1-800-PLUMBING

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Plumbing-Call-1-800-PLUMBING.html?soid=1101646253157&aid=dQ1LVdmbcfw

2010-12-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Plumbing-Call-1-800-PLUMBING.html?soid=1101646253157&aid=dQ1LVdmbcfw

We have a new blog on our website now

2010-12-08T13:53:00.000-08:00

Take a look at our new blog:

www.800plumbing.com/plumbers

Whats happening in 2010

2010-02-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

Some company's are struggling while others are prospering. What makes the difference? I think a large part of it is attitude. I talk to a lot of plumbers and I have found that the ones who are in a positive frame of mind generally are doing better than the "doom and gloomers"

Enthusiasm appears to be a common thread that I see when I speak with successful 1-800-PLUMBING licensees.

It is going to take some time for the economy to bounce back. I recommend you get creative and try some new and innovative techniques in your marketing and advertising. Just remember, someone has to pick up the business of those who have closed.

2009-07-07T07:03:00.000-07:00

More and more, companies are seeing the benefits to a premiere vanity phone number. Our newest licensee, Autiello Plumbing & Heating has made the smart marketing decision to use 1-800-PLUMBING. Read more here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/07/prweb2614404.htm

Welcome to our New Licensee in Wisconsin

2009-06-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

The Gurn Company in New Berlin Wisconsin has decided to integrate smart marketing strategies.... using the "1-800-PLUMBING" vanity phone number. See more details here:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/06/prweb2489394.htm

2009-04-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

2009 appears to be a pivotal time for the global Yellow Pages industry. Much like newspapers, print Yellow Pages will continue to lose dollars to their various digital counterparts, from Internet Yellow Pages, local search engines and combination search and listing services like Reach Local and Yodel. One research firm predicts the falloff in usage of newspapers and print Yellow Pages could even reach 10% this year -- much higher than the 2%-3% fade rate seen in past years.

Welcome to Royal Flush Plumbing, Panama City Florida

2009-04-29T06:52:00.000-07:00

Royal Flush Plumbing in Panama City, FL is one of our newest licensees! They have decided to use the 1-800-PLUMBING number to make their advertising dollars work much more efficiently. View the entire Press Release at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/04/prweb2371214.htm

2009-04-23T15:01:00.000-07:00

1-800-Plumbing is now on twitter....

Succeed in these challenging times? Why not... Some companies continue to flounder and flail around getting caught up in the economic waves.... Others grow and prosper. What is the difference? Innovate, create, see the opportunities that are right before your very eyes. As conditions change, business owners need to realize that they need to be dynamic and respond to the changing conditions. Re-evaluate marketing and advertising strategies. Identify methods to lower overhead costs and increase profits. Offer new products and services which will provide other sources of income. Entrepeneurs have weathered these storms in the past with wonderful innovations, ideas, inventions, etc. When the going gets tough, the entrepeneurs will figure out what to do to prosper.... One such strategy is to offer the best customer service in your industry.

Customer Service

2009-01-27T09:41:00.001-08:00

I wasn't planning on adding a post today, but I just had a conversation with a plumbing company and thought it would be beneficial to share my views on customer service.

Have you noticed that customer service is improving? If you go to a restaurant, retail store, etc.. have you been treated better than ever? I have noticed a dramatic increase in customer service. So many people talk about how bad the economy is and how business is slow and all that negative doom and gloom.

Why is it that some companies are hurting so bad and others are doing ok and even prospering in this economy? I think part of it is due to customer service and attitude. I bet the companies that are surviving and prospering have re-iterated to their employees to provide "over the top" customer service, because we need the customers! Companies can no longer afford to provide crappy customer service, because it has become a life or death issue in terms of business survival.

There is a law of polarity that states for every negative there is an equal and opposite positive. Well, I truly believe that this down economy may very well be the catalyst for a massive turn around in the level of customer service that businesses provide to their customers.

The bottom line is you must take care of your customers or someone else will be happy to take them!!!

Some Basic tips for marketting success....

2009-01-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

Some of these may seem obvious, but I mention them because of recent experiences when making some prospecting calls.

You can spend tons of money on various forms of advertising to get the phone ringing, but have you ever called your office to test how the phone is answered. I truly believe that many companies don't even consider this. I have evidence to support my claim. In the course of making my calls, I have gotten "Buzzy Signals", Garbled voice mail messages, rude answering service people, dead air on hold and excessive hold times, no company greeting or a poor greeting, some did not even use the business name when they greeted a caller.

I would like to address each of these separately. They are all important, because you spend big dollars to get the phone ringing and I don't think you can afford to have callers hang up and seek out a competitor.... In future posts, I will address what I call "over the top" customer service and how it relates to our current economy. But for now, lets go over some tips on how to avoid these common problems I discovered.

"Buzzy" Signals There really is no excuse for a busy signal. Do you remember that irritating short buzzing sound with a space in between? In my opinion when a customer or potential customer hears that, it is like saying: "hello, we don't need your business... find someone else because we are too busy for you..... it also says that we don't want to take care of our customers because we are on our way out of business.

Voice Mail is the one easy way to virtually eliminate customers ever getting a busy signal. The cost is different depending on your phone provider, but Voice Mail is a phone company option that will insure your customers will not get a busy signal as long as the phone company equipment is working properly. I did speak with my local phone provider and they told me that with their voice mail system that runs between $8 and $15 per month, you could have up to 64 calls come in at once and they would all go into voice mail! You see, voice mail has wider bandwidth than a single phone line. When customers go into voice mail it is best to have a message with a commitment like "we return all calls within 1 hour or you get $25 off your first service call" and/or provide a number they can call if they have a plumbing emergency.

That is certainly a no-brainer for eliminating a busy signal. Can you tell that I am anti busy signal...

Now the other issues can really be lumped together as one: Clear and courteous communication. You have the phone call and you probably want to convert the call into a job. First of all, I recommend that whether you are a 1 person operation or a 100 truck service company it does not make a difference in how the phone should be answered. You may have a home office, but please get a separate phone line for your business and make sure that line is answered in a professional and clear manner so the caller knows they got the right number. If your company is "John Smith Plumbing", then the phone should be answered something like this: "John Smith Plumbing, this is Tabatha, how can we help you today?"

Make sure the tone of the person answering the phone is clear, kind, and courteous. Have them focus on "serving the customer" I realize that some callers may be less than courteous, but that should not affect how you deal with them. If the person answering the phone is kind, courteous, professional, and efficient, that is the impression customers and potentials customers will have in regard to your business. You will have a much higher conversion rate and you will attract a better customer. I will mention "the law of attraction" in other posts, but I believe it is a very important fundamental that can affect the level of success we have in running our business!
How to deal with difficult customers will be addressed in another post...

Another tool which will become essential as your company grows is called "message on hold" It has been proven that when a customer has something to listen to while they are on hold, they will stay on the line much longer. So why not let them listen to a commercial about your company while they hold. You can let them hear about all the benefits of doing business with your company and any special deals you are promoting. "Dead air" on hold is such a waste of time when you already have a captive audience that is ready to listen.

In summary, I have addressed 2 basic principles that I believe are worth mentioning. Proper phone system set up and phone etiquette form the base of a pyramid. Without that base, you are throwing your marketing and advertising dollar out the window...

Now, the story I nominate for "Plumbing Story of the month"

Click here to read about the $78,000 ring recovery!

2009-01-12T09:30:00.000-08:00

Bob Proctor is having a limited time special on this phenomenal class...

It is called the Science of Getting Rich. It is normally $1997 and he is running a special for only
$297!!! You get a full set of CD's, material on MP3 player (included) great binder, workbook and Wallace Wattles book.... I paid more than that for my course I bought on ebay...

http://www.bobproctorcountdown.com/

Don't pass up this great opportunity!!!

Heres the link that should have been in the above post...

2009-01-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

http://store.sixminutestosuccess.com/?aid=584714

Six Minutes to Success

2009-01-09T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, the holiday season is over and its time to get down to business. I plan on finishing my Jack Canfield book this weekend and start a new one. I am focusing on reading books this year that have a great positive message and will help me to achieve the success I desire.

Check out this site: http://truesuccess.thesgrprogram.com/ for great success strategies!!!

It is amazing what you can accomplish in just 6 minutes a day:

Thoughts for the Holiday Season

2008-12-23T10:12:00.000-08:00

Today I decided to start a blog... We are in the midst of the Holiday Season and I know that it has been a challenging year for many businesses. First of all, I would like to put a big "Thank-You" out into the universe to all my loyal customers, vendors, and everyone who has contributed to our success this year.

I always find that this is a great time to reflect on the year and set some goals for next year. It is a good time to ask some questions: Where are you now? Where do you want to be 1 year from now? Do you feel stuck? Lets lay out some ground work for a successful and prosperous New Year.

Are you getting the results that you want? If you are, that is great, but many businesses are not seeing the results that they want. It has been said that "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."

If you want to change your results, then you need to do something different. Think about it, everything you have or don't have in your life can be traced to thought. Many people think about what they don't want and focus on that. The mind, however, does not understand a negative, so that may be why we are not seeing what we want come into our lives.

Write down 3 things that you want in the coming year. In the morning when you get up, close your eyes and see these things coming into your life, then at night before drifting off to sleep, again see these things coming into your life. Visualize what you want and create a mental movie of how it looks in vivid color. How do you feel when you have it? See it, feel it and believe that it is already there. When we practice this on a regular basis, I believe that we are making room for the things we want to come into our lives.

This may sound a bit far-fetched, but I challenge you to try it. What is the worst thing that can happen if it doesn't work? And more importantly, what if it does work?

This may sound a little "out there" to some of you, but I think it is important for me to set the tone of this blog and to start by looking inside ourselves to achieve more success and happiness in our business and all areas of our lives. My goal is to achieve balance in my life. To me, balance is the art of learning how to properly allocate my time to family, work, excercise, leisure, etc., such that I am in harmony with my environment. This has been a great challenge to me, but I believe that when we achieve balance in our lives, it is reflected in everything we do.

I read about a story where there was a man reading a newspaper one day and his son kept bothering him, so he took a piece of the paper with a picture of the world on it and tore it up into a bunch of little pieces. He gave it to his son and told him to put the picture of the world back together. Quite rapidly, the little boy put together the picture and showed it to his dad. He exlclaimed, how did you do that so fast. To that the boy responded: "there was a picture of a man on the other side. I just put the picture of the man together and then his world was together"

When the man is together, his world is together! Do you think a better attitude, positive thoughts, thinking about what you do want as opposed to what you don't want can have an impact on your business?