My Odd Job Man - Marketing Genius

We have a guy called James who comes round to our house and offers to do odd jobs every now and then. Youngish guy, big grin, looks like he's had an interesting life.When he came round last week it struck me that in many ways he's a great role model for marketing.We first met James a year or so ago when he knocked on our door offering to clean our gutters for £20.Now we didn't know him from Adam at the time. But the gutters really did need doing, it's a tricky job getting up on ladders to do it yourself, and for only £20 - what did we have to lose?So we said yes.He set off to clean them, and as it was a pretty sunny day, he chatted to us as he did it. When he'd finished, as we were paying him, he said:

"You know, your decking could do with a bit of wood preserver on it". He was right, it could. But it's a big job - we have a lot of decking surrounding the extension to the house we built a few years ago. So he quoted us a very reasonable price ... 


(not that we checked or got any competitive quotes - but it seemed cheap for the amount of work) and we agreed for him to do it.A couple of days later he was back to do the decking. He worked like a dog for 2 days - sanding the decking down and hand painting it all with the wood preserver.As we paid him, he said:"You know, if you've got any other jobs need doing - painting, repairs, anything, just give me a call". And as it happens, we'd been thinking about getting the main room in the extension and the hallway painted. So guess what? James ended up doing that too.So from what started out as a £20 job to clean out our gutters, he ended up with a small 4 figure sum.Not a bad bit of business development work really! What were James's "secrets"? 


Well, firstly, he had a low cost, low risk entry level offer.When we first met him, we didn't know if he could do a good job or whether we could trust him. But for £20 it wasn't much of a risk. When he did a good job, and when he chatted to us as he did it, he built his credibility and his relationship with us. Next, he used his eyes, ears and common sense to spot something else we needed doing - the decking. By working flat out on it and charging a good value price, he built his credibility and relationship further. Having built his credibility, he'd earned the right to ask if there was anything else that he could help with. And there was.Now here's the thing. James is "just" an odd job man.

But how many of us highly qualified professionals have that low cost, low risk entry level offer where we can prove ourselves?  Not many. How many of us professionals keep our heads up and our eyes and ears open to spot other areas we can help our clients in - rather than just knuckling down, doing the work and getting out? Not many. And how many of us have the confidence in our own capabilities to know that after having done good work, offering to help in other areas is not being pushy or salesy - it's actually appreciated by our clients who need that help. Once again, not many.

2012 is probably going to be a tough year for many professional firms. But I suspect James is going to do OK.

"if you'd like more ideas and tips on marketing from Ian Brodie, you can grab a free copy of his Pain Free Marketing Blueprint here:

Best Regards,

Ian Brodie

Tech bulletin for Ultimate Call Accounting version 10 Step-by-step Setup of Call Accounting:

1.    Obtain a PC.  The customer will need a PC running Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, 7, or Server 2003 or later.   The PC must always be on and logged in to Windows.  It does not need to be dedicated, but does need Internet access in order to download the software.  RAM and hard drive requirements are modest and should not be an issue.

2.    Equip the telephone system for SMDR with the needed serial card or IP license.  SMDR over IP is often included with the phone system.

3.    Download and install the software.  Go to www.ultcom.com and select Downloads from the menu across the top of the page.  Then click on the link for Download Call Accounting 10.0+.  When asked whether to save or run, choose run.  Your browser may give you one or more warnings about downloading software at this point.  Press Run or Yes to continue.  Press Unzip, then OK to begin the installation.  Press OK again to proceed.  Press the large button to install the software to the indicated folder.  Setup asks you to enter the program groups where the software will be added.  Press Continue to both of these prompts.  Acknowledge the “completed successfully” box by pressing OK.

4.    Start Ultimate Call Accounting using the Windows start button.  You will find it in All Programs-->Ultimate.

5.    Fill out the Pricing Wizard with the desired rates for 7-digit local and 1+ long distance calls.  If you do not know the rates the customer wants, you may set local calls to free and enter 0 for the long distance rates.  You may go back to the Pricing Wizard once you know the rates.  The rates must be entered as dollars and cents.  For instance, if you want 3 cents, enter .03, not 3.  The Centrex 9 box should not be checked, except in rare cases (talk to us first).  Enter the customer’s home area code and click OK.

6.    Complete the Initial Setup form.  Fill in the company name and select the phone system from the drop down list.  Under SMDR Configuration, select a COM port if the SMDR will be received on a serial port.  This will usually be COM1 for a built-in serial port, or some higher number like COM3 for an external serial adapter.  You can then set the baud rate and settings for the serial port.  If, instead, the SMDR is provided on a TCP/IP connection from the phone system, choose TCP/IP Client (for most phone systems) or TCP/IP Server (for Toshiba phone systems).  You can then set the Node Name/IP address for the phone system (if using the Client setting) and TCP port.  The TCP port must match the port the phone system uses.  Press the Connect button to initiate TCP/IP communication.  You should leave all other settings at their defaults for now.  Press Continue.  If a Windows Firewall alert is shown, select Allow Access.

7.    Enter the default password (level3) in Security-->Enter Password to gain access to program features.

8.    Make a test phone call to see if call data is being processed.  You should see data in the second (Last Processed Data) box.   If not, check the COM port or IP address, baud rate or TCP port , and phone system type in Maintenance->Settings-->General.  If these look correct, but there is still no data in the Last Processed Data box, send an e-mail to support@uspnet.com.  Ultimate Dealers can call the dealer tech support number.

9.    Activate the software.  Click the flashing red message at the bottom of the call accounting main window, “Activation needed – click here.”  If this is a purchased copy of Call Accounting, call the number shown and be ready to provide the Ultimate order number (if you have one), the two 10-digit numbers on the left, your name, your company name, and the name of the site.