What Do You Say To This...

We have all had this question before. It can be phrased several different ways, “Ball Park Pricing” or “Approximately” are the most common examples. I personally get this from several different kinds of buyers weekly. My first buyer is just looking for pricing for whatever reason. They might be closing on a house and looking for costs or budgeting for income tax refund day. In my case this past week, I visited an investor who just bought a 2 bedroom house and wanted to make it a 3 bedroom house and add a bathroom.

Read More...http://www.contractortalk.com/articles/2014/08/what-do-you-say-to-this-what-do-you-think-this-will-cost/

Justin

Sure Fire Way To Become The Contracting Expert

This is one of the coolest ideas I have seen for Contractors in a long, long time.

You want to be the expert write a book. The coolest part about this book is the process to make the book. I explain the entire process in the audio below.

We recorded audio on how to make this book in our podcast that will help break everything down for you.

Enjoy and Leave a Comment...I like the +1's, but feedback helps..

http://contractorssecretweapon.com/the-one-about-becoming-the-expert-in-your-market-place-28/

Justin

Job-Site Selfies, Good Idea or Get a Life

             (Clearwater, Sidewalk Selfie)

I look through websites for good pictures and themes. I look for different angles at job sites that enhance the end product and highlight the craftsmanship. 

I see tons of pictures of finished work or before and afters. I always question is this a real pic from the company or do they pay for pics. Some companies use watermarks on their pictures to give them authenticity which I think is a great idea. Other companies take pictures while employees are present on the job and you can read the shirt or truck. That is usually the extent of pictures on websites.

I want to be different...

For the month of August, I will be taking selfies and videos at jobs to see if this resignates with my audience. My audience is Baby Boomers with disposable income that have just retired or will retire within 3 years that typically just moved. I can use these pictures for both blogs and social media.

My theory is these pictures and videos will come across genuine and authentic. 

Give me your thoughts on this, Good Idea or Get a Life?

Justin

What To DO With Upset Customers..

Man I had a doozy today...

A good close customer to me went nuts today. I had to stop and listen to the concerns and knod my head. Listen to their argument while keeping eye contact the entire time.

Complaint: My A+ Trim carpenter screwed some crown molding up and made a mess. Come to find out he got real busy and subcontracted the job and his sub screwed up. Marked up freshly painted walls, smeared fingerprints on new doors..The works.

I had to just sit and take the lashing like a man.

Here is the steps I used when getting a good lashing:

1. Keep Calm: My body language during the lashing was arms down and not aggressive what so ever.

2. Listen: Maintaining eye contact and nodding my head showed engagement and I was listening.

3. Response: Maintain control of the situation and explain how you will rectify. I like to take personal responsibility even if its not my direct fault.

4. Commitment: This mess will be cleaned up by tomorrow and I will make sure everything is taken care.

I saw a switch in their face and body language when I took these steps. I maintained the job and was able to gain trust back.

Please add your story below?
Justin

Check us out on Internet Radio: http://contractorssecretweapon.com/making-your-customer-feel-important-contractor-marketing-12/

A Dirty Epiphany..Four Small Words Can Change A Buyer.

I love to do Mud Runs with my wife and friends.

This past week we did the Rugged Maniac (Picture Above).

The event was first class when it comes to mud runs. Thousands of people, 26 obstacles, tons of mud and fun.

At this event there were sponsors all over the place. The tents were full except for the Air Force tent. I thought it was a little funny to see the Air Force and I wanted to chat. I watched from afar as people just walked right past the guy trying to hand out bags. The blue cheap bags that you get everywhere and nobody wants them.

I hear him asking, "HEY, would you like a bag?" 

I watched for 3 minutes and he started to get board and spin the bag and pace around.

I heard over the bull horn my race was starting.

I finished the race and headed back to sponsors covered in mud. I see a line to the Air Force tent. I am trying to see around the crowd, did someone fall down, I hear the same guy, "Hey, Would you like a bag for your dirty clothes?" 

Wow..The bags were going off the shelf. Three large boxes later he was empty. A big smile on his face.

My thought, how can I do this in my business?

Example: "Hey, I build homes" Who cares right.."Hey, I am your builder" Awful, some what desperate.
"Hey, Do you need more room for your family" Engagement

How can you apply this to your business? Give me your thoughts
Justin

Controversial Advertising For Contractors

I debated writing this for 3.5 minutes. I almost took out 2 cars while trying to pullover and take a picture of this. I am not usually attracted to men spread out over 30 feet of canvass but, I read Roofers..That caught my eye.

I have a roofing license and in all my years of doing this I have never seen an advertisement like this. When I think roofing, I think of Sweat, Hardwork, Professional, A little crazy..I dont think of this advertisement. I think this does a disservice to our industry.

My next thought, how about the customers perspective..WIFM..Whats in it for me.

If I have a roof leak and I see this billboard. Will this guy come and fix my leak? Doubtfull. He looks more like and escort.

I know women make majority of the buying decision and I want to turn it over to the ladies on this one? Give me your thoughts on this?

Keep sexy out of construction or I am calling this company now?

Have a great Memorial Day, Thank a vet.
Justin

Sharing Awesome LinkedIn Tips For Contractors

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Charlyn Shelton on LinkedIn.

She specifically shared tips for Contractors like us that I found incredibly useful and adjusted my profile just now. Here is a couple of tips that were shared and I recommend listening to the entire interview below.

Tip #1: I am paraphrasing here, on the LinkedIn homepage your heading below your name needs to have your location in it. For myself it was Tampa Bay Renovation Contractor. I personally never thought about having the location in this area until we did a search and my name didnt come up. Now I rank much higher and will be moving up quickly.

Tip #2: My phone number right near the top of my summary section. I thought my contact info was enough for my number and then Charlyn explained only certain connections could see that info. Everyone else could not.

Charlyn took the time and shared much more details in the audio. We thank her for the time and sharing her expertise. Click below and enjoy the listen, leave some comments please..

Click Here-LinkedIn For Contractors Audio Interview

Can You Get A Crew Together?

I love getting the calls every week from prospects looking for me to get a crew together. Typical conversations dont start with "Can you get a crew together?". This past week I decided to have some fun with the person on the other line. Here is the conversations:

ME: "Hello, this is Justin how can I help you"

Bill: " Hey Justin, my name is Bill and I got several properties were looking to rehab and I wanted to know if you have a crew or can put a crew together?"

ME: "WOW, Bill where did you get my information?" "I would love to help you, tell me more"

Bill: Goes on and on about investors, and addresses, and working with tight budgets, etcccc...(Minimum 7.5 minute explanation)

ME: "So, who referred me to you?"

Bill: "I got your info online and I like the name of your company, are you interested in these project?"

If you have been in business for decent amount of time you have come across this type call. They have no clue what you do and really have no interest in knowing about you or the value you bring to the deal. I am not interested in going through the hiring process for someone I dont know. Testing strangers out on customers I have never worked with before. Supervising multiple jobs and being pulled away from existing customers. What do people really think about what I do? Do they devalue my trade so much that they think I wave a magic get er done wond and the project comes together..

I usually let them off with I am too busy or I am just not interested. I decided to see how far Bill wanted to go with this. I meet him today and will follow up with everyone next week.

How do you handle this, tell me your story?

Comments welcome.

Does Work Keep You Awake At Night?

TIP FOR SLEEPING BETTER...WRITE IT DOWN

I love to get work done at night. Its the only time the house is quiet and most productive for me. The kids are in bed, I can grab my job folders and knock everything out for a week in just a few hours. Then I would read until I fell asleep. I would dream about each job and what had to go were the next day. I would play my schedule in my head. The alarm clock goes off and the day begins. Around 2-3 pm I would need a pick me up, coffee or energy boost to make it through the day.

Does this sound typical with you?

The problem for me happened when I couldn't drink coffee anymore.

What was I going to do? I needed my pick me up in the afternoon.

I researched several options about coffee replacement drinks and found  a bunch of synthetic drinks and herbs that I didn't want to take. I cold turkey'd the coffee and had headaches for a week. Withdraws suck.

I then focused on getting more sleep and changing my late night routine. Go to bed earlier, wake up earlier and get some work done. This worked but, I was still dreaming about work and not getting the proper sleep....

I was fortunate enough to listen to someone recently faced with the same nightmares about work. This person would lay in bed half awake dreaming about there to do list. Awful night sleep led to poor performance and professional help. After thousands of dollars trying to find a cure for this late night curse, they were asked to write down what they were thinking about. SOLUTION: Take your to do list and write it out. Beautiful night sleep ever since.

I personally tried this 3 months ago and it works like a charm. If your dreaming about work, write down the dream on paper with your handwriting and get it out of your brain.

Let me know how this works for you and if you have a tip?

Daddy..."You Need To Get A Real Job"

Happy Easter..

I love spending time with my family. I cant think of anything better to do. My 6 yr old son is starting to become very inquisitive and started asking questions about what I do. This video tells the entire 1 minute 43 second story...Enjoy

Leave a comment or two and enjoy your Easter,
Justin

5 Tips For A Successful Contractor Mastermind

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               I am blessed to be a part of a highly organized mastermind that focuses on accountability and Growing each others business. I wanted to give some tips to Contractors who have thought about Mastermind groups. These tips will make your mastermind blossom with ideas.

1. Choose the right fit: I interviewed 21 people before choosing the right players for our group. I focused on what others could bring to the table that I didn't posses and vice/versa. We all have similar personalities but, were very distinctly different. All different trades.

2. Get Organized: Have the schedule set and agenda sent out ahead of time. Here is what works best for us and will work for you. 

A) Meeting Organizer-We choose to rotate monthly. 5-7 in group. Meet Weekly or Bi Weekly.

B) Tell us your win this past week- Give each other about 3 minutes each or pass if you have no win. 

C) Hot Seat-This is the focus of the meeting. Someone from within the group explains the challenge their facing and each person take a turn giving their opinion. 30 minutes total

D) AHA Moment-This is not just for Opera, give something of value during the AHA moment Example: New technology, Marketing, Sales Tip. 2 minutes each

3. Accountability: Once your in, you have to make meetings. Missing throws everything off. Too many misses and your out.

4. Take notes: I personally record all my Masterminds. Some of the info talked about is so rich I have to listen twice. Plus taking notes makes you engaged in conversation. I have personally taken away several ideas worth six figures or more overtime.

5. Have Fun: We meet for breakfast and we meet for lunch sometimes. Relax environment and the creativity goes through roof.

I have attached the meeting agenda that we use with some notes here: http://static.smartpassiveincome.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Mastermind-Structure.pdf

COMMENT, If your interested in Masterminding shoot me a message and lets chat? Justin

WOW...Thank You. The 4 Minute Idea.

My pool guy Jack comes every Wednesday like clock work to clean and balance my pool. In the past several years I have only seen him twice. I got a brief conversation with him in 2011 to talk about a new pump that started leaking.

When I come home every Wednesday the pool looks great, which is what I am paying for.

The pool deck looks spotless of leaves and debris, which I do not pay for.

It took me about 13 cleanings to realize that everyday there was leaves and debris everywhere. I finally called Jack and found out that every Wednesday he blew the pool deck off. WHAT..Why?

Jack informed that when he unloads his trailer to clean the pool he has a small gas blower that he uses to blow the leaves off the deck and away from the pool. Once the pool is clean the presentation is better to have a clean deck and pool. Also, there was chance the deck leaves would end up in the pool by the time I got home.

This took Jack an extra 4 minutes to blow my deck off every week. This equates to 16 minutes per month.

WOW..Thank you, was my response.

The Aha moment was then for me. What am I doing to get a similar response, WOW thank you??

What are you doing in your business to get a WOW Thank you?

This past Wednesday we posted our 11th Podcast for Contractors. Marketing the Basics, great information. Here is the link to listen on your Phone or Computer. http://contractorssecretweapon.com/back-to-the-basics-marketing/

Does 10 Estimates Keep You Honest..Follow Up Video.

Wow this blog post has gone viral through the Contractor Community.

I had the opportunity to interview the 10 estimates customer. He got to breakdown his thoughts and hiring process. Check the video out and leave some comments below..

Here is the original Post:
http://sellingandmarketingforcontractors.blogspot.com/2014/03/does-10-estimates-really-keep-everyone.html

The Contractor Secret Weapon Weekly Podcast is growing. Here is the latest episode to help with Unique Selling Proposition. Hope you enjoy.

http://contractorssecretweapon.com/8-usp-in-your-marketing-what-makes-you-unique/

Sharing A Win..What does Success Look Like TO YOU?

This week was great. I wanted to share a win with you the devoted readers.

I got invited by my 4 year old(Gianna) to Daddy Daughter Luncheon at her school Wednesday.

I cleared my entire schedule from 10:30-12:30 to be able to spend about 30 minutes with her. The little chairs in her class were wayyy too low for me to go. I found a nice lunch spot against the wall.

I believe these moments last a lifetime in the memory bank for both of us. The monetary bank can take a back seat for a little. I consider this a win for multiple reasons:

1. I have the flexibility to be able to do what I like, when I like to do it. 
2. I have freedom from a time clock. 
3. Freedom from a cubicle or driving to the same place everyday.
4. Spending meaningful time with my daughter and family.
5. Disconnecting from the phone or email to relax.
6. The list goes on......

I would like you to notice that none of these are monetary successes. 

I think too many contractors get caught up in looking at success by the dollars in the bank account. If that's the case, I would advise you to reevaluate how you look at success. I decide to slow down and start taking it all in about a year ago and shifting what I considered a win to what matters.

At this luncheon there were 9 children who's parents couldn't make the luncheon. The children were put at a table together. While the other children who had parents got to hang out around the room and eat lunch together. Seeing the small children with no family was heartbreaking. I wanted to take at least 2 of the 9 or was hoping the teacher might buddy them up with other families. Didn't happen.

Share your WIN with me or give a thumbs up?

Does 10 Estimates Really Keep Everyone Honest?

Good Morning.

I attended a networking event this past Tuesday morning. One of the guys in the room told me how he just finished his roof and it was AWESOME.

He started telling me the features and warranties.

I stopped him and asked, "I thought you replaced your roof months ago?"

Response, "I got 10 estimates and couldn't decide."

As the scramble eggs projected out of my mouth..... 10 ESTIMATES..What do you need 10 for?

Response, "I wanted to keep everyone honest."

I was beside myself. He wasted everyone's time including his own. He didnt choose the lowest bidder. He didnt choose the highest. He made his decision based off What?

Does anyone else get this?

Please do me a favor for my sanity and leave a comment..

Click Here for most recent Podcast-Just Added Interview With Contractor Marketing Expert Pete Mitchell

Justin

How You Avoid Being a Commodity Contractor.

This is a follow up to last weeks, commodity contractor blog post.

I had the pleasure of having coffee with a very wealthy client that turned into a very expensive lunch and great conversation. Luckily, he paid.

Somehow our conversation between two men took a drastic turn when the topic of Nordstroms started. We have a local Nordstrom in Tampa that his wife was shopping at while we had coffee.

The only thing I knew about Nordstrom is they sold higher end clothing/shoes and to keep my wife away.

I asked, "Why does your wife like Nordstroms"
His answer was priceless, "My wife can spend hours in that store, they have a personal stylists that assists her every step of the way. She likes the layout of the store, very open and welcoming. She earns points on her Nordstrom Card toward future purchases. She goes to the other stores Neiman Marcus, and Saks but, really goes back to Nordstrom for the personal touch. Lastly, the stylist will call or email when they have new arrivals that fits her style."

I would typically space out while another man talked about a department store. I found myself asking more questions. I was curios to see buying habits of higher end customers. Customers that could choose to shop wherever they wanted but, found themselves spending thousands of dollars in one store.

My findings and how they pertain to Contractors:

Nordstroms has 5 competitors in the market place. They have carved a great niche with high end and personal services. The wide open store layout invites customers to freely walk through the store and take in everything Nordstroms has to offer. Lastly, the return policy is 100% Guarantee.

Enough about Nordstroms.

Ways not be a commodity and more like Nordstroms:

1. Position yourself as the expert. If you are the best at what you do, you dont need to talk about being the best. Show your expertise with articles, and answering questions on community dashboards. Highlight your projects through social media and be open to answer questions and let prospects freely look around.
2. When customers arent asking for your bid or price, but when they can get on your schedule. Welcome to the Nordstroms experience. You are the contractor they want and will wait until your avialable.
3. Your 100% satisfaction Guarantee. Offer that longer warranty, your business uses better materials and trades. Extend the guarantee and warranty.
4. BONUS. Stay in touch with your customer. Thank you card or pictures taken during their project with personal note from you. Bottle of wine with your label. Anything that keeps you top of mind.

Creating a higher end niche keeps you out of price wars. Spending more time on higher end will garnish higher profits and better referrals. How do you want to spend your time price wars or profits?

Want to know more about selling to higher end? Call me or send an email.

Justin 727-644-0160 or Justin@ContractorsNetworking.com

Are You A Commodity Contractor?

Are you a commodity contractor?

I was recently asked my niche in the local market. I explained what I do better than anybody else. Then I proceeded to explain why I do it better than anybody else.

The prospect I was talking with called 8-9 companies and told me they all sound the same. The ones that did call back, I cannot differentiate between any of them.

I simply told the prospect, I cannot help them. You will waste your time and everybody else searching through these commodity contractors.

I had an AHA moment just then.

DO you have that awkward moment where the prospect asks "What company are you with again"?

Sometimes I want to hang up the phone and other times I say my name and company.

If you cant create a distinct difference between you and other contractors, you are a commodity contractor.
How do I know if I am? Here are some examples:

1. If you constantly lose jobs to price. COMMODITY
2. If your marketing is exactly the same as competitors. COMMODITY
3. If you strive to be the lowest, and brag about all your jobs. COMMODITY
4. If your telling your team to wait and cash their checks...DRUM ROLL....COMMODITY

If your stuck and cant figure out how to get out of the rat race, I can help call me.

If your ready to increase leads and profits, email me.

If this sounds like your business. Call me or email: Justin 727-644-0160 or heavenly.foundations@gmail.com

Is Price Per SQFT Coming Back?

I drove by this sign last week while riding from Pinellas to Hillsborough. The big debate was going through my head.."Do I call this company and tell them to up their prices..or...Do I call them and remind them price per sqft ended in the 80's"

I figured I would just write to everyone and get some opinions.

For those of you who don't know price per square foot, I will give you a little back story.

During the good old Reagan years when interest rates were 18+% builders had several different home models, these models came with limited choices and could be figured out by the sqft price instead of calculating in all the different trades and selections. This was great for buyers that would pick A,B, or C.

In today's world with all the different choices, price per sqft doesn't work. Prospects will still try to ask about the sqft price and good contractors quickly explain.."It doesn't quite work that way..."

My local market, Tampa Bay Area you cant build for $90/sqft and make a living. Not possible, if I had to figure out per sqft on my last couple of deals, the median would be around $144.

Please tell me what I should do in this situation? I dont want these guy bringing this back to my market..

Are You Selling What People Want?

In my everyday business I run across a lot of people who think they know what they want. In truth, they have no idea.

I recently polled all my current jobs and the past thirty jobs completed. I had two customers that knew what they wanted. Two out of Forty, Approximately 5% knew what they wanted.

My question to you, how do you know your selling what people want, if only 5% know what they want?

Do you sell your products? Do you sell what you think they need?

My formula to make sure your selling what people want:

1. Sell based on results. (This is my secret sauce.) 
• Listen to what people want. 
• Reiterate to them what they want. 
• Add your professional opinion and thoughts. 
• The customer will get what there asking for and you add value by giving a professional opinion to re affirm the customers choice.

Defining Your Target Market or Following Competitors Target Market?

This is a follow up to Rock Star Contractor Mindset from 1/31/14.

I grab the mail every week to look at competitor ads. Over the past 3-5 years there has been a National company that advertises windows. Specifically any size window for $189.00 installed. I am sure you'll have seen the ads or commercials. I don't know how they can make money at $189.

Shortly after this $189 phenomenon, I started seeing competitors (Mom and Pop Window companies) trying to compete against this large national brand. The Mom and Pop companies didn't do the research needed to sustain. They started to go after this low hanging fruit and mimic the advertisement only to find out there is no pot of GOLD at the end of the rainbow. Unfortunately, this still happens today in 2014.

My 3 suggestions:

1. Take notes on competitors for ideas, dont copy there advertisements.
2. Find your unique selling proposition. The large national brand above can install any size window for $189, that is unique. 
3. Look at other industries for some ideas on how they target market. Some of the best ideas come from industries outside of Construction. Also, these companies outside of Construction aren't threatened when you call for questions.

The Mom and Pop's didn't last very long in the $189 arena and some went out of business. The others that made it through for little margins are glad to still be around.

Please leave a comment below.

Rockstar Contractor Mindset

I love the term Rock-star for multiple reasons.

1. I grew up in the 80's watching Aerosmith, Def Leopard, and some other Rock bands of that time. I believe this was some of the best music ever produced. I didn't agree with their lifestyles but, when they took the stage it was magical. The term Rock-star means performer.

In our businesses today we perform. Some of us Rock-stars and some wannabe's waiting to crack the code to being Rock-stars.

The first real piece of advice for being a Rock-star Contractor is knowing your audience. We call this target market. I want to make sure my performance is specific to who wants to hear me. 

Who listens to me now and pays me? This is the best starting point. Your existing customers know you and will be glad to spend more money with you or better yet tell you why they buy from you. Armed with this information you can now start to target your audience.

Let me ask you this, if Kenny G were to come and perform during an Aerosmith concert do you think the fans would listen or boo him off the stage?

Don't be Kenny G.

No need for comments, just pass this on to your fellow Contractor.

Can You Estimate This Small Project For Me?

"Hey Justin, were loving the new kitchen and bathroom and wanted to know if you can help with an exterior door and some trim?"

I got this call yesterday from a great client. In 2012 I did a very large remodel to their house and now they have an exterior door and some finish work they want done. The scope is no more than $1200 and doesn't fall in line with my everyday work.

I know others have been in this dilemma..Do I install or refer out?

I figured I had some options:

A. Suck it up. Its my client, install the door and quite crying about not making money.
B. Call my Finish Carpenters and hand them over scope and client referral.
C. Man, Mrs. Smith great hearing from you but, I cant help right now...Maybe in 45 days I can get to it.

Do you have other options?

Customer Experience...Survey Says

The Survey Says....

Growing up I watched the game show Family Feud every week. The host, the late Ray Combs was a stand up comedian who did a great job saying SURVVVEY SAYS making the dramatic point and then revealing the final answer for the contestants, who found their fate. In business today your going to get 1 of 3 on your survey, and find your fate.

1. You will have a raving fan.

     You were a Rock Star from beginning to end. What you sold, got delivered on time and within                      budget. You communicated everything and followed up like a champ. We all want these raving fans,              but overall experience says this doesn't happen as often as possible. Over the next week I will be                  focusing on making raving fans and what raving fans look like.

    2.   You will be UH...OK.

   You were a rock star in the beginning and ended OK. The customers expectation wasn't met 100%.            Your a good person but, OK Contractor. You wont get referrals, but you got paid. The mediocre                customers experience will end as the wet ink touches the check.

   3.   Disappointing

  You started out a rock star and went down in flames. The customer is upset and telling everyone about         you on Facebook. The old saying of upset customers telling 10 people died with the digital age. Now,           if someone is upset 100's if not 1000's find out.

The best advice that I could give would be to start surveying in your business. I know when my customers aren't extremely happy and I can feel the tension in the air. I have been blessed with a gift to sense tension and can eliminate whatever is making them feel that way. I prefer to use digital surveys through survey monkey but, every once in while I will go old fashion and meet with the customer with pen and paper to find out whats going on.

How does your survey look?

A Challenging Customer Transformation.

I recently had this great experience with a good High End customer. I am in the middle of Constructing her house and she has been a real challenge. Cant make up her mind, then when she makes up her mind it changes. So much of  a challenge that everybody is talking about her.

I cut a thin piece of concrete off some garbage being tossed out on her job. I then added a personal note to this piece of concrete, " To Mrs. Goldman, I really appreciate our relationship and I am glad your starting on a solid foundation." I gave this to her yesterday and she broke down in tears. The WOW was there, speechless. After gathering herself she started to explain her personal situation of getting everything perfect.

This was a groundbreaking experience that I wish I could share with all my customers. Getting to know my client on a deeper level got me thinking. Watching this transformation before my eyes was an awesome experience.

Something so small that I normally toss in the trash had this huge impact and deepened our relationship.

Do you think she will refer me to everyone? You bet.
Will she hold onto that memory forever? You bet.

I will start making this more of a tradition in my business. Taking materials from the job-site that would be considered trash and personalizing for my customers. I don't expect tears from everyone, but personalizing and creating that WOW is good enough for me.

Do you have anymore ideas?

The #1 Indicator To Measuring Your Marketing.

How do you measure your marketing?

I ask this question to a group of contractors and the responses are all over the place.

Some feel the number of leads that come in, divided by the marketing budget gives an accurate measurement. Most, keep track of calls on a spreadsheet. Some of the recent directories have started tracking this information for contractors. This is great information and gets you closer to measuring but doesn't give you the real picture.

Others feel closed business divided by your marketing expense.
Example, if I get 100 Calls and close 25, I keep track of the 25 only? Is that how to measure? Lets look below.

The 25 shows your conversion rate. Taking the number of leads that come in and dividing by closed prospects equals your conversion rate. This number is the indicator for measuring your marketing efforts. 

The best part about knowing your conversion rate is knowing your customer cost per closed business. Typically speaking in our industry the cost to acquire a new customer is between $250-$1200 and depends on your local market. My local market the cost is closer $250.00, If my business was located in NY City the cost would be much higher.

Keeping track of this number alone is key to measuring your marketing efforts.
Do you have any suggestions for tracking or tips to simplify?

ReNegotiating After The Sale..

Have you ever had to renegotiate after a signed contract?

My usual experience with Re-Negotiating is Lose/Win. In business we go for the Win-Win, everybody gets what they want and everybody is happy.

Recent Experience: An existing customers of mine wanted a better deal after we signed a contract for several thousand and finished the same day. There justification was "Wait, I am paying you like $300/HR. That isn't right."

I know if you have been in business for any amount of time you have come across this.

This is my 4th or 5th experience with renegotiating and every time the customer wants to revise the contract nobody wins.

My latest experience ended in Win/Lose. I did not negotiate after the job was complete and the customer was upset. My justification, "I have been doing this same scope of work for 7 years and I know exactly how to complete all tasks efficiently. If I didn't know what I was doing and spent longer figuring out what to do on your house would that make you feel better served and justify the contract?"

Tell me your experience and solution outcomes?

Selling With Heart Still Requires Profit

I recently sat down at a coffee shop to have a serious conversation with a residential contractor. This contractor was struggling financially. He had plenty of work going and his sales funnel was packed. After a little bit of conversation I realized that his sales formula was incorrect. He enjoyed the art of selling but never took into account markup is different than profit. 

He would take his cost to handle the job and add 10%. The 10% he figured was for him. After taking some time over coffee and explaining to him you  must include your money in the job, along with your profit, then mark everything up.

The light bulb that went off that day was priceless.

Further, he was not job costing. Didn't have a handle on receivables. A hot mess he was.

I asked him if he ever read the book by Michael stone, Mark Up and  Profit? Michael did a great job in the book explaining profit and markup.  I gave him some quick pointers on how to get out of the situation and start estimating accurately:

1. Don't accept another job without at profit at a minimum. Customers will give you work all day long and     not care one bit if you're making money.

2. You will raise your prices. Don't sell yourself short.

3. You will have to start tracking your jobs to make sure your marking up appropriately. Simple formula        for contractors:

           Sales-(Overhead + Profit) = Job Cost

           Sales/Job Costs=Markup

Before he sold anything after that point I got a couple calls to make sure for estimating accuracy. 

Do you have similar situation where you hadn't a clue you were estimating incorrectly? The jobs were there but, no money once done?

Give me your comments below. 

5 Tips When Selling Outside Your Sweet Spot

We have all been there when the phone rings and your talking to a prospect and everything is going great, the scope is ideal, Start date is perfect, and location is outside the sweet spot. The thoughts run through your head....UH....I...DONT KNOW.

How do you handle this?

I have both good and not so good experience working out of the sweet spot.

I weigh the options really good before submitting proposal:

1. Who will I be working for? Existing customers referrals might get me there, new customer non referral questionable.
2. Will this interrupt any other jobs? How many additional resources will be needed to make project deadlines? In addition, will this effect other jobs in progress and on calendar?
3. Do you have connections outside your sweet spot? Supply houses, Tradesman, and Equipment are the biggest obstacles that I came across when working out of area.
4. Supervision. This is what I failed to account for. My usual route did not include the long distance ride. When on site questions needed to be answered I had to rush, leaving other local jobs to answer the questions.
5. Completion Schedule. How much more time do I need to allot for? I missed some deadlines and over extended my team and resources to complete in a timely manner. I barely salvaged the job and my referral partner was not excited about my performance.

In the end you will need to decide if this project is worth the price you might have to pay. The referral partner relationship that will be tested if you don't execute.

The above picture shows my sweet spot and two jobs that came up yesterday. Both profitable and got me thinking. 

The first thing I did was start making calls to see if I had connections in the area-Answer NO. 

Second was Google suppliers and equipment in the area-Answer YES

I had a talk with my senior team members and went over scopes. I personally did not accept either project once I weighed the top 5 questions. 

Give me your thoughts on how you handle these sales situations?