Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I was doing some ‘market research’ today and made an incredible discovery: I like things to be simple.

This was a surprprise, because in sales and distribution, HYPE IS KING. Plain talk and simple demonstrations are rarely seen in the rush to make you buy. I do this sort of research for one reason: Its easy to be a salesman, with all the, “Blah, blah, blah,“ and hype. You know what I mean. But, I shop and buy things, too, like you. I want to see these things as a customer and not just as a salesman.


So I did a little "shopping around" for asphalt repair products. I found this guy: www.pavepatch.com This fellow is selling a good looking product, space age and USAF-developed and so on. My first obstacle, though, was there was no price. I had to hunt for it among all the busy pitching. I found I didn’t like that. It's usually the first thing people want to know, yet here it was hidden behind a mountain of sales hype. It was aggravating; maybe I'm impatient.

After diligent searching, I found it: $100 for a five gallon pail of pothole filler. Okay.


So how does it work? Well, you have to mix this stuff in two parts with a bag of some aggregate filler and then mix it all up using an “egg beater” like attachment ( sold separately ) with a power drill. They even have a video to show how “easy” it is. Once mixed, and hopefully not splattered all over you, you pour this stuff in and tamp and smooth it out. Again, okay.


So I said, “Let’s compare benefits!”


With my product the price is… the same. No difference really. My “Chuck-Hole Patching” filler will cost you $97. $30 for the filler and $67 for the primer, enough to fill the average sized 2 ft. x 2 ft. hole. In sales talk we call that “competitively priced!” I‘ve never claimed to be the cheapest, and never will. Do you have to use the primer? You decide - I say yes.

So okay, a hundred bucks, either way. Both products are cold-applied, last a long time and are rated for highway use. Both offer a lot of value for the money.


How about application. NOW we start to differ. Theirs is a mixed up affair, adding special tools and the potential for some serious messiness. My “Chuck-Hole Patching” material is applied right from the pail. No mixing, no mess. About the only tool you need is a 4X4 to tamp it down with.


My problem is, I had to deduce all this. Couldn’t they have just told me that without all the hype?


Yaro Starak, the Blog King, says no. People want to have long drawn out ads, he says, which tell them everything they could want to know and some things they could care less about. He says they are accustomed to long sales pitches and expect to have that as part of the value equation.


Well, I tried. I really did. I wanted to present a big carnival of information on my "Chuck-Hole Patching” product - - but, I couldn’t get there. We’re not selling 747’s here, these are pavement patching products. DO they work? Are they affordable? Can I use them without paying expensive labor? Yes, to all of that.


Is mine better? I think so, if just that you don’t have to do all that messy mixing. Does it take three pages to tell you about it? Gosh, I hope not.


Thanks for visiting,

David

Posted by David at 14:18:22 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Who Buys This Stuff?

One of the questions I get when I tell people about Global Specialties is, "Who uses your products, David? They seem very specialized..."

Thanks for noticing - they ARE! See, I love the property maintenance field. I really do: I absolutely LOVE it. So I wanted a product line that met very "persnickety" criteria - -

1. It had to be specialized to the needs of this industry.
2. It had to have a broad range of offerings and applications.
3. It had to be of top-notch quality. 

"Good enough," just wouldn't do it for me.

Whenever anyone mentions top-quailty, it often means 'not cheap'. That's true; my products aren't sold on every corner and you might get something like them, cheaper. That's always your choice when you buy anything, after all. But, that's not for me.

My reputation is at stake and I can't trust it to lesser things. 

So I'm a sales agent for the Texas Refinery Corporation line of Protective Coatings. These products are specially created to cover major (and sometimes minor) maintenance needs, from "Rooftop to Asphalt," as I like to say. More importantly, they dont fail to protect when they are most needed. 

So who buys this stuff? TRC just released it's annual list of "TOP 10 CUSTOMERS for 2007". This is really insider information from it;s sales sector, but I thought you'd like to see it.

TEXAS REFINERY PRODUCTS TOP TEN CUSTOMERS.

10. ROOFERS
This can be anyone in the roofing business who needs to repair applied asphalt roofs. The company tells about a roofer who called in to ask about a bucket of TRC TEXOTROPIC fibred roofing compound that he found in someone's shed. It had been there a long time, yet it was still useable. In fact, he DID use it. It was as good as the day it left the factory - and it had to be at least 15 years old, by his reckoning!

9. DISTRIBUTORS
These are area grain elevators, lumber mills, petroleum tankfarms, trucking centers, warehouses, etc. They buy such things as TROXYMITE, KILN SEAL, ANTI-OXIDENE RUST PROOFING, QUADRA CLEAN or ALUMINUM ROOF COATING, to name a few. Such customers, especially the agri-business ones, are faithful purchasers of anything that lasts a long time "in the field."

8. CHURCHES
QUCIK-DRY PAVING SEAL seems to be a big one for churches. These folks always have a careful budget and they want products that last; in other words, which give a lot of value for the money. This is why I like QD PAVING SEAL, it lasts 3 years when applied correctly and is really amazing stuff.

7. UNIVERSITIES
Here again a good maintenance plan pays off. One comprehensive maintenance schedule, well thought out and managed can save thousands of dollars in repairs each year.

6. PUBLIC SHOOLS
"User-friendly TRC Protective Coatings provide a perfect partnership for public schools. With built-in maintenance personnal readily available, school tax dollars can be spent where they do the most good - by investing in superioir products instead of contract labor. Reflective roof coatings, particularly WHITE ELASTOMERIC COATING, were top sellers."  - - That's right from the company report.

5. PUBLIC LODGINGS
Again, QUICK DRY PAVING SEAL led the parade of products purchased by hotels, motels, RV courts, etc. MIGHTY PLATE ROOF MEMBRANE and ALUMINUM ROOF COATING came in a close second. In thes hospitality industry, a shoddy appearance or leaking roof can mean lost customers and revenue. Not a few of these users also bought QUADRA CLEAN concentrated detergent for use with the demanding cleaning chores to be found in lodging sites.

4. GSA CUSTOMERS
Government customers continue to make a strong showing among TRC users. Expanded funding benefits to county, state and city agencies have increased GSA sales across the board. Here's the bad news: This is probably the last full year the current GSA contract sales prices will be in effect, as they are up for renewal review in 2009.

3. CONSTRUCTION
Contractors in nearly every category claim the Number Three spot among TRC sales last year. The aforementioned roofers, general contractors, concrete fabricators - all were represented last year among customers, with the MIGHTYPLATE Roofing Line and SUPER ALUMINUM ROOF COATING leading the pack.  

2. MANUFACTURING
This is no surprise, for this perennial Top Five Finisher. In fact, Manufacturing moved into the #2 spot last year. The offering of credit lines to manufacturing customers greatly increased sales and it seems they REALLY like TROXYMITE Fibered Roof Coating. The list of Manufaturing customers who use TRC products reads like a Who's Who of Business:

3M Corp                                                Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Coca Cola Bottling                                Pepsico Bottling
Del Monte Foods                                   US Army Corps of Engineers
Dollar General Stores                            US Department of Agriculture
General Electric                                     US Steel 
Georgia Pacific Corp.                             US Pipe and Foundry
Goodwill Industries                               Weyerhauser Co.
Goodyear Commercial Tire

This list is not all-inclusive, by any means. Contact me and I'll send you the expanded one, if you like!

1. INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY OWNERS
Making a huge leap from #5 to #1, Numero Uno, is the individual property owner group. They had almost three times more volume than the nearest competitor. With gasoline over $3/gallon in most places, is it any wonder people are wanting to save money? But being "penny-wise" can also be "pound-foolish." This decisive jump to #1 strongly indicates the American buyer, whether a business owner, property management type or home owner, wants VALUE for the money he or she spends. 

So there you have it. Another TOP 10 list for you. I Hope you found it interesting.

And as always, contact me for your FREE Paving Inspection. Paving is the second most costly item on any property, next to the structures. It pays to take care of it!

Phone: 803.221.3364
Email: global_protects@bellsouth.net

Don't forget to ask about QUADRA CLEAN, too!

Posted by David at 13:45:34 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) |