From quote to repeat client: what great rental businesses do differently

Every business owner thinks they’re the exception. Almost none of them are.

Bonjour à tous,

A couple months ago, we did a webinar with Luna Tolunay from Fun Planners in Orlando. We’ve known her and her husband for years, and hearing her break down what’s made the business work reminded me of something I keep coming back to.

The recipe isn’t special. It’s the willingness to build one.

Every business owner thinks they’re the exception. I’ve sat in leadership meetings here at Goodshuffle where we’ll start objecting — “we can’t do it that way because this department is so unique.” Last week we caught ourselves doing it and just laughed, because we sound exactly like…well, many of you, actually!. But reality is there’s a rhythm to success — for you, for us, and for all operators who plan to scale. The ones that actually achieve it are the ones who stop calling themselves a “special” snowflake long enough to find their repeatable process.

Diagnose the recipe. For us, a certain number of calls leads to a certain number of connections, which leads to scheduled meetings, which leads to trials, which leads to customers. Your equivalent might be: how many inquiries lead to a signed contract? Or what percentage of my repeat clients can I expect to do a second, third, or fourth event with me? What’s the ratio of large to small events I do every season? Map the points of the client journey, then choose. Either double down on where you’re strongest, or find the leaky bucket and fix it.

Pick what’s actually leaking. Maybe your leaky bucket is “not enough inquiries from the website” or “not enough referrals from existing clients”. We have a ton of free content on how to audit your own site before you hire anyone in. You may find out you don’t even mention the area you service or that you’ve never asked existing clients to refer business. Spend hour on a Friday updating your site or calling existing clients, and it’s fixed.

Control what you can control. When you’re slammed, the list of problems can feel a hundred items long. They’re not solving themselves — you’re the chief problem solver of your business. Pick the one keeping you up at night. Sleep better. Pick the next one tomorrow.

Every business owner ultimately wants predictable revenue. That recipe is sitting there waiting for you to write it down, execute it, and repeat!

A lundi prochain,

Mallory Mullen

Le remue-ménage