March 30th, 2011, pt.2

The Energy Efficiency event this evening was a bit of a bust except for the 2 drink tickets they gave out at the door and the open bar inside. It was organized well, with stations around the wall with subjects listed, but the individuals who were supposed to be in front of the placards were mostly.... not there.  Still, it was well attended and there were lots of new folks to chat with.  Turns out I'm not alone in my small-contractor-struggling-to-grow position.  I am, however, better trained and better situated than most (mostly because of my SweetHeart).  Much of what I'm networking for and talking about is how to grow my business.

Anyway, back to earlier.

During the lunch hour, I decided it was more important to wander through the main floor of the Conference, stopping at all the booths that looked interesting.  Saturn was there with a computer set up so that attendees could take short online tests to get their RESNET CEUs approved but I didn't spend the time to take them.  CalCERTS was there, as was BPI, EF, various training agencies that I looked at, insulation providers, etc.  This took the whole hour and a half and before I was half way through the floor, it was time for the afternoon's first session.  Just so everyone knows, this is not like the PCBC or West Coast Green conferences with many booths advertising 'green' products.  This conference is for the believers, the Nerds, those that already work in the field or are starting to.  It's not targeted to the public or consumer but to those who already have the religion that energy efficiency is the planetary future so it was both smaller and more focused than the conferences geared towards the public.  That's part of why I'm having so much fun; I'm with others like me.  Wow.

So for the afternoon session, it was a tough choice between 'Solutions for Wet Crawlspaces and Basements' or 'Beyond your Certification'.  I checked out Beyond, then went down 3 floors to check on Solutions.  It was packed; probably 200 in there already and few empty seats.  Who could ever imagine that a seminar on wet crawlspaces could absolutely pack a room.  After a quick internal check, I realized Crawlspaces would be a great thing to listen to on the Conference DVD I was going to buy and that 'Beyond  would be a better choice in which to be present. (Note to self: don't decide I needed the exercise and choose to run three LONG stairs up before I sit, sweaty, in a busy auditorium).  Turns out Beyond was a better choice, I think.

It was hosted by 3 pretty knowledgeable people: Sam Flanery, Courtny Moriarty, and Dan Kertzman (replacing Matt Golden with other commitments).  It was an OK seminar  It's take-aways were that the client sitting across from me was everything.  That putting myself in their shoes and considering their position was the most important thing in the discussion.  Yes, that's pretty much what the last speaker said and what I already believed but they each said it in a different way and I'm slow enough that I need to hear it regularly and a LOT before it actually sinks in.  All in all, a good seminar but not great.  It just added to the general internal world view.

The last seminar of the day, I chose "Outlast the Competition - and Price Profitably" with Vicki Suiter.  It was a tough call between her and "Building Science Puzzles and Solutions" with a couple of Green Homes' speakers, who talked about weird things they've seen while doing home performance work in the East.  As much as I love a puzzle and really wanted to 'stump the chump', when I spoke to Vicki before the seminar, her topic caught my interest.  It turned out to be the best seminar of the day for me.  She's the CEO of a company that helps Home Performance contractors navigate the shoals towards profitability.  Not only was she an excellent, engaging speaker, but she spoke to my level of concern: small contractor struggling with the huge number of competing requirements and certifications.  She was the first speaker to have hand-outs on which we could write notes.  Perusing my notes of her seminar, her main points were that we, as Home Performance Contractors, must not only focus on our clients' pain - what their problems are - but also and moreso on what they want - their desired results or what they would want in a perfect world.  Apparently, and research supports this, as clients talk about what they would desire, the gap between their desires and their original concerns or their Pain Points gets larger.  They feel more strongly what they don't have, so any solution I then propose is more emotionally charged.  Perhaps this sounds a bit manipulative but I see it as more helping a client articulate and clarify what their *true* issues are.  And since I firmly believe that what I  offer my clients is a Win/Win/Win, helping them get emotionally close to their concerns is just fine with me.  All in all, the best seminar of the day.  Plus, besides the highly descriptive handouts, she gave us a form in which to enter a message to ourselves, in a sealed self addressed envelope, which she is going to mail to us in 3 months.  Absolutely fantastic touch that really encourages those in her seminar to step up and follow through with her concepts.  I definitely have a few concrete nuggets to include in my sales.  And how successfully she marketed herself and her business to us was a superb example of marketing at its finest: she not only gave us handouts with her info on them that we would write on and take home, but she got us to sign up for her newsletter with the 'mail back in 3 months' thing.  I mean, she was *good*.

Then, after Sushi with a few folks, it's off to Efficiency First.  But I've already told you about that.

More tomorrow.  Good Night.