I’m going to go on a rant, so please accept my apology in advance.
We have more technology available to us today than at any point in the history of our business. We have websites working 24 hours a day. Facebook and Google can put our products in front of thousands of people. CRM systems can track leads. Automated texts and emails can follow up with prospects. AI can write advertisements, create content, answer questions, analyze information, and help us accomplish in minutes what used to take hours.
All of that is powerful, and I do use these tools—but I do not depend on them.
I think there’s a question every business owner—and especially every shed dealer—needs to ask: Are we using technology to become better at business, or are we using technology as an excuse to stop doing the basics?
In my 30-plus years of selling sheds and other structures, I can attest that the basics haven’t changed and never will.
A LEAD IS STILL A PERSON
We talk about leads like they’re numbers. How many leads did Facebook generate? What’s our cost per lead? How much website traffic did we get? How many people filled out the form? These numbers matter. You need to know them.
But behind every one of those numbers is a person. Somebody needs a building. Somebody has a question. Somebody is comparing options. Somebody may have finally convinced their spouse that they need that shed they’ve been talking about for six months. And somebody needs to pick up the phone and talk to them.
Technology can generate the lead, but it can’t replace the relationship aspect.
WHEN DID WE BECOME AFRAID OF THE PHONE?
This may sound old-fashioned, but I believe one of the most powerful pieces of technology in your business is still the telephone. Not another text. Not another automated email. Not another notification. A conversation.
We’re living in a world where it’s incredibly easy to communicate without ever really communicating. A customer sends an inquiry. We text them. They ask another question. We send an email. Then we put them into an automated follow-up sequence and tell ourselves we’re staying in touch.
But did anybody actually call them? Did anybody ask what they’re trying to accomplish? Did anybody listen? Did anybody build a relationship?
CONVENIENT COMMUNICATION ISN’T ALWAYS EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Sometimes a five-minute phone conversation can accomplish more than 20 text messages. I’ve had many examples of when I thought things were not going my way with texting, only to pick up the phone, speak to the customer, and close the deal.
Technology is exciting, but the basics usually aren’t.
Calling yesterday’s leads isn’t exciting. Updating your lead tracker isn’t exciting. Following up with somebody who told you to call them next month isn’t exciting. Asking a happy customer for a referral isn’t exciting (but that is where the sales magic happens).
Calling an old customer and asking if they know somebody who needs a building isn’t exciting and can bring on anxiety—and this applies to me. Walking your lot every morning isn’t exciting. Working to make sure every building is clean, priced, unlocked, and ready to show isn’t exciting.
Knowing your inventory isn’t exciting. Following up again when somebody didn’t answer the first time isn’t exciting.
But here’s the problem: A lot of the things that build great businesses are boring. They’re repetitive. They’re mundane, but they work.
The fundamentals of selling sheds haven’t suddenly disappeared because we have better technology.
Customers still want to deal with somebody they trust. They still want their questions answered. They still want somebody who knows the product. They still want somebody who follows through, and they still appreciate somebody who acts like their business matters.
ARE WE AUTOMATING ACTIVITY OR RESULTS?
This is where I think businesses need to be careful.
Automation can create the appearance of activity. An email went out. A text was sent. An ad was served. A CRM notification fired. A social media post was published. The dashboard is full of numbers. Everybody looks busy.
But did we sell anything?
Get back to the basics. Maybe the next breakthrough in your business isn’t another piece of software.
Maybe it’s getting disciplined about the things we already know work. Track every lead. Call people back. Follow up when you say you’re going to follow up. Ask customers how they heard about you. Know which advertising is actually producing sales. Know your inventory. Know your products. Ask for referrals (this is huge, trust me). Call old customers and build relationships in your community. And when you have the opportunity to have a real conversation with somebody, have the conversation.
Use technology to make those things easier. Use automation to make them more consistent. Use AI to make yourself more productive. But don’t let any of them become a substitute for doing the work or what I call “doing the deal.”
MAYBE ‘OLD SCHOOL’ ISN’T SO OLD SCHOOL AFTER ALL
Business changes. Technology changes. Customers change. The way people find us has certainly changed. But some things haven’t changed very much at all. People buy from people. People remember how you treated them. People refer businesses they trust, and folks appreciate somebody who calls them back. People notice when somebody genuinely listens. And relationships still matter.
So, yes, build the website, run the Facebook ads. Run the Google ads and use the CRM. Send the texts and use AI. Take advantage of every tool that can make your business better.
But tomorrow morning, when you get to the lot, don’t forget to do something remarkably low-tech:
- Look at your lead list.
- Pick up the phone.
- Call somebody.
Shed Nation, in our race to make business more automated, more efficient, and more technologically advanced, we’d better be careful that we don’t automate away the one thing that made business work in the first place: the human connection.
