Selling Your Services

Marketing for the "Long Run"

Don Turner has almost 3 decades of marketing experience. His current company, Parking Renovations, was started in 1985 and has grown into a full service paving, repair, and pavement maintenance company. This seminar was one of the top-rated at NPE over the past 3 years.

The following was excerpted from the seminar handout materials and is not the verbatim content of the presentation itself or the seminar in its entirety. Adaptation was done by Ranger Kidwell-Ross in order to target the material more closely to the sweeping industry.

The goal of this seminar is to help your efforts to market and grow your business into what you want it to be. You can do that by developing a total program that markets your business 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, with relatively little effort on your part. In this seminar we will attempt touch on ways that you can develop your marketing plan into a 24-hour marketing effort that works for you all the time.

First we need to define the difference between marketing and selling. Many people think these are the same thing. While they do go hand-in-hand , and one is not effective without the other and there are big differences between the two. Selling is what takes place after the marketing is done. Selling is the action of actually closing the deal and securing the contract.

Marketing, on the other hand, is what gets you to the point where you can do the selling. Marketing is what brings you into contact with the customer and it affects how that customer will relate to you and your company. Your marketing efforts will determine the perception your customer has of you and your company before you ever speak face-to-face and get to the point of making the sale.

Marketing is not just advertising. Although advertising is a part of marketing, it's certainly not all of it. Marketing is the term describing what large corporations do that cause you to reach for one brand over another unconsciously on the store shelf. It's why if you hear the term "like a rock" you may immediately think of Chevrolet trucks, or why in the grocery store you may unconsciously pick a more expensive item, one that has been marketed well over the years, instead of the generic equivalent on the next shelf.

You may wonder how this relates to contracting. Well, whenever you choose that more expensive item, without realizing it you chose the higher bidder. You made a decision based on your concept of quality and value for your money rather than price alone. That's what good marketing can do for your contracting business. It's hard to grow a successful and profitable business if you're always trying to beat the other guys' price in order to secure the deal, or do your "selling" by being the low bidder. Of course the big corporations spend millions of dollars, but we'll look at some ways you can achieve the same thing in your marketplace in a cost-effective manner.

3. Are you the best at what you do?

Whether you specialize in just pavement sweeping or also provide a wide variety of pavement contracting services, do you believe and know for a fact you're the best at what you do? If you don't, you've made the first and probably the biggest mistake you can make in marketing your business. You need to be an expert in your field. You get to be an expert by continually reading and studying articles, attending seminars, and taking other educational opportunities whenever possible. Of course, you always need to learn from your mistakes and failures, as well.

If you don't truly believe you're the best in your marketplace, then there's no doubt your customer will pick up on your attitude. Once they do, your marketing and sales job will be much more difficult, especially if one of your competitors truly does believe he's the best at the service you both provide.

4. Are you a professional?

Being a professional is an attitude, as well as an image and impression. The fact is, you can be an expert in your field, do the best job when actually servicing an account, and still have a problem with getting accounts by not being professional. Here are some tips on how you can make your company more professional:

• Always answer your phone with a professional, upbeat tone.

• Have the person answering the phone get all the necessary information to refer the caller to the right person in your firm the first time.

• When you answer the phone or return calls, identify yourself first by name, in a professional manner.

Do you appear professional? This doesn't necessarily mean a coat and tie. Rather, it involves dressing appropriately for the person you are contacting. For some clients this may mean a coat and tie, for others pressed jeans and a company shirt may be more appropriate. You should always appear neat, and many times it's best to be dressed in a manner similar to the person you expect to be talking to. Make sure to pay attention to details like having your vehicle clean and shiny and preferably marked with your company name or logo. Having your name on your equipment shows pride in your company and that pride typically translates into the quality of your work.

Your business card should be professional but not necessarily expensive. In my experience, flashy metallic or plastic cards do no more for an image than nice print on good paper. Make the card somewhat basic and uncluttered so it's easy for the customer to read and remember.

Try to remember any little things that can make your image more professional. A few extra dollars for a nice notebook or briefcase is well worth the difference instead of digging your materials out of a torn, tattered or cheap-looking notebook or case. Being professional is a part of that overall image you are marketing.

5. Identifying or choosing your market.

As an example, some sweeping contractors concentrate mainly on commercial malls and strip malls. Larger contractors, or those looking for a different niche, might specialize in construction sweeping or street or airport runway sweeping. It's the same with paving, striping or any combination of the above. Before you can begin marketing, you have to know who your customer is and, even more importantly, who you want your customers to be. This may be determined by the current size of your business, the capabilities of the equipment you own, and your ability to move up to larger jobs if you successfully market to larger customers. Are you going to market to shopping malls and large apartment complexes, homeowner associations, construction sweeping? Will you be specializing in one of those or will your business fall somewhere in between? These are decisions only you can make. They are very important decisions for the future of your business, and these decisions will determine your best marketing strategy.

6. Planning for the future.

First you determined who some of your potential customers are. You also need to develop a vision of who you want some of your future customers to be. Then, the next step is to form a plan for placing your business in front of those customers and potential customers as often as possible, with the best image possible, and in the manner that (eventually) returns the most profit dollars for your efforts. Bringing the concepts of all aspects of your marketing together in one actual plan is the only way to know if your effort is working (other than waiting to see if you become a millionaire or go bankrupt). Then you must work the plan consistently and continuously determine how to fine tune it for the best possible results. Remember the old adage: If you're not planning to succeed you're already planning to fail.

7. Computers -- Use it or lose it!

Let's step to the sidelines for a moment and look at something that should be obvious in this day and time. If you're not already using computers to market your business you must begin right away. There is no way you can be competitive in today's marketplace without the benefit of computers. Fortunately, today's computers are less expensive and easier to use than ever. Software programs are very powerful and less expensive than ever. So, there's no reason for your business not to be using computers, especially since you can't be competitive without them.

Several computer programs are very necessary in marketing. The first is a database program. These programs allow you to store information on your prospects, as well as current and past customers. On an ongoing basis, you can have a large amount of information on any contact you may make and track the results of your marketing efforts.

Some of today's programs integrate these database functions with what are known as contact management programs. In some cases, you can even replace many aspects of a database program with a full-featured contact management system. These more dedicated customer contact programs can, for example, remind you to contact customers or potential customers whenever you choose. For example, my chiropractor never fails to send me birthday card. It makes me feel more like a friend than a customer and reminds me that my business is important to him.

Some people find it more convenient to use separate programs for their contact management and database functions; others find that one or the other will do the job for them. Whatever your choice, these programs are necessary in today's marketplace. It is no longer possible to use card files, notebooks, or day planners and be competitive with someone who is using computer programs to integrate these functions more efficiently.

Your database program should have the basic information on your past customers. Who they were, what type of work you did for them, how much you charged, and any other information that will allow you to search for them in the future. For example, if you performed individual or seasonal sweeping based upon holidays, events, spring cleanup, etc., your database program can generate a list of these customers for you to contact prior to the same events the following year, season, etc.

Today's database and contact management programs, coupled with word processors, usually have a function called 'mail merge.' This allows the programs to work together such that you can generate a mailing list of customers based on specific information. Basically, the mail merge function can pull any information from the other programs that has been placed in what are called 'searchable fields.' When you use this type of program function, you can send out a personalized letter to every prospect you've ever talked to, or to just your customers, etc. The program generates the mailing list and prints the personalized letters and addresses.

For example, if your company does snow removal you can quickly generate mailing lists in the fall. As a sweeping contractor, you can quickly generate a list of customers who might need sand and salt residue swept after the winter season. Contact management programs can remind you to contact that customer who said they were open to re-bidding their services next May. Learning to utilize programs such as these can allow you to contact the customer and direct your marketing efforts towards them ahead of the competition.

If you don't want to have to be the low bidder, the first and best sales strategy is to get there before the customer goes out for bids. That is absolutely your best opportunity to be the only bid. (*Be sure and see footnote on "menu proposals.")

There are several other very valuable functions computer programs perform these days. Programs such as desktop publishing can allow you to very simply generate specific items like flyers, brochures, response cards and newsletters quickly and easily. If you are utilizing the Internet, and you most certainly should be, there are programs that will allow you to email newsletters and reminders to customers from your database lists.

Newsletters can be very simple to produce and are a great way of reminding customers about the specialized seasonal work situations that we were discussing earlier. It's always a good idea to add something with news value about your company and perhaps something that's a little entertaining, such as an antidote or short funny story. Most desktop publishing programs will also allow you to use mail merge, or at least print mailing labels for your newsletters from a database.

The computer is the only tool that will allow you to maintain all this information and make it easy to retrieve in a form and fashion usable for specific purposes in your marketing efforts.

When building your database you must also come up with a listing of potential customers. Depending upon the size of your business, these may be property management companies, homeowners associations, church building committee chairmen, managers of individual retail locations, car dealers, etc. The most important thing in compiling your database of these potential customers is to make sure it includes the proper contact person.

You need to target the actual decisionmakers. This is the person at the company who can make a decision to authorize you to do the work or execute the contract. Sometimes it may be difficult to locate that individual since you may have to get past secretaries, answering services, or other individuals lower in a hierarchy than the actual decision-maker. The difficulty is well worth the effort when you consider the time and marketing efforts you could waste on individuals who were not actually capable of making the decision. In our concept of 24-hour marketing, being an expert in your field, and not having to be the low bidder, it is vital you market your company and your capabilities directly to the decision-maker. After all, s/he's the only one who can decide to call you first and specify your company because you've made him/her understand that you're the best at doing your type of work.

Of course computers are necessary for the Internet, e-mail, having your own Web site and countless other electronic and information necessities in today's marketplace. In the old days it was mail or catalog… yesterday everyone used fax machines and a phone book; today they are being very rapidly replaced by e-mail, the Internet and website information.

8. Image is EVERYTHING!

In looking at marketing, remember you are trying to generate the most positive image for your company. Your image is something that will set you apart from the competition. Almost everything about your business can be fine-tuned to improve your overall image. An above average company image is one of the greatest and least expensive marketing tools available.

Do you have a logo? Do you have company colors? Do your trucks, equipment, and vehicles match? One of our large strategic partners has all of their company vehicles painted a shade of sky blue. This 3rd generation company is called Jordan Construction and I have heard people refer to jobs they have done by saying they noticed the trucks on the job-site were "Jordan blue." What more could a company ask for in their color scheme?!

In our market it seemed all the good color schemes were gone. I noticed early on it was simple to buy vehicles with white cabs and that black beds and dump bodies didn't show asphalt or sealer stains as bad. So, we became black and white. I've jokingly referred to some of our company pickups as "police trucks" when we've taken them in to have the beds painted black to match our other trucks. Now, over the years, we've developed our color image where a potential customer will say, "oh, you're the company with the black and white trucks I've seen."

A little tip here on signs -- don't use magnetic, stick-on signs. Put your company name, city (don't waste clutter with a street address) and your phone number (and website address if you have one; don't bother with an email address because that will be on your website) in large, easy to read numbers. You want people to know who you are and how to call you. That's all they have time to read on a truck or equipment sign. Professional decal-like signs cost no more and make you seem less "fly by night" than magnetic or removable signs.

And, some brand names of decals are advertised that they may actually be removed up to about 3 years after you put them on (3M is one such). Although this sounds great, in actual fact in a couple of years you'll find that the place where you remove them typically hasn't had the same sun fading as has the rest of the vehicle. Still, it's an advantage to take off the decals prior to selling a used vehicle. That way you know the new owner won't be going around doing who knows what with your name and phone number on your old vehicle!

Do your people project the image you want your company to portray? Do you have uniforms, or at least some type of dress code? It can sure blow your professional image if your workers have on ragged T-shirts or caps with a beer logo, profanity (or worse) on them. Uniforms can be as simple as having matching work shirts or T-shirts with your company name or logo. Caps with your company name are a good investment if your people like to wear caps or hats.

9. Trade associations.

These can be another effective, but relatively inexpensive, marketing tool. Of course you should belong to your local Chamber of Commerce but there are also associations of different types of contractors, trade groups, builders, etc. Our company markets heavily to retail-type facilities. So, we belong to a group called the Professional Retail Store Maintenance Association. This gives us an added image of professionalism to our chosen market and gets our name in front of people who are actually decision-makers in the field of retail facility maintenance. You might consider joining your industry association (in the case of sweeping, this is the North American Power Sweeping Association (phone 269-383-6993 or go to www.napsaonline.com). If you market to the municipal or government sectors, the American Public Works Association (www.apwa.net) is a good choice.

10. The 3 "R"s of Marketing.

These are the big three very important, but often-overlooked, aspects of your company's image and marketing efforts.

1. Reputation

Do you have a spotless or near-spotless reputation? To build one sometimes requires doing work you didn't plan to do or adding a little something that wasn't in the contract. This doesn't mean letting customers take advantage of you. It involves being where you say when you promise (or calling early if you can't make it). Sometimes it involves how quickly you respond to complaints or emergency situations. As an example from my business: In the handful of times we have accidentally over-sprayed asphalt oil or sealer onto a vehicle we try to locate the owner first, rather than waiting for them to find us.

We apologize for the problem and make an appointment with a detail shop to have the problem fixed. Then we do the little extra. We have arrangements with our local detail shops to not only remove any overspray but also completely detail the vehicle. Wash, wax, polish the tires, clean or shampoo the interior, pick up and deliver the vehicle if necessary, the whole works.

Instead of problems, we have had potentially irate people call and thank us for the wonderful job we had done and the professional way it was handled. Some of these folks have told our customers and believe me when I say it impresses them. It only costs us $25-$40 more but has bought us an invaluable reputation for handling these problems.

The same can be said for handling a "you didn't clean a certain area" claim that wasn't really your fault or handling that area "around back" once in awhile they forgot (or couldn't afford) to include in the bid. Reputation can't be bought. It's earned one customer at a time. Remember when deciding whether to go that "extra mile" that one dissatisfied customer will cost you the benefits of a dozen happy ones.

2. References

Ask your satisfied customers if you may use them as a reference; don't just assume. Over the years great references from well-known customers can buy more business than your entire advertising budget. Over-use of reference businesses is something that you need to watch out for, though. You don't want to 'wear out your welcome.' High quality reference customers can also become a target for competitors in your area.

Also make sure, on an ongoing basis, the customer you use as a reference is more than happy. Many times the best reference is the one you did the little extra for. I shouldn't have to ask you this… but you do ALWAYS send thank you notes or cards don't you? Those brief letters or cards (handwritten is best unless your writing is unreadable) should also ask them to contact you right away if they are not 100% satisfied.

Don't put a reference onto your brochure, since that will make them a target for competitors and brochures are costly to reproduce when they become outdated. You may want to include them on your website, however, since that can be changed relatively easily at at little expense.

3. Referrals

This goes hand-in-hand with references. Ask the who thinks you're doing a great job to introduce you to those he knows with property that's being, or needs, swept. The same can be done for property managers, doctors, etc. Often these customers associate with each other in civic or professional organizations. A personal introduction is 100 times better than the best "cold calling" technique. You might even consider paying a reward, such as a free sweep, to anyone referring new business your way.

11. Strategic Partnerships and Networking.

These strategies are going to become more and more important, especially to small and mid-size companies that don't want to be swallowed by the big fish in the industry. If you are a sweeping contractor you should have alliances with area sealcoaters to sweep the lots before they seal to save them time. You can develop the same type of relationships with construction companies if you do construction-type sweeping. Let them know that you're a contractor who will keep them on schedule and provide a finishing touch by making their work look better.

Strategic alliances are relationships with companies similar to yours but different in size or scope of services. We generate a large amount of our business each year by our strategic alliance with a large scale-paving contractor in our area. We do repairs for his clients that would be inefficient for him to do, sometimes provide striping, or let him hire our smaller crews or paving equipment for cut-up jobs that would be time consuming for his bigger machinery.

He doesn't sealcoat but refers to us because he knows we'll treat his customers right. Sometimes this involves us giving him a bid and working as a subcontractor but just as often it involves him just sending us business. Of course when a client calls for a paving bid that is to large for us we refer the job to him. We also hire his trucks and machinery to help us get jobs that would be a little over our head.

This type of arrangement is an invaluable tool. Think about it. It has the potential of bringing in a huge amount of business and doesn't require any expense or effort other than the time it takes to build the relationship. (Plus we always buy the owner and 1 or 2 office personnel gift certificates to a nice restaurant at Christmas -- remember to keep thinking of ways to increase your image!) It allows his advertising dollars, reputation, references and referrals to work for us for free, 24 hours a day.

It also offers protection for the future of our business by making him a partner of sorts rather than a competitor. Together we compete successfully with other large area companies that my firm couldn't take on by ourselves, and he secures jobs such as combinations of paving and sealcoating he might otherwise pass on.

Strategic partnering allows your business to have all the benefits of partners while still retaining your own business' independence.

Networking is the process of associating and developing relationships with others in your industry that may lead to forming alliances. A strong network of contacts can help generate leads, give you resources for solving problems, and pay off in countless ways. If you're making friends and getting cards from others here, that's a type of networking.

12. Advertising.

It's difficult to figure out where we should spend our advertising dollars. We all want to be as cost-effective as possible, generating the most sales dollars for each advertising dollar.

Remember advertising is not necessarily marketing! It is a part of marketing but it won't do it all for you and it can quickly become the most costly part of your marketing efforts. Lets also assume we've followed all the previous steps before we got here. We've chosen our market, developed our company's image, logo or slogan, made sure people notice our trucks and equipment, and done every other no/low-cost thing we can.

My opinion, based on experience, is that yellow pages are the biggest waste of advertising dollars most companies spend. You do need to be in there. However, our research has proven that in our market a small "box" type of ad in a column, one that tells what we do and that we're specialists at it, along with a bold phone number, works as well as a large "display" type ad. It's not that a full-page display ad won't get you some more calls, but they cost a fortune. Remember we're looking at advertising that pays for itself.

Most phone books (especially metropolitan) are cluttered with so many similar-looking ads that nobody stands out. You end up playing advertising roulette. You pay for these ads every day. Also, if your chosen customers are business people they know what these ads cost. You may find they can be "put off" by thinking you can afford to spend those big bucks on yellow pages. Remember a BOLD phone number. This is very important on everything, truck signs, job-site signs, ads, everything. You want the reader to be able to get your phone number as easily as possible.

Most clients these days have Internet access. Some contractors who have a good website are buying a smaller ad that says "full service" and lists the website address and their phone number.

It's simple to do your own research on marketing and advertising but to do so you must be consistent. Always have either the person who answers the phone or handles the lead ask, "how did you hear about our company?" Record the answers in your computer database. Later, record the results of the contact and profits if you make the sale. Soon you will begin to know how well all the low-cost steps are working compared to the other types of more expensive advertising you do. You'll know where your dollars work best.

Don't be afraid to BE a little DIFFERENT! When was the last time you saw a billboard for a sweeping company? One firm I know of found one well-placed billboard generated many more calls than that big yellow page ad they used to have for about the same investment. One technique we have used is thank you ads in newspapers to our bigger high-visibility customers. We make sure to promote their business in the ad, too.

Use press releases whenever possible. If your local newspaper(s) use these in their business section this is FREE advertising. Remember to write your press release as a news story, not as an advertisement. For example, you could write a release about how you and/or your employees recently attended this national event where you were kept up to date on the latest techniques and equipment in your industry. While not actually an "ad" it will keep building that image that yours is a professional company that keeps up with the latest information so you can be the best at what you do. Most papers will give you guidelines for how long these should be.

Sponsoring charitable events can also get you good name exposure. If you do mostly residential work, for example, a little league sponsorship could bring lots of name recognition and help by showing a positive community spirit that goes with your image. A good image should always include the fact that you "give back" to your community in some way. We sometimes participate in a school program where we spend about a day letting school kids climb on our trucks (and blow the air horn). Crawl on the rollers, and marvel as the paver actually lays a few feet of asphalt and a roller packs it (we use cold-mix so we can pick it up easily).

Of course we have employees present to ensure the kid's safety and we take a few minutes to explain how paving is done and what the different equipment does. This only costs us a day for 4 employees and generates a tremendous community image. The school system thanks us, of course, but most of all numerous parents have stopped us and told us how their child was so excited telling them about our demonstration and the parents thank us for caring about their kids. Now, whenever their children pass a construction site they remind them that "that's a roller, it's compacting the asphalt, just like the one the company that came to my school did". Great public relations, great image builder, long-term name exposure, virtually no cost.

Now a word about "give away" gadgets and gizmos… save your money please (or just mail it to me). Unless you find an item that you KNOW your customer will appreciate, you're wasting money. Think about it, when you make a purchasing decision how often do you look for the name on that cheap ink pen or refrigerator magnet, or even a calendar? For some types of business these items work.

My wife marketed for a firm that sold on-demand to doctors and hospitals and giving free notepads by the hundreds made their phone number handy when their service was needed. The question is do your customers use those type things? I've noticed that, unlike in medical offices, virtually no decision-makers in my clientele have those type pads on their desk. Most do not use cheap "gimme" pens or foam can coolers.

HOWEVER, many do play golf and in my area of the country many people wear caps. So for us caps do work. Remember image…they won't wear a cheap cap to the country club. So we spend a little extra for nice caps and use them as thank you gifts to our customers and occasionally advertising for potential customers. The point is, if a particular item suits your market then use it. If not, most of the time these types of items are a waste of your budget.

13. Today's marketing necessity: The INTERNET.

In today's marketing environment using the Internet is as necessary as the telephone. If you're not using the Internet to your advantage you are "snoozing and losing" as the old saying goes. This doesn't just include having a web site for your company. If you don't, there is NO reason not to. Web site creation programs today are as simple as word processors ($89-$200) and it won't cost more than $10-$15 per month for your site host. This is far less than you are probably spending now on business cards or one ad.

When developing a pavement web site remember that "bells and whistles" are not that important. It's important to have a professional looking site, several pages long. Not one of those "free pages" offered by some companies or service providers and NEVER with advertising for someone other than your company. You must have your own dot-com nam: the freebie stuff with the "their site.com/~ yourname" doesn't cut it. Try to keep your site name as short and easy to remember as possible.

Although there are places where you can buy your domain name for less, a good place to look for available names is www.register.com. When you type in your choice of names, this company shows you not only whether your first choice is available, but also a number of alternatives that are similar to your choice and that are available. One of the better, low cost places to actually purchase the name you choose is www.godaddy.com.

One of my business ventures is called EnhanCement Concrete Surfaces, but for a web name we picked Surfacemax.com, much shorter and easier to both remember and type than the whole company name. Be sure your contact information and service area are clearly displayed on the opening page. Never underestimate the power of at least a few photos of your actual jobs, preferably before and after (and don't use any of the cheesy photos that come with some site programs). Your customer wants clear, concise information and they want it quick and easy.

Try to make each page short enough the viewer doesn't have to scroll down much to see the entire page. You need an attraction. Something free, useful, informative, and trust building. For example, if your site is on the subject of sweeping parking lots, just information about parking lot sweeping and "Get us to sweep your parking lot" won't build traffic. How about including content on the benefits of a clean parking lot, scientific studies demonstrating safety factors of a clean lot or how a shopper's impression of a store is influenced by the parking lot? Make these available on your web site. Any information on your site should be free, useful, informative and trust building.

We include a "tips for choosing a contractor" page and a page about how to spot those "fly by night" scam artists in the pavement business. Both are very popular with our visitors. If you write articles on your subject of expertise, you will become known as an expert. If customers think you know what you're doing, they will be more likely to buy your service. Make sure the main focus or idea of each page is displayed 1st when the page loads. There are lots of approaches to web site design but the main things are a simple, clean design with easy-to-read text, a few photos (72dpi resolution and not too large), and make sure it's easy for the viewer to find your phone number and e-mail address. You would be amazed how many sites I've seen where I couldn't find the contact information or really tell much about the company at all.

Be sure and get listed in any local or state Internet guides or search engines for your area and in your state guides if you do that type of work. There are many other ways to build awareness of your web site. Your dot-com name should be on all communications with your customers and prospects. It should have the same importance as your phone number. Put it on your truck and jobsite signs and include it in your yellow page ads and prominently on any direct mail flyers. You can exchange links with other web sites — in your industry perhaps, or in allied industries. You can participate in discussion groups, news groups, chat, mailing lists, etc. You can join industry groups that have an online presence and get referrals from them.

Some other uses of the Internet include:

• Reducing your business costs. Saving money can be just as important as making money, right? Your web site can do that by streamlining costs for customer service, ordering, printing and postage, among other things. If you don't have to send out a brochure or catalog, how much will that save you? You will be amazed how many customers will want you to e-mail them rather than mailing information or even faxing. Be sure to put a link to your website in the e-mail.
• Building your own brand awareness. A properly designed web site can enhance the visibility of your logo and improve the recognition and image of your company.
• Reaching new markets. The Internet spans the globe, allowing your company to inexpensively offer its services to as large an area as you seek to serve, an option once open only to large corporations.
• Creating new business partnerships. A web site is a wonderful way to create mutually beneficial relationships. For instance, a paving contractor might link to a striping or landscaping contractor. A sweeping contractor might link to a janitorial service company and receive a commission should the referral generate new business. It's a win-win situation for both businesses.

14. PBS (and I don't mean public television)

PBS -- it's a short way to remember Personal Basis for Selling. This is a complex subject. Basically it comes down to establishing a personal one-on-one relationship with the property owner, manager, or other decision maker during the sales process. Used correctly, this process takes you from being a "salesman" to being a concerned friend and consultant. You become someone who takes the burden off of the client by advising them of the most cost-effective way to perform their pavement services.

It is extremely rare that you will ever encounter a client with a thorough knowledge of pavement services. By showing a genuine concern for helping your client make the best possible decisions, through friendly education and explanation, you can establish a personal relationship with them that can make you their only call for pavement services. Then, it's up to you to develop a company with the services or connections to get their needs fulfilled.

The key is to be genuinely concerned about the client. Listen carefully. Ask questions to determine what they really want. For example: At first glance it may seem your client just wants to have his pavement swept. That may be what they say. However, if you listen carefully and ask you may determine that what they really want is a company that can keep an eye on all aspects of the outside appearance of the property, keeping track of burned out lights, the appearance of graffiti, etc.

Perhaps they mainly want to improve the image and appearance of the property. Or maybe a tenant has complained so much about the parking area they think getting or changing sweeping contractors is the cheapest way to shut them up. You can see how many different underlying reasons there can be for them telling you "I want a bid."

Hopefully, you are also beginning to see how uncovering the real reason can give you an unbeatable advantage in making the sale. You become their friendly consultant and earn their trust because you listened well enough to find out what they really wanted, not necessarily what they first said. We have numerous clients we have developed this way over the years.

If you do other services besides sweeping, be sure to mention the need to your existing clients whenever you see it. Call them and suggest doing the work. This is the ultimate sale because you have totally eliminated the competition. For example: we have some retail clients whose tenants depend heavily on Christmas business. It's great to be able to call them in October and just remind them it's time to re-stripe and "by the way I noticed an area that needs to be repaired so that shopping carts won't tip over." Most often they tell us to just get them a proposal and as soon as we do they approve the work. This shows we understand their business. We are concerned about their needs. And it relieves them of the burden of thinking about pavement maintenance themselves, freeing their time for other responsibilities.

You can only use this approach is you are genuinely concerned, very ethical, offer real value for your services, and are always fair in your dealings with the customer. These relationships can also be the basis for countless "word of mouth" referrals, the best kind. However, if you ever take advantage of such a relationship it will be lost forever and your reputation will suffer exponentially.

15. Footnotes and some sales tips:

• Remember that decision-maker or property manager? When cold calling try to find out where they park. Notice things you can point out (trash against the fence, dirty curblines) that they will see and remember everyday as they walk inside.
• When talking to potential clients, especially when cold calling, remember to be upbeat, positive, and MAKE EYE CONTACT! You always appear more truthful and trustworthy when you make eye contact. For some people this is hard, so practice if you have to. It will pay off.
• Be yourself. Don't try to come on strong or try being funny if it's not your personality. Anyone spots a fake right off. Remember that almost any joke can always backfire. Also NEVER use profanity (not even darn or heck if you can help it) or smoke or chew, even if the potential client cusses like a sailor and smokes like a chimney.
• Make use of any materials available from your suppliers. Brochures or spec. sheets about the products you use, why to sweep, etc. are a low- or no-cost way many suppliers will help you to increase your image and impact.
• Thinking about that next ad, mailer, or door hanger? Research shows that using the following words in the headline can make your message more effective by the percentages listed:

• Always make detailed custom proposals for each individual client, not those handwritten, "off a notepad" things. Use enough specifications and details so the customer really knows what you are going to do for the money. (Computers remember -- once you've made a few basic templates it only takes minutes to enter the customer's particular information. Then just save it under each new customer's name.) Make a nice personalized cover sheet for the proposal and then enclose the whole thing in a clear plastic cover. It will only cost a few cents and will make your customer feel like they are more important to you. Your proposal will look better than others on the desk and be protected from spilled coffee or being crunched.
• ALWAYS use "menu" proposals whenever possible. This is one of two tips from this seminar the last two years that have their own seminars this year! Especially if you learn to achieve what we discussed earlier and get there first. Menu proposals give the customer multiple options for the same project. Such as one price for basic front-of-the-lot sweeping, and a higher price hand-picking landscaping, more for changing out garbage bags and sweeping the back. Or, sweeping once a week compared to twice a month, etc.

  Using menu type proposals gives you the advantage of providing your customer 2 or 3 bid choices in one proposal. This can make the difference in whether they go out for other proposals or simply choose an option from yours. It also let's them know you have multiple capabilities and gives the impression you are more knowledgeable than the competition. Plus, if you haven't been able to determine what they are planning to spend, it gives you greater odds of having one of your options fit into their budget.

  I can't say enough about the tremendous advantage of menu proposals. This has proven to be one of our company's greatest sales tools and has helped us get a huge amount of business from our competition over the years. If you will learn to use them to your full advantage you can even get many clients to decide on one of the lower cost options from your company based on price, then "sell up" into one of your higher options. You do this by explaining the greater benefits and the reasons why you recommend the higher cost option. These type proposals can be as easily computer-generated as any other and, again, they give your company and your proposal a better image and a more professional and "expert" approach to the job and the customer.

• If your prospect insists on getting multiple bids, or if they are intent on taking the low bid, try to NOT be the first bid. If possible ask the client to fax you a copy of another bid with the price information blacked out or deleted. Then you can be sure to bid "apples to apples" and if it's for inferior work you can form a plan to re-present how your services will be a much more cost-effective investment using a menu proposal. Then you can be competitive on the low bid while explaining why the customer really should choose your "better" or "best" proposal. This will greatly improve your success ratio with the inevitable "multiple bid" clients.

Sample Press Release

This is only an example. Customize releases for your company and any events or training you may have, even things like company picnics, handing out service/safety awards to employees, promotions, etc. Remember, the idea is to keep finding ways to get your company name out to the public.

A personal note from the presenter

Thank you for choosing this seminar. I hope you have found it informative and that it will help you in your efforts to market your business.

It is my personal belief that the biggest single mistake people make when selling is to sell on price rather than quality and value for the dollar. I can't remember who said it, but a favorite quotation I learned early on in my sales career was "there never was anything but couldn't be made cheaper for less money."

I believe nothing will do more to keep your business prosperous than learning to sell quality and value. That way you don't really have to worry about being the low bidder every time and you can increase your profit margins. Yes, it's more work to develop a strategy to successfully market your business and then close the sale with a professional sales presentation. However, the rewards will make all your efforts worth every minute invested.

My best wishes for an even more successful future,
Don Turner

You may reach Don Turner via email sent to: info@pavementpro.com.

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World Sweeper
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