1. My children will be getting out of school, gleeful at the onset of ‘freedom’ followed immediately by claims of terminal boredom. (Personal note: To me, ‘boredom’ should be listed as a sin. My children know this too well.)
   
   
2. I’m taking off one day a week until school resumes. (I just heard cheering from staff members, boos from aforementioned little darlings.) I choose Mondays to preclude any complaints about that poor maligned day.
   
   
3. My boat will be brought out of hibernation, and called into service as a lake going vessel capable of both family fun and financial ruin. After many summers of this knife-edged relationship, I’ve figured out that boats only break during the following circumstances: when you overuse them and when they’ve not been used enough. My mechanic quite sincerely has said BOTH of the following to me: “Man, your impeller gave out because it was used so much” AND “Man, your impeller gave out because it sat too long.”

1. I asked my mechanic. This is the equivalent of a prospect asking their trusted Pest Control guy if he knew a good plumber; or their lawn maintenance guys about a painting contractor. There’s a ‘like-kind’ quality in referral seeking, often overlooked. We technically term this as “COI” or “Circle of Influence” and it is more powerful than you can imagine. (If you’ve got a PowerPack, you have “COI” letters and list sources.) Too often, contractors think of customers as the only referral source. Wrong. Plus, that’s “one to one” where reaching out to non-competitive contractors can turn one phone call into thousands of potential references.
   
   So, what did my boat guy tell me?
   
   “I get asked that a bunch. I don’t really know of one. But if I hear of a good one, I’ll let you know.” Wow. I wonder if an enterprising boat detailer MIGHT detail this man’s boat for free, just to show him his skill, and turn that into 20-40 jobs instantly.
   
   
2. I asked my boat psycho friends. Disturbing responses here. Two said I was crazy to use anybody that wasn’t me (bad experiences) and two said, “I don’t know. I only use them once a year; they’re usually independents who move around, so I never use the same one twice.” Clearly, a MAJOR “Retention” problem. Hair stylists or realtors (two trades with high turnover) always write “their” customers to let them know of the move. Smart.
   
   These Detailer guys must INSANELY EXPECT customers to dredge up their names and hire a detective to find them. HA! I know YOU’D NEVER expect your customers to “remember” you from an infrequent visit, would you? Your customers have flawless memories, never talk to others, and are blind to competing advertisements, so retention would be unnecessary, right? Just making sure.
   
   Getting nowhere, my next step was to…
   
   
3. Gather “visual” evidence of other detailers. I Googled for websites, recalled a couple shops I’d seen - one was 50 yards from where I keep my boat. (underlined for a reason.) Then I went to the Yellow Pages. I know, shoot me. I’m old and stupid, but websites were weak, plus I could quickly get the number for my “recalled” shops. Your prospects do this too. The website or YP gets “credit” for the call, but many times prospects have heard of you, know of you, have seen you, but go to the YP just for the number. A presence on web AND in YP aids validity, confirmation. Then things went badly...
   
   
4. Made An Assessment in the Call. The most convenient one, which is a significant asset when trailering, answered the phone almost unintelligibly. I THINK they said the company name, so I asked, “Is this the boat detail shop?” to which she remumbled the shop name. Going on a hunch she’d said “A-Plus Detailing” I proceeded to tell them my boat was nearby and… she interrupted, “We don’t pick up boats.” I told her I didn’t expect them to, and began again, to mention I was looking for someone who could detail an older ski boat that…she interrupted.
   
   “James ain’t here; you want to call back in an hour?” This, being my pet peeve, was it. I told her thanks anyway, I might call back. SIDE NOTE: If James is the only one who can actually speak to a prospect, what the heck is he doing having her run off prospects? He’d be WAY better off with a voice mail or phone forward to his cell if he’s gone a lot.
   
   The “image” of the company was spoiled, the “convenience” negated. If the customer service BEFORE the sale was like this, what happens later? You think I’m being picky?
   
   Your prospects do this constantly. They’re hoping for confirmation that “you’re the company to fix them”. I wanted this company to be “right” and stop shopping. Didn’t happen.
   
   I then called one from the Yellow Pages, much farther away. I asked a couple questions of the friendly CSR who said, “I can help you with that”. Good response, so far, but she was ill-equipped.
   
   “Do you do pinstriping?” I asked. “Well, just bring it in and we’ll take a look.”
   
   “For an extra charge, will you polish the glass?” I asked. “We’ll have to see it, then we can tell you.”
   
   None of this was helpful, and I wasn’t in the mood for a 35 mile joy ride. Now you know why I term “leads” and “appointments” quite differently.
   
   Finally, I get a guy, “Dr. Detail” who has a prominent shop I’ve noticed for years. The Doctor himself answered the phone, answered the same questions with more detail – as his name suggested – than expected. He went a step further to describe steam cleaning, acid rain removal, bimini top protection, all for an added fee.
   
   He was upselling me, but I never felt like I was being “sold”. The best kind, boys and girls. (NOTE: This has been the topic of my last TWO Coaching Calls, one being today at 1pm CST. Click to get a question in now.)
   
   You can guess who I chose. He sold me on the best he had before we ever met. He’s now got my boat and I expect to be thoroughly pleased. (I’ll let you know.) When we parted he said, “Hey, if you like our work, be sure and tell others.” Planting the referral seed. My kind of guy.

Adams Hudson

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