Hey,
I’m new here. My business has really slowed down and I am looking for new ways to generate business. I have been building for 18 years and I have never seen it this bad. I see other contractors working in my area but not sure how they are getting new jobs. Up to this point referrals and word of mouth is all I have needed. What should I do?
-Jim
Replies
What type of work do you do?
Be careful with the way you spend your marketing money. TV & Radio for example are not going to have a high instant rate of return and are typically fairly expensive. We are currently running both TV & Radio spots but not with the intent on selling jobs right now, at least not many. The other thing you have to think about is the saturation you can expect to get out of TV or Radio. How many people are you going to reach and how much is it going to cost? If you don't have the budget to reach enough people your only throwing your money away. If you do go for either radio or TV don't necessarily accept the rates the salesman is showing you, bargain, they're hurting too and the prices are often negotiable.
I use it more to keep top of mind awareness. I have increased are spending recently partially in an attempt to bring in some leads but more because when things do turn around I want to be the one people think of, while many companies are failing or shutting down and doing nothing I want to make our presence stronger.
With our TV & Radio ad's I've also sponsored two home related programs, one on cable and one on radio. Every time those show's air our name and jingle go out. These are part of the things I negotiated for when deciding how much we were going to spend.
That said, there are several low-cost options available. For example we send out letters to the neighbors of the people we are working for, you can go the whitepages.com I believe to search for neighbors, I'd have to ask our office manager exactly what site she uses. The letter lets people know we're in the neighborhood, if they have any concerns please call, and by the way this is what we do, if they sign up for a project or repair we give them and their neighbor $50 bucks off.
We follow up with our past projects after 30 days, 3 months, 6 months, and a year, ask them how their project is, anything we can do, and if there is anything else we can do for them. takes little time and we usually get a few small filler jobs out of it a year.
If you have a Home Show, get in it. I sell around 100k of work out of ours and our show only gets around 2500 people into it.
Edited 11/20/2008 2:46 pm by NAGIV
That was very helpful. I especially like the way you follow up 3, 6, and 12 months later.Thanks
-Jim
the follow up is only easy b/c of my office manager. if I had to do it I'd never keep it organized enough.
If you use outlook or any calander program, set up reminder in the program when you close out the job or create the final invoice.
oh yeah, and if you don't have job site signs, get some made up.. They are the best/cheapest marketing we do.
and forget the yellow pages, they're useless.
your milage may vary
Edited 11/20/2008 3:02 pm by NAGIV
Good post .
I dont work for the public anymore per say but Im impressed when a realator remembers christmas and my birthday. The birthday card blows ones mind . We miight expect a christmas card but birth day? I get several cards per year from realtors and I remember who they are .
Tim
THe birthday thing would be good... I'll have to try to get our clients b-days..
Another really good one is the Anniversary Card - Anniversary of their move in day to the house you build them. As always, hand written with more referral cards included.
A few folks have mentioned Home Shows....do those really generate work for you guys?
I ask because a few of my subs use them and they generate alot of leads but not alot of bona fide jobs and they are something like $1,000. to have a booth at. Seems a bit pricey for me unless you have something really specialized or cool that would draw people. But just being a builder doesn't seem all that unique.
Oak River Mike.. it's how effective you are as a salesman that the results are to be determined..
I'm a strong advocate of them because in my experiance I get more real leads for my time than at any other tactic I've used..
Most salesmen feel they are a waste of time.. they simply don't know how to sell.. people there are seriously interested. Otherwise they wouldn't take time from their day to attend..
Those who are most successful know how to sell and how to overcome objections etc.. The motivation point and selection is already taken care of for you..
Frenchy,
Well, I agree but you would still have to pay to be there. Thats what I am wondering if its really worth it? Or is it based on what you are sellingbuilding?
I mean, if you got one custom home from it, its definitely worth it but right now in our area, no one is building anything...and that $1000. is a bit of change.
Complex question.. will a show draw potential customers or is the economy in such a state that nobody is going to come?
You could ask the show producers for an attendence guarantee.. no attendees, no pay! 50% of attendees, 50% of normal space rental.
worth a shot
Not a bad idea....might be worth asking before I commit?
Thanks
I went to the homeshow here recently, just to see what's shakin'. Pretty good turnout, but somehow I felt disconnected.
There were beef jerky booths, dog grooming booths, purse and make-up booths, a ton of koi fish on display, and even one or two booths related to remodeling and home improvement. High pressure salesmen were trying to sell me pool covers and home refinancing.
I make my living in the home improvement business, but I felt totally out of place at the home show.View Image “Good work costs much more than poor imitation or factory product†– Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
High pressure close has no place at a home show.. Contact and interest should be the goal.. properly run there simply isn't time to do a close, not for high end things like remodels and new homes.. I counted success based on how many pages of contacts I made that provided me with the time to schedule sales contacts when they were less in a hurry to see everything and could devote their full attention to the matter at hand.
Invariably I would sell a lot following shows so I loved them and hustled my buns off.. I went home every night with my back aching from standing all day on concrete, my hand sore from shaking hands and feeling glorious!
Don't worry about the trivia in shows.. they help pay the bills, maybe stir a little interest in those spouses or kids dragged along against their wish, and aren't any competition to the main theme of the show..
Thats a valid point.
Our local show only allow's home related products in and we're fairly good at keeping it that way. We have no one selling pots and pans, jerky, etc. I wen to the one in Topeka last year and the damn thing was a circus like you described.
I'm the first one to say I am not a very good salesman, I've gotten better, but still not "great"
I agree with you though, the single best thing about the show is your leads are pretty much all high-quality prospects.
Our show draws around 2500-3000 people, out of that I'll typically schedule around 40 appointments and have names and information on 30-50 more potential clients.
The success of the show is just as much based on what you do after the show is over as it is on what you do at the show.
New home builders do not generally particapate in our local home show.
For a while we were the only remodeling company in the show, the last two years there have been a few more.
The addition of more remodelers has not affected our success for the show.
For the last 3 years we've sold around 100k worth of work out the show each year. You can't just set up a booth and sit in it though, you have to work the show the right way to make it a success.
Our booth is very nice (in my opinion) and after doing it for several years I've learned some keys to our success.
The single largest factor I've found is to schedule appointments at the show to go and look at a project with the potential client. The year I started scheduleing appointments at the show is the year our sales went up considerably from the show. Prior to that it was around 35-50k a year. The secnd part of that equation is making sure to follow up quickly with them after the initial appointment.
There's a lot more to it then that, if you're thinking of doing a home show I'd be happy to go into more detail.
Edited 11/24/2008 4:18 pm by NAGIV
There's a lot more to it then that, if you're thinking of doing a home show I'd be happy to go into more detail.
I've never done a show, but I have thought about it quite a bit. I'd love to hear your suggestions for success. View Image “Good work costs much more than poor imitation or factory product†– Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
I don't know if this is universal to all home shows but I'll share what I believe makes our home shows successful. You also have to realize the shows have potential after the actual event is over to bring in new clients. We get at least a few phone calls a year saying someone saw us at the home show more then 2 years prior and most of the time we didn't talk to them at any length.
I believe having an attractive booth helps a lot, you need to showcase the work you can do, the problem comes in that the booth also has to be easy to store, set up, & tear down. The latest booth we have is fairly easy for all of those. It breaks down into a number of manageable pieces. We made the cabinets, the little business card holders, the picture frames etc. We hang photos of past projects on the walls and have photo albums and our laptops there. I think lighting the booth is also important. For your feet's sake use carpet & pad. All in I believe our booth cost around 6k to build so it's not cheap but it will be used for years to come. I'll post a picture below.
You have to be committed to being in home-shows for the long haul, I don't think being it in one year is going to do it because you learn little things along the way that will work for you in the future.
You absolutely must have people working the show that are committed to it. If someone doesn't want to do it and just hangs back in the booth and doesn't "work the crowd" you will fail. You must be willing to engage the attendees, stand in the front of the booth, don't be pushy but if someone shows a sign of interest engage them and ask if they are "thinking of any type of remodeling project or in need of a repair" "Do you have any questions I can answer for you" "How are you today" even works to start a conversation. Once you have someone engaged you can tell if they are worth perusing. If they're not, tell them to enjoy the rest of the show and come back if they do have any questions. Don't pressure people and don't waste time on those that do not seem interested. Never leave the booth empty.
Which brings me to having an intake sheet to get names, address, phone & e-mails, along with some information about what they're interested in. If they are serious ask if they would like to schedule an appointment and then schedule it as soon after the show as you can. You want to get to them while they're "hot" and not waste to much time. Other stuff on the intake sheet asks, what type of project they want, have they worked with a contractor before, how was it, how soon would they like the work to start, and how much thought/planning have they put into the project. All the information is useful in determining how to best sell them and what things I might need to do to get there.
You need to follow up with all the attendees you receive information from and save that info for future use. Right after the show we send everyone that gave us information a thank-you for talking to us with a little more company info, those we scheduled an appointment get a thank you which also has an appointment confirmation with it. At the show we have business card sized appointment cards to hand out.
I don't believe in giving away anything or taking info in exchange for trying to win some product. You'll get too many people who are just looking for the free stuff. We have candy in the booth and that's it, it's really more for me then anything else lol.
What you should have is information in the booth that can help your potential client plan or learn about their project, we have info sheets on several different types of products along with a what you can expect sheet for remodeling in general. All on our letter head. We also have brochures for our company as well as for products and samples we use often.
You can decide if you want to offer a "Show Special" Personally I do not think they work for our business but I'll have a few signs in the booth, "Free Sink" with Countertop replacement, "Free $2k towards appliances with a kitchen remodel" or what ever. It's cost us very little to offer those. Where I think they help is they will attract attention even if they people are thinking of a different type of project.
We also reciprocate with other vendors at the show. If someone is looking for windows, we talk to them, get their info, schedule an appointment if possible and then take them over to the window booth to look at windows from one of our suppliers. Same for siding, decking, flooring etc. If they are looking for something we do not do, I'll try to take them to someone that does. On the walk there we'll talk about WE do and keep us in mind. Other vendors seeing you bringing them potential clients appreciate it and will help you as well.
Lastly we can have as many "free" tickets to the show as I want to give out. It helps I sit in the HomeShow board but if you can get tickets to give away. We send tickets to people from our mailing list, usually the last two years clients and any long term clients, plus anyone we've talked to recently. In the letter it asks the recipient to pass the tickets along to someone they know who may be interested. Even if the recipient doesn't use the tickets it at least get's us in their head again.
Wear comfortable shoes, smile all the time, and also use the show to network with other vendors.
That's probably long enough for now and maybe more then you wanted to read
Well written! Good details and accurite!
Yes, nicely done. And I like the appearance of your booth. The way the photos are framed and arranged looks great too.
So who do you have in your booth besides yourself? I ask as I hear folks saying you have to have an attractive female yet I think that could backfire unless she REALLY knew the business well.
Mike
I try to arragne us next to people we do business with, the folks to our right last year were a lighting supply company we use, they weren't finished setting up. The ones to the left just happened to be there, some sort of garden group, their booth uglied mine up...
Forget the hot girl theory, doesn't apply to our business. At best it will get you a bunch of men dragging their wifes over to google and waste your time.
From what I understand, the 'booth babe' concept really only works in trade shows where you have significant out-of-town type, predominantly male visitors (a mining equipment show, for example). If you're hoping to attract homeowners or buyers, which may typically mean a couple, a booth babe might actually be a negative.
Been there, done that.
Booth babes are not good for construction. Remember that the woman usually drives quite a bit of the buying decision, so no reason to alienate her.
My thoughts on the "booth babe" are they really aren't worth it unless you're selling something at the show.
I base that on my own perceptions though...
For example, I went to a JLC live a few years ago, C.H. Hanson had a booth babe, they were selling a bunch of stuff, I ended up spending/buying more then I would have from a guy, she was "helping" me, making suggestions, How can I say no?
Went to the remodeling show in Baltimore this year, a few booths had booth babes... I went over and talked to them, but had absolutely no interest in what they were selling.
So I ended up wasting their time that could have been spent on someone with real interest. I don't want to waste my time at the home show, I need to talk to as many serious people as I can and don't want to deal with googling guys.
Good post Neil and nice booth.
Consider adding a flat screen monitor hooked up to a computer driven slide show.
Just to give it a little edge.
Eric,
Thought of the flat screen... Two problems, I personally don't own one, and refuse to buy one until my current TV dies.... Second, the company doesn't own one and I just can't see spending the $ on one right now.
It is a good idea though and will eventually probably happen.
This year we need some dimmers on those lights, It is pretty hot in there after a while... Even with low-watt bulbs. I've had the parts for the dimmer for 2 years and just never seemed to have a chance to do it.
<My business is Slow. Should I Advertise?>
Why would you tell anyone how slow you work?
Forrest - not understanding
Wiseguy
<Why would you tell anyone how slow you work?>Depends on what he does, in some circles it could be a great selling pointmale prostitute comes to mind
Barry E-Remodeler
You don't understand.His business is slow.How is he going to sell any slow, if no one knows about him ?I say, advertise !!
View Image
Call up all your past clients and ask them how their project is holding up (hopefully well) and let them know that you greatly appreciate any and all of their referrals and would be delighted to help out anyone they may know who could use your expertise.
Keep in touch with your old clients and keep yourself at the top of their mind so when anyone they are in contact with is building or remodeling-your name will pop up immediately.
If you do get a referral, sent a note and bring a token gift and thank them personally for the referral and ask them to keep referring you. Do this regardless of whether or not you get the job. You want to make your clients your ad agency.
Bruce
Well if you end up disposing of all your tools and equipment it will be advertized to create more revenue , so why not advertize to create more revenue for you and your business.
Of course,
the people who buy those used tools and equipment are looking for a bargain. Is that the mindset we want in our customers?---looking for a deal?
also---revenue does not equal profit.Stephen
JAndrews,
Short term--- I don't know of any advertisng where you can invest money today--and have it produce projects for next week-----so I don't have any short term suggestions.
I do note-- that advertising is a commodity like lumber etc.---that is-it needs to be sold. People you would depend on to be knowledgeable about advertising-----have a vested interest in SELLING you advertising.
Interestingly--last night I was re-reading my copy of David Gerstel's book " the builders guide to Running A Successful Construction Company"
in it- Gerstel points out that the average american sees something like 1500 ads per DAY
they are over exposed to ads----and you and I simply don't have the budget to put a dent in THAT level of exposure---unless we are Coke or Microsoft.
He also quotes a couple of guys named Deva Rajan and Steve Nichols who point out that you might be better off NOT advertising---it leads to customers looking for a deal-and cut rate work---AND that you are better off concentrating on servicing the heck out of your existing customers.
thin about it--- when do you consciously look at advertising???? probably when you are looking for something"on sale"
also think about YOUR best projects--- Your best, most profitable customers----how did you aquire THOSE customers???--- I bet it was primarily through some form of referall. there are a LOT of things you can do CONSISTENTLY that over time really generate referalls.
Think about it from the customers perspective----as contractors we are often tempted to do things that make sense to US-----and addto OUR bottom line---without adding any value to the customer-----and in fact pizzing them off.
For ME- a big thing is dumpsters and trash removal.- I explain to prospective customers--that whatever debris we generate each day---will be removed from the premises that same day and that we will not be tieing up their driveway or yard with a dumpster---or parking a dump truck in front of their house over night etc. A lot of our customers have never even SEEN the dump trucks or trailers we use-----but they HAVE seen the dumpster competitors had delivered to their neighbors yards DAYS before projects began--and left days after projects were complete.
another thing is phone calls. Return 'em all.---also- i call the next customer the week before we come and mention weather permitting we expect to be there next Tuesday----then I call again Monday---to mention we are on track-weather permitting to start the next morning at 7:45-8:00---but if for some reason weather DOES NOT permit-- I will touch base with them-------- and Tuesday morning-- if the weather is too dicey----- I call them about 7:30 to let them know we aren't coming----but that Weds. is the new start date---and so on.
once the job is complete( and paid for)-- I send a handwritten thank you note. I track every incoming prospective customer-and where the referall came from---and if I can possibly source THAT referall------I send THAT person a thankyou note as well--regaurdless of wether the referall results in a sale or not.
One thing I am going to start for 2009 is calling customers at 3 months,6 months, and 12 months to check up on their project and make sure everything is just fine----- . I have known about this technique for years--but never done it--operating on the premise than "no news is good news"---- but I now choose to view the phone calls as an extension of the thank you notes i already write.
when you think about it--their are LOTS of things you can do--which are virtually free and take virtually no time that generate referalls from happy customers. I would rather concentrate my resources on THOSE--rather on advertising which attracts a lot of demands for "free estimate?"
Absolutely--very best wishes to you,
stephen
"once the job is complete( and paid for)-- I send a handwritten thank you note. I track every incoming prospective customer-and where the referall came from---and if I can possibly source THAT referall------I send THAT person a thankyou note as well--regaurdless of wether the referall results in a sale or not.One thing I am going to start for 2009 is calling customers at 3 months,6 months, and 12 months to check up on their project and make sure everything is just fine----- . I have known about this technique for years--but never done it--operating on the premise than "no news is good news"---- but I now choose to view the phone calls as an extension of the thank you notes i already write."I thank you Stephen for 2 easy and solid ideas that I will start doing...One thing that really stands out in my mind...make sure each customer is satisfied...give them remarkable service and turn each customer into someone who will refer you to their friends. This one thing has been very powerful for my business. As I'm completing a project, I hand my happy customer a small pile of business cards and lately I have been saying-I could spend thousands on advertising or I could ask you to please refer me to your friends. Most of my business is referrals and past customers...and I can't keep up at this point.Another excellent way to give yourself some great exposure, is to teach at a community college. I read this in a book over 17 years ago and I taught 2 nights a weel-woodworking and cabinet making for 16 years. I loved teaching and it was a great way to network.I need to put signage on my vehicle and put up job site signs. But the most important element is to try to do the best for each and every customer...make yourself valuable to as many people as possible...cheers,silver
Silver, If you liked those 2 ideas-here is another one.I don't send christmas or " holiday" cards to my customers. I have however sent Thanksgiving Cards. If you send an xmas card-- it will be one of 50 or 100 that your customer recieves from family,friends, insurance agents etc.----yours will certainley be lost in the shuffle but a Thanksgiving Card???------ yours will be the ONLY one your customers recieve.what I do is---after a job is successfully completed and paid for----- I sit down and write out the thankyou note we already discussed.
I then also write out a similar note on a fairly generic greeting card that just has a pleasant autumnal scene on it---
something like " as our working season in 2008 comes to a close--- I would just like to thank you,again, for the privilege of working on your home this past year----blah,blah,blah"3 lines maybe---hand written---and most importantly-hand adress the envelope It costs next to nothing, it takes virtually no time----you are already writing the thank you post card--and you can set the growing stack of thanksgiving cards aside throughout the year-------and then THIS week you stamp them and mail them out the hand writing is very important-YOU put YOUR personal touch on the situation--and PERSONALLY thanked the customerTrue confession????-- to my embarassment- I did NOT do this this year. Usually after thanksgiving I will go out to a Hallmark store and buy a bunch of closeouts for next years batch----but last year I forgot--and the whole thing got away from me----a few weeks ago- i tried to buy some and write out the whole seasons batch over a couple of days-----but Hallmark actually had nothing suitable this year this week I am going to try to source some over the internet for next year.
Best wishes,
stephen
Right on- another good one...and with all these ideas, we need to tweak them so they work for us...BTW, "Thanksgiving" in Canada is in October-harvest day...same difference but no pilgrim myth...There is nothing more powerful than word of mouth...what I try to do are things that help to make those words glowing...silver
When I was still working for myself, I would keep a database of all my customers. Think I had over 150 names.
In MS Publisher, I would create a decent looking post card. Within a couple of hours I would have all the cards printed and stamped.
It almost always was good for a couple of leads if I did not do it more than once a year.
The co I work for advertises on local cable, about a buck an ad. Adding production costs and the frequency of plays, we spend close to 25k per year on this. Brings in a good half of our leads, and the recognition builds.
Best wishes,
Eric
the cable TV idea is interesting---- somebody else here I think does that as well-- maybe DanT ?
I would be interesting to track how that does---through a recession?you might not have access to this info--- but I would be interested in the closing ratio of the leads that come from the cable TV spots.
Lets say-- it increased my projects by 50%--but I only close on 10% of the leads( 9 out of 10 tire kickers?) in my mind---- the greatly increased sales calls--relative to the incoming work-would be a concern. As currently structured-- there is just NO way I could adequately service a large increase in requested proposals----and I would not be able to effective work hands on either.
I could MANAGE twice as many projects--but I couldn't service the requested proposals--or work hands on---and I am guessing profitability would take a nose dive. It's an interesting idea-- I would be interested in hearing more particulars,
stephen
Closing ratio I believe is fairly decent; close to 7/10.
The quality of the leads is not always there so we may be throwing tose down and not counting them as true leads.
In regards to the recession thing, the thought is to maintain the brand recognition throughout the bad times and hopefully when the economy get going again we will be on the tips of tongues.
I think it is a bit corny but the boss is doing this "SO< who doing your kitchen?" cameo thing at the end og the commercials. Believe it or not, he is being recognized locally as the guy in the kitchen ads!
As others have sunk, we are still afloat if just barely.
Time will tell. If things get that bad, I would never go so far as to suggest that the ads will be a lifeboat.
Eric
Eric--- perhaps you-- or some body else knows----------with an Dad on Cable TV------ does the cabl company have much ability to controll or target WHERE your ad runs? for example-in Cleveland-- there is the EAST side and the WEST side---and it would be tough for a small outfit to even begin to cover both sides-- there is a very strong E. Vs. W bias--- If you are East side- and meet a hot girl---you might not even pursue the relationship if she is West side=just too much hassle or- let's say you live in the Boston area. maybe you don't want your ad to cover the entire area---maybe just Lexington? in my case- I would be kind if interested to target my neighborhood---say my entire ward- and maybe one other neighborhood that I am also interested in---- but I sure wouldn't want to run an ad that covered the entirecity/county.stephen
That's a good question.
Putnam, where we are, has a whole other cable service than Westchester and I know our ads run primarliy in Put County and up into Dutchess which shares the same cable service.
So I am going to say that yes they can do it within certain limitations.
Locally, with our cable company, I can not, as far as I know, pick which zip codes or areas the ad will run, it will run on the channels I pick, and if I want to spend the money during the times I want.
I can however pick certain zip codes if I run ad's on their On Demand programs.
Our area is small enough (Population around 100,000) that I would not want to be that selective in any one area, I can see in a larger metropolitan area why it might be advantageous.
You can zone cable buys to the zip code.
When I was still working for myself, I would keep a database of all my customers. Think I had over 150 names.
In MS Publisher, I would create a decent looking post card. Within a couple of hours I would have all the cards printed and stamped.
And this time of year you could conceal it as an Xmas card thanking them for their past business and to keep you in mind for future projects.
That would really be an effective use of marketing $$. You already know those folks are willing to spend $$ and aren't just tire kickers.
jt8
The creative individual has the capacity to free himself from the web of social pressures in which the rest of us are caught. He is capable of questioning the assumptions that the rest of us accept. -- John Gardner
Edited 11/24/2008 11:57 am by JohnT8
You need to do something to make yourself memorable.
Locally one contractor gets a lot of work from a 32 Ford woody wagon. It's not a true woody He bought an old pickup from Hemmings hotrodded it slightly and built a wooden wagon instead of the pickup bed..
It cost him much less than a new truck and yet attracts a lot of attention..
You may not need to go to that detail.. a tastefully done set of side rails on your currant pickup with the company name and phone number might generate a lot of positive attention for some spare time work and very few dollars..
Find a way to donate some time to the local chamber of commerce or some such worthy club. Build them a lecturn or a display case for their trophies etc..
Make sure the club is worthwhile.. another words it's members are those interested in your services and capable of paying for them.. You do the work for the club to get the members to call you for their next project..
putting ads in newspaper gets you on a few lists. Being a amrketing oppurtunist makes you unique and differant.. Which do you think is more profitable?
For a small business, I would recommend against traditional forms of advertising and go for guerilla advertising. Low cost, high impact.
Get into every Homeshow (consider others as well, garden shows, car shows, etc. That's where your demographic is)
Sponsor a local event. Pick one that will get good press coverage. Nothing religious or political. If you can't find one you can afford, make your own. Organize a "home repair" project and get a list of 10 elderly people. Gather your subs and go through each home doing minor repair. Craft a press release. make sure the local paper knows and agrees to send a camera. Take lots of pictures. Have signs made - real estate size. While you are working on each house, tie balloons to the sign. Ask each elderly couple if you can leave the signs in their yard. Give them each 100 referral cards with their name on it.
Door hangers
More importantly, develop an active referral program. Develop a referral card and ask all past clients if you can display a sign with the cards in a lucite holder at their business. Give them 100 cards each with their name on the back. If you get business for the referral, they get a spiff. A tiered system - the more referrals the more the money adds ups. The big referral prize should be significant - a weekend getaway trip, for example.
Also consider Open Houses. there's two kinds: open to the public and advertised. Or at the home of a past client. They invite 200 of their closest friends. you pay for coffee, cookies and snackes. You give them both nice button up denim shirts with your logo on them. Perhaps a front door mat with your company logo. you pass out referral cards. For their trouble, you pay to clean the house afterwards and you give them a gift of a big plant for the patio or something "for the house". This way you combine your referral efforts (your stickiest leads) with mining for new customers.
Don't overlook your signage opportunities. Do you have a physical office? Is it well marked? do you have your truck well branded? If not, wrap it as fast as you can with prominent signage. Trucks are really rolling billboards, did you know? Consider wrapping a small trailer. Move it around. Park it in prominent places (be sure you understand local ordinances). On each day of the homeshow, get up at the crack of dawn and make sure your logod trailer is in one of the most prominent parking slots. Take it to where people are: ball games, events, etc. Tie ballons to it and drive it down the freeway if you have to - the more people that see it the better.
The key is to be consistent with your efforts. Leads go in the top of the funnel. Some buy now, some buy later and some may buy 3 years from now. If you do not follow up (letters, emails, birthday wishes, calls, mail pieces, etc) you are wasting 2/3 of your leads.
Brand recognition is difficult. Outside of referrals, you ahve to get your brand in front of someone 13 times to get your logo seared in their brain. That takes work to "be known" and therefore "be trusted". So, the idea is multiple prongs - signage, yellow pages, emails, etc. Each counts as a one more step to them trusting your brand.
Great book to read for cheap marketing ideas is "guerilla marketing" by jay levinson.
I haven't read all the responses, but wanted to say this: Yes, you should advertise. Whether business is slow or great, you should always advertise. The more jobs you have to pick from, the higher you can bid, and the more you can cherry pick the best ones.
CaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
I looked into advertising and found that cable TV was the best. Cheaper and most productive. They offer several packages.
Id rather have 5 fingers in the pot than one .
I live in the south . People here do a variety of things . Thats the way I learned .
I started investing in buying repos for resale and rentals while I was working as a sub. If I was slow I could always buy a house or a job to flip or add a rental.
Just sayin. Buyin mules could be the same thing .
Tim
join angies list
I have been on it for about a year and have generated about 20k of unsolicited and unanticipated work, great fill in and at no cost to you although they willbug you to buy advertising
Steve,
What kind of work do you generate from Angie's? Is it larger jobs like additions and remodels or mostly repair items? (I'm guessing repair based on your $20k figure but just wanted to ask to find out)
Thanks
Mike
Mike,
If you are interested in Angie's List I would advise you to proceed carefully----because I personally feel the organization is un-ethical--based on my experience.Angies List started out in cincinatti, ohio or columbus, ohio-- I can't recall which. angies list sells memberships to homeowners---and the homeowners purchased membership entitles them to access to the "LIST"- the list is advertised as pre-screened contractors, home services, etc.-- Basically its a "FOR PROFIT" version of the sort of informal thing you would naturally do with your neighbors friends, relatives etc.("Hey Margie, do you know a good plumber?") all that sounds reasonable-----but there are elements of it that I find un-ethicalfor example--when Angies List expanded into the Akron,Ohio area(my city)--they sold memberships to consumers and compiled the "Akron List"--by simply opening the Yellow Pages--that was the screening process. they state that you have to be referred by a satisfied subscriber to get on the list---- but I know for a fact that this is not true--at least when they are trying to open a market up-----so basically-they lie
remember--they are a company--like any other company trying to turn a buckALSO---- in my time"on the list"- to my recollection I never sold a single project to an Angies List Member---- I did,however, meet quite a few"consumer reports" types of prospects( "how cheap can you do this" "is this your best price", " do you give senior citezen discounts"---and on,and on,and on)---that sort of person IS NOT my target consumerso--after a period on the list I contacted them and instructed them to please REMOVE me from the list but periodically I will STILL recieve a call from someone who says they got my name from Angies List---so somehow I managed to get back on.Best wishes,
stephenI know this--because that's how I got on the list originally
Thank you for your insight Stephen.
Mike
Stephen - do you know anything about Angie's List feedback system? I remember when they contacted me that I looked into it, and the feedback system is what turned me off.
With any feedback system, there has to be some kind of moderator, and some kind of recourse for unfair or untrue feedback. Otherwise scammers, unethical competitors, and just plain obnoxious people will abuse the system. I know this because my wife sells on ebay and amazon (that is her business), and you wouldn't believe the cr*p she has had posted on her feedback (i.e. buyer buys a book, reads it and doesn't like it, so they post scathing feedback...or the post office takes too long to deliver it, so they burn her with their feedback...or they get her confused with another seller, and flame the wrong person, etc. etc.)
But amazon and ebay both have options for sellers who are unfairly victimized - there are ways of getting false or inflammatory feedback removed...if you catch it in time. I don't think Angie's List had anything like that.
I remember being pretty unimpressed with their whole setup, but the feedback was the clincher for me. Just wondered if thats still the case, of if anyone has any other imput on it.View Image “Good work costs much more than poor imitation or factory product†– Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com
Huck--- it's been years since I had anything to do with angies list----------- At the time their strategy was( in my city) to sell memberships and then simply compose the list with businesses they had culled from the Yellow pages---but- even being on the list I would personally have had to buy a membership to monitor what consumers said about me. I looked at their web site yesterday----and it seems to be as you described it.
additionally----you can now BUY an ad on angies list---which may OR may not make sense business-wise----but again seems dubious ethically on the part of angies listStephen
Sounds like the BBB. I used to think that they were one of the standards of measuring a company. Now I think that they are a legal form of "protection", like the mob kind.I got my first call from them several years ago. "Mr. Blakemore, we have had several potential customers call asking about your organization. Unfortunately, we don't have any information to give to these people who want to do business with you." They go on from there to explain how, for only $500/year, they can show the world that you are an upstanding company.I happened to put off the decision, partly because of some of the advice I received here. Then, about 4 months later, I got another call with the salesman reading from the same script. This time I asked them if they could give me some names of these "potential clients" and they could not.That alone is not enough to convince me, but then when I learned about the different ways that they deal with disputes (whether you're a member or not) that completely turned me off.
Jon Blakemore RappahannockINC.com Fredericksburg, VA
jon,
I was a member of the BBB about 11 years ago.
the rep(salesman) told me that they hadMORE inqueries about me than any other local roofer---yet ZERO complaints--so why didn't I become a member???? a year or so later when it was time to renew my membership---same rep( salesman) comes out---and I mentioned what he had told me the year before--------he looked me straight in the eye and flat out denied ever having said that!!!!!! Fast forward to this spring---- we did a roof on a house-one of the people living in the house was a former employee of the BBB-----she straight up told me to ignore anything the BBB does--because they are simply a boiler room operation------- no different than the businesses they allegedly protect consumers from!
stephen
Bogus Business Bureau!View Image “Good work costs much more than poor imitation or factory product†– Charles GreeneCaliforniaRemodelingContractor.com