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It's 8:15 am. Your
experienced, professional, sales oriented, customer service focused service
techs are still at the shop. Ready to go...with nowhere to go. Or, it's
10:00 am. Your shop is open...and the only folks on the floor are wearing
your company name badge.
Sigh. Now what?
It's up to you. Put on your
Marketing Hat, and CREATE some action.
"That which you recognize,
you energize." Mark Victor Hansen
Recently, on the TV show
Dateline, there was a segment on an out-of-the-ordinary sailboat race.
Fortunately, this adventure is captured in its entirety on film because a
camera crew was tagging along on the favored-to-win boat. As the crew worked
to increase their lead over the other boats, one of them spotted a 'water
spout', a tornado over the open sea. The rest of the crew turned to look at
the phenomenon, and the waterspout turned...and headed straight for them.
They zigged and zagged to
avoid the tornado, but to no avail. The tornado stayed with them, like stink
on a working dog. The sailors pulled the sails and lowered the mast. They
filled the boat half full of water so that it wouldn't get sucked up into
sky by the force of the massive funnel cloud. The tornado actually settled
right on top of them. In fact, the crew PULLED it right on top of them by
the power of their focus.
Do you get this? Do you
understand that you are so powerful that your every thought, every action is
a force of CREATION? The nature of reality is that we are crafting it.
If you don't have any
customers to serve it is because you have neglected to create them. Your
focus has been elsewhere.
"Winners do not neglect to
do the easy things that cause success. The definition of 'easy' is
'something I can do.'" Jim Rohn
The following is a list of
ideas for getting the phone to ring and getting customer to stop in. Add
ideas to the list from your own experiences. Have a Brainstorming Session
with your team, and come up with a few dozen more. When faced with an empty
shop, pull this list out and DO SOMETHING.
• Call your own phone
numbers. Make sure they are working.
• Call the radio station
and offer to do a call in show on your area of expertise. No self serving
pitches...find a fun way to educate consumers.
• Wear a costume. Colonel
Sanders started his chicken empire at the age of 65. He donned a white suit,
with a black string tie, and traded 11 secret herbs and spices for a nickel
a batch. 60 years later, KFC has 12,000 stores and the Colonel is the BRAND.
Put a costume on...and press some flesh.
• Craft an Elevator
Speech...a 10 second introduction of you and your company that's so
compelling that people listening respond, "Wow...that's interesting. Tell me
more..." Here's what an Elevator Speech is not: "I'm just a car salesman." A
good Elevator Speech is: "Have you ever tried to kick a few tires and had
the salesperson hound you like a cat after a cricket? Don't you hate that? I
make finding the right car a fun, no-pressure adventure." Craft your Speech
and give it to 10 people a day.
• Park your nicely decaled
truck in high visibility places.
• Find a parade. Park the
truck next to the parade route. Hand out water from the back of the truck.
• Write a controversial
Letter to the Editor.
• Call your kid's teacher.
Offer to go to your kid's school and read a story. Wear your service
uniform, and arrive in the service truck.
• Put a sign in the window
of a good friend's place of business. Make it a GREAT sign.
• Put a flag or banner with
your logo and number on it on your house, car, family member or pet and wave
it proudly.
• Call folks who said, "no"
to a previous offer. Ask them again. Nicer this time.
• Mend a fence. Call a less
than satisfied customer and apologize. Offer to help with any problems to
demonstrate how great you really are.
• Ask, ask, ask, ask, ask,
ask, ask for business. They may say, "Yes, I need your help. Thanks for
asking." And off you go...calls on the board, and business is booming. It
really is a matter of you making it happen. It's easy. It's something you
can do. It may be challenging and fear inducing and a bit stressful to get
out there and ask for business, but it is something you can do.
"No mariner ever
distinguished himself on calm seas."
OK...back to the sailing
race from the Dateline story. Certainly, being run over by a tornado is a
good enough reason to throw in the towel. The Dateline reporter asked the
captain if he ever thought of giving up the race.
"NO," he replied
vehemently. "It was never a question as to whether we would continue to
race. If we could, we would. The sail sustained some damage. No big deal. We
all assumed that we would continue...and that we would win."
So, the tornado was
deviation from the plan. They dusted themselves off, and set sail. They came
in a close second, an astonishing achievement when you consider that their
competitors didn't get run over by a tornado. They were the only boat to
have to pull their sail and mast down. They came in 25 yards behind the
winner, and they are working now to take the trophy back next year.
A "no customers" day is
unacceptable. When it happens, make a change. It's like falling down...and
getting up again. It's like getting distracted, getting blown off course,
and responding with a new focus. It's up to you to turn the tide. And you
are vastly capable of it.
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Ellen Rohr is the
President and Founder of Bare Bones Biz, a business training and
consulting company that teaches clients how to turn big ideas into
successful businesses. Rohr is the successful author of numerous
business basics books, including: Where Did the Money Go? - Accounting
Basics for the Business Owner Who Hates Numbers and How Much Should I
Charge? - Pricing Basics for Making Money Doing What You Love.
Ready to make more
money? Go to
http://www.barebonesbiz.com
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