"My Market is Different"
Does this type of thinking keep you from looking at your business critically and not addressing the real issues?
As a business consultant I get to travel all over the country. In each community I visit I hear business owners declare that their business problems are due to the ideosyncrasies of their particular market. What I see is very different. Sure, the market varies from state to state and region to region, but the market won't make you successful and the market won't make you fail. There are common elements to every successful business and to every business failure. As a consultant, it is my job to help you stop doing the things that will take you down the road to failure and to help you add those strategies that will help you to be successful in any market condition.
A recent prospective client and I were discussing his problems: low margins, lower than expected closing percentages for sales staff & too heavy reliance on the builder market! Does anyone else have these problems? As I have traveled the country it is clear that the problems facing some dealers are pretty universal. Low margins in California have the same effect on business as they do in New York, or Georgia! Not enough cash to service your clients properly, therefore affecting your referral rate. The key to solving any problem is to first recognize that you have one. The market is a convenient scapegoat since you have no control over what the market does and does not do. Here in Florida, we can simply say "Oh, the housing bubble has hurt us badly, Florida real estate is in the toilet" -excuses, excuses - successful businesses are using this opportunity to put their competitors out of business.
The fact is that you have total control over your business success! Take a piece of paper and write down the areas where you want to see improvement. Number them and then think of three solutions to each area. For example:
1. The Florida real estate market has shrunk and reduced the number of remodeling customers.
Brainstorming Solutions:
A. Contact previous clients with new products or services such as closets
B. Make sure my showroom and sales technique are sharp so I capture the interest of my prospects and improve my closing rate.
C. Change the way I present my services to better inform potential clients of the problems I can solve for them. By doing more than my competition I will earn more of the clients' money and outshine my competitors.
If you sit down and do this in a moment of quiet, you will be surprised by how many solutions will pop into your head. No matter how silly the thought is, write it down. Many great solutions start out as a funny thought that just keeps tickling you. The market is a great excuse for giving up and staying in the past.
I am constantly fine tuning my Kitchen Sales Coach business, as I believe dealers think their problems are unique and different from anyone else's. It is difficult to admit that you, not the market, may be the cause of your own problems. Just know that I am not here to judge anyone, I am here to help, to apply the tools that work in California, in Georgia, and in Massachusetts. I do not make excuses, I am just improving the value to my customers-You the Kitchen and Bath Dealer and Designer.
Thank you and keep your mind focused on forward thinking ways to serve and ad value to your clients!
Robert Foltz, CKD
Kitchen Sales Coach
