October 10, 2018 · 4:00 pm

Why Don’t They Answer The Phone?

I wrote last week about the new area in which I’ve begun consulting. Thank you, by the way, to all of you who both read the announcement and sent along your support.

The bulk of the people to whom I speak about investing in a franchise come to me via a system of ads. Some of the ads promote a specific brand and others just speak to the great opportunity buying into a franchise affords someone who is looking to work for themselves. Both types of ads generate leads. These are people who fill out a form and ask to be contacted. With me so far?

What’s struck me after contacting nearly 100 of these respondents is how few of them actually respond. I realize not everyone is going to answer the phone, but if they don’t, I leave a polite voicemail and send them an email as well. Obviously, they’ve provided the information. Most don’t respond to either, even to say “hey, I was bored late one night and I filled this out but I’m not really interested.”

You should know that I’m not selling them anything. My services are free. Like a realtor, I’m paid by the seller; in this case, the franchisor. Once I get them on the telephone, it takes only about 10 minutes for me to assess their needs and to figure out how we should proceed, so this process is neither time-consuming nor costly. They’ve taken the time to start the process yet they hit the brakes before it even gets going.

What’s the point for your business? Sometimes customers know they have a need but they’re afraid of solving the problem. For any of us, change is hard. For people who are unhappy with their lives, it can be crippling to believe that there is a better way on the other end of the phone or through the door to your business. In my case, most of these people want to change their lives somehow and I think they were channeling that when they filled out the form. When change came knocking at their door (or calling their phones), the fear kicked in. Any business faces that to a certain extent. Why don’t people go for physicals? Putting aside the cost, I think in part it’s because they don’t feel bad and they don’t want to know if something is wrong. If the states didn’t mandate auto inspections, how many people would routinely have a mechanic give it the once over as preventative maintenance?

Part of what we need to do as good businesspeople is to guide our customers. They may be fearful or reluctant. Remember that they wouldn’t be at your door if they didn’t have a problem big or small that they need to be solved. Your job (and mine) is to help them with that solution and a better life. Make sense?

Leave a comment

Filed under Huh?, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , ,

October 8, 2018 · 1:41 pm

Mounting On The Right

Let’s begin this week with a question for all you folks who like to ride horses. In fact, if you’ve ever been on a horse, you can probably try to answer it too. Here we go: on which side of the horse do we ALWAYS mount and dismount? Now that’s pretty simple, right? It’s the left side. In fact, you’ll almost always see the horse being led by someone on the left side as well. The real question is why, and that’s where things get interesting for your business.

No, there isn’t a physiological reason we do this. Most horses aren’t blind on their right sides so we’re not going to spook them. Basically, we mount from the left because it’s traditional. Unlike some traditions, this one has a practical reason for existing. Many of the people who rode horses hundred of years ago also were wearing swords, which were generally worn on a person’s left side so they could grab it with their right hand. If you tried to mount a horse from the right, the sword you wore on your left would get in the way, and no one wants to impale either themselves or their mount.

Those days of swords are long gone for most of us but the tradition of mounting from the left continues. Is there really anything preventing us from training a horse to accept mounts from the right side? Not really – we just don’t. That answer is probably applicable to something you’re doing in your business as well. Reports that get cranked out week after week or meetings that get held without fail. Maybe those things had a very good reason for existing when they began (maybe back in the days of swords!) but don’t really now.

The point is that we need to constantly be asking ourselves why things are the way that they are. Circumstances change constantly. Markets change and so do customer needs and preferences. It might just be time to ask yourself if it’s appropriate to try the right side, don’t you think?

Leave a comment

Filed under Consulting, Thinking Aloud

Tagged as , , ,

October 5, 2018 · 10:00 am

Your Best Steak Forward

It’s Foodie Friday and we’re back to our regular nonsense here on the screed. Today I want you to think back to that time when you ordered takeout and it was not very good. I’m sure you’ve had such an instance: we all have. Maybe you ordered some fried dumplings that showed up as soggy as your recently washed laundry. Maybe the pasta dish you ordered had aggregated itself into a small object better suited for football than eating. Maybe you ordered a steak frites to go and it didn’t travel well. No one likes soggy fries and a cool steak doused in cooling, congealing butter.

For many restaurants, takeout has become a critical part of their business. Life today often leaves little time for cooking at home, especially during the week. Think about how many places you know that have only a few tables but do a ton of takeout. The growth of delivery services and apps has accelerated the trend while actually decreasing profitability (the services take a cut of the bill and in many cases, it’s close to the entire margin on the order). I’m not sure, however, that many restaurateurs put enough thought into putting their best products out there for takeout. Why sell something that you know won’t travel well?

Putting your best steak forward, so to speak, is something that every business should do. The most customer-friendly takeout situations have a separate counter to speed customer service. They might have a menu that’s priced a little differently since the costs of servicing a customer are different. They pack hot foods apart from cold foods and they take care to make sure that condensation in the hot food doesn’t make it soggy (vent holes, people). As with any customer encounter, how you present your brand matters. I wouldn’t even offer to sell a customer a product that I know won’t travel well. If they’ve enjoyed it before in my place, they’ll be disappointed. If it’s their first time, they won’t be back. We see this in businesses that take on jobs for which they’re ill-suited. I’ve turned down many opportunities over the years to build people websites since my ability to design and to code is not up to my ability to perform other tasks. That’s not my best steak.

Is that something your business is doing? Are you gathering data and keeping records of every customer interaction? Are you constantly looking for feedback so you can adjust your menu? Are you putting your best steak forward each and every time?

Leave a comment

Filed under Consulting, food, Helpful Hints

Tagged as , , , , , ,