Goods versus services? Wassup wit dis?

Question: Aren’t manufactured ‘goods’ easier to produce that a ‘service’?

Steve’s Answer: ABSOLUTELY! In fact, the plot thickens…

Hey Steve,

Everyone always talks about setting up “systems and procedures”. But I get a little confused on how to set up systems and procedures for cleaning and/or restoration. It seems there are a bunch of variables in this industry. What I mean is when selling a product (vs. a service) it seems easier to create systems and procedures ensuring consistent quality.

Struggling in New England

Dear Struggling,

You are very perceptive to note the differences between “goods” and “services”. There is a huge chasm between the two, not only in how your customer perceives the buying process, but also in how to correctly produce them. For example…

When you are selling a product, the customer is purchasing a tangible good that can be pre-tested, pre-experienced and compared with other products. (Producing or fabricating a good is even easier.)

But when it comes to a service, you are producing AND selling two things: 1) An experience and 2) a benefit to the client! It is a whole new (and MUCH more complex!) world … one that 98% of the cleaning and restoration contractors out there never grasp. Good for you, Struggling, to have seen the need for a different vision!

I couldn’t agree more on the need for Systems and Procedures. (What I call in SFS your ‘Business Infrastructure’.) But remember that before you “get down in the trenches” of system building you need to grasp what I call the “Just One Thing” in SFS Training. Your ‘Systems & Procedures’ should support these concepts (and the vision) that you run your business (and your life) by.

It’s VERY important to avoid the “Ready … Fire … Aim” syndrome when you are trying to transform your company!

Steve Toburen

P.S. One of my favorite Strategies for Success sayings re: buying any service is, “People only want to buy two things- a solution to their problem AND good feelings.” Give them both and you will retire wealthy.