This week I have had two of the best trades businesses I have ever worked with at my house at the same time. First, our garden and patio are being completely re-done by a Landscaping business. Second, mid-way through the week, our Decorators have come in to redecorate our garden room.
In the past, they have both told me stories about how they have come in after others have not wanted to wait for them (both businesses are booked out at least 3-4 months ahead at any time) and also how people have gone with someone cheaper then ultimately had to bring them in to fix the issues. One of them then this week then mentioned the famous Benjamin Franklin quote.
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”
Whilst those stories of coming behind lower quality work and fixing it to their high standards are good and also entertaining (!), what is even better is when a business finds the right clients first, those clients who truly appreciate quality, are prepared to wait for it and are prepared to pay fairly for it.
In short, the best thing for any business is to get the right clients. One of the simplest ways to do that is by building close and trusted networks of other businesses that can refer you to their clients.
(BTW there is a method and process for this called “Distribution”, am happy to talk to you about it and connect you to a Business Coach who can help you with getting “pre-sold” leads for your own business)
Anyway, my own story about Decorating was that I made an error in selecting the first Decorator I used. Their work was not up to standard. I then contacted the Plasterer who had done work for me earlier. He was and is the absolute best at what he does (and yes, I had to wait over three months for him to do one day of work on this new house of mine when I moved in!). I knew he would know a great decorator, but I could see he paused before telling me. He was, instinctively, thinking “Do I think Tom is a good client to refer to my friend the Decorator?”. Happily, he felt I made the grade and gave me the name of that Decorator, saying “he is the best, but a) you will have to wait months to get him and b) he is not the cheapest”.
Great, I thought, all good things to hear! That referral remains one I am most grateful for, as the Decorator has now worked for me several times and is fantastic. As I noted in the blog “Do it for them, not to them” the other day (about the Landscapers, but they both think and work the same way), they are elite because they have taken things to another level, in that:
..they do it FOR themselves and everyone on their team. They would never do a job that was less than the best they can possibly do. They do that for the customer and for themselves.
So, back to this week. I’ve made a point of introducing these two businesses to each other. Unlike the Plasterer and Decorator, they are no in adjacent trades, but good clients who are happy with the work of either company may well ask them “Who do you know who can do “x” for me?”, and I am sure that, over time, they will be able to refer the right clients to each other!