Jim Hinshaw

by Jim Hinshaw

I was listening to Zig Zigler this week in something called “Automobile University”. That is where you listen to a CD that will improve your mind while driving back and forth to the airport. Zig passed away in 2012, but his thoughts and instructions are timeless and still current.

On the CD, he tells the story of a woman who reaches out to him, saying he is the only one who can help. She is miserable at work, everyone is an idiot and she hates her job and co-workers. So she tells Zig’s secretary she must meet him. He agrees, and on his next trip through her part of the world, he meets her behind the curtain, a few minutes before he is to go on stage to discuss his sales program. She was exasperated and apparently thought she would get a couple of hours of counseling that wasn’t going to happen. Zig is clear with her, he is not a therapist, but he does understand human nature.

So he asks her if she brought a notebook to take notes. She did and Zig responds with “Start taking notes.” She says, “Right now, here, behind the curtain?” He replied, “Yes, now.” He tells her that in 100% of the people he talks to, if you don’t take the first step, you won’t take the second! So she reluctantly pulls out a notebook and starts writing. He asks her to list the positive things about her job. But she says “That’s a short list and I can’t think of one thing.” He keeps on pushing: “Do they pay you regularly?” “Yes.” She says. “Is it a fair wage?” “Actually, above the market for my tasks.” The woman replies. “Do you have an insurance plan?” And again she responds “Yes.” Zig asks her yet another question “How about holiday pay?” And again she says “Yes.” By the time they were done, she had a list of over 20 items that were positive about her job.

Zig tells her to look at that list every morning, to read it out loud, every day, and see what happens. A few months later, she is sitting in the front row of another one of his meetings, smiling big. She tells him that the most wonderful thing happened, those people she works with have changed! She says “They are not so bad afterall, in fact, they are wonderful.”

Zig’s point is simple. When we want to change our spouse, kids, parents, bosses, co-workers, employees, and even our customers, the one who really can affect that change is us! It’s so simple yet profound. We are in charge of everything that happens to us, good and bad. Yes I hear many say “Jim, we can’t control the weather, the economy, and our employee’s actions.” That is correct, but we can control our response to all of those. Did you know that sailors can navigate across the water in a sailboat no matter which way the wind is blowing? To be clear, I am not a sailor. However, if I were on a sailboat, I would want the person sailing it to understand how the wind works, and be able to get to our destination no matter the weather.

So the message is simple but hard to do. When you are faced with a uncooperative person, perhaps one you work for or one that works for you, or if you’re just not happy with your job, plan on concentrating on the positive aspects of the relationship and the work. We all want to blame the economy, the weather, or any other outside force for our trials and tribulations. When has that ever helped? It turns out what we think about becomes the course of our actions, the actions become habits, and the habits become our character, our DNA in a way. The very element that moves us to do what we do.

This became clear to me one evening after we had great family time and shared a couple of birthdays with a huge crab boil. It was not anything specific that happened, but the time I had to reflect on how great it is to have a family that can talk and share feelings together. After dinner, I discussed this with my sons and it became clear that I should share this timeless advice about focusing on the positives. I have no idea what any of you are going through personally, but in the last couple of weeks I have seen multiple requests for prayer from my Facebook connections. Most have been from from family with several about jobs, and employment. So I am sending this out with my thoughts and prayers for your success both in family, work and health to give you encouragemnent. One of the other speakers on my CD is a man named Jim Rohn. He says that evidence has shown that what we think about has more effect on our health than exercise, diet, or even our genes. That’s powerful stuff. So consider an assignment for yourself this week, to dwell on positive things. Anything positive counts and simply stuff those negative thoughts aside by replacing them with positive ones.

And by the way, this is the Christmas season. A perfect way to be positive is to do something special for someone else this season. And better yet if they cannot offer anything in return. Perhaps by visiting a nursing home, calling a loved one miles away, thanking a veteran, or visiting someone in need or a friend at a hospital. If want to see someone light up with joy, surprise them with a hospital visit. You can even visit and bring joy to someone who is without a family to care and love them, especially during Christmas. I have gone into hospitals and asked a nurse, who is lonely this time of year? They will gladly direct you. If you are not able to pray with a patient, you could even simply thank the nurses and doctors you see and let them know you appreciate them. They probably did not want to work on Christmas day, but someone has to. It will be a blessing. Thanks, we will talk later.

FYI – On Zig Ziglar’s web site you can buy yourself or a friend a book.

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By Jim Hinshaw

Just heard of a hamburger joint that is known for developing the skills of the employees to unheard of levels. In fact, their training is so good they have won the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, putting them in the same group as Ritz Carlton, Cadillac and Federal Express. The CEO, Thomas Crosby, who has been with the chain since 1981 tells us that they are in the education business, and they want their employees to be the equivalent of valedictorians. That is the goal they set to beat the competition.

Their training program starts with how to iron the uniform (really?), and moves on to each process they work with in the restaurant. Each employee is certified and recertified on each machine. When they are re-tested, if they don’t score 100%, they are off that machine. Each person in a leadership role spends 10% of their time helping another employee master a skill, it is a well-defined system.

They took the dedication to a new level a few years ago, when they were awarded the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, given by the President Bush in 2001. Part of the tradition that goes with that award is that the recipient agrees to share their business practices with others to help them improve quality. So out of that the Pals Business Excellence Institute (BEI) was born. It is a school where the participants pay from $350 for a half day to $900 for 2 days. In the 2 days they visit a real operating Pals restaurant, go behind the counter to watch the crews work, see how a team can make a difference in speed and delivery. The school is run on a break-even basis, many attendees return year after year to refresh. One of those returnees is Ken Shiller from K & N Management (Rudy’s “Country Store” & Bar-B-Q and Mighty Fine Burgers, Fries, and Shakes, located in Texas), who has brought his management team to BEI many times. They attribute over $10 million dollars in annual sales growth to the techniques learned from BEI, and won the Malcolm Baldrige award themselves.

Pals was started in 1956 by Pal Barger, they now employ over 900 people, have only gone through 7 general managers in the last 33 years, has a turnover rate that is half their nearest competitor, and average a customer complaint once in every 3500 transactions. Crosby says he wants the experience that each employee has at Pal’s to last them a lifetime, and no matter if they are a doctor or chemical engineer, the things they learned at Pal’s still apply today.

My question (and you knew it was coming) is this: does your company have a training program for each employee? Are they tested and re-tested on their specific job? Do they help the other employees as part of their duties? Do they know how to iron their uniforms? What are you doing different than the competition to train and keep employees, and help them succeed in a competitive environment. Hamburgers are somewhat of a commodity: some meat, a bun, mustard and relish. Commodities are bought and sold at the lowest price. What makes the difference at Pal’s is the service and quality control they bring to a commodity.

Our business is, and should be, completely customized. We have to buy plumbing fixtures, water and sewer lines, water heaters and install them with all manufacturer, state and local codes complied with, then and only then will they get the health, safety and performance they paid for in the system. No two systems are exactly alike, even if the homes are the same. A different family lives in the home, so things like hot water needs, fixture details, decorating tastes and utility bills pay different roles in what the customer wants and needs. In fact, we offer some of the best looking fixtures in the home, no one ever shows off their new furnace, it may be in the attic.

One of the topics that come up all across the nation is how do we find and attract good employees to join our team. The answer, make the team better than the competition, train them better, let them know more is expected, pay them better, they will come. So set up a training program for your company, follow the example of Pal’s. and if you get into Tennessee or Kentucky, stop by a store, get a meal, watch them perform.

Success – by Jim Hinshaw

Just had a conversation with a client: what are the top three things that are standing in our way to improving profits this year?  I said, my view from 30,000 feet, here are three that I see.  Not enough leads, close rate too low on the few leads we have, and profits are lower on the few we do sell.  Sort of connected, one leads to the next in some ways.  Take the not enough leads opportunity: when the number of leads drops off, we look at our numbers, realize the bank wants the mortgage money even if the weather was beautiful, sale or no sale.  So we lower our prices, but turns out the competition is doing the same thing.  And even if we do sell one, it is at lower efficiency and/or price point than we hoped for, so the profits are not there.  How do we fix that?

First of all, don’t depend on the weather, the economy, or some government tax credit  to drive your business.  It will disappoint you.   How do we make the phone ring?  Simple, by picking it up and dialing it.  Yes, calling your customers.  Go ahead, tell me you can’t, against the law, all that sort of stuff.  Not if they are already clients.  So call your customers who have done business with you in the past, offer them a discounted tune-up, a safety inspection, or free analysis of their water in the home.  People are not doing maintenance as much as they used to in this economy, but they will spend money on three things: health, safety, economy.   They will not call in, you have to initiate the call, make the offer a decent one that gives them some assurance they will get a positive result (maybe a money back guarantee?), make it a positive thing.

Two other positive outcomes from calling out to your customer base.  The replacement job is not on the street.  You created the opportunity.  The customer who has used you in the past trusts you; you have become the trusted advisor.

Now, how do you build your customer base.  One way is to join a networking group.  Like BNI.  Business Network International.  Go to bni.com.  You can find a chapter near you, and search for chapter that is looking for your trade.  They only allow one company from each trade, if you are the plumbing company, there is not another one.  Cost is about $400 per year; a couple of service calls will repay that investment.  Typically you can sit in a couple of meetings without joining, see if the magic is there.  If not, try another group.  Find one that meets in the morning, with over 20 members.  Less than that, they are not an a fully functioning group, may be a while before they get traction.  Usually the real estate, insurance, and lawyer groups meet at noon for lunch.  Our best bet is in the morning meetings with the painter, roofer, floor covering company, ones that are getting engaged with remodeling projects.  So if you cannot make that happen, form your own networking group.  Meet for coffee once a month with a roofer, pest control company, alarm company, companies you trust and would like to refer people to.  See how their business is going, and something neat will happen.  They will actually help grow your business.  Have a formal program in place where your company knows who to refer a roofing job to.  Don’t ask or expect a referral fee, instead let them know you want reciprocity.

One creative idea that I heard recently, a heating/air conditioning contractor worked with a pest control company to build his business.  When someone signed up for a monthly pest control service, they also got a heating/air conditioning maintenance at no cost.  What does it cost to add a new customer?  Adams Hudson will tell you it can be as much as $400 to bring them into the boat.  So spend less than $100 in labor, pick up a new customer, which is also a positive thing for the pest control company.   That is the sort of thing you can test on a small scale, grow it if it works.

So when you begin to look at projects that are referral based, or your own customer base, the last two items are taken care of.  You close more, at higher prices.  You are a trusted advisor, and the customer will open up with their real concerns, and you will sell more of the cutting edge products, higher efficiency, higher priced.  Instead of having to beat the other guys price.  When you tell the customer the price is built on what they said they wanted, they realize it is not your fault, they actually asked for that investment number.

Another item that will glue the customer to your company is your maintenance agreement program.  I talk to contractors all over the nation, just spent some time with a company that has been in business since the 50s.  Over 60 years.  I asked them if they had a maintenance agreement program, they said yes they did.  When I asked how many agreements they had, it got real quiet.  Finally went to the service dispatcher, she said they had almost 300 in effect.  The owner challenged her, said it had to be more, but it wasn’t.  So they had about 5 per year in business.  Not good.  No matter if you have been in business 5 months or 5 years, start today to sell maintenance agreements.  Set up a goal to add 100 or 500 this year, break it down to so many a month, per tech, per day, make it easy to track.  Then track it.  Share the results weekly on a chart, get the entire company involved.  Have a weekly award for most sold, greatest improved, largest dollars, that sort of thing.  Your maintenance agreement can be on HVAC, or Plumbing, or both.  Why not combine them into one great maintenance program, where you drain the water heater each year, check all the hose bibs, that sort of thing.

If you need help putting that program together, let me know, have done that many times.  And thanks for listening, next month have a great testimony from a client who used some sales techniques to land a couple of interesting jobs totaling over $500,000.  Yep, half a million, two jobs.  From a company that does a lot of residential, and one of these was a public bid that had to get three prices.  All by listening and taking action, not doing what the other guys were doing.

Oh, thanks also from those who bought my book, had some great sales last month, just got a check from PayPal, that is a good thing!