Greetings, fellow home service sales & marketing nerds! 🤓 You may recall that last month I promised we’d talk about greed as a lever in this month’s newsletter.  Well, we’re not doing that. 😁 The topic doesn’t sound particularly exciting to me right now, so I’m going to write about something else. It’s my newsletter and I can do what I want. Instead,  I want to talk to you about change.  And I don’t mean the kind where you miraculously swish a jumper and your rec league buddy gives you the basketball back so you can try again.   I’m talking about the concept of change, as it relates to sales and marketing. Because marketing, in it’s simplest form, is change work.   Potential buyers are always seeking a change… in their circumstances (“i wish I had more time freedom…”) in their environment (“my home looks dirty and that makes me uncomfortable…”) in their status (“i’m embarrassed by all of the weeds in my lawn- it makes me look lazy.”) in how they feel- physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually (“I have too much to do around the house, at work, with my kids…I’m overwhelmed.) Effective marketing ALWAYS speaks to the CHANGE the audience is seeking to achieve. Here are some examples of this concept at work. Younger audiences tend to seek change away from the status quo and into a more desirable future state.  For home services related messaging, that might look a bit like this: “Sick of wasting your precious free time dealing with crappy contractors?  There’s a smarter way. Call us to get… a free, customized quote within 24 hours the job completed to a level that exceeds your expectations in less than a week So that… You can move on with your life, totally satisfied.  All of the above, 100% Guaranteed from the Acme Home Improvement Co.”   Do you see how “change” is the fulcrum of this offer?  The audience has likely had bad experiences in the past- poor communication, slow response times, and subpar results.  The “change” is away from that typical experience to something refreshing, convenient, and risk-free.   Let’s flip the script to older audiences.  They tend to seek stability and continuity- in other words, a “change” BACK to what they used to have. That messaging might look like this: “Don’t you miss the days when contractors actually took pride in their work?  When they took the time to do it right?  Remember when you used to be able to do deals on a handshake and feel good about it? Well, those days don’t have to be gone.  In fact, those principles are at the core of how Acme Home Improvements does business today. Here’s our commitment to you: A customized “no fine print” quote that we stand behind 100% Work performed by true professionals who love their craft We’ll treat your home like it’s the White House On time, on budget, and to your expectations, plus 1% The Acme team does business the way you do- with honesty and integrity.  So let’s “shake hands” and get to work.”   The “change” is different here.  It’s a throwback to a previous state or experience that the audience misses and wants back.  They aren’t satisfied with the current landscape, and seek a return to the “good ol’ days.”  Our messaging gives them that. So your mission is to deeply consider your audience- ❓ What do they want that they don’t have?  ❓ What condition are they seeking to change?  ❓ What change are they seeking to acquire, experience, or avoid? The better you understand this concept, the better your messaging will be. See y’all next month, DiD’ers! P.S.  If you are currently working with an agency who’s crafting your message (writing your ads, writing your website copy, writing your blog and social posts, etc)…review their work through the lens of what you learn from the DiD newsletter.  It’s YOUR job to hold them accountable for their work.  If you find the quality lacking, tell them so.  Better yet- tell them to subscribe to this newsletter…there’s a good chance they need it. P.S.S.  P.S.  If you know someone who you think would enjoy the Dollars Into Deals newsletter, send them here to sign up.  That would make me happy. 🙏

This is newsletter #1 on the topic of “needs levers”. ”What the heck is a ‘needs lever’?”… you are asking this under your breath right now. I know you are. A ‘needs lever’ simply refers to one’s ability to a)understand a core human need, b)recognize it in a customer, and c)use it to ethically influence behavior. To master the use of ‘needs levers’ we need to start with this undeniable truth: People are selfish. All buying decisions are motivated by a selfish desire for either a gain of some sort, or an avoidance of loss. Ultimately, every buyer wants something for themselves- an outcome that improves their situation. Why is it so important for us to accept that? ➡ Because effective sales is all about the PROSPECT’s needs, not yours. They don’t care about the whizbangers and do-dads on your truck, the graphics and badges and logos on your work shirt, the fact that you are a 3x SuperAngi PowerPro… unless those things meet their REAL need or desire (sometimes stuff like that DOES matter to a buyer, but usually not…) ➡ You’ll never get them to buy unless you appeal to their deep, internal needs. And in order to do that, you need to UNDERSTAND them. This leads us to the importance of learning how to understand your prospect. People will more readily do business with people they feel UNDERSTOOD by, and they’ll pay more to do so. Why? Because understanding breeds trust. The more you make a customer feel understood, the more likely that they’ll trust in your ability to produce their desired outcome- to meet their selfish needs. In the end, you want to be the one to feed that selfish need, and you can do that best from a position of understanding. 🎯So your #1 JOB as a marketer or sales person is to get in sync with the customer’s deep, selfish desires- to UNDERSTAND them.🎯 There are a bunch of ‘needs levers’. I’ll talk about a lot of them in the future. I’ll talk about what they are, how to spot them, and how to speak to them. Next month we’ll breakdown the first one: Greed. See you then, DiD’ers! P.S.  If you know someone who you think would enjoy the Dollars Into Deals newsletter, send them here to sign up.  That would make me happy. 🙏

Hey DiD’ers!  Let’s talk “locked boxes”.  When a prospect calls or messages, it can feel like you are speaking with a “locked box”.  You don’t know what’s important to them, what their past experiences have been, what brings them joy or misery, what they are afraid of, and so on.  On top of that, many prospects enter into the exploratory part of their buying journey in a guarded, distracted, or distrustful state of mind.   This makes sense, since many buying experiences end up making prospects feel like they’d rather spend their afternoons being water-boarded than buy whatever it is the hack salesperson is trying to sell them. This is why we need to ask great questions.  The answers to those questions can unlock the “mystery box” of WHY customers are ACTUALLY calling us.  And when we know WHY, we are in a much better position to “open the box”. Here’s a killer question that can be used to your advantage in just about any home service sales situation.  I call it the “Looking Question” “When you are looking to hire a home service contractor, what are some qualities you are searching for?”   Use this question early on in the conversation- ideally right after you’ve greeted them and collected their information. Simply ask the question, and then…shut…up.  If there’s silence, let it linger.  This is critical- we NEED to wait the prospect out until they give us a response.  Why?  Because this question, asked this way, is very likely to get the prospect thinking in a way they haven’t before (at least, consciously.)  The answers you get will give you immediate insights into what the prospect’s key motivators are.   👉 Do they mention responsiveness, and then complain about how hard it is to “even get a quote”?  Now you know to lean hard into your proactive and convenient communication practices. 👉Do they relate a story about the time they hired smelly, uncouth, mouth-breathing workers to do that one thing that one time?  Perfect- you know that your clean-cut, uniformed technicians will add serious value to your offer. 👉Do they mention an aversion to bait-and-switch sales tactics?  Great!  Your up-front pricing and easy-to-understand proposals will be a hit. The Looking Question is one of the best bang-for-your-buck sales questions you can ask because of its skeleton key quality-  it will unlock deep-seated motivators from just about any prospect you encounter.  You can then tailor your sales approach to tap into those motivators for maximum effect.   Try The Looking Question on your next ten sales calls and see what happens.  Happy hunting, DiD’ers.   P.S.  If you know someone who you think would enjoy the Dollars Into Deals newsletter, send them here to sign up.  That would make me happy. 🙏

Keeping your business docs and files secure and organized can be daunting. But it’s absolutely necessary that you set up a cloud based filing system. Why? There are sooo many benefits! Here are just a few. Your documents become easily sharable and searchable for your team, regardless of where they are located. You eliminate the risk of losing important or sensitive data in the event of a fire, theft, or other disasters. You’ll save valuable time by being able to sort, organize and file items quickly. You can use Google Workspace, Dropbox, OneDrive, or a host of other platforms (I’m partial to Google Workspace). Picking a platform is one thing, but the big challenge is this- how do you organize your filing system? What goes where? What stuff do you even need? Good news: I’ve created a handy outline for you. Download this free template and use it as a guide to build out your own cloud based storage solution. Enjoy!