<p>"The problem in my life and other people's lives is not the absence of knowing what to do, but the absence of doing it."<br /> Management Consultant, Peter Drucker</p> <p>The most frustrating thing for a marketing or business consultant to experience is the non implementation of their advice. Every business knows they have to market their services or products, it goes without saying. Some businesses spend the money for a consultant to develop an extensive plan but for whatever reason they don't implement. The problem is that many get so busy working 'in' their business they seldom leave enough time to work 'on' their business; defaulting to what they are used to.</p> <p>An example of this was in Vancouver, Washington. I consulted with a carpet cleaning company that was having trouble getting new clients. The Yellow Page advertising that had worked in the past wasn't working anymore. It wasn't long before we knew exactly what was wrong. In the few short years of his being in the area, the carpet cleaning businesses in Vancouver had quadrupled. There were over 70 carpet cleaning businesses advertising in the Yellow Pages. People just had too many choices. Since he only used the Yellow Pages for getting new business, his advertising dollar was diluted to the point of costing money instead of getting any return on investment. He needed to make a change and fast.</p> <p>We first developed a program to keep in touch with his existing customers on a regular basis. We showed him the value of sending out direct mail reminder cards every six months. People should have their carpets cleaned every six months for the highest possible result. People want to be reminded as our survey showed. We shrunk the size of his yellow page ad to one-fourth the size and focused on location near his operation because again the research showed that if people were looking for a carpet cleaner they will use location close to themselves as a deciding factor. Instead of keeping the savings on the Yellow Page ad he needed to invest in a radio campaign on the local station during spring and fall which is the peak carpet cleaning season. The station we chose had an audience of 30 to 50 year old female listeners (decision maker on who cleaned the carpets in their home) in Vancouver and no one was taking advantage of it. The cost was a little higher than he was spending but obviously that was a much better investment for his money. Now all he had to do is implement the plan. It would mean a little work on his part but the evidence was strong.</p> <p>What happened?? The change was just too much for him and it was easier to stay with what he had always done. He began to reason to himself that he hadn't given it enough time so he stayed with the full page ad at 1100.00 a month. We tried to show him over and over he was making a mistake but to no avail. We started the card program for him and it worked, his customers were responding but he said was just too time-consuming and he didn't want to pay us to do it for him. With the Yellow Pages costing him so much he never felt he had enough money to run a radio campaign. In other words he paid for a consultant and never implemented the plan. (((Frustrating))) BUT it happens way too often!</p> <p>Even though the carpet cleaner is still in business he certainly hasn't reached his goals or potential. Strangely enough he still doesn't have any time to send his reminder cards and wonders why he isn't getting the referrals he thinks he should have. Of course the radio ad is out of the question.</p> <p>What's the lesson? If you pay to learn it ... Believe it! <em>(Fact is he chose not to believe it even though the proof was obvious)</em> If you don't have it...Create it! <em>(We created it for him it just took a little work on his part) </em>AND if it seems hard at first .... Just Do It!</p> 2009-02-03T23:31:27Z -11.1624 394 3038 true 2 22373 believe-itcreate-itthen-just-do-it 3 2009-02-08T02:22:10Z 2009-02-08T02:22:10Z

Business Consultants have the passion for helping business people succeed. The value is in their experience and knowledge. Using them will shorten your way to success.

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