Foundry-Metalcaster UGLY Marketing Newsletter 365501 | Page 8

The Philosophy Corner There are only 3 choices. In a recent client conversation the issue came up about ways to accomplish the marketing tasks that will make you the most money- writing persuasive copy, and working effective campaigns. I wanted to re-iterate the conversation here because it applies to almost any decision that anyone makes for any topic. The only three ways to get any task done is 1. Hire a professional . When you purchase a product, you have essentially hired a professional instead of making it yourself. Food, clothes, dental work, etc. 2. Do it yourself with professional help, in person or by proxy. DIY warehouses provide classes, experts write books, classes with instructors are all examples. I renovated a bathroom and had a plumber oversee my work. 3. Do it yourself and hope everything works out. This is the ‘it doesn’t look that hard’ attitude that often results in failure. Look in many guy’s garages for projects that are started and never finished. Or done so poorly it requires rework. Some can intuitively do anything, but I wou ldn’t let them pack my parachute! My Schedule My office schedule is handled internally by Debby ([email protected]). I am usually booked 4-6 weeks out, although small gaps exist for short consultations. Evenings on the road are also used for initial conversations. Discovery Days are all day (8-5) events with a working lunch. All fees are flat-rate there are no surprises. For copy writing consultations, Discovery Day scheduling, etc, expect to work with Debby until our initial appointment. Fun (and useful) metal tip of the month: Banana peels make an excellent cleaner for silver. Slice the peels along their natural creases. Then use the interior or white part against the dirty silver and surprise everyone with the great results! Take the time to think about your responsibilities both for yourself, your family, and your job. Need dental work? You can go to the dentist, do it yourself with a dentist overseeing, or just do it yourself and hope you are ok. (doorknobs and string come to mind). Need transportation several hundred miles away? You can hire a professional (airline ticket), Hire an instructor for you to fly yourself, or borrow an airplane and try it alone without the bother of training or a license. You can apply these 3 choices to anything. In my work, some clients recognize the value of having a professional do it- and do it right. Others prefer to try themselves and have me look in and make recommendations. Some believe they can do it themselves and, sadly, when they do poorly, call me and ask for help. I am reminded of the sign in the small auto repair shop that I attached below: our hourly rates per hour $50 $75 if you watch $100 if you help $150 if you tried to do it first and couldn’t As foundry operators, CEOs, Presidents, and Owners, your time is spent in the details that make your products unique, accurate, and reliable. You are an engineer by training and at heart. My encouragement is to see the value of YOUR vendors the same way your clients are looking to you for expertise. An investment of your time should show results that exceed the cost of having an expert- unless you are doing it for fun. Otherwise you are wasting your valuable time doing a job that would be better farmed out to an expert. Use the same logic for home as for business and you will make huge progress and get more done in a week than your competitors in a year… 8 © The UGLY Marketing Newsletter for Foundries/Metal Casters/TheFoundryMarketer 2014. All rights reserved