Success is but a stone’s throw away
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006The only thing worse than not marketing your goods and services is marketing them and then not following up with interested customers.
Case in point: the house we bought three years ago is wonderful — except for the front yard landscaping. The former owners paved the borders of the yard with river stones that are now are infested with an ugly assortment of noxious weeks. I am not a gardener. In fact, my neighbors have suggested that I’m actually an “apartment dweller” trapped in the body of a homeowner. Weary of their withering glances as they pass my house, I decided to find a competent, affordable landscaping service. A few days later, I found a bright blue leaflet in a plastic bag on my driveway. It was from Steve – “Landscape artist. 8 Years Experience. Affordable. No job too small or too big.” My prayers had been answered. I called Steve that very night. He asked if I could call back and leave a message on his voice mail, since he was on another project. I did, urging him to come by and give me an estimate. A day passed, then two and three. I called Steve again. He apologized, asked where I lived and said he’d be by that Wednesday. No problem, I would be traveling until Friday. I returned, but there was no estimate from Steve. No phone message. And lots more weeds in the front yard. This week, I’ll look for another landscape “artist”. Steve spent some hard-earned money on the flyers, the bags, and—ironically—the river stone he inserted in the bags to keep them from blowing away on his marketing effort. Still, the message he ultimately sent me was that he really doesn’t need my business.
How many of us cast our marketing “stones” into potential customers’ paths only to ignore the call that could lead to a sale?