Progress Pays Big Dividends: Part II

In June, we wrote about progress in the aviation industry and the opportunities it has created for travel and commerce. We compared it to the opportunities in the janitorial business. What prompted this nostalgic interlude? The 100-year anniversary of the Wright Brothers “Wright Flyer,” flight in December 1903. Think of the opportunities from that date through the development of today’s high-performance jets, and then from Bill Piper’s “Piper Cub” to the 747. Talk of this progress inspired our discussion of the business opportunities progress creates.

In the first installment of this article, we determined that “leave well enough alone” and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” are harmful strategies that will stymie progress and opportunity in business.

Let’s look at more progress that has opened the door for sales opportunities.

At one time, stripping hard floors with a single-disk floor machine and maybe a wet pick-up vacuum were the only ways to refinish these floors. Then cord electric, or so-called “automatic scrubbers” were introduced. Next came battery units, and today, ride-on scrubbers and burnishers are hot sellers. Then came smaller electric automatic scrubbers that clean where big machines can’t. This opened up many new opportunities for sellers and end users. We no longer strip and refinish floors every few weeks. We can now use burnishers to pop the shine, light scrub and recoat using the automatics of today, and we’ve significantly lengthened the stripping cycle.

In the days of dirt floors, carpets or fabrics could be washed by beating dust out of them outside, or they could be washed in a nearby river. These so-called carpet floors progressed to area rugs. This kind of floor covering still had to be taken somewhere to be cleaned. Then came “wall-to-wall carpeting.” Carpets had to be cleaned “on-location.” Rotary shampooing using a floor machine was introduced. Then, dry granular, dry foam units and carpet extractors were introduced. Carpet extractors started out as a small pullback unit and have today progressed to walk-behind, ride-on and truck mount units — more progress and opportunities.

Not too many years ago, all mop buckets and wringers were made of steel. Then someone introduced the plastic bucket and yours truly said, “That will never stand up.” I was wrong. Then along came a plastic mop wringer and again, we were very skeptical. Wrong again. Today “non-metallic” (plastic is not a good selling word) buckets and wringers account for the majority of sales. More progress creates more selling opportunities.

Jack Hunter and his team at Sani-Fresh introduced the first “bag-in-a-box” hand soap program and completely revolutionized the sale of this so-called commodity. Soon a manufacturer of floor care products came up with a 5-gallon bag-in-a-box for floor finishes and cleaners to replace the 5-gallon bucket.

Think about a commodity such as wet mops. Years ago, almost all wet mops were made of cotton, or “rotten cotton,” and they were sold on price only. Then came along the blended mop with multiple bands and looped ends for improved performance and longevity. Synthetic mops were specifically designed for applying floor finishes, and more recently, new flat mop systems made of micro-fibers came on the scene.

Henry Unger came from Germany years ago and introduced the United States to a completely new system for washing windows. Talk about commodities, window-washing brushes and squeegees were all sold on price until Henry showed up. The Unger Co. introduced strip washers, extension poles, high-performance squeegees and a whole new system for washing windows.

Just imagine if any of these pioneers had said, “leave well enough alone.” What would have happened? Their competition picked up on their ideas and improved on them and made the original manufacturers go back to improve on theirs and so on.

Opportunities — and innovations — extend far beyond what I’ve mentioned here. If you are introduced to a new idea, keep your mind open to change. If you do, you will be ahead of most others. Someone once said, “the only time you can’t expect change is when you are dealing with a vending machine.”

Your customers will also fight change, so be prepared to be persistent and persuasive. Live, in-person demonstrations will not be replaced by any technology that I know of — at least not today.

Be creative, open-minded and prepared when new opportunities come along. Progress pays — big dividends for all of us.

To share your selling ideas, fax: (414) 228-1134, contact Mr. Dixon at (877) 379-3566 or e-mail.