Greetings Floor Dealers!
The “Schedule Warning” strategy is a fabulous way to turn a negative (for your clients) into a positive. When a dealer is booked solid and can’t fit a client’s installation in right when the client needs it, the temptation is to get apologetic and turn gyrations trying to shoe-horn them into a packed schedule. There is a better way. But before I tell you about the better way, let’s cover some basic principles of positioning.
First, you are a Trusted Advisor, much like a family doctor.
When was the last time you were able to demand to see you doctor exactly when it suited you? When was the last time you were able to badger your doctor into coming into the office on a Saturday? Or in the evening? Or on a Sunday? In fact, the only way you will ever make this happen is if you have a TRUE emergency, i.e. you’ve got a fever of 112. In which case you still probably won’t be able to get your doctor into the office on a Saturday. The doctor’s answering service will simply refer you to the emergency room at your local hospital.
Second, being too available is bad positioning.
Let’s use the doctor as an example again. Let’s say you have a potentially fatal brain tumor. You’ve got some time before you’ll actually die, so you want to get the best doctor available. Do you really want the doctor that’s available right now? A doctor that has so little demand for his services that he can operate on you 15 minutes after he diagnosis the problem?
Wouldn’t you be just a little concerned about having this guy carve open your skull and start digging around? Don’t be too available.
Restaurant example. If you want to take your wife to a beautiful restaurant for your 25th wedding anniversary, would you rather book your reservation at the restaurant with an empty parking lot and no wait? Or at the restaurant that’s always packed and has a two-week waiting list? Which restaurant do you think your wife will be more impressed with?
Being too available positions you like that first restaurant.
Here’s the strategy…
Anytime anybody is scheduling anything, you need to train yourself and your staff and sales team to use the following script:
CLIENT: (Has agreed to the purchase, their product has arrived, and it’s now time to schedule the installation.)
PROJECT COORDINATOR: (Says this as he/she is looking through the calendar) “We get a lot of referrals, so Jimbo’s Floors is in high demand, and we’re always booked out for a month. Let me see where we can fit you in. Oh, here’s an opening in Two weeks on August 15th. Do you want to grab it before it fills up?”
My assistants were always trained to use a script like this one. Even if I had an empty calendar, they were trained to say “Jim is in very high demand, and is normally booked out for two weeks. Let me see where we can fit you in” before giving the client the scheduling options.
By approaching it this way, it also appeals to your client’s “snob factor.” You want them bragging to their friends about getting new floors from you the same way they would brag about getting a seat at an exclusive restaurant.
You also want to create an environment where your clients are telling their friends, “You’ve got to use Jimbos Floors, but they’re in very high demand. If you’re even thinking about getting new hardwood before Christmas, call them right now.”
To further position yourself as “In Demand,” use the following blurb in all of your marketing pieces, newsletters, etc. Create a “Schedule Warning” banner and hang it in your store.
Schedule Warning:
Thanks to all the referrals from super-satisfied clients, Jimbo’s Floors is in very high demand and we are currently booked solid for 3 weeks! I’ve had several clients call at the last minute to purchase flooring because of a party, a move, or other event and we have not been able to service them all when they needed it. PLEASE do yourself a huge favor and allow at least 3 weeks for scheduling if you have an important event. Better yet, if you know you will need new flooring ANYTIME in the next few months, call us and get it on our schedule now…even if it’s 3 months out.
Thanks Folks!
Jim Armstrong
Jimbo’s Floors 530-790-3338
I’ve even sent out postcards where this is the only message and had great response.
In fact, I’ve reached the point in my businesses where I quit doing price specials of any kind. Where the only direct response “message” I put out was, “You’d better book your appointment immediately or I simply won’t be able to fit you in.” Full price. High price. No deals.
And that, my friends, is the golden chalice, the ideal for your business that you should seek to attain. And it IS attainable. I’ve done it and so can you.
To Tons Of Customers!
Jim Augustus Armstrong is The “Coach”
Jim Augustus Armstrong is the President of Flooring Success Systems, a program that equips dealers to double their profits, cut their work hours in half and beat the boxes! Many dealers have totally transformed their businesses and their lives for the better after joining Flooring Success Systems.
See what real, live dealers are saying!