WEBVTT
00:00:01.497 --> 00:00:06.137
Jim Cosmas, how are you doing, Jim? I am excellent. I'm doing well.
00:00:06.357 --> 00:00:11.437
I'm here on the Check A Pro Radio Show with you. What can be better? Hey, I don't know.
00:00:13.517 --> 00:00:16.657
I can think of a lot of other things that might be better for you,
00:00:16.737 --> 00:00:20.377
but I appreciate it. Thank you so much for joining me today on the program. That's awesome.
00:00:21.417 --> 00:00:27.697
Reading your book for the second time. And yeah, dog-eared and bookmarks and
00:00:27.697 --> 00:00:32.757
sticky notes. This is awesome for the home service professional.
00:00:32.897 --> 00:00:40.717
I would say especially for a smaller company, not like a $100 million company.
00:00:40.717 --> 00:00:42.877
A lot of them have things in place they're using.
00:00:43.097 --> 00:00:46.217
And I mean, there might be some good stuff in here, but I really think it's
00:00:46.217 --> 00:00:50.837
great for the smaller to medium-sized companies who have missed out on some
00:00:50.837 --> 00:00:51.957
things that you've got in this book.
00:00:52.577 --> 00:00:57.977
Yeah, the smaller to medium-sized companies don't have internal marketing teams.
00:00:58.457 --> 00:01:03.797
And they haven't hired marketing geniuses to work for them versus the $100 to $300 million company.
00:01:04.037 --> 00:01:07.617
So there's a lot of gold in the book there. It's awesome.
00:01:07.797 --> 00:01:11.617
So chapter three, creating powerful offers.
00:01:11.757 --> 00:01:16.177
I believe creating powerful offers that generate immediate response.
00:01:16.557 --> 00:01:18.657
That speaks to me, resonates.
00:01:19.617 --> 00:01:21.877
I'm just going to throw up my little book here.
00:01:22.977 --> 00:01:27.597
I say little because in comparison, it's a little book.
00:01:28.497 --> 00:01:32.117
There you go. There you go. I'm reading yours right now. And I write these mini
00:01:32.117 --> 00:01:36.437
books because I think they're easy to digest for people and they kind of stand
00:01:36.437 --> 00:01:39.057
out even though they're not big. They're on the other side small.
00:01:39.297 --> 00:01:44.237
So it's kind of like my calling card. But when I read chapter three specifically,
00:01:44.497 --> 00:01:49.097
and I mean, there's gold nuggets throughout your book, but when I read chapter three,
00:01:50.127 --> 00:01:56.067
It reminds me of what I do every day in a direct response way where you want
00:01:56.067 --> 00:01:58.447
people to have a call to action.
00:01:58.587 --> 00:02:00.987
And part of that is having a compelling offer.
00:02:02.367 --> 00:02:06.027
Can you talk a little bit about what might go into an offer?
00:02:06.287 --> 00:02:10.307
It could be a Facebook ad. It could be maybe print, television, radio.
00:02:11.327 --> 00:02:15.307
There's all kinds of mediums out there you could use with this.
00:02:16.267 --> 00:02:23.747
Yeah. Well, your offer is the foundation of your marketing success.
00:02:24.127 --> 00:02:28.107
Your offer, because you can have flashy branding and you can have all these
00:02:28.107 --> 00:02:31.787
great tools and all these great softwares and all that kind of stuff.
00:02:32.047 --> 00:02:38.127
But if your offer doesn't compel somebody to take action, it's of no value.
00:02:38.127 --> 00:02:44.827
Because a strong offer can literally rescue kind of a mediocre marketing campaign
00:02:44.827 --> 00:02:48.907
while a weak offer can make the best campaign just go south.
00:02:49.467 --> 00:02:55.507
So let me tell you really quick about just a gauge for a really good offer.
00:02:56.527 --> 00:03:00.867
If your offer doesn't make you a little nervous when you put it out there,
00:03:01.027 --> 00:03:02.727
it's probably not strong enough.
00:03:03.847 --> 00:03:10.107
I like that. If you're a home service company or any company for that matter,
00:03:10.267 --> 00:03:12.967
if you think about some of the best marketing, some of the best advertising,
00:03:13.127 --> 00:03:15.027
especially direct response kind of stuff,
00:03:15.267 --> 00:03:21.047
the offer is usually pretty bold, pretty audacious, pretty strong. It stands out.
00:03:23.987 --> 00:03:26.827
There's a lot of noise in the marketplace today. Wouldn't you agree?
00:03:27.707 --> 00:03:32.487
Absolutely. There's a lot of noise as far as how many times a day we see a marketing
00:03:32.487 --> 00:03:37.107
piece, how many times a day we hear something. How many times a day we're bombarded with stuff?
00:03:37.807 --> 00:03:41.867
Our offers, if they're not strong enough, if they're not bodacious enough,
00:03:41.947 --> 00:03:46.587
if they don't make us nervous putting them out there, they're just going to mix in with the rest.
00:03:48.228 --> 00:03:53.288
I agree. I want to add something to that if I may, because I'm always looking
00:03:53.288 --> 00:03:55.508
at it through the lens of direct response radio.
00:03:55.848 --> 00:04:01.028
I mean, that's my specialty. That's what I do to make the phone ring for home
00:04:01.028 --> 00:04:01.968
service professionals.
00:04:03.888 --> 00:04:07.908
So you have to have a compelling offer. You want the phone to ring.
00:04:08.048 --> 00:04:10.028
There has to be a good call to action.
00:04:12.388 --> 00:04:17.888
So in that offer, well, I'll give an example.
00:04:18.508 --> 00:04:22.668
I've done this with plumbers and water softener companies.
00:04:24.188 --> 00:04:27.348
You're telling me if you're not feeling a little uncomfortable about it,
00:04:27.488 --> 00:04:31.228
it might not be audacious enough. It may not be rich enough.
00:04:31.388 --> 00:04:37.348
And so what we've done before is we've said there's a water softener, ordinarily $6,000.
00:04:38.188 --> 00:04:43.668
Today it's going to be $1,200 off. We're going to throw in a free reverse osmosis
00:04:43.668 --> 00:04:45.508
drinking water system for under the sink.
00:04:46.708 --> 00:04:50.248
Give you a free year of salt and free installation.
00:04:50.548 --> 00:04:54.808
Oh, and on top of that, but wait, there's more, a free water test,
00:04:54.888 --> 00:04:56.988
and we're going to start with that today. So call now.
00:04:57.448 --> 00:04:59.608
Oh my gosh, you're giving away the farm.
00:05:00.308 --> 00:05:07.888
Yeah. You probably gave away the profit just on the water softener, giving $1,200 off. Ah.
00:05:09.748 --> 00:05:14.808
But if you're a plumber, for instance, you may also be an electrician in an
00:05:14.808 --> 00:05:17.448
HVAC company. So think about that. Now you're in the door.
00:05:18.088 --> 00:05:20.988
Maybe you only made $200 net on the deal.
00:05:21.208 --> 00:05:26.208
You have a new customer now, right? So there's that. Or you sell them on the $7,000.
00:05:27.649 --> 00:05:31.529
Water softener. And they say, how about my reverse osmosis you're going to give me for free?
00:05:31.929 --> 00:05:36.029
Oh, yeah, the three-stage, we give that for free, but for $300 more,
00:05:36.029 --> 00:05:37.289
we'll give you the five-stage.
00:05:37.709 --> 00:05:39.569
Okay. Well, now it's not a loss.
00:05:40.329 --> 00:05:43.929
And you got in the door and you're a great company, right? A great home service
00:05:43.929 --> 00:05:45.649
company. So now you have a customer for life.
00:05:45.929 --> 00:05:48.849
And so all of that spun together is so important.
00:05:49.029 --> 00:05:54.049
And so it sounds like you're giving away the farm, right, Jim? But Maybe you need to.
00:05:54.949 --> 00:05:59.269
Well, maybe you need to at least. And I don't want people to misunderstand.
00:05:59.269 --> 00:06:01.209
This isn't a bait and switch type of thing.
00:06:01.369 --> 00:06:05.589
It's legit, right? Whatever you're going to offer has to be legit and you have to be able to offer it.
00:06:05.969 --> 00:06:11.749
But the purpose of that big, bold, audacious offer is to get you to stand above
00:06:11.749 --> 00:06:17.389
everyone else and get you to be the safest option, the most logical option to
00:06:17.389 --> 00:06:19.769
say, you know, I'm going to call these people.
00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:24.129
When you get there, that's when you start to then reveal the other things that
00:06:24.129 --> 00:06:27.329
are available to the customers that maybe you didn't reveal in your offer.
00:06:27.549 --> 00:06:30.589
And then at the end of the day, it's their decision whether they're going to
00:06:30.589 --> 00:06:34.489
go with these bigger, better things that you may have to offer.
00:06:35.789 --> 00:06:42.249
If you're going to make an offer and it just blends in with everyone else's
00:06:42.249 --> 00:06:48.309
offer, then what is it that makes you stand out?
00:06:48.309 --> 00:06:51.409
What is it that gets somebody that gets so compelled to say,
00:06:51.409 --> 00:06:54.949
I'm going to call now, I'm going to get online now, I'm going to click now? What is that?
00:06:56.501 --> 00:07:01.141
Why bother? Why bother? If you're not in it to win it, why even end of the contest?
00:07:01.561 --> 00:07:05.521
I mean, serious. Like, just close up shop and go get a job.
00:07:06.141 --> 00:07:10.241
In the book, I talk about the four pillars of a strong offer,
00:07:10.381 --> 00:07:15.501
which is there has to be urgency in that offer, especially in direct response.
00:07:15.501 --> 00:07:17.141
There absolutely has to be urgency.
00:07:17.401 --> 00:07:21.241
There has to be some scarcity, okay? Only three left, only two left.
00:07:21.301 --> 00:07:24.981
And I've watched you do this how many times? Hey, man, we've already sold three.
00:07:24.981 --> 00:07:26.761
There's only one left and that kind of thing.
00:07:28.101 --> 00:07:33.241
A high value perception. It has to be a high value perception just because you
00:07:33.241 --> 00:07:37.881
say, I'm going to give you... One of the big mistakes I see people make all
00:07:37.881 --> 00:07:40.201
the time is say, okay, it's a 25% off sale.
00:07:40.421 --> 00:07:42.401
What does it mean anything to somebody?
00:07:42.721 --> 00:07:45.521
25% off of what? What does 25% mean?
00:07:45.961 --> 00:07:49.881
So what you just described earlier, which is, okay, our system is normally this,
00:07:50.021 --> 00:07:52.661
you're going to get it for that, but it's only available for a certain period
00:07:52.661 --> 00:07:55.121
of time. But here's the biggest one.
00:07:55.581 --> 00:07:58.961
There has to be a logical reason for doing so.
00:07:59.361 --> 00:08:03.761
Like, why am I doing this? Is this a scam? Is this snake oil?
00:08:04.161 --> 00:08:10.761
So end of season clearance, beginning of season, get in front of this before
00:08:10.761 --> 00:08:14.601
anybody, private sale, those sorts of, this would be a logical reason for this.
00:08:15.041 --> 00:08:22.261
Right now in the HVAC world, there are a lot of logical reasons for doing things
00:08:22.261 --> 00:08:26.741
that are outside of the norm because of the new refrigerant regulations and refrigerant changes.
00:08:27.341 --> 00:08:35.401
So now we have systems that I can sell at a reduced price at a drastic discount
00:08:35.401 --> 00:08:36.721
because they're being discontinued.
00:08:36.861 --> 00:08:39.921
How many times people buy discontinued items? They're brand new,
00:08:40.001 --> 00:08:43.081
same warranties, everything's cool, but we can say that legitimately.
00:08:43.301 --> 00:08:45.221
And people just don't know about that.
00:08:46.261 --> 00:08:50.541
Um, there are other things we have to think about in our, in our marketing and,
00:08:50.641 --> 00:08:56.021
and this really, this, and I've seen you do this all the time in direct response.
00:08:56.881 --> 00:09:01.141
You have to have free offers. Now, not all of these things, by the way,
00:09:01.241 --> 00:09:06.161
but there should be some kind of free offer, legit, but real value added offers.
00:09:06.261 --> 00:09:09.601
Which means we're going to add that if you do this, you'll also get that, right?
00:09:10.021 --> 00:09:14.161
The package offers, which means that, okay, it's all bundled.
00:09:15.321 --> 00:09:18.481
And then when we get there, we do the premium offers, right?
00:09:18.581 --> 00:09:21.281
We have the upgrades, the upsells, those kinds of things.
00:09:23.381 --> 00:09:27.441
Urgency offers, like time sensitive, only a few left. You know,
00:09:27.541 --> 00:09:29.301
this only goes to next week, that kind.
00:09:30.827 --> 00:09:34.707
The most important thing, however, I'm going to say when you're dealing with
00:09:34.707 --> 00:09:38.987
putting together a campaign that's going to stand above the rest,
00:09:39.267 --> 00:09:44.727
that's bold, bodacious, and really makes you very uncomfortable,
00:09:44.727 --> 00:09:46.827
is the guarantee offers.
00:09:47.587 --> 00:09:53.027
The guarantee offers have to be so over the top, and you have to be able to
00:09:53.027 --> 00:09:55.587
back them, by the way, but so over the top.
00:09:55.807 --> 00:09:59.867
And if you want to get super technical, it's risk reversal is what we talk about.
00:10:00.827 --> 00:10:06.167
We want to make sure that that client or potential client hears that or sees
00:10:06.167 --> 00:10:10.447
that and says, hey, there's absolutely no risk for me.
00:10:11.107 --> 00:10:16.347
None. Zero zip. Ron Popeil made this famous, right? The 100% money back guarantee kind of thing.
00:10:16.527 --> 00:10:22.587
How about the triple money back guarantee? How about a never fail again, ever guarantee?
00:10:23.007 --> 00:10:27.567
No breakdown guarantees. Like all these things that take all the risk away from
00:10:27.567 --> 00:10:32.347
your potential client, your potential customer, and compels them to say,
00:10:32.467 --> 00:10:35.647
yes, I want to at least click here, call here,
00:10:36.167 --> 00:10:39.187
you know, do something with this particular thing that I'm now seeing.
00:10:40.407 --> 00:10:46.067
Absolutely. We do it all the time in radio, in direct response radio.
00:10:46.067 --> 00:10:55.407
We simply put in the wording of the program, you know, when I'm speaking,
00:10:56.147 --> 00:11:00.447
no obligation. And sometimes we don't really...
00:11:02.002 --> 00:11:07.322
Put the no obligation in a place where people can connect it with the water
00:11:07.322 --> 00:11:08.262
softener, for instance.
00:11:08.662 --> 00:11:10.662
It's a no obligation phone call.
00:11:11.122 --> 00:11:16.162
Only six left call now. And don't forget, you're going to get a free water test. Boom, boom, boom.
00:11:16.642 --> 00:11:18.962
So no obligation just being thrown out there.
00:11:19.962 --> 00:11:24.022
That sounds good. It makes people feel good. You have to understand the psychology of people.
00:11:24.562 --> 00:11:28.002
When people are looking at something or listening to something,
00:11:28.202 --> 00:11:33.542
they want to feel comfortable with it. and they need to act now.
00:11:33.702 --> 00:11:36.402
So the call to action is, well, there's only a few left.
00:11:36.782 --> 00:11:41.862
And after the program, it's over. So we've got 10 minutes left in the show and
00:11:41.862 --> 00:11:43.282
only two of these offers left.
00:11:43.622 --> 00:11:48.742
And then it's gone. We see that all the time on the QVCs, these infomercials
00:11:48.742 --> 00:11:50.022
on television and so forth.
00:11:50.182 --> 00:11:53.082
Same thing works on video.
00:11:53.502 --> 00:11:57.102
You can do it online, certainly on a direct response thing.
00:11:57.242 --> 00:12:00.202
You tend to need to have time though, you know
00:12:00.202 --> 00:12:03.502
doing that kind of a long form thing so you can tell the story and
00:12:03.502 --> 00:12:06.802
go through things over and over again and i agree
00:12:06.802 --> 00:12:10.202
with you you need to
00:12:10.202 --> 00:12:15.942
be able to make that consumer feel comfortable so having a money back guarantee
00:12:15.942 --> 00:12:20.342
is great can you give me some examples in the hvac world where someone could
00:12:20.342 --> 00:12:27.142
give a money back guarantee on something yeah you can put together again this is where you have to,
00:12:27.262 --> 00:12:31.222
you're going to potentially be uncomfortable in the HVAC world,
00:12:31.402 --> 00:12:37.062
replace your, replace your, your air conditioning, get a free furnace and have
00:12:37.062 --> 00:12:39.742
a, a lifetime guarantee.
00:12:43.168 --> 00:12:50.768
Or replace your heating and air today and receive a 100% money-back guarantee
00:12:50.768 --> 00:12:52.788
if you're not satisfied for life.
00:12:53.388 --> 00:12:58.228
Now, obviously, you have to be able to support that. I'm not satisfied.
00:12:58.768 --> 00:13:04.608
Right? Yeah, I'm not. Just because I'm not satisfied. But think about the psychology behind that.
00:13:04.728 --> 00:13:09.968
Because most people, who wants to have a new heating and air system put in their
00:13:09.968 --> 00:13:11.008
house? Nobody wants that.
00:13:11.128 --> 00:13:13.888
Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, you know what, today I think I'm just
00:13:13.888 --> 00:13:16.488
going to replace my heating and air because I don't have anything else to do.
00:13:16.748 --> 00:13:22.208
Nobody wants that. So when they go through that, it's a traumatic experience.
00:13:22.448 --> 00:13:27.188
It wasn't pleasurable. It failed. They had to replace it. Boom, it's being done.
00:13:27.468 --> 00:13:31.748
So now it's not pleasurable. Now I'm offering them a lifetime warranty or double
00:13:31.748 --> 00:13:34.748
your money back guarantee. Pretty bold and bodacious.
00:13:35.428 --> 00:13:39.328
If the system is working perfectly, if you've done a good job,
00:13:39.468 --> 00:13:43.468
if you're able to back it, why would someone want to go through that just because,
00:13:43.608 --> 00:13:46.088
okay, it's a warranty, I'm going to get my money back, now I have to get a whole
00:13:46.088 --> 00:13:47.268
new one from someone else?
00:13:48.068 --> 00:13:52.288
No, thank you. No one's going to do that. So, so many contractors are petrified
00:13:52.288 --> 00:13:57.308
of putting warranties in place when they know full well if they've done a good
00:13:57.308 --> 00:14:03.928
job and they honor it and they do everything and there are some guidelines and safeguards in there,
00:14:04.168 --> 00:14:06.928
no one's going to honor that, but people are petrified about that.
00:14:07.268 --> 00:14:13.308
Yeah. And so, if you have a graph, you're looking at the incremental sales you
00:14:13.308 --> 00:14:15.488
get from that compelling offer.
00:14:15.708 --> 00:14:23.208
It's great. You could draw another line way down here of the refunds you had to give.
00:14:25.008 --> 00:14:29.908
So it's a cost of doing business then. So what? So for every 100 you sell,
00:14:30.108 --> 00:14:32.668
one of them you had to go and tear it out.
00:14:33.538 --> 00:14:40.218
And eat the cost, lose the profit. Yeah. But you're only eating the cost.
00:14:41.818 --> 00:14:44.598
You can make the salesman pay for some of that too because obviously- Well,
00:14:44.818 --> 00:14:50.018
listen, I'm going to go out on a limb. Well, not so much out on a limb.
00:14:50.278 --> 00:14:52.758
I've been doing this since 1980 for crying out loud.
00:14:54.398 --> 00:14:59.078
If you're doing a good job, if you're installing correctly, if you're selling
00:14:59.078 --> 00:15:02.178
the right systems, If you're measuring correctly, if you're doing load calculations,
00:15:02.438 --> 00:15:05.418
if you're doing all the things you're supposed to do it as an HVAC company or
00:15:05.418 --> 00:15:09.738
any other home services company, and the appropriate piece of equipment is being
00:15:09.738 --> 00:15:12.738
installed, it's installed correctly, it's being maintained,
00:15:13.178 --> 00:15:17.318
all of these other things are done correctly, I'm going to go out on a limb
00:15:17.318 --> 00:15:22.378
and say, if you have to replace one in every hundred, that's way too many, way too many.
00:15:22.378 --> 00:15:25.018
I'm going with one in every thousand, maybe.
00:15:25.718 --> 00:15:30.398
So to take your example, if you had to replace one in a hundred.
00:15:31.338 --> 00:15:38.658
Now you're taking back the equipment that can be sold now as a used- Refurbished
00:15:38.658 --> 00:15:39.818
equipment. Refurbished.
00:15:40.118 --> 00:15:43.518
Wait, it gets better. Wait, there's more. Wait, there's more.
00:15:43.898 --> 00:15:47.958
My radio side coming out. Wait, there's more. What if you did have to take back
00:15:47.958 --> 00:15:49.358
a system like that, okay?
00:15:49.518 --> 00:15:52.758
You know what? It was legit. You screwed up or maybe had a real,
00:15:52.758 --> 00:15:56.878
you know, SOB customer for whatever reason you had to take it back.
00:15:57.078 --> 00:16:02.598
Now you have this inventory of used equipment inventory that's still pretty much new, right?
00:16:03.118 --> 00:16:06.638
You make sure it's clean. You make sure it's all of that. What about doing something
00:16:06.638 --> 00:16:09.938
charitable in your community and then marketing the hell out of that and giving
00:16:09.938 --> 00:16:14.358
that equipment away to a needy family and installing it in somebody else's house?
00:16:14.518 --> 00:16:16.198
Would you use that in your marketing
00:16:16.198 --> 00:16:20.498
and turn that negative into a huge positive? Thank you very much, Mr.
00:16:20.718 --> 00:16:25.818
POA customer, who's now offered me the ability to give this equipment away.
00:16:26.714 --> 00:16:32.594
I love that. And how about on top of this? How about if it is one in 100,
00:16:32.994 --> 00:16:38.214
you tell every prospect, maybe you don't advertise it, but maybe after they've
00:16:38.214 --> 00:16:40.774
gotten to the point where they're looking at two, three companies,
00:16:40.914 --> 00:16:43.434
you're one of them, and they're asking about this guarantee.
00:16:43.674 --> 00:16:49.114
You say, you know what, honestly, six months ago, we had to do this for Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
00:16:49.814 --> 00:16:55.994
We're not sure what happened, but statistically 3% of all customers are never happy.
00:16:56.114 --> 00:16:58.574
So one 10%, this is going to happen.
00:16:58.754 --> 00:17:04.594
So we gladly went in, here are some pictures and video of us removing it for them.
00:17:04.754 --> 00:17:07.094
What does that say? It says, you'll do it.
00:17:07.414 --> 00:17:12.354
You will come to my house and take it out if I'm not happy. So you kind of want that.
00:17:13.654 --> 00:17:18.574
100%. How about, yeah, you can get really bold and audacious in your marketing.
00:17:18.874 --> 00:17:20.474
Utilize that kind of languaging.
00:17:20.774 --> 00:17:23.734
Utilize, just bring it to light and bring it to people.
00:17:24.074 --> 00:17:28.794
Stand out in a very, very crowded, AI-generated media right now,
00:17:29.254 --> 00:17:31.794
stand out, stand out. And that's how you do it.
00:17:31.934 --> 00:17:36.434
There are a lot of different ways, but that no risk, risk reversal,
00:17:36.894 --> 00:17:42.014
big, bodacious, audacious guarantees, things that you can do that no one else
00:17:42.014 --> 00:17:45.134
can do that are unique to you, those are the things that stand out.
00:17:46.054 --> 00:17:51.534
Yeah. You need to make these bold statements and be prepared to self-insure.
00:17:51.794 --> 00:17:56.914
But you're going to have so many premiums coming in, right so many sales right
00:17:56.914 --> 00:18:00.354
and you can charge a premium for that because.
00:18:03.054 --> 00:18:05.814
You are providing such a
00:18:05.814 --> 00:18:10.034
great product and service like you said a few moments ago jim you're installing
00:18:10.034 --> 00:18:15.074
a great product correctly you've done the testing loads and all that you know
00:18:15.074 --> 00:18:21.934
that what you've done scientifically is going to work so therefore you can charge
00:18:21.934 --> 00:18:24.254
more because you guys are doing the best possible job.
00:18:24.714 --> 00:18:30.214
Also, if the unit were to fail, that's okay because you, the installer,
00:18:30.474 --> 00:18:34.954
the HVAC company, have a backup and that's called the warranty from the manufacturer. Yeah.
00:18:35.714 --> 00:18:38.754
Well, you have the warranty from the manufacturer, you have third-party labor
00:18:38.754 --> 00:18:41.854
warranties, you're covered for 10 years.
00:18:42.094 --> 00:18:47.194
So it's a no-brainer. And for those people that are not taking advantage of
00:18:47.194 --> 00:18:48.974
that, it's a shame really.
00:18:49.114 --> 00:18:52.914
And you can do that in your marketing. If you create this high value perception
00:18:52.914 --> 00:18:58.634
with this risk reversal, and I'm a consumer, and maybe I'm not in a position,
00:18:58.774 --> 00:19:02.534
right now, I'm not, you know what, I don't want to replace my heating and air.
00:19:02.674 --> 00:19:08.494
Maybe I'm not looking to replace my water heater, or I'm not looking to put on a new roof.
00:19:08.614 --> 00:19:13.314
But I hear this, and all of a sudden I say, you know, maybe it's worth them
00:19:13.314 --> 00:19:14.734
coming out for a free inspection.
00:19:15.957 --> 00:19:21.197
My free inspection and then all of a sudden that free inspection reveals all these other things,
00:19:21.797 --> 00:19:24.897
um that's really what we're trying to do that's right
00:19:24.897 --> 00:19:28.137
you know what i see a lot some of the mistakes that contractors make
00:19:28.137 --> 00:19:31.697
often in their marketing one of the biggies is is
00:19:31.697 --> 00:19:38.117
the is the mixed messaging where where they they it's not just one offering
00:19:38.117 --> 00:19:43.137
so they'll they'll give you a mixed message and and they'll they'll put down
00:19:43.137 --> 00:19:46.797
marketing and they'll list everything they do in the marketing piece instead
00:19:46.797 --> 00:19:49.617
of listing just that one service that I want to focus on.
00:19:49.797 --> 00:19:53.077
I want to focus on the water heater. Here's what you're going to get if you
00:19:53.077 --> 00:19:57.577
call this today kind of thing versus, yeah, we do water heaters and we do plumbing
00:19:57.577 --> 00:20:01.477
and we do repairs and we do re-pipes and we do water softeners.
00:20:01.837 --> 00:20:07.197
It's just too muddled, too muddled. So you want to choose one service when you're
00:20:07.197 --> 00:20:11.337
giving people marketing and you want to set a very, very clear objective.
00:20:11.497 --> 00:20:14.017
What am I marketing for? Am I marketing to make my phone ring?
00:20:14.017 --> 00:20:18.177
Am I marketing because I'm just looking to create more awareness?
00:20:18.397 --> 00:20:24.737
Am I marketing because I want to increase my average sale? My average, like, what am I doing?
00:20:25.337 --> 00:20:28.297
And then add the urgency, add the value, add the risk reversal,
00:20:28.477 --> 00:20:29.197
your phone's going to ring.
00:20:29.857 --> 00:20:33.697
You know, it's interesting you say, just focus on one thing at a time.
00:20:33.917 --> 00:20:37.897
I'll have clients who want to do direct response radio with me.
00:20:38.277 --> 00:20:43.117
And they'll say, this week, I want to talk about a free water test.
00:20:43.517 --> 00:20:46.377
But you know, we also do attic insulation.
00:20:47.017 --> 00:20:53.877
So, um, I want to talk about doing, uh, you know, a free attic assessment and,
00:20:54.117 --> 00:20:56.737
uh, believe it or not, we also do foundation repair.
00:20:56.917 --> 00:21:00.737
So we want to do that as well. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:21:01.797 --> 00:21:04.517
One thing. And I recommend doing,
00:21:05.982 --> 00:21:10.922
water for instance because if you do water water's consumed more than anything in the home,
00:21:11.822 --> 00:21:16.702
across the world i mean water we need water we'll die without water and we use
00:21:16.702 --> 00:21:21.822
it to wash our dishes and to heat our water to bathe and so forth and so i say
00:21:21.822 --> 00:21:26.822
if you can start with that it's great or if you can save money through an efficiency
00:21:26.822 --> 00:21:31.702
type test so if you're an hvac company and you say, Hey, we'll do a free duct inspection.
00:21:33.482 --> 00:21:40.122
Okay. And then if you need duct work, we'll give you this off or attic insulation, same thing.
00:21:40.282 --> 00:21:42.682
We'll come and check your attic insulation. If you're a little short,
00:21:42.822 --> 00:21:44.882
we'll give you a discount on topping it off.
00:21:45.042 --> 00:21:48.062
And we'll tell you all the ins and outs of your efficiency.
00:21:48.842 --> 00:21:52.242
Wow. A free efficiency test. Wow.
00:21:52.582 --> 00:21:57.102
You know, free water test, um, you know, a tune-up.
00:21:57.282 --> 00:22:02.802
So what we do a lot on radio with HVAC companies is the discounted tune-up.
00:22:04.422 --> 00:22:08.482
Ordinarily, $149, only $49 today. We're going to go over these 21,
00:22:08.702 --> 00:22:10.582
29 points. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
00:22:11.182 --> 00:22:15.602
What do you think of that? Should it be free or should it be $149 and forget
00:22:15.602 --> 00:22:17.682
the discount to $49? What are your thoughts?
00:22:18.422 --> 00:22:21.522
There are a few ways to think about this.
00:22:21.622 --> 00:22:27.982
And when I doing coaching and consulting for companies, we talk a lot about
00:22:27.982 --> 00:22:32.322
their cost structure and cost of lead acquisition, right?
00:22:32.382 --> 00:22:35.022
What does it cost to acquire a single customer?
00:22:35.922 --> 00:22:40.182
So sometimes we say, all right, I'm going to do direct response radio.
00:22:40.502 --> 00:22:43.442
All right, what are we going to say on that? I'm going to give something away.
00:22:43.602 --> 00:22:48.042
Okay. I'm going to give a tune-up. Let's just say I'm going to do a tune-up
00:22:48.042 --> 00:22:51.462
and I'm going to give that away. Well, here's what I'm going to give away.
00:22:51.602 --> 00:22:55.502
I'm going to give away a modified version of the tune-up, maybe a safety inspection
00:22:55.502 --> 00:22:58.122
or a full inspection of your heating and air system.
00:22:58.322 --> 00:23:02.622
Now, while I'm there, I can then talk about, well, you need full maintenance.
00:23:02.622 --> 00:23:06.522
And while we're here, there are some discounts and all those sorts of things.
00:23:06.602 --> 00:23:10.062
But your pricing structure has to be able to support all of these things.
00:23:10.062 --> 00:23:15.402
And if we think about the lifetime value of a customer, if we think about what
00:23:15.402 --> 00:23:23.142
it costs us today to get our phone ring just one time, all of those factors have to come into play.
00:23:23.362 --> 00:23:28.082
Know what your costs are so then you can go to market with the appropriate discount.
00:23:28.282 --> 00:23:30.462
I'm not a fan of discounts, believe it or not.
00:23:30.862 --> 00:23:34.402
I am a fan of discounts with a plausible reason.
00:23:34.782 --> 00:23:38.362
In other words, I will give you something if you give me something.
00:23:38.362 --> 00:23:43.222
So I will give you this discount if you follow me today so I can fill my schedule.
00:23:43.682 --> 00:23:48.982
Right. Um, but it comes down to making sure that their financial structure could
00:23:48.982 --> 00:23:52.042
support it, which means now we have to get into their financials and talk about
00:23:52.042 --> 00:23:54.002
how do you price your goods and services?
00:23:55.135 --> 00:23:58.895
But when we talk about giving things away or drastically discounting things,
00:23:59.095 --> 00:24:00.535
there has to be a plausible reason.
00:24:00.695 --> 00:24:04.975
And there has to, and does it really matter in the ears and eyes of the consumer?
00:24:05.355 --> 00:24:07.155
Does it, like, is that enough?
00:24:07.955 --> 00:24:13.875
Is a $49 tune-up going to make a difference when it's usually $149 or $189? Maybe.
00:24:14.615 --> 00:24:19.135
Is what else is included, though? Yeah. Oh, we're going to give this $49 tune-up,
00:24:19.255 --> 00:24:21.955
and we're going to guarantee your system's not going to break down for the rest
00:24:21.955 --> 00:24:27.935
of the season. And all of a sudden that $49 tuneup became way more valuable.
00:24:28.175 --> 00:24:31.375
What does it cost you to say that or do that? Nothing, nothing.
00:24:32.575 --> 00:24:38.015
So the big bodacious, uh, claims and warranties, you have to be able to back
00:24:38.015 --> 00:24:40.835
them, your pricing structure has to be able to support them.
00:24:42.115 --> 00:24:46.095
But putting, listen, the market rewards boldness.
00:24:46.335 --> 00:24:51.555
A weak offer is like a whisper, like a whisper, a great one shouts, right?
00:24:51.755 --> 00:24:54.415
And gets heard. above the noise today.
00:24:54.895 --> 00:24:58.315
So make your offer, whatever it is, big, bold, and great.
00:24:58.515 --> 00:25:01.855
Make sure that your pricing structure could support it. You support it.
00:25:01.915 --> 00:25:03.275
Your financials could support it.
00:25:03.575 --> 00:25:08.215
And ultimately, make sure it matters to the person that's hearing it or seeing
00:25:08.215 --> 00:25:11.095
it. Does it really matter? Yeah.
00:25:11.955 --> 00:25:17.835
I think in certain instances, you can do something like this.
00:25:17.835 --> 00:25:19.515
And this is what we do on the radio sometimes.
00:25:20.135 --> 00:25:29.375
Will say the reason why we're making this offer today is we're looking for a new client.
00:25:29.555 --> 00:25:34.675
If you, as the HVAC plumber, roofing company, want to call them clients,
00:25:34.835 --> 00:25:37.655
which there's a reason why you might, but whatever.
00:25:37.775 --> 00:25:42.075
We're looking for a customer just like you, because we know if you're listening
00:25:42.075 --> 00:25:46.875
to WW, if you're listening to KK, whatever station it is, you're our type of
00:25:46.875 --> 00:25:50.495
customer. And we want more people like you.
00:25:50.735 --> 00:25:55.095
Well, when you are wanted, you feel special. Think about that.
00:25:55.695 --> 00:25:59.315
Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right.
00:25:59.335 --> 00:26:04.475
So now you're creating a level of differentiation.
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:08.780
I akin that to sometimes i work with with a
00:26:08.780 --> 00:26:12.160
few companies one's a national company and um they
00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.920
talk about when they bring their services to market you have
00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:19.420
to qualify as a customer i have to what do you mean i have to qualify you may
00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:23.320
not qualify yeah and i may not be able to help you i may not be able to help
00:26:23.320 --> 00:26:27.680
you now all of a sudden it creates this well you know why don't i qualify i
00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:34.580
want to qualify yeah right you want to belong absolutely so it's like a club Yeah, it's like a club.
00:26:34.820 --> 00:26:38.700
That's why we call our maintenance agreements like club memberships, those kinds of things.
00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:42.740
We want to have this inclusiveness, but it's exclusive, right?
00:26:42.800 --> 00:26:44.560
Not everyone can get this thing.
00:26:46.760 --> 00:26:50.400
And that's why if you position your message
00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:53.360
in the right place so i gave that example if you're
00:26:53.360 --> 00:27:02.540
listening to us on you know wkpi we know that you're our type of customer and
00:27:02.540 --> 00:27:05.360
what's interesting is that customer knows because they listen to that radio
00:27:05.360 --> 00:27:09.560
station not just for the show they're listening to now but for maybe glenn beck
00:27:09.560 --> 00:27:12.720
or sean hannity if it's conservative talk.
00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:17.500
So they're already loyal to that brand, that type of programming.
00:27:17.800 --> 00:27:26.100
And so they're going to be thinking, okay, I understand. They're actually saying
00:27:26.100 --> 00:27:27.200
something that's legit.
00:27:27.580 --> 00:27:31.160
They could get any customer, but they want people who are conservative.
00:27:32.540 --> 00:27:35.140
Christian, most likely people.
00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:41.040
And that's who I am. I'm part of that tribe. So I want to be part of that company.
00:27:41.260 --> 00:27:44.260
That's very hard to do though on social media.
00:27:44.760 --> 00:27:51.600
People don't say, oh, I'm a Facebooker. It's my big family of 8 billion people.
00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:53.140
It's a little different.
00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:58.280
It could be a magazine though you could do it with, possibly a TV station,
00:27:58.280 --> 00:28:02.680
a group within Facebook,
00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:06.440
that type of thing right because it's it's it's
00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:09.980
it's not broad now right so if you're in with with
00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:13.320
a group okay and you identify with
00:28:13.320 --> 00:28:16.020
that group then you're more likely to get
00:28:16.020 --> 00:28:18.740
those people if that's the type of customer you want so
00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:22.680
be careful what you're attracting well you
00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.820
do need to know your your your your ideal
00:28:25.820 --> 00:28:28.820
client avatar when i work when i work with
00:28:28.820 --> 00:28:32.160
with contractors we work a lot on identifying
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.800
their ideal client who they are who do they want to
00:28:34.800 --> 00:28:37.760
work with not everyone is your customers you said before like
00:28:37.760 --> 00:28:42.120
30 that that there's a percentage of people that just you know if you if you
00:28:42.120 --> 00:28:45.240
think of a hundred percent of the customers out there potential customers out
00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:50.140
there the bottom 30 will never buy from you they're just not going to they don't
00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:53.100
like you they don't trust you they want to buy from the chuck in a truck cheap
00:28:53.100 --> 00:28:55.180
charlie guy that's cool the top.
00:28:56.531 --> 00:29:00.891
The actually the bottom 20, the top 20 was going to, is going to buy from you
00:29:00.891 --> 00:29:01.971
just because you showed up.
00:29:02.451 --> 00:29:05.471
They'll buy from you because you have a pulse. And sometimes they'll buy from
00:29:05.471 --> 00:29:06.691
you even if you don't have a pulse.
00:29:07.111 --> 00:29:11.791
So even the bottom 20, the top 20, it's the middle 60 that we do all of this for.
00:29:11.951 --> 00:29:16.451
It's the middle 60 that we put all this marketing forward to attract them.
00:29:16.811 --> 00:29:19.651
That's what we do this for. It's that middle 60.
00:29:20.271 --> 00:29:28.111
So not everyone that's going to hear your radio show, Jim, is going to be a buyer. Nope.
00:29:28.831 --> 00:29:35.771
Not everybody. But some will. And are they your client, Mr. Heating and Air Guy?
00:29:36.591 --> 00:29:40.351
Is that who you're attracting? Do you even know? Do you even know?
00:29:41.531 --> 00:29:45.811
Yeah. And since you brought it up, something cool about radio,
00:29:45.931 --> 00:29:50.091
when you're doing a long-form radio program, Jim, You can tell a story.
00:29:51.371 --> 00:29:58.691
The infomercial is framed around a radio show.
00:29:58.911 --> 00:30:06.651
So even though it's a call to action, direct response show, aka infomercial, it's infotainment.
00:30:06.871 --> 00:30:12.831
So it's informational, it's entertainment. the people who listen to the radio
00:30:12.831 --> 00:30:15.591
stations we're on, which are conservative talk around the country,
00:30:15.851 --> 00:30:19.971
those are very loyal listeners. It's a religion to them. It just is.
00:30:20.151 --> 00:30:25.131
It is their church when they're in the car, right? That is their thing.
00:30:25.411 --> 00:30:29.971
And so when you're on it, you're in the tribe automatically.
00:30:30.771 --> 00:30:35.231
They're driving around and listening about hard water
00:30:35.231 --> 00:30:38.111
and how the expert guest on
00:30:38.111 --> 00:30:41.291
the show can solve the problem and you didn't
00:30:41.291 --> 00:30:44.171
even know you had the problem right most people
00:30:44.171 --> 00:30:47.491
who watch infomercials did not need that exercise equipment
00:30:47.491 --> 00:30:53.711
or weren't thinking about buying it or the blender or anything else the pocket
00:30:53.711 --> 00:30:58.071
fisherman i had one of those when i was a kid all that stuff they weren't thinking
00:30:58.071 --> 00:31:02.671
about it but they're like you know what maybe i do have hard water because what
00:31:02.671 --> 00:31:05.751
they're saying is if my water heater rumbles,
00:31:05.751 --> 00:31:08.771
I may have sediment in it from hard water.
00:31:09.091 --> 00:31:14.531
Those water spots on my shower doors, that's not necessarily supposed to be there.
00:31:14.731 --> 00:31:19.691
My dishwasher being replaced every 36 months isn't normal. No, it's not.
00:31:20.271 --> 00:31:23.931
So I may have hard water. They're on my favorite radio station.
00:31:24.051 --> 00:31:26.811
I trust the radio station and they're going to come out and give me a free water test.
00:31:27.491 --> 00:31:31.471
Let me call now. And Jim, what they're calling for is that.
00:31:32.684 --> 00:31:36.044
It's not a lead for that water softener company, for that plumber.
00:31:36.484 --> 00:31:39.704
It is an appointment. It's an appointment. And they also know what it's going
00:31:39.704 --> 00:31:42.384
to cost if they buy the water softener with the deal.
00:31:42.484 --> 00:31:44.864
They also know what it's going to cost for the reverse osmosis.
00:31:46.384 --> 00:31:49.824
So when the tech goes out there to do the water test and they're like,
00:31:50.004 --> 00:31:53.904
oh yeah, ma'am, you do have hard water. You were right. Good thing you called us.
00:31:54.424 --> 00:31:58.544
Would you like us to install the water softener that we talked about on the radio?
00:31:59.304 --> 00:32:02.244
Sure. Oh, but you know what? We just happen to have a deal.
00:32:03.104 --> 00:32:09.224
Our supplier made too many of the one that's two levels up.
00:32:09.984 --> 00:32:12.604
It's ordinarily $10,000. It's only $7,000.
00:32:14.204 --> 00:32:18.644
Yeah. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Or like I said, in the AC world,
00:32:18.924 --> 00:32:21.484
the new refrigerants are out.
00:32:22.024 --> 00:32:25.964
The federal government has mandated new refrigerants. The old systems,
00:32:26.304 --> 00:32:30.124
the old refrigerants are no longer available, no longer being manufactured.
00:32:30.124 --> 00:32:36.804
Our supplier has X amount of these systems left and I bought them all at a really good deal.
00:32:36.924 --> 00:32:40.064
So I'm going to pass this on to you. Right. So there's a plausible reason for
00:32:40.064 --> 00:32:42.624
giving somebody a discount. It's not fake or phony.
00:32:43.124 --> 00:32:47.124
Um, yeah, but you just hit a point, which is really important.
00:32:47.664 --> 00:32:51.664
You truly have to understand what your marketing is designed to do.
00:32:52.164 --> 00:32:56.584
And if you're going on a direct response radio program.
00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:01.599
It's not to get a lead it's to
00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:04.499
get your phone to ring with an appointment it's not
00:33:04.499 --> 00:33:08.219
to say oh yeah that's cool maybe i'll get a lead and they no it's an appointment
00:33:08.219 --> 00:33:12.619
it's an actual appointment i say this to people when they do this when they
00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:18.099
do marketing for radio even postcards or anything else that they're doing uh
00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:22.079
marketing for postcards are back in again by the way um much like radio.
00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:26.179
But but even that is understand what is
00:33:26.179 --> 00:33:28.919
the end result you're looking for are you looking to get somebody to call
00:33:28.919 --> 00:33:31.879
and ask a bunch of questions about this thing that you're offering
00:33:31.879 --> 00:33:34.899
or are you looking for somebody to call and say hey when can
00:33:34.899 --> 00:33:37.939
you get here either way is cool but
00:33:37.939 --> 00:33:40.839
understand what is your messaging and your
00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:44.859
messaging then has to resonate with that client that you're looking for with
00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:53.299
that ideal client avatar yeah you really need to think about the positioning
00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:58.799
and really building the marketing slash advertising program.
00:33:58.999 --> 00:34:02.939
So a lot of people take the easy way out. I'll buy Facebook ads.
00:34:03.879 --> 00:34:09.459
I'll call the radio station and have them just play 30-second ads.
00:34:09.759 --> 00:34:13.219
I don't know anything about an ad as an HVAC guy, but I'll just have the morning
00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:16.599
guy read something and they want me to come up with a script,
00:34:16.819 --> 00:34:19.339
but I'll send them a couple of bullet points, let the station figure it out.
00:34:19.479 --> 00:34:23.139
And then they wonder why they don't get much of a grip and they're constantly
00:34:23.139 --> 00:34:28.559
slipping down the cliff versus really thinking, okay, who do I want as a customer?
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:29.839
You can actually do that.
00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:35.159
Um, even more so today, you know, on a Facebook ad, you can actually drill down.
00:34:35.319 --> 00:34:39.599
I want boom, you know, this type of person, but you can still do that with certain
00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:44.019
television and certain radio magazines, even, I mean, magazines actually.
00:34:45.567 --> 00:34:51.587
You can get some specific magazines, especially things for like neighborhoods where you live.
00:34:51.807 --> 00:34:55.067
Yeah, you get neighborhood magazines and home and garden magazines,
00:34:55.247 --> 00:34:58.387
things that are specific to what we do in the trades. Exactly.
00:34:58.607 --> 00:35:03.727
And so I'd recommend getting a hold of Jim at the Blue Collar Wave.
00:35:03.727 --> 00:35:07.327
He knows all this stuff, the ins and outs of things. I mean,
00:35:07.447 --> 00:35:13.507
if I were, if I were a small operator to medium size and I didn't have in-house
00:35:13.507 --> 00:35:18.667
help, you would be my first call, uh, especially in HVAC.
00:35:18.987 --> 00:35:23.207
Um, cause I know you know a lot about that, but even so, I mean,
00:35:23.367 --> 00:35:28.267
I know that you, you know, cross many different home service categories,
00:35:28.467 --> 00:35:32.587
including landscaping, right? So there's just a lot there.
00:35:32.687 --> 00:35:37.427
And to visit with you, I think, makes a lot of sense because you'll get ideas.
00:35:37.587 --> 00:35:41.347
But also, before I forget, how can someone get a copy of your book?
00:35:41.507 --> 00:35:44.827
Because I think before they contact you, they should look at the book,
00:35:45.347 --> 00:35:48.087
write down ideas and thoughts, and then call you.
00:35:48.867 --> 00:35:56.187
Look at the book. So they can go to thebluecollarwave.com, thebluecollarwave.com
00:35:56.187 --> 00:35:59.167
forward slash free dash book.
00:36:00.347 --> 00:36:03.507
Free free yeah it won't cost you anything free dashboard you
00:36:03.507 --> 00:36:06.727
go in just put your get all i'm looking for is for your email where i can because
00:36:06.727 --> 00:36:10.487
you're going to get now you can go you can get it two ways you can get it like
00:36:10.487 --> 00:36:14.467
a digital version put your email in or you can get a physical copy i'll mail
00:36:14.467 --> 00:36:23.287
it to you either way go to the blue collar wave.com forward slash free dash book i love this book.
00:36:24.727 --> 00:36:29.527
It's a little bit of a workbook. It's just got all kinds of golden nuggets in it.
00:36:29.767 --> 00:36:32.827
Right. And, and so that's the type of book I like to read. I don't want to hear
00:36:32.827 --> 00:36:34.947
about how great you are, Jim. That's fine. Okay.
00:36:35.267 --> 00:36:38.087
People will write about how great you are and your history.
00:36:39.707 --> 00:36:44.827
The book isn't only about marketing, by the way. I go through 12 specific strategies
00:36:44.827 --> 00:36:49.587
to show you literally how to increase your bottom line profitability.
00:36:49.927 --> 00:36:51.407
Marketing is one of those things.
00:36:52.007 --> 00:36:55.747
And what I say is you can do this without spending any more than you're already
00:36:55.747 --> 00:36:57.447
spending on your marketing spend.
00:36:57.587 --> 00:37:01.647
It doesn't mean you don't do marketing anymore. It just means let's be really
00:37:01.647 --> 00:37:06.047
strategic about my marketing spend and doing like direct response radio,
00:37:06.387 --> 00:37:08.227
shift your marketing spend to do that.
00:37:08.387 --> 00:37:11.967
I promise you, you're going to get a huge, huge bang for the buck on that type
00:37:11.967 --> 00:37:16.707
of thing versus just throwing some 30, 60 second ads random that some radio
00:37:16.707 --> 00:37:20.547
station produced that knows nothing about you or your business.
00:37:21.567 --> 00:37:25.387
Yeah, that's challenging when I hear from people, I've tried radio and it doesn't work.
00:37:26.007 --> 00:37:29.867
You're right. It doesn't when you do it like that. Yeah. And I know a lot of
00:37:29.867 --> 00:37:32.167
divorced people too, but I know a lot of happily married people.
00:37:32.707 --> 00:37:35.807
So someone who's been divorced three or four times say, merit doesn't work.
00:37:36.007 --> 00:37:38.887
And actually it may not work for you, so don't do it again if you've been divorced
00:37:38.887 --> 00:37:41.507
that many times. Right. Sometimes we need to know our limitations.
00:37:42.107 --> 00:37:46.267
You know, it's like anything else. If Facebook ads didn't work,
00:37:46.567 --> 00:37:49.387
Facebook wouldn't have the money coming in they have coming in because they
00:37:49.387 --> 00:37:51.707
continually get people repeating.
00:37:51.927 --> 00:37:55.847
If TV still didn't work, it wouldn't be on the air anymore. Radio wouldn't be on the air.
00:37:56.207 --> 00:37:59.967
It works. You have to figure out if it can work for you.
00:38:00.387 --> 00:38:04.327
Right. And then how to make it work for you. Those are two different things
00:38:04.327 --> 00:38:10.387
because you might be in a business where it just doesn't make sense to do radio,
00:38:10.547 --> 00:38:12.547
television, or print, or Facebook even.
00:38:12.787 --> 00:38:16.227
You might need to actually get on stage and talk in front of 300 people and
00:38:16.227 --> 00:38:19.727
do a face-to-face type thing. It all depends on what your, what business you're in.
00:38:20.507 --> 00:38:27.587
In home service, which we're talking, uh, you know, the big ones like plumbing, electric, HVAC, um.
00:38:29.192 --> 00:38:33.552
You have a lot of people who need your services. Most people want to live the American dream.
00:38:33.692 --> 00:38:36.992
And apparently the American dream is owning a home with a white picket fence.
00:38:37.112 --> 00:38:40.912
So if you're in the fencing business, it's good. But with the white picket fence, right?
00:38:41.752 --> 00:38:44.752
And people will put money into it and they have to. With HVAC,
00:38:44.932 --> 00:38:48.572
with plumbing, electric, they have to. You can't live without those. You can't.
00:38:48.732 --> 00:38:51.212
If something is broken, you've got to get it fixed.
00:38:53.112 --> 00:38:58.352
But there are so many people, so many businesses in those spaces.
00:38:58.352 --> 00:39:03.172
And I'll say this, not to be offensive to people, but if you're not that creative,
00:39:03.232 --> 00:39:06.132
you just go into a business that's already there. So if you're not a creative
00:39:06.132 --> 00:39:07.092
person, I'll be a plumber.
00:39:07.292 --> 00:39:10.752
I'll be an HVAC guy because there's such demand for it. But once you're in it,
00:39:10.832 --> 00:39:11.792
now what are you going to do, right?
00:39:12.032 --> 00:39:15.492
That's why you need to pick up Jim's book.
00:39:17.112 --> 00:39:25.872
In the notes of this podcast, I will have links to get the book and all of Jim's information.
00:39:26.272 --> 00:39:29.432
Reach out to him. He'd love to talk to you He's a good friend of mine,
00:39:29.952 --> 00:39:33.512
And I just love talking to you I appreciate you coming on the show,
00:39:33.552 --> 00:39:39.152
bud I appreciate you having me on here, man Like I said, you've truly arrived
00:39:39.152 --> 00:39:41.812
When you've been on a Checker Pro radio show That's for sure,
00:39:42.312 --> 00:39:45.452
My last words to everyone out there Don't guess,
00:39:46.412 --> 00:39:51.492
Speak with the pros Me, Jim, others just speak with the pros To help you get
00:39:51.492 --> 00:39:57.852
through these At the end of the day, a scary good offer pays off over the customer's lifetime.
00:39:57.952 --> 00:40:02.012
If you know who your customer truly is, it'll be the best investment you'll ever make.
00:40:02.752 --> 00:40:05.992
I love it, Jim. Thank you so much. All right, man. Thank you, Jim.
00:00:01.497 --> 00:00:06.137
Jim Cosmas, how are you doing, Jim? I am excellent. I'm doing well.
00:00:06.357 --> 00:00:11.437
I'm here on the Check A Pro Radio Show with you. What can be better? Hey, I don't know.
00:00:13.517 --> 00:00:16.657
I can think of a lot of other things that might be better for you,
00:00:16.737 --> 00:00:20.377
but I appreciate it. Thank you so much for joining me today on the program. That's awesome.
00:00:21.417 --> 00:00:27.697
Reading your book for the second time. And yeah, dog-eared and bookmarks and
00:00:27.697 --> 00:00:32.757
sticky notes. This is awesome for the home service professional.
00:00:32.897 --> 00:00:40.717
I would say especially for a smaller company, not like a $100 million company.
00:00:40.717 --> 00:00:42.877
A lot of them have things in place they're using.
00:00:43.097 --> 00:00:46.217
And I mean, there might be some good stuff in here, but I really think it's
00:00:46.217 --> 00:00:50.837
great for the smaller to medium-sized companies who have missed out on some
00:00:50.837 --> 00:00:51.957
things that you've got in this book.
00:00:52.577 --> 00:00:57.977
Yeah, the smaller to medium-sized companies don't have internal marketing teams.
00:00:58.457 --> 00:01:03.797
And they haven't hired marketing geniuses to work for them versus the $100 to $300 million company.
00:01:04.037 --> 00:01:07.617
So there's a lot of gold in the book there. It's awesome.
00:01:07.797 --> 00:01:11.617
So chapter three, creating powerful offers.
00:01:11.757 --> 00:01:16.177
I believe creating powerful offers that generate immediate response.
00:01:16.557 --> 00:01:18.657
That speaks to me, resonates.
00:01:19.617 --> 00:01:21.877
I'm just going to throw up my little book here.
00:01:22.977 --> 00:01:27.597
I say little because in comparison, it's a little book.
00:01:28.497 --> 00:01:32.117
There you go. There you go. I'm reading yours right now. And I write these mini
00:01:32.117 --> 00:01:36.437
books because I think they're easy to digest for people and they kind of stand
00:01:36.437 --> 00:01:39.057
out even though they're not big. They're on the other side small.
00:01:39.297 --> 00:01:44.237
So it's kind of like my calling card. But when I read chapter three specifically,
00:01:44.497 --> 00:01:49.097
and I mean, there's gold nuggets throughout your book, but when I read chapter three,
00:01:50.127 --> 00:01:56.067
It reminds me of what I do every day in a direct response way where you want
00:01:56.067 --> 00:01:58.447
people to have a call to action.
00:01:58.587 --> 00:02:00.987
And part of that is having a compelling offer.
00:02:02.367 --> 00:02:06.027
Can you talk a little bit about what might go into an offer?
00:02:06.287 --> 00:02:10.307
It could be a Facebook ad. It could be maybe print, television, radio.
00:02:11.327 --> 00:02:15.307
There's all kinds of mediums out there you could use with this.
00:02:16.267 --> 00:02:23.747
Yeah. Well, your offer is the foundation of your marketing success.
00:02:24.127 --> 00:02:28.107
Your offer, because you can have flashy branding and you can have all these
00:02:28.107 --> 00:02:31.787
great tools and all these great softwares and all that kind of stuff.
00:02:32.047 --> 00:02:38.127
But if your offer doesn't compel somebody to take action, it's of no value.
00:02:38.127 --> 00:02:44.827
Because a strong offer can literally rescue kind of a mediocre marketing campaign
00:02:44.827 --> 00:02:48.907
while a weak offer can make the best campaign just go south.
00:02:49.467 --> 00:02:55.507
So let me tell you really quick about just a gauge for a really good offer.
00:02:56.527 --> 00:03:00.867
If your offer doesn't make you a little nervous when you put it out there,
00:03:01.027 --> 00:03:02.727
it's probably not strong enough.
00:03:03.847 --> 00:03:10.107
I like that. If you're a home service company or any company for that matter,
00:03:10.267 --> 00:03:12.967
if you think about some of the best marketing, some of the best advertising,
00:03:13.127 --> 00:03:15.027
especially direct response kind of stuff,
00:03:15.267 --> 00:03:21.047
the offer is usually pretty bold, pretty audacious, pretty strong. It stands out.
00:03:23.987 --> 00:03:26.827
There's a lot of noise in the marketplace today. Wouldn't you agree?
00:03:27.707 --> 00:03:32.487
Absolutely. There's a lot of noise as far as how many times a day we see a marketing
00:03:32.487 --> 00:03:37.107
piece, how many times a day we hear something. How many times a day we're bombarded with stuff?
00:03:37.807 --> 00:03:41.867
Our offers, if they're not strong enough, if they're not bodacious enough,
00:03:41.947 --> 00:03:46.587
if they don't make us nervous putting them out there, they're just going to mix in with the rest.
00:03:48.228 --> 00:03:53.288
I agree. I want to add something to that if I may, because I'm always looking
00:03:53.288 --> 00:03:55.508
at it through the lens of direct response radio.
00:03:55.848 --> 00:04:01.028
I mean, that's my specialty. That's what I do to make the phone ring for home
00:04:01.028 --> 00:04:01.968
service professionals.
00:04:03.888 --> 00:04:07.908
So you have to have a compelling offer. You want the phone to ring.
00:04:08.048 --> 00:04:10.028
There has to be a good call to action.
00:04:12.388 --> 00:04:17.888
So in that offer, well, I'll give an example.
00:04:18.508 --> 00:04:22.668
I've done this with plumbers and water softener companies.
00:04:24.188 --> 00:04:27.348
You're telling me if you're not feeling a little uncomfortable about it,
00:04:27.488 --> 00:04:31.228
it might not be audacious enough. It may not be rich enough.
00:04:31.388 --> 00:04:37.348
And so what we've done before is we've said there's a water softener, ordinarily $6,000.
00:04:38.188 --> 00:04:43.668
Today it's going to be $1,200 off. We're going to throw in a free reverse osmosis
00:04:43.668 --> 00:04:45.508
drinking water system for under the sink.
00:04:46.708 --> 00:04:50.248
Give you a free year of salt and free installation.
00:04:50.548 --> 00:04:54.808
Oh, and on top of that, but wait, there's more, a free water test,
00:04:54.888 --> 00:04:56.988
and we're going to start with that today. So call now.
00:04:57.448 --> 00:04:59.608
Oh my gosh, you're giving away the farm.
00:05:00.308 --> 00:05:07.888
Yeah. You probably gave away the profit just on the water softener, giving $1,200 off. Ah.
00:05:09.748 --> 00:05:14.808
But if you're a plumber, for instance, you may also be an electrician in an
00:05:14.808 --> 00:05:17.448
HVAC company. So think about that. Now you're in the door.
00:05:18.088 --> 00:05:20.988
Maybe you only made $200 net on the deal.
00:05:21.208 --> 00:05:26.208
You have a new customer now, right? So there's that. Or you sell them on the $7,000.
00:05:27.649 --> 00:05:31.529
Water softener. And they say, how about my reverse osmosis you're going to give me for free?
00:05:31.929 --> 00:05:36.029
Oh, yeah, the three-stage, we give that for free, but for $300 more,
00:05:36.029 --> 00:05:37.289
we'll give you the five-stage.
00:05:37.709 --> 00:05:39.569
Okay. Well, now it's not a loss.
00:05:40.329 --> 00:05:43.929
And you got in the door and you're a great company, right? A great home service
00:05:43.929 --> 00:05:45.649
company. So now you have a customer for life.
00:05:45.929 --> 00:05:48.849
And so all of that spun together is so important.
00:05:49.029 --> 00:05:54.049
And so it sounds like you're giving away the farm, right, Jim? But Maybe you need to.
00:05:54.949 --> 00:05:59.269
Well, maybe you need to at least. And I don't want people to misunderstand.
00:05:59.269 --> 00:06:01.209
This isn't a bait and switch type of thing.
00:06:01.369 --> 00:06:05.589
It's legit, right? Whatever you're going to offer has to be legit and you have to be able to offer it.
00:06:05.969 --> 00:06:11.749
But the purpose of that big, bold, audacious offer is to get you to stand above
00:06:11.749 --> 00:06:17.389
everyone else and get you to be the safest option, the most logical option to
00:06:17.389 --> 00:06:19.769
say, you know, I'm going to call these people.
00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:24.129
When you get there, that's when you start to then reveal the other things that
00:06:24.129 --> 00:06:27.329
are available to the customers that maybe you didn't reveal in your offer.
00:06:27.549 --> 00:06:30.589
And then at the end of the day, it's their decision whether they're going to
00:06:30.589 --> 00:06:34.489
go with these bigger, better things that you may have to offer.
00:06:35.789 --> 00:06:42.249
If you're going to make an offer and it just blends in with everyone else's
00:06:42.249 --> 00:06:48.309
offer, then what is it that makes you stand out?
00:06:48.309 --> 00:06:51.409
What is it that gets somebody that gets so compelled to say,
00:06:51.409 --> 00:06:54.949
I'm going to call now, I'm going to get online now, I'm going to click now? What is that?
00:06:56.501 --> 00:07:01.141
Why bother? Why bother? If you're not in it to win it, why even end of the contest?
00:07:01.561 --> 00:07:05.521
I mean, serious. Like, just close up shop and go get a job.
00:07:06.141 --> 00:07:10.241
In the book, I talk about the four pillars of a strong offer,
00:07:10.381 --> 00:07:15.501
which is there has to be urgency in that offer, especially in direct response.
00:07:15.501 --> 00:07:17.141
There absolutely has to be urgency.
00:07:17.401 --> 00:07:21.241
There has to be some scarcity, okay? Only three left, only two left.
00:07:21.301 --> 00:07:24.981
And I've watched you do this how many times? Hey, man, we've already sold three.
00:07:24.981 --> 00:07:26.761
There's only one left and that kind of thing.
00:07:28.101 --> 00:07:33.241
A high value perception. It has to be a high value perception just because you
00:07:33.241 --> 00:07:37.881
say, I'm going to give you... One of the big mistakes I see people make all
00:07:37.881 --> 00:07:40.201
the time is say, okay, it's a 25% off sale.
00:07:40.421 --> 00:07:42.401
What does it mean anything to somebody?
00:07:42.721 --> 00:07:45.521
25% off of what? What does 25% mean?
00:07:45.961 --> 00:07:49.881
So what you just described earlier, which is, okay, our system is normally this,
00:07:50.021 --> 00:07:52.661
you're going to get it for that, but it's only available for a certain period
00:07:52.661 --> 00:07:55.121
of time. But here's the biggest one.
00:07:55.581 --> 00:07:58.961
There has to be a logical reason for doing so.
00:07:59.361 --> 00:08:03.761
Like, why am I doing this? Is this a scam? Is this snake oil?
00:08:04.161 --> 00:08:10.761
So end of season clearance, beginning of season, get in front of this before
00:08:10.761 --> 00:08:14.601
anybody, private sale, those sorts of, this would be a logical reason for this.
00:08:15.041 --> 00:08:22.261
Right now in the HVAC world, there are a lot of logical reasons for doing things
00:08:22.261 --> 00:08:26.741
that are outside of the norm because of the new refrigerant regulations and refrigerant changes.
00:08:27.341 --> 00:08:35.401
So now we have systems that I can sell at a reduced price at a drastic discount
00:08:35.401 --> 00:08:36.721
because they're being discontinued.
00:08:36.861 --> 00:08:39.921
How many times people buy discontinued items? They're brand new,
00:08:40.001 --> 00:08:43.081
same warranties, everything's cool, but we can say that legitimately.
00:08:43.301 --> 00:08:45.221
And people just don't know about that.
00:08:46.261 --> 00:08:50.541
Um, there are other things we have to think about in our, in our marketing and,
00:08:50.641 --> 00:08:56.021
and this really, this, and I've seen you do this all the time in direct response.
00:08:56.881 --> 00:09:01.141
You have to have free offers. Now, not all of these things, by the way,
00:09:01.241 --> 00:09:06.161
but there should be some kind of free offer, legit, but real value added offers.
00:09:06.261 --> 00:09:09.601
Which means we're going to add that if you do this, you'll also get that, right?
00:09:10.021 --> 00:09:14.161
The package offers, which means that, okay, it's all bundled.
00:09:15.321 --> 00:09:18.481
And then when we get there, we do the premium offers, right?
00:09:18.581 --> 00:09:21.281
We have the upgrades, the upsells, those kinds of things.
00:09:23.381 --> 00:09:27.441
Urgency offers, like time sensitive, only a few left. You know,
00:09:27.541 --> 00:09:29.301
this only goes to next week, that kind.
00:09:30.827 --> 00:09:34.707
The most important thing, however, I'm going to say when you're dealing with
00:09:34.707 --> 00:09:38.987
putting together a campaign that's going to stand above the rest,
00:09:39.267 --> 00:09:44.727
that's bold, bodacious, and really makes you very uncomfortable,
00:09:44.727 --> 00:09:46.827
is the guarantee offers.
00:09:47.587 --> 00:09:53.027
The guarantee offers have to be so over the top, and you have to be able to
00:09:53.027 --> 00:09:55.587
back them, by the way, but so over the top.
00:09:55.807 --> 00:09:59.867
And if you want to get super technical, it's risk reversal is what we talk about.
00:10:00.827 --> 00:10:06.167
We want to make sure that that client or potential client hears that or sees
00:10:06.167 --> 00:10:10.447
that and says, hey, there's absolutely no risk for me.
00:10:11.107 --> 00:10:16.347
None. Zero zip. Ron Popeil made this famous, right? The 100% money back guarantee kind of thing.
00:10:16.527 --> 00:10:22.587
How about the triple money back guarantee? How about a never fail again, ever guarantee?
00:10:23.007 --> 00:10:27.567
No breakdown guarantees. Like all these things that take all the risk away from
00:10:27.567 --> 00:10:32.347
your potential client, your potential customer, and compels them to say,
00:10:32.467 --> 00:10:35.647
yes, I want to at least click here, call here,
00:10:36.167 --> 00:10:39.187
you know, do something with this particular thing that I'm now seeing.
00:10:40.407 --> 00:10:46.067
Absolutely. We do it all the time in radio, in direct response radio.
00:10:46.067 --> 00:10:55.407
We simply put in the wording of the program, you know, when I'm speaking,
00:10:56.147 --> 00:11:00.447
no obligation. And sometimes we don't really...
00:11:02.002 --> 00:11:07.322
Put the no obligation in a place where people can connect it with the water
00:11:07.322 --> 00:11:08.262
softener, for instance.
00:11:08.662 --> 00:11:10.662
It's a no obligation phone call.
00:11:11.122 --> 00:11:16.162
Only six left call now. And don't forget, you're going to get a free water test. Boom, boom, boom.
00:11:16.642 --> 00:11:18.962
So no obligation just being thrown out there.
00:11:19.962 --> 00:11:24.022
That sounds good. It makes people feel good. You have to understand the psychology of people.
00:11:24.562 --> 00:11:28.002
When people are looking at something or listening to something,
00:11:28.202 --> 00:11:33.542
they want to feel comfortable with it. and they need to act now.
00:11:33.702 --> 00:11:36.402
So the call to action is, well, there's only a few left.
00:11:36.782 --> 00:11:41.862
And after the program, it's over. So we've got 10 minutes left in the show and
00:11:41.862 --> 00:11:43.282
only two of these offers left.
00:11:43.622 --> 00:11:48.742
And then it's gone. We see that all the time on the QVCs, these infomercials
00:11:48.742 --> 00:11:50.022
on television and so forth.
00:11:50.182 --> 00:11:53.082
Same thing works on video.
00:11:53.502 --> 00:11:57.102
You can do it online, certainly on a direct response thing.
00:11:57.242 --> 00:12:00.202
You tend to need to have time though, you know
00:12:00.202 --> 00:12:03.502
doing that kind of a long form thing so you can tell the story and
00:12:03.502 --> 00:12:06.802
go through things over and over again and i agree
00:12:06.802 --> 00:12:10.202
with you you need to
00:12:10.202 --> 00:12:15.942
be able to make that consumer feel comfortable so having a money back guarantee
00:12:15.942 --> 00:12:20.342
is great can you give me some examples in the hvac world where someone could
00:12:20.342 --> 00:12:27.142
give a money back guarantee on something yeah you can put together again this is where you have to,
00:12:27.262 --> 00:12:31.222
you're going to potentially be uncomfortable in the HVAC world,
00:12:31.402 --> 00:12:37.062
replace your, replace your, your air conditioning, get a free furnace and have
00:12:37.062 --> 00:12:39.742
a, a lifetime guarantee.
00:12:43.168 --> 00:12:50.768
Or replace your heating and air today and receive a 100% money-back guarantee
00:12:50.768 --> 00:12:52.788
if you're not satisfied for life.
00:12:53.388 --> 00:12:58.228
Now, obviously, you have to be able to support that. I'm not satisfied.
00:12:58.768 --> 00:13:04.608
Right? Yeah, I'm not. Just because I'm not satisfied. But think about the psychology behind that.
00:13:04.728 --> 00:13:09.968
Because most people, who wants to have a new heating and air system put in their
00:13:09.968 --> 00:13:11.008
house? Nobody wants that.
00:13:11.128 --> 00:13:13.888
Nobody wakes up in the morning and says, you know what, today I think I'm just
00:13:13.888 --> 00:13:16.488
going to replace my heating and air because I don't have anything else to do.
00:13:16.748 --> 00:13:22.208
Nobody wants that. So when they go through that, it's a traumatic experience.
00:13:22.448 --> 00:13:27.188
It wasn't pleasurable. It failed. They had to replace it. Boom, it's being done.
00:13:27.468 --> 00:13:31.748
So now it's not pleasurable. Now I'm offering them a lifetime warranty or double
00:13:31.748 --> 00:13:34.748
your money back guarantee. Pretty bold and bodacious.
00:13:35.428 --> 00:13:39.328
If the system is working perfectly, if you've done a good job,
00:13:39.468 --> 00:13:43.468
if you're able to back it, why would someone want to go through that just because,
00:13:43.608 --> 00:13:46.088
okay, it's a warranty, I'm going to get my money back, now I have to get a whole
00:13:46.088 --> 00:13:47.268
new one from someone else?
00:13:48.068 --> 00:13:52.288
No, thank you. No one's going to do that. So, so many contractors are petrified
00:13:52.288 --> 00:13:57.308
of putting warranties in place when they know full well if they've done a good
00:13:57.308 --> 00:14:03.928
job and they honor it and they do everything and there are some guidelines and safeguards in there,
00:14:04.168 --> 00:14:06.928
no one's going to honor that, but people are petrified about that.
00:14:07.268 --> 00:14:13.308
Yeah. And so, if you have a graph, you're looking at the incremental sales you
00:14:13.308 --> 00:14:15.488
get from that compelling offer.
00:14:15.708 --> 00:14:23.208
It's great. You could draw another line way down here of the refunds you had to give.
00:14:25.008 --> 00:14:29.908
So it's a cost of doing business then. So what? So for every 100 you sell,
00:14:30.108 --> 00:14:32.668
one of them you had to go and tear it out.
00:14:33.538 --> 00:14:40.218
And eat the cost, lose the profit. Yeah. But you're only eating the cost.
00:14:41.818 --> 00:14:44.598
You can make the salesman pay for some of that too because obviously- Well,
00:14:44.818 --> 00:14:50.018
listen, I'm going to go out on a limb. Well, not so much out on a limb.
00:14:50.278 --> 00:14:52.758
I've been doing this since 1980 for crying out loud.
00:14:54.398 --> 00:14:59.078
If you're doing a good job, if you're installing correctly, if you're selling
00:14:59.078 --> 00:15:02.178
the right systems, If you're measuring correctly, if you're doing load calculations,
00:15:02.438 --> 00:15:05.418
if you're doing all the things you're supposed to do it as an HVAC company or
00:15:05.418 --> 00:15:09.738
any other home services company, and the appropriate piece of equipment is being
00:15:09.738 --> 00:15:12.738
installed, it's installed correctly, it's being maintained,
00:15:13.178 --> 00:15:17.318
all of these other things are done correctly, I'm going to go out on a limb
00:15:17.318 --> 00:15:22.378
and say, if you have to replace one in every hundred, that's way too many, way too many.
00:15:22.378 --> 00:15:25.018
I'm going with one in every thousand, maybe.
00:15:25.718 --> 00:15:30.398
So to take your example, if you had to replace one in a hundred.
00:15:31.338 --> 00:15:38.658
Now you're taking back the equipment that can be sold now as a used- Refurbished
00:15:38.658 --> 00:15:39.818
equipment. Refurbished.
00:15:40.118 --> 00:15:43.518
Wait, it gets better. Wait, there's more. Wait, there's more.
00:15:43.898 --> 00:15:47.958
My radio side coming out. Wait, there's more. What if you did have to take back
00:15:47.958 --> 00:15:49.358
a system like that, okay?
00:15:49.518 --> 00:15:52.758
You know what? It was legit. You screwed up or maybe had a real,
00:15:52.758 --> 00:15:56.878
you know, SOB customer for whatever reason you had to take it back.
00:15:57.078 --> 00:16:02.598
Now you have this inventory of used equipment inventory that's still pretty much new, right?
00:16:03.118 --> 00:16:06.638
You make sure it's clean. You make sure it's all of that. What about doing something
00:16:06.638 --> 00:16:09.938
charitable in your community and then marketing the hell out of that and giving
00:16:09.938 --> 00:16:14.358
that equipment away to a needy family and installing it in somebody else's house?
00:16:14.518 --> 00:16:16.198
Would you use that in your marketing
00:16:16.198 --> 00:16:20.498
and turn that negative into a huge positive? Thank you very much, Mr.
00:16:20.718 --> 00:16:25.818
POA customer, who's now offered me the ability to give this equipment away.
00:16:26.714 --> 00:16:32.594
I love that. And how about on top of this? How about if it is one in 100,
00:16:32.994 --> 00:16:38.214
you tell every prospect, maybe you don't advertise it, but maybe after they've
00:16:38.214 --> 00:16:40.774
gotten to the point where they're looking at two, three companies,
00:16:40.914 --> 00:16:43.434
you're one of them, and they're asking about this guarantee.
00:16:43.674 --> 00:16:49.114
You say, you know what, honestly, six months ago, we had to do this for Mr. and Mrs. Smith.
00:16:49.814 --> 00:16:55.994
We're not sure what happened, but statistically 3% of all customers are never happy.
00:16:56.114 --> 00:16:58.574
So one 10%, this is going to happen.
00:16:58.754 --> 00:17:04.594
So we gladly went in, here are some pictures and video of us removing it for them.
00:17:04.754 --> 00:17:07.094
What does that say? It says, you'll do it.
00:17:07.414 --> 00:17:12.354
You will come to my house and take it out if I'm not happy. So you kind of want that.
00:17:13.654 --> 00:17:18.574
100%. How about, yeah, you can get really bold and audacious in your marketing.
00:17:18.874 --> 00:17:20.474
Utilize that kind of languaging.
00:17:20.774 --> 00:17:23.734
Utilize, just bring it to light and bring it to people.
00:17:24.074 --> 00:17:28.794
Stand out in a very, very crowded, AI-generated media right now,
00:17:29.254 --> 00:17:31.794
stand out, stand out. And that's how you do it.
00:17:31.934 --> 00:17:36.434
There are a lot of different ways, but that no risk, risk reversal,
00:17:36.894 --> 00:17:42.014
big, bodacious, audacious guarantees, things that you can do that no one else
00:17:42.014 --> 00:17:45.134
can do that are unique to you, those are the things that stand out.
00:17:46.054 --> 00:17:51.534
Yeah. You need to make these bold statements and be prepared to self-insure.
00:17:51.794 --> 00:17:56.914
But you're going to have so many premiums coming in, right so many sales right
00:17:56.914 --> 00:18:00.354
and you can charge a premium for that because.
00:18:03.054 --> 00:18:05.814
You are providing such a
00:18:05.814 --> 00:18:10.034
great product and service like you said a few moments ago jim you're installing
00:18:10.034 --> 00:18:15.074
a great product correctly you've done the testing loads and all that you know
00:18:15.074 --> 00:18:21.934
that what you've done scientifically is going to work so therefore you can charge
00:18:21.934 --> 00:18:24.254
more because you guys are doing the best possible job.
00:18:24.714 --> 00:18:30.214
Also, if the unit were to fail, that's okay because you, the installer,
00:18:30.474 --> 00:18:34.954
the HVAC company, have a backup and that's called the warranty from the manufacturer. Yeah.
00:18:35.714 --> 00:18:38.754
Well, you have the warranty from the manufacturer, you have third-party labor
00:18:38.754 --> 00:18:41.854
warranties, you're covered for 10 years.
00:18:42.094 --> 00:18:47.194
So it's a no-brainer. And for those people that are not taking advantage of
00:18:47.194 --> 00:18:48.974
that, it's a shame really.
00:18:49.114 --> 00:18:52.914
And you can do that in your marketing. If you create this high value perception
00:18:52.914 --> 00:18:58.634
with this risk reversal, and I'm a consumer, and maybe I'm not in a position,
00:18:58.774 --> 00:19:02.534
right now, I'm not, you know what, I don't want to replace my heating and air.
00:19:02.674 --> 00:19:08.494
Maybe I'm not looking to replace my water heater, or I'm not looking to put on a new roof.
00:19:08.614 --> 00:19:13.314
But I hear this, and all of a sudden I say, you know, maybe it's worth them
00:19:13.314 --> 00:19:14.734
coming out for a free inspection.
00:19:15.957 --> 00:19:21.197
My free inspection and then all of a sudden that free inspection reveals all these other things,
00:19:21.797 --> 00:19:24.897
um that's really what we're trying to do that's right
00:19:24.897 --> 00:19:28.137
you know what i see a lot some of the mistakes that contractors make
00:19:28.137 --> 00:19:31.697
often in their marketing one of the biggies is is
00:19:31.697 --> 00:19:38.117
the is the mixed messaging where where they they it's not just one offering
00:19:38.117 --> 00:19:43.137
so they'll they'll give you a mixed message and and they'll they'll put down
00:19:43.137 --> 00:19:46.797
marketing and they'll list everything they do in the marketing piece instead
00:19:46.797 --> 00:19:49.617
of listing just that one service that I want to focus on.
00:19:49.797 --> 00:19:53.077
I want to focus on the water heater. Here's what you're going to get if you
00:19:53.077 --> 00:19:57.577
call this today kind of thing versus, yeah, we do water heaters and we do plumbing
00:19:57.577 --> 00:20:01.477
and we do repairs and we do re-pipes and we do water softeners.
00:20:01.837 --> 00:20:07.197
It's just too muddled, too muddled. So you want to choose one service when you're
00:20:07.197 --> 00:20:11.337
giving people marketing and you want to set a very, very clear objective.
00:20:11.497 --> 00:20:14.017
What am I marketing for? Am I marketing to make my phone ring?
00:20:14.017 --> 00:20:18.177
Am I marketing because I'm just looking to create more awareness?
00:20:18.397 --> 00:20:24.737
Am I marketing because I want to increase my average sale? My average, like, what am I doing?
00:20:25.337 --> 00:20:28.297
And then add the urgency, add the value, add the risk reversal,
00:20:28.477 --> 00:20:29.197
your phone's going to ring.
00:20:29.857 --> 00:20:33.697
You know, it's interesting you say, just focus on one thing at a time.
00:20:33.917 --> 00:20:37.897
I'll have clients who want to do direct response radio with me.
00:20:38.277 --> 00:20:43.117
And they'll say, this week, I want to talk about a free water test.
00:20:43.517 --> 00:20:46.377
But you know, we also do attic insulation.
00:20:47.017 --> 00:20:53.877
So, um, I want to talk about doing, uh, you know, a free attic assessment and,
00:20:54.117 --> 00:20:56.737
uh, believe it or not, we also do foundation repair.
00:20:56.917 --> 00:21:00.737
So we want to do that as well. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:21:01.797 --> 00:21:04.517
One thing. And I recommend doing,
00:21:05.982 --> 00:21:10.922
water for instance because if you do water water's consumed more than anything in the home,
00:21:11.822 --> 00:21:16.702
across the world i mean water we need water we'll die without water and we use
00:21:16.702 --> 00:21:21.822
it to wash our dishes and to heat our water to bathe and so forth and so i say
00:21:21.822 --> 00:21:26.822
if you can start with that it's great or if you can save money through an efficiency
00:21:26.822 --> 00:21:31.702
type test so if you're an hvac company and you say, Hey, we'll do a free duct inspection.
00:21:33.482 --> 00:21:40.122
Okay. And then if you need duct work, we'll give you this off or attic insulation, same thing.
00:21:40.282 --> 00:21:42.682
We'll come and check your attic insulation. If you're a little short,
00:21:42.822 --> 00:21:44.882
we'll give you a discount on topping it off.
00:21:45.042 --> 00:21:48.062
And we'll tell you all the ins and outs of your efficiency.
00:21:48.842 --> 00:21:52.242
Wow. A free efficiency test. Wow.
00:21:52.582 --> 00:21:57.102
You know, free water test, um, you know, a tune-up.
00:21:57.282 --> 00:22:02.802
So what we do a lot on radio with HVAC companies is the discounted tune-up.
00:22:04.422 --> 00:22:08.482
Ordinarily, $149, only $49 today. We're going to go over these 21,
00:22:08.702 --> 00:22:10.582
29 points. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
00:22:11.182 --> 00:22:15.602
What do you think of that? Should it be free or should it be $149 and forget
00:22:15.602 --> 00:22:17.682
the discount to $49? What are your thoughts?
00:22:18.422 --> 00:22:21.522
There are a few ways to think about this.
00:22:21.622 --> 00:22:27.982
And when I doing coaching and consulting for companies, we talk a lot about
00:22:27.982 --> 00:22:32.322
their cost structure and cost of lead acquisition, right?
00:22:32.382 --> 00:22:35.022
What does it cost to acquire a single customer?
00:22:35.922 --> 00:22:40.182
So sometimes we say, all right, I'm going to do direct response radio.
00:22:40.502 --> 00:22:43.442
All right, what are we going to say on that? I'm going to give something away.
00:22:43.602 --> 00:22:48.042
Okay. I'm going to give a tune-up. Let's just say I'm going to do a tune-up
00:22:48.042 --> 00:22:51.462
and I'm going to give that away. Well, here's what I'm going to give away.
00:22:51.602 --> 00:22:55.502
I'm going to give away a modified version of the tune-up, maybe a safety inspection
00:22:55.502 --> 00:22:58.122
or a full inspection of your heating and air system.
00:22:58.322 --> 00:23:02.622
Now, while I'm there, I can then talk about, well, you need full maintenance.
00:23:02.622 --> 00:23:06.522
And while we're here, there are some discounts and all those sorts of things.
00:23:06.602 --> 00:23:10.062
But your pricing structure has to be able to support all of these things.
00:23:10.062 --> 00:23:15.402
And if we think about the lifetime value of a customer, if we think about what
00:23:15.402 --> 00:23:23.142
it costs us today to get our phone ring just one time, all of those factors have to come into play.
00:23:23.362 --> 00:23:28.082
Know what your costs are so then you can go to market with the appropriate discount.
00:23:28.282 --> 00:23:30.462
I'm not a fan of discounts, believe it or not.
00:23:30.862 --> 00:23:34.402
I am a fan of discounts with a plausible reason.
00:23:34.782 --> 00:23:38.362
In other words, I will give you something if you give me something.
00:23:38.362 --> 00:23:43.222
So I will give you this discount if you follow me today so I can fill my schedule.
00:23:43.682 --> 00:23:48.982
Right. Um, but it comes down to making sure that their financial structure could
00:23:48.982 --> 00:23:52.042
support it, which means now we have to get into their financials and talk about
00:23:52.042 --> 00:23:54.002
how do you price your goods and services?
00:23:55.135 --> 00:23:58.895
But when we talk about giving things away or drastically discounting things,
00:23:59.095 --> 00:24:00.535
there has to be a plausible reason.
00:24:00.695 --> 00:24:04.975
And there has to, and does it really matter in the ears and eyes of the consumer?
00:24:05.355 --> 00:24:07.155
Does it, like, is that enough?
00:24:07.955 --> 00:24:13.875
Is a $49 tune-up going to make a difference when it's usually $149 or $189? Maybe.
00:24:14.615 --> 00:24:19.135
Is what else is included, though? Yeah. Oh, we're going to give this $49 tune-up,
00:24:19.255 --> 00:24:21.955
and we're going to guarantee your system's not going to break down for the rest
00:24:21.955 --> 00:24:27.935
of the season. And all of a sudden that $49 tuneup became way more valuable.
00:24:28.175 --> 00:24:31.375
What does it cost you to say that or do that? Nothing, nothing.
00:24:32.575 --> 00:24:38.015
So the big bodacious, uh, claims and warranties, you have to be able to back
00:24:38.015 --> 00:24:40.835
them, your pricing structure has to be able to support them.
00:24:42.115 --> 00:24:46.095
But putting, listen, the market rewards boldness.
00:24:46.335 --> 00:24:51.555
A weak offer is like a whisper, like a whisper, a great one shouts, right?
00:24:51.755 --> 00:24:54.415
And gets heard. above the noise today.
00:24:54.895 --> 00:24:58.315
So make your offer, whatever it is, big, bold, and great.
00:24:58.515 --> 00:25:01.855
Make sure that your pricing structure could support it. You support it.
00:25:01.915 --> 00:25:03.275
Your financials could support it.
00:25:03.575 --> 00:25:08.215
And ultimately, make sure it matters to the person that's hearing it or seeing
00:25:08.215 --> 00:25:11.095
it. Does it really matter? Yeah.
00:25:11.955 --> 00:25:17.835
I think in certain instances, you can do something like this.
00:25:17.835 --> 00:25:19.515
And this is what we do on the radio sometimes.
00:25:20.135 --> 00:25:29.375
Will say the reason why we're making this offer today is we're looking for a new client.
00:25:29.555 --> 00:25:34.675
If you, as the HVAC plumber, roofing company, want to call them clients,
00:25:34.835 --> 00:25:37.655
which there's a reason why you might, but whatever.
00:25:37.775 --> 00:25:42.075
We're looking for a customer just like you, because we know if you're listening
00:25:42.075 --> 00:25:46.875
to WW, if you're listening to KK, whatever station it is, you're our type of
00:25:46.875 --> 00:25:50.495
customer. And we want more people like you.
00:25:50.735 --> 00:25:55.095
Well, when you are wanted, you feel special. Think about that.
00:25:55.695 --> 00:25:59.315
Yeah, that's exactly right. That's exactly right.
00:25:59.335 --> 00:26:04.475
So now you're creating a level of differentiation.
00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:08.780
I akin that to sometimes i work with with a
00:26:08.780 --> 00:26:12.160
few companies one's a national company and um they
00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:14.920
talk about when they bring their services to market you have
00:26:14.920 --> 00:26:19.420
to qualify as a customer i have to what do you mean i have to qualify you may
00:26:19.420 --> 00:26:23.320
not qualify yeah and i may not be able to help you i may not be able to help
00:26:23.320 --> 00:26:27.680
you now all of a sudden it creates this well you know why don't i qualify i
00:26:27.680 --> 00:26:34.580
want to qualify yeah right you want to belong absolutely so it's like a club Yeah, it's like a club.
00:26:34.820 --> 00:26:38.700
That's why we call our maintenance agreements like club memberships, those kinds of things.
00:26:38.960 --> 00:26:42.740
We want to have this inclusiveness, but it's exclusive, right?
00:26:42.800 --> 00:26:44.560
Not everyone can get this thing.
00:26:46.760 --> 00:26:50.400
And that's why if you position your message
00:26:50.400 --> 00:26:53.360
in the right place so i gave that example if you're
00:26:53.360 --> 00:27:02.540
listening to us on you know wkpi we know that you're our type of customer and
00:27:02.540 --> 00:27:05.360
what's interesting is that customer knows because they listen to that radio
00:27:05.360 --> 00:27:09.560
station not just for the show they're listening to now but for maybe glenn beck
00:27:09.560 --> 00:27:12.720
or sean hannity if it's conservative talk.
00:27:12.900 --> 00:27:17.500
So they're already loyal to that brand, that type of programming.
00:27:17.800 --> 00:27:26.100
And so they're going to be thinking, okay, I understand. They're actually saying
00:27:26.100 --> 00:27:27.200
something that's legit.
00:27:27.580 --> 00:27:31.160
They could get any customer, but they want people who are conservative.
00:27:32.540 --> 00:27:35.140
Christian, most likely people.
00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:41.040
And that's who I am. I'm part of that tribe. So I want to be part of that company.
00:27:41.260 --> 00:27:44.260
That's very hard to do though on social media.
00:27:44.760 --> 00:27:51.600
People don't say, oh, I'm a Facebooker. It's my big family of 8 billion people.
00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:53.140
It's a little different.
00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:58.280
It could be a magazine though you could do it with, possibly a TV station,
00:27:58.280 --> 00:28:02.680
a group within Facebook,
00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:06.440
that type of thing right because it's it's it's
00:28:06.440 --> 00:28:09.980
it's not broad now right so if you're in with with
00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:13.320
a group okay and you identify with
00:28:13.320 --> 00:28:16.020
that group then you're more likely to get
00:28:16.020 --> 00:28:18.740
those people if that's the type of customer you want so
00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:22.680
be careful what you're attracting well you
00:28:22.680 --> 00:28:25.820
do need to know your your your your ideal
00:28:25.820 --> 00:28:28.820
client avatar when i work when i work with
00:28:28.820 --> 00:28:32.160
with contractors we work a lot on identifying
00:28:32.160 --> 00:28:34.800
their ideal client who they are who do they want to
00:28:34.800 --> 00:28:37.760
work with not everyone is your customers you said before like
00:28:37.760 --> 00:28:42.120
30 that that there's a percentage of people that just you know if you if you
00:28:42.120 --> 00:28:45.240
think of a hundred percent of the customers out there potential customers out
00:28:45.240 --> 00:28:50.140
there the bottom 30 will never buy from you they're just not going to they don't
00:28:50.140 --> 00:28:53.100
like you they don't trust you they want to buy from the chuck in a truck cheap
00:28:53.100 --> 00:28:55.180
charlie guy that's cool the top.
00:28:56.531 --> 00:29:00.891
The actually the bottom 20, the top 20 was going to, is going to buy from you
00:29:00.891 --> 00:29:01.971
just because you showed up.
00:29:02.451 --> 00:29:05.471
They'll buy from you because you have a pulse. And sometimes they'll buy from
00:29:05.471 --> 00:29:06.691
you even if you don't have a pulse.
00:29:07.111 --> 00:29:11.791
So even the bottom 20, the top 20, it's the middle 60 that we do all of this for.
00:29:11.951 --> 00:29:16.451
It's the middle 60 that we put all this marketing forward to attract them.
00:29:16.811 --> 00:29:19.651
That's what we do this for. It's that middle 60.
00:29:20.271 --> 00:29:28.111
So not everyone that's going to hear your radio show, Jim, is going to be a buyer. Nope.
00:29:28.831 --> 00:29:35.771
Not everybody. But some will. And are they your client, Mr. Heating and Air Guy?
00:29:36.591 --> 00:29:40.351
Is that who you're attracting? Do you even know? Do you even know?
00:29:41.531 --> 00:29:45.811
Yeah. And since you brought it up, something cool about radio,
00:29:45.931 --> 00:29:50.091
when you're doing a long-form radio program, Jim, You can tell a story.
00:29:51.371 --> 00:29:58.691
The infomercial is framed around a radio show.
00:29:58.911 --> 00:30:06.651
So even though it's a call to action, direct response show, aka infomercial, it's infotainment.
00:30:06.871 --> 00:30:12.831
So it's informational, it's entertainment. the people who listen to the radio
00:30:12.831 --> 00:30:15.591
stations we're on, which are conservative talk around the country,
00:30:15.851 --> 00:30:19.971
those are very loyal listeners. It's a religion to them. It just is.
00:30:20.151 --> 00:30:25.131
It is their church when they're in the car, right? That is their thing.
00:30:25.411 --> 00:30:29.971
And so when you're on it, you're in the tribe automatically.
00:30:30.771 --> 00:30:35.231
They're driving around and listening about hard water
00:30:35.231 --> 00:30:38.111
and how the expert guest on
00:30:38.111 --> 00:30:41.291
the show can solve the problem and you didn't
00:30:41.291 --> 00:30:44.171
even know you had the problem right most people
00:30:44.171 --> 00:30:47.491
who watch infomercials did not need that exercise equipment
00:30:47.491 --> 00:30:53.711
or weren't thinking about buying it or the blender or anything else the pocket
00:30:53.711 --> 00:30:58.071
fisherman i had one of those when i was a kid all that stuff they weren't thinking
00:30:58.071 --> 00:31:02.671
about it but they're like you know what maybe i do have hard water because what
00:31:02.671 --> 00:31:05.751
they're saying is if my water heater rumbles,
00:31:05.751 --> 00:31:08.771
I may have sediment in it from hard water.
00:31:09.091 --> 00:31:14.531
Those water spots on my shower doors, that's not necessarily supposed to be there.
00:31:14.731 --> 00:31:19.691
My dishwasher being replaced every 36 months isn't normal. No, it's not.
00:31:20.271 --> 00:31:23.931
So I may have hard water. They're on my favorite radio station.
00:31:24.051 --> 00:31:26.811
I trust the radio station and they're going to come out and give me a free water test.
00:31:27.491 --> 00:31:31.471
Let me call now. And Jim, what they're calling for is that.
00:31:32.684 --> 00:31:36.044
It's not a lead for that water softener company, for that plumber.
00:31:36.484 --> 00:31:39.704
It is an appointment. It's an appointment. And they also know what it's going
00:31:39.704 --> 00:31:42.384
to cost if they buy the water softener with the deal.
00:31:42.484 --> 00:31:44.864
They also know what it's going to cost for the reverse osmosis.
00:31:46.384 --> 00:31:49.824
So when the tech goes out there to do the water test and they're like,
00:31:50.004 --> 00:31:53.904
oh yeah, ma'am, you do have hard water. You were right. Good thing you called us.
00:31:54.424 --> 00:31:58.544
Would you like us to install the water softener that we talked about on the radio?
00:31:59.304 --> 00:32:02.244
Sure. Oh, but you know what? We just happen to have a deal.
00:32:03.104 --> 00:32:09.224
Our supplier made too many of the one that's two levels up.
00:32:09.984 --> 00:32:12.604
It's ordinarily $10,000. It's only $7,000.
00:32:14.204 --> 00:32:18.644
Yeah. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. Or like I said, in the AC world,
00:32:18.924 --> 00:32:21.484
the new refrigerants are out.
00:32:22.024 --> 00:32:25.964
The federal government has mandated new refrigerants. The old systems,
00:32:26.304 --> 00:32:30.124
the old refrigerants are no longer available, no longer being manufactured.
00:32:30.124 --> 00:32:36.804
Our supplier has X amount of these systems left and I bought them all at a really good deal.
00:32:36.924 --> 00:32:40.064
So I'm going to pass this on to you. Right. So there's a plausible reason for
00:32:40.064 --> 00:32:42.624
giving somebody a discount. It's not fake or phony.
00:32:43.124 --> 00:32:47.124
Um, yeah, but you just hit a point, which is really important.
00:32:47.664 --> 00:32:51.664
You truly have to understand what your marketing is designed to do.
00:32:52.164 --> 00:32:56.584
And if you're going on a direct response radio program.
00:32:58.539 --> 00:33:01.599
It's not to get a lead it's to
00:33:01.599 --> 00:33:04.499
get your phone to ring with an appointment it's not
00:33:04.499 --> 00:33:08.219
to say oh yeah that's cool maybe i'll get a lead and they no it's an appointment
00:33:08.219 --> 00:33:12.619
it's an actual appointment i say this to people when they do this when they
00:33:12.619 --> 00:33:18.099
do marketing for radio even postcards or anything else that they're doing uh
00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:22.079
marketing for postcards are back in again by the way um much like radio.
00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:26.179
But but even that is understand what is
00:33:26.179 --> 00:33:28.919
the end result you're looking for are you looking to get somebody to call
00:33:28.919 --> 00:33:31.879
and ask a bunch of questions about this thing that you're offering
00:33:31.879 --> 00:33:34.899
or are you looking for somebody to call and say hey when can
00:33:34.899 --> 00:33:37.939
you get here either way is cool but
00:33:37.939 --> 00:33:40.839
understand what is your messaging and your
00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:44.859
messaging then has to resonate with that client that you're looking for with
00:33:44.859 --> 00:33:53.299
that ideal client avatar yeah you really need to think about the positioning
00:33:53.299 --> 00:33:58.799
and really building the marketing slash advertising program.
00:33:58.999 --> 00:34:02.939
So a lot of people take the easy way out. I'll buy Facebook ads.
00:34:03.879 --> 00:34:09.459
I'll call the radio station and have them just play 30-second ads.
00:34:09.759 --> 00:34:13.219
I don't know anything about an ad as an HVAC guy, but I'll just have the morning
00:34:13.219 --> 00:34:16.599
guy read something and they want me to come up with a script,
00:34:16.819 --> 00:34:19.339
but I'll send them a couple of bullet points, let the station figure it out.
00:34:19.479 --> 00:34:23.139
And then they wonder why they don't get much of a grip and they're constantly
00:34:23.139 --> 00:34:28.559
slipping down the cliff versus really thinking, okay, who do I want as a customer?
00:34:28.719 --> 00:34:29.839
You can actually do that.
00:34:30.199 --> 00:34:35.159
Um, even more so today, you know, on a Facebook ad, you can actually drill down.
00:34:35.319 --> 00:34:39.599
I want boom, you know, this type of person, but you can still do that with certain
00:34:39.599 --> 00:34:44.019
television and certain radio magazines, even, I mean, magazines actually.
00:34:45.567 --> 00:34:51.587
You can get some specific magazines, especially things for like neighborhoods where you live.
00:34:51.807 --> 00:34:55.067
Yeah, you get neighborhood magazines and home and garden magazines,
00:34:55.247 --> 00:34:58.387
things that are specific to what we do in the trades. Exactly.
00:34:58.607 --> 00:35:03.727
And so I'd recommend getting a hold of Jim at the Blue Collar Wave.
00:35:03.727 --> 00:35:07.327
He knows all this stuff, the ins and outs of things. I mean,
00:35:07.447 --> 00:35:13.507
if I were, if I were a small operator to medium size and I didn't have in-house
00:35:13.507 --> 00:35:18.667
help, you would be my first call, uh, especially in HVAC.
00:35:18.987 --> 00:35:23.207
Um, cause I know you know a lot about that, but even so, I mean,
00:35:23.367 --> 00:35:28.267
I know that you, you know, cross many different home service categories,
00:35:28.467 --> 00:35:32.587
including landscaping, right? So there's just a lot there.
00:35:32.687 --> 00:35:37.427
And to visit with you, I think, makes a lot of sense because you'll get ideas.
00:35:37.587 --> 00:35:41.347
But also, before I forget, how can someone get a copy of your book?
00:35:41.507 --> 00:35:44.827
Because I think before they contact you, they should look at the book,
00:35:45.347 --> 00:35:48.087
write down ideas and thoughts, and then call you.
00:35:48.867 --> 00:35:56.187
Look at the book. So they can go to thebluecollarwave.com, thebluecollarwave.com
00:35:56.187 --> 00:35:59.167
forward slash free dash book.
00:36:00.347 --> 00:36:03.507
Free free yeah it won't cost you anything free dashboard you
00:36:03.507 --> 00:36:06.727
go in just put your get all i'm looking for is for your email where i can because
00:36:06.727 --> 00:36:10.487
you're going to get now you can go you can get it two ways you can get it like
00:36:10.487 --> 00:36:14.467
a digital version put your email in or you can get a physical copy i'll mail
00:36:14.467 --> 00:36:23.287
it to you either way go to the blue collar wave.com forward slash free dash book i love this book.
00:36:24.727 --> 00:36:29.527
It's a little bit of a workbook. It's just got all kinds of golden nuggets in it.
00:36:29.767 --> 00:36:32.827
Right. And, and so that's the type of book I like to read. I don't want to hear
00:36:32.827 --> 00:36:34.947
about how great you are, Jim. That's fine. Okay.
00:36:35.267 --> 00:36:38.087
People will write about how great you are and your history.
00:36:39.707 --> 00:36:44.827
The book isn't only about marketing, by the way. I go through 12 specific strategies
00:36:44.827 --> 00:36:49.587
to show you literally how to increase your bottom line profitability.
00:36:49.927 --> 00:36:51.407
Marketing is one of those things.
00:36:52.007 --> 00:36:55.747
And what I say is you can do this without spending any more than you're already
00:36:55.747 --> 00:36:57.447
spending on your marketing spend.
00:36:57.587 --> 00:37:01.647
It doesn't mean you don't do marketing anymore. It just means let's be really
00:37:01.647 --> 00:37:06.047
strategic about my marketing spend and doing like direct response radio,
00:37:06.387 --> 00:37:08.227
shift your marketing spend to do that.
00:37:08.387 --> 00:37:11.967
I promise you, you're going to get a huge, huge bang for the buck on that type
00:37:11.967 --> 00:37:16.707
of thing versus just throwing some 30, 60 second ads random that some radio
00:37:16.707 --> 00:37:20.547
station produced that knows nothing about you or your business.
00:37:21.567 --> 00:37:25.387
Yeah, that's challenging when I hear from people, I've tried radio and it doesn't work.
00:37:26.007 --> 00:37:29.867
You're right. It doesn't when you do it like that. Yeah. And I know a lot of
00:37:29.867 --> 00:37:32.167
divorced people too, but I know a lot of happily married people.
00:37:32.707 --> 00:37:35.807
So someone who's been divorced three or four times say, merit doesn't work.
00:37:36.007 --> 00:37:38.887
And actually it may not work for you, so don't do it again if you've been divorced
00:37:38.887 --> 00:37:41.507
that many times. Right. Sometimes we need to know our limitations.
00:37:42.107 --> 00:37:46.267
You know, it's like anything else. If Facebook ads didn't work,
00:37:46.567 --> 00:37:49.387
Facebook wouldn't have the money coming in they have coming in because they
00:37:49.387 --> 00:37:51.707
continually get people repeating.
00:37:51.927 --> 00:37:55.847
If TV still didn't work, it wouldn't be on the air anymore. Radio wouldn't be on the air.
00:37:56.207 --> 00:37:59.967
It works. You have to figure out if it can work for you.
00:38:00.387 --> 00:38:04.327
Right. And then how to make it work for you. Those are two different things
00:38:04.327 --> 00:38:10.387
because you might be in a business where it just doesn't make sense to do radio,
00:38:10.547 --> 00:38:12.547
television, or print, or Facebook even.
00:38:12.787 --> 00:38:16.227
You might need to actually get on stage and talk in front of 300 people and
00:38:16.227 --> 00:38:19.727
do a face-to-face type thing. It all depends on what your, what business you're in.
00:38:20.507 --> 00:38:27.587
In home service, which we're talking, uh, you know, the big ones like plumbing, electric, HVAC, um.
00:38:29.192 --> 00:38:33.552
You have a lot of people who need your services. Most people want to live the American dream.
00:38:33.692 --> 00:38:36.992
And apparently the American dream is owning a home with a white picket fence.
00:38:37.112 --> 00:38:40.912
So if you're in the fencing business, it's good. But with the white picket fence, right?
00:38:41.752 --> 00:38:44.752
And people will put money into it and they have to. With HVAC,
00:38:44.932 --> 00:38:48.572
with plumbing, electric, they have to. You can't live without those. You can't.
00:38:48.732 --> 00:38:51.212
If something is broken, you've got to get it fixed.
00:38:53.112 --> 00:38:58.352
But there are so many people, so many businesses in those spaces.
00:38:58.352 --> 00:39:03.172
And I'll say this, not to be offensive to people, but if you're not that creative,
00:39:03.232 --> 00:39:06.132
you just go into a business that's already there. So if you're not a creative
00:39:06.132 --> 00:39:07.092
person, I'll be a plumber.
00:39:07.292 --> 00:39:10.752
I'll be an HVAC guy because there's such demand for it. But once you're in it,
00:39:10.832 --> 00:39:11.792
now what are you going to do, right?
00:39:12.032 --> 00:39:15.492
That's why you need to pick up Jim's book.
00:39:17.112 --> 00:39:25.872
In the notes of this podcast, I will have links to get the book and all of Jim's information.
00:39:26.272 --> 00:39:29.432
Reach out to him. He'd love to talk to you He's a good friend of mine,
00:39:29.952 --> 00:39:33.512
And I just love talking to you I appreciate you coming on the show,
00:39:33.552 --> 00:39:39.152
bud I appreciate you having me on here, man Like I said, you've truly arrived
00:39:39.152 --> 00:39:41.812
When you've been on a Checker Pro radio show That's for sure,
00:39:42.312 --> 00:39:45.452
My last words to everyone out there Don't guess,
00:39:46.412 --> 00:39:51.492
Speak with the pros Me, Jim, others just speak with the pros To help you get
00:39:51.492 --> 00:39:57.852
through these At the end of the day, a scary good offer pays off over the customer's lifetime.
00:39:57.952 --> 00:40:02.012
If you know who your customer truly is, it'll be the best investment you'll ever make.
00:40:02.752 --> 00:40:05.992
I love it, Jim. Thank you so much. All right, man. Thank you, Jim.
