December 2, 2022
How much is a mushroom vent worth?
We have a squirrel infestation in our garage. It’s pretty bad. They have completely trashed the place.
I finally got a “wildlife services” guy to come out and take a look. His name was Ed. He had me walk him around the garage, inside and out.
Then Ed went back to the truck to write up a quote to do the work.
Note that I said:
“a quote to do the work.”
...and not:
“a quote to get rid of the squirrels.”
Ed’s quote had lots of words in it. Words like “white coil stock” and “mushroom vent” and “custom roof guard.”
These words probably make sense to people in wildlife services.
These words don’t make sense to me.
The only words that I wanted to see in that quote were:
“After we’re done, you’ll never have squirrels in your garage again.”
These are words I understand.
They describe what I want.
And guess what?
I’d be willing to pay a lot more to rid my garage of squirrels than to have a mushroom vent installed.
Will a mushroom vent get rid of my squirrels?
Heck if I know.
Here’s the thing...
Focus more on your client’s desired outcome than on the activities you will undertake to deliver the outcome.
Your clients don’t really care that much about how you’re going to get it done.
Getting everyone thinking about the business outcomes instead of the time you spend working is a great way to increase your profits.
Yours,
—J