Generic Contractors Are Fading Away, Brand Names Are Shining
Remember the isles of generic vegetables at the grocery stores back in the recession of the 1990's? Just like the manufacturers of those cans of generic vegetables, during the recent recession many contractors put themselves into a commodity market where the consumer chooses product based on price.
Manufacturers of those generic foods told us what was in the can was the same thing you would get if you bought the name brand products. They also told us that the reason they could sell at low prices was because they didn't do any advertising and skipped the fancy labels on the can. Essentially during the recession of the early 90's manufacturers of these products were banking on cash challenged consumers being attracted to their low prices for what they claimed to be the same quality of products they would get if they purchased the more expensive name brands.
Here today, gone tomorrow
My recollection is that those products occupied a few isles at the supermarket during the early years of the recession and consumers did give them a try. But, by the end of the recession consumers stopped buying them and the isles went away. My theory is that consumers discovered the products weren't the same quality as the name brands, the quality of the food often varied from purchase to purchase, and even at a lower price buying them just wasn't worth it. I can tell you from my own experience that my kids wouldn't eat the generic spinach. For my family saving money on generic foods really didn't save us any money at all because what we bought didn't serve the purpose for buying it.
I would suggest the same thing is currently happening to many contractors who resorted to similar tactics. To lower their prices they too at the start of the recent recession took on generic labels and stopped doing any marketing and advertising. They also offered their services with the promise that even at low prices consumers would get the same quality project the well known name brand contractors were offering. Like the generic food manufacturers of the 90's, now that the economy is improving, these contractors are finding it hard to sell anything at all.
Here’s my message
This should serve as a wake-up call for contractors who want to stay in business and actually earn enough money to live well, maybe even eventually be able to retire when their body's give out due to old age. Let's face it, if your selling strategy is to be the lowest price, you need to be the loser to win. When consumers are short on money they may be willing to give you a try, but if your offering leaves a bad taste in their mouth they will likely go back to buying from the name brands as their income improves.
If you are having a hard time accepting my thoughts in this article just take a look around you. All over the country I am hearing from name brand contractors who are overwhelmed with work, are raising their prices and desperately need more staff to help them get the work done. At the same time generic contractors are complaining that they have very little work and consumers inquiring about their services are still aggressively beating them up on price. Like the generic vegetables, I am pretty confident many contractors with generic labels will soon be gone from the isles where consumers shop for a contractor.
Think about it.
If you brought a 30 pack of generic beer to a Super Bowl party, would your buddies let you in?
With the right manager and company, a good lead carpenter has a huge opportunity for personal and professional growth. Proper training as well as the ability to implement what is learned creates many opportunities for a lead carpenter. As we implemented the system at my remodeling company, our leads discovered that this new role generated a variety of benefits for them. For example; our leads discovered that they could delegate to others those activities that they preferred not to do.
Fewer risks of losing and replacing in-house production employees
Projects are most profitable and clients are happiest when everything happens as originally planned. Any changes to that plan can cause frustration for either party and may reduce your ability to get referrals if the client sees the changes as your fault. Before allowances throw a monkey wrench into your schedule, help prospects discover what will happen if selections are not made on time, or they choose products that will not be available when needed to keep the project moving as planned. Make sure you do this and mutually agree on things before you allow them to become clients!
Typically in larger firms most employees are specialist. Each employee on the team will do just one part of the process, such as just the design or just the estimating. Because of this, clients working with larger businesses may never really get to know one employee very well. A smaller company has the possible advantage of having the same person sell, design, estimate, and help manage the project. Certain clients will be attracted to this type of relationship. To get in front of prospects who want this kind of service you need to market the advantages that come with it, otherwise prospects will assume you’re the same as the other companies they can work with. Writing about how you do business and sharing stories about how and why your past customer benefited can help point interested prospects your way. Doing so within your blog is a great way to get the message out. 
The changes Joe has made provide a better level of service and attention to current prospects and customers, and, at the same time, gives Joe the time and ability to also fully focus while meeting with new prospects for the first time. By sharing the workload with the right person and using the right process Joe has improved the service his company delivers and his customers are very happy. He says he now looks forward to working with new prospects as their calls keep rolling in.
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.
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.
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 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, 
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?” 
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. 
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”.
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?
“A lead carpenter is involved in tasks and has responsibilities beyond the technical production aspects of a project. He/she is responsible for customer contact and communication, supervision of subcontractors and employees, managing the job site, scheduling, and safety issues. The success of a remodeling project during the production stage is the primary responsibility of the lead carpenter.”
Customer Satisfaction
For example, if your business can't or won't share the 
I am also aware of true lead carpenters who were hired as lead carpenters only to find out that they couldn't act as lead carpenters at the business that hired them because of the reasons shared above. When they find these conditions at their new job they quickly realize their opportunities for career and compensation growth are dramatically compromised. So many left for a different business and opportunity where they could use their skills and continue to advance their careers.
