I recently decided to put hardwood floors down in my house. We have 2 or 3 local places that sell hardwood floors. I went to the first place and found that the sales associate was nice and knowledgeable. But he kept saying “we are here to help you not sell you anything. We are honest people.” He just kept saying this over and over, and truthfully, he made me uneasy. If you’re honest and good people I will be able to tell – you don’t have to tell me 65 times.

Now I don’t normally shop around for anything. If I like the sales person and their product, I buy. So I went to the next store down the road. I walk in and nobody greets me. They just look and watch this young guy walk by. So I’m standing there for ten minutes looking at their flooring and listening to one employee talk to his installers about customers. They are there laughing and swearing and just carrying on. So I have had enough and I go over and ask for some help. Just so you know, this guy could give me the flooring and I wouldn’t take it at this point. But I wanted to waste his time anyway. So he finally comes over and is pretty much just trying to push me off. Then he goes, “well how much flooring did you need?” So I told him – 1600 sq ft. Wow did he change. “Oh that much?” he asks. Then the first thing he says is, “I’m the cheapest around.” OK but I didn’t ask you if you were cheap, I was just looking for info on your products. So he just kept going on and on about how cheap he is. Then he starts answering some of my questions and he is lying through his teeth. All he was trying to do was push me to a bunch of crap he had in stock. It was crazy. Who treats a potential client like this? Here I am about to spend $6,000 on flooring and he thinks I want to put up with this.

So the moral of the story is:

Don’t ever judge a book by its cover. And if you are an honest business man, it will show – you don’t have to tell me. And if you do treat your customers like crap and like to lie to get sales, you better really be the cheapest place in town.

Thank, just felt like ranting,

Josh

How Much Money Do You Leave On The Table?

This has always been a sore spot with me when contractors are always chasing  and spending there marketing dollars looking for that next client.

Time and time again I see boat loads of money sitting right in front of them with there existing client base that goes untouched.

Why is this? Lets start out with the easy stuff first. When you go and do an estimate and you don’t get the job or project most of you never call back the client to see if you can earn there business.

Are you crazy? Listen you can’t have the attitude that if they didn’t by the first time around that they won’t buy at all from you.

Big mistake! So you have went through the process of finding the customer, then you spent the time and money and effort to go see the customer and then all the estimating and maybe even some drawings and then you won’t spend the time for any follow up to make the sale?

When you look at your true cost you have already spent between $300-$500 most likely on your marketing.

Step back and look at how many of these jobs you have laying around. In my partner Josh’s case 112. Holy shit that’s a ton of money left on the table. Right?

Well in his case he is now determined to close some of the 112 estimates he’s looking at.

Why not? The marketing dollars have already been spent along with his time and effort. How hard is it to call that customer and ask this simple question? How can I earn your business today?

This way you can find out if the job is still available and find out what it will take to close the deal.

Maybe a small discount? Maybe a small add on for half price? But the main reason is to call and get the sale.

Even in Josh’s case if he can close just 25% more of his 112 leads with an average sale of $1800 then he now has $50,400 in more sales. Plus his closing ratio just shot through the roof.

I hope you found this post useful on marketing and make sure you check out our member site at www.contractorblab.com to learn more about working your existing client base.

Happy Marketing

Glen Kohlenberg

As I was flipping through the channels over the weekend I noticed about 6-7 channels on my local cable with all kinds of remodeling or decorating projects going on.

So it piqued my interest and I decided to watch some of them. The first thing that came to mind was that the commercials had no local contractors advertising on them. Yes, some of the shows were decorating an existing home on the cheap, to mainly doll it up for sale.

But two of the shows were kitchen and bath remodels. They were starting from scratch, from the bare wall studs. So why aren’t contractors taking advantage of this exposure on TV?

With so many shows out there, now would be the time to jump on this bandwagon in your local market. Our company does advertise on TV. We run 3 different types of ads and we have a contract for a year to run 500 ads per month.

We pay because of our commitment $5000.00 a month. So for $10.00 per ad we have a great marketing tool that we use to promote different products and services. We do change around our ads every 3 months and move to several channels, to gain more exposure and a different audience.

We also track all of our leads and the ads work for us. All of the products we advertise have had major spikes in sales.

I believe that with the way things are right now with the economy, and the financial and lending the way it is, a lot of your clients are going to stay put in their existing homes and just fix up or remodel their home.

Now is the time to step forward and go after this type of client. With all the TV coverage out there they are keeping your clients up to date with the latest and greatest products available on the market. Yes, you see all the big box stores advertising on the TV.

Why do you think this is? That’s an easy answer: because it works for them. So I would ride the coat tails of the bigger budgets, and slam my ad in there to capture some of the sales. Remember, not everybody is a DIY person.

Yes, some of the big box stores install products also. Again, why do you think this is? Simple–because local contractors are not offering their services. Think about Sears for a minute. They have been doing this for years.

Sears gave all of them a platform to work from. They took advantage of this market and built a better mouse trap so to speak.

All I am saying here is to wake up to fact that there is a ton of work out there, but only if you wake up and go play in their sandbox.

Step outside the box and go after this type of work and take advantage of the big boys’ budgets. Most clients would rather have a local contractor doing the work on their home, but they need to find you.

When contractorblab.com goes live later this month, they will have some topics on this same subject.

Happy Selling

Glen

Today I would like to talk to all the contractors out there around the country or even the world. My thoughts today take me back to the last couple of weeks and the ups and downs of our lives and your business.

I am one to follow a lot of news, and when it begins to affect my wallet, then I am all ears. See in the market I play in, all my clients remember the great depression, most lived it or their parents did. So when I here the bank down the street has a line out the door, well you stand up and take notice.

Or your leads go from 45 a day to 3 or 4 a day. Which is how it’s been for the past couple of weeks.

Ok, the bailout has been signed so when I show up for work on Monday everything will be back to normal?

I don’t think so though!

After calling around the country last week and talking to contractors, I’ve found that most believe it will take a few years to get back to somewhat normal. Some even believe maybe as long as 10 years. Ouch that hurts!

No one likes to go backwards in life or in business especially when you are looking at retirement within 10 years or less. Wow this sucks, but this is life!

So here we are again. you have come to that fork in the road and you need to make the right choices that not only affect you, but a lot of people around you. Yes it’s so easy to play the blame game and run around half crazy or tap that bottle of scotch again.

But this behavior gets us no where, does it? Maybe a little satisfaction and a little burning off some steam.  But not much else.

I like to think that the fat cats in Washington really have nothing on me. Yes, they have lined their pockets again on the backs of the hard working people of America. But then you must agree that on judgment day there will be a cost of there actions.

The people of America may get a little satisfaction before that, after all they have less than 33 days to cast their vote. There are times, as in business, that sometimes you cut your losses and make a clean sweep and just start from scratch.

Time will tell all, but no matter what happens, you and only you can set your future plans to move forward with the hand that has been dealt you. Sound familiar?

I do believe that now will be the time for all of us to make a fortune in our business. The real estate will come down to where we can afford to buy some for investments and this again will help with retirement.

We will never go wrong with owning real estate because you can always make money in real estate. This has been the backbone of our country and it will be again. Maybe you missed the last opportunity to afford to buy some, but you will now have another chance.

I hope every contractor goes out and buys a home or commercial building for an investment. This will not only jump start America again but will give you an investment to retire on or leave to a family member.

We still live in the greatest land of all to be able to use free enterprise system and live the open life we live everyday. To be able to drive anywhere we want at anytime and stop along the road and eat and sleep in a hotel of many choices.

I will leave you with a positive attitude–this is all you need, along with a vision. The rest is up to you and your choice when you come to that fork in the road.

Happy Selling

Glen

Trying to operate a construction business without a written business plan is like driving across the country without a map.

I remember doing one for the first time for a company that I was buying and needed an $80,000 bank loan. Now my time frame was tight and I needed this money now to make the sale happen.

So I have it figured out that I have one shot at this and I wanted to get it right and get that loan.

So I called my brother who has had experience at this and he gave me some guide lines the banks are really looking for.

He said they were big on cash flow and the future outlook for sales and of course a thing called profit. Now this last one was a big one for me because the former owner was sucking the company dry.

I sat down and did an outline on paper, then got to work and made it happen. I took a lot of pictures of jobs completed and some that were in the process. I built our team as the pros’s in the business and the dealers’ contractors of choice to use for their upcoming projects.

I had our accountant work the numbers so they would work and I did 3-5year projections schedule to show the bank the sales and cash flow would be there.

Then it was all done, and I must say is was a work of art by the time I was done. The one thing my brother said to do was to buy a real nice leather binder to put it in. He said the banks love this kind of stuff. So of course I went a little overboard on this and spent $75.00 on the best one I could find.

So I made my appointment with our local bank officer and in we went and he was big-time impressed with our business plan. Long story short we received the loan and bought the contracting company.

The banker later told me he has never seen a business plan so well put together and the leather binder was the one thing the board was impress with. They felt that since I took the time to bind it in leather that I would be a great risk and gave us the loan.

We paid the bank back within 2 years and even did some floor planning with them also.

So after it was all over we also had our company business plan and I shared it with our staff and moved forward with my vision and built a great company.

We will have some lessons on contractorblab.com about how to write a business plan so make sure you sign up.

Happy Selling

Glen

Even if you are new to the contracting business or have been in the business for a long time, today may be good time for some updated marketing lessons on the cheap. Now,just hold on there because I believe you can make the phone ring without spending a small fortune.

Yes all the contracting guru’s out there will tell you to spend x % of sales to meet your sales goals. But you know what today is a different time and the economy is not what it used to be. Right? So let’s crack open the door and take a peak at how I was able to get millions in sales with some of the most least expensive ways to market my company.

Now I am not about all the glitz and glamour when it comes to marketing and I do not like me-me advertising either. But if you what your phone to ring then I am your man. Go get your pad and pen and your favorite beverage because I have something to say that will let you sleep a little easier tonight.

My first nugget to you will be insert advertising. I have made more off of inserts then any other type of advertising or marketing that I have ever done. Yes, I no what your thinking I have done them there fliers also and they just don’t work. Shame on you!

Today I still use them in a big way and I know they work! But I have a few twist and turns in my bag of goodies to show you how to do inserts right and make the phone ring big time.

I call it my lather,rinse,repeat marketing insert method. That’s a priceless nugget#1 so make sure you write it down. See your graphic design is the major key here. The key word here is your. You must have your own graphics person that understands your contractor business. Nugget #2.

Nugget #3 is that only you understand your contracting business better then anyone. So train and teach your new graphics person your business. See once they understand your business then they can design your inserts to pull your client into the ad and then into the call to action[answer the phone].

Yes they will design inserts with before and after pictures and all the graphics and copy that leads your client to the call to action.[answer the phone].

Nugget #4 is a great headline! See your headline is the first thing they see and it has to stop them in there tracks! Boom. The headline is designed to pull them into the sub headline and then pull them into your copy and tell your story.

Nugget #5 says change your headline and increase sales by more then 50%. Yes, you read that right and it’s true. I have taken the same exact  ad but with only one difference, I changed the headline. Boom 50% more sales off just changing the headline. You ask how can that be? Let me explain…

Set your drink down and go and grab your favorite magazine, now start flipping threw the pages and stop when a page grabs or peaks your interest. Boom! Now you can see the power of headlines and sub headlines.

Nugget #6 OK Glen but I am not to good at writing headlines, can you give me some help here? Sure as long as I can give you my biggest nugget #7 to date. For this one you will need a road trip to the local book store or your home town library and do not forget the pad and pen for this important nugget.

By the way my girlfriend says I spend half my life in the bookstore. But after your trip you will be laughing all the way to the bank the same as I have for years.

Go to the magazine area and look in the home and garden area. Now think about this question I am about to ask you? What kind of contractor am I? New or remodel or specialty? Kitchens or baths? Windows or siding? Decks or landscape? Tile or carpet? Now look at the magazines and see which one pulls you to it.

Is it your niche business? Are you sure? Have you thought about it enough here because your choice will make you a lot of money or your wrong choice will make you no money.

So you now have 3 or 4 magazines in your hand and by now it’s time to grab a coffee or soda because that little nugget made you feel uneasy. Right? Good that just means your passionate about your business, and that’s a good thing by the way.

Now get out that pad and write headlines across the top. Take all 4 magazines and lay them on the table face up. Tell me what you see? Headlines-headlines and more headlines. Why do you think this is? Because they what you to be pulled into the magazine to pick it up and read it and buy it. The best headlines are always on the cover.

How do you know it worked? Because they are in front of you right? Now think about your company and the products and services you sell or offer, now look at the cover then look inside and write down all your nuggets you have found. Remember your headlines are short and sweet and your sub headlines are longer.

Mix and match the words to meet your current insert marketing campaign that you are putting together. Do not leave until you have at least one full page of headlines. One more nugget then we will be done, and this one will blow you away!

My last and final nugget #8 will be about testing. Now I have a new post I will give you on all about testing but for now I will give you a few tips to get you moving OK. So take 2 different inserts with 2 different headlines only and run them in your newspaper and make sure your graphics person does all the layout and he keys the ads for you.

Whoops, sorry let me explain what keying the ads mean? On the lower right side of the ad put a number on the ad. Like Glen 101 and then Glen102 on the next one. Why you ask? This is how you track your ad. When the call comes in from your client just ask for the number in the lower right corner of the ad.

Then keep track which one pulls the best as far as leads go and which one brought in the best sales for you. Awe ,caught you off guard or did I? Yes there will be a difference between leads and sales so track it all.

I hope  I was able to help you here with some great tips ,and can you see the difference your marketing can make in your contracting business. Give me your comments and let me no how else I can help you succeed and grow.

Happy Selling

Glen

Are You A Contractor Maven In Your Niche?

It’s a new world out there when it comes time to find “leads for contractors” and now more then ever you must dig deep to find quality clients.

But how do you go about setting yourself apart from the other “home improvement contractors?”

First, I would start off with a 12 month marketing calender.Now if your business has been around awhile I would also print out a cash flow map from say quick books.

Your cash flow map will help guide you with the spending of your marketing dollars. See, when you match the both of them together then this will give you a process on how and when you need to spend money on your marketing to stay away from the highs and lows of the business.

What your looking for is to even out your cash flow and your marketing to meet your work flow of new jobs.

See, most “home improvement contractors” have major swings of high and lows. This not only effects your cash flow but it’s hard to schedule any long term work this way.

When you have employees or even “subcontractors” that rely on you for full time work, this can be a problem keeping them on staff with work flow like this.

Now, lets get back to the”leads for contractors” part of this post. To be the “maven” in your area and stand out above the crowd you must use your marketing calender to set weekly sales goals.

So week one you may run a 25,000 postcard campaign. Week 2 a full page color ad in the newspaper. Week 3 you run 100,000 full color inserts in the newspaper. Week 4 you spend your money on ad words campaign with Google.

Now once you have done this it’s important to track all of your leads to make sure where the lead came from. This is done by “keying” the ad with a special code of your choice.

This way you are able to see which campaign work the best for you. Also make sure you not only look at the leads but also the sales from each one of the weeks. Your sales might have been higher for week 3 but you received more leads from week 1.

So it’s a kind of balancing act until you get used to it. I would do this for 3 months  and your end goal is to even everything out. Once you get the hang of this and you have it under control then set it up with your advertisers on auto pilot.

Tweak as you go compared to the amount of work you can handle and the marketing dollars you can afford. Everyone I know that has done it this way has been able to build there “home improvement business” exponentially.

I hope you enjoyed our Contractor Business & Marketing post.

Glen Kohlenberg

Contractors beware of the next boom, because its going to be a big one!

Yes, we need to stay positive with this economy the way it is. But when did we ever say we can’t dream a little bit here.

I suppose I have had and heard enough bad things to last me a decade. So I believe it’s time to start moving forward to the next BIG thing. And no matter what you might think the baby boomers will be the next big thing!

Now, I for one thought that the boomers would have started but because of this little thing called a recession we had to stop and put our plans on hold for a while.

Yes, I am one of those boomers and I would have to say that most of my tribe, like me had to back up and regroup some what.

I mean if you lose half of your nest egg then yes it will take some doing to get it back. So what I drive an older vehicle for a while. Stay home more and count the pennies instead of going out to diner 2-3 times a week with friends.

Maybe I’ll buy a condo instead of that new home on the water with the new boat.

Now, I will stop with all the poor me attitude along with my tribe of boomers.

Believe me, we boomers will be spending a lot of money. We will not let a recession stop our plans to retire and have all the fun things we deserve. Think about this? Now is the time for us to buy that retirement home in Florida or Arizona or California or the Carolina’s because we can make up what we lost just by buying right now while the real estate market is still depressed.

Homes are selling all around me here in Florida. Who are the buyers? Baby boomers from all the winter states.

Contractors need to be looking into this market and talking to the Realtor in your area and keep your ears wide open because you won’t want to miss this opportunity.

First, there are hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes in all these states and they all need some type of work. So now is the time to catch this wave of new home buyers at the beginning stage because this will last for over 10 years or more.

There are millions of baby boomers starting to retire and they will come with wads of cash and there checkbooks ready and willing to buy.

I hope you enjoyed this post and will pass it along to another contractor and don’t forget to hit the big orange RSS feed button.

Also leave me a comment and give me your thoughts. I value your input.

Happy Boomer!

Glen Kohlenberg

Learn about contractor marketing as Pete Ericson reviews a contractor’s website based in Sarasota, Florida. Learn a few tricks on how to get your website found at the top of Google search results, how to make your website easy to navigate, and how to make it easy for your customers to contact you. Any contractor’s business depends on a steady stream of customers, and a well designed and marketed website is essential to attracting new and maintaining existing customers.