Great quote Lora
- great photo too, you look very happy, good thing you waited!
Alright Mike & Lisa - answers to your questions... then I think we'[ll have had enough about me!
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I'm assuming Joe made his gazillions coaching Carpet Cleaners correct?
No trust fund or winning lotto tickets right?
Amazing man. Really.
>> Yes - Piranha has been around since 1994, and gazillions from kits, marketing tools, and coaching from the cleaners specifically. We are licensed in several other service industries. We also have a GEnius Network division of high-level entrepreneurs (the ones who buy the $50K ticket to Necker Island) - that coaching program is $25,000 a year, and we have about 100 in that group broken into several small brainstorm groups who meet 3 times a year.
No trust fund - Joe comes from a very poor background, his dad was a locksmith, his mother died of stomach cancer when he was 4. He has a really gut-wrenching story of growing up, which does make it amazing how he has built what he has.
-I would have to guess that he ran out of fresh ideas of his own to sell his members at least five years ago if not ten. Only so many ways to attract new clients. Yes? No? You tell me..
>> Are you kidding me? Though there are core strategies that work great today, there is constant innovation that comes from Joe, myself, and our Platinum & Gold Members. Yesterday I led a call on ways that we are taking some of our most successful direct mail strategies (like our business endorsement letter) and making it work on Facebook to generate jobs. We also have just under 800 campaigns, strategies, postcards, flyers, processes, off-line and on-line loaded into our Piranha Central library to download and use. More are added each week.
I'd have left years ago if this place was stagnant - so would Joe. He is constantly paying to attend the latest sales and marketing events, and speaks at many as well, and interviews innovators in business right now - like Tony Hseih the Zappos.com CEO ... who we get ideas and tips from in every monthly interview he does. It's essentially a business building college for cleaners and restorers. On today's call we are talking adjuster presentations and referral systems.
So no, the ideas have not stopped. They will when Joe and I are both dead.
-We have seen where he holds contests for the best "new" marketing idea from his students. I'm sure the winning idea is a real ring dinger and gets used right away but I'm wondering at what pace does he sell all the other submissions back to the Piranha members?
>> The contests are IMPLEMENTATION contests - some using some of our core staple strategies, so there is no one "new" idea winner. They are all collections of campaigns, systems to get them in action and robotic, and the tracking and financial statements to show their performance.
HIghlights of these packets are all delivered to our members through existing coaching channels and through Piranha Central - they are not sold as stand alone products or products sold back to members.
-If you had to compile all the Certified Piranha Marketing gems into one list, how long would it be?
>> We have sold more than 6,000 kits over the years, we have 2,500 existing clients, we have 1,000 who comprise our industry Buyers Group memberships - these are the ones who get the discounts on everything from office supplies to uniforms to carpet juice to equipment to the new Odorox machines to websites.
-One final Q for tonight, what is the NUMBER one used (not necessarily successful) JP gem used through out his history as a Carpet Cleaning Mentor?
>> The absolute best strategy we have for repeat and referral business is our direct response client newsletter. In Steve Ransom's contest packet this year, he was one of the finalists, he tracked $300K in cleaning and restoration jobs from this one tool this past year (he landed some large floods) - that is what we insist all of our Platinum Members use religiously, because it works.
(from Lisa)
Regarding Ethical Services....aside from the "warning" which is not an issue anymore, I wonder what your position is on the whole idea of paying to be listed as ethical? How rigorously do you screen those applying to be listed? Does ES assume the liability if someone on your list commits a criminal or less than ethical act at a customers home or business? What makes ES better than the other online rating/review sites like Angie's List, Merchant Circle, etc.?
>> It costs a $35 set-up fee to be included at the basic level on EThical Services, nothing else. They pay more if they want more elaborate links and space for their message - which any website charges for - you are paying for real estate on-line.
This is a self-policing model with consumers posting their feedback. We handle a handful of complaints - just a couple a year - and all must be resolved and the consumer happy or the cleaner is blacklisted. I have never had to remove anyone to date. Negative or less than spectacular reviews stand as is. I would not say it's better than any other portal - it's just another avenue that offers real life words from actual consumers, and then those visiting the site can choose for themselves.
It will be relaunched in the coming year to version 2.0 - but right now both consumers and cleaners are very happy with the results.
Okay - there you go!
Gotta jump on our call-in day!
Lisa
