White, bright and…Ghost, graveyards and…
White, bright and…measuring them
If you’re old school that handkerchief in your back pocket (or a sheet of white paper if you’re not) may be the most overlooked sales and diagnostic tool in your bag of laundry tricks.
The problem is that our eyes can be fooled when it comes to assessing the whiteness of linens both in that prospect’s operation as well as in our own accounts.
Without a good visual comparison to make that whiteness judgment (especially if the results are consistent), deciding just how white the work is can be difficult. But hold that white sheet of paper or hanky next to the shelved inventory and it’s suddenly clear.
With that side-by-side comparison we might just see that the fabrics we thought were white and bright are anything but!
If that sub-par outcome is in our own customer’s wash isle, correcting it is now at the top of our to-do list. That way we’re not leaving a trail of crumbs competition can use to gain entry. That might mean some formula tweaking, or a shift in chemical selection, dosing, or more.
But if it’s a prospect, we have just the opening we need to propose a way to deliver fabrics that’re every bit as white and bright as that handy “tool” we used to illustrate that problem.
Next up: Yellowing and all its causes.
Ghost, graveyards and…facing scary stuff
There’s a contemporary business take on that old childhood saying about whistling past the graveyard. That take has to do with how we occasionally overlook troubling signs.
It might be ignoring the signs of an account we’re in jeopardy of losing. Or on the flip side there’s the account we’re not in danger of losing but they’re clearly struggling to stay afloat – and who’re also getting increasingly late about paying your invoices.
It’s human nature to ignore the threat of bad news. And the worse the news, the more some are apt to ignore it. But that strategy doesn’t do much for their sales or profits.
In the case of that account that we’re in danger of losing there are only two options: First if it’s doable we need to rectify the shortcoming that’s causing that risk. If that’s not possible, we need to redouble our efforts to open enough new business to offset that almost certain coming loss.
Looking ahead and anticipating the future in our business is likely what’s led to the success we’ve been fortunate enough to enjoy throughout today. Exercising that same forward vision when it comes to downside risks facing us tomorrow is every bit as important.