The Design Builder's Blog

Contractor Shares His Sales Strategy, Justifies Why He Emails His Proposals

Guest Blogger: Milt Rye is the owner of Ethan Home Repair & Remodeling, LLC located in the Greater Seattle, WA area.  Milt is a contributor to multiple construction resources, forums and discussion panels. Milt sent me the letter below to offer his difference of opinion to mine after reading my blog titled: Is A Contractor Really A Salesperson If He or She Hits Send?   

Shawn,

I thoroughly look forward to your articles, regularly take advantage of your online resources, information, and recommendations, attend your seminars, and fully embrace most everything you “preach”.  So thank you for your help in the ongoing success of my business.

That said, I am afraid I can’t totally agree with your premise that a contractor who emails proposals is just an “order taker”.  I think the approach must be governed by many factors that are geared toward that particular customer’s needs and personality. A true salesperson, in my view, is someone who can relate best to their customer, instill confidence in them, and communicate in the manner and frequency in which their customer is most comfortable.

For large ticket, complex projects face to face presentations are generally preferred simply due to the scope of the project. But if I have done my job correctly up to the point of presentation, I should already have the job. I should have already established whether they can afford the project and if they have selected my company. The bid is just a formality. Price is WAY at the bottom of issues, as is the method of delivery. For most projects, we would have already met multiple times up to the point of presentation and that’s where I do my selling. Whether I email the quote or hand deliver it is immaterial in my experience of selling projects for over 15 years. I personally prefer a face to face meeting, but have found it unnecessary in most instances and base that decision on the customer and their personality. I have never been the cheapest bidder and tell people up front that I never intend to be. Yet my closing rate/ratio remains extremely high.

I find that our current speed of living in general is much faster than in the past and people get irritated with too many required face to face meetings. They most often prefer the email method so they can make a decision at 10pm after work is done, the kids are asleep and they can focus. Am I serving them or are they serving me?  I always ask what their preferred form of communication is and then I respect that.  If I have established myself as the contractor of choice, reflected in our discussions (phone or otherwise) that I have accurately heard them and understand their needs/wants, established a comfortable budget, and minded the details, why waste their time and mine with an unneeded additional meeting?  Let’s do this!

I am sure many contractors use email as an excuse to avoid a face to face meeting because of fear of rejection or other issues, and to hide behind the computer. They rarely follow up and basically throw mud on the wall and hope something sticks. Maybe those folks were your intended audience for this article.  

Others of us use email as one of many tools in the sales toolbox to great success and to close more deals, more often, and more profitably, than running all over the area chasing people for face to face meetings.   

Thanks again for your commitment to contractors. I just think your approach on this article was too general and did not do justice to the topic.

Regards,

Milt Rye

Note:

If like Milt you disagree with something I post at my blog please feel free to let me know.  Milt did a great job explaining his viewpoint in a respectful and thoughtful way.  I must admit I agree with his approach as well.   When Milt emails his proposal he is doing so to confirm in writing the agreement he has already made with his prospect who has agreed to become a customer.  Milt is certainly not an order taker, but rather a great example for other contractors seeking to improve their sales abilities and results.  

Thanks Milt!

Window Treatments Decoded: What to Use Where

When it comes to building a house, you've got it down. You've got your favorite brands of windows and insulation, and you know all of the best places to get quality materials. But when it comes to the finishes, making the right choices can be tricky, especially when it comes to so many window treatment options. Here's a breakdown of the various types of window coverings with the advantages of each to help make the selection process easier for your next project.  Consider adding them during the design stage to upsell your project, make your designs stand out and differentiate your offering.

Privacy and Plenty of Light

Cellular shades are a type of hard window treatment that provide complete privacy while also allowing natural light to filter into the room. The shade's honeycomb design is constructed for maximum energy efficiency and provides a layer of insulation to help keep warm air inside. As windows typically account for 25 percent of heat loss in a home, states The Shade Store, this is an easy way to mitigate the problem while also softening up the look of the windows. Cellular shades are ideal in bathrooms, street-facing bedrooms or rooms that are prone to heat loss. While the light-filtering option is most commonly used, cellular shades also are made with heavier materials so they can double as blackout shades.

Timeless Design

Wood blinds are a safe choice of window treatment because they have a classic style that adds a rich, polished look to any room. This is an ideal option to use for a spec home or a house that's being remodeled as it has wide-ranging appeal. Wood blinds are made in a variety of wood finishes, so you can easily find them in the same material or stain that you're using in other finishes in the house. While a bit more expensive than standard horizontal blinds, wood blinds offer a higher insulation value and have a higher-quality appearance.

Form and Function

If you are looking for the decorative impact of drapes with the functional advantages of blinds, roman shades are the ideal choice. Made from heavy, durable fabric, roman shades are an easy way to soften the look of a room. While available in lighter fabrics, most are blackout quality and are perfect for installation in a bedroom, says Houzz, or anywhere that privacy is of utmost importance. While roman shades look great, there are a few downsides. They are all or nothing when it comes to letting light in and they can be difficult to keep clean as dust accumulates.

Unmatched Elegance

Drapery brings a refined look into any room of the house. For the best results, opt to have custom drapery made. One of the main downsides of drapery is that it can be difficult to select a material that will appeal to all homeowners. HGTV suggests silk drapes to instantly wake up a dull room. Additionally, drapes can add a lot of depth as well as the illusion of height to a room. To make the ceilings seem higher and to make the room feel a bit more spacious, install the curtain rod close to the ceiling rather than just above the window.

Sleek Sun Protection

Solar shades are the ideal window treatment option for rooms that have a lot of sun exposure. They offer UV protection while also reducing glare. This is a great option in rooms with a beautiful view, as the shades won't disrupt. One caveat is that solar shades do not provide privacy; therefore, solar shades are best in main living quarters of the house like the living room, great room, kitchen or dining room. Furthermore, this type of window treatment is a must if your clients have expensive art, antique furniture or other valuables that can be harmed from too much sun exposure.

Guest Blogger:  Allison Wilkinson is a WAHM, an explorer, an amateur chef and a fitness buff. You can find her Instagramming photos of her (adorable) son or researching everything from the latest parenting theories to healthy hacks for desserts.

Is A Contractor Really A Salesperson If He Or She Hits Send?

If as a contractor you take the time to go out and meeting with a prospect, then you simply email or snail mail your proposal to the prospect, I don’t think you are really a sales person.  If you do this I think you are an order taker.   Now there may be a few exceptions to this.  But, before you rationalize why your situation is an exception, ask yourself this question first.  Is your justification for emailing your proposals really a “reason” or, is it an “excuse”?

I will offer one exception.  

If you are a contractor who gets his or her work by being the lowest price; then emailing is OK.  Essentially you are a commodity.  You are no different than any of the other contractors the prospects has met with.  People who buy on price only need to know about your price, not about your value.

Is being too busy to properly sell an excuse or the reason you are not earning enough money?

Are you selling your price or your value?

Let me be blunt and right to my point.  If you email your proposal (price) to a prospect you are probably confirming with your prospect that you and your business are simply a commodity.   By not presenting your proposal you have lost the opportunity to accomplish these very important sales goals:

• Another opportunity to differentiate yourself, your business and your solution and become a trusted advisor.
• The ability to address objections, questions and concerns.
• The ability to make changes or clarifications so your prospect can buy with confidence.
• The ability to ask for their business.
• I am sure you could add a few more here yourself if you really think about it.

Let me offer a simple analogy

Let’s pretend you are a carpenter who needs a job so you can pay your bills and feed your family.  Let’s also pretend I just happen to have a job opening right now for a good carpenter.  You call me up to ask about the job.  I tell you I’ll be in my office this afternoon and offer you can either email me your resume or come on down with it and we can chat.  What would you do?  If it was me, and I needed to feed my family, I’d ask what time I could come by.

Summary

If you are having challenges selling jobs and or getting the price you need to earn a good living and save for retirement, and you have been hitting send, I suggest you start presenting your proposal and price. In fact I suggest, before you commit to do the estimate and prepare a proposal, you schedule a specific date and time with your prospect to come back and present it.  That way you will save yourself a lot of time doing estimates and proposal for people who only see you as a commodity.

Creative Driveway Designs Can Bring Attention To The Rest Of The Project

The driveway is among the first things visitors and passersby see when they look at a house. Like the front door, the driveway creates a lasting impression and perception of the home and because of this; it's the perfect time to try something a little unconventional. Even more than the front door, the driveway has to be functional as well as visually appealing, as it’s a service area of the property. Plus, a really cool driveway design can bring the contractor more business from the customers' neighbors asking, "Who did your driveway?"

Not Their Father’s Driveway

Your clients may have memories of their dad brushing smelly black sealant on their childhood home’s driveway or patching cement cracks with a trowel and wet cement. But those are not the only options for driveway surfaces. A driveway’s appearance is limited only by your customer’s budget and (hopefully not) your creativity. Gravel, pavers, natural crushed shell, brick, basalt, permeable (or pervious) concrete and recycled materials are just some of the possible materials you can use to design a unique driveway.

Factors in Driveway Design

Contractors and consumers should take a few things into consideration when designing a driveway. Budget is an important factor during construction and installation, but don't forget driveway maintenance over time. The materials used to construct the driveway, as well as its style, should complement the house, not clash with it, as well as be durable with a layout that is logical and easy to navigate by foot and vehicle.

A driveway created with pavers can be one of the best values, providing beautiful design possibilities, with low maintenance and a long shelf life, commonly lasting 30 to 40 years. Crushed shell driveways offer soft colors and good drainage, while pervious concrete made with almost no sand deliver a light, porous surface to avoid run-off issues.

Mix N Match and Layouts

To help your work stand out from other contractors don’t settle for the same old same old when it comes to designing driveways for your clients. You can mix and match materials like asphalt and brick border, or broken concrete and gravel. Instead of a straight path from the street to the garage, consider a rolling driveway layout to add some sensuous curved lines to the property.

Hiring a qualified sub contractor to perform the work  is often the best route.  But if you would like to do all or even some of the work in-house you can rent the equipment you need to do it right. Compactors, electric hammers, and other equipment are readily available as long as you know what you will need.

Creative Borders

Creative borders go a long way toward creating an attractive driveway. Liven up a traditional straight driveway by planting a low hedge on each side, plus a decorative flowering tree for more vertical interest, such as a dwarf flowering crabapple tree. Add interest with grass between pavers or broken cement. Use a homeowner’s favorite design element or theme to line or highlight the driveway with split logs and tree trunks or a mass planting their favorite flowers.

Beautiful, unique driveway designs add a visual highlight as the first part of a property to be seen and used before arriving at the front door. It’s worth the extra effort to think more about materials and plan a unique part of the property that everyone passing by will see and your customer’s will enjoy for years to come.

Guest Blogger: Heidi Cardenas is a freelance writer with a background in human resources, business administration, technical writing and corporate communications. She specializes in human resources, business and personal finance, small business advice and home improvement.

Three Ways To Handle “Your Price Is Much Higher Than The Other Guy”

Any contractor who has worn the salesperson hat has experienced the “Your price is much higher than the other Guy” objection.    Some contractors freeze up when they hear this, perhaps falsely assuming all prospects are only seeking the lowest price.   On the other hand there are contractors who look at objections as opportunities.  These contractors, rather than see the objection as ending the sales call, see it as an opening to take advantage of.   A no may mean no, but an objection means “I am still thinking about it and haven’t made a decision yet”.

Next time a prospect tells you your price is higher than someone else’s try these tactics to keep the conversation moving and see if your prospect could justify paying more.  Notice I said “tactics”, not responses.  If you memorize the responses you may miss out on understanding why the tactics work.   The response is not a tactic, just a way to accomplish the tactic.   Make sure your responses sound like they are coming from you and fit the context of the conversation you are having with your prospects.  

Tactics contractors can use to address the higher price question

Tactic #1- Find out if you are you being compared to a business the prospect would never hire?

Many home owners collect bids from contractors even though having met with them they would never hire them.  Then they still use that contractor’s bid as a point of reference.  This is like comparing the cost of a Ford to a Dodge pickup truck even though you would never buy a Ford.  To find out if your prospect is making a false comparison try asking something like: “Is there a reason you haven’t already hired that other guy?”  Depending on their response you might want to move to tactic #2 below

Tactic #2- Find out if they are still looking for something they haven’t yet found

For many home owners choosing the right contractor to work with is just as important as the quality of the workmanship.   Consumers who have already done remodeling and had a bad experience with a contractor are great candidates for this tactic.  The purpose of the tactic is to get them talking about what happened last time, how it affected them, and how they will feel if the same thing happens again.   With this prospect first ask something like: “Is there a reason you aren’t working with the contractor who did your…?”  If this reveals you are on the right track says something like “Why haven’t you already hired one of the other contractors you have met with so far.”   Then, depending on their answer and the context, consider saying something like: “Were you hoping I could do something different than the other guys?”  Now, at least with this prospect, you’re back in sales mode!  Move to tactic #3.

Tactic #3- Help them discover that getting something different comes with a different price.

No one wants to pay more than they have to for anything.  Take gas for example.  It’s a commodity; you can get the same thing all over the place so why pay more for it if you don’t have to?  If you have been successful with tactic #2 above, to get tactic #3 started ask something like: “But you probably couldn’t justify paying more to avoid those disappointments, right?” 

If they say no, or they say yes, ask them the same thing: “What do you think we should do at this point?”  By asking this question you will either give them opportunity to pay more and close the sale, or you give them the opportunity to say it isn’t going to work so you don’t have to be the one to say it.   Using this tactic can help you avoid the risk of being accused of not wanting to work for them.

Think about this next time you are worried about your price and your prospect’s reaction. 

People who buy on price hang around with a lot of other people just like them.  When you get referrals from customers who buy on price it’s likely their referrals will want to buy on price as well.   When you get referrals from people who are willing to pay more to get something different, it’s likely their referrals will pay more to get different as well.  You just have to help them discover the difference they are looking for.  

That’s why you need to learn tactics; not memorize responses!

How and Why Contractors Need To Create Powerful 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. 

• The 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

In 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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