HEAD OF LETTUCE CONVERSATION

HOW TO FINALLY STOP BEING A HEAD OF LETTUCE

This past week I got a call from someone out of the blue.
Turns out this person is a super aggressive salesperson and thought of an idea that would merge my companies programs with his.
As a strange aside he used to be in the mortgage business and knew of me and what we had accomplished.
See the motivational quote article for more on the topic of knowing as Kenny Rogers says “Know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold ‘em”
Anyway- back to this important story. His company sells signs. Indoor- Outdoor and car and truck wraps and ads. Our company is the expert in mobile Marketing and Creating Customer Capture systems so business can be found where their clients are searching for them. Over 50% of all searches are now on Mobile Devices.
When I arrived at the meeting his boss was there and we immediately got into a conversation about how business was. Honestly- his business was not doing great.
HOW COULD IT IN THIS ECONOMY???? OR COULD IT AFTER ALL WITH A LITTLE TWEAK?
So he started going on and on about the competition. About how he is selling a commodity. How he networks. How he advertises. How he gets new business.

THEN I ASKED HIM A FUNNY QUESTION- DOES ANYONE REALLY WANT A SIGN?????
Of course they do he said.
THEN I ASKED HIM ANOTHER FUNNY QUESTION- DOES ANYONE REALLY WANT A SIGN?
By now , you can imagine this guy thinks I am totally nuts?
THEN I ASKED HIM ANOTHER FUNNY  QUESTION- WHY SHOULD I GET MY SIGN FROM YOU AND NOT SOMEONE CHEAPER DOWN THE STREET?
Now – aside from being frustrated at what appeared to be my dumb questions he was starting to get pissed off!
“ WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY?”
I started explaining my backround to him. Told him about my coaching groups. Told him about some of the businesses I have built and sold. Told him about my consulting. Told him about Trackable Response and our expertise in creating Mobile Marketing Solutions.
HE STILL DIDN’T UNDERSTAND- MAYBE YOU DON’T EITHER?
He asked me who my competition was and I told him I really didn’t have any. Now that might strike you as arrogant- it definitely struck him that way, but stay with me here just a little bit longer – because there is a HUGE lesson here. One that will totally change your business.
SOME MARKETING TRUTHS YOU MUST UNDERSTAND!
NO –ONE WANTS A SIGN- They want customers and are using a sign to get them.
NO- ONE WANTS  MORTGAGE- They want a house they can enjoy with their family- and need a mortgage because they can’t pay cash.
NO-ONE WANTS  A MOBILE WEBSITE- They want more business and realize that at least half of their customers are searching for them on their mobile devices and that this number is increasing every single day.
NO-ONE WANTS  A BRAKE JOB- OIL CHANGE – TIRE ROTATION….They  want their car to be safe and they want it to continue running.
- I truly hope you are seeing my point here. It’s subtle but has the power to totally change your business.<—–

FINALLY- I EXPLAINED “THE I DON’T HAVE ANY COMPETITION “ STATEMENT!
Everyone who knows be knows that I am NOT arrogant. In fact, I hate arrogant people. Confident- yes!  But I’ll save that whole topic for another article.
Now let’s switch gears just for a second so I can explain this second point and the whole head of lettuce theme in this article.
Let’s say you want to make a salad. Money is really tight and so you go searching for lettuce at the lowest price.
After all – Lettuce is lettuce and one head is exactly the same as any other right?
THAT’S A BIG MISTAKE SO MANY CUSTOMERS I CONSULT WITH MAKE BEFORE I FIX IT!
THE BIG LESSON-– If you are in a commodity business STOP competing and change your product!
GOT THAT?
See if all you want is a head of lettuce than it’s totally fine to go to the nearest store that has the lettuce at the cheapest price.
BUT – If you are in a hurry- and price isn’t the ONLY factor than you can opt for the shredded lettuce in the bag that is already washed and ready to serve.
If you wanted a certain type of Romain lettuce for a special salad dish you are serving than price also isn’t the critical deciding factor is it?
SO LET’S GET BACK TO MY “DUMB QUESTIONS” AND WRAP THIS UP!
Yes – the sign business is a commodity business.
Yes- The Mobile Marketing and Mobile Website business is a commodity business.

YOUR BUSINESS MAYBE A COMMODITY BUSINESS TOO!
But it doesn’t have to be.
People buy signs to get customers.
People buy mobile websites to get customers.
So I helped him see the bigger picture and totally change his business model
while at the same time integrating our services.
We don’t sell WEBSITES- we customize mobile customer capture systems and other proven mobile marketing solutions to generate Trackable profits!
I developed a plan that would integrate mobile marketing into the signs themselves with QR codes and other mobile customer capture devices!
Now when he visits his customers he is offering a CUSTOMER CAPTURE SYSTEM not a sign.
Plus, he is using our services to ensure that these clients are able to be seen with a mobile optimized customer capture system when they visit the address or scan the codes.
Now instead of his clients asking what’s the price of your sign…. they are saying can you tell me more about how this works.
Now he is NO LONGER a HEAD OF LETTUCE and he doesn’t really have any true competition since they are still just offering signs!
Hope you enjoyed this and more importantly will start using some of these same lessons in your own business!
If your association or chamber or company or looking for a great presenter on marketing and/or how to profit from  mobile marketing solutions please send an e-mail to
brian@profitandwealth.com or call my office at 410-420-2343

and of course– as always– would love your comments below!