Why Qualifying Prospective Customers should rarely be done in Sales

Recently I wrote a post: “It’s not how it seems!”

I was trying to illustrate how most sales people (ie. everyone running a business) jump to quick conclusions about prospective customers.  The conclusions are invariably inaccurate and we lose valuable custom as a result.

I will argue that the only qualification that should ever be made at the start of any sales process is to check out that you are making your sales presentation to the decision maker(s).  There will be occasions when you come to the conclusion that your potential customer is not the right “fit” for your product or service – but this qualification can only be made when you have learnt more about your prospect.  Even then it is generally done in agreement with the client.

Here is a powerful story to illustrate my point.  It was told by a colleague at James Home Services, at one of our Regional Masters meetings.  He was presenting on his “lessons learnt” since joining James’ Home Services as a Regional Master Franchisee.

“Last year I received a Franchise Enquiry.  A woman had phoned asking about our business and when I returned her call she told me it was for her husband.  I made the appointment and went out to meet the couple.

I was stunned by the realisation that the friendly woman who answered the door had suffered a severe stroke and had very limited use of her left side.  The frowning Indonesian man sitting at the kitchen table was nursing his right arm.  His English was poor.  A miserable sight I thought, and I wondered what the hell I was doing there.

We started talking and the man told me that he had been sacked from his job after 13 years on some trumped up workcover excuse.  He could not get a job and was getting more and more depressed as the bills were piling up.  The meagre social security payments were not enough and their savings were all but gone.

“Bloody Bosses” they both kept saying.  “Maybe if we could work for ourselves things would be better.”

Meanwhile I was thinking: “What!  They want to work together?  How can this crippled woman and an injured man with poor English ever run a business?”  They must be joking.”

Well I took them through the presentation and made the follow-up appointment even though I thought they would not get very far ….but they didn’t want to quit.

The Bali bombings occurred and the man was visited by ASIO.  They searched his house and scared them to death.  Thoughts of persecution and return back to Indonesia seriously crossed their minds ….but they didn’t quit.

They applied for finance for their business and kept getting knock back after knock back ….but they didn’t quit.

On one of my visits the man was crying because he had no money to buy his daughter a birthday present.  But they didn’t quit.

Finally they got their finance and started a James Home Services Interior House Care business together.  Calls didn’t come in the first week and they wondered if they had done the right thing ….but they didn’t quit.

They stuck it out, the woman dragging herself by her husband’s side.  I went out marketing with them and the work started to come in.  Their business grew.  Money started to come into the house once again.  The daughter got her birthday present.  Bills were being paid again.  Nine months in the man proudly announced that the old Tarago had been replaced by a much newer Camry.

A big smile had by now permanently replaced that original frown.  His injured arm had healed.  His English was improved.  The crippled woman who used to drag herself around moved quicker and livelier.  The business has steadily grown and last week they returned over a $1000 – their initial business goal.

Why? ………………. Because they didn’t quit … so why should !?

How couldn’t I be inspired by the courage and tenacity of this wonderful couple!  And then something occurred to me:  I had helped put the smile back on their faces.  It was the James Home Services business that had changed the lives of this couple.

Now I get it.  So that’s what I do…..  In some small way I help change people’s lives, I contribute to making things better.  How couldn’t I be proud of that.”

To your unqualified business success!

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchise

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• How To Look After Your Real Boss – Your Customer – Sheryl Burns
• How a James Master Franchise beats being an Accountant – Ian Schubert
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Business Lessons from the Roller Hawks Wheelchair Basketball Champions – Attitude

I coached two new franchisees (on separate occasions) on how to market their business for the fastest success results.  This involved going out and meeting people either at their home, or at their business, and offering them our help to keep their windows and their home clean so they didn’t have to think, or worry, about it.

Over the years this has been a hugely successful part of the James’ Home Services marketing system and has brought our franchisees heaps of work.

The first franchisee, Bob, who was starting his business as a James’ Home Services Window and Exterior House Care franchise, was very nervous at the prospect.  In fact to start with he didn’t even want to come out with me.  But with some gentle encouragement he did.  I had an agreement with him that I would do the talking for the first couple, to demonstrate the process to him, and then he would do one and I would give him feedback.  After we had visited the first client, and had a quote accepted, Bob said to me: “I reckon I can do that – I’ll do the next one.”  He did – and we got that job too.  Bob has gone on to run a very successful James’ Home Services business.

The second franchisee, Alan, an Interior House Cleaning franchisee was quite different.  Throughout the recruitment process he had given every impression of being very confident – he had even told me he knew how to market and didn’t need any support from me.

Just like Bob he was reluctant to come with me to meet people and offer his services to them.  But we agreed a time to get together.  An hour before the agreed time I received a call from Alan saying he was far too busy to come out with me and would rearrange another time.  He never did.  However, I did ring him several more times and we agreed to go out marketing together.  On both occasions he found a reason to call off.  Sadly, his business failed and he blamed this on the “lack of support.”

The only difference between the two was that Bob “thought he could” and Alan “thought he couldn’t”.  As Henry Ford observed: they were both right.

Here is a really interesting interview about this very same thing, but in the Para-Olympic sport of wheelchair basketball:

To your business success

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchise

With special thanks to the Wollongong Roller Hawks wheelchair basketball team

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Giving back to the Community – Organising an Open Day Fundraiser

Business can do so much for local communities, and have a responsibility to do that.

James Home Services Regional Masters in the Illawarra,  Alethea Messis and Che Williamson, have thrown themselves behind the Rollerhawks Wheelchair basketball team in their Wollongong community.

Here Alethea talks about the fund raising Open Day she recently organised for the Rollerhawks and the benefits she saw.  The local mayor and much of the media were involved in the project and other local businesses gave their time and support.  The James franchisees in the area did an amazing job to prepare for the day.

To you and your community’s success!

Tim Burns

James Home Services Regional Master

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• Planning Your Fundraising (activatefundraising.com)
• How carrying the Olympic torch helped me as a fundraiser (guardian.co.uk)

Ten chocolate bars are better than one!

Listening to success stories of small business owners is always an exciting thing for me, and always provides a learning opportunity that I can apply to my own business.  I heard this story from two franchisees very early in my own  business and it has stuck with me ever since.   I have used it many times in coaching new small business owners.  It is a demonstration of how circumstances can be changed if the desire is there.

“Hi my name is Eleisha and this is Gita and we have been running a successful James’ Home Services Interior House cleaning franchise for the last 18 months.  We have come a long way in that time.  

Before we started with James Gita was working thanklessly as a nanny for 50 hours a week with no job satisfaction and very little money.  We lived in a one bedroom unit and we had debt up to our eyeballs.  The only transport we had was a shared bicycle, with a dodgy chain.  We certainly had no idea where we were heading in the future.  

Our budget was so tight a chocolate bar had to be budgeted for.  I had just migrated to Australia and was waiting for my visa that would allow me to work. It took me six months to get that visa and when it finally came we were in a quandary as to what to do.  We wanted a lifestyle that would make us happy and give us a level of financial freedom that we wanted.

We decided that working for ourselves in our own business was the only way to go to achieve our goals and see the light at the end of a long tunnel.  So in May last year we bought an Interior House Cleaning franchise business with James Home Services.  We haven’t looked back since.  We have had our highs and lows but we are wiser franchisees and through every mistake we have learnt from it and moved on.  

After our first week of business we went to the corner store and bought not one chocolate bar but ten chocolate bars …. not because we wanted them but because we finally could!  We eventually got over the spending sprees  and settled down to set some serious goals.  Since then we have had a trip to the USA, bought a car and are now well on the way to a deposit on our first house.

We have learnt that our business is not just about cleaning and collecting our money.  It’s also about quality and not quantity.  We believe every client deserves the best of us, whether they are the first, or last, job of the week.  First and foremost we are business owners and not just cleaners.  We have earned the respect of our clients as business owners.  One of our clients, a wealthy and successful business person herself,  held us in such high regard that she invited us to a civic function.  She  introduced us to everyone, including the Lord Mayor, as “business owners” and good colleagues of hers who she dealt with on a regular basis.  It was a great moment for us as we reflected on just how far we had come.

The success of our business has relied greatly on sticking to the system we were taught when we started with James Home Services.  At times we have diverted to try it our own way – ” just to see” – but always came right back to the well trodden path.  We often have asked ourselves: “Why are we doing this?”  The answer is simple – we love “being our own boss.”  To be totally honest we are not wild about cleaning and we certainly do not get out of bed each day shouting: “Yippee we are going cleaning today!”  BUT we do get out of bed saying: “What are we doing today to make our business better?  What’s on the agenda?”  That’s what motivates us – as our own bosses we are in control of everything we do and are responsible for everything that comes our way – both the successes and the setbacks. 

Cover via Amazon

Our Regional Master Franchisees gave us a book called: “Who Moved My Cheese?“  We realised that before starting our business with James Home Services we were just spinning our wheels getting nowhere.  From the book we learnt that if we wanted to move on we had to set some goals and then do something to achieve them.  We also learnt that once we had achieved one set of goals we had to set ourselves new ones.  We have “Moved Our Cheese” many times now and the future looks great.  

How very different from a few years ago.”

To your business success!

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchisee

No Discomfort – No Achievement!

All the time I work with people who have a dream of “being their own boss” ….of being in control of their lives….of having the flexibility and freedom to be with their children as they grow up….of choosing what they earn, rather than going “cap in hand” to “the man” to plead for a pay-rise when the mortgage interest rates go up….of taking holidays where and when they want.

They want simply to realise the potential within themselves and to achieve their own success.

But so many will not.  They will consciously make a decision to remain stuck with “what they know” – even though they hate it.  Why is this?

There is a saying that “A ship in harbour is safe but that is not what ships are built for.” (Grace Hopper).

In the same way an aircraft is safe on the ground, a train in a station, a car on the driveway.

But what does that achieve?  If the Apollo 11 rocket had stayed “safe” on its launchpad the most amazing achievement of mankind to date would still only be a dream, and an unfulfilled promise of a charismatic American President.

Ships are built for traversing the world’s oceans, dangerous and awe-inspiring as they are.  They are designed for this and have evolved since the first papyrus rafts and canoes set out to cross oceans between continents.  If they had not realised this potential we would all still believe the world is flat and be terrified of “falling off the edge!”

In the same way we are all safe within our own harbours, or the safety of the comfort zones, the walls of protection, we have constructed around ourselves.  But where does this get us?  Can we reach our potential by insulating ourselves like this? Is this successful behavior?

It is a sad truth that for many of us it is simply easier to stay with something we know, even though we hate it, than to face our fears.

And yet everything we have so far achieved has involved a degree of discomfort.  To prove this just take a minute and list 3 achievements in your life that you are really proud of. Then ask the question:  “Was there some degree of discomfort I experienced in achieving those things?”  How did you answer?

A friend’s son recently overcame an intense fear of heights by jumping out of a plane.  He did this to raise funds for a hospice charity he passionately believed in.  On landing his mum asked him how it went.  His response: “That was awesome!”

If we want something badly enough we have the capacity to break out of our comfort zones, overcome our fears and experience something awesome!

That’s what we are built for.

To your business success!

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchise

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Interview with Alana and Jess – Playball – James Home Services Open Day

Playball provides sports coaching for young children and Alana and Jess came along to the James Home Services Open Day in support of the Roller Hawks.  In this interview they explain why they gave up their Sunday to do this.

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchise

Interview with Brett Stibners Roller Hawks Gold Medalist

Alethea Messis, James Home Services Regional Master, interviews Brett Stibners and talks about the inspiration behind his success and his Gold Medal achievements at the World Cup and the Paralympics.  Brett has also been awarded the Order of Australia.

Tim Burns

James Home Services Regional Master Franchise

It’s not how it seems!

Too often the sales books we read teach us to qualify our clients as early as possible in the sales process.  As it is explained this is so we don’t waste our time.  This has never sat comfortably.

Why?

There’s more to people than meets the eye.

The mantra: “First impressions count”  should be replaced by “Never be mislead, ever, by first impressions.”

Did you ever see the video of Susan Boyle on Britain’s got talent in 2009, singing “I Dreamed a Dream” from Les Miserables?  What was your first impression?

Too often we do not attempt to get beyond that first impression, especially in today’s world of information overload.  How much do we miss as we move frantically from one “first impression” to another.  That first impression becomes reality for us – when in fact it is often so far from it!

In sales that is a deadly mistake.  Whenever a salesperson starts to believe they can “pick ’em” they are on the slippery slope to failure.  I have seen salespeople qualify potential clients at the first phone call because they are too lazy to go out to meet the clients.

Too often we allow the first impression to be dominated by our conditioned thinking and we jump straight to that long held image.  Immediately we are in danger of closed thinking and being influenced by our own prejudice ………. Let’s just illustrate that for a moment.

What’s your first impression of this:

Well that’s obvious: “It’s a VW Combi Van!”

Are you sure?  Are you absolutely sure?

So what is it really?

Wow!  So much more to it than first impressions!

It’s all in our perspective.  Are we looking from every perspective? Or just from the front?

I spent much of my uni holidays travelling around Europe and the sight of a VW Combi Van meant cheap student travel (mostly Aussies!). This is what I have been conditioned to think.  So when I drove past this Combi Van today guess what came to my “conditioned” mind?  You are right:  “Oh there’s another Aussie backpacker in their cheap and recycled (many times) Combi.”  So guess my surprise as I got closer.  It was not a cheapo VW Combi, owned by its 110th Aussie backpacker, but a magnificent limousine fit for weddings and stylish nights out!

I was so intrigued I got a tour!  A far cry from my memories of damp, sweaty, overcrowded and delapidated Aussie backpacker combis.  It was magnificently fitted out with leather seats, two cocktail bars, plasma screens, an amazing sound and light system and a thick white pile carpet!

So with each new prospect, rather than qualifying them (ie. writing them off), it may be worth asking the question: “What more can I learn about this client that will surprise me and give me the opportunity to help them ?”

Then start asking questions and listening to find out more about them, their aspirations, dreams, their wants and why they contacted you, or your company, in the first place.  We may be surprised to find out we are dealing with something far more than “just a combi van.”

To your business success!

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchise

Could your business survive an Exocet Missile attack?

On the night of June 11th 1982 HMS Penelope was escorting a supply ship out of San Carlos Water  at the height of the Falklands war.  I was Officer of the Watch and the ship was at action stations.  We were expecting an attack.

British special forces on the ground in Argentina had sent intelligence to the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, relayed to us, that a number of Super Etendard aircraft had left their base in Argentina.  These aicraft were the platform for the Exocet Missile and could launch their missiles while still out of range of our air defence systems.  A huge advantage!

What threats is your business facing? Are you prepared?

The Exocet Missile was a cleverly designed weapon, with a deadly flight profile.  On launch it dropped to almost wave height, so it became invisible to the target’s radar systems.  The only indication to the target of a missile launch was a flash from the aircraft.  From that moment on all electronic detection and warning systems were “blind.” That is….. until the missile turned on its own radar and “locked on” to the target.  Seconds later the missile would “come inboard”.  A quaint bit of naval jargon that almost sounded as if it had been invited!

We had cleared the Islands and were headed to the Safety Exclusion Zone 200 miles away.  We were in “no man’s land” and extrememly vulnerable to air attack. Our early warning systems detected two hostile aircraft approaching the launch zone for their missiles.  A few seconds later a huge flash was detected from one of the aircraft. We were the target!

For months 250 of us on that frigate had trained and prepared for this moment.  Yes – the endless hours and hours of exercising was monotonous, boring and exhausting and often caused friction between us.  I cannot remember now how many times we went through that exercise and how we came to resent the Captain’s order: “That was not good enough. ‘Do it again!’ ”  The Captain would sense our reluctance.  His response was always the same:  “Do you want to die?  I do not.”  Every individual on board had a job to do and, to the man, knew precisely how to perform that task to the last detail.  It had become an automatic response for all of us.

That night we automatically carried out those tasks – EXACTLY.

To this day we do not know where that missile ditched in the sea, nor how close it came, but it certainly never “came inboard.”  Our systems and processes, and our hours and hours of repetitive training in those systems, had literally saved us and the lives of the men in the ship we were escorting to safety.

By following those systems were we 100% assured of survival?  Of course not…. but our chances of living to write a blog about it increased from zero to, I would say, over 90%.

So what has this got to do with anything at all…………. especially running a business?

It has everything to do with it……!

Every business will at some stage come under its own “Exocet Attack.”  All businesses are faced with their own “threats to survival”,  their own “Exocets“. Absolutely guaranteed.  HMS Penelope was a warship designed to go to war.  In the same way any business must be designed to survive in the business environment.  The threats to business come in a multitude of ways:

• a dip in the economy
• a change in exchange rates (for businesses trading overseas)
• the competition that has just ‘opened down the road’
• bad debts
• problems with suppliers
• problems with staff
• industry downturns
• changes in consumer habits (look at what is happening in the retail industry)
• bad publicity
• changed legislation
• the introduction of new technology
• Add more here……………………………………………

Following my Exocet Missile analogy there are only two possible outcomes for any business. Which one are you planning for your business?

Crippled and Sinking

Full Speed Ahead

Food for thought: Is your business designed for survival?  Have you built proven business systems that cover every aspect of your business?  Are all your staff trained and sticking – EXACTLY – to those systems?

Until next time. To your business success!

Tim Burns

James Home Services Master Franchise

http://jamesmastertruestories.com/

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