Buying, marketing and selling -- an explanation of why the best contractors are often the least successful at marketing

Readers here may recall this rather fascinating piece of literature I received in the in-box a few weeks ago.

You are an idiot. Remove me from your sophmoric (spelling as sent by Arthur House/ed) trash!

You should attend my seminars - and maybe you should have attended my construction marketing classes at FIU (Florida International University/ed)

But you probably are not MBA material. What a bunch of crap you spew!

Respectfully;

Arthur T. House
207-338-5285

www.arthurhouse.com

What provoked this rather amazing observation?

I had tried to turn my e-letter and blog into a selling tool for a truly ill-conceived Construction Marketing Course, something you would actually pay me to receive. House, with some legitimate teaching credentials, thought this laughable, and wrote his response. (Incidentally, no one took me up on the original offer -- perhaps two people tried the email address in my marketing piece, on a list of about 10,000 names, but they certainly didn't say 'yes' to my proposal.)

Yesterday, Susan Simion provided a clue to what provoked House's negative outburst and the lack of positive response when I actually tried to sell something here.

What makes people almost buy? What makes them get most of the way there, then drop out of your shopping cart at the last second? What makes them stare at your landing page, wanting what you have to offer, and yet, ultimately, close the page and move on to something else?

It turns out there’s a hideous troll hiding under the bridge. Every time you get close to making a sale, the troll springs out and scares your prospect away. Get rid of the troll and your copy will start converting better than it ever has before.

The ugly, smelly, dirty, bad-mannered troll is prospect fear. And it’s sitting there right now, stinking up your landing page and scaring good customers away.

She goes on to describe a variety of marketing tools and techniques designed to entice you to part with your money, only to find the entire experience disappointing. It seems the online (and real) world is full of scams.

One of the classics around is the variants of the "Google ATM" offer, in which people sign up for a "Work at Home" opportunity to make big money passively by running Google Adsense on their websites. (Like all good scams there is a grain of truth underlying the rip-off. Google Adsense provides great passive income for really well established and successful websites, but you certainly aren't going to get rich quick with a new home-made endeavour, and Google doesn't charge a cent -- certainly not $70 or so a month -- to set you you up in the business.)

Once burned, twice shy; twice or more burned, you are totally turned off by most marketing and sales conventions. You don't want to do that sort of stuff, do you?

So you don't. You build your reputation for quality, to the point that clients call you, refer friends, and you feel great about your work. Periodically, telemarketers break through your resistance, offering seemingly irresistible leads services or advertising opportunities. You "bite" only, always, to end up disappointed. You vow, to yourself, that you will never stoop that low; you will never waste money on marketing and sales, and you will continue to rely on word-of-mouth.

Then your business dries up. You are desperate. And perhaps you listen a little more closely to those marketing guys who call you (and who you listen to, because no one else, certainly not clients) are phoning you these days. Maybe, just maybe, it will be different this time. But it isn't. And you are worse off than before.

Maybe you think you are an "idiot".

You aren't. But you will have to get around some fundamental resistance whenever you go out to seek business, rather than passively wait for it to come to you. Susan Simion certainly has part of the answer in her blog posting, and this resistance explains why, whenever I try to "sell" using this blog, I end up disappointed. Similarly, you can see the consequences whenever you go out against competition in the marketplace, trying to entice people to respond quickly to your advertising or marketing messages. Fear, and bad experiences, build resistance and make it harder, much harder, to break through.

There are answers, however and here are some worthy of consideration.

You can use word-of-mouth in making your marketing choices, much like you like word of mouth referrals for your own business.

This is where forums such as contractortalk.com and your local industry associations are really helpful. Members share their best experiences, and biggest problems, and (with this information) your risk of disaster is much lower than if you go out cold.

You can certainly work with your current clients,and learn from them, about what they read, like, and care about. This gives you ammunition in deciding your best course of action.

You can set up a plan, budget, and disciplined approach to marketing expenses. And within this budget, you can try different approaches, gradually gathering a group of tried-and-true methods that are effective in most conditions. Then when someone calls you with a brilliant construction marketing idea, you can elect whether or not to reallocate some of your budget or (more likely) decline the unsolicited offer, unless you only need to pay in arrears, if the great idea is truly successful.

These ideas work, I'm sure. But what about this blog? I can't get you to buy anything from me here, right? No, but I've told my wife that in 10 years I will be a highly paid Construction Marketing Ideas consultant. (If you click on the Construction Marketing Ideas consultant link, your email browser will open, and you will be free to write your own "idiot" email -- or ask for my insights into your biggest current marketing challenge, free.)

Years of accumulated experience, insights, and knowledge, coupled with practical understanding of what works and what doesn't, will achieve the results no get-rich-quick scheme can achieve.

She remarks: "But you are giving everything away for free."

Yes, with good reason.

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Fear and the brand

The Tower of Terror is probably the most popular ride at Disney's California Adventure. It is a wild "elevator" ride in the Hollywood Hotel -- at one point, the doors open and park visitors can hear the screaming riders from high up.

If you play the video from the previous California Screamin' posting, you'll see images of one rather wild roller-coaster ride. The idea of this type of entertainment is to give you a thrill: Doing something scary that you know is safe -- even for your kids. And from a marketing perspective, that is the magic of branding, or more accurately, the branding experience. It also is a key element of success in marketing construction services.

To explain: On Friday, as I considered whether to risk riding what seemed to be the scariest rides imaginable (like a really fast roller-coaster with a 180 degree loop), I thought: "Has there ever been a fatality at a Disney site when a ride failed?" My reaction as I boarded the ride -- "This stuff is so safe that there is no real risk."

It turns out there have actually been some accidents and crashes (mostly fortunately minor in nature) over the years at Disney park attractions. You can find out additional details at Rideaccidents.com. But I didn't know this when I was there; I sense most Disney patrons have similar perceptions. In any case, most people consider the rides safe enough for the risk (certainly thousands of people fly or drive to Disney sites each year, and I expect there are enough plane and car accidents along the way to top the Disney accident frequency.)

Consider other elements of the Disney experience: You don't find the low-lifes that hang around many amusement parks and carnivals; all employees of course are briefed and trained (and I'm sure screened) for client suitability; the fun is tightly scripted and controlled, and once you've had the experience, you know what to expect.

There are changes every year, but the basic rules remain the same. You pay a flat rate to enter the park for the day, ride as much as you like (but usually get only one shot at the really good rides unless you are willing to endure a truly major wait), and you can spend as much as you like on extras including food and souvenirs (but Disney does not impose the irritating restrictions on your bringing your own food on site to save costs.) In other words, the experience, while not inexpensive, leaves you feeling you've been treated fairly.

Of course, Disney has turned it experience into corporate programs for training and motivation at the Disney Institute. I'm not sure if these services are worthwhile to most construction businesses, but you can see here how they are able to leverage their brand in new and interesting ways.

Fair enough. But what do amusement parks have to do with construction businesses? The answer is in your ability to overcome the fears of your current and potential clients of the bad experiences they either have heard or experienced in the past. If you are an architect or engineer, are you dealing with people who have had bad luck with sloppy design, missed schedule, or less-than-perfect trade relationships? If you are a general or sub-contractor, have you met people who have been burned by incomplete jobs, messy sites, and offensive employees? And if you are a residential contractor, do your clients have experience (or fear) of work not completed right, on schedule, and with massive inconvenience to their lives?

If your work shares any of these less-than-wonderful qualities, your brand is mud. You can spend a fortune on advertising and marketing, and end up with very little: Sure, a few new clients (or suckers) might arrive through expensive promotion, but your marketing cost will magnify because you will lose many potential clients as bad word-of-mouth spreads faster than your marketing can overcome.

Conversely, if your work is good enough to attract unsolicited repeat and referral business (to the point, in good times, you didn't need to advertise because you relied on repeat and referral business), you have an excellent brand. You now need to leverage and develop it through marketing, both to current and potential clients and new customers.

Here, advertising really will work for you and if you are truly successful, you will budget in the range of five per cent and 10 per cent of your sales volume for advertising (and additional funds, if you wish to use a direct sales force). Simply ensure your pricing is able to sustain this marketing cost -- but don't worry, businesses with solid brands (that is great reputations) can charge more for the same services as their competitors.

Consider Disney. They don't offer many coupons, discounts, special savings or the like -- especially for short-term visitors. Disney has built a brand based on safe, fun, family entertainment. The story may be partly mythology -- as I strapped myself into the roller coaster seat, I (falsely) thought no one had actually been injured on a Disney roller coaster. But I had been sold by the brand, and felt secure that when the ride ended I would be safe, and would want more of the same.

Your objective in developing your construction industry marketing is to achieve the same goal: A brand that attracts repeat and referral business, because clients perceive your service is really safe, fair, and enjoyable.

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