Three window cleaning jobs booked in one day… two from the same flyer.
Flyers are great because they get passed around. And I encourage people to pass the flyer telling them they can share the coupons. What I found is people get to bring their friends in on a good deal. This lets customers look good to their friends… but you get to benefit from social proof. What is social proof? People will be more likely to use a window cleaning company if they see other people using a window cleaning company. My customer passes my flyer on to her friend, and the friend thinks that my customer wouldn’t give her the flyer if my window cleaning was not worth recommending. That is social proof.
Let me know your thoughts,
Keith
P.S. If you would like to read more about social proof check out Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion 
Will the third time not be a charm? Yesterday on the way home from a residential window cleaning job this thought passed through my brain.
You see this is the 3rd time I’ve started my window cleaning business from scratch, or nearly from zero. The first time when I started my business, second when a partnership went bad(very bad.. and blame went to both sides), and third when I moved here to NY.
What my little brain was saying to me was… Are you sure you can do this again? Will the 3rd time not be a charm? Haven’t you just been lucky in the past?
Funny how your little brain will sneak in and try to give your confidence a rattle. I actually indulged in these thoughts for a few miles. My business has been growing, but not as fast as I planned. So, my little brain jumped on the opportunity to exploit a setback. This usually how negative talk works on your self-confidence. It catches you when you are off guard, and attacks.
I caught myself, and shook the negative thoughts out of my thinking. You cannot let these thoughts stick around, or it will spiral out of control. Do you know what I said to myself?
I said to my little brain- Little brain your right things have not been going as planned. But you cannot change the past, you can only change the future. So, I’ll bear down and focus on getting better results and finish out the year strong.
Actually I want to thank my little brain for pointing out a problem. It gave me an opportunity to create a solution, and put a plan in action.
Jim Rohn’s weekly e-zine from Issue 396- June 11,2007 shows you a simple process to conquer doubt. See the archive link here. Give it a try… it works.
Let me know your thoughts,
Keith
A favorite show of mine is Little People Big World. The main reason I watch is because it is a realistic upbeat look at life. The Roloff family is grounded, and fun to watch. Matt Roloff is a business success and keeps family first…not a bad role model!
One episode showed Matt giving a speech to college kids. He started the speech describing the worst day of his professional like. He got fired for being a little person. He said that he was crushed.
What impressed me the most was the speed he recovered from this devastating experience. In fact he mentioned how fast he bounced back from the experience. I’ve read that the speed you recover from a set back is a key ingredient to high achievement.
He has made the news recently with looks from the outside to be an embarrassing incident. (See MSNBC story here) The way I look at it…is everybody makes mistakes. Most of us are lucky that we don’t have reporters following our every move. I’m sure he will bounce back from this better than ever.
It will be interesting to watch how he overcomes this setback. There will be people who criticize him for what has happened, and many will rush to quick, harsh judgment. However there are always people standing on the sidelines ready to pounce. Sometime people secretly enjoy rolling around in a pity party of one. Maybe they find some kind of perverse pleasure, or enjoy the attention they receive. Who knows…
All I know is every minute wasted in a pity party is time lost. My goal is seeing how and fast I can bounce back from any setback.
What about you? How fast do you bounce back from any setback?
Let me know your thoughts,
Keith
