May, 2008

When Worms are Scarce, Chickens Don't Quit Scratching

A soft market is the ideal time to ramp up your marketing.

By Bill Lee

In markets where new construction has slowed, there is little if anything that construction supply businesses can do to increase housing starts. We’re going to have to wait for the market to correct itself for a turnaround in housing to occur.

But there are things innovative organizations can do, and the most important is to to get serious about marketing.

I attended a convention this winter, and one of the speakers made this classic statement about sales: “Just because the worms have become scarce doesn’t mean that the chickens quit scratching all over the yard looking for the worms that remain.”

Pretty sage advice for owners and managers in the housing industry, wouldn’t you say?

Here are some action steps I am recommending to my clients:

Identify a “Top 50” list of customers and prospects and make contact with each of them no less than every 30 days.

This may remind you of my personal favorite definition of marketing: “Being on prospects’ minds when the prospects are ready to buy.”

Now, when I say make contact with each of your Top 50 every 30 days, I’m not talking about picking up the telephone and asking, “How’s business?” I’m talking about setting a goal to help your Top 50 do one of three things: Make more money; be more successful, and solve their most pressing business problems.

Every customer and prospect has problems. You just have to find out what they are and bring them a solution to open the door and earn the right to a piece or a larger piece of their businesses.

One of my best friends is the owner of a small chain of construction supply businesses. Over lunch, he told me that he and one of his top salespeople successfully used this technique with a large contractor who was giving them only a fraction of his business.

When they asked the contractor what his most pressing business problem was, his answer was, “Okay, you want to know what my biggest problem is right now? It’s that ##$+$@# roof leak in the walkway beside Mr. Big’s parking space. We’ve done everything in our power to stop the leak, but every time it rains, Mr. Big gets wet and I catch hell.”

So on their way back to the parking deck, my friend and his salesperson took a look at the place where the leak was occurring.

“I know just the product that will fix that leak,” the salesperson said. So they immediately drove back to the store, picked up a supply of the product, and took it to the contractor. It worked like a charm. Big problem solved. Big door opened.

It was just that easy, but you have to find out where your customers and prospects are hurting—where their pain is coming from. When you identify their problems and are able to bring them a solution, you’re no longer a pesky salesperson, you’re fast becoming a sought-after sales consultant.

Action Step #1: Identify your Target 50 and begin making your first batch of contacts.

On each contact, you can deliver something as simple as a great article you found on the Internet, a trade magazine article, a pamphlet, a business book, a special report, and so on. Just make sure that whatever you use to fulfill each month’s contact is something the customer or prospect will perceive to be of value.

Action Step #2: In addition to your Target 50, broaden your marketing effort to include an additional 150 prospects that meet your company’s ideal customer profile. Contact this second group no less than every 90 days.

When you commit to a well-designed marketing plan and begin dropping creditworthy prospects into your sales funnel, business will first begin to drip out, and then pour out the bottom of your funnel.

BILL LEE has nearly 40 years of experience in the construction supply industry. A consultant and seminar leader, he is the author of two books: Gross Margin and 30 Ways Managers Shoot Themselves in the Foot. www.BillLeeOnLine.com, 800.277.7888