Thoughtful gesture saves sales

Daniel Smith represents Strokes of Genius Painting in Ottawa. He set up a last minute display at the Ottawa Home and Design Show in early October and reported that he generated several profitable leads from the experience.

Daniel Smith yesterday shared this insight on how he saved four of eight fall-through sales in the last three months -- and built incredible good will for three of the remaining cancellations.
Having obviously blogged before, I know the challenge of always finding new ideas to share. I thought you might be interested in hearing about a guerrilla marketing tactic that I have been testing in my Strokes of Genius Painting work, with great results.

Basically, the tactic is designed to deal with the inevitability of clients who decline my services after an estimate, or worse, cancel a booked job because of family issues, illness or some other health/personal issue.

What I have started doing is this: When I receive news like this, I go out and buy a 20 dollar pre-wrapped basket of chocolate and coffee or some such, and then leave it on the client's doorstep with a business card that has a sympathy note written on it.

The true beauty of this is that it is a two-pronged tactic. Firstly, if the customer is telling the truth, and I assume they are, it reflects the concern I genuinely feel for them, and you can bet that when the storm passes, they will remember me. Secondly and by contrast, if a customer ever stoops as low as to fabricate such a health or family issue out of thin air (and believe me, it happens more than you would think), these "bad" clients are made to feel every bit as ashamed as they ought. (And the 20 dollar expense is still worth it, to me.)

I've been doing this since August and so far I have saved four sales this way, three of whom I think were telling the truth and one of whom I have a hunch was fibbing . . .

And was guilted into changing their mind!

I asked him to clarify the numbers. He says of the eight people he provided gifts to, four signed up to complete the work and three called to thank him for his generosity. "And the lack of response from the 8th provides a bit of smug satisfaction as I'm quite inclined to think I caught them in a little white lie . . ."

Thoughtful, human gestures are always helpful and there is something to be said for taking things at face value. If someone says there is a death in the family, or a job loss, or a serious illness, there may well be one -- in which case you don't really want the job. In others, as Daniel indicates here, the client is telling you a white lie to get out of the commitment but (if fundamentally honest) will have second thoughts about the lie when you show respect. In part, this is because you are mapping out your personal integrity and showing, by your behaviour, you are not a "hit and run" contractor.

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Twenty years of success -- and just discovering marketing

Amsted Design/Build founder and president Steve Barkhouse outside his Stittsville, Ontario, office. The stones recognize employees for five years of service -- at the company's annual breakfast before our interview, several received the recognition.

Yesterday, I met with Amsted Design/Build president Steve Barkhouse as we prepared a 20-year anniversary feature about his renovation business for the GOHBA Impact!, the newsletter of the Greater Ottawa Home Builders' Association. Amsted's business longevity closely matches mine and, as we parted company, Barkhouse observed how few businesses reach the 20-year milestone, let alone as successful as his enterprise.

Notably, Amsted to a large extent followed the conventional pattern of successful renovators and contractors. By doing great work, consistently and effectively, repeat and referral clients provide the basis for success and growth. In fact, Barkhouse said only recently has he started marketing.

(I'm not sure if this is entirely accurately, if you define marketing more broadly than conventional advertising. For example, he served as president of the GOHBA about a decade ago; and connected/worked within the community -- all valid marketing activities.)

Barkhouse offered an important explanation of why marketing has become more important to him recently. With 50 plus employees, without marketing to induce new client interest, he would have one other choice in a downturn in the market -- to lay off employees. Sure, he would do this if absolutely necessary, but he says he has built a competent team of qualified people -- and the company's scale of operation with design build, and in-house trades, would not nearly be as effective if it needed to shrink. So marketing allows him to manage the work flow -- and prepare for growth when conditions improve.

Of course, Amsted observes the core techniques of successful businesses including vision and mission statements and core values, which are discussed with employees at monthly meetings (meeting frequency increases if the business is working through a potential crisis):

Vision Statement

We will be the most sought after company in it's industry. To be highly respected for integrity, excellence and success. To provide a work environment that is enjoyable and achieves a balance between work and personal time.

Mission Statement

In order to realize our Vision, our Mission must be to exceed the expectations of our customers, whom we define as clients, partners and fellow employees. We will accomplish this by committing to our shared values and by achieving the highest level of customer satisfaction. In this way we will ensure that our profit, quality and growth goals are met.

Core Values

INTEGRITY -- Integrity is our trademark. We adhere to moral and ethical principles through soundness of moral character and honesty.

EXCELLENCE -- Excellence is the key to our continued success. We continuously strive for excellence in all we do.

TEAMWORK - Teamwork is our strength. Our chosen team works cooperatively, achieving common goals.

RESPECT -- Respect is the basis of all our relationships. We recognize and value both women and men around the world in all their diversity, whether inside or outside the group.

TRUST -- Trust is the foundation of our team. We build relationships and create a climate of trust among us all.

LOYALTY -- Loyalty is our commitment to the future. Loyalty is rewarded and highly regarded.

FULFILLMENT -- Fulfillment is our obligation. We continuously strive to exceed expectations and fulfill dreams.

PROUD -- being proud is our reward. We set high standards for ourselves every day, both as individuals and in our teams, so that we can give our best maximize our performance.

EMPATHY -- Empathy provides our peace of mind. We know the importance of experiencing the feelings, thoughts or attitudes of another in order to succeed.

PROGRESS -- Progress is our movement toward a higher stage. We know how to look ahead, anticipate and educate, in order to develop new solutions that drive progress.

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