I can’t do anything without someone trying to sell me something. I go to the mailbox and it’s overflowing with catalogs and direct mail pieces. There are more ads than content on radio and television and if I walk into a store, there seems to be a salesperson ready to pounce at every turn. Help! I just can’t take it anymore.

Maybe I’m unique, but I don’t want to be sold; I want someone to help me buy. I want someone to ask the questions required to determine which product or service best matches my need. Then I want that person to educate me about what my options are. I like options. After going through this process, I feel that I have all the information needed to make the right decision. I’m ready to buy.

This is exactly the approach we take when we work with clients. Ask questions, educate, present options and then let them buy. A very simple example of this might be a client that has rotten exterior trim. Some companies would decide what needed to be done to fix or repair the situation and present a contract based on that solution. We would take a different approach. We would talk with the client about what caused the problem- maybe it was a maintenance issue like caulk or paint. We would then advise the client on a few different ways to resolve the problem. The low cost option might be to cut out the damaged section and patch it with new material. Another option might be to replace the entire piece in order to avoid any joints between new and old materials. The final option could be to remove all of the trim and replace it with pvc material that will not decay even if it is not well maintained. After this education, the client is armed with the information they need to make the decision that is right for them. They are ready to buy.

That’s how we do it. Do you think clients want to buy or would they rather be sold a solution?

Wow - what a week in the markets. It’s tough enough to run a business much less to deal with the personal and business challenges raised by market uncertainty and turmoil. BUT what a great time to take inventory, to get back to basics, to rely on your raving fan clients and to hold your subs and suppliers truly accountable. My first reaction to uncertainty and turmoil is confusion, anger, frustration - but after getting through that initial phase, I turn to solutions and to action steps. Now is the time to take action, now is the time to get your ducks in a row, now is the time to focus on things you can control. Because that is what will separate the winners and the losers during this challenging economic time.

In response to my Baltimore talk “The Dollar Based Business” I was asked a very good question that I wanted to share here. A remodeler approached me and asked what should be done if something is accidentally missed during the estimate. How do we account for the omission? Well, if we miss something on the estimate, what we do about it depends on when we catch the missed item:

PRE-SALE: All projects/estimates are reviewed before they are sold. If a missed item is caught at this stage, we put it back in the estimate/price

POST SALE/BUT EARLY IN PROJECT: We do pre-construction walkthroughs and other “early project” steps to ensure the project starts off on the right foot. If we catch something at this stage, we look holistically at the project to see how we can make up for it - in other areas, sub vs. in-house labor, etc, etc. But we do not go back to the client unless it is something that we could not have known about (i.e. stack running where medicine cabinet was going to be recessed, etc.). We have a “concealed condition” clause in our contract that allows us to charge for such items.

END OF PROJECT: This is on us - at this point we have missed all the gates pre-sale and early in the project….so we have to use it as a “learning experience” to ensure we don’t do it again.

Hope this helps and good hunting!

One of the best decisions a business can make is to diversify. One of the worst decisions a business can make is to diversity. Knowing when to stay on the highway or get off on the side road is generally where genius occurs (or luck). If you share you diversification idea, I will give you the “good bad and ugly” of your idea. Needless to say you should make your own decision but please make it in an intelligent / thoughtful manner. I have seen more business go out of business due to bad diversification decisions than the reverse. So what are you thinking about?