I recently spent time with some of Air Flow’s favorite customers. We hopped planes and inspected Price’s technical center outside of Phoenix.
I heard several customers gush about the performance of our sales teams. That sure makes me feel good.
And I got to thinking about the types of people who came to the event, and how they go about their business.
There’s a POWER vs TRUST dynamic at play here.
In a relationship, there’s three ways to go with only two variables.
Given the choice, would you rather have more, less, or equal POWER than the company you are negotiating with?
Hell yeah, I’ll take the power. (I may have my head in the clouds, but it’s not up my ass.)
But let’s hang on for a moment here.
None of the customers I spoke to gushed about Air Flow being a cheap option and having rock bottom prices. Or that we are easy to push around.
They didn’t clamor over our ability to match competitors’ low prices. Or how good we are at groveling.
They gushed about the empathy with which they were treated. The ownership and responsibility that was accepted. The responsiveness. And (how the French say) le Give-A-Sh**-Ology.
They appreciated the opportunity to learn and get better at their jobs.
Where’s the POWER in all this? I don’t see it.
Consider how much work in Wisconsin goes design-build, IPD, privately negotiated. Two-thirds of our work isn’t through the plan-and-spec channel. An owner, a GC, a contractor who negotiates directly with someone they prefer to work with has foregone some of their POWER in place of TRUST.
As humans, TRUST is the way in which we want to operate.
I poke fun at my competitors for their bundling ways. All bundling accomplishes is a temporary rise in POWER, but it comes at the expense of TRUST.
The customers who only buy low dollar exercise their POWER but are regularly disappointed at the lack of engagement and responsiveness from vendors for work. Once a vendor has a purchase order, a lot of the POWER of holding over a vendor’s head is gone, and the POWER dynamic evens out. Again, at the expense of TRUST.
One of the great parts about working in Wisconsin instead of Chicago or the coasts is that we trend toward trust. It’s our first choice. I started my career in Chicago, never felt any of this.
I hope you feel the same way, that we work in a terrific market.
Hey, back to POWER, grow as much of it as you can.
And never use it. TRUST is the most effective currency.
All the best,
Tom Gelin
Air Flow, Inc.
8355 West Bradley Road Milwaukee, WI 53223
414-351-1999
