Hey folks and welcome to another episode of Builders Business Success Podcast!

If you’ve never seen it, listened to it before, the focus of the podcast, is to help owners of building businesses, specifically established builders, overcome many of the common, costly, frustrating pain in the butt issues, that we’ve found over the years, can pretty much be fixed, because they’re not out there problems, they’re in here problems.

They’re problems that come from mindset, they come… Problems that come from process and procedure and that means that they are within the control of the business and the business owner, to be able to change and enjoy the benefits from those chains.

And they’re all of the sorts of things we’ll be talking about in this podcast. In this particular episode, talking about avoiding, what we call random hacks of marketing. It is something that we’ve done for a long time. Most builders do it.

In fact, most small businesses do it. Where the, what they’re doing and thinking, that they’re putting the right activity, into their marketing, really is very disjointed, and it’s not connected to a series of events, that will give you the outcome you want. So we wanna cover that in this episode.

Also, in the Q and A section in this episode, the question that we get so much, is how do we get more leads? So I’m going to address that question.

Not necessarily going to give you the answer that you’d want but I’m going to give you the answer, that you need to address that question.

And of course we’re gonna do the personal productivity hack.

*Transcription of the show*

Okay, so let’s talk about random hacks of marketing. And the overall concept of random hacks of marketing, is that we’ll try a bit of this, and we’ll try a bit of that. And more often than not, the idea of the outcome that we want to create from that marketing activity, is to make a sale.

And first of all, that is very, very much the wrong mindset. If you’re trying to make sales from your marketing particularly big ticket items, such as a house or renovation, something like that, an extension, it’s a massive expense, and you can’t make that sale through your marketing.

Really, the main purpose of the marketing, is to get attention. Number one, that you exist, but you are the right person for me, because you get me, you understand my specific problem.

That’s that’s the focus or should be the focus, of what we call in Builders Business Blackbelt, your attract strategy. And the reason, that I’m using the word marketing in the podcast, is because if I use the track strategy, you might not know what I was talking about. But that’s the language, that we use in Builders Business Blackbelt. Specifically because marketing, if I say that to any…

Or what do you do for marketing? Almost always, the only answer I get back, is what they are doing for advertising. And that is just one part of marketing.

So we found over the years it was easier, just to get rid of the label marketing, and call it attract. Because there are many things, that are outside of advertising that you can do, to attract customers to you. And we can talk about that on another episode, but I just wanted to clear that up straight away.

So one of the challenges is, first of all trying to market something, that people aren’t looking for, is really hard. And so, they’re not looking for you. We’ve got to understand, that they’re not looking for you.

They want a solution. They want a guide. They want support, they want protection, they want clarity. That’s what they’re looking for. And so we’ve got to understand that this is all about them. It’s not about you. And all of those things that I just mentioned, the solution, the guide, the support, the protection, the clarity, all of those things that they want.

They are really all about their experience. It’s not even outcome based if that makes sense. They’re not looking for a new home. They’re not looking for an extension or a renovation. They are looking for a solution, to a problem that they have in their current life.

The reason they want a new home could be many fold, but it’s not because they want a new home. They want the new home because of what it will give them, and what it will give them normally, is a solution to a problem, that they’re currently experiencing.

And so that is what they are looking for. So if that is the case, if that’s what they’re looking for, and they’re not looking for you, why would you on your way website, and in your messaging and all of that sort of stuff, talk about yourself?

If you don’t believe me, jump on, probably your own website, but jump on half a dozen or a dozen other builders websites, and read the copy on it, and see how many they mention the business name.

See how many times they say us, we, our. All of this language that is talking about themselves, their process, their people, all of these things.

And they are things, that your prospect at that time, when they are finding you, aren’t looking for, they’re not interested in that. And of course they will look at it because that’s all there is. And they’re going from site to site to site, of builders, talking about themselves.

So what do you think is going to happen, when they happen upon a site that starts, to talk about their problem, and the problems that having those problems cause? Imagine that!

You’ve got a problem, and someone starts to talk about exactly your problem, and exactly how you feel about that problem, and then the stretch problems. So they’re the problems that you experienced, as a result of having this problem.

What if they came across a website, or a message that spoke about that? It is going to stand out. Also, what we need to understand, is when somebody experiences having their problem fed back to them, as elegantly and as articulately as they can communicate it to themselves or even better.

And it becomes that even better, when you start to talk about how they feel about it, and how those problems create these other problems. When you start to go into those other liars, in your messaging. what happens, is number one are very attracted to it. It stands out like the proverbial.

When somebody understands or gets a sense, that you understand their problem as well, or if not better than they do, they assume that you have the solution, and they want that solution. So this is why we don’t need to promote ourselves, and talk about our amazing systems, and our skills and our experience. And we don’t need to talk about us.

We need to talk about their problem, and how their problem affects them, how they feel about it, and what other things happen, as a consequence of having that problem. If you can do that, they will assume that you have the solution, and they will want that solution from you.

So check it out, check out your website, check out your messaging, and see if anyway, it talks about your customer’s problems.

Now, to take that one step further, when you say you start to learn about this, and when you start to try to communicate that you understand the problems of your prospects and potential clients, you can and use that information to change the processes, and the priorities within your business.

So your business is actually delivering a product, which is the quality of the customer’s experience, that suits the ideal type of people, that you wanna work with. So this is where messaging, needs to narrow, and narrow, and narrow. Because if you’re using very broad, general generic problems it won’t really impact too many people.

But as soon as you start to get very, very narrow, you have amazing cut-through. And that’s so important with your marketing, because there’s so many messages.

There’s just tens of thousands of messages are trying to reach us everyday. So your message needs to have that cut-through and how it has that cut-through, is the message is very very narrow and specific, not general and generic.

So I’ve talked about, you know, why do builders websites talk about them? I think it’s a little bit of monkey see monkey do. I’ve used that metaphor before but it’s… We look around and we see what the builders are doing, other businesses that assign as allies are doing, and those businesses seem successful.

Don’t fall for that trap, because they’re probably not, just because they look so successful, doesn’t mean they are. It could mean they’re in massive debt, and struggling with incredible stresses. So just because they look like they’re successful, you don’t to copy. What I would be copying is the results.

So finding out what results you want, and looking to see what businesses or processes, will work and deliver you the results. So most builders websites are the same. All pretty pictures of the work, and all of that sort of stuff.

And then about us, and where we work, and all of that. But it’s all about us, rather than about the problem, that your ideal customer has and what’s solved. Same with the social media. The posts are like finished work or working progress.

And that’s better than nothing folks like do that. It’s better than doing nothing. But what’s better than that, is posting about problems that your ideal customer has, and having them getting a sense, that you understand them.

And so regular posting, and getting a quantity of posting is really important, because they will find it. If there is a lot more content out there, rather than just one or two random bits of content, if there is a consistent, consistency about your posting in social media and so forth, and it’s always about their problem, it’s not about the solution, it’s always just about the problem, your ideal clients will start to see that. They will…

They’ve got friends who are just like them, who will share what they’ve discovered. And without even knowing, and having met you, you can start to get referrals from that sort of marketing.

So I hope that makes sense. The key to your content. I know this is what I’ve been saying, but it’s a slightly different way of saying it, is instead of it being interruptive, which most marketing is. You’re thinking about something, and then they’re trying to distract you, to take notice of their product, or service or what have you.

The secret to this, is to enter into the conversation, that they’re already having. That’s what I was talking about this whole time. What is the conversation? What are they thinking about, when they’re drifting off to sleep?

What are they thinking about, when they they wake up? In those moments, when they’re by themselves, what are they thinking about? And if you can enter, into that conversation with your content, you are going to get penetration. They are going to take notice.

And so you’ve got to know the purpose, of each part of the content that you create.

And I’ve got to give credit, to my business coach his name is Taki Moore. And he talks about top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel.

So the TOF, the MOF and the BOF. Top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel. And top of funnel, so you’ve got a funnel where you’re putting the leads in, and then they go to the next part of the funnel, and then they go to the next part of the funnel. The top of funnel is all about creating awareness, and you do that by entering into the conversation, that they’re already having.

And you give them a pathway, to jump into something of yours, whether it be a Facebook group, or a database where they receive emails or whatever, but that’s your middle of funnel. And the middle of funnel purpose, is to elevate your status as an authority. But if you try and do that at the top of the funnel, it doesn’t make the impact because you’re not talking about their problem.

So top of funnel is entering into the conversation. Once you’ve done that, and they go, hey this person understands my problems.

Or take action to download their guide or whatever, and jump into their database, or join their Facebook group, or what have you. And that’s your middle of funnel. And that content, needs to have a very specific purpose as well.

And that is to elevate your status as an authority.

So you’re elevating your status as an authority, but you can’t do that, until they believe you know, about their problem and understand their problem.

And then bottom of funnel, is where you create the conversation, and have the call to action, where they will reach out to you, and phone you, email you, get in contact with you in some way. That’s that call to action. So you’ve got to know, for each part of your attract strategy, what each part purpose is.

Top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel. Map out your progress, schedule the activity to do on a regular basis, measure the results of that activity, and then fix and refine.

So repeat that. Map out your process, then schedule the activity. Make sure you do this activity every week. Measure the results of that activity and then fix and refine. So your activity becomes more focused and more effective. So I hope that makes sense.

Q & A

Okay, the question that we get asked, more than any other question, is how do I get more leads?

In my view, for pretty much, everyone who’s ever asked me that question, it’s probably the wrong question.

And so the reason I think it’s the wrong question is, every single builder that I’ve ever had a conversation with, worked with, has a fundamentally flawed process to deal with leads.

So to me, it is the wrong focus, and it’s the wrong question to ask, how do I deal, or how do I get more leads, when you’re pouring them into a system, that is fundamentally flawed, that doesn’t manage those leads effectively.

I think that there are heaps and tons and stacks, of really really good quality clients out there. It is how those prospects, well before they become clients are managed, that tends to turn them into the nightmare client, or the so-so client. The not so good quality client. I think it is the way they are managed, it is not the client themselves.

So if you can implement a process into your business, that is step by step, takes into consideration, a lot of what I’ve just been talking about, in this episode of understanding their problems.

If the process that you’ve put in place, helps them understand that, you understand their problem, and you have a system and a process and steps that have been proven to give them what they want, the solution that they want.

And they want a guide, they want protection, they want support, they want guidance, they want understanding, they want all of that.

So there are many great quality clients out there, that don’t turn out to be good quality clients, because of the process that they’re put through. How they manage. So my question would be, how do I do that, before I start to spend time money and effort, in generating leads?

Because those leads will just be burned. Imagine having a lot less leads, but a lot more, high quality clients, that are prepared to pay a premium price, that are prepared to follow your process, and tap into your immense experience, knowledge and skill, to guide them, to get the best possible outcome. That’s the best possible outcome for everybody involved.

It’s the best possible outcome for the client, and it’s the best possible outcome for you, because you are being respected, and you are being used, for your genius, for your skillset.

How it works at the moment, because there’s such low levels of trust, between clients and builders, is they’re trying to tap into your knowledge, and learn as much as they can, so they can make the decisions, which is a dumb way to go, because they’re never ever going to know what you know.

So the smart way, is to build rapport, have a high level of trust, openness, and transparency.

Them communicate exactly what they want, what the genuine budget is, what their fears and concerns are.

And you come in, and you use your experience, and your knowledge and your systems, and your intellectual property, to work as a team with that client, and you will get the absolute best outcome.

So I would suggest that you implement a process, and get very, very clear, on who you want, and what’s important to them, right? And have a process that manages that.

The other thing that you need to do as well, is understand who you don’t want and what’s important to them. And make sure that doesn’t exist in your business.

So the type of people that you don’t want, are these price shoppers, bargain hunters and so forth. So if you are delivering price competitiveness, they will be attracted to you.

Why would you deliver price competitiveness? What you need to deliver, is massive value to someone who recognizes, wants, desires, that value, and is prepared to pay for it.

That’s how your messaging needs to be set up. But that’s how your process, for your leads needs to be set up.

Personal Productivity Hack

Okay, personal productivity, hack time. I hope you liked this, but there’s a fair chance you might not. Because I’m talking to you. I wanna suggest to you, that you need to have written goals.

You need to start writing goals down. And I’ve been doing this for so long, well, over 35 years. And you start to talk about goal setting to many people, and their eyes roll back in their head, and they go, oh not this again or… For whatever reason, people don’t set goals.

I’ve done it before, it didn’t work. I don’t like it. I can’t come up with any. I don’t have anything that inspires me You know, it’s just all of that sort of stuff. So they don’t have written goals.

So my first suggestion, for this personal productivity hack, is even if you don’t like it, even if you don’t want to do it, start writing down some goals.

Because going through that process of writing down goals, I’ll guarantee you, if you continue to do it, you will, at some stage in the future, find something that really taps into your passion, that really grabs you by the heart, and gets you up early, and keeps you up late.

And it’s amazing, when you start to discover those sorts of things, how, I had difficulties for you to get distracted, and knocked off your path, when you’ve got something that you’re really excited about.

So the more that you do it, the more likely you’ll find something that really grabs you. And this prevents you from just rearranging, what I’d call rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

So most people, are in an attempt to be more productive, be more efficient, ease that they start to prioritize their list. You know, many people don’t even have a list. But if they do have a list, they think, oh the next step is I’ve got to prioritize it. But if it’s all rubbish, if you’ve got stuff, that really isn’t high leverage activity on your list, and you’re probably thinking to me, what the hell do you know?

Everything on my list is important. You know, because it’s contributing to my business.

Running my business, meeting with the clients, all of that sort of stuff. Yep, I get that, that stuff you need to do, to keep the wheel turning.

But the real stuff, is what do I need to do, to be able to build a business that delivers, on all of the reasons that I started a business, and took the risk, of starting a business for in the first place. And generally, it’s three things.

It’s more time freedom, so I’ve got more choice. It’s more financial freedom, so I can earn more money than I would, working for somebody else. And meaning.

I can do things that I really want to do and I love to do. Now I speak to lots and lots of builders, very few have any one of those three.

But it’s totally possible, and probable, if you start to set written goals about, what do I need to do to change my business, so I can have more time freedom, so I can have more financial freedom, so I can start to work, on things that I really love working on?

You can start to set goals, about those things, and start working on them, on a daily basis. So what’s the take away for this episode?

I think it is just really, all about getting your focus, right. Instead of getting up every day, and it be Groundhog Day, and you just approach the day, the same way that you’ve always approached it, let’s change that, and focus on what is going to make some big differences. So knowing the real purpose of your business.

That’s number one. We’ve talked about that in previous episodes. The real purpose, I believe of a building business, is to deliver your clients quality experiences. It’s nothing to do with the work, the house, the extension, the renovation.

It is the experience that you can deliver. So know the real purpose of your business, and work on improving the real purpose of your business. Manage what you already have okay?

So you already have a stream of leads coming in, they might not be the highest of quality according to you, but put them through a quality process, and you will find even the average quality leads, become good quality clients. It’s how they’re managed. It’s not the people themselves. And work on what’s really important everyday.

So have those goals, and be doing something. Some part of the day, needs to be focused and committed to something, that is working towards a really high leverage, exciting goal that you’re passionate about.

And if you haven’t gotten any of those, take my advice and just keep writing, and writing, and writing and writing, until you find one, because you will, if you commit to it.

Takeaway & Jump On A Call

So that’s the takeaway for this episode, get your focus right.

Okay, that’s it for this episode, if there’s anything, that you would like to find out further, ask questions, about what I’ve talked about, in this episode, we’d love to talk to you.

Jump on a call, and see how we can help you further. I talked about today, the process with which you manage your your prospects, before you start to generate more leads. We have a process that’s called the quality client pathway.

It absolutely works. Every single time it’s implemented, builders get more jobs, they get better jobs, they can charge more, they get paid for their quotes, and the quality of clients starts to go up as well. By implementing the quality client pathway.

So you can get more jobs with less leads. It saves time, gets rid of all of the talk, a case in time wasters before they waste your time, and cause frustration in your business.

That already exists. If you wanna find out about it, to see if it would even work for your business, all you need to do is jump on a call. Hey can do that, is hit a button underneath this video.

There’s a book a call button there. If you’re listening to the audio only version, of this podcast, just navigate on the interwebs, to buildersbusinessblackbelt.com.au.

And there’s a couple of buttons right there, in front of your face, that says schedule a call.

Hit the button, that’ll take you to a little form, tell us a little bit about your business.

And then you can schedule that call, which is a ton of fun, finding out whether this would work for your business.

So I hope you enjoyed this episode, of “Builders Business Success Podcast.” We will be back before you know it, with another episode of “Builders Business Success Podcast.” I’m Mick Hawes, Builders Business Blackbelt. Bye for now.