We have all heard it - "well... I think you are too expensive".

This is a common issue, but it only comes up if you have not laid the ground with your customer and properly helped them see the value that you offer, and the impact you can have on their lives with the products and service you can bring to them.

There will also always be the sticker shock.  Most home services interventions are an unexpected distress purchase. Nobody expects to be replacing their ac unit, and when it comes up it eats into their disposable income and something else usually has to give.

So your customers are wrestling with this and are generally unhappy about the situation they find themselves in - and sometimes you can really feel that and feel their pain - which is why many companies believe that they can only compete on price.

But this is not true.  

Once your customer has accepted the reality of their situation, they enter into buying mode and are receptive to consider many other...

How often do you turn to someone you consider to be an “expert” for guidance and advice?

How often in your day to day life do you  find yourself talking about the same problems or issues over and over again to the same group of people,  and going around and around in circles - and then end up concluding that things are like it just because that is the way it is?

I see people talking about how to handle Millennials.  How recruitment of good people into the home services and trades industries is a growing problem.  How working extended hours in your business is an accepted norm.

But what I also see is that we are talking to the same kind of people as us, in a similar industry.  And they confirm to us that they are in the same boat. This is confirmation bias right there in action.  

Be aware of it.

It is the old adage - the same thinking that got you into your current situation is not the thinking that will get you out of it.

You know this -...

“How does having a business plan and a strategy help you run your business anyway?  Isn’t that just for city slickers or bigger businesses? This is the real world here - I am way too busy for that shit.”

This is a very common view of strategy and planning from the average business owner.  And it is heartbreaking.

Here are some interesting questions that every business owner needs to consider…

• What is your break even point in dollars every month?
• How many jobs do you need to do to make enough profit to cover all your expenses and break even?
• What money will you have available next month to promote your business?
• What about every month through the winter?
• What exactly about your business are you promoting?
• What is your compelling offer - your reason why your customers will choose you over everybody else in your town?
• How will you achieve the maximum competitive advantage in your local market?
• What resources do you have to utilize to help you get...