting, but that tells us nothing about a particular decorator. In other words, if something is true 99 times out of 100, we do not know if we are dealing with the rare exception until we get further information.

So what does this have to do with Disneyland, you might wonder. Comments such as "X never works" are simply an admission that X has never worked for the speaker. The speaker has never been to Disneyland, and from his perspective Disneyland is a mere fantasy. In effect, he is saying that you can't go to Disneyland because he has never been there.

Most of us would recognize such a statement as silly. But when it is delivered with an air of authority it contains more power. And for those who are seeking the path to Disneyland, that authority can be convincing.

Admittedly, a lot of people have been to Disneyland, and there are many different paths that one can take. There is not necessarily a "right" way to travel, but there are certainly many paths that won't get you close to Disneyland.

Only you can decide what goals to pursue. But many others can help you get there. One example is the Out of the Bucket.com Members Area. No matter what form Disneyland takes for you, it is always best to talk to someone who has been there.

The Hurricane Experience

Having lived in Houston for 28 years, I have been through hurricane preparedness more times than I can count. Prior to Ike, I've only experienced one direct hit, and that was nearly 25 years ago. My wife had never experienced a hurricane, and was somewhat excited about the possibility.

The hurricane first made its presence felt at my home shortly before midnight Friday. Hurricane force winds continued for about 10 hours, and we had tropical force winds for many hours after that. We received about 8 inches of rain during the hurricane, and another 3 inches on Sunday morning.

It is hard to explain hurricane force winds, particularly when they last for 10 hours. The best description is to imagine driving 100 miles an hour with your head out of the window. There is a continual, loud roar which became almost calming at times, because when a gust blew through the noise was very eerie. That this was occurring in the dark certainly did not help.

When we were finally able to emerge from our house (which suffered about $20 of damage) we found that our neighborhood had been transformed. Limbs, branches, leaves, and other debris littered yards and the roads. At least a half-dozen trees in my neighborhood were uprooted.

In the days since, as we have cleaned up debris, tolerated the absence of electricity, and basically engaged in glorified camping, my wife has remarked that hurricanes are not quite as exciting as she had imagined. She had only considered the actual hurricane part of the experience-- the anticipation, the wind, etc. She had not considered the aftermath--the destruction, the inconveniences, and the disruptions. In short, she had not considered the consequences.

This is not a negative comment about my wife. To be honest, the destruction and inconvenience has greatly exceeded anything I anticipated. I knew that some would lose power. I did not expect the entire city to lose power.

Similarly with our businesses. We must do more than look at the short term impact of a particular action or policy. We must look beyond, and identify what will result further down the road. A short term benefit (like the "joy" of a hurricane) can ultimately lead to consequences that are less pleasant (like no electricity for days).

So if we don't market we get the short term benefit of saving money. In the long term we have fewer leads. If we don't develop systems, we cannot delegate. If we don't write plans, we blow around in the wind. And if those winds happen to be of hurricane magnitude, the results can be quite unpleasant.

Lessons from Ike

Some of the details may bore you, but my experience with Hurricane Ike provided a few valuable lessons. I will likely post on some of my experiences and the lessons learned over the next few days.

We had been aware of Ike for about 2 weeks. Living in a hurricane zone, we get frequent updates on tropical disturbances, storms, etc. that may develop into hurricanes. We have made some level of preparation at least 3 times this year, as hurricanes posed some threat to the Texas coast. This is a drill that is relatively commonplace for residents of the area.

Part of the preparation process is to secure water and food for at least 3 days. The food should be non-perishable, as power may be off. These are the steps that individuals are expected to take to provide for their sustenance while repairs are made and other supplies brought into the area. We are also encouraged to have batteries for radios and flashlights, candles, and other items to help us during the initial days after the storm.

The winds began picking up at my house shortly before midnight on Friday night. Hurricane force winds continued for more than 10 hours. Our lights flickered several times over the next few hours, finally falling into darkness at about 2:30 AM Saturday morning. Our power has not been restored as of Wednesday afternoon.

On Sunday we took a break from cleaning debris to listen to the radio. Less than 1 day after a major hurricane, citizens and "leaders" were complaining about the lack of supplies that were being brought into the area by FEMA. There seemed to be an endless stream of people complaining that they had no water or food. Those complaints have continued.

Within Houston, few homes were damaged beyond habitation. The complainers were not wiped out-- they had simply refused to properly prepare. They had refused to take even the slightest step in the direction of self-responsibility. Instead, they lined up to complain to radio reporters that others were not providing for them.

Such people get absolutely no sympathy from me. They had weeks to prepare. The preparations are not difficult-- a couple of bottles of water and a can of tuna fish would suffice for a day. This is not gourmet dining, but living through the aftermath of a major hurricane is not a fun time.

Those of us who took responsibility for our own well-being have no complaints. We had plenty of water and food. We also had plenty of gasoline (we were told to fill our gas tanks prior to the storm). Life has not been pleasant, but we do not spend our time driving around the city looking for water, gas, food, or ice.

I hasten to add that I am not claiming that every person who ran out of water, food, or gas acted irresponsibly. But those who apparently made no preparations were irresponsible.

The lessons from this apply directly to our paint contracting business. Those who blame the economy or illegals for their lack of work, or complain about the inevitable winter slow down are no different from those who refused to purchase bottled water. Operating a business, like preparing for a hurricane, requires foresight. It requires identifying what actions are required to survive and thrive, and it also requires taking those actions. A business owner, like those who live in a hurricane zone, must prepare for the future.

In the end, those who fail to prepare get exactly what they deserve (unless others protect them from the consequences of their actions). It is no fun stockpiling water and food, filling tubs of water to flush toilets, or devising plans to air out a stuffy and humid house. Nor is it particularly fun making cash flow projections, job costing, or developing marketing plans.

But if you wish to live in reasonable comfort after a hurricane you must take the requisite actions. It is no different when you own a paint contracting business.

Advice You Don't Need

On occasion I stumble across an article that purports to give good advice for starting a painting company. Last week I was pointed to such an article by a post on PaintTalk.com This article, like many of the sort, offered advice that was not just bad, but actually destructive.

The article begins on a very bad footing:

If you would like a service business that will keep you busy, house painting is the one! A truck or van, ladders, brushes and some drop cloths are the main mechanical needs; you are the other ingredient needed for a thriving business. This is a business where you can get by with the bare minimum investment at first, then build slowly as your business increases -- adding sir compressors, electrical paint rollers, and other fancy equipment as you need and can afford it.

I've been in business for 22 years, and I do not know what a "sir compressor" is. But I suspect that it is some fancy equipment, like an electrical paint roller. Regardless, this article starts by essentially saying that anyone can paint. But don't take my word for it:

As long as you can take care of the paperwork, you can hire helpers to do much (if not most) of the actual painting. Consider hiring high school and college kids during the summer, and don't overlook retirees. One entrepreneur went to a senior citizen's club and found a group of retired men who would go out and paint his houses without supervision. They did excellent work, kept their own time records, and did the jobs for less than half what a painting contractor would have charged!

Now I have nothing against high school kids-- I used to be one-- or seniors-- I hope to be one some day. But this is just silly advice. Certainly such individuals could learn to paint properly, but the article says nothing about training.

More interesting (or maybe depressing) is that the seniors did the work for "less than half what a painting contractor would have charged!" So apparently the business being described is not a paint contracting business. Further, the author is advocating either low-ball pricing or ripping off the workers or something equally inane.

But it gets better:

One contractor sizes up his prospective clients and adds 10% to his bid for those he suspects will want a lot of modifications. When the job is completed, you will hopefully be paid in full. Here is where you can get into trouble! You have already paid for the materials and your helpers (or owe them), and the owner wants to pay you "next week." One or two cases like this will teach you to get a clear understanding of payment BEFORE you start the job!

Has this author ever heard of a change order? To arbitrary add 10% because a customer might want to modify the orginal agreement is simply horrible advice. If the customer modifies the agreement, you simply write a change order and charge accordingly.

Then, when you are done, "hopefully" you will get paid. I do agree that if you don't get paid you could be in trouble, and that is probably the only sentence in the article with which I agree. But rather than advocating requiring a deposit and progress payments, the author suggests getting a clear understanding of the payment schedule. In other words, ask the customer when he intends to pay you.

That's like asking the wolf to guard the chicken coop. A painting contractor should establish his terms and conditions and communicate those to the customer.

It's bad enough that there are low-ball hacks passing themselves off as painting contractors. But when someone writes an article encouraging people to open a painting business because it's easy, well it just makes me want to spit. Or write a blog post about what a disservice they do to our profession.

The Cost of Credit Cards

The issue of accepting credit cards is one of the more common on painting forums. Over the years I've seen a wide variety of attitudes and questions regarding credit cards. Below are a few excerpts, followed by my comments:

After 15 yrs, I have never been ask to take a CC, I have thought about doing it but why if no one has ask me too. I do high end re-paints mostly and my customers just write the check. I have notice a few checks for lower end jobs that were from some type of brokerage account which I guess would be similar to putting it on credit.

That nobody has asked doesn't mean that they wouldn't use a credit card it you accepted them. The absence of such questions is hardly evidence that accepting credit cards is not beneficial, as the following shows:

It's funny, I didn't believe it when people said I would be surprised at how many people will want to use CC once you accept them... In the past three years I have had one customer ASK if I accepted credit cards, now that I do it seams as if every other customer wants to take advantage of it. In the past month I have had four customers pay with a CC.

Our clients do not always know what values we offer. We have to inform them. More importantly, the greater the value we offer, the more we differentiate our company.

One thing interesting- you do all your business by check only... you lose how much business a year by not accepting credit cards? Now take into consideration once you take credit cards how much more credit card business you will be doing that would have just been by check.

This is precisely what happens. People use credit cards for many reasons, such as rebates or airline mileage.

Question is, how would a person know if it affected them or not unless they tried them? I mean lots of people might go through the yellow pages, or whatever just looking for those CC logo's before calling. If we didn't accept them, we would never know that we missed those opportunities.

We don't know what we don't know. Limiting the customer's payment options does place limits on the customer. Accepting credit cards gives him another option.

IMHO anyone who has to resort to CC's to pay for big ticket items has financial problems. Only somebody in trouble or a financial idiot would pay those interest rates.

This is an entirely different issue. We are painting contractors, not financial advisors. It is not my job to guide my customers towards wise financial decisions. My job is to sell paint jobs.

I cannot understand why a contractor would not accept credit cards. I've heard some complain about the cost, which to be blunt, shows financial ignorance. Any fees associated with taking credit cards is an overhead item, and like all overhead, should be built into your price.

PDCA Standards

Due to Hurricane Ike appoaching Houston, today's post is short.

Every painting contractor should refer to Painting and Decorating Contractors of America standards in his contract, even if he is not a member. These standards provide objective means for assessing a painting job. You can download the standards here.

Motivation through Intimidation

When I was in high school I played on the varsity basketball team. Our coach was a former football coach, and he subscribed to the Vince Lombardi school of motivating through intimidation. This may have worked at one time, but it wasn't effective with me.

When I screwed up, I was well aware of my mistake. I didn't need someone calling me names and insulting me. I needed some advice on how to avoid a repeat. All yelling did was get me mad at the coach.

I had another coach who took a "softer" approach. He motivated us by actually coaching-- by pointing out our errors, their cause, and what we could do to improve our performance. Virtually everyone on the team responded well.

Our employees need a similar approach. Rather than berate them for their mistakes, we should try to help them identify the cause and a process for avoiding a repeat. I am not saying that a good scolding is never appropriate, because sometimes it is. However, too many painting contractors resort to motivation through intimidation.

Some contractors justify motivating through intimidation by claiming that it is the only way to get through to their employees. I find this dubious at best. If the only way to communicate is by screaming, then you either have the wrong employees or you have some serious management problems.

When problems occur, rather than yell, try to discover the cause. Ask questions and listen to the answers. And don't be afraid to look in the mirror. You might find the cause of a lot of the problems.

Why They Don't Respond

I hear a lot of painting contractors claim that a certain type of marketing never works. And they should know because they tried it once and didn't receive a very good response. I probably see or hear a McDonald's ad at least 5 times a day, yet I go to McDonald's maybe twice a year. Their ads are not very effective if you use me as the barometer. But they seem to be doing pretty well.
One of the myths of marketing is illustrated in the above attitude. A particular ad doesn't work, so the the entire media is tossed in the trash can. But, as Joe Garcia points out in If At First They Don't Respond, Means They'll Never Respond there can be many reasons a potential client doesn't respond:

1) They didn't see your offer to begin with.
2) They were on vacation.
3) They have a huge pile of mail and other reading matter that they haven't
completed.
4) They don't know you or your company well enough yet.
5) They don't have any interest in the particular offer you made to them at
this time.

Some of the reasons Joe lists have nothing to do with you or your company. Some of them have everything to do with your ad. Testing, tracking, and tweaking your ads will help improve the response rate and the effectiveness of your ads.

There really are an endless array of reasons why people don't respond to a particular marketing offer. Only one of those is because they are not interested in 'anything' you have to offer. If you don't follow up numerous times with your prospects and customers with a variety of offers, you will be missing out on the bulk of your potential sales.

Giving up too quickly can be almost as bad as never having tried. Repetition is often the missing factor in any advertising piece.

Estimating for Success

One of the most frequent questions asked by new painting contractors is how to price a job. Even seasoned veterans sometimes have estimating questions.

While estimating isn't rocket science, it can be approached scientifically. In other words, estimating does not have to be a guessing game.

An estimate is a projection of the labor and material required to complete a specific job. The most accurate way to do this is to use historical data. If it takes 30 minutes to paint a door at Mr. Smith's, it should take 30 minutes to paint the same style door at Mrs. Brown's. If you know your historical production rates, estimating can be a relatively easy task.

Out of the Bucket.com recently released Estimating for Success. This comprehensive manual explains how to determine production rates (sample rates are also provided), measuring, pricing the job, and much more. Estimating for Success is regularly priced at $69, but our Blog readers can save $20 by clicking here.

Special Customer Service

Painting contractors love to beat up on Home Depot, particularly their installation services and the Behr paint they sell. But when someone does something right, even if it's Home Depot, it is worth mentioning.

Bill Hogg tells a wonderful story about customer service:

It seems that a 6 year old boy wanted to get a part-time job, just like his older brother. Like many 6 year olds, he liked to build things, so he indicated he wanted to work at Home Depot. When his father suggested he write a letter he did, so his father dropped the letter off at the Customer Service desk. Dad thought he had heard the last of this.

However, about 6 weeks later they were in Home Depot and the son reminded Dad that they had not heard from Home Depot yet and insisted on checking on the status of his job. Needless to say, Dad was thinking his son was in for a big disappointment.

I won't spoil the story, but it is a good demonstration of customer service-- of identifying a unique way to do a little extra.

The story reminds me of an experience I had many years ago. We were painting an exterior, and the young daughter (maybe 5 years old) liked to watch us work. She was very precocious and the crew enjoyed her presence. Near the end of the job, I presented her with a company t-shirt. Her father later told me that she wore it to bed every night.

Planning for 2009

The third quarter will soon be ending and before we know it a new year will be knocking on the door. I typically spend a large portion of the fouth quarter planning for the coming year. I do this for several reasons:

1. Planning a a very effective process to idneitfy goals and the means for attaining those goals.
2. Spending 3 or so months on the process allows me to carefully think about the various issues without being rushed.
3. I can begin implementing my plan before the new year. For example, if I want leads to increase in January, I cannot wait until January to start placing new ads.

All of this planning might seem like a waste of time. You might take the Nike approach, and "just do it". But plowing ahead without a plan can waste a lot more time than it takes to formulate a direction to travel.

Consider a cross country car trip. I doubt you'd just hop in the car and take off. You'd probably look at a map and determine the best route to take. That process might only take 15 minutes, but it could save you hours on the road. The same is true in our business.

Dan Miller, author of 48 Days to the Job You Love, has a nice planning tool on his web site. You should check it out.

Integrity and Sales

Unfortunately, salesmen and painting contractors often get a bad rap for being unscrupulous. While this is occasionally true (as in any profession), most salesmen and contractors are decent, honest people. But once in a while I hear a story that goes beyond mere decency.

I read this on Zig Ziglar's blog. Zig was in a bicycle shop, looking for a Christmas present for his son. He overheard the store owner talking to a grandmother who wanted a specific bicycle for her grandson. Zig relates the conversation, which concludes

Then the owner did one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen a professional salesman do. It set the standard for what I consider the “professional” in the world of selling. He looked at that grandmother and said, “Ma’am, you’re probably going to think I’m crazy, but I cannot sell you the bicycle you want. It would not be safe for your grandson to ride, and if anything should ever happen to him because I sold you a bicycle he could not control, it would be on my conscience.” Incredibly enough, the grandmother left in a huff.

Some might think the salesman was a fool. His job is to sell, and what happens after shouldn't be his concern. But a large part of sales is customer education. If the customer refuses to be educated and insists on making a very bad mistake, we have a responsibility to shun the deal.

In a sense, sales involves a tremendous amount of customer service. The above example illustrates this. The salesman ultimately served the best-interests of the grandmother by refusing to sell her the bicycle. Sometimes that takes a lot of courage. It always takes integrity.

Confidence in Selling Paint Jobs

Painting contractors often complain about a customer's unwillingness to pay for quality work. Many contractors believe that they must drive their price as low as possible in order to secure work. But this is a road to disaster. More importantly, it isn't necessary.

One of the biggest obastacles to getting the right price is the contractor himself. When he believes that price wins jobs, he acts accordingly. And in our current economic climate, the pressure seems to be even higher. Mark Hunter has a good article on this topic at the MarketingBlog.com.

As big as these issues are, they pale in comparison to the number one roadblock to maximizing your price point: the confidence of the salesperson. The main reason why companies do not capitalize on their potential revenue is because their salespeople do not have the confidence to ask for and receive the highest price point.

If a salesperson is secure in what they are selling and in knowing how the customer will benefit from their products/services, then they will be confident in asking for and getting the desired price point. The problem is that many times the salesperson lacks confidence in at least one of these areas, resulting in their inability to make their sales quota.

Successful sales is largely about confidence. That confidence extends beyond just the ability to deliver the product or service. It includes one's ability to communicate the value offered.

Customers will pay more money if they perceive a greater value. But if he does not see a greater value, he sees no reason to spend more money. Because customers do not buy paint jobs regularly, they are not always aware of the many factors that go into a professional paint job. As a salesman, it is your job to communicate these factors and how they benefit the customer.

Top-performing salespeople ask questions that allow the customer to elaborate on their needs and then demonstrate their listening skills by asking appropriate open questions and probing deeper with great follow-up questions. They use the information that they learn to better explain how their product or service can be beneficial to the customer.

Sales does not need to be a slick, high pressure process. It should be an educational process. Learn what your customer wants and needs, and then teach him why your solution and company can satisfy him.

All Work and No Play

It's been said that all work and no play make Brian a very dull boy. Okay, that hasn't been literally said, but the general idea is true. While I work hard, I also have numerous interests outside of paint contracting.

If you have read my blog for long, you likely know that I like gardening. In some ways, gardening is much like running a business. You plan seeds, you nurture the young plants as they grow, and some time in the future you harvest delicoius vegetables and beautiful flowers.

I also enjoy writing, another fact you likely know. Recently I have been directing my writing towards a passion that I have long held-- defending property rights.

Back in the early 1990's the City of Houston proposed to implement its first zoning ordinance. I wrote OpEd articles gave speeches, spoke to City Council, was interviewed, and more. On my birthday in 1993 I received one of the best birthday gifts possible-- the ordinance was defeated in a binding referendum. In 2007 I traveled to Hobbs, NM to help defeat a similar proposal there.

Earlier this year it became apparent that zoning advocates will make another attempt in Houston. I launched a blog and resurrected the organization I had founded to fight zoning in the 1990's.

So, while fighting City Hall is not exactly play, it is something I am passionate about. It is something that gives me immense satisfaction, particularly when the good guys win.

The Little Engine That Could

The Little Engine That Could is a classic children's story that teaches the value of optimism. While larger trains refused to try, the little engine kept repeating "I think I can". In the end, the little engine succeeded.

Simply believing we can achieve a goal does not mean that it is possible or that we will achieve it. However, if we say "I can't" we will most certainly prove ourself correct. Brian Tracy has a nice little video on the subject. He applies it to sales, but the same optimistic attitude applies to virtually every area of life.



Self-confidence is a crucial part of sales success. If we do not believe in the painting services we are selling, that will be projected to the customer. If we do not have confidence in our price, that will be projected to the customer.

Saying "I think I can" doesn't mean that I can. It does mean that I will try. And before I can, I first must try.

Following Through

The following is from an email newsletter sent by Jean Moroney. I highly recommend subscribing to her newsletter. There is a link at the end of this article.

"I'm going to carve out an hour each morning to think about strategy." "I'm going to the gym tomorrow at noon." "I'm going to _________."

It's easy to say you'll do something, and not as easy to follow through. What often makes the difference is one crucial step. Do you think through, very concretely, how you'll do it? This step is more important than many people credit.

To think concretely about how you'll do something is not hard. You simply visualize exactly where and when you will do the task, what you'll need for it, what might get in your way, and what to do then.

For example, when planning your strategy session, you might ask yourself "How will I prevent interruptions?" and "How do I ensure I get to my desk at 9:00 a.m.?"

This thinking process raises "obvious" issues. For example, you might note you should let voicemail take your calls. Or to exercise at noon, you observe you should bring your workout clothes to the job, and keep your schedule clear.

But the point is, although these issues are obvious if you think about them, they aren't obvious if you don't. The logical connection between your goal and the concrete facts of your workday don't get made unless you figure them out. When you skip this step, you hit obstacles and wind up saying to yourself, "I should have thought of that." A more precise lament would be: "I should have taken the time to think through how I'd do this, and if I had, I would have likely thought of that."

Thinking concretely about "obvious" issues has another benefit. It plants mental reminders that help you follow through. The reminders trigger as needed. So, when the phone rings, a little internal voice says to you "let voicemail take that." Or if you're asked to a meeting that might conflict with your workout, the voice asks, "will it be over by noon?"

These internal reminders are vital to success. They give you an alert at the exact time you need one. And you set that reminder by visualizing the concrete circumstances in advance.

So, the next time you're tempted to say, "I'm going to do _______," delay for five minutes to do some crucial mental preparation. Identify, concretely, the most obvious issues that might get in the way. Then you can commit with the confidence that you have laid the mental groundwork to follow through.

Jean Moroney teaches thinking tactics to managers and other professionals grappling with the pace and complexity of business. When they get pulled in multiple directions or caught in details, thinking tactics help them concentrate, re-orient, and think through issues - so they can get a quality job done, on schedule. This article originally appeared in her free email newsletter. To subscribe, visit http://www.thinkingdirections.com or send an email with your name to subscribe@thinkingdirections.com.