It Starts At The Dinner Table....

Culture is a wonderful thing. Most of the time. There are some cultures that may interest you about as much as sitting atop a bonfire, but for the purpose of this discussion, let's assume we're talking about the kind of cultures most commonly associated with clever commercials and 'fun-to-say' menu items. Corporate culture is just as important to the continued health and relevance of a company as it is to a university or a sports franchise.

You're the owner of the company. You're the one they follow. It's your culture that they are buying into, so you better make sure you have identified it before they do it for you. Or even worse....before failure does it for you. 

That sounds harsh, but success these days requires more than just a clever tagline or a beautiful logo. Your passion has to be their passion. The people who are out there on the streets, entering the homes of your customers...if they aren't bought in....your passion dies before your prospect ever gets a chance to witness it.

Identify your message. What is that you want to say? What is it that you want your brand to say? Don't just be another HVAC company. Give them a reason to choose you over the other guy. You all have the same tools. You're all working on the same machines every day and dealing with the same issues. Culture is what sets you apart.....if you do it right. It can't be forced. It can't be demanded. It is something that others see you exhibiting and they want to emulate it.

So, what is it that goes into building an effective and prosperous culture for your small business? Do people really care if my team is wearing a pressed shirt, or do they just want their A/C fixed? Both! The answer is a resounding "BOTH" but it is delivered in the form of a check being written to the other guy if you doubt the importance of culture. 

Here we go.....

1. Credibility - If they don't believe you have the ability to deliver what they're out there selling for you, you've lost. Not only will a lack of credibility destroy your Sales Force from within, but word travels at warp-speeds within your Market if you can't fulfill your promises. The US Army Infantry Division has a motto - "Deeds Not Words." Think like an infantryman. Show them your work. Don't tell them about it. Besides...have you ever met a soldier who doubted the credibility of his unit?

2. Respect - We've all worked in an environment in which we felt disrespected in some form or another. It sucks. Does your team feel respected? Are their voices heard? If they feel respected at the "dinner table" then they will act with respect when in front of your prospects. Picture a High School for a moment. Picture any group of 20-30 High School aged students. Among them, you will be able to instantly identify those who are raised in homes where respect is a top priority. The ones who feel respected at home portray respect because it's part of their "culture." Use your dinner table wisely. 

3. Fairness - It's called "The Golden Rule" for a reason. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Sounds biblical because it is. The wisdom in that statement has been around, unchallenged, for that long. Don't play favorites. Don't reward groups when an individual achieved the results and vice-versa. Fairness is the piece that makes Win Win Marketing possible. 

4. Pride - Take pride in what you do. Remember what made it possible for your company to hire a team in the first place.,...pride in your work. Remember how proud you were when you won that first contract? As you drove away from that handshake, did the thought of cutting corners or cheating ever cross your mind? Hell NO!! You wanted to do the best job possible and accept the steady string of referrals that was surely to follow, right? Instill that feeling in your team and your brand will stand out among your prospects. Take pride in your brand. From the way you dress to the vehicles in your fleet....display the pride you have in what you do.

5. Teamwork - Nobody wants to be the one who lets his whole team down. If you are able to instill a genuine sense of teamwork among your staff then you work together rather than against one another. Individual goals are great and should be encouraged, nurtured, and even joined....but they should NEVER be allowed to hinder the collective goals of the team. Act as a unit, win as a unit. You get to be the coach who delivers that rousing halftime speech to propel the team to victory. 

6. Customer Focused - Don't put your team in a position where they don't believe you will protect the relationships they're working so hard to build. Sales takes trust, rapport, and a lot of time....if your team feels like you are only in it for the money and not the people who give it to you, they'll start to side with the prospect in situations where they should have supported you. Always identify the  benefit to the customer when implementing new policies. Your team will resist changes a lot less if they feel like the proposed changes will benefit the customer they have to explain it to.

Got questions? You should! Let's get together and discuss them.

www.trendingupdigital.com

800.852.8676

Friends Say "No" Too...

 

trendingupdigital.com                 800.852.8676

To say that we are living in a new age of Customer Service is a gross misrepresentation of how drastically things have changed over the last decade or two. 

Yes, the Internet is arguably the greatest invention in the history of mankind. The advances that have been made possible with the omnipresence of information is  incalculable. But not all that came with the internet is good. 

Everybody thinks they're a star. Everybody thinks their opinions are to be taken as gospel. The internet provides safety where perhaps it shouldn't, but for businesses and the way we do things as owners therein, the last few decades have meant constant adaptation. 

One of the most glaring examples of this change is the fact that a "no" isn't always received in the same manner in which we have grown accustom. In the old days; in offices full of papers and pencils and machines no longer identifiable, rejection was quick. It stung. The ones in which a lot of effort had been poured and a lot of strategy had been laid....those really stung, but you got your answer at the presentation table and you moved on. 

Today, that's not the case. Your "presentation" is only a small part of the information you are expected to provide prior to the sale. Here's a few of the other ways in which you are expected to deliver "Decision-Making Materials" to your prospects today:

• Your Website must be informative - They'll spend a lot of time on your site before you ever get a chance to talk to them. Stay up-to-date on what information is being relayed by your competitor's sites because the differences in the two could be the deciding factor. 
• Social Media is a given. Your business can't survive without it, so find a voice and speak it often! That sounds silly, but the more material (Content) you put out there for your prospects to consider, the longer they spend seeing "Your" message. It doesn't matter if it feels like you've posted the same material a million times. Keep posting it in as many ways as you can think of. You never know which one will grab their eye.
• Google is the King of the web. Playing by their rules and taking advantage of the many, many resources they make available to you is essential to your success. Advertise where people are. Google IS where people are. 
• Google Maps - That's how they find you when they're actually out on the road looking for "you" or someone like you. Let that one sink in. 

Think about it...all of those ways that potential clients research you and form an opinion of you prior to your first meeting. If you have incoherent messaging across your Online Presence you're probably going to lose a lot of sales for which you never even knew you were in the running. 

If, after all of their research, you are still given an opportunity to sit down and present your case as to why you should be the HVAC company they trust for their 9 locations with 13 rooftop units each and a yearly maintenance schedule that brings a smile to your face as you read these words...your follow-up game better be the strongest of anyone they've talked with yet. 

You better make sure that you keep your name and your plan in the front of their brain without annoying yourself into a blocked contacts list. 

Let Trending Up Digital help. 

Sit down with us. In less than an hour, and in plain language, we can show you exactly what you need to improve and how you need to improve it. No industry jargon....just simple A,B,C scoring systems. 

info@trendingupdigital.com

800.852.8676

What Makes Trending Up Digital Different?

Let's face it....Digital Marketing Agencies are not an elite group. There are literally hundreds of us in every city and as business owners, we've probably heard from or of all of them. Like restaurants, there are many in your neighborhood that you will never try for one reason or another. They don't serve cuisine you're into. They have an ugly sign...you hate their parking lot....they are rumored to have started a cult....whatever the reason, it comes down to personal choice.

You spend your money at the places that you feel comfortable in doing so. When it comes to the money of our businesses, most of us are even more cautious. So why is Trending Up Digital Services so confident in our ability to lead YOU and your business into a Win-Win Marketing partnership? It's our experience. 

Every agency you meet with will have experience in marketing and the concepts therein, but we are confident that very few if any of them are licensed to possess the kind of specific experience we have. Furthermore, even fewer of those have gained the kind of perspective from that experience that the collective leadership of Trending Up has been able to obtain. 

Our founder, Rich Giles, has spent many successful years as a Business Broker. Early in his career, Rich noticed that an overwhelming majority of the business owners he met with who stated that they were "not yet ready to sell their company" felt that way because of problems and issues related to marketing. 

Some business owners needed to boost their sales in order to boost their attractiveness to potential buyers. For others, staffing issues kept the For Sale sign out of the proverbial front yard. Maybe it was their overall online presence that needed enhancement. Any marketing agency can say "we will drive sales" but how many of them would you trust to help you navigate those waters? 

We have that experience! Win-Win Marketing is a unique concept that requires Trending Up to be so much more than just a "part of your marketing puzzle." We ARE your marketing puzzle. We're the box you toss the puzzle pieces in, we're the closet you keep the box in....heck....we're the store you bought the puzzle from! 

We win when you win. We win when your marketing department comes in under budget. We win when you hire 2 more people to handle the increased inbound call-flow. We win when those 2 new-hires are offered permanent positions on your team. 

Trending Up is not interested in quick-hit results that overwhelm more than they produce. An explosion of sales is great on paper and would certainly increase the invoice Trending Up could send you, but we want sustainable growth. We want growth that you can handle. Growth that will produce new advocates within your community. We will offer strategies that take into account the future of your company, it's employees, it's customers, and it's reputation. 

There are no cookie cutter approaches. What works for your brother's company might not work for yours. You have different teams and different budgets. You probably have different goals as well. Don't trust the success of those goals to a company who's never been to the destination to which you are trying to take your company. 

We want to be your Marketing Team until you are ready to ultimately let go of your business. Whether that's a brokered sale or a simple retirement in which you hand over the keys to a family member....Trending Up's targets will always be much further down the road than the other guys. It's how we think. It's who we are. 

We're ready when you are. Let's go get some wins!

trendingupdigital.com

800.852.8676

Would You Buy Your Company?

 

Once we get that first sale....or land that first client, our minds tend to get rather laser focused. As business owners, we go from "will this work" to "it worked...now what?" in the blink of an eye. Once the ball gets rolling, we're not stopping to go back and set things up "the right way." We're too busy building upon the success of the first sale to create another. 

At some point, regardless of where you stand today; you're going to part ways with the company you are currently working so hard to build and maintain. Those relationships you are nurturing with the intensity of a first time parent....they're the seeds that will help grow your company into something worthy of all your front-end investment. 

That part about "parting ways" with your company stuck in your brain, didn't it? Much like buying or selling a home....we tend to look at the destination rather than the journey. The new home will be great but first, there's the loan application process, the physical move as well as the nightmare of transferring all the utilities and bills, etc. Those visions of family traditions unfolding in that new home hardly seem worth it when you're loading up the truck, but once all the boxes are gone and the dust has settled....you get the picture. 

Selling your HVAC or Plumbing business will be a similar process when you are ready. In the meantime, there are a number of things you can do to enhance the "curb appeal" of your company. 

First, let's be honest about something. If you don't put the time into maintaining all the components of your business, no one will want to buy it. Your fancy logo....your 50 page website....your 75,000 followers....none of it means a thing unless you have a book of business. The old adage "sales cures everything" is as true today as it was when your Grandfather said it. Get your CRM setup and get familiar with it from the very beginning. Those names are what makes up a significant portion of your future value so treat each one of them like a winning lottery ticket. 

Second, you need brand recognition. Nothing increases your brand like Social Media, but it is a beast. Doing it with any measurable level of success is even more of a beast and quite frankly, it's not one that most business owners have time to do on their own. 

Third, you need to be visible. When people go online and search for "HVAC near me" your company needs to pop up near the top of those results. If they can't find you, they can't hire you. If they don't hire you, they can't leave you five-star reviews. These are all critical in determining how that eventual "parting of ways" goes. Will it be a happy, fortune-filled event, or will it be an enemy you fend off until it finally defeats you? Let's make it a party, okay?

Trending Up builds all of our Win-Win Marketing Strategies around the idea that one day you will be "parting ways" with the company you're currently hiring us to promote. If we do our job correctly, you'll be parting ways with a big check in your pocket. We like big checks as much as you do. What we like even more is watching you build up the value of your future check a little each day. 

Let's go get some wins!

www.trendingupdigital.com

800.852.8676

What To Expect From a Trending Up Marketing Partnership....

What does a Marketing Strategy from Trending Up Digital Services, look like? 

By now you've heard all about our "Win-Win Marketing" idea that we hope to spread far and wide, but that's more of a concept. It's a terrific concept, but it doesn't really explain what one of our strategies looks and feels like. 

There are no cookie cutter plans or strategies at Trending Up. The first step in any strategy will be to sit down and dig deep into several key components of your business's future. We're going to get to know your current marketing strategies and budgets. We're going to dig into your fulfillment capabilities and your team's strengths. We're going to spend a lot of time helping you identify your unique brand which will be critical down the road. 

We've been in your shoes. We know how frustrating it is for a salesman to look across a table or desk at you and speak in foreign, computer-speak. We will never do that. If we encounter a language barrier, we'll adapt to you; not the other way around. Our goal is not to "talk you into" working with us. If you are one of the Home Service Professionals with whom we are fortunate enough to work, the relationship will be a Win-Win from the start.

Now...your potential customers are everywhere. Google, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and so on. They are trying to find you.....OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU. Let that sink in. There was a reason for the all caps emphasis. You've been an online customer. When you need something and take that search "to the Google" as my Grandmother would say, you don't spend hours scrolling through the pages and pages of results. You pick one of the first ten to fifteen and go from there. 75% of online searches never go beyond the first page of results before making a buying decision. Our strategies tackle this issue. We make sure you get found. 

Customer Flow - When you have work for all your technicians, we're happy. Let's make sure
we're all prepared for the incoming workload.  If we plan the strategies well enough and execute them according to their design, we should be able to get our "aces in their places" as they say. 

Website - A bad website is like an ugly blind date. You might sit through the meal, but you're probably not going out again. If you're one of the ones that catches the eye of a prospect from the initial search page but the click leads them to an ugly, out-of-date website you've Double-Lost 'em and that's just not good business. Trending Up will always advise against angering your market.

Top-Tier Google Results - Whether we choose to accept it or not, Google is the boss of the Internet. What they say matters more than the rest, so our strategies will be designed to keep your Google ranking and results high. You'll be in that first page and we don't have to break the bank to do it. 

You're proud of the work you do and you should be! Guess what...your customers are proud of the work that you've done in their homes. Their comfort is literally because of you and with a little appropriate requesting, a lot of them will let you know just that....in writing. We're going to focus a lot of energy on the growth of your Online Reputation. We're going to monitor it and consistently get positive reviews for you. This helps to boost not only your online scoring, but also your customer confidence. People trust strangers online. It's weird but true. 

Digital Ad Campaigns are one of the most often mismanaged components of any
marketing strategy and that is precisely why Trending Up will work hard in the infancy of our relationship to help you "identify your brand." Colors. Messaging. Style, etc. Once established, your ad campaigns can be consistent and easy for your prospects to pick out of the others. We'll properly target your marketing through effective PPC. Your dollars will be very specifically directed for optimum results. 

Social media was once regarded as a waste of time. It was a place our children went to do kid things and business could not be done there. Those days are gone. People watch YouTube Videos. They read Facebook comments. They look at Instagram stories. Your potential Team Members are on Linked In. Remember...you get one shot at forming their opinion of you. Trending Up is going to celebrate your Social Media Victories with you. Success comes from planning and our strategies are thoroughly planned. Our strategies will keep you engaged with your customers. HVAC needs don't arise everyday. We will work hard to make sure they remember you when the time comes again. 

Call Today or go Online and Book an Appointment. If you're an HVAC business owner or know someone who is, please direct them to our website to start the conversation with us. It's simple, free, and painless. 

Thank you!

 

Why Choose Trending Up Digital Services?

 

Why work with Trending Up Digital Services? There are thousands of agencies to choose from and none of them are free, so why would you choose to assign your marketing budget to us? 

Why is transparency so important? Because this is a   confusing world. At Trending Up, we are never going to try   to confuse you with industry jargon. We're never going to   tell you a simple task takes a long time so that we can milk   your clock. We're transparent in everything we do. If we're   fortunate enough to work together, we are part of your         team....not just a vendor. Your goals become ours. That   requires trust and we'll never get there with manipulative   practices. 

While we certainly don't want to diminish the efforts of another agency, we also must acknowledge the fact that up to 65% of the listed agencies out there are no longer functional. Our executive team is made up of members who boast tremendous success across multiple industries. We've sat on your side of this table many times and we know how to guide you to your desired destination. We're not going to be outdone in this department. Ever. 

When we work together, we assume responsibility over the marketing needs of your company, your sales force, your executive team, and most importantly....your clients and prospects. We take that role very seriously. Every strategy we form...every recommendation we make...all will be crafted with meticulous responsibility and focus on the final destination. 

Without service, the rest is irrelevant. Our service is our passion. We look for opportunities to advance our Win-Win Marketing™️ philosophy. They're not just words. We want you to vehemently believe that you are working with a championship caliber organization, because you are. That's exactly what Trending Up Digital Services is, so let's get out there and start winning together, shall we?

The first step is a simple conversation. That's all it is, so let's start talking today. Follow the links to our website and book a conversation with one of us today. Your bottom line will thank you for it.

www.trendingupdigital.com

Don't Get Burned By SEO...

 

You're a business owner. Your passion keeps you up at night, staring at various screens, numbers, and documents in an effort to make tomorrow better than today. Better means more business, more sales, more smiles for your team, your customers, and if time permits....you. 

Trying to untangle the web of information about Search Engine Optimization out there is a rage-inducing exercise. Don't try it. You'll leave with more questions than answers.

Let's start with the basics. What is SEO?  SEO means Search Engine Optimization and is the process used to optimize a website's technical configuration, content relevance and link popularity so its pages can become easily findable, more relevant and popular towards user search queries, and as a consequence, search engines rank them better.

That cleared it up, right? It's a confusing concept. Making it even more confusing are the "Office Experts" who always seem to know everything about every topic. Maybe it's a neighbor....or a family member. There's always someone who knows exactly what's best for your business without risking anything in the process. 

Unfortunately, there are just as many "agencies" out there who are not much more than an Office Expert with a pretty website. You owe it to yourself....do it right. Do it in a way that you can easily understand and passionately defend because you will probably be asked to do both. Partner with an actual expert who can propel your business. 

If your website is not effective, you won't rank highly in searches. It's as simple as that. When that family who needs a very expensive, emergency plumbing call, you will not be the one to hear the phone ringing if you can't be found. Network all you want, but unless you participate in the Google game, you're not going to be found when it counts. But what is it that Google looks for when they rank businesses and their online presence?

There are tons of things Google looks at when weighting businesses within their search parameters, and they change frequently, but here are a few general areas in which any HVAC or Plumbing business should focus their SEO strategy.

Social Media Signals - What are people doing with the stuff you post? Are they sharing it? How the community responds to your messaging is an important factor in Google's rankings, so be careful what you post. Make it relevant. Make it professional. Not every post is going to go viral. That's not the point and shouldn't be your goal. That's like building your family's financial plan around the chance you may win the lottery. If your financial plan includes lottery tickets instead of investments and property it's destined for the same catastrophic failure as a marketing strategy built on the hopes of a viral content piece. Consistency, relevance, and loyalty to your brand are what's going to bring you the best results. 

Content & Blogs - As previously mentioned, your social media presence is a key piece of your SEO puzzle, but the prettiest social media page in all of the world isn't bringing you anything unless there is quality content within it. Get creative. Your business is interesting. Take it to the people who want to learn it and your business will grow. Blog articles about topics that seem elementary to you may seem otherworldly to a beginner. (Or a prospect)

On-Page SEO (aka On-Site SEO) - When you post a link to your website or Social Media or elsewhere on the internet, that's an external link. More on those later. On-Page SEO are the links within your site itself that lead users to other parts of your site. The longer they stay and the more things they click on, the better your ranking, but like everything else in this crazy game of digital marketing....you can overdo it and make yourself look very amateurish. Let us help.

Link Building - Remember way back in the previous paragraph when we mentioned posting links elsewhere on the internet? Those "external links" direct users from a foreign site to yours. That's Link Building. It's another piece of your puzzle that can have catastrophic results if done without expertise. 

As you can see, there are a lot of things that go into the ranking system at Google. It feels like a lot, but remember....your world is equally overwhelming to us. Let's work together and do what we both do best. Our passion is marketing for Service Industry Professionals. What's yours? Can we tell people about it together?