 |
Subscribe
Enter your email address here
to
subscribe to this newsletter |
|
|
|
|
|
Forward to Four
I have a favor to ask.
It's been a year since
this newsletter was launched, and according to the good folks
at Constant Contact, the company through whom it is sent to
your mailbox every month, the Brand Guardian is a
relative success. More people as a percentage of recipients
open, read and respond to it than Constant Contact's average
subscriber, which is great news. Where I don't do so well,
is actively growing the list of recipients.
In the
spirit of constant improvement, I am asking your help. If
you know someone who might be able to benefit from reading
this newsletter, please forward it by clicking the arrow
above. It could be an employee, one of your referral
sources, someone you know through a professional association,
or perhaps someone you are involved with through a peer
networking group - they need not live locally to benefit.
And there's no time like the present for you to
benefit. I will send a $40 Dunkin Donuts gift certificate
to the first four people who forward this email to four
people, and email me their names for confirmation.
Thanks for your help.
"Control your own destiny or
someone else will."
---Jack Welch
Top Challenges for Remodelers in 2008
There is a good article in the January issue of
Professional Remodeler Magazine on top
challenges facing the industry for 2008, and how to overcome
them.
If your business relies on having some
measure of success in the remodeling sector, it may be
helpful.
2008 Call for Entries
Attention:
Professional Remodeling Contractors, Architects,
Designers.
Here's your chance to gain national
acclaim for outstanding projects completed between 1/1/07 and
5/1/08.
The Professional Remodeler Best of
the Best Design Awards recognize the best construction
quality, creativity, design and problem solving in 20 entry
categories!
Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards
are presented in each category at a special evening event
during the 2008 Remodeling Show in September.
For
complete entry details, follow
this link.
Copyright 2007
Chris Joy Marketing
Communications.
All rights reserved. You may reproduce
content included in the Brand Guardian e-newsletter by
including this copyright and, if reproducing it
electronically, by including a link to www.chrisjoycomm.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
Hello,
Today's
newsletter is about nurturing new referral sources. I hope it
offers a new way to think about developing critical new
relationships.
All the best,
Chris Joy
Principal
Chris Joy
Marketing Communications
|
|
|
|
We're Number
Two!
You've probably heard enough about politics
recently to make your head spin, but there's something
interesting in the voting process that I think applies to all
our businesses.
I have a number of friends who live
in caucus states. As a Massachusetts voter my whole life,
I never paid much attention to how the caucuses were run until
a friend of mine got involved with one of the Democratic
campaigns this year.
In a Democratic caucus, you
basically show up to a small meeting place with the rest of
the voters in your precinct, get a few minutes to stump for
your candidate to hopefully win over any last-minute
undecideds, then physically group together with other voters
to indicate your support of your candidate.
Pretty
straightforward, right? Seems like an easy way to figure out
who has the most support just by counting the bodies in each
respective corner of the room. Except for a vote to be viable,
each Democratic candidate must win a certain percentage of the
vote, based on the population of the precinct, and thus the
number of delegates representing it. If a candidate does
not win at least that percentage of votes, the members of that
group disband and go stand in the corner of their second
choice candidate.
So being the first-choice
candidate is ideal, but being the strong second choice can, in
some cases, tip the scales enough to actually win the race.
It seems to me in recent months, I have had lots
of discussions with clients about widening their circle of
referral sources. Most of my clients have grown to whatever
size they are by nurturing a core set of referral sources -
architects with realtors, builders with architects, designers
with builders, subcontractors with whomever they ultimately
report to.
But when I broach the subject of widening
that core circle, I often hear things like, "Well, that firm
has a bullet-proof relationship with my competitor, so there's
no opportunity for us there."
Unless capacity is a real
issue - meaning your firm could not handle more work without
sacrificing the quality of your service to your core group of
referral sources - I want to encourage you to think about
making it a priority to nurture those relationships for whom
you may not currently be the first choice. Because eventually,
somewhere down the road, they will need a second choice to
fall back on.
So here's my point -- Like in the
Democratic caucus, your referral source will, at one point or
another, be forced to go with his number two choice. And, at
that point you want to be the clear and present "Number Two."
What I often hear is that it's difficult to nurture
relationships with a firm who already has a first choice. I'm
not sure I buy that, at least completely. Yes, I agree that
constantly trying to "sell" your self on someone who is not
interested in being sold is a huge mistake. But there's a
difference between keeping in touch and selling yourself.
Why not try this? Make a list of the top referral
sources you would like to be working with, knowing full well
that they may already have a first choice "candidate" in mind.
Keep in contact with those sources periodically, get to know
them, and make a real effort to understand their needs.
Over time, I guarantee, new opportunities will start
to unfold.
And speaking of candidates and casting
votes, please make it a point to hit the polls on Tuesday.
After all, as my dear old Nana used to say, you can't
complain about what's happening in this country if you don't
take the time to vote. Let your voice be
heard!
|
|
Share this newsletter with a friend
|
|
Quick Tip
Get the Skinny on a New
Marketing Area
If you are considering increasing
your marketing effort's geographic reach, there is a useful
online tool you might be interested in. ZipSkinny
is a website that aggregates census information and presents
it in a very useful format for marketing
purposes.
Before you spend valuable time and money,
take a few minutes to research new towns you are considering
targeting.
|
|
|
|
Does This Message Pop or Flop?
Every
now and again I read a tagline I really wish I had
coined.
Ferguson, the wholesale distributor of plumbing
and bath supplies, appliances and heating and cooling
equipment has just that.
You may have seen their latest
ad recently in the trade magazines. It reads as
follows:
"At Ferguson, it's true that our inventory
is huge. Our distribution expertise is unrivaled. And our
one-stop shopping for building products is the height of
convenience. But there is one thing we supply that building
professionals have come to rely on again and again for over 50
years -- our people. Our associates make certain you
can depend on Ferguson -- where friendly service, expertise
and a willingness to go the extra mile are never in short
supply.
Nobody expects more from us than we
do.
As much as I love this tagline, it only
works if it's true. Does this sound like the experience you've
had working with the folks at Ferguson?
Does
Ferguson's Message Pop or Flop? I'd love to hear your
thoughts.
|
|
|
|
