The General Contractor

Is there a connection for homeowners searching for good craftsmen while visualizing desired results for remodeling?

Do contractors really get more jobs from traditional print media by promoting a better image?
Why do contractors that advertise seem to be better business people?

The Contractor Show presents an exclusive interview with the CEO of a popular remodeling magazine that reaches over 4 million households to address these topics. This is a must see video if you are a homeowner or contractor.

Anytime you send a direct mail letter or postcard, you must mail to the same prospect at least three times. Each of the three letters will be a little bit different than the first and must refer to the previous mailings. Most contractors who attempt to use direct mail make a huge mistake. They get a list of names and mail their message to the list once. When they get little response they quit. To get maximum response, you have to send out your message at least three times to the same prospects! According to the Direct Mail Association, a consumer needs to be hit up to 9 times before they make a buying decision. So the more you market to your list, the better your response rate will be.

Sending your message out three times will generally double your response. For example, if you get a 5% response on your first mailing, you’ll get a 10% response from all 3 letters. If you don’t mail your second and third letters, you are leaving half of your profits behind - just walking away from them.

Most homeowners aren’t inclined to respond (or buy) until they have had at least 3 contacts with a particular business. A contact can be receiving a letter, a follow up telephone call, a copy of a newsletter, etc. Many people intend to respond to your offers, advertisements, or letters but “never get around to it”. By sending multiple mailings you provide a gentle reminder.

It is just plain naïve to think that just because you’ve mailed a prospect once, they’ve read your letter. People are busy and are easily distracted. The kids, the TV, the job – they’ve got a lot going on. You must provide a “gentle reminder”.

Here is how sequencing works:

1) Prepare your direct mail piece, albeit a postcard, sales letter, etc. and send it out to your mailing list.

2) Fifteen days after you delivered the first letter, deliver the second letter to everyone who did NOT respond to the first letter.

3) Then fifteen days later, deliver the third letter to everyone who did not respond to the first and second letters.

For example, your second letter in the sequence will have a big, bold…

“SECOND NOTICE”

typed at the top. Your third letter, when it arrives says…

“THIRD & FINAL NOTICE”

This sequenced mailing approach works like magic even if you just put a simple post-it on the second mailing that says, “You may have missed this the first time when we sent it three weeks ago.”

This method can work for any type of contractor. Sending a sequenced letter (i.e., First Notice, Second Notice, Final Notice, can increase results by as much as 100%!) So please, promise me you won’t even consider mailing a direct mail piece unless you intend to mail to those prospects at least three times!

BACK TO NEWSLETTER

The holiday season is upon us and this is a great time to get your products in front of your clients again. After all, marketing to our clients is our core importance in business throughout the year. Below we are going to list some tips and brainstorming ideas to help you promote your business for the holidays.

Tip One:
Don’t make your clients feel as though you only want their money! Take this time to thank them for being a loyal customer throughout the year by sending them a holiday card or even a postcard. The personal touch goes a long way, especially to your clients.

Tip Two:
Also take this time to offer them an incentive to buy from you this holiday season. Offer a discount on planning summer home improvement projects, or offer a discount on your maintenance plan.

Tip Three
If offering a discount, try to extend the expiration date past the holidays into January. Offering a discount on home improvement services for after the holidays is a good way to draw in your clients. They may want a little something for themselves or have some fun money they want to spend; that is where your discount comes in. Most people are apt to buy something when they are receiving at a discount, it’s that extra nudge to purchase.

Tip Four
The holidays are about giving, and part of that holiday spirit is reaching out to the less fortunate.
Pick a charity and offer to donate a percentage of your sales to it. Tell your subscribers what percentage you’ll donate, keep track of your total donation as sales increase, and make that information available to subscribers — via your newsletter

When deciding between buying from you, and some other contractor who doesn’t participate in holiday giving, who do you think consumers will go with? Your appeal to conscientious consumerism can be the edge.

BACK TO NEWSLETTER

The postcard can be a very powerful marketing tool for contractors. Many of our clients use them throughout the year. The key is to set up the card to market effectively for you. Concentrate on a specific service or offer and not just your overall company.

When used correctly a post card can become very powerful marketing tool. Be sure the front of your card is explicit. It should be clear to your customer what you are selling. A color postcard is a must, unless you are using black and white to your advantage, that is, to make a point.
The front should motivate your customer to turn it around and see what you are offering or what you can do for them.

The back of your card should make your points in a clear and concise manner. After this is done be sure to give your customer a number of ways to contact you: by phone, by email, or visit your website.

Remember you need to take a limited amount of space and address the main concerns that your customers have or to delineate what you are selling and its advantages. Give your customers reasons to contact you. For example, a limited time offer, a special product or service or a free report.

Address their concerns rather than tooting your own horn, you can do that in your follow-up. Your postcard is not the place to discuss you, but what you have to offer to your customer, or how you can help your customer. You need to have a unique selling proposition on all of your cards.

If you decide on conducting a postcard campaign, please understand that you will not receive leads from a one time mailing. Direct marketing, especially postcards work when they are sent overtime. If you are going to make the commitment, get ready to send out to your list 7-9 times throughout the year.

Before contacting Footbridge Media to help you with the design and mailing of your postcard, please have a mailing list ready. A good source for creating a customized list is www.melissadata.com

BACK TO NEWSLETTER

Never, never invest in a marketing vehicle that merely tells people about you, your company, or your product or service. This is what most business owners do — and they get little or no response to their marketing.

If you don’t make a simple and compelling offer to your prospects and customers, then they will have nothing to respond to. They will glance at your marketing piece, and then quickly discard it and move on to the next item that attracts their attention.

You must get them to make an immediate decision to take action.

And to do that — your offer is everything!

If you don’t have the knowledge to create compelling offers to get your prospects and customers to take immediate action — then you will get very little response to your
marketing. It’s as simple as that.

There is only one thing that generates response — compelling offers.

Once you learn how to create compelling offers for your product or service, your phone will literally ring off the hook. Your prospects and customers will find it difficult to resist responding.

Creating compelling offers that your customers can’t resist isn’t really that difficult once you learn the simple step-by-step system that we teach. If you are serious about growing your business, you owe it to yourself to learn how to create irresistible offers.

This list contains 25 powerful strategies to improve your direct mail results. It would be wise to use this as a checklist to ensure you’ve included as many as possible in your advertising. Any one of these strategies could measurably boost your response. How many of these are you using?

• Have a strong, powerful headline that promises a benefit.
• Offer a strong guarantee or warranty.
• Put a dollar value on free offers. Example: “$500 off Your New Deck!”.
• Have a strong call to action “Call now”.
• Offer free information:  a consumer guide, free report, design guide,
  etc.
• Include your address.
• Include a toll-free number.
• For a large ad, use a coupon. Give the coupon a headline that affirms
  positive action. Example: “Yes, I’d like to cut my energy costs by 50% or
  more.”
• Give the reader multiple response options: call, fax, mail, email.
• Use graphics that make the ad easy to read.
• Include your web site address.
• For a smaller ad, put a coupon border around the entire ad.
• Give compelling, specific reasons why your company is the right choice,
  superior, etc.
• Offer a free audio tape, video, catalogue, etc.
• Include an eavesdrop line: recorded testimonials that clients can hear on
  tape or a voice line.
• Have a strong offer. Bright line rule: the better the offer, the better
  the response.
• Include your personal or company story.
• Include your photo with a photo caption - people like to see who’s
  “talking” to them to see if they look friendly and trustworthy. Smile!
• Avoid “me-me-me, we-we-we” speak. Be YOU oriented. Example: “we do top
  quality work” changes to “you get first-class workmanship”.
• Each feature has a benefit. Example: Change “we’ve been in business for 10
  years” to “Our 10 years of experience means your project will be done right,
  the first time”.
• Change terminology to create more value. Example: “free estimate” becomes
  “Free project feasibility study”. Explain the difference.
• Include a deadline or expire date for your offer.
• Limited supply: create urgency by having a finite number of appointments
  per week, free gifts, free info, etc.
• Make your phone number large, bold, and easy to read.
• Placement - place your ad where it will be seen and read.

Don’t be afraid to invest a few bucks in your next direct mail campaign. When done properly direct mail provides an impressive return on investment. Contact us Today for a consultation on creating your Job Sign

Let’s face it as a person selling in a technical industry we have been taught that people need a logical reason to buy repairs, equipment or other improvements in their home.

The question then looms: Do you need a logical reason to present to people when they are deciding to purchase from you?

If using logic was the answer, then selling would be easy. We would simply build a logical case to tell the customer why it makes logical sense to buy. If people DID buy things logically, then they would listen to your logical argument and then buy every time. It’s only logical right.

Yeah right! If that was the case, we’d all be giving each other the ‘Vulcan’ greeting and our president would be named Dr. Spock.

One of the biggest mind changes you must make is for you to quit being so logical and enable your customer to discover, and in turn tell you, their deepest needs or desires as they relate to your product or service.

Most of us who sell services, simply do not know how to help others clarify their feelings and desires.

The way you present your facts, features and benefits can either reinforce or destroy the emotions that are behind every sale. That’s right, I said EVERY sale. In fact, the next logical sale will be the first one in history!

For instance, last year the people of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania purchased more big screen plasma televisions in the two weeks prior to the Super Bowl that year than in the entire TWO YEARS prior to that time.

What happened? Did all of their television sets break down at the same time? No. The Steelers were in the Super Bowl that year and their emotion took root and they made these record purchases. Did they make more money? No, they just decided that they wanted to buy. No doubt while telling many contracting techs that ‘had no money’ to fix their furnace or water heater. No logic, all emotion,

So what can you do to let someone buy emotionally? The answer is to not take the first reason as the real reason why they want to buy. People are usually afraid to tell how they really feel about purchasing with you.

For instance, I sold a single job for a client that amounted to $157,987 at 65% gross profit. How? It was easy.

When I first asked the customer why they were considering an upgrade of their heating, cooling, IAQ and home energy, the customer replied that the house was getting old and that it needed it.

Unconvinced I asked again. I told him that I didn’t believe that was the reason. After all, the home was built in 1864 and was in the family for three generations. ‘Why upgrade now after over 100 years?’ I asked him.

He could scarcely believe that I challenged him. But then he thought for a moment and told me ‘off the record’ that his wife was coming after him in court for custody of his daughter who was suffering from asthma.

In his words he said, ‘I can’t write a check big enough to make this home safe for my daughter to live in. I’ll be damned if my wife will accuse me of not creating a place where my daughter is comfortable and can breathe the air.’

That’s right. The reason for this purchase was to ’show’ his ex-wife that he CAN take care of his daughter and also his fear of losing her. This is powerful stuff that you may only see on Oprah or Dr. Phil if you’re lucky.

After I got to the real reason he would buy, the rest was easy. We got the job for over $150,000 and my CLIENT could barely breathe as we walked away with the sale which we completed in only 20 minutes from start to finish. How? It was easy. We simply found the emotional reason he would buy and then just got out of his way and let him purchase.

Remember, emotion in the sales process is good. Logic is really just a neutral factor or cause that has possibly triggered the call but will not trigger the purchase of the solution. Let your customer purchase emotionally and then you can justify it logically if you wish. Get out of the way of your customer and let them tell you the REAL reason they will buy next time.

Joe Crisara
www.contractorselling.com

During a coaching session I was doing this week we discovered that one of the problems the group I was working with was going through was that they were revealing too much information about the problems they saw, too early in the call. Over-divulging too much info is a cardinal sin of selling and here are some reasons why this is so.

#1 - It can bore the audience.

When you start to educate a customer with your technical findings too early when you haven’t figured out a solution, the natural reactions that people have is one of trying to distance themselves from you.

When you keep talking, many customers just shut down and get bored. To make the information more compelling, you must always refer to your presentation when you will reveal the problem and the solution together.

#2 - It spoils the end of the show.

Did you ever watch a movie or show where you could see where it was going right from the very beginning. This is what your buyer feels like when you talk about the problems too soon.

As in any dramatic script, it is important in scene one for us to get to know the characters. In scene two the foreshadowing takes place to set the scene for scene three where we have the conflict. This is immediately followed in the final scene where the hero resolves all problems. Can you see how this would be helpful on your next call?

In this world of attention deficit disorder, you must learn from Hollywood and make your presentation of prices and problems in a way that maintains interest and action on the part of your buyer.

Your presentation must be memorable and valuable enough for your customer to buy. By all means don’t reveal the ending of the show at the beginning or else your audience will just get up and leave. If you do it right, you will wind up with a standing ovation and a check in your hand at the end. Thank you and good night.

Joe Crisara
www.contractorselling.com

Most people simply underutilize their business card. The typical business card states a name, company name, address phone, fax and perhaps e-mail.

A marketing business card states all of the above but also states at least one very powerful reason to do business with you and perhaps even an offer that helps the person who receives
the card become interested right away.

The powerful reason is something that marketers call a USP or Unique Selling Proposition. It is simply a short statement of the biggest benefit of doing business with your firm. Like for
Federal Express - On time every time or it’s free. (Now this statement should appear on everything you do but the business card is a start)

A couple of examples:

Teague Electric - Wired Right On Time
Capitol Painting - We Can Do That

The second thing that a marketing business card will have is an offer. Offer a free subscription to your newsletter or a free evaluation of your windows. Use that business card to move your suspect to become a prospect.

Examples:

Kansas City Business Journal offers four free weeks. The offer is printed on the back of every employee’s card

Lastly, when someone asks for a card or you find yourself in a situation where you are exchanging cards, always give away three at a time. (You can make more!) When you do this just mention that if they know anyone else who might need what you do they can pass the card along. I can’t tell you how often this little tactic has resulted in a referral for me.

Try it.

When a Home Remodeling Contractor is looking for an effective design for his business cards, it is useful to review some of the basic principles of business card design. Certain types of professional service providers would not have as much a need to concentrate excess effort on design when it comes to business card printing. A person involved in remodeling homes, however, is going to be judged by the style and flair of their business card. This is a very simple matter. If they can not even design a good business card, the customer might ask, what are they going to do with my home?

All business cards need to provide contact information. This is their essential first purpose, and they serve no purpose unless this is done. In considering design options, make sure the contact information is worked into the design as a first priority. Once this is accomplished you can turn to the graphic design of the card. The use of color is going to be very important here. The color should be applied in a subdued fashion that tends to compliment rather than dominate the overall design of the card.

Business cards come in many styles. One of the more useful styles is called the folding card. The major advantage of this card is that the inside of the card when opened can hold quite a bit more information than the single sided card. This would allow you to give a little more detail about the services that you provide, and the types of remodeling that you perform. Another advantage of the folding card is that it allows you to use more graphics on the front of the card. By moving some of the contact information to the inside, the front is free for some eye catching graphic designs that will create a favorable connection with potential customers.

Remember that the business card is often the first contact a potential client has with your company. If you treat the design of your personal business card as a minor matter, you are going to miss an opportunity to make that first contact a favorable one. There are web sites that give good advice on card design, and even have card design programs that can be used. Another option is to work with the business card printer to fine tune the design.

By: Natalie Aranda

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Natalie Aranda writes on business. Certain types of professional service providers would not have as much a need to concentrate excess effort on design when it comes to business card printing. A person involved in remodeling homes, however, is going to be judged by the style and flair of their business cards. This is a very simple matter.