Or possibly a plumber; maybe a landscaper?

If I show up when I said I would, speak some version of the king’s English, return calls within a day and offer a professional, non-coffee, or ketchup-stained quote, I should win 90% of the business.

I like those odds.

My repeated experience has been this: Very few of my local tradespeople respond reliably.

My son-in-law, Brian, owns a home improvement business with a heavy emphasis on appliance repair. He spends a good amount of money for someone to answer the phone and book appointments, and he bought excellent quoting and billing software.

With these tools in place, his response is prompt and professional. And guess what? Brian is booked solid. (This is also because he is exceptionally good at what he does 😊)

My current needs reinforced the Pareto principle, known as the 80-20 rule. I called five painters, one was responsive, and he got the business. I called three plumbers, one was responsive, and he got the business.

I’ll wager that Pareto nailed it in your sales environment too. 80% of the reps don’t return calls in a timely fashion. 80% of them arrive late or cancel meetings and offer poorly prepared quotes that are seldom on time. After that, if they follow up at all, it is usually via email (lazy) and only once or twice (lazier).

As I have always said,

You can choose to out-work and out-hustle anyone in your world; no skills required, just desire. If Pareto is right, and he seems to be, just being dependable puts you in the top 20%, and from there, having a great attitude trims the competition in half again. With odds like that, which are entirely within your control, how could you lose?

Own Your Sales Gene…