Contractor Marketing is about Just Doing It – Words made famous by Nike, but how many of us just get out there and do it every day? Running a contracting business isn’t easy; payroll and employee issues, supplier or vendor troubles, and don’t even get me started on the banks. The point is, with so much going on how do you find the time to pick up the phone and reach out to all of those leads that your advertising dollars brought in the door?
Admit it, if your prospect doesn’t say yes right away or return your call after one or two messages you stop calling don’t you? Don’t feel bad, you’re not alone.
- 48% quit after the first contact
- 20% quit after the second contact
- 7% quit after the third contact
- 5% quit after the fourth contact
- 4% quit after the fifth contact
But 80% of the customers say “yes” after the sixth call! Now that you are armed with that information are you going to change your calling habits? Will you be firing off an e-mail to your sales manager to make sure he or she goes over those numbers during the next sales meeting?
What holds contractors back from success?
Believe it or not, many contractors consider selling to be too much work. Selling is hard work but it’s got huge upside for the contractor who “gets it”. Many contractors start their business wanting success, but don’t want the pain or discomfort associated with achieving it. When you feel stuck and don’t want to pick up the phone to make that next call use these tips to help yourself move forward.
- Realize that if you get 100 no’s over the next hour of calling you’re no worse off than when you started. There’s no pain. In fact, you have achieved something great, you have identified 100 people who aren’t interested in your service right now, that in and of itself is an accomplishment.
- Call a “friendly” first. This could be your wife or husband, close friend or maybe even an existing customer. Whoever you choose to call make sure it’s a positive call that you can go away from feeling good. Then pick up the phones!
- Expect the prospect to say yes. You have to realize that somebody out there needs what you have to sell and every no you hear get you one person closer to that yes. Remember, if you don’t make your calls the answer is always no!
- Celebrate wins. If you’re making calls on your own reward yourself every time you’re able to set an appointment with a prospect. If you are a sales manager and someone on your team rings up a sale or get’s a firm appointment make some noise with a bell or a horn or whatever you want to use to get the momentum going. Funny thing about Big Mo, it’s builds up quickly but goes away just as fast if you don’t keep it rolling!
- And finally, dream big. Imagine what your hard work pounding out calls will bring you. A trip to the beach, that new truck you wanted, whatever it is you strive for make that your goal with each and every contact you make and you can grow your contracting business one call at a time!