Ask Your Remodeling Customers For Referrals

Here is one marketing idea that won’t cost you anything! Ask for referrals.

Of course, you should always ask for referrals, regardless of whether the economy is up or down. But in case you haven’t, now is a great time to start. Why? Because customers who come to you through a referral are often already sold and ready to use your company. That makes it all the easier to close the sale!

It is important to create a formal referral generating system. Create a system and assign someone to complete the steps. And then follow up to be sure it is being done.

One of the most important things you can do is to acknowledge the referral from your customer. Immediately send a hand-written thank you card, signed by you. Your customer needs to know that you acknowledge and appreciate his or her efforts.

Once the job is complete, you have a perfect opportunity to ask your customer for referrals. Don’t be shy. If you’ve done a great job, your customer will be happy to send people your way. Be sure to mention referrals in your customer newsletters and subsequent mailings.

Referrals can be a simple and cost-effective way to add more leads.

Look For the Upsell

When you are selling your products and services, do you look for opportunities to sell more to your customers? The easiest sale to make is to the person who has just bought from you! You’ve already sold them on the value of going with your company. Why not give them some options to increase that value.

For example, if your customer is buying an entry door, why not suggest a matching storm door. Or how about a slight change in the tile layout in the bathroom.

Look for opportunities to increase your sales with your customers who have just said “yes!”

Happy Selling!
John

Keep In Touch With Your Remodeling Customers

Now more than ever it is important to keep your company in front of your customers. After all, they have already done business with you. They know you, your company, your work and have seen the value of continuing a relationship.

How can you stay in touch? Commit in your yearly marketing plan to contact your customers during the year. Based on your type of business, you may decide four times is enough or seven or eight may be the magic number.

Then decide how you will stay in touch. Newsletters are a great way. So are holiday cards, special customer only sales and promotions, we miss you letters. The list goes on and on. Be creative and be yourself. Your customers will appreciate the attention.

The Economy That Matters

Yes, the world economy is on shaky ground. Stock markets all over the world are behaving erratically. Credit markets are tight. And you know what? You have absolutely no control over any of it!


But you do have control over your own economy. And, right now, that’s the only economy that matters.


It’s the economy that’s inside your head. The one that’s telling you that times are bad . . . or good . . . depending on how you look at it.


And it’s the one that’s telling you to keep plugging along in your own business, no matter what.


We’ve all been through tough economic times before. And history shows that tough economies help resourceful people find incredible opportunities. So look around you today. There are opportunities out there in your economy. Go find them.

Sell More Remodeling in a Down Economy

Whether you do the selling in your remodeling company or you have salespeople to do it, it is critical that all salespeople be at the top of their game.

Make sure salespeople are up-to-speed on product knowledge. If you need a refresher, call in your manufacturer’s rep or building supply rep right away.

Keep your sales skills strong by reviewing your own sales system and practicing. Do a mock sales call with a family member or friend.

Listen to sales training tapes or read sales literature. The first sales book I ever read was “How to Sell Anything to Anybody” by Joe Girard. Joe was a car salesman and became known as the World’s Greatest Salesperson by selling, on average, six automobiles a day. Joe’s 13 Rules to Success are a must-read and must-follow for any salesperson.

Don’t skip steps in your sales process. Remember when sales were easy? It wasn’t that long ago. You may have been able to get away with leaving out a step or two then. No longer. Be thorough.

Focus on sales and keep your skills in peak condition to help you weather this economic downturn.

Happy Selling!
John

Stay Healthy During These Stressful Times

A by-product of the economic turmoil swirling around us is stress. We constantly hear about the economy, bank collapses, and the stock market decline. We may be nervous about the future, concerned about our jobs and businesses, or just plain worried about the unknown. That stress we are feeling can cause anxiety, depression, and illness.

So how do we combat stress? Hang out with positive, upbeat people and you are more likely to have the same attitude. Try to get enough sleep. Working hard without giving your body and mind the time it needs to repair itself will only wear you down. Keep your energy reserves high by exercising and taking breaks that really take you away from your work. And don’t forget to eat healthy meals throughout the day.

And now, more than ever, it is important to focus on the good in our lives. Try to come up with one positive thing each day.

Spot New Trends in Remodeling at Trade Shows

Trade shows are a great place to spot new trends in the remodeling market. And picking out new trends early can be one way to increase your business.

Being the first in your area to offer a new line of vinyl siding or a new kitchen faucet can set you apart from your competition, giving your company increased value in the minds of your potential customers.

Manufacturers and suppliers bring their newest products and innovations to a major trade show like The Remodeling Show or the Kitchen/Bath Industry Show. You can talk directly to the reps, see a product first-hand, find out how it can fit into your business, get some literature and ask lots of questions.

But don’t limit yourself to major trade shows. Many times industry reps help out at local consumer remodeling shows and you can make some valuable contacts there, too.

Try to commit to attending one show a year. Spend some time talking to people and looking at the products. Be open to new ideas that can increase your business.

I Really Goofed Last Week!

I have a confession to make. I didn’t take my own advice.

I’ve been telling you not to listen to all of the doom and gloom in the economic news.

Usually I’m really good about not listening. Except for last week.

You see, during that historic market loss last week, I started thinking about my daughter’s college fund. We’ve been stashing money away for years in a conservative fund and, soon, she’ll be ready to use it. But as the market started it’s free fall, my mind kept returning to the idea that we wouldn’t have enough money. I started checking the market on-line. Then I read every headline. Next I began to google. I read every report and article I could find. I was obsessed!

“Wait til you hear this . . . “ I said to John when he came in my office. “Do you know what the market is doing now?” My voice rose and my palms sweated as I digested and regurgitated tidbits of economic data.

I couldn’t concentrate. I didn’t get much work done. And I was annoyingly single-minded in my conversations. Not to mention I felt physically ill from the stress hormones coursing through my body.

You see, I fell into the trap. I was totally caught up in my own panic and that of the world markets. My world was out of control.

Well, OK, not really. But you can see how easy it is to be overtaken by events that really are beyond our control. I could not stop the spiraling markets. But I could stop my mind from focusing on these events and the overwhelming news reporting.

I shored up my losses, moved the monies to a safer place, and chalked that up to a learning experience. If I couldn’t stomach losing any of the money, it shouldn’t have been in the stock market in the first place, even in a conservative fund.

And I went back to the business of running a business. Because that is where the true wealth lies.

It's a Great Time to be a Small Remodeling Company

Small is the new big!

In this time of economic downturn, it’s a good time to be a small business. Why? Because small businesses can adjust much more rapidly to changes in the marketplace than larger companies.

Think about it. Those large, mega-million dollar remodeling companies need to bring in a specific number of leads each week, sell a certain number of those leads, produce a certain number of jobs and receive a certain amount of cash.

Now our small businesses need to do the same thing but on a much smaller scale. And we likely have much more personal control over our businesses. We can change our advertising mix in a matter of days rather than months. We can contact our past customers simply by picking up the phone or stopping by their homes. We know exactly how a job is going because we can visit it each and every day. We may even be working on the job.

Yes, small is very powerful and a great way to be right now!

Celebrate!
Annette

What About Your Bailout?!

Bailouts! You may be wondering why no one ever bails out the little guy. The small business that supposedly has made this country what it is today. The entrepreneurs who perpetuate the American Dream.

That’s because what today’s small businesses (and your remodeling company) need the most are customers. Customers who will open up their wallets and exchange money for your valuable products and services. Once a business has customers, the money follows.

Congress is not going to help you out. And the media certainly isn’t either. All of this economic crisis talk has put consumers on edge and forced them to tighten their purse strings.

So you need to help yourself. And you can do this by marketing. Don’t stop marketing. Look for ways that you can reach your prospective customers through low and no cost methods. Show your value.

Here’s a marketing tip that won’t cost you a single cent: Return all phone calls. Preferably the same day. If not, by 9 a.m. the next day.

When you return a phone call immediately, it shows the prospective customer that you value and respect them. They begin to think this is how you will treat them during the project.

Start working on creating more customers for your remodeling business. They are out there. You just need to find them.

P.S. Marketing bonus tip #2: Show up to all appointments on time! This one won’t cost you anything either.

On The Level Consulting's Blog, On The Level Advice for Remodeling Professionals, is Back

We are back. I apologize for our unscheduled hiatus during the month of September. My father passed away on September 8th. It has been a difficult time, first dealing with an end-of-life illness and then with the funeral arrangements. My father had been sick for quite a long time with congestive heart failure. I thought that I had prepared myself for the inevitability of his passing but I found, as the moment grew nearer, that no one is ever fully prepared. I will say that Hospice is a wonderful, caring organization and they helped us through many of the twists and turns of end-of-life, allowing our family to spend time with my father.

I have found since my dad passed that life is now a series of making “new normals.” What I mean is that all of the routines and traditions that surrounded my family’s lives are changed forever. Some are huge changes like the mere fact that my dad is no longer around. And some are much more subtle, like the other day when I was in the Hallmark card shop and realized that I would never buy another birthday card for my dad. I find myself saddened and even teary at times by these “firsts” that I experience.

Yet I know that this is not the way he would want any of his family to live. He was a World War II and Korean War veteran, grew up during the Great Depression, migrated west during the Dust Bowl, and became legally blind due to macular degeneration. Yet he never complained, even toward the end of his life. He accepted his lot.

And I know that he would tell me to just start doing. Put one foot in front of the other and begin, once again, the spectacular journey of living.

And so I do. Some days it’s easy. Other days, it’s not. There is a large gap that cannot be filled. Yet I know that it will become easier to move forward as time, the perpetual healer, marches on.

We appreciate your understanding in our time of loss.

Annette Greco
On The Level Consulting