Posted by Mark Paskell on Fri, Feb 20, 2009 @ 06:50 PM
In today's competitive construction market it is harder and harder to win jobs without an effective sales process and sales training. Just a few years ago a decent contractor who showed up on time, talked well, looked good and had a decent bedside manner had no problem getting plenty of jobs. Most contractors with little or no formal sales training were very busy. The residential contractor now knows that being a simple order taker is no longer good enough in this market. It is critical to have an effective sales process and sales training to win jobs from the new consumer. The chances of succeeding without an effective sales process and training is small. In addition, the cost of leads has skyrocketed. Can you really afford to blow a lead?
An effective sales process starts when the prospect first contacts your company and concludes when the final walkthrough and satisfaction survey is completed. Your sales process should define the journey of the lead, step by step, from the beginning to the conclusion of the project.
All personnel who touch the client and use the sales process, are professionally trained on how to use it to insure a positive and remarkable customer experience.
When you and your team know what to do at the right time and the right way, you stand out among the competition. Today's consumer is savvy and will disqualify contractors who lack the professionalism and process expected.
How to win more jobs
To win more jobs first, invest in sales training from a professional sales trainer or contractor coach who has a successful track record in residential sales development for contractors. Sales trainers who are unfamiliar with the art of dealing with the homeowner consumer may have a challenge relating to your world. Ask your trainer if they have worked with construction companies and verify references.
Second, invest the time to develop a paperwork checklist system to document your sales process from the time the lead contacts your company to the final completion of the job. Once the system is defined it must be trained to all personnel who have contact with the client. A checklist system used properly, will insure that all steps are followed and will prevent miscommunication between the client and the company personnel. Without the use of a effective sales process you run the risk of forgetting crucial information that may cost you the job. Contractors are very busy and if we rely on our memory we usually forget something important to the client. What we forget seems to always cost us customer satisfaction and profit.
The time, effort and capital invested in sales training and developing an effective sales process will pay off in winning more jobs and happy customers. More jobs mean more referrals and profit for you and your company.
mark the coach
Posted by Mark Paskell on Sun, Feb 15, 2009 @ 05:02 PM
Remodelers, Design/build contractors, Custom Home Builders; Help with homeowner selections.
During the design/build and scope development phase of a remodeling project the selection of products and finishes tends to slow down the progress of the project. With so many things to decide upon, homeowners agonize over making decisions on what they want to select. You know that it is better to have everything selected before it goes to production. Sometimes you get frustrated and resort to using allowances which seems to always wreaks havoc on the production schedule causing tense moments between the homeowner, the carpenters, the office, sales and the design team.
If you could eliminate this from occurring would it make your project go smoother? Would you prevent slippage due to down time and less supervision costs? Would you have less headaches and a happier customer?
A simple and effective solution is to use an interior designer who is strategically aligned with your business. If you include in your design and scope development budget, the services of a talented interior designer, you will add value to the customer experience and save valuable time and look like a hero.
If you are the owner, production manager and salesperson do you really have the time to go shopping with the wife to pick out the bath fixtures, the cabinets, the bath accessories, the shades, the granite, the knobs, the finishes, the tile and the faucets?
Here are the names of three excellent interior designers with specific unique skills that you could use to help with homeowner selections. They all work in the Metrowest and Boston markets.
1. Amy McFadden; an interior designer and NARI member who handles selections and creates tile layouts and designs. She is an expert in tile and stone selections. E-mail; mcfaddenamy@mac.com
2. Kendra Weldon; an interior designer and NARI member who specializes in window treatments, custom blinds, color consultations, faux finishing and upholstery.
3. Lina Khatib; an interior designer who is an expert specializing in 2020 kitchen designs and provides hand sketched custom cabinetry elevations.
I know all three and they are outstanding professionals who have contractors and homeowner clients that rave about there services.
In this challenging environment this is one way you can stand out from other contractors who only rely on allowances or worse, wait until they need the selected product while they are ready to install it. You know that this leads to losing some of your profit with a client who blames you!
How do you handle selections during the design phase of the project?
Posted by Mark Paskell on Thu, Feb 05, 2009 @ 09:19 PM
Last night I attended a great contractor networking event at EM NARI in Natick. Ten contractor coaching clients and friends joined me and the 120 plus attendees. The featured speaker was Adrienne Zoble. She is a nationally known networking expert for the remodeling contracting industry. She was fantastic and shared excellent ideas on how to obtain great results by networking effectively. She also offered strategies on how to maximize results from your existing customer base and the importance of staying in touch with all leads. Everyone I spoke with said they were very satisfied that NARI provided a great speaker and the networking topic was perfect considering the current economy.
If you are a contractor reading this have you considered joining an organization of professionals committed to providing training and education for residential contractors?
Three of my clients and guests saw the benefit last night and decided that they needed to be part of this organization. One client Matt Beaton, Residential Energy Solutions, specializing in infrared energy audits, blower door testing and green building said,
"I made 7 strong contacts that will lead to opportunities to provide energy audit services to other contractors. This is my first visit to NARI and I am so happy to be around a group of professional and positive contractors."
If you have any questions about NARI or networking in general I would be happy to answer your questions.
What contractor associations do you recommend?
mark the coach