Where Are All The Plumbers?

If your looking for a plumber it may have come to your attention that they are becoming increasingly difficult to find. This article focuses on the reasons for the shortage of good local plumbers and the problems that our young plumbing apprentices face on the road to becoming qualified and highly skilled plumbers.

First of all, if your looking for a plumber to fit a bathroom suite or even carry out small plumbing repairs in and around your home, you might think it’s just a case of picking up the telephone directory and choosing a company from the list. Not so! Given the recent property development trends and because there is so much demand for local plumbers in general, it is much harder to contract a local plumber than you may think.

More realistically due to the small numbers of quality plumbing companies that are currently servicing the your area.

So why is this the case? Why are there so few plumbing companies in the that there are not enough local plumbers to meet local customer needs? In our opinion, the root cause is that very few young people are training to become plumbers. Even fewer of these plumbing students are entering the plumbing trade once they have received there formal qualifications. Plumbing is, and has always been a difficult trade to master. A plumber must master multiple disciplines in order to be able to meet the needs of their customer and must also have the business sense to turn a decent profit. A multi-skilled plumber may have skills which border on such trades as building, electrical, plastering and tiling.

We have talked to a number of local plumbing apprentices and, while we knew the route to becoming a qualified plumber was not easy, we were astounded by some of the things that we heard from the people that we believe to be the future of the industry. First of all in order to get essential plumbing qualifications from a reputable college a work placement was needed first so that apprentices could provide photographic evidence of plumbing techniques that they have learned ‘on the job’. We think this is a very good way to teach young plumbers, i.e. by combining classroom theory with on the job practical skills.

The problems are evident however, when you stop to consider the fact that there are very few local plumbing companies out there and even fewer that are willing to take on an apprentice who once trained would be able to compete with them for local business. Consider also the fact that these young people are expected to work for very little money. In many cases plumbing apprentices are expected to work for free! When you understand the dedication and effort that goes into training to be a plumber you can see what a thankless task it is for our young people to complete their training. This especially true when you consider the increasing number of lesser skilled job opportunites that are present in our area at the moment that offer decent wages for young people but which offer little in the way of career development or opportunities to develop other skills.

Skyline Landscapes, Inc. launches new website on landscape design and lawn care for San Mateo County homeowners

Skyline Landscapes, Inc. today announced the launch of www.SkylineLandscapesinc.com as an information portal for Redwood City area home owners to find information about landscaping and lawn care tips and information. With articles being added almost every day and an online monthly newsletter of lawn care and home improvement tips the website is anticipated to quickly become Redwood City’s primary resource web site for lawn care information.

Future plans include educational guides on selecting a lawn care professional, expert advice from proficient lawn care professionals, and a question and answer forum for Redwood City area homeowners.

The web site will be an invaluable resource for Redwood City area homeowners in finding accessible information to address their lawn care and landscaping needs. Information will be efficiently categorized for easy navigation.

Francisco Quezadaz of Skyline Landscapes, Inc. stated, “Our goal is to be the best home and family resource guide for assisting all homeowners in the Redwood City area” The depth of knowledge and resources www.SkylineLandscapesinc.com offers is unparalleled.”

Spokane Home Builders Launches New Website Covering All Aspects of New Home Construction

Straight Line Construction, a Spokane home builder, today announced the re-launch of www.SpokaneBuilder.com as an information portal for Spokane area home owners to find information about home building and custom home plans. With articles being added almost every day he website is anticipated to quickly become Spokane’s primary resource web site for home building and custom homes.

Future plans include educational guides on selecting a home builder, professional advice from expert Spokane area builders, and a question and answer forum for homeowners.

The web site will be an invaluable resource for Spokane area homeowners in finding accessible information to address their home building needs. Information will be efficiently categorized for easy navigation.

Patrick McHugh, president of Straight Line Construction stated, “Our goal for the website is to be the best resource guide for assisting all homeowners in the Spokane area.,” The depth of knowledge and resources www.spokanebuilder.com offers is unparalleled.”

Delaware Valley HVAC Contractor Launches website On Heating, Air Conditioning and Indoor Air Quality

A Plus Mechanical today announced the launch of www.APlusMech.com as an information portal for Delaware Valley home owners to find information about indoor air quality and educational information in regards to their heating and air conditioning systems. With articles being added almost every day and an online monthly newsletter of home improvement tips the website is anticipated to quickly become Delaware Valley’s primary resource web site for home improvement.

Future plans include educational awareness guides on heating and air conditioning in your home, professional advice from expert contractors, and a question and answer forum for Delaware Valley homeowners.

The web site will be an invaluable resource for Delaware Valley homeowners in finding accessible information to address their HVAC needs for their home. Not only will the Delaware Valley website be addressing home safety, but also new energy efficient solutions, that will benefit homeowners in the duration of owning their home.

Joseph Ward, president and owner of A Plus Mechanical stated, “Our goal is to offer the most educational information for Delaware Valley homeowners by providing them with informative and professional articles and resources, which will make www.APlusMech.com a portal worth visiting and using to better make homes safe and energy efficient.

Who To Blame For Lack of Sales Success?

I get calls from time to time from those who would blame anybody but themselves for their poor results. The truth is, results don’t lie. They are just a true reflection of what you have done wrong or right.

Looking for someone to blame? My advice is to always start with your self. Blaming yourself rather than someone or something “out there” is truly taking responsibility.

Look inward for answers your results will surely get better. On each opportunity call you go on you should get paid with either one of two things. Money, if you have sold the job or information on how you could improve your approach if you don’t.

Listen with an open mind to what your customers are telling you about each and every failure. Consider each failure full of lessons to learn from the customer. That’s right, YOU are getting free consulting when the client tells you no. You only have to ask why it is no. Would you like to know why? Here is why…

If your price is too high… You haven’t made your services sound valuable enough.

If your client wants to think about it… They do not trust you enough to help them think.

If they have to ask their spouse… You are not someone they think their spouse should meet.

If they say they are choosing the lowest price… You are not being told the truth! Most often, this objection means that your best offer is simply not good or premium enough.

Let’s face it. Have you ever been told you were too cheap on your price? Do you really believe that you are always the highest price? (SEE SELF DELUSION)

Don’t believe me? When was the last time you, yourself chose ANYTHING that was the cheapest price for a major purchase? Why is the best hotel or steakhouse in town always booked and the motel 6 or Ponderosa Steakhouse always available?

What is the REAL problem? Something YOU are doing. What should you do? Ask your customer for honest feedback as to what you are doing wrong. Remember, your ego is NOT your amigo. Feed your wallet, not your ego.

Even when you do succeed, still study yourself to see what you could do better. It is not important to only figure out what the market wants. It is equally important to find out what it doesn’t want and then make sure you’re are not idiotically doing it, supplying it or saying it.

Take responsibility for all of your failures AND your success and watch your results soar.

Joe Crisara
www.contractorselling.com

Bay Area Remodeling Contractor

We are pleased to announce the launch of A.W. Davis Construction, a Bay Area Remodeling Contractor, who specializes in kitchen and bathroom remodeling in the entire Bay Area.

How To Deal Wit Tire Kickers

Article by Brett Martinson

I recently had the opportunity to interview 10 industry experts to get their advice on how to deal with ‘price-shoppers’ and ‘tire-kickers.’

Nothing can waste a builder or remodeler’s time more than spending it on a lead who may not be serious about going ahead with the project. Nothing can eat up a builder or remodeler’s profits more than get into a bidding war where quality falls victim to lowest price.

However “dealing” with this type of lead can mean many things…from eliminating the lead as quickly as possible, to qualifying the lead, to converting the lead from a ‘price-shopper’ to a ‘quality-shopper.’ (Can’t be done, you say?)

One remodeler I spoke with swears by his system of weeding out tire-kickers in less than ten minutes, over the phone, with five simple questions.

(For access to all 10 interviews, they’re freely available at http://www.SuccessfulHomeBuilders.com/interviews)

Weeding Out Tire-Kickers in Less Than 10-minutes…

Greg Schnarr has been in business for more than 20 years and his company, Schnarr Craftsmen, has won the local best renovation award three times out of the last four years. He knows a thing or two about which sales leads to follow earnestly…and which to let go.

“When we get a sales lead we have a form we fill in,” says Greg. “Some of the questions on the form can make the customer a little uncomfortable, but we find if they’re serious they’ll answer the questions honestly.”

The questions? Five important ones:

1) How long have they lived in their house?
2) How long have they been thinking about doing this project?
3) How much are they planning to spend?
4) When do they plan to start the work?
5) Are they getting any other bids, and how many?

What’s the Most Important Question of All?

According to Greg, the most important question is #3 — what’s your budget? “Our time is very valuable, and I consider their time to be valuable as well,” Greg states. “If they’re not willing to talk budget, we certainly wouldn’t go any further.”

Even though Greg found this an uncomfortable question to start asking his leads (and, sometimes, the most uncomfortable question for his leads to answer), it was necessary to qualify his leads better.

“It really is one that needs to be asked,” Greg affirms. “Before we started qualifying leads we really wasted a lot of time going out to see people who just had no clue of what things cost.” Now Greg eliminates about 50% of his leads with these questions. Where would you rather spend your time…10 minutes on the phone, or an hour (or more) with an unqualified lead?

However, Greg applies good ol’ business sense to his system. “If it’s a referral from a past customer, you might follow that lead a little harder than somebody who got your name from the Yellow Pages.”

How to Apply Greg’s System in Your Business…

Asking these questions is simple to implement in any builder or remodeler’s business. Equally important is tracking the results.

How many leads did you disqualify (and are those leads coming from one primary source)? Of the leads you “kept”, how many turned into good, profitable clients? Of the ones that were less than stellar, are there any common traits that’ll allow you to quickly identify them in the future?

The great thing about Greg’s system is it not only helps in dealing with ‘tire-kickers’, it becomes a continuous improvement tool highlighting where the profitable vs. the time-wasting leads are coming from!

Start asking the five questions Greg uses, so you can spend less time on dead-end leads, and more time on profitable clients!

For FREE access to all ten “10-Minute Solutions to Deal with Tire-Kickers and Price-Shoppers” audio interviews, full of valuable strategies and tips from “been there, dealt with it” industry experts, simply visit http://www.SuccessfulHomeBuilders.com/interviews.

Press Release Marketing… What Are You Doing Today?

Originally Press releases were created to target effective communication between company PR departmental staff and the media. But now the scene has changed drastically. News has become the number one online destination for over 75 percent of the internet users. Hundreds of sites offer RSS feeds for press releases making it a tool to generate online traffic directly to your website.

Today, a Press release is not only a means to disperse important commercial or marketable information, but it also creates outstanding prospects to pull incoming links to a website. There are some established wire services from where reliable news content can be easily taken. Some of these wire services are Business Wire, PR Newswire, PRWeb and Market Wire.

Press releases will not only generate possible articles in your local media, but it will actually generate leads for you. Here are some ideas for your next press release:

1. Starting a new business division

2. Introducing a new job site or project

3. Celebrating an anniversary

4. Announcing a restructuring of the company (new hires?)

5. Offering an article series for publishing (write, write, write)

6. Opening up branch or satellite offices

7. Receiving an award

8. Receiving an appointment with association or chamber

9. Participating in a philanthropic event (charity anyone?)

10. Introducing a unique strategy/approach (got any DIY cures?)

11. Announcing a partnership

12. Changing the company or product name

13. Earning recognition of the company, product or executives by a publication

14. Announcing that you’re available to speak on particular subjects of interest

15. Issuing a statement of position regarding a local, regional or national issue

16. Announcing a public appearance on television, radio or in person

17. Launching a website (If you are a Footbridge Client, this is already done)

18. Announcing free information available (If you are a Footbridge Client, this is already done)

19. Announcing that you’ve reached a major milestone

20. Obtaining a new, significant customer

21. Expanding or renovating the business

22. Establishing a unique vendor agreement (new window dealer?)

23. Meeting some kind of unusual challenge or rising above adversity

24. Restructuring your business or its business model

25. Setting up a customer advisory group

26. Announcing the results of research or surveys you have conducted

27. Announcing that an individual in your business has been named to serve in a leadership position in a community, professional or charitable organization

28. Sponsoring a workshop or seminar

29. Making public statements on future business trends or conditions

30. Forming a new strategic partnership or alliance

Need a press release and have an idea, contact your marketing consultant today.

Colorado Springs Roofing Contractor

We are pleased to announce the launch of Tuff Roof, a Colorado Springs Roofing Contractor, who specializes in both residential and commercial roofing.

Why You Need An Awning

Patio awnings do a dual job. They shade you from unwanted rays of the sun and add beauty and value to any home. Awnings come in a wide array of colors, fabrics and sizes so your selection is vast if you are thinking of buying one. If you already have an awning, then a little wash and air dry can bring back the vibrant colors and make it look new again.

Awnings can come with automatic openers, electric openers, or manual. The framing is constructed so that your awning will give you years of comfort before it has to be replaced. If you are thinking of purchasing an awning, measure first before you purchase.

Measure the length of your deck and make sure you have at least eight feet of clearance to mount it. Watch for anything that may be in the way such as lighting, gutters or down spouts. Measuring out eight feet should cover the part of your patio that needs to be shielded from the sun. Awnings measure from five feet to thirteen feet although the most size used is eight feet, which is big enough to take care of the standard requirements.

When purchasing your patio awnings you will find many different kinds. You need to take time to inform yourself which one would be best suited to your needs.

Awnings help in many ways to reduce the heat inside the home as well as outside by keeping any patio door shaded from the hot sun. It is like adding a new room to your home. It does not only protect you from the sun, but also from any inclement weather that Mother Nature might send your way.

Regardless of your choice, an awning is a wonderful investment with a guarantee of letting you spend long and enjoyable hours on your patio. If you are entertaining and it starts to rain a little it doesn’t matter you are dry and comfy sitting in your favorite chair.

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