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Business Planning Archives - Page 3 of 7 - Construction Websites

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Are You Living In Your Desired State?

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You have a place you want to get to in your business, a “Desired State”. Maybe you want to be a millionaire, maybe you want to build a business big enough that you can come and go as you please. Or maybe you want to work so hard you drop dead on the job site at 95, having lived a long, rich life.

Whatever your desired state is requires some planning, and planning requires knowing, because you can’t manage what you don’t track. So today I am going to give you a 15 minute exercise that is going to help you get a better understanding of your business, your market and your future. So let’s get busy. [Read more…] about Are You Living In Your Desired State?

Quick Tips for Contractors #7 – Get Out of The Forums

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You know who you are. You’ll be the first one to tell me you don’t have time to worry about social media, marketing or promotion, yet you have 5,000 posts on some contractor forum site.

Don’t get me wrong…

I understand the need to blow off some steam and hang with like-minded people. I even get it that participating in a spirited debate helps you relax. At the end of the day, you have a business to care for, and just like the kids, you can’t put some of them to bed without being fed. You have to feed all the kids every day, and that means your business too!

So spend the time you would have spent in a forum updating your Places page, or adding your site to another local directory, or reviewing your ad campaign, or reading blogs like this one and extracting the information you read here and put it to use on your business.

No, Everyone Does Not Know You!

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Fortunately, most of the people I talk to don’t have such a high opinion of themselves that they think everyone within a 10 mile radius of their shop or office knows them. But there are contractors out there who are so stuck on themselves that they think there isn’t a living, breathing soul who isn’t clamoring to do business with them when they need that particular product or service.

If you fall into the former category above (and since you read this site, I am assuming you don’t, but I am sure you know someone who does) then keep reading, because I am going to show you why you still need to advertise even if you have a solid word-of-mouth base of built-in business. [Read more…] about No, Everyone Does Not Know You!

An Inside Look at 5 Things That Make Customers Crazy

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Part of what I do here at Darren’s is research. And part of that research is finding out what made people do business (or not do business) with you in the past. I typically do this through a series of phone interviews with former clients or leads that never closed. And the things I uncover when people feel they can speak freely will make your head spin.

But you can’t fix it if you don’t know it’s broken right?

I always try to explain to the homeowner that by not making my client aware of their displeasure, they had a 100% chance of their issue going unresolved and that if it was a simple fix, could we just get in there and get it done for them to make them happy. This usually does the trick, and we are even able to build referrals, testimonials and sometimes new jobs from the effort. [Read more…] about An Inside Look at 5 Things That Make Customers Crazy

Pricing and the Economy – How much is Too Much?

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I was reading an article the other day discussing pricing your services in a down economy versus a growing economy, and the takeaway was to try to maintain your current pricing. Well duh, that’s pretty friggin’ obvious right?

But the last couple of years have taught us a few things: [Read more…] about Pricing and the Economy – How much is Too Much?

How to Handle Prospects Once They Walk in The Door

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Lead generation and prospect management is a complicated and often overwhelming task for many contractors. And it’s often the case that you spend so much time trying to just get the leads into your funnel that once you get them there you fail to take the necessary steps to keep them. In this post, I’ve outlined the 7 steps you should be taking once you get the lead into your sales funnel so you can CLOSE!

1. Focus on outcomes and value – As much as we may like to think people care about us, our prospects really don’t care about our products, services or solutions. They only care about the difference it can make for THEM. So, when you connect with your prospect, focus on the tangible outcomes your prospects would get from using your product or service. Drive home the benefits and keep those as the focus of every contact.

2. Take it slowly and let them come to you– When you get a lead, especially when you’re first starting out, it’s hard not to go for the hard press. But that rarely works. The more you push, the more resistant your prospect will become. So slow down, give them bits and pieces of valuable information over multiple contacts, and be secure in moving forward one step at a time. Remember if you push too hard (they’ll sense your fear and desperation) you’ll lose them, and you might as well consider them gone for good. [Read more…] about How to Handle Prospects Once They Walk in The Door

How is Your Google Places Page Treating You?

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So it has been about 6 months now since the Google Places splash. And while many of you have gotten out in front of the curve and been rewarded with some of that great free traffic Google Places brings, I want to ask how many of you have any user reviews yet…real user reviews?

Do you have one? Do you have five, ten or one hundred? Or do you still have none?

If you still have none, you better get to work. Google Places is there to help bring you free leads but you have to work to get them, and soliciting reviews from your clients or customers is part of that effort. [Read more…] about How is Your Google Places Page Treating You?

You Have to Know What the Other Guy is Doing Too!

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I realize that running your contracting business is a full-time job, but you need to take some time to see what the other guys are doing. Sure, you may shoot the breeze at the supply house or in passing while grabbing a cup of coffee, but do you really know what they are doing to move their businesses forward?

Here are some things to consider when reviewing what your competition is up to:

First and foremost, what exactly is your competition doing in the market and how successful are they at their marketing?  Specifically, it’s good go keep an eye on:

  1. How they network themselves and their businesses
  2. Industry-wide research and who are the early adopters in your market
  3. Who belongs to the local associations, both professional and social, and how are they using these networks to their advantage
  4. Who has tight relationships with the people down at city hall? This can be crucial when trying to get permits or exceptions run through local government.

If you are like me, I trust but verify. In other words, if someone told me they were living off of referrals in today’s economy, I would take them at their word, but also make sure they really weren’t doing any marketing as well.

Why so paranoid?

In the famous words of Norm from Cheers, “It’s a dog eat dog world out there, and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” And some of the most successful people I know are the most paranoid!