Not everyone is a marketing wizard. In fact, if you’re a contractor your number one skill is probably the service you provide. For example, with our popular insulation cost estimator software we know a thing or two about the insulation business, and we know that if you want to run a successful insulation business you’re going to have to be able to outdo the marketing and sales of your competitors. Many contractors have a very small operating budget and do not have enough funds for huge advertising campaigns. Plumbers, insulation contractors and construction contractors often do have at least some office staff and utilizing this staff to assist in your sales efforts can be a huge help for your business. Here are a number of ways in which your support staff can assist throughout the sales process.
Appointments
Support staff should be responsible for making every appointment as easy as possible for the customer. Customers should be informed about the process for an estimate when they call for an appointment including how much time it will take, if they will need to make certain areas of the home accessible, and to verify that at least one homeowner should be present. The customer should receive an email message to confirm the appointment. The staff member should also contact the customer at least a couple of days prior to the appointment which will help to control last minute scheduling problems and avoid what we call “customer no shows” because they simply forgot about the appointment.
Tracking Sources of Referrals
A potential customer may phone for more information after speaking with another customer or after seeing an advertisement. The office staff member should always ask the customer about the source of the referral before scheduling the appointment. In fact, requiring that your staff record the referral source as a part of the scheduling process is a way to guarantee that this incredibly valuable information gets tracked. The customer may have seen an advertisement on a website or in a local trade publication and to optimize your advertising efforts your staff should keep an organized database or spreadsheet of which marketing channels are generating business. Even if you only review the information once a month it’s important to understand if your leads are coming from your website, a recent home show or a service like Angie’s List to know if your marketing dollars are paying off.
Following Up With Open Quotes
Good support staff understands the basic business and they don’t need to be a technical expert to talk to the homeowner. Common sense and being good with customers with regular follow-up will increase your closure rates. If a quote has remained open for a couple of weeks the office staff should contact those customers to discuss the services and try to resolve any issues or get an update on when they should follow back up with the customer. There may be a simple problem that is delaying the process such as deciding on the manufacturer or model for the sink or toilet or about the type of insulation in the quote. If open quotes remain open for another month or more staff should still follow up on these by phone or email each month to make sure no easy sales opportunities are missed. Contractors aren’t known for great communication so this is an easy way to differentiate your business from the competition.
Surveys, Reviews, Sales Pitch
A survey is a very useful marketing tool because a contractor can receive important information about the quality of his or her services. Once a job has been completed, support staff should follow up with a standardized set of questions by phone or email. If the survey is over the phone, the staff members could ask about future projects and also mention new services while conducting the survey. If you have a happy customer they will likely be willing to hire you again, so educating them is a very valuable sales technique that can be done by your staff. There are also independent firms that will conduct customer surveys such as Guild Quality, so do whatever is effective and low cost for your business.
Along with a survey, support staff can also send along email requests for reviews on popular contractor websites you may be listed on. Getting reviews on sites like Google Local Business, Yelp, HomeAdvisor or Houzz can help separate you from your competitors and help you generate more leads. Whether the customers were very pleased with the project or if they experienced some problems you can use that information to modify your procedures for the next project and improve customer satisfaction in the future.
Referrals
If you have a referral program, for example $25 if a customer provides you a lead which results in a sale, it can be a very worthwhile low cost lead source. Good support staff interact well with customers so they can also plant the seed about referral work. If you have a happy customer they will likely be happy to refer you to their family and friends. Having support staff ask about possible referral work is a simple technique that can lead to additional low effort sales opportunities.
Outside of customers, there are many advantages to building a network with other contractors in your area, and your support staff can assist with that as well. If you’re a contractor of any sort you will regularly cross paths with or get contract work from a variety of other contractors like plumbers, electricians, and roofing companies while also dealing with a number of suppliers and vendors. When your support staff contacts these other companies for invoices, payment information or other details they should inquire about any other customers who may need to have a sink installed or who may want to have insulation installed in an attic. Furthermore, if your customers have needs that can be served by other companies that you trust, your staff can also send these companies referrals to help solidify an ongoing reciprocal relationship for referrals.
To Succeed You Must Wear a Lot of Hats
Optimizing how your staff is used is critical for success as a contractor. If your staff just answers calls and sends invoices they aren’t helping you grow your business. The reality of succeeding as a small business owner these days means that your staff is going to have to help out in a lot of areas, particularly sales. Getting support staff to understand some of these basic concepts can make them a much more valuable part of your business and also seriously improve your bottom line.
