Hub You - Business

Change is Natural - Why All the Fear Over Change Management?
The only thing that is constant in the Universe is change and so with that said why all the fear these days over change management? It seems corporate executives are a bunch of wusses sometimes and afraid to make a decision.Indeed over regulation is the cause of much of this, because often they can be sued personally or do jail time if they end up breaking a rule. And there are so many regulatory bodies, jurisdictions and different rules in different states and nations, as one simply cannot know all the rules. Thus today’s executives are constantly relying on the advice of lawyers, accountants and regulatory bureaucrats.Nevertheless this is the way things are and the global corporate executive better figure that

s competition from consideration, especially 'unprofessionals' (since they make it so easy for us to eliminate them, if everything is positioned properly).

Remember above, when I said chances are home owners don't care? What they (and 99% of all humans purchasing something) don't care about is the process. What they do care about is the results.

Do you care how a phone works...or do you care if your business phone went dead for even one hour? Do you care how HTTP Internet protocol works...or do you care if your website went down for even one day?

See...it's not the process most people care about (although some may be curious about it after the fact) -- it's the result!

So, don't tell your prospects you use "the finest quality building m

Lessons Learned at the Harvard Business School
"If God wanted to create a perfect punishment for a high achiever, then He would have that person manage a professional service firm," says Professor John Gabarro of the Harvard Business School.Gabarro is on the faculty of the Leading Professional Service Firms program, an intensive, one-week executive education program taught twice a year at the Harvard Business School. Designed for leaders of professional service firms, the program focuses on management and marketing issues unique to these firms. Namely, the delicate balancing act of ensuring client satisfaction while also leading the firm's talent.The program provides a forum for participants from around the world to apply the concepts and real case studies pr

Now and again I'll get into a conversation about 'educating the client', especially when a contractor talks about losing jobs to competition that's 'undercutting' them. One such conversation happened last week when a builder mentioned constantly losing jobs to, shall we say, less than reputable competition.

Typically in this situation I'll talk about educating the prospect, to which the response is usually, "I don't have time to teach the prospect everything I know." (This is usually closely followed by, "Plus, I already educate my prospects.")

First, I agree. Second, you don't have to. Third, you can't afford not to.

Educating Your Prospects

When I discuss educating prospects, I'm not suggesting you have to provide years of knowledge, personal experience, and recent modern changes in the home building industry. First, you don't have that kind of time. Second, chances are the average home owner just doesn't care.

What I do mean is to educate the prospect so:

a) they understand what your price represents; and

b) they know what to look for, and look out for, so they can properly compare your quality of work to others.

A Recent Example

A friend recently bought a house and, as par for the course, was contacted by a handful of companies promising to deliver natural gas at lower, locked-in rates.

Now, I can't claim to verify the following information, it's just what he received when he asked his group of friends for advice. And it does illustrate the point.

According to one response, the rate quoted by some of these companies is lower because it doesn't include all the costs associated with delivering natural gas to his house.

That is, the rate they were quoting was the 'supply' charge. They would then compared this rate to their competition's rate, even though the rate they compared it to combined three different charges and, therefore, was always going to be more then theirs.

This would be like selling you a computer, and saying mine was $750 while comparing it against a competitor's $950 model -- but failing to mention the competitor's included a monitor and the other didn't. Not fair, right?

So, How Do You Use This Information to Stop Fighting on Price?

This is what I mean by 'educating the client'. Let them know what they're getting with your price vs. a potential competitors and help ensure they can, and are, comparing apples to apples.

Do you have to list all 1,001 differences that go into building or renovating a home? Of course not...in fact, if you capture the 10 - 15 biggies (and, sometimes, even less than that), most clients will assume the rest is taken care of (and it usually is).

And This is Where Selling on Features vs. Selling on Benefits Comes In...

Features vs. Benefits is one of the easiest ways to separate you from your competition and stop fighting on price. Unfortunately, most builders and renovators sell on features and, therefore, end up in 'price comparison hell.' Selling on benefits quickly eliminates competition from consideration, especially 'unprofessionals' (since they make it so easy for us to eliminate them, if everything is positioned properly).

Remember above, when I said chances are home owners don't care? What they (and 99% of all humans purchasing something) don't care about is the process. What they do care about is the results.

See...it's not the process most people care about (although some may be curious about it after the fact) -- it's the result!

So, don't tell your prospects you use "the finest quality building ma

What is Freight Bill Factoring?
Trucking company owners know that cash is king and prompt paying clients are critical to the company’s success. But, what can you do if you get a good client that insists on paying their invoice in 30 days or more? How do you pay fuel, drivers and repairs while you wait to get paid?In the past, the only option you had was to take the client and grit your teeth.However, there is an option that has been gaining popularity with the trucking community. It’s called freight bill factoring. Freight factoring eliminates the payment wait and gets your freight bills paid in a couple of days. But, transportation factoring is very different than a business loan. It works by selling your freight bills to a freight factoring c

l experience, and recent modern changes in the home building industry. First, you don't have that kind of time. Second, chances are the average home owner just doesn't care.