Greetings Floor Dealers!
A bribe is a charm to the one who gives it; wherever he turns, he succeeds.
-Proverbs 17:8
There is an old Japanese proverb that I have lived by for years: “Give the gift before it’s needed.” Actually, I’m not sure if I’m quoting it correctly, or for that matter if it’s Japanese. It was years ago when I heard it, and for the life of me I can’t find it again, but I think I’m getting the gist of it right. Basically it means if there is someone from whom you think you will eventually need a favor, give them a gift ahead of time to establish a sense of reciprocity.
When I owned a carpet cleaning company I established joint ventures with nine local flooring dealers. After so many referrals from a particular dealer, we would order in lunch or pizza for the entire staff. But before we got the first referral we’d always bring them a box of Cookie Tree cookies or some other goodies to “prime the pump.” Since most referrals came from the staff, and not the store owner, we made sure that any bribes we sent in could be enjoyed by the entire crew.
A “bribe” doesn’t have to be an actual gift. I was working to establish joint venture relationships with Realtors, and I saw an article in the paper about an award that was won by a local Realtor. I clipped out the article and mailed it to him with a letter congratulating him on his success. Later I called him to set up an appointment. In this case the “bribe” was the emotional lift caused by recognition from an unexpected source.
By the way, if you are setting up joint ventures (and you should be—see the Joint Ventures module for details) this is a great strategy for connecting with the owner. Scan your local paper each day for articles and announcements about local businesses. Clip out the article and send it to the owner with a congratulations card.
A friend of mine who owns a local karate academy hosts an annual tournament with students from all over the country and the world coming to our little cow town to compete. Each year his event is given front page coverage in the sports section of our paper; GREAT publicity for his dojo. I was having lunch him and asked him how he was able to get this fantastic coverage year after year. He told me that during the rest of the year he took the sports editor out to lunch on a fairly regular basis. Those lunches didn’t buy him coverage; they bought him instant access to the editor. Then when something newsworthy happened to his business (i.e. the international tournament) all he had to do was pick up the phone and presto! Front page coverage.
It would be worth establishing a relationship with the business editor or your local paper. Don’t pester him every time you have a sale, but if you host a charitable event or something newsworthy, it’s very handy to have a go-to person in the business department of your local paper.
A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.
-Proverbs 21:14
Mistakes happen, even if you have a good system. (Although the majority of mistakes are made because of a lack of a system, so don’t use the “Mistakes happen” excuse as a reason to avoid implementing systems in your flooring business. As an Inner Circle member you have access to the World Class Installation System that, if followed, will systematize the bulk of tasks that go into a flooring sale/installation.) When I was in the mortgage business, I always kept a stack of $5 Starbuck’s gift cards in my desk. On those rare occasions when something was late or the client was otherwise inconvenienced, on top of calling to apologize, I’d mail them a gift card with a hand-written apology.
During a carpet-cleaning job our truck-mount machine broke down, so we were forced to stop after cleaning only one room. To make matters worse, the customer had hired us because she was hosting a wedding reception at her house that weekend. We came back the next day and lightning struck twice: the machine broke down again! This poor lady was so sweet about it, but what a load of stress for her. When we came back the next day, we cleaned all her carpets for free and added stain protector for free. Because we went so over the top in making up for our error, she wound up using us many times and sent us a lot of referrals.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
-Sun-Tzu
I was doing a one-on-one coaching call today with a new Platinum Inner Circle member (who has requested to remain nameless at this time). His store is directly across the street from a Lowes. When I asked him how that was working out he said, “They send me a lot of business.”
“You mean you get a lot of business from them because people walk over to your store?” I asked.
“No. They actually refer people to me.”
“Why?” I asked.
He explained that he got to know the entire flooring sales team, and he goes over to Lowes pretty regularly and visits with them. He let them know that he carried some products that they didn’t, and if they had any clients who requested those particular items they could refer them to him and he’d treat them like royalty. Plus, whenever they send him a job, he gives the referring sales person a gift certificate to a local restaurant or to the movies.
Very smart.
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.
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