The Value of Showing Up

John Ray: [00:00:00] Hello. I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. The value of showing up. Recently, we had a leak in our basement, which was coming from a crack in the main water line from the street. We got a recommendation for a plumber. I called the guy, and he came out that day to check out the problem. “Give me a couple of days and I’ll get you an estimate”, he said. Well, that didn’t seem like a big weight, particularly as long as it takes to get home services help these days. The leak was minor and manageable, until it wasn’t. Days went by as I chased this plumber for an estimate and a time that he could come fix the problem. Finally, I got an estimate, but then I couldn’t get him to come and follow up on the work so I just gave up.

I got another recommendation. And after talking to this guy, he came out that very evening on a Friday night, mind you, diagnose the problem, proposed a solution, named his price, and said he could get going at 10 a.m. the next morning. That’s Saturday. Needless to say, he got hired. And the next morning, after finishing the work and preparing to leave, I told him he was a great plumber. “I’m a great plumber because I show up”, he said.

Well, I’m not offering you a searing new insight to say that showing up is one of the table stakes of having a business. But here’s the larger point, how you show up, whether early, late or not at all, is an intangible, one of thousands that are deciding factors on whether you get engaged. As my new plumber implied in his comment, he gets hired because of an intangible which has nothing to do with his proficiency at plumbing. When I hired him, I didn’t ask him what plumbing school he attended, his certifications, or experience. It didn’t matter to me because his expertise was assumed. I’d received a recommendation from someone I trusted. The referral was what gave him the opportunity for my business and intangible is what got him hired.

For professional services providers, it’s the same for you. Word of mouth and referrals may be the wellspring of your practice, but intangibles are what you scoop up the water with. Yes, cultivate the clients who refer you and cultivate your strategic referral partners. But you’ll be even more informed about why you’re closing business if you’ll make it a practice of asking your clients early in the engagement a question somewhat like this. What was the tipping point that made you decide to hire me? Ask questions like this and you’ll discover the intangibles which gets you hired.

I’m John Ray on the Price and Value Journey. Past episodes of this series can be found at pricevaluejourney.com or on your favorite podcast app. And if you go to a pricevaluejourney.com, you can sign up to get notification of my new book and updates on my new book as they come out. It’s coming out in 2023 and the book is called The Price and Value Journey, Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, And Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using the Generosity Mindset. You’re also welcome to email me directly, John@JohnRay.co. Thank you for joining me.