Clarify and Protect the Message

I have encountered customers and prospects that come to me with assumptions. They may say things like (paraphrased)...

• "AGTEK and (brand x) basically do the same thing..."

• "We're not as big as (contractor x) who uses AGTEK, so we aren't ready..."

• "We just do small sites and don't have machine control, so it wouldn't help..."

• "We're so busy that we don't have time to learn something new..."

• "Our owner does all the estimating, so AGTEK wouldn't get used..."

Assumptions can be right, wrong or partially true.

What is vital to any organization, whether you are a contractor or tech company, is to clarify the message of your solution.

Think about the phrase, elevator pitch. What if you were stuck on an elevator, and your ideal client started asking you questions about what you do? How would you respond?

These questions make me think. They remind me of when I cold call someone and actually get them to answer the phone. I have their attention, but only briefly. Then what?

Simplicity and clarity are key. When a message becomes complex and convoluted, it creates room for others to shoehorn in their own opinions and assumptions about your product. Some of the paraphrased comments above are examples of that.

So how do we reconcile this? Maybe more discovery time is needed. Ask the prospect or customer why they think this.

1. Did they actually use your product?

2. Were they using it in the intended fashion?

3. Do they simply hear things from others in the industry who may or may not have experience?

4. Was training lacking when they originally bought the product?

You will never know if you do not ask. Continue the conversations and start to show them examples that may be different from their original assumptions. So, bringing the conversation back to the beginning, some of my answers to the above questions may include the following.

• "AGTEK and (brand x) basically do the same thing..."

We have had multiple customers recently switch from (brand x) to AGTEK and they have discovered significant improvements when it comes to their takeoff and bidding process.

• "We're not as big as (contractor x) who uses AGTEK, so we aren't ready..."

They may be bigger, but many of AGTEK's customers have less than 100 people on their team. In fact, I recently brought on a new customer that only had 30 or so people.

• "We just do small sites and don't have machine control, so it wouldn't help..."

Many customers that use AGTEK have small residential or commercial projects, like house lots or Starbucks. Many have machine control, but some do not. AGTEK can help you win more work so that you grow to a point to potentially justify machine control in the future. At that time, you can also grow into building your own models in AGTEK. But for now, keep it simple and bid and win more work with a better takeoff solution.

• "We're so busy we don't have time to learn something new..."

Seasonality in the Northeast is real, so I totally understand where you are coming from. What I would say is that AGTEK can be learned quickly. In 4-5 sessions or less of 1:1 training, you can learn the foundation of AGTEK to a point where you can do your own takeoffs. Busy times can be the right time to gradually incorporate AGTEK.

• "Our owner does all the estimating so AGTEK wouldn't get used..."

This is perfect. I've worked with companies where the owner does all the behind-the-scenes work. Because of this, he needed more efficient ways to do things, especially takeoffs and bids. AGTEK is meant to be used by someone who may wear different hats. Whether a PM in the field half the day, or an owner managing the business, AGTEK's ease of use allows those who are not dedicated to the office 40 hours per week to still learn and use the program effectively.

I obviously used my current role and situation as an example, but the point is that messaging can be easily misconstrued. As the person that manages my territory, it is on me to clarify my message as best as I can.

It may be helpful to consider the following questions:

• What is my message?

• What does the market believe my message is?

• Are those two things aligned?

• If not, why?

• How can I fix any misalignment?

Happy messaging.