Sell What You Can Do, Or Do What You Can Sell? A Marketing Decision.

john elliott

I arrived at making and selling kitchens because I found that that was what I could sell. Whan I started doing kitchens I only had a vague idea of how to make them, and I made a lot of mistakes and had to reverse down some blind alleys.
I'm glad I stuck with it, though, because if I'd kept on at being a general handyman, working T&M, I would have been out of business by now.
Anyone else who is having a hard time selling what they do might like to consider whether they could change the direction of their business to make tne marketing side of it easier.
Anyone else have any thoughts about this, I don'/t see this stuff discussed much here, mostly it's about how better to sell what you can do.

John

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Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

WaltG

Lots of contractors fall into the all-too-common small business owner trap:They're workaholics because they get confused. They mistakenly picked their business, because they're interested in the product or the promise instead of a business where they have an edge because of some natural talents they've refined as strength.

Big mistake!

Working in a business that doesn't capitalize on your natural strengths is a recipe for disaster.

The result?

Long hours, little progress, and mounting frustration because you rely on the backwards approach of trying to minimize your weaknesses to make progress in your business.


When you pick the wrong business to be in, you force yourself to struggle.

And this is one of the biggest reasons why small businesses… contractors and service providers… fail, struggle, or work their butts off for insignificant rewards. Because they either got into business for the opportunity, or even worse, they chose building, remodeling, landscaping, design, renovation services… whatever line of contracting services… because they are interested in it.

Most entrepreneurs focus on their weaknesses because they bought into the faulty assumption that anyone can successfully build any business they really want to.

Picking a business based upon your interests instead of your strengths forces you to work harder for less. (Because you're forced to earn and learn at the same time).

In business, you don't get an "A" for effort.

john elliott

Ore, I note that you have had a name change, and that your website has disappeared from your profile

I also note, from looking through your other posts, that you are talking to the guys here not like you are a contractor of any kind yourself, but like you are here to lecture us.

John

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Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

dirt diggler

I've got to disagree with you ... hahah

i keep crackin myself up ...


1,000 others could give the same reasons for disagreement ... so im not goin there


HOWEVER


I WILL say this ... my GREATEST weakness is the fact that I totally love what I do

It's my greatest strength as well

so i KIND of --- agree in a way

Grumpy

I think a tradesman will sell what he can do and a businessman will do (hire someone to do) what he can sell. Bottom line: If you are not making money you are doing something wrong.

If there is a market for a product or service, and you can sell that product or service,k and you an deliver that product or service, and you will yield more profit providing that product or service than your current products or services... Why not sell that product or service?

That's really a hypothetical question. You can make money doing anything, even shoveling horse crap, if you are good at it, know how to properly charge for it and properly promote it.

john elliott

This was what I was thinking too. I don't see much discussion here of people maybe changing what they are offering to suit market conditions, rather people seem to be concentrating on trying to sell what they do, even if that isn't selling too well.

John

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Ed the Roofer said "John too, in his crass and blunt demeanor.............."

Danahy

I've switched from selling my work to selling myself. My work sells itself.