The Design Builder's Blog

As The Economy Improves, Will You Become A Slave To Your Business?

Now that work is picking up many remodelers who had larger businesses before the recession hit have admitted to me privately that they are overworked and limping along.  Because they let staff go during the recession they now have an insufficient team of leaders at the middle management levels, both in the office and in the field.  Without the right staff to help share the load and responsibilities that come with increased volume they are concerned they will become and remain slaves to their businesses.   To solve this dilemma and remain successful these remodelers will need to quickly find, recruit, train and create ways to retain high quality talented employees.  

The “Catch 22” #1

The longer they wait to get such people on board and trained the tougher it will be to find the time to get such people on board and trained.  This is because without the help already in place their workload will only increase even more, further limiting their available time to focus on finding new hires and getting them up to speed so they are productive.

The “Catch 22” #2

In a good economy it can be very difficult to find people who have the background, skills, and experience to perform as high achievers.   These employees are already working for someone else or are taking advantage of the good market and are running their own businesses.  On the other hand, during the recession economy like the one we are hopefully getting out of, there was an abundance of available talent, including those who owned but closed down their businesses.  Act now as the economy and remodeling are picking up and you might find great hires.  Wait and you will likely have to comb through whoever is left after other contractors have scooped up the cream of the crop.

Consider the following options if you want to lead the pack and get your life back

• Consider hiring new talent before everyone else figures out it is time to hire.  Make sure money isn’t the only reason they are joining your team.
• Consider replacing underperforming staff now while the selection of good employees is strong, before compensation expectations explode due to supply and demand, and while those who want new opportunities are eager to prove their value.
• If too much of your time has been shifted back to production management activities, consider letting go those carpenters who need to be managed, hire real lead carpenters this time and use subs where needed to fill in labor gaps.
• If you already have good talent, make sure you do what you can to keep them with your business.   As the economy returns other businesses, desperate to fill positions, will be over-paying to grab or steal talent from their competition.
• Keep in mind that money is not the primary motivator when trying to retain good talent.  A positive culture, opportunity for advancement, benefits and real responsibility all rank high for employees who have a long term perspective about their careers and personal goals.

 

Final thoughts

Attempting to strategically ramp up staffing needs as the economy improves and get new employees acclimated before your business already needs to have them at high capacity will definitely be a juggling act.   There is no better time than now to get that process started.  Those contractors who use their past experience in this area and or the shared experiences of a mentor will have a jump on grabbing top talent.  They will be the select few who are ready for the business opportunities that will come with an improved remodeling marketplace.

After Bad Experience At His Own Home, Contractor Shares Thoughts With His Employees

Guest Blogger: Tim Piendel is the Principal of GreatHouse Atlanta, a full service design/build remodeling firm serving north metro Atlanta. Reach him at tim@greathouse-atl.com or 678.352.1035.

Back story to this guest blog

Tim is one of my coaching/mentoring clients.  We have been working together to help Tim grow his business and put a plan in place so he can slowly reduce his day to day involvement by empowering current and new employees as his business evolves.   Tim shared the email below with me after sending it to his employees.  In the email Tim shares a challenge he had with a painting contractor doing work at his own home as a way to help his employees understand how GreatHouse wants to build and protect its brand.  With his permission I am sharing it with you.

Here is Tim’s email text.

ALL GreatHouse Employees and Subcontractors:

I just wanted to share with you an experience I recently had with a contractor since I don't want this happening with our jobs. It is my intention to stay successfully in business and I want you to be part of that success.

Here's the story…

Just recently I had some painting work done on my home. There were two parts to the project, a preparation and a completion. The contractor came to my home and performed the first part of the project but did a poor job. I pointed it out and gave the person a chance to fix it but I was given excuses. I talked it over with my wife and we fixed part of the project ourselves and called the contractor back to fix the issue. They came back and saw what a corrected preparation should be like but offered no apologies, just excuses. They finished the preparation fine after that, but I, as a homeowner had to initiate it. 

The next step was to complete the project. This was an exterior project so it was expected they would not be here when the rain had made completing the project impractical. However, there was no call. Kind of obvious, but still, a courtesy call is always welcome. The next day came and was ideal for completing the work. However, the contractor was a no show and a no call. This is unacceptable. Now, with rain coming in again, the project was delayed another week. At this point, as a homeowner, I am frustrated, mad, and have lost confidence in the contractor. This all could have been remedied with a simple communication. 

Lessons learned…

1. NO MATTER WHAT THE JOB, DO IT RIGHT! Shoddy workmanship always cost you more in the long run. Return trips always cost more in dollars and confidence.

2. DON'T MAKE EXCUSES. APOLOGIZE AND MOVE ON! A customer does not want to hear excuses; they just want honesty and closure. Besides, you'll dig yourself a deeper hole.

3. YOU CANNOT OVER COMMUNICATE!!!!!! Call, text, email…whatever is appropriate, but do so promptly and often.

4. AGAIN, YOU CANNOT OVER COMMUNICATE!!!!! When you don’t call to say where you are and they are expecting you, they are just sitting there boiling and waiting to pounce on you and make your job harder and unpleasant.

You may think that your job is only to complete your service or product but that is only part of it. We are PRIMARILY in the customer service business. We have fabulous clients! By the nature of our business, we are invited into people’s homes and we must respect their rules and timing. We must earn and keep their trust. They must have CONFIDENCE that we will complete the project correctly, on time and on budget. That's what we do.

Thank you for your time. As always, feel free to contact me with any question or comments. I want all of us to be successful. I am willing to help anyone that needs help.

'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.' - Aristotle

Thanks,

Tim Piendel

Guest Blogger:  Erica England is the Marketing Communications Manager for GuildQuality, the leading customer satisfaction surveying company for remodelers, home improvement contractors, and home builders. Supported by comprehensive reporting and marketing tools, GuildQuality helps its members promote their quality to stand out in a competitive market. For more information, visit www.guildquality.com.

3 Ways Surveying Your Clients Can Add Value to Your Business

While surveys aren’t a new concept for companies, if executed correctly they can deliver significant gains for your customer relationships. Think about it, your client may not feel comfortable bringing up any constructive criticism or concerns unless they have a forum to do so. Chances are if your customers aren’t sharing their concerns with you, they are sharing them elsewhere. Avoid this scenario altogether and make the first move to open up the door to communication with your customers.  If you’re thinking about introducing surveying into your company’s process, here are three ways it can add value.

1: Achieves Honest Assessments from Clients

In order to get the most out of your customer surveys, your client needs to feel as though they can be open and honest about their likes and dislikes regarding their project. The only way to ensure your customers are being 100% candid is to take yourself out of the equation and allow a third-party customer satisfaction surveying company to step in. The authentic commentary you’ll receive can help pinpoint your company’s strengths and weaknesses.

2: Measures Performance and Satisfaction

Once you have your survey process in place, it’s time to analyze what your clients are saying about their experience. Many companies calculate their net promoter score (NPS) to measure satisfaction and brand loyalty. The core of NPS is the likely to recommend score. Within GuildQuality’s surveys, a similar likely to recommend question is asked and measured on a 0 to 4 scale.

The satisfaction metric that most of our members use is the percentage of 4′s received, or, in some cases, the percentage of 3′s and 4′s. They focus on the likely to recommend question, but also zone in on other questions that are important to their business or are problems they need to address.

While surveying itself is important, it’s what you do with the feedback that can impact your business the most. Many of our members review each survey response together as a team at weekly meetings. This helps them to boost morale and create team engagement, as well as, develop a culture of customer focused employees.

3: Identifies Brand Ambassadors

Surveying clients also allows you to determine who your biggest fans are. Now you should leverage those relationships and empower your evangelical customers to promote their experience with your company. Think of these clients as your brand ambassadors. Equip them with your company’s business cards, web address, and especially social media links to share with their family, friends and neighbors. Homeowners are willing to give quality referrals for companies they appreciate.

The best remodelers and home improvement professionals understand the importance every customer’s experience has on the growth and reputation of their company. They survey customers in order to stay on point with their company’s delivery of service excellence. If you are interested in more tips for strengthening relationships with your customers download our free white paper, Guidebook to Nurturing and Leveraging Customer Relationships. 

Guest Blogger: Robert Ritsema is the owner/creator of The iPitch, providing iPad based solutions to the building materials industry.  Reach him at rob@theipitch.com or 719.314.5608  www.theipitch.com  (iPad® is a registered trademark of the Apple Corporation)

Is Your In-Home Presentation Boring and Costing You Sales?

“Death by PowerPoint” and “Powerpoint Hell” are common criticisms of slide-based presentations.  Largely due in part to their creating a state of boredom and fatigue induced by information overload.  Excessive use of text, bullet points and transitions are all leading factors.  Retired Marine Colonel Thomas X. Hammes calls this effect  “hypnotizing chickens”.

Today, flip-book & slide based presentations remain very popular, especially within the home improvement industry. Desire has always been to provide our sales reps with accurate information as well as a structured flow to the presentation; it’s been a key premise/belief for creating sales but it may be costing you sales in the end.

Homeowners today crave information.

Information that leads to confidence and trust with whom they’ve ultimately chosen to complete their project. Yet, they also expect that information to be informative, fun, motivating and maybe even a little addicting as well. 

Your sales team is no different.  They also desire and expect to interact with content that makes presenting fun and interactive.  Veteran reps (the good ones) make the necessary adjustments within their presentation to do just that.  Largely  in part because flipping through binders and PowerPoint slides may not be enough for many today; and by their very nature, create ineffective presenters, lost sales and revenue.

Revive

 Since it’s launch in 2009, the iPad has been seen as a highly innovative and “game changing” piece of technology for consumers, businesses and educators alike. Its revolutionary operating system allows for the creation of an unmatched user experience.

The “user experience”, however, doesn’t have to mean gimmicky.  Simply presenting information in a way that is “unique and surprising” can be as simple as capitalizing on the iPads native and intuitive gestures. 

Gestures like:

• Tapping to reveal content - Keep your prospect involved by creating “interactive portals”.  Revealing additional , hidden or more in-depth content.
• Pinching open for video/photos – Capitalize on your media collateral by embedding them into your presentation for a novel and engaging user experience.
• Swiping – Move seamlessly throughout your presentation via a navigate-able, customer driven sales rep controlled menu system, a more responsive and interactive way to present.

Thomas Malone, a young Xerox reacher concluded many years ago that “when people actively participate in the learning process, they retain more.”  So creating new ways for your sales reps to engage and interact with your prospects allows for a more unique consumer experience; further enhancing their ability to execute the presentation as well as your consumers ability to internalize and take ownership of your company and products.

A Well Executed Plan.

Capitalizing on the iPad requires more than just showing your presentation, pictures and video.  Take time to consider exactly how and what would change to your sales presentation, communication systems and training programs.

Consider these helpful tips:

1. Team Engagement -  Engage all of your department’s leaders. 

2. Create a “Pilot” Program -  For best results, do not consider piloting or testing more than 4 apps at a time.

3. Have a “Launch Event” - Create a fun and informative event; involving the entire organization goes along way to insuring your “changes” are accepted positively.

The iPad has an opportunity to revolutionize the way in which in-home presentations are delivered and business is won.  Your well constructed and executed plan will play a crucial role in its overall success.

The Crazy Things Home Owners Say To Contractors

Any contractor who has been in business even for a short time has probably had to shake his/her head at something a prospect or client has said during conversation.  Often times the statement or question might be the result of the homeowner’s honest ignorance about how construction and contracting work.  On the other hand sometimes it seems the logic behind their statements comes from left field or maybe even from some distant galaxy!

Here are a few that I have experienced and one recently shared with me by a contractor I work with.  I thought it would be fun to share these and see if others would share some of their own experiences about what crazy clients and prospects have said to them.  Remember, the purpose is to be fun and informative.  Please be professional!

You pay your guys $75/hr!

When I owned my remodeling business I had one prospect question me about a quote I gave her for some repair work at her home.   She asked me what I was charging her per hour for the carpenter who would be doing the work.  I told her the hourly rate would be $75.00 per hour.  To that she responded in a very dramatic tone; “You pay your guys $75.00 an hour?”  

I was dumb founded and had no idea how to respond to that one.  What does it say about our school systems and or the intelligence level of consumers when they think a business charges $75/hr for services rendered but then turns around and pays the person doing the work the full $75/hr?  Did that woman think I started and ran a business just so I could collect money and then turn around and give it all away, no money to cover overhead costs, labor burdens and profit?

It’s your fault my basement is flooded

On another project my remodeling business was working on, a kitchen renovation, the client’s basement flooded during a heavy rain storm.   Their gutters were packed with leaves and as a result the water on the roof just flowed over their gutters and right into the areaway for the basement access door.   This all happened overnight after my employees had left for the day.  

The customer called us first thing the next morning to complain and said it had never happened before and must be our fault because we were there doing work on their home.   Of course we panicked thinking it was a broken pipe.  When we got there and discovered the real reason for the flood the home owner actually told my carpenter she would not hold us responsible for the flood if we cleaned her gutters and pumped the water out of her basement for free!

The Angie’s List complaint tactic

One of my consulting/coaching clients told me one of his customers complained about a 1/32” gap in a miter joint on a built-in cabinet he built.  The customer went on to make a big stink about it and made some threats.  Then the customer told the contractor to forgive the final payment due or “ I will go to every place I can find you on the net and write a bad review”.

The contractor told me he did stand up for himself and called the customer's bluff.  Eventually he was paid in full but said it was very stressful. I don’t know about you but I would call that blackmail or maybe even extortion!  Think about that scenario.  What would you do?  Would you stand up for what’s right and demand your final payment?  A bad write-up on Angie’s list could cost a business far more in bad PR than the balance of money due.  Plus, it’s my understanding that businesses can’t be proactive about writing reviews about their clients at Angie’s List, they can only try to respond after a member customer has already posted a negative review.   Just ask Chris Dietz about his experiences with the Law suit he is going through regarding a review posted by one of his customers on Angie’s List and Yelp.

"The Vendor Client Relationship - In Real World Situations"

What about you? 

Have you experienced some crazy conversations and or comments from home owners during your years of experience as a contractor?  Please share them with the rest of us so we can all shake our heads and have a few good laughs as well!

Guest Blogger:  Jeff Fierstein is the General Manager at Byers LeafGuard Gutter Systems located in Grass Valley California.  Jeff had posted a comment to a discussion I started at the NARI LinkedIn group.  The discussion was about a blog I posted titled: “Why Some Contractors Can Raise Their Prices But Most Others Can’t”.  I decided to use his comment as a guest blog, thanks to Jeff for allowing me to share this with you.

Contractor Gets Sage Advice From A Competitor About Selling At Cheap Prices

When I was a young man a competitor of mine, several years my senior, named Tommy O’Connell pulled me aside. He pulled a $100.00 bill out of his wallet and told me he always kept that bill in his wallet, “Never sell from an empty wagon” he said. I was young and didn’t much care for Tommy so I thought he was full of crap, but he explained that if you’re broke and need a sale too much, you’ll have a tendency to sell too cheap. That was actually sage advice. In this economy, there are many contractors that are living hand to mouth. Without the skills they require to sell their services at the price they deserve, they resort to “selling” a cheap price. They either don’t understand that to stay in business they need to include a profit, or simply cut corners and provide a sub standard job. This may be a good indication why an overwhelming number of home improvement contractors fail within their first two years of business.

“Never sell from an empty wagon”

In our early days, we would bid like crazy, leave bids on the doorstep, and wait for the mailman to come. The only thing that saved us from ourselves was our bid package was detailed enough to outshine the competition who was also waiting for the mailman.

We’ve all heard it, what got us here, isn’t going to get us where we want to go.

Today, the only way we would leave a bid on the doorstep is under duress. Sure there are exceptions to the rule but unless we get a chance to explain our bid in detail and ask for the business, we might as well not bid. We spend a great deal of effort to train our sales force how to build value and ask for the order. We know that there is competition in our field but generally find them easy to outsell at the price we need to be around tomorrow.

For those concerned about selling against contractors that sell too cheaply...

There is an ancient roman proverb that comes to mind; AQVILA NON CAPIT MVSCAS
“An eagle doesn’t hunt flies”

Have The Right Compensation Strategy For New Carpenters Before You Hire Them!

One of the benefits of the great recession was that as business slowed down businesses got rid of underperforming and or overpaid employees.  This article is intended to help those remodelers who had or may still have such employees.   I hope by reading this information they can avoid repeating the same mistakes again as the economy eventually improves.

During the boom times many contractors, trying to get enough field labor to keep up with volume demands, resorted to overpaying carpenters and other field workers just to get them on board.  Also, over time, many remodelers gave wage increases to these people just to keep them, either in fear of losing them and or because another business offered the employee more money.  Additionally, many employees received wage increases based on longevity, perhaps with little or no consideration for any actual advancement in performance, responsibility or productivity.  One could fault the business and or the economy for why this was happening, but certainly not the employees.  After all, if market demand stimulated increased wages, employees would be foolish not to pursue and take the increases.

Then the bottom fell out

The great recession changed this scenario somewhat due to layoffs and downsizing.  The surplus of unemployed field workers got as high as 27% for the construction industry during the recession.  Unfortunately many skilled workers left the industry for other jobs, less physical jobs and or better job security.   This has set up what is expected to be a major labor shortage problem for our industry as the economy and construction pick up again.  Many contractors around the country are already reporting challenges finding skilled carpenters to keep up with construction demand.  As the demand goes up, so will the wages that carpenters can demand to either stay at their current jobs or that other contractors will use to lure workers away to work for them.

Finding, attracting and keeping the best carpenters will require strategic thinking

If you plan to hire additional carpenters as your business volume picks up now is the time to put a plan together for not only finding, but also attracting good carpenters to work for your business and then to get them to stay with your business.  The compensation package you put together should not only capture their interest, but also help them see opportunities for future growth and increased compensation if they are loyal and motivated.

This provides a great opportunity for remodeling business owners to get compensation and any future wage increases in line with actual performance, rather than continue using the subjective reasons so prevalent the past.  It should only make sense for a business to put a plan in place that properly compensates employees based on the value they bring to the business.  It also makes sense to put such a plan in place so employees will know how they can and when they have earned the right to expect increased compensation.

Buying a boat or getting married is not a good reason to give a carpenter a raise!

The automobile industry uses a flat rate manual to determine the labor costs for auto repair services.  The strategy they use is not to estimate the number of hours to do a certain task, but rather the typical actual cost of the labor to perform the task.  A repair shop that uses flat rates pays their employees for what they accomplish, not how long it took them to do it.  A construction or remodeling business could do something similar.  Such a strategy could also help the business and the employees learn where to invest training to improve performance and stimulate wage increases for those who buy into performance based opportunities.

If remodelers and other contractors continue to use purely subjective methods to determine compensation for field employees, they will be setting the example for and encouraging employees to also continue using subjective methods to assess their own performance.  If this plagued your business in the past it’s up to you to make sure it doesn’t happen again. 

Summary

Before you hire new employees or bring previous employees back into your business take the time to think out and document compensation plans based on merit.    If you introduce such a plan to job candidates it could even act as a filter.  Top performing candidates will be attracted to such a plan, but those who can’t or won’t perform will likely find somewhere else to work.  After all, as a business owner your compensation is based on actual performance.  Why not offer the same opportunity to employees.  If they make more money participating in such a plan, so will you!

Related articles:

Successfully Grow Your Business By Creating A Ladder Of Opportunity For Employees

How To Make The Ladder Of Opportunity Happen At Your Construction Business

Simple Profit Sharing Plan For Contractors

Why Some Contractors Can Raise Their Prices But Most Others Can’t

If you are a contractor or remodeler who has been selling on price to close work, you may have a difficult time raising prices as the economy improves.  I say this because as a result of selling on low prices during the recession you may have created a "low price brand" image in your marketplace.  Referrals and prospects who know about your brand will be expecting low prices and will not buy from you if your prices are higher than they experienced and or were told by your referring past customers. 

Can, will you, rebrand your business?

Perhaps by selling on low price during the recession you have doomed yourself to remain there.  You can of course re-market your business to create a new brand, but that will take a whole new strategy than you have used in the past, and it will also cost lots of money.  Keep in mind it will also take much longer to replace or correct a brand than creating the right brand from the get-go.  Rebranding may not be an option if your low prices didn’t or doesn’t generate enough gross profit to pay for doing it.

Also, if you’re a great carpenter without any real professional sales training and sales skills, you will probably not have much luck raising your prices because you don't know how to sell to begin with.   Think about it.  That lack of sales training is probably why you had to drop your prices during the recession just so you could sell something.

And, if you are a contractor who relies almost exclusively on referrals and word of mouth, and don’t do any marketing, you are not likely to get enough leads to take the risk of raising your prices.   

Why some contractors will have success raising their prices

However, those contractors with great marketing and sales skills, those who charged enough during the recession to bring in the gross profit dollars needed to keep doing and pay for great marketing and sales systems at their business, are in a great position to raise their prices.  When a contractor does strategic marketing, and does it well, that contractor gets far more quality leads than the business needs.  If you have more leads than you need you can typically afford to take the risk of raising your prices because you can afford some “no’s” when you have plenty more leads to pursue. And, if you have professional sales skills the risk isn't as great.

So, here’s my advice if you have been selling on price

• If you are close to retirement, say less than 3 or 4 years to go, don’t bother.  The investment needed to fix your problem will require both a lot of money and time.  Any marketing strategy can take at least 6-9 months before you will see quality and sustainable results.  And that’s if you do it right.  If you try to do it yourself through trial and error it could take much longer or might never make enough of a difference before you are ready to retire.
• If you plan to remain a small company, only worried about generating enough work for yourself and maybe one other worker, I suggest you work really hard creating and nurturing referrals.   This is a good low cost option but it does take a lot of your time.  You’ll need to spend time calling your previous customers to let them know you’re still around and would love to get more work from them.  I suggest you also let them know you would appreciate their referrals.  While you have them on the phone get their email addresses and permission to send them information about your company via email.   If you can do this you can take advantage of low cost email marketing strategies to stay in front of them and remind them about referring you.  If this works for you and you get enough quality leads, you will also need improved sales skills so you can raise your prices and still sell enough work.   If you can pull off selling at higher prices use the money to expand your marketing strategy beyond the email related tactics.
• If you have a business that is already doing at least $500-700K worth of business, but you are not making enough money, I suggest you find a coach and or a mentor who can help you.   For a business of that size you really need the help of a pro who can help you strategize what to do before you do it.  My experience working with contractors in this position is that there is typically much more to fix than the marketing and sales functions of the business.  The most common challenges I see with these businesses is a lack of understanding of the costs of being in business and how to properly price projects so they include the money needed to pay for things like marketing and sales training.  Sure, it will cost money to hire that person.  However, if you hire the right person to help you he or she can really speed up the process and help you control the cost of doing it.  The right person will also be able to refer you to other resources you need will to make the changes.   On the other hand, if you try to do it all on your own, you might just end up right where you already are.

 

• My last suggestion is for those contractors who won’t do any more marketing and won’t improve their sales skills.   If this describes you and your business I suggest you consider the option of getting out of the game before it’s too late.   As the economy improves savvy and committed business owners will be doing what it takes to beat out and even eliminate their competition for the high margin customers and projects.  If that happens in your market you will need to stay selling on low price.  My experience working with contractors in this mindset has shown that these contractors often live from check to check and most will never be able to retire.  I suggest you consider the option of a job at a company that already does good marketing and knows how to sell.  These businesses will be growing as the economy improves and will need the talents of good carpenters and project managers.  If you find the right company to work for you will probably make a lot more money, have a whole lot less stress in your life and your new job might even include a company sponsored retirement plan. 
  

Some final thoughts

If the survival of your business has been a constant battle and or struggle for you, deciding to proactivily change what you do, rather than waiting to see if your business can make it or not, might just be the best option for you and those you care about.  Changing what you do can include working on your business or seeking a job opportunity.   Either option is a good one, you get to decide.

Related article:

11 Common Traits of People Who Buy Remodeling On Price

Finding a Good Web Site Designer for Your Contractor Web Site

As a contractor you need to think of your website as a tool.  No contractor would buy a tool before verifying it would do the job intended.  And, if that tool didn’t perform as sold I’m sure you would want to return it.  You can typically return a tool if it’s not working, but you can't return a web site - ever!  

When I was ready to have a web site for my contractor coaching and contractor training business I didn’t just want a tool that listed what I could do.  I could have easily done that with a basic static web site for far less money.  Instead, I wanted a tool that would help my target contractor coaching prospects find me and figure out whether or not they wanted to work with me or not.  I was looking for a way to differentiate myself and my approach from other contractor coaches and trainers.  What I was looking for was an advanced marketing tool, not just a web site.  

Seek referrals before you choose a website designer

In my quest for a web site company to work with I was specifically referred to the one I chose by another business owner I know who had similar goals for his business.  This web site design company owner did what I thought was a great job interviewing me to uncover my purposes before she designed, priced and built my site.  Now, because of her assistance, I can help targeted prospects find me and prevent suspects from wasting my time and resources!  And, if contractors seeking help with their businesses aren’t yet ready to buy, I can nurture them along with more information about me and my business until they are. 

Don’t waste time or money on a bad web site or a bad web site designer

You and your business may not be looking for the same prospects as my business, but I bet you have the same desire to have a web site that will help you find and prequalify the right prospects for your business.  Done right, after the original investment of working with a web site designer, your contractor website can be a very effective and low cost way to attract the right clients for your business.  But if you choose the wrong designer or choose one based on price alone, you will have wasted a lot of time and money.  Even worse, your target customers won’t be able to find you on search engines and you will remain a commodity selling yourself and your service on price.

I hope you found this article helpful.  You might also like my list of red flags to watch out for when selecting your web site designer. 

If you want help planning the purpose and function of your web site, or help with selecting a web site designer, send me an email me now.  I’d be happy to discuss what you want and or need so you can do your first website right the first time.

More articles about creating a contractor website:

Seven Ways Contractors Can Prequalify a Good Web Site Designer

Hate Contractor Lead Generation Services? Why Not Get Some Chickens!

On Your Contractor Web Site, Qualify, Don’t Disqualify Your Prospects

If You Don’t Or Won’t Offer Generation Y Prospects What They Want They Will Go Away

The Marketplace is Improving; Are You Sure You Are Working With The Right Vendors?

The marketplace seems to be picking up for contractors.  Many are reporting increased leads and sales.  With increased demand for the products contractors need to build their projects we will definitely see supply and demand challenges with local lumberyards, the big boxes and specialty product vendors.  This supply and demand challenge is one of the reasons many in the construction industry are predicting as much as a 25% increase in cost on many building products.  Although contractors need to be aware of these increases as they price their projects, I suggest they also need to make sure the vendors and suppliers they purchase their materials and products from will be prepared for the increased demand.

If you are a contractor who has been buying on price from vendors who have been selling on low price to get your business, you might want to think twice.   If that vendor has a good business, low or no debt and is using efficient business systems and technology to keep their costs low, you may be OK.  But if your vendor has very high debt, has cut back on staffing, equipment and service, just so they could sell at low prices, their business may not be prepared for a surge in sales as the economy improves.

Choosing and keeping the right building product dealers for your business and your customers

Here are some things to think about regarding the vendors you are currently using.  This same list can also help you decide which vendor or vendors you should work with going forward:

• Many lumberyards and specialty dealers are short staffed.   To save money and to stay in business many of these businesses have reduced staff during the recession and often times the people they let go were the higher paid employees.   If this is a tactic any of your suppliers used they may have let go many of their most knowledgeable staff.   The remaining staff, often less skilled and far less knowledgeable about building products, construction and contractors, will be challenged to serve contractors as the number of contractors doing work and buying materials picks up.
• Building product suppliers who have high debt may not be able to finance the cost of increasing their inventories to keep up with the predicted supply and demand challenges as the economy improves.   If this happens at your supplier you may find that many products, even common commodities like framing lumber, will be out of stock.  Imagine going to the lumberyard first thing in the morning to get the materials you need to frame a deck or reframe that kitchen, only to find out you can’t get what you need.  To keep working that day you might have to pay for longer lengths than you need, or might even have to drive to a different supplier in the hopes that they will have what you need so you can work that day.  Remember, if you lose two hours chasing materials, in reality you also lost two hours of productive time on the job.   That would mean you lost a total of four hours you could have billed your client for if the materials were already at the jobsite.
• Lumber and building materials dealers who cut back on staff may also be challenged to help you sell to your customers.   If you had a customer who wanted to see the door, cabinets or windows you recommend, will you be able to send them down to your local supplier to see the products they are looking for?  What is the condition of the showroom?  Is there going to be anyone there to make and take the time to meet with and help your customer?   Will the person working at that dealer have the sales skills, product knowledge and knowledge about you and your business to help you make the sale?

The risks of low price

Selling on low price typically puts any business on a path to failure.  Sure, it may seem to help things at first when money gets tight.  However, unless they can ramp up their businesses, and do so before the market place improves, they will be forced to play a game of keep up and catch up as their customers’ needs and demands for products and service increases.   Working with a low price vendor might seem attractive, but can you be confident they will have what you need when you needed it?   If they require a deposit on special order items, are you confident they will still be in business by the time you expect delivery of what you ordered?   What will your customers think of you and your business if their project start date gets delayed and or the completion date gets extended because you can’t get what you need from your vendors to keep their project and your business on schedule?

Summary

Choosing the wrong vendors by saving a few bucks on materials may cost you and your construction business lots of wasted time, money and the valuable referrals your business has enjoyed from what used to be happy customers.  I highly recommend you choose your vendors wisely!