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How and Why Contractors Need To Create Powerful Testimonials

Posted by Shawn McCadden on Thu, Aug 07,2014 @ 06:00 AM

How and Why Contractors Need To Create Powerful Testimonials

How contractors can get testimonials

 

Testimonials can be the most effective marketing tool a remodeler has and they are free!  They provide credible confirmation of your marketing message because they come from people who have actually experienced working with your company.   Fortunately, with some planning and the use of simple strategies, powerful testimonials can also be very easy to get. 

Selling and working on fun projects makes sense.  But working for the wrong clients can kill the fun in a project for its entire duration.   In this article I want to share how you can get and use testimonials as a powerful and effective way of demonstrating your company’s differences so you can attract both the right clients as well as the right projects for your business.

 

Think about what you are or should be selling

In his book “Selling the Invisible” Harry Beckwith talks about outside perception and inside reality. 

  • How Contractors can get testimonialsThe outside perception is what prospects come to think about your business by what they observe, much like looking at a picture. 
  • The inside reality is what they come to know about you and your company by actually experiencing working with you and your team. 

I can personally share with you that understanding this difference and putting it to work within our marketing strategy caused a significant improvement in lead quality and lead quantity at my remodeling company.   By sharing testimonials that revealed how we did business we attracted customers who wanted us for our way of doing business, not just for the quality of our work.

A picture may be worth a thousand words but a well written testimonial can paint a specific picture that has the value of gold.

 

Four important considerations for creating powerful testimonials

  1. I found that the best testimonials are short and concise, getting right to a main point.  Most importantly, they include the true emotions experienced by the customer as they worked with you and your team, and or as a result of how your company’s processes helped them achieve their true remodeling goals.
  2. They are told like stories and include concrete examples from the customer’s experience that back up the main point and make the testimonial memorable.
  3. I found that it is best to get testimonials in writing from customers sooner than later, while the thoughts are fresh in their minds and they are enthusiastic about what they are sharing with you. 
  4. Always be sure to get written permission to use their testimonials.  If possible, get permission to use their name or initials with the testimonial, as well as the town they live in.   Including the source makes the message all that more credible.

 

Summary

describe the imageIn a lot of ways testimonials are like referrals.  If contractors wait for them to happen they will get some referrals and some business.  On the other hand, if contractors are proactive in causing them to happen and are strategic about causing the inside reality they include, contractors can get great customers and a lot more business.

In a future article I’ll share some examples and some specific strategies you can use to cause and secure powerful testimonials.

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Topics: Differentiating your Business, Marketing Ideas, Lead Generation, Customer Relations, Books for Contractors, Creating Referrals

Five Great Books for Remodeling Business Owners

Posted by Shawn McCadden on Sun, Dec 09,2012 @ 06:00 AM

Five Great Books for Remodeling Business Owners

Good books for remodelers

 I have always loved reading to learn about new subjects.  When I was first in business as a remodeler I read a lot of articles in trade magazines.  They offered great ideas, best practices and sample paperwork or forms I could put to use right away.   However, right about the time I sold my business I also started reading books on business related topics.   After reading a handful of titles I came to the realization that the articles in the magazines were helpful and offered individual solutions for a variety of typical business challenges, but the books I was reading offered much broader and more comprehensive views about big picture business strategies and opportunities. 

In many ways the books I read helped me understand how I had grown my business, what made me and my business more successful than many other remodelers and their businesses, and they helped me better understand why my business had salable value beyond just the value of the hard assets.  I quickly came to the realization that, had I read those books much earlier in my career, perhaps I could have increased the level of success I enjoyed.   I also came to realize that I would have dramatically reduced the time it took to build my business had I read those same books when I first started my business.  

Good Good books for remodelersThe books in the list I offer below fall into the top five books I think remodelers should read if they want to grow a successful business and reduce the total time it takes to do so.   More importantly, these books can help remodelers avoid the frustrations, wasted time and wasted money that come with the trial and error approach of going it alone as a business owner.   Even if you still can’t build the business you want on your own after reading these books, you will definitely know what help you will need to get there

 

“The E-Myth Contractor” by Michael Gerber

EMyth Contractor

 

 

This is one of several E-Myth books by Gerber.  They are all worth reading, but if you’re a contractor this one gets right to the point about what you need to do to build a contracting business that runs without you needing to do everything yourself and be there every minute of the day so things get done.   If you ever want to sell your remodeling business, or at least be able to take an extended vacation, make sure you grab this book.

 

“Good to Great” by Jim Collins

Good to Great

 

 

Many business owners are happy having good businesses.  Others decide that their businesses, when compared to other businesses, fall into the good category; a term sometimes referred to as relative success.   If you want more than just a good business Collins and his team has done the research to figure out how it’s done.  He offers some great strategies to consider as well as some great examples of companies and their leaders who made the jump from good to great.  He also shares the importance of and the type of leadership required to achieve greatness.

 

“The Great Game of Business” by Jack Stack

Great Game of Business

 

 If you would like to have an open books business that involves all employees in the creation of and sharing of company profits you should definitely read this book before you do so and well before you start creating your plan.  Not only does Stack share strategies for doing so, he lets you know the challenges to expect, how to get ready for them and how to identify employees who will never go along with the changes.  He also shares a process to use to help educate employees about business financials relative to their job positions, how profits are earned and how they can measure their individual contributions in ways that are real for them.  As I mention in my blog about profit sharing, businesses that share profits often earn more profit as a result!

 

“Selling the Invisible” by Harry Beckwith

Selling the Invisible

 

Back before the September 11th attacks my remodeling business was humming and qualified leads came in faster than we needed them.  Then, after the attacks and up through February, we had only sold about $15,000 worth of new work.   I had to do something to get the business back on track.   That’s when I found “Selling the Invisible” and it changed forever they way I looked at and did marketing.   In his book Beckwick discusses the difference between the “outside perception” people gain of your business from traditional marketing and the difference a business can enjoy if its marketing projects the “inside reality” customers who do business with you come to know.  Customers spend way more money to get something they consider different.  If your business has an inside reality that really differentiates your business from the competition you will not regret reading this book.

 

“Managing for Excellence” by David L. Bradford and Allan R. Cohen

Managing for Excellence

 

There are all kinds of books available on the subject of business leadership and I’ve read at least a handful of them during my career.   In my opinion this is the best book on leadership that I know of.  If you looking to not only be a great leader yourself, but also create a whole team of leaders at your remodeling business this is the book that best describes how.  As a word of caution; if you’re afraid that one of your employees might become a better leader than you, don’t bother getting this book.  As you will learn in the book, the only way you can become a great business leader and create a great business is to create other leaders who can replace you.  If you want to sell your business someday you need to read this book.

 

Topics: Business Financials, Profit Sharing, Success Strategies, Differentiating your Business, Financial Related Topics, Earning More Money, Marketing, Business Planning, Leadership, Books for Contractors