The General Contractor

Kevin Shaw Plumbing today announced the launch of www.KevinShawPlumbing.com as an information portal for San Gabriel Valley home owners to find information about plumbing solutions, and home improvement tips. With articles being added almost every day and an online monthly newsletter of home improvement tips the website is anticipated to quickly become San Gabriel’s primary resource web site for plumbing and home improvement information.

Future plans include educational guides on selecting a plumber, professional advice from local experts, and a question and answer forum for San Gabriel homeowners.

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

Kevin Shaw, president of Kevin Shaw Plumbing stated, “Our goal is to be the best home and family resource center and information portal for assisting all San Gabriel homeowners with their plumbing and drain cleaning needs. The depth of knowledge and resources at www.KevinShawPlumbing.com is simple, concise and offers every homeowner some information about their home.”

We are pleased to announce the launch of ElectroPros, a Will County Electrician, who specializes in electrical repairs, installations and landscape lighting.

An electrician is someone who specializes in the wiring and repair of electrical mechanisms. Most people will rarely need the services of an electrician, but when it is necessary choosing the right one is very important. For home use, electricians are typically needed to re-wire or repair existing systems. They are also needed for construction, including additions and remodels, to place the electrical outlets and lighting.

Before deciding on an electrician, determine the scope of work. Be as detailed as possible so you can determine the needs for the project. Minor repair work can often be completed by an electrician who is less expensive and may not have a lot of experience. However, for major repairs, remodels, and new construction, it is imperative to get a skilled tradesman. Improper wiring can be very dangerous and can lead to fires, putting everyone at risk.

Get recommendations for an electrician before hiring one. Choose a few to get estimates on your project and compare all of them. Talk with each person to evaluate their experience and expertise. Have them walk through your project with you so you can understand what needs to be done, how it will be accomplished, how long it will take and the cost.

An electrician should be licensed and carry valid insurance. Verify that both are active and in good standing before starting a job. Damage done can be severe with improper wiring so this is very important. If an electrician can not provide you with both, do not hire them. There is too much at stake. Get copies of their license and insurance certificate.

Ask the electrician about their experience level. An electrical company that has been in business for a long time will likely be a better choice than one that is just starting out. New businesses may offer price reductions to help them establish a client list and references. If opting for a new business, check that the electrician who is working on the job has significant experience with the type of work required. Request references and check them. Electricians who have happy customers will do a good job for you.

Choose the electrician who has the best combination of price and experience, and with whom you felt most comfortable. Get the project specifications in writing so you have a detailed accounting of the job, the costs, and time for completion. This will help protect you if anything goes wrong.

One of the reasons that sales has such a bad image in the contracting industry is the vision of the slippery, slicked down, silver tongued devil who beguiles customers and co-workers alike with their seemingly magic “Svengouli” like techniques.

Many, in fact got into the contracting trades just to work and so they would never have to face behaving like that. So as you can imagine, trying to inspire contracting professional to actually enjoy sales in difficult.

Thank goodness that it doesn’t take a slick approach to win over customers. Here are some key to communicating with your customers to inspire them to do business with you.

1. Visualize how you should communicate. Try to practice at least in your mind how each interaction has gone recently and work to visualize a better ending. If you can see in your mind how a professional would do it then you may be on your way to improving.

2. Slow down, be patient and be understood/ if you are not sure if you have communicated properly then “check in” with the customer to see if they understand you correctly.

3. Try to paint pictures with your words. Be more descriptive of what the system does and use less parts talk in your description. In fact try not to mention parts when describing the work that you will do.

4. Be aware of repetitive speech patterns. Record yourself and listen to how you sound in conversation. Although this will be painful, it will help you improve rapidly.

5. When given the chance learn how to speak in front of groups. Again one of the most painful exercises you will ever undertake but when you come out the other end you will be a master communicator.

6. Use Silence as you ally. Many times the best way to communicate is to say nothing or very little. Remember to listen twice and talk once.

7. Learn how to ask questions. When face with a challenging customer interaction use a question to disarm them. Ask for clarification or ask them why they are asking the question. Buy time until you can come up with an intelligent response.

Let’s face it. Communication is the cornerstone of great service and sales results. At the very least think about your skill level of communication and work to improve.

You may communicate your value to those who need your services and in the meantime have more fun and make a few friends.

Joe Crisara
www.contractorselling.com

Zimmerman’s Roofing, today announced the launch of Www.ZimmermansRoofing.com as an information portal for Lancaster County area home owners to find information about roofing and roof repair information. With articles being added almost every day and an online monthly newsletter of home remodeling tips the website is anticipated to quickly become the Lancaster County’s primary resource web site for roofing information.

Future plans include educational guides on selecting a roofing contractor, professional advice from expert roofing contractors, and a question and answer forum for Lancaster County homeowners.

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

Andrew Zimmerman, owner of Zimmerman’s Roofing stated, “We believe the name change will steer potential clients to be aware that we specialize now in roofing and not other types of home improvement. Our goal for the website is to be the best home and family resource guide for assisting all homeowners in Lancaster County the depth of knowledge and resources Www.ZimmermansRoofing.com offers is unparalleled.”

Since there is nowhere for a tradesman, whether contractor or anyone else, to complain about unsuitable clients or outcomes, thecontractorsside.com was created by Lee W. Dodson to provide a forum and a resource for trade.

While the site is directed at the state of California, it is suitable for any area in the United States. The site was created because the building trades have nowhere to go to check out clients, suppliers, other contractors. The Contractor’s State Licensing Board falls under the purview of State Consumer Affairs. The courts hold a natural bias against the building trades. News services have traditionally aligned against builders, and nobody else cares about the problems faced by building trades people.

On this site, a trade’s person may, at a reasonable cost, give his or her account of problems encountered on a job, can easily and inexpensively check a client or a business to see if other trades people had a problem in their business dealings. The cost is $10, for which the user may post one complaint and may check one client, or the user may post two complaints, or the user may log on to check two clients.

This beats the heck out of the expense of going through the process of a credit or background check on a potential client and waiting for the process to clear.

Further, this site puts the name of the subject out of there for any user to see, and it can give advice on how to deal with a problem before it arises. The site can automatically generate either an e-mail or postcard notification-to the subject of the complaint, and it is designed to maintain the anonymity of the posting entity if so desired.

This site is the next logical step that can be taken to protect the thousands of honest contractors, trades people, or workers by exposing the presumed cheats. Let’s face it, the consumer, whether honest or not, holds all the cards in the business. It’s time the playing field levels out.

It has been said that sunshine is the best antiseptic. This person-to-person site is mounted to shed light on the little guy side of the construction business equation.

Finally, there’s a sympathetic ear for someone who’s been stiffed.

While thecontractorsside.com is not a dispute resolution service, it is a venue for getting the word out about iffy clients, suppliers, even legal entities who may be predisposed to taking the client’s side.

A few newsletters ago, we mentioned the importance of putting your names in the local directories or major search engines. So what now?

Your optimized local directory profile is like a smaller version of your Website. It is optimized with a specific keyword phrase. It appears in search engine listings, just like your Website. A visitor clicks the profile and is taken to your Website. It’s that easy. If you have added your listing to the Yahoo Directory and the Google Directory, you need to maintain it.

Ways To Maintain Your Listings
You should always make sure to add your client testimonials to the listing. Even if they do not add themselves, but come from another, off line marketing, you can add them. Have a special or discount? Make sure to add it to you local listing. If you have multiple locations, make sure to add them, this will add to the optimization of your own marketing.

It’s a challenge to change people’s searching habits, but challenge has never been a problem for the global search engines. As a contractor looking for a way to add to your Internet marketing strategy, local search engines and directories can be a minefield or a goldmine depending on how well you research the directories themselves and the people using them. So, paying attention to the local directory market over the next few months and ensuring that you spend your advertising budget where your key customers are going to notice it, should be a top priority for any forward-thinking contractor.

Would you agree with overwhelming evidence that your website is your business face and front office to the world? If you don’t, then we have a problem right there. Would you agree
the Internet is how people search for what they need? No longer is it the yellow pages.

Most people are now searching the internet to find the things they need. Can we say that the web is pretty major when it comes to how customers find you and decide if they are
going to call you?

Two big ideas need your attention: Customers and the web. Potential customers are the ones in charge of the future of your business. Conversation with them in every form possible is key.
Remembering what they tell you and acting on it is vital. That’s why we are more and more dependent on technology. That’s because we just can’t remember and recall that much information as fast or as completely as necessary to stay on top of things. Customers will
no longer suffer through repeating themselves to different people in your company. You just have to find the best way to have an enterprise-wide view and grip on the profile and preferences of every customer.

Let’s see if you are on top of what’s being called the second coming of the web. As big as the web is in your life and business, we have news. It’s all going to get even bigger and change every
business–from the biggest to yours.

No longer will it be about “cool.” Instead, the web will be all about usefulness and gathering information in regards to making sales and providing information to current clients.

Can you think of one or two really big factors that completely defined or reinvented your business? Think of something that was the turning point and there was no going back. Got that in mind? Now do your best to imagine something much bigger and more powerful than that.

The next time you are looking at your business plans for the upcoming year, make sure to ask yourself what you will do to capture the online market, not only for potential clients, but your
current client base.

“We learn by doing.”

Aristotle: Influential ancient Greek philosopher

Did you ever teach a child how to swim? If you wanted to, you could just sit and read dozens of books or watch some videos that would teach the fundamentals to your youngster. After listening to you read a few pages, your kid would no doubt run off and do something more stimulating if they are like any kid that I know.

Can you really learn to do anything without eventually jumping in and doing it? The answer in short is an emphatic no. This is also true when it comes to sales training.

A child learns to swim by getting in the water and going through the motions. The same applies to you in our program as well. We learn by doing, by trying, by failing, and by trying again.

Getting in front of your customer without practicing your sales, presentation and objection handling techniques is like a swimmer competing in the Olympics after they have only gone to a seminar on swimming without ever really practicing in the water first.

I know that you’re probably uncomfortable role playing and so forth in front of a crowd. The greatest fear of all is public speaking and when you add the twist of role playing a difficult sales interaction it can turn anyone’s stomach in knots.

You know that feeling you have right before you jump in the pool when you don’t really know how cold the water will be? Well, that is what your irrational fear of practicing and role playing is akin to,

What can you do to overcome your reluctance to practice with role playing?

1. Don’t call it role playing, let’s just call it practice.

2, Practice with a safe person. Someone you can trust to not judge you.

3.Discuss the outcome that you want to practice in this particular session.

4, Don’t practice the whole situation. Chunk it down to one section.

There is a saying in sales, “The first person you have to sell is you.” That’s right. You have to convince yourself that practicing your responses before you “go live on stage” is better than going in front of a customer not having practiced at all.

As famous golfer, Arnold Palmer once said about practicing the game of golf to a reporter who asked if had worked on his game DURING the tournament. Arnold said, “If you didn’t bring it with you, you won’t find it here.”

The message is clear. Practice your response to common sales situations until it is more normal to say the right thing than the wrong thing. And by all means, do not practice in front of the customer.

Go ahead jump in and start practicing. The water feels great!

Joe Crisara
www.contractorselling.com

We are pleased to announce the re-launch of Kevin Shaw Plumbing a, San Gabriel Valley Plumber, who specializes in water conditioning, water heaters and bathroom plumbing.