In Part 1 and Part 2, I outlined the ultimate floor marketing system. It consists of three simple steps: before, during and after.
Before is what you do to attract new customers before they have purchased from you. During is what you do to get out of the “proposal” business, close a lot more sales and get high margins. And after is what you do after the sale to create a stream of repeat and referral business.
In this installment, we’re going deeper into the During and After step.
During
Studies have shown that, if 10 people walk into a floor dealership, the average dealer only closes 3 of them. That means dealers are spending a fortune, not to mention a lot of time and energy, getting people to walk in their door or call. But 70% of that money and time is wasted.
The During step helps change that result by quickly building trust with new prospects. I teach over 21 trust builders. Space won’t permit me to discuss all 21, but here are several to get you started.
First, after welcoming a prospect to your store, hand them a printed beverage menu with a list of drinks like coffee, soda, bottled water. None of your competitors will do this, especially the box stores. That creates instant differentiation and makes them feel welcome.
Second, have a printed list of testimonials from happy customers. Hand this out to everyone who comes into your store. Testimonials are powerful social proof, and will help you close more sales at higher margins.
Third, when you visit the prospect’s home, slip on a pair of medical booties over your shoes before you walk on her floors. This creates huge differentiation! Without saying a word, you’ve communicated that you’re a professional, that you care, and that you’ll be careful while in her home. Not like some lowest bid jobber the big box would send.
These may sound like simple suggestions, but try them. They’ll completely change the way your customer views you. You’ve instantly distinguished yourself from some chuck in a truck that loiters in the big box parking lot trolling for jobs.
After
The AFTER step works by using the 90/10 formula. That means sending emails and newsletters containing content that’s 90% fun, informative, welcome, entertaining, educational, and only 10% about flooring.
Remember, all flooring all the time is boring. You should also include emotional triggers that make people look forward to getting your content, opening it, reading it, and responding to it. There are lots of effective triggers, but here are two you can start using today in your messages to past customers.
Customer recognition.
People love to see their names in print or in emails, and they love to be recognized. So feature a “Customer of the Month.” People are also curious and want to see who your “Customer of the Month.” is, so they’ll open your newsletter or email to find out. This creates strong connections with your herd of customers and a sense of community. It demonstrates over and over again that you care about them and appreciate their business.
Customer involvement devices.
These get people actively involved with your business regularly, and they make them want to open and read your messages. One effective involvement device we use is a monthly trivia contest. It features a trivia question, and invites readers to email in their answer. Everyone with the correct answer is entered into a drawing for a gift card for dinner or movie tickets. It also congratulates the winner of the previous month’s contest.
If you would like me to provide a complimentary evaluation of your Before, During and After system, contact me.
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!