May 06th, 2018

Paradigm Shift
A perpetual sales culture

By Curtis-Christopher Wragg
​Twitter @ccwraggii​

​“More than 400 construction company owners and various contractors were surveyed and were asked,   ‘What business are you in?’ Only one business owner answered the question correctly. The wrong answers went like this: ‘I’m in the construction business.’  The right answer came from a plumbing contractor who said, ‘I’m in the sales business, and I just happen to be really good at plumbing installation, service and project management.’ That plumbing contractor is doing very well at a time when many other construction-related businesses are failing or stagnating and are blaming the economy.“

This passage is part of an article developing the idea of what I like to call a ‘Paradigm Shift’ featured in Construction Today.  The idea is predicated by thoughts that, “an owner’s mentality can drive company culture to either inhibit or stimulate innovation.”  Ultimately—please run and tell this, the dynamics of your desire to grow the business in revenue or profit is either in a irrefutable fashion, innocence or even laziness, the chief goal.  Your title or owner’s mentality will direct a company culture to either drive sales or to cut cost—and my friends, those beaten down, shaken and stirred are the only options. Accordingly if you desire something to hug per se, hug this— “I cannot help the poor if I’m one of them, so I got rich and gave back,” expressed by Mr. Sean Carter. “To me, that is the win-win (win-sum game).”

Accordingly never ignore that dynamic or Milton Friedman’s 1970 New York Times article, The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits. Apparently even titles within many business entities have created limits on businessmen, individual proprietors and corporate executives abilities to execute the things needed most and have altered mentalities over the years—as we are acknowledging right now.  It is currently a popular blueprint to talk of or promote “desirable social ends; the business has a social conscience.”  In fact, corporations or large enough enterprises actually do and believe it or not, hire personnel to eliminate discrimination, environmental issues and size up social responsibility.  Large enough businesses enjoy social responsibility beyond social emotions and reduce tax obligations as a direct result of philanthropic and community involvement. Nevertheless,

“in fact they are—or would be if they or anyone else took them seriously-preaching pure and unadulterated socialism.  Businessmen who talk this way are unwitting puppets of the intellectual forces that have been undermining the basis of a free society.”

Back to the original situation at hand, you can generate sales and/or you can cut cost--folks those are your options.  The blame for failures can be directed toward drivers in the economy, competitors or banks, but all business can be reduced to an extended metaphor--leaky bucket.  All business entities are buckets that have the potential to leak, in which we generate sales in the form of adding water and we loose equity, value or accounts via the dynamic we call, “leaking.”  Lost business varies from operation to operation and may also be addressed by what we call a reduction in foot traffic in environments such as retail.  Nevertheless, in some businesses the sale begins and in others, the sale ends the service, production or labor portion of the business at that time—process begins again via marketing and promotion simultaneously (enjoy that tangent).   

Construction Today expressed, “only a radical change in mindset can save the business. Decide not to let the economy, the banks or other external factors kill the company without a fight. Then, be in the selling business.”  Yes, I have to remind myself, “wake up,” the company culture is the catalyst or the boat hovering on a worldly conduit that has the ability to manifest a self-filling prophecy.  Recall Mr. Plumber? “I’m in the sales business, and I just happen to be really good at plumbing installation, service and project management.”
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All—be in the selling business.