Oh No! I Got No Dough but I Need to Grow

THE E-MAIL:

“Good Morning Ed,
We still can’t get enough clients, we need more jobs, more customers. What can we do? What else can we/should we do? Right now we don’t have any money. I bought a lot of new equipment and a vehicle. Do you know anything I can do to get more jobs?”

I know this young couple have a new baby in the house, so I invited them to call me. I have been through one start up with a brand new screaming mouth to feed, so I remember that feeling of panic.

THE CALL:

One little detail left out of the e-mail is that they have only been hitting it full time for about three months. Who has enough clients in the first three months? I know I never did.

So we did a 10-minute marketing plan over the phone based on a ZERO marketing budget. With sincerest apologies to every single Harvard MBA, I am going to share with you what I told them. To my friends from around the globe, I think this will work everywhere, so grab a pencil and a note pad.


Q – What have you done so far?

A – Sent out flyers to several different types of businesses in the area and nothing happened.

Q – Are both of you full time or is one of you working a day job to get the rent paid?

A – Husband is full time in the business and the wife has a job so the rent is paid.

Q – How long have you lived in the area, and what is your personal network like where you are living?

A – The wife is born and raised in the area and the husband emigrated from another country and has a good command of the language but lacks confidence in his language skills.

Q – Do you attend or belong to any social or business groups?

A – Been to one or two business events plus attend a house of worship infrequently.

Armed with this information we quickly mapped out a battle plan.

First, did you save the list of folks you sent the flyers out to? They did have that list, so I asked if they knew there was a wonderful, caramel colored, carbonated, soft drink that was delicious when served cold called Coca Cola? But of course they did!

Did you know that in places on the planet where people work in rice paddies all day as they have for a hundred generations and have never heard a dial tone on a telephone know the name Coca Cola? Why would one of the most recognized brand names in the world need to advertise if people in the remotest parts of the world already know their name?

The answer is because they HAVE to advertise. So if Coca Cola has to advertise to people who already know who they are and what their product is, how much more do you have to advertise your janitorial service?

The average American, according to guesstimates, sees over 3,000 advertising messages a day. The chances of one flyer making any impression at all is very small. So that list of people that received it need to be contacted again and again and again. As long as you are polite and respectful, business people understand that you have goods and services you need to promote just like they do. The flyer is a good reason for a follow up call or visit.

“Who in your company selects your cleaning service?”

“Did that person get my flyer?”

“The reason for my call/visit is to offer you a free estimate for my service, doesn’t take long, and there is no obligation of course. Even if your present service is satisfactory, let me provide you with a viable alternative.”

Your goal is to get the name of the person who is in charge of the cleaning so you can check back again if they don’t ask for a proposal.

So the first piece of the plan is to select a group of suspects and contact them no less then every 60 days. If they are satisfied with their current service, ask for a referral.

The next step is to create your warm list. Who do you know? Family, friends, spouses of family and friends, your neighbors, your relative’s neighbors, your neighbor’s relatives, your high school friends, your high school enemies, spouses of high school contacts, where they work, where their spouses work, who cuts your hair, who cuts your spouses hair, who cuts your dog’s hair, and on and on and on. Think about how many people you really know or who they know. If you ever sat through a multi-level marketing hour of hell, the one thing they really get right is that warm market and the power of your own personal warm network.

So step two is to work that warm market and ask for referrals. If you contact your own warm market, by the time you call them the third time, they will be thinking of people for you to call. They know you are serious and you are not going to let them rest until you get a name from them.

The next and final attack of our 10-minute marketing plan is networking meetings. Every town has several business networking meetings of some sort. Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood merchant associations, business after hours, breakfast networking meetings … they go by numerous names and meet at different times. Some you join and have to pay to belong, while others may be free or you pay for individual meetings. They all need to be worked the very same way.

Networking meeting rule number one: You are going to shake every single hand in the room and put your business card in their other hand. You say you are shy. Well so is every other person in that room. Stuff it, take a deep breath, walk up, smile, and say hello. You won’t die, I promise. Because you did not die, don’t cling to whoever you just met. MOVE ON TO THE NEXT PERSON AND THEN THE NEXT ONE AFTER THAT, until you have met everyone in the room or get a face full of pepper spray (then it will be OK to stop but NOT before!)

Sometimes there will be little groups that congregate and chat among themselves. What you do is stand there until you are acknowledged and if that doesn’t happen during a break in the conversation, move in a little closer. Smile, hold out your hand and introduce yourself and your company.

Gentlemen, it’s like that high school dance, remember how that went? Like Bob Seger sang, “I ain’t good looking but you know I ain’t shy, I ain’t afraid to look a girl in the eye.” This is pale compared to what you had riding on that introduction at the school dance.

Networking meeting rule number two: Networking is meeting people and making friends. Tell them who you are and what you need, but then find out who they need to know and what you can do for them. Ask for their business card, and ask them how you can help them. Listen carefully to what they say. Write it down on the back of their card and then find who they are looking for. You will be meeting everyone in the entire room, right? You may meet the person they need to know and you can introduce them.

This is the secret of the power networker, the networking monster, the person everyone wants to network with. In the old days, this was called making friends. All of a sudden you take on a new role. You pick up the phone and tell a new friend you met at a networking meeting that you know someone who is looking for what they sell. When you help others, they will want to return the favor. What you are doing is multiplying your efforts by enlisting others to be on the look out for prospects for you. It’s extremely powerful.

Networking meeting rule number three: Work your network list of people. You have made a contact now use it. Keep your ears open for sales opportunities for them. Call every one that you have a business card from on a regular basis. Drop them an e-mail about something you know interests them or may mean a sale for them. Make friends. Friends like to do business with friends. Ask for referrals. Don’t wait for a friend to ask you for a referral. Be proactive. You call them the minute you learn of an opportunity for them.

Now this is an extension of rule number three for groups like the Chamber of Commerce or any group that requires dues for membership. Get your money’s worth by volunteering for committee work. Here’s a secret of volunteer groups: 20% (or many times less) of the members do 80% (or more) of all the work. Jump on in! This is the path to leadership in these groups.

Working on a project side by side with someone else gives you an opportunity to make a friend. You get to know one another while in committee meetings, working booths during events, or whatever the project is.

I have never met anyone who has taken on a volunteer role, ascended into a leadership role in a group, and went hungry. Just does not happen, ever. The key to this is to limit the number of groups you belong to. It is far more effective to spend your money joining one group, getting involved and making friends, than attending many groups and just showing up to shake hands.

To recap our 10-minute marketing plan:

1. Contact your targeted business list every 60 days, get a contact name, ask to do an estimate, and ask for referrals.
2. Compile a warm list of folks you know and find out who they know. Get contact names and phone numbers and contact them every 90 days, asking for referrals.
3. Find and attend networking meetings, meet everyone there, find out what they need (MAKE FRIENDS), and ask for referrals.

If you do all of this (and none of this is very hard), you will pick up new accounts and you will not have spent very much money. Problem solved? No!

Here is the problem with what I have just written to you. There is an overly simplistic myth that permeates our industry among small, independent contractors that is fueled by business opportunity magazines such as Entrepreneur, Home Business, and many others. Add to these the franchise companies and web gurus with products to sell, there is a lie that you will become successful with absolutely nothing but a broom and vacuum cleaner. The picture is painted that you will sail smoothly to untold riches without a dime invested.

I don’t want to contribute to this myth by what I have written here. The truth is that it takes capital to grow a business and without it you can survive but you will not thrive. It is important to keep this in perspective. With this 10-minute marketing plan, you will get accounts the very same as if you walk out your door in Los Angeles and head for New York. It is possible, and you will eventually get there on foot, but it won’t be easy. Having the plane fare will get you there faster and easier.

What I have provided you here is a map of the route from L.A. to New York on foot. The map works, but it’s the long way for sure.

Good luck!

Ed Selkow