Builder: Want Hot Renovation Leads?
Builder - Want Hot Renovation Leads
You love doing nice remodelling projects, and you want to grow your building business by attracting bigger jobs and adding more qualified builders. But, the leads are not coming in and you are not getting opportunities to present many construction quotes. Frustrating!
In this article, I outline the strategies Robert (real name withheld) used to grow the revenues of his renovation building business until he was fully off the tools, and able to take time away with his young family. His business more than doubled in size each year.
Essentially, Robert focused on responding to the immediate opportunities around him and used these as the base for growing his larger renovation business. Here’s what we worked on.
1. Looking at the ordinary with fresh eyes
I’d intended to buy the green BMW with black leather trim. But when I saw the wine-red one with tan trim, I fell in love. Never seen one like that before. So, I bought it. Nice. Then, I couldn’t believe it! Driving home I saw another - exactly the same! I’d never seen one like it before - but then, I was only looking for green!
The lesson? If you are looking only for large renovation leads you simply may not see the dozens of other opportunities around.
So, when Robert looked with fresh eyes, he noticed that almost every house in the area he was working had at least one minor repair needed. So, we blitzed these homes with a simple flyer posted in their mail box. The result? A number of small jobs to keep Robert and his small team busy.
2. Look for opportunities to practice
Small jobs can be a pain to organise, but Robert didn’t treat them as such. Instead, he treated each small job as an opportunity to practice the systems and processes he was developing, especially his sales system.
The thing is, most builders who do small maintenance jobs don’t use a sales system - they just rock up, take a quick look, make a rough estimate and do the work. They’re charging by the hour so spending time on a sales process is hardly necessary. That is until a customer talks to them about a larger renovation! Then it’s all panic, because they have no proven process in place.
So, Robert worked on improving his sales skills, his sales materials and on delivering well presented estimates and quotes. They turned out to be winners.
Now, he didn’t win them all at first, but as he practised his verbal and written presentation skills, his performance improved and his conversion rate climbed until it was almost 100%.
3. Look to give exceptional service
Then he ensured that his team delivered exceptional service. Not simply to protect profitability or to ensure his customers were happy to pay the bill, but to give service that would turn his customers into raving fans.
For some time it seemed like he was running a house maintenance company rather than a renovation and new home building company. But he knew it was just a matter of time before customers who had received exceptional service started talking about it and referring him to their friends.
The professionalism of the quoting process and the quality of the service delivered convinced them that they were dealing with a professional building company capable of way more than just small jobs. And that’s what they told their friends and family.
Hot leads started coming in for larger and larger projects - not simply as requests for quotes but as almost certain bookings for renovations.
The sale had been done by his raving fans!
4. Look to spot inconsistencies
Once the business began growing, Robert focused on identifying inconsistencies - in presentations and in service. As new people were added to the team they needed to be brought up to speed with the reason for working his systems and for giving exceptional customer service. Because they didn’t always “get it” first time, they presented a threat to what Robert was doing. So, he taught his team leaders to intervene when new team members did something different and teach them why they need to do things his way.
In summary, clients contemplating larger projects prefer to minimise their risk by buying from a builder recommended by a friend or family member. So, delivering excellent service to many smaller jobs ensures a steady stream of hot renovation leads for the fewer renovation projects out there.
Do you have further ideas on getting hot renovation leads?
Do you have processes that create raving fans? Or did any interesting thoughts or questions come up as you read this article? I’d love to hear from you.
Just comment below.
Graeme
P.S. Whenever you’re ready….here are 4 ways I can help you grow your building business:
1. Grab a copy of my free book
It’s a road map of a successful 15 minute sales call that’s guaranteed to increase your conversion rate. http://thesuccessfulbuilder.com/book-15-min-sales-call/
2. Join Trade Mates and connect with builders who are scaling too.
It's our new Facebook community where smart builders learn to get more income, time and freedom. View our free business resources for builders. Ask questions of like minded business owners and business coaches. Give your knowledge and expertise to help others. - https://www.facebook.com/groups/TradeMates/
3. Join My New Group
I’m starting a new group called “OnRamp” to kick start sales and marketing in your business. If this sounds like you, message me with the words, “OnRamp”, and I’ll get you all the information.
4. Join Loft Members
If you’d like help to get off the tools, make more money and get your life back...just message me at graeme@thesuccessfulbuilder.com and put “LOFT MEMBERS” in the subject...tell me a little about your business and I’ll get you all the details.