Sell Like McDonald’s, Make a Fortune in 2011
You have just worked your ass off and you are hungry as hell. You know it’s not good for you, but you pull into the McDonald’s drive-thru to grab a quick bite. The voice from the big screen in front of you asks you what you want.
After you place your order, the voice asks if you would like to add two apple pies for another dollar. In the olden days (before the movie “Super Size Me“), you would have been asked if you wanted to Supersize your order. Congratulations, you were upsold and cross-promoted to, and you probably went for at least one of them back in the day didn’t you?
Make McDonald’s work for you too!
Most of you face stiff competition from all types of competitors in your local markets, and lose jobs every day to contracting companies that are able to give lower bids. So you lower your prices, and the next thing you know you are working for nothing…or not working at all.
But if you took the McDonald’s approach to selling and offered your clients or customers add-on’s and upgrades to get steeper and steeper discounts, you have a better chance of beating the low-ballers at their own game.
It may not work in all the home services categories, but if you work in one where an obvious upgrade or cross-sell could mean the difference between making ends meet or making it big.
Try it on for size
There isn’t a kitchen remodeler out there that doesn’t throw in the kitchen sink (or backsplash) to close a deal, or a carpet guy who doesn’t upgrade the padding if the home owner bumps up their carpet. My point is, there has to be something you can do to make your contracting company different in a down economy, you just need to figure out what your apple pie is and sell the hell out of it!
Photo Credit: Singamelodie
4 responses to “McDonald’s Marketing For Contractors”
Excellent article. ” So you lower your prices, and the next thing you know you are working for nothing…or not working at all. “. Be reasonable with your prices, build relationships, and financial opportunies will arise !
Great points.
I think the hardest part of the marketing and business promotion is figuring out creative ways to upsell with discounts instead of low-balling your profit line with them to get customers.
My case in point: Everyone wants a discount, if they can get one. But if they really want something, or are convinced of its value, they will invest in it regardless. Take Apple’s products, for instance. No matter how bad the economy gets, no matter how much money the company’s products take out of consumer pockets, the company almost never discounts. Even their affiliate systems only get about 1% of the sales they help generate.
Yet, at the end of the day, everyone is willing to spend their whole paycheck (so it seems) for an Apple
Some examples of how this would work for a contractor would be great. I can see giving the customer one of two small things, but the point you made in the article comes into play.
Working and not making money is useless, and the number one reason why contractors go out of business.
Hi Tommy,
Thanks for stopping by. This is where you the contractor have to be creative and fiscally responsible too. Let’s say a plumber has a two-room and and hall special for $1499. He could upsell (do you want to add a third room for just $199 more) or cross sell (Do you want us to do the exterior too for just another $3500). That’s McDonald’s selling.