Dear Producer,
Inside a Starbucks on December 1, 2022 I sat with a friend to discuss life, and business.
On February 15, 2023 Codie Sanchez wrote a tweet that reaffirmed so much of what I’m going to tell you here about the potential consequences of inaction.
As we sipped on our respective concoctions from the highly mechanized coffee cog machine that is Starbucks, my friend Meredith described to me a dilemma she was facing.
You see, Meredith operates two businesses: her newest, a General Contracting (GC) company. Her older business was more or less a call center. They made outbound calls for magazine subscriptions.
Meredith’s dilemmas were that the outbound subscription model is rapidly becoming outdated, and that she was having trouble securing enough business for her GC company.
Given my experience in the real estate/renovation business, the solution seemed clear me, and it starts with the industry’s number one problem…
Fast forward to Codie’s Feb 15 tweet:
The Problem
“Most small businesses don’t reply for 47 HOURS!”
Think about it.
High call volume:
Construction businesses may receive a large number of calls throughout the day, especially during peak hours. If the business does not have enough resources to handle the incoming calls, it may take longer to answer each call.
Limited staff availability:
In the construction industry, employees and owners may be working on job sites and may not be available to answer the phone immediately. They may also be involved in meetings or other activities that prevent them from answering and returning calls promptly.
Technical issues:
Sometimes, construction businesses may experience technical issues with their phone systems or internet connections, which can cause delays in answering calls.
Prioritization of tasks:
Construction businesses may prioritize their ongoing projects over answering calls. This may lead to delayed response times for incoming calls.
Lack of customer service training:
Some construction businesses may not place a high emphasis on customer service training, which could result in employees not prioritizing answering calls.
And the biggest one I’ve found,
UNQUALIFIED LEADS!
These are people who are not genuinely interested in using the services of the construction company, but may be calling for various other reasons, such as to ask general questions or to solicit sales calls.
Answering calls from unqualified leads can be a waste of time and resources for construction businesses, as they may not result in any actual business.
The Solution
To increase GC leads, I suggested to transform the outbound call center into an inbound center to receive service calls and requests for home improvement and home repair!
This would also solve the problem of what to do with the call center. She would be able to monetize inbound by providing qualified leads to trades professionals.
What do you think they could charge for:
Onboarding Consultation
24/7 Coverage
Done For You Integrations
CRM Integration & Lead Routing
FAQ Answering
Customer Support Ticket Creation
And even more so than that.
Creating this platform it would allow her to cherry pick her own clients!
As it turns out, Meredith hasn’t yet moved forward with the idea as she’s been unfortunately held back by personal challenges.
(this letter is not designed to highlight Meredith specifically)
The ultimate point I’m making here is that when you do have an idea, a solution, you’re likely not the only one that’s arrived to that point.
In this case, Codie has as well and took action with an acquisition:
Take action quickly and getting to market with your ideas!
Delaying action can have consequences: In the tweet by Codie Sanchez, she mentions that most businesses take 47 hours to reply to customers. This delay can lead to missed opportunities, dissatisfied customers, or lost revenue.
It is important to take action quickly when opportunities arise to avoid missing out on potential benefits.
Look for opportunities to pivot: The dilemma faced by Meredith was that her outbound subscription model was becoming outdated, and she was having trouble securing enough business for her GC company.
By pivoting her call center into an inbound center for home improvement and repair requests, she could monetize inbound by providing qualified leads to trades professionals.
When faced with challenges, it is important to look for opportunities to pivot and find new solutions.
Prioritize customer service: As mentioned in the tweet by Codie, delayed response times can be caused by a lack of customer service training, prioritization of tasks, and handling unqualified leads.
Prioritizing customer service can help businesses to respond to customer inquiries promptly, increase customer satisfaction, and ultimately generate more revenue.
When taking action quickly, it is important to prioritize customer service as well.
Let’s get to work!
Brian
PS: I truly appreciate you being on this writing journey with me. I continue to work hard to deliver value to your inbox each week.
As our community grows, I appreciate any and all feedback. Just reply with any questions you have or what would like to see going forward.