It takes someone special to open and successfully operate a business. Similarly, it takes someone special to take up the management of a company, and get or continue it on the past to customer good service, growth and profits.
So it is not surprising that such special and successful individuals may, at times, think they can manage and 'do it all themselves.' Oh, they may want a sales, administration and support staff, or other managers in their chain of command. But when trouble surfaces, and results are not what they need to be, what happens when the answers are not to be found in house?
What do wise and successful professionals do?
If your marketing and sales are not getting the job done, do not make excuses for yourself or for your team. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Not many of us are wearing a red cape with a big S, jump tall buildings in a single bound and are faster than a speeding bullet.
At various times, we all need a second set of eyes! We all need other people's professional talents. We need someone willing to be objective. A professional or expert that tells it like it is, rather than tells us what we want to hear.
Self-help books or articles can be useful. We publish them and believe in them! But there are also times you simply must call in an expert.
When you are ill or are suffering pain, do you try to heal yourself? Or do you go make an appointment to go to the doctor?
You know MDs prescribe medication.
Maybe your location is giving you pain that keeps you up at night.
Why not ask a marketing and sales Doctor what you need?
Are your sales suffering?
Is your marketing bringing in the kind of credit worthy clients that third party manufactured housing lenders are ready to finance?
If you are doing self-finance or 'captive' finance, lease-to-own or other 'in house' programs, are you still suffering from a lack of sales or closed contracts? Do you still have vacancy challenges?
If you answered yes to one or more of these questions and you aren't getting it done in house, understand the value of a second set of professional eyes. Call the necessary 'doctor.'
Let's show at a glance how important objective perspective can be.
Black iron gate against a brick wall.
The gate looks good from this angle.
From this angle, the objects in this photo looks good. This is how most owners or managers see their businesses.
But from this new angle, you can clearly see the rust and dust that have collected on this iron gate.
Same black iron gate agianst the brick wall.
From this new, close up angle, the dirt and rust are clearly evident
The point is that we get used to doing things the same way, day after day. So we may see the first angle on the gate, and completely miss the second angle needed to spot the real problems and thus treat the ailments.
We are big believers in web-based marketing here at MHMSM.com. With good reason! The National Association of Realtors (NAR) says 90% of home shoppers start on-line. So many today invest in a website, and rightly so!
But stop and think. Are you advertising ONLY on line? Think about those Realtors. Don't they still use print ads, too? And is your website visible? Appealing? Attracting the traffic you want and need?
Are you getting all the referral business you should be getting? Do you know how to tap the referrals that years of taking good care of customers in business should be yielding to a struggling location or company?
Or let's dig deeper still. What if you have unhappy customers. Do you know how to take their negative energy, and turn it positive energy again?
Do you know how to then take once unhappy customers or residents, and get them to be your Raving Fans, ready to promote you to their family, friends and co-workers?
You may think you are in a marketing and sales desert.
Even in the most barren desert, careful planning and execution can create an oasis.
You may think you are in one of the toughest markets in the country. You may be right.
But it is almost guaranteed that someone in your area is making money in the housing business! If they are, you can, too. If others are not, then you have that much more opportunity to earn more and grow more. Some creative business types have taken a desert and turned in into an oasis.
In one sense, it doesn't matter if you have a 1 star or a 5 star location. There is a marketing plan that can make almost any location in the country successful. There is a target market in your back yard for as many stars as your location has.
Yes. Spend time reading self-help articles and books, such as those found here at MHMSM.com every month or in volumes like The Manufactured Housing Revolution. Those can and do help.
If you want to be at the Cutting Edge in manufactured homes and factory-built housing marketing and sales, sooner or later, one way or another, you have to tap into cutting edge professionals.
But if your business is ailing, and you can't fix it in house, call a doctor. The right doctor is there to support your efforts and your people. If you don't know who to call, read through our list of writers, or just give me a ring. # #
L. A. “Tony” Kovach
To learn about award winning, record breaking results:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach