OK, Let’s Go Back To Work

Are you ready to sell? What will be your program for Martin Luther King Day coming next week? In the Northern U.S., people are interested in energy-saving windows. Call every radio station the covers your area and ask if they would like to do an interview with an energy expert who knows everything about windows and glass. Yes, this is you.

How about the folks in the South? Any one whose name is “Martin” or “Luther” or “King” will received a 10-percent discount on any products ordered over MLK Weekend, up to a $10,000 purchase point.

Actually both of these work across our entire country.

What else? Stop at every construction site that you see. No exceptions. Find out who the GC is. Make the contact. You may not get the curtainwall, but the interior work often has a higher value and profit margin than the exterior glazing. If you have an outside salesperson instruct them to do the same and report each day what job sites they visited.

The economy is rising and that alone will help you, if that is all you want. It shouldn’t be.

Is your webpage 100-percent current? Does it change every couple of weeks with new ideas and pictures of your work? People who want to buy products rarely search the yellow pages any more. They look at their cell phones or tablets and go from there.

I bought glass for my house this week. In fact, it is the first glass purchase I have made in ten years. We are putting a new shower in one of our bathrooms, and I started my search on the web. Your website has to look smarter and fresher than any one else, especially the plumbing distributors in your area. Plumbers are cleaning our clocks here in the glass business.

Answer every single phone inquiry immediately. Tomorrow is too late. I called two of the glass companies in my town. One told me that a qualified sales person would call me back. Never happened. The other company called back that evening and I was already asleep. He called again three weeks later to see if I was still interested. THREE WEEKS. He didn’t get the order either.

Enough. If you don’t get the gist of this, give up, go fishing and look for someone to buy your shop.

I did take a three week vacation myself. Actually not quite a vacation. Fifteen days in the hospital relating to back surgery. I am now better. But I did find a great shop manager for someone. She a great nurse on the second shift. She must have played linebacker somewhere. When she said “No Way Honey,” there was no court of appeal. This is what you need to do for your company.

Now that I an home, I salute all of my friends and readers. Let’s start over with a call for health, safety and prosperity for 2017.