High Trust Selling, by Todd Duncan, presents an eye-opening argument that may change your view of what it means to be a salesman.
Many contractors view selling as a “necessary evil”–something that must be done in order to secure work for their business. Some even go so far as to eschew the term “selling” altogether, insisting that they are not a salesman.
Such contractors often view salesmen in the proverbial used-car sense–a huckster who will say and do anything to make a buck. And while such individuals may call themselves salesmen, they are in fact little more than two-bit con men.
A huckster focuses on the short-term–make the sale now, and don’t worry about repeat or referral business. He is not interested in identifying and solving his customer’s problems. He is simply trying to make a sale. Understandably, an honest businessman (regardless of his industry) would not want to associate himself with such people.
A professional salesman takes a much different approach. He seeks to understand his customer’s needs and desires. He offers them realistic solutions to their problems. He attempts to educate them about the options available. He is, first and foremost, a consultant.
High Trust Selling lays out 14 principles for sales success. As the name implies, the book rejects high pressure tactics, and focuses instead on building relationships with customers. In short, if you focus on the person and his problem, the profit will come.
Regardless of our personal view of sales and selling, if you meet with other people for the purpose of obtaining work, you are a salesman. And if you must sell, don’t you want to do it as effectively, efficiently, and profitably, as possible?
Learning basic sales skills provides both financial and emotional benefits. Financially, you can sell more jobs at a better price. Emotionally, you can take pride in providing a valuable service for your customers.
The Goal, by Eliyahu Goldratt, was first published in 1984 and has become one of the most popular business books ever published.
Written in novel form, The Goal traces the story of a struggling factory and how its employees turned it into a profitable operation. By identifying “bottlenecks” managers were better able to manage resources and improve overall production.
The Theory of Constraints introduced in the novel states that the maximum output is limited to the maximum output of the “bottleneck”. Put into other terms, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
As the story unfolds we learn that managers often focus on the wrong things. While statistics and measurements can be useful tools, they are valuable only to the extent they help us achieve our primary goal. And in the context of business, all companies share the same primary goal– to make a profit.
Measurements of efficiency, for example, can be misleading. If we focus on maximizing the efficiency of each step of a process, we might actually decrease the efficiency of the overall process. That is, we must look at the big picture before we look at the details. And when we examine the details, we must always remain focused on the big picture.
In the context of a factory (the setting for the novel), this might mean keeping a particular machine idle at times. If the machine produces more than the next step of the process can handle, the excess accumulates as inventory. Both the inventory and the manpower used to produce and move increase expenses. In this situation management should focus on increasing “throughput”, that is, the amount of product available for sale.
The significant message in The Goal is the process of discovering and correcting “bottlenecks”. But this process is not a one-time event. It is a continuous process, or as the subtitle states: “a process of ongoing improvement.”
Few books can be called revolutionary. The E Myth Revisited, by Michael Gerber, is one such book.
This best seller presents a compelling argument for entrepreneurs to look at their business differently. Gerber points out that many entrepreneurs start a business doing something that they love, believing that their days will be filled with an enjoyable activity. However, as the business grows, and new employees must be hired, the owner quickly discovers problems that previously did not exist.
These new employees don’t have the experience and motivation of the owner. They don’t have the same drive and desire as the owner. While the owner recognizes the need to train his employees, it is the nature of that training which often proves inadequate.
While sitting in a McDonald’s one morning, killing time between appointments, Gerber wondered why the Golden Arches were so successful. Most of the employees were teenagers possessing few job skills. Yet the quality of the service and the product was similar in every store.
Gerber realized that the company’s success derived from its approach to the business. Each step of the process was carefully analyzed, and then procedures and policies were developed. That is, a system was developed, and when followed, the system virtually assures success. Thus, a McDonald’s in Houston operates almost identically to one in London, and with very similar results.
Throughout the book, Gerber exhorts the reader to work on his job, not at it. In other words, develop a systematic approach to each job within the organization. In the process, the success of the business is less dependent upon any one individual. As with McDonald’s, the system becomes the key to success.
Of course, this is usually easier said than done. Within any business, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of tasks must be performed. Often, the owner has automatized these tasks, and performs them with little or no conscious thought. Yet, he must identify and then explain each of them clearly. Systems, and their documentation in an Operations Manual, is the key to becoming a true business owner, rather than the owner of a job.
For a contractor seeking to get Out of the Bucket, production oversight becomes a critical issue. With the owner no longer supervising the job, insuring quality and customer satisfaction is crucial to a successful transition.
By developing production procedures and policies, and then properly training production personnel, this transition can go smoothly. The owner can then spend his time working on his business, rather than in it.
The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, by Jay Levinson and Seth Godin, is one of the best selling marketing books of all time. The book focuses on “out of the bucket” ideas for marketing your business.
The book begins by explaining the importance of a marketing plan and how to develop a plan. This forms the foundation for any marketing program.
The book provides tips for all types of advertising and marketing, from the traditional to the non-traditional. While many of the topics covered, such as mass media, may not apply to a painting contractor, there is a bounty of ideas in this book.
Among the topics covered are direct mail, promotions, and door hangers. Included is also a section on how to price your services. Interestingly, the authors state that “the lowest priced item is rarely the best selling item”. And if you are generating enough leads, cutting your price is much less tempting. This book will show you how to do so.
NOW AVAILABLE
Politicians and pundits regularly decry the increasingly divisive nature of American politics. From the Tea Parties to Occupy Wall Street, Americans are not happy with their government, and they are making their displeasure known. But what is causing this divide? And what is the solution? Find the answer in my new book, Individual Rights and Government Wrongs.Click here for more information.
