Know Your Customer

The 30%

So, if your rep goes and talks to 100 people, 70 say no, routinely, and 30 people say yes and become jobs. We're now going to talk about these 30 people that say yes. How do we get your reps in front of homeowners just like these 30 people every single time? Let's stop wasting time with the 70% who say no. OK? And maybe, if you have nothing else to do on a slow day, put some effort towards the 70%. But in reality, spend all your time, energy, and focus on the 30%.

Just remember, it's a numbers game. Your "at bats" really matter. And, that is what's going to help a rookie succeed exponentially more with your company than anywhere else. It is the number of "at bats." Does that make sense? Quality buyers, people who can afford it, and having your reps in the right place at the right time. That's what you want to focus on.

Use Case - Nashville

What market are you in? Let’s go with Nashville. I love Nashville. I knocked a full four months there. Love it. I lived in Hermitage and won my company's team competition in Murfreesboro. Murfreesboro has a very special place in my heart. OK, so in Nashville, where are all of the other homeowners that most resemble your previous customer base? So, we apply what we have learned from your data to the other households in Nashville, and we filter out the obvious ones first. I can now say, hey, if they're a renter, take 'em out, right? If they've had a permit pulled in the last X amount of time, if they have a new roof, take 'em out. Do you get what I'm saying? There are hundreds of layers of filters that we can apply to leverage and make sure that these are the best possible leads.

I've knocked, like I said, 150,000 doors. I cannot tell you how many of those doors were a waste of my time. And if I could make sure to eliminate those 70% and only focus on the 30%. Right then, right there, I would have had better "at bats," more revenue, and more success. Any rookies that you have will have a much better experience. They will see the light way earlier because they are not wasting time every single day.

Impactful Data

Here's the thing. There are some companies out there that will provide data and would love to say that they are in this space. They love to pretend like they're doing something similar to what I have been describing. But in reality, all they are willing to do is give you some half-rate data and then walk away, hands-off, leaving you without any strategy to act on the data. That's what is going to happen. If I give you a ton of data today, here it is, and then end the conversation, would you know how to leverage that information in your business? Would you know how to actually implement that into your sales and marketing strategy? Probably not. For most people, probably not. So, data is worthless if it isn't actionable.

The Formula

You need to be able to understand what action to take with the data. You need to be able to measure it so you can actually see what you are getting for the effort. When you go to work and knock X amount of these leads, what is that turning into for your business? And then, you have to know that these leads result in profitable opportunities. You need to know that the margins are actually there. So, let me paint a picture for you and this is like the silver bullet of the silver bullets. Here is where we perk up.

Let Me Paint a Picture

You are in Nashville. You're in Colorado. You're in your home market. Imagine, the storm of a lifetime comes and it's right in your backyard. This has been the event that you have hoped for, prayed for, that you've dreamed about. It's finally happening. This is a scale that has never been seen in your market before. And it is going to impact an unprecedented number of households. You’ve done the quick math the night before, as you're watching the news, as you're looking at the weather forecast. You can't believe the revenue that could be generated from this storm for you. You already started making future plans. You start thinking, man, I know the minimum we're coming away with is X amount of revenue. There's no way, even if we screw this up, that we don't make at least this much. So... we're getting that boat. We're going to Disney World. We're taking the kids. You start making all these crazy plans. You get really excited. It's way too much of an opportunity. Now, it's going to come and devastate the market. Let's say the storm comes overnight. So, your heart is beating the more you think about it. Like, tomorrow is go time. You’re thinking, “Man, I just need some light and then I'm ready.” As soon as that sun comes up, it is a rush to get to the doors. And then... it's you and every other contractor in your market rushing to the doors.

Now, as this happens, there's excitement in the air. You have your whole team deployed. You're all texting each other. You're all fired up and momentum is being created. You can feel it. It's palpable. You haven't seen energy like this in your sales force in a very, very long time. Everyone smells the opportunity. How do you make sure that you bring this completely home? You go out and you say, “Hey. we're going to knock. I have identified this neighborhood and this other neighborhood. This is where we're going to start, OK? Yeah. Let's go. Let's get it. Everyone gets to the area. They get out of their trucks. They go. They start knocking and you get some sales right away. People are feeling good, right? It feels like the Promised Land. It's happening.

Alright, we knocked this neighborhood. Everyone hurry. Let's get in the truck. Get in the truck. Let's go to another spot. Go to this other neighborhood. You get out and every single house has a sign in the yard. And it's maybe 8:30 AM. And you say, how? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No no no no. No no no no. And a little bit of fear starts to slip in. You start to see the day changing in real time before your eyes, right? You were going to have this domino effect neighborhood after neighborhood after neighborhood. You were going to end this day just like screaming from the rooftops in celebration, you know, with all of your life's dreams fulfilled. But look at this. 8:45 AM and they dominated this neighborhood twice as much as you dominated yours.

What happened? That neighborhood got lit up. Oh no. And so, you start to feel the momentum shift quite a bit, right? Your guys get a little bit discouraged. But hey, there's plenty of opportunity elsewhere. It's OK. Move on to another neighborhood. Well, it's the same thing. OK, now they're just getting lucky, right, and you're starting to get frustrated. You're starting to become concerned and you're worried. So, I know for a fact that this has happened to many of you. You’re thinking, alright, how did they get so lucky? How did they beat me here? Why is this street so much more plentiful than mine was? How did they know about it? What separates them from me? Am I just not a good sales rep...?

We'll bring you the answer in about 2 weeks with the final segment to this Cognitive Seminar Series, Part 9: Data-Driven Campaigns.