“A business leader has to keep their organization focused on the mission. That sounds easy, but it can be tremendously challenging in today’s competitive and ever-changing business environment. A leader also has to motivate potential partners to join the cause.”
Meg Whitman
We have all picked up a movie, publication or book that we thought would be good, and turned out disappointed by its contents.
We have all worked with people that we later regretted working with, but hind sight is 20-20. Looking back, at the time, we may not have known better.
A plumber called out to do a job may have totally different politics than the home owner whose house he is repairing. Should the plumber be condemned for repairing a problem, even if other problems exist?
Should the auto mechanic who is paid to change the tires refuse the job, because the engine needs a tune up and the interior of the vehicle needs cleaning?
The worker at McDonald’s is not responsible for serving hamburgers that could – if repeated and combined with numerous other food choices – result years later with someone ending up with clogged arteries.
If that McDonald’s employee can get a new job with a quality health food store, terrific! The health food store manager may shudder at the thought of fast foods. But if they look past the word McDonald’s on the resume, they might learn that this person did fine work. Can the experience at McDonald’s be a useful one?
Absolutely.
The closed mind by definition can’t learn.
We are all at times branded by a perceived association that may not exist.
If a media outlet is liberal, does it benefit their readers by having a conservative columnist?
I’ve often picked up sound ideas from professionals I disagreed with.
In fact, when I come in to do a turn-around for a client, one of the first things I have to do is observe what is currently being done. It may be dead wrong! But by observing (or reading 😉 from others, even if they are wrong about many things, the right approach may come to light.
You may also find some things that were good, even in the midst of chaos and confusion. Keep what is good, toss out what isn’t.
The mechanic whose job is to change the tires of the car may notice that the engine needs a tune up. He may offer to do that work, or to clean up and detail the dirty interior of the vehicle. But if the customer says, ‘No thanks, all I want are those new tires,’ that is what the mechanic does. We shouldn’t blame the mechanic for doing the job he was hired to do, if that part of the job was well done.
In the manufactured housing news, tips and views business, you shouldn’t check common sense at the door.
There are times when the most interesting commentary on American news comes from a source like the BBC.
Ask questions.
Probe for facts.
Sift past appearances and seek the truth of an issue or idea.
You may or may not like the source of an idea personally. While understandable, let’s not let the source of a good idea alone blind us.
I do not ask a mechanic about their politics or religious practices or the lack thereof. What I want to know is, can this person do the job well?
If someone is given the resources and authority needed to do a job and consistently can’t produce results, that is what they should be judged upon.
But the opposite is also true. When you find someone who manages to advance a cause or effort in spite of a lack of resources or sufficient support, bring that person on!
A look at the person, not some label hung upon a person.
All raw diamonds need cutting and polishing.
An open mind to ideas, even if we question the source.
First impressions may be right or wrong. The flashy cover on that DVD may conceal a dull video. The subtle or obscure cover may be hiding a gem. # #
L.A. ‘Tony’ Kovach, MHM – Publisher, Marketing Director and Industry Consultant
http://www.linkedin.com/in/latonykovach
Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management trade journal
www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com aka MHMSM.com aka MHProNews.com
tony@mhmsm.com
847-730-3692
Robin Crow, author of Evolve or Die – Seven Step to Rethink the Way You Do Business, was the Featured Speaker at the MHI Congress and Expo in Las Vegas, Thursday, April 28. His theme was the solid example of companies that have successfully reinvented themselves by adapting to ongoing events as they occur. Following are some of his comments as noted by MHMSM.com Publisher L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach.
The Crow Company and Dark Horse Recording have worked with many recording artists, including star performers Michael W Smith, Scott Hendrix, Faith Hill, Neil Diamond and Tim McGraw. Consumers do not buy CDs like they used to; they prefer downloading for free.
Faith Hill and Scott her producer/editor make a typical hundreds, perhaps thousands of vocal takes to compile the final recording you hear. After one week in the studio, Scott was talking about the deli sandwiches that Robin made. They ran long on the planned five weeks, and needed two more weeks in the studio. Robin said, “Before Neil Diamond comes in, but we have to raise my rates $75 a day.” Faith said, “No problem, the sandwiches alone are worth it.”
This was a paradigm shift for Robin, who realized he was not in the business of hi tech systems, but in the business of serving people and exceeding their expectations. To this end, he created Raving Fans. Serving food to famous people was only one way he exceeded the expectations of his clients.
When Tim McGraw did his last recording at Dark Horse, he booked all the facilities. Not just the studio, but the log home and other facilities. He brought along 35 people. Faith and Tim live only six miles away, but six nights a week they would stay at the studio compound. Tim brought firewood. Flames reached two feet, four feet and then six feet.
Robin didn’t have much money. He had been let go by RCA, and was too old to rock and roll, too young to die. But he had a vision and he could visualize the next step.
“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” ~ Thomas Edison
Robin traded future studio times for labor, ran up credit cards sky high and raised $134,000 in cash on credit cards. Once his building was up, banks took interest and he raised several million from the banks. A decade later, his business is solely in serving.
“We find ways to reinvent ourselves to serve our customers.” His business is “more like a guest resort that serves our customers. The best bonding experience is working your tail off, let young see the work ethic. Let the youth take pride of it.”
One son is video editing for the company. The other son is a world class chef who sometimes gets involved.
When asked, “What were your failures, how did you overcome them?” Robin replied, “Just don’t stop.”
He doesn’t consider himself the smartest, but he is really persistent, putting one foot in front of the other.
The studio was hurting, but his speaking engagements were really, really good; three of four income steams were hurting, but six months turned it all around. He received 132 rejection letters before getting signed by the RCA studio. “Getting a job is full time job until you get employment,” he says. “Jump and it will appear.”
Success is people and priorities. A leader leads by example whether he means to or not. Bryan Tracy, for instance, is slow to hire, quick to fire. Some leaders do not have enthusiasm; persistence or whatever is not in their DNA.
Get people who are hungry and want it – that’s the best team we have.
Raving Fans:
If someone is ordering a home – if they do not know how to solve all the steps involved, make sure they know you are trying to take care of it.
We he spoke for ATT last week, he noted that it is eight times as expensive to find a new customer as it is to keep the existing ones. So bend over backwards to make sure the customers know you care.
His book, Evolve or Die, presents a seven-step challenge:
He has a list of relationships and sends a Quote of the Day to everyone; that’s 20,000 people who get the Quote of the Day, twice a week. Add value to people’s lives. This might not have sex appeal, but every word is real.
Exceeding expectations. You are not a winner or loser, you are a chooser. Be the miracle. Then decide. Will you be a force for good, and for God? Step out on faith or give into fear. Will you bleed, will you lead? Will you keep going when the cold wind blows?
There is no better way to be a winner than to exceed expectations. Go the extra mile.
You were not born a winner or loser. You were born a chooser. You are the miracle. # #
Robin Crow, The Crow Company, www.robincrow.com
“The Sum of All Fears” is a 2002 movie based on a Tom Clancy political/action/thriller novel that used the same title. In the movie, a neo-Nazi group plots to get Russia and the United States to destroy each other. This was to be done by the hidden swastika-brandishing group staging a spectacular incident, and making it look like one nation planned to attack and destroy the other. Without giving away the story for those who may not have seen it, the two powers have to learn to trust each other – during intense conditions – just enough to avoid disaster, and defeat the real and somewhat hidden enemy who hatched the plot.
Movies and books can often have ‘morals’ or lessons they can teach us. Beyond the action, the movie suggests that sometimes rivals have good reasons – or life-and-death motivations – to set aside their differences, and strive to trust each other enough to get a critical job done.
From time to time, the word or wish goes out that the Manufactured Housing Industry needs to speak with ‘one voice.’ Without denying the inherent value and potential power of unity, there must also be a realistic approach to the dynamics of competing groups and voices. Competing viewpoints arise for specific reasons. History, personalities and unique interests can entrench positions.
But those sorts of realities do not mean that the professional rivals are unable to cooperate when conditions warrant it.
During a critical phase of the Cold War, Ronald Reagan popularized the phrase, “Trust, but verify.” Professional negotiators or mediators learn the art of finding the areas of mutual interest, and crafting agreements that yield benefits to the various parties that still respect their key interests. This is precisely what needs to happen in the Manufactured Housing Industry today.
This message should not be viewed as some sort of veiled reference to parties active in Washington DC, because this scenario is likely as close as your own business and market area. This potentially valuable lesson of working with people or parties – even those whom we may have doubts or real concerns – is an important one for our Industry at this time.
Mutual victories are possible. Industry progress can be achieved. But this is best accomplished when a healthy respect for the other’s capabilities and interests are in place.
When we doubt – or worse, decry or demean – a potential resource, who or what can be an ally (even if for only a short term) can be lost. The costs for failing to bridge the gap for a business, group or Industry can be high. The win-lose mentality can, in fact, lead to a loss for all concerned.
Every need a professional, company or an MH Industry segment has today can be met. Not someday, but almost immediately. How is it done?
Mutual respect. Sincere understanding.
Listening with keen attention to not just your own goals, but the interests and needs of other stakeholders.
Learning to work together with people or groups that we may not be used to (or want to?!) work with, and yet do so with the goal of mutual rewards.
Think about these facts:
– American incomes are down.
– U.S. households continue to form.
– We sell quality, affordable homes.
– Manufactured home communities have vacancies.
– Retailers want more sales.
– Homeowners need economic security in a home they can enjoy and the ability to sell when needed or desired.
– Manufacturers and suppliers want orders and business.
– Government officials and associations need to find ways to serve the public and business.
– Lenders and investors desire security and a reasonable return on their investment.
– Professionals and companies need each other and should respect and build up each other.
This sketch above is not a plan, but an outline that may point the way to business growth and mutual success.
Consider “The Sum of All Fears” and its lesson as a metaphor for the Manufactured Housing Industry, its professionals and businesses. What do YOU need? Who or what can help you or your interest group? Who or what can you reach out to help?
Learn to work with others who may seem like rivals, but who offer you something that you need! By respectfully working towards sincere mutual victories, the results can be professional, business and Industry success. ##
A Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) article cited a 2004 statistic that the average annual training cost per employee was $955. But what is the true cost of training? What is the value achieved? What are the lost opportunity costs? What does turnover cost because a potentially good employee is lost who was first hired because of their perceived potential?
I’ve listened to the audio files of live calls from real prospects responding to ads for manufactured homes. I’ve listened while employees:
– rattled off a statement that made an upscale manufactured home community sound like a flashback to Lucy and Desi in the movie The Long, Long Trailer. The employee routinely began by saying: “We have paved streets, city water and sewer…” – this was in a major metropolitan area! Did anyone ever think about ‘first impressions?’ Who did this ‘sales pro’ think was calling? Did this employee think the caller was looking for a comparison to a campsite in a wilderness area, or for a modern manufactured home residential community?
– a self-identified (and clearly educated, motivated, capable) cash buyer was dissuaded from coming to visit an upscale property, due to a series of questions geared around their qualifications for financing, some of which may have violated Fair Housing guidelines as well as good common business sense.
– a flyer promoting a church group (…the church of the community manager…) was passed out to every resident at a large manufactured home community, and was placed on the front desk. Recruiting for that church was routinely done by the CM and sales person (a husband and wife team) in a manner that was capable of drawing huge fines from HUD for Fair Housing guideline violations….
Without going into more examples, the point is that your employees and associates can cost you money, or make you money.
Good training, good people, does not ‘cost’ as much as it can pay! But improperly trained and poorly motivated people can cost you a fortune, $100,000s annually.
Let’s take a simple example:
– 1 sales person closes 1less sale every other week;
– Let’s say each sale is worth $7000 net after all expenses;
– That’s $182,000 per year in lost opportunities;
– Then think about the cost of floor planning on unsold inventory, and all the other costs that result from the lost sales…
Good training and soft skills development pays.
Failure to properly train your associates is what really costs your business.
Let’s look again at the example above of lost sales due to poor training, having improperly motivated or the wrong people on staff.
Imagine if every retail center in the U.S. diminished their performance by 23 new homes a year. Let’s take an average sales price per new home of $50,000 each. Let’s consider only the 3500 ‘retail sales centers’ (a.k.a. ‘street dealers,’ not manufactured home communities). What’s the total?
That’s $4,025,000,000 annually in lost gross sales to American HUD Code manufactured home retailers. That’s 80,500 lost new home sales a year to HUD Code manufactured housing builders, at a time when total new home shipments have hovered around 50,000± for two years. That’s insurance policies that are never sold, homes never delivered or installed, products and services never provided, because of sales that never closed.
To improve your team’s performance, go to MH Speaker Resource.
To recruit your ideal team members, post a job at MHMSM.com’s Jobs page.
If companies won’t train their people, why don’t:
– insurance companies
– manufacturers
– lenders
– and others who sell through retail distribution, team up to make this potential wave of sales happen?
Fellow manufactured housing industry professionals, these costs estimates are low. The true costs of failing to train are much, much higher.
The true cost of training? It is far more than the billions in lost business to our industry when companies fail to continuously train. It is the countless lost opportunities to millions of potential manufactured home customers. Dreams are lost when business is lost.
Good, consistent training pays. # #
From football, we learn the phrase, ‘moving the pile.’ In the first video, we get an example of a running back who through his extra effort, moves the pile for a few extra yards.
In the second video, see an example of how the wedge is executed on the kickoff.
Now think of the running back in the first video as a great manufactured housing professional. His hard running effort gets extra yards. But no score, at least, not on this play.
Then contrast that with the second video. The wedge are your ‘industry allies,’ your manufactured housing associations and trade media platforms like this one. The combination of hitting the opposition in an organized fashion results in the breakthrough and the score!
If you are not in an association, or are not active in one, consider the benefits of how ‘the wedge’ of other association members, working with you on industry issues, can advance you and your business for more scores. # #
The following is based on a true story. The study this account describes was done back in the days of overcrowded classrooms. It describes elementary school age youth, and I was a kid myself when I heard this report. That means it was done “a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…”. Here is the story followed by it’s life lesson for manufactured housing professionals.
A classroom of some forty children was given a bag full of candy. They couldn’t open the candy up until the teacher and the study leader gave them the okay. With great anticipation, back in the day when a bag full of candy was not so common and thus quite a treat, the children awaited their instructions.
‘Class, we are going to make each of you a deal. You have sitting on your desk a bag full of candy. You can have that candy today if you wish. Or, if you agree to skip the candy today, and wait until tomorrow at this same time, we will give you two bags full of candy instead of the one sitting in front of you.’ The students were asked if they understood the instructions and the offer. One bag today, right now, or a second bag full if they waited until tomorrow.
What did they do?
Two of the forty some children went for the one day delay to get the second bag of candy. Two out of forty, or roughly 5% of the class. The others went for less, happy to accept what was in front of them rather than get double the result. Now to a child, tomorrow may seem like a long time off. But how often do we adults do similarly?
The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.
~ Thomas Merton
A professional friend of mine reminded me this past weekend about a Ross Perot vintage bit of wisdom. It went something like this, ‘Too many corporations are thinking ten minutes to ten days ahead, instead of planning ten years ahead.’
Back in 1998 manufactured housing sales reached over 372,000 shipments nationally. In some parts of the country, manufactured housing sales reached 1/3 of all new housing starts. Things had never been better in decades for the Industry. Too many businesses took the ten minutes to ten days ahead approach. Too many failed to look ahead at the consequences of ‘burning a lender’ in one form or another, too many lenders (knowing what was going on) turned a blind eye to common sense, and too many customers were given less than stellar treatment. We could have owned the future of housing then. But instead of planning ten years ahead and doubling the manufactured housing business again, too many took the bag of candy sitting in front of them…
Are you ready to double your business? Get involved in the various calls to action by MHI and MHARR reported on the Industry Voices Guest Blog. Invest in yourself, your firm’s image, marketing and people daily. Do what is right today, and every day. Don’t give yourself an excuse, or wait for someone else to do it for you. Then you’ll end up having two bags of candy on your desk tomorrow. # #
L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach
Manufactured Home Marketing Sales Management
(Outsourcing, Consulting, Coaching & Publishing)
tony@mhmsm.com – 847-730-3692, cell 832-689-1729
Two workers worked in adjacent toll booths in the state of New York. One lamented her fate, feeling herself ‘stuck in a dead end job.’ Every day, she complained and protested, with a radio playing music in the background as she collected tolls and handed out receipts. The second worker spent the day listening to audio recordings every day. 8 years went by. The second worker’s wise investment of time and listening yielded a college degree, a positive can do spirit and a great new career. The first worker kept lamenting her fate, trapped in the same toll booth day after day, ‘stuck in a dead end job…’
…the above is based on a true story.
It is amazing how busy we can become. It is also interesting how we can miss opportunities that are right there in front of us. We can get ensnared in our patterns of thought and activity. People many not realize the opportunities because we all have blind spots. For that reason, it is common to hear the statement “I have no time for ______” and we have all heard or used something to fill in that blank. “No Time” becomes the excuse.
At the very fine Wisconsin Housing Alliance (WHA) seminar held 11 days ago, Tim Connor shared the fact that the ‘average’ person spends 30,000 hours during the course of their adult life commuting, running errands and generally in driving mode. That seemed like a high number at first. But after a quick check, it certainly seems very plausible. Drive time alone represents ‘some time’ available for educational or inspirational listening. Imagine a person who used their drive time for listening to positive and useful information has the time needed for earning 8 college degrees!
So we all have plenty of time indeed! We simply have to look for it.
With the advent of MP3 players, IPods or the ability to burn CDs from internet downloads; a wise professional can effectively use that 30,000 hours of drive time. By listening to good information, you have the opportunity for building your skills or learning items you can share with your team. Let’s see, on the one hand…listen to the radio, or on the other hand, learn more to earn more.
Hmmm…kind of a no-brainer.
Are you already listening to financial or other news in your car, or while exercising or walking? Then you should also listen to Factory-Built Housing Industry News at Noon! Through a simple registration, you can now download feature articles each month from our online industry trade journal, PLUS you can download Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon with Erin Patla. Or you can listen online from your home or office.
http://www.mhmarketingsalesmanagement.com/news-at-noon
is our first of what will be Industry business news daily via download or online here at www.MHMarketingSalesManagement.com/podcasts/.
One loyal reader of MHMSM.com has already emailed in to say, ‘This (the podcasts) are a great service. I can listen to industry news and a feature article every day as I’m getting ready for work.’ (lightly edited).
Starting as a young man in sales, and on through my management career in this industry, listening to audio recordings while driving was and is a great way to learn new ideas, to stay refreshed on concepts or to get and stay motivated.
One business owner some weeks back explained in an email how he creates rewards and ‘a quiz’ for this team, to encourage them to learn and improve from the information they find here at www.MHMSM.com. Imagine having so many top professionals in our Industry available for reading OR now listening via podcasts!
30,000 hours of available time. How are you and your team members using them? You and your business are either growing or shrinking, there is no in between. You and your team are either getting better or getting rusty. There is no better way to knock the rust off the mental wheels than by challenging yourself and your team with good, positive information!
Besides, as another reader turned listener here put it, podcaster Erin Patla’s “…voice is simply delightful.” When my wife says that Erin’s voice is great, that is an important insight indeed.
Now you can read Industry news, or listen to podcasts of top Factory Built Housing Industry News at Noon, or do both!
The Industry is slowly turning an important corner. You can see it in reports and feel it. When would you like to start selling more homes? When would you like to start filling vacancies? Or doing better marketing? When would you like to have a team member improve their management skills? Doesn’t using drive time wisely make good sense? Does now sound like a good time to start these career building habits?
Sign up now.
Start your first download or start listening online at your home or office today. Actions speak louder than words. Think about those two toll booth workers…and think about the pros who will be listening as well as reading Industry news and views you can use. Will it be you, or your competitor that does the listening, learning, knowing and growing? Who will be stuck in the same rut? Why not take advantage of the opportunity for building a brighter future! Listen and learn!
Signing up for our podcasts may be quick and easy, but it is the best action you can take to making some of those 30,000 hours of drive time or other ‘down time’ pay of for you and your team. Some people make excuses. Other people take the steps to make good things happen. Sign up and start listening. Enough said.##
“To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” ~Anatole France
“Blindness in a leader is an unpardonable sin.” ~ J. Nehru
“Our emotions are powerful motivators, and more than almost anything else in our lives they will drive our behavior. Sometimes our greatest challenge is to get inside our own heads to understand what makes us tick. Why do we feel and behave the way we do?” ~Mac Anderson
“Conceive it. Plan it. Act it. Believe it. Live it. Achieve it.” ~ Tony Kovach
I was looking at a series of motivational quotations and came across these:
”If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will.”
“A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – J. Maxwell
“Don’t’ just stand there, MAKE IT HAPPEN.” – Lee Iacocca
“The customer may be wrong but they are still the customer.” – Dave Phillips
“Keep going, keep learning, keep working & keep getting better! Everyday, every effort gets you closer.” – Marston
Please post your favorite inspirational quotation below. Let’s get some new inspiration started!
