The Value of Showing Up
“I’m a great plumber because I show up.” My recent experience with a plumber illustrates the high intangible value clients often place on just showing up.
The Price and Value Journey is presented by John Ray and produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
TRANSCRIPT
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.
About The Price and Value Journey
The title of this show describes the journey all professional services providers are on: building a services practice by seeking to convince the world of the value we offer, helping clients achieve the outcomes they desire, and trying to do all that at pricing which reflects the value we deliver.
If you feel like you’re working too hard for too little money in your solo or small firm practice, this show is for you. Even if you’re reasonably happy with your practice, you’ll hear ways to improve both your bottom line as well as the mindset you bring to your business.
The show is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® and can be found on all the major podcast apps. The complete show archive is here.
John Ray, Host of The Price and Value Journey
John Ray is the host of The Price and Value Journey.
John owns Ray Business Advisors, a business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneur and small professional services firms on their pricing. John is passionate about the power of pricing for business owners, as changing pricing is the fastest way to change the profitability of a business. His clients are professionals who are selling their “grey matter,” such as attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, consultants, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
In his other business, John is a Studio Owner, Producer, and Show Host with Business RadioX®, and works with business owners who want to do their own podcast. As a veteran B2B services provider, John’s special sauce is coaching B2B professionals to use a podcast to build relationships in a non-salesy way which translate into revenue.
John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio, Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Radio, Alpharetta Tech Talk, and Business Leaders Radio. house shows which feature a wide range of business leaders and companies. John has hosted and/or produced over 1,700 podcast episodes.
Coming in 2023: A New Book!
John’s working on a book that will be released in 2023: The Price and Value Journey: Raise Your Confidence, Your Value, and Your Prices to Grow Your Business Using The Generosity Mindset. The book covers topics like value and adopting a mindset of value, pricing your services more effectively, proposals, and essential elements of growing your business. For more information, contact John below.
