Let me paint a scenario for you; let’s say you found our site a few months ago, you’ve read some of the posts, watched some of the YouTube channel videos <\/a>and maybe you’ve even put some of the ideas here into practice. Now you are wondering when the throngs of customers are going to kick in your door and stuff $100 bills into your pants, right? Well, I am going to give you the SECOND best thing today, and that’s the proof you need that this stuff works…over time.\u00a0Like all good things, it takes time. As the main character in my story here states, “it’s a long game, not short sharp bursts,” and he is exactly right.<\/p>\n

Ok, a little back story first.\u00a0Yesterday, I wrote a post titled “Contractor Marketing Success in 8 Days”<\/a>\u00a0and if you didn’t read it, you are going to have to do that first to get the context of this post, so go ahead, I’ll wait…………………………………………..<\/p>\n

Alright, on with the story<\/p>\n

I first encountered our hero, Andy Crichton<\/a> probably when he reached out to me to perform a website review for his site, TraditoinalPainter.com<\/a>. It was a typical review, not much different from the 1,000 I’d done before, except for one thing…Andy actually did the things I suggested, documented them and is now reaping the benefits of that review. He even wrote his own review of my review, which you can read here:\u00a0Review of Traditional Painter website by Darren Slaughter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now I want you to understand, this post isn’t about me beating my own chest, it’s about showing you that just like your day job, this marketing thing pays off too if you put in the work. You see, Andy is a busy guy these days and any time he can take time to poke his head out and comment on something I’ve said or written is very much appreciated and it just so happens that Andy surfaced yesterday to leave a great comment\/post on the site regarding the article mentioned above.<\/p>\n

Below are some of the key points Andy makes in his experience over the last few years not as a marketer or professional ad man, but as a contractor doing the hard work and seeing the benefit of that labor. My point here is simply this…DO THE WORK, THE REST WILL FOLLOW, IT WILL PAY OFF! So, without further ado, here is part of Andy’s comment with some additional comments from me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hello Andy,<\/p>\n

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I agree wholeheartedly with your second sentence. I don\u2019t say that simply to blow smoke, I say that because you make some fantastic points in your comment that I would like to break down and expand on if I may:<\/p>\n

\u201cTraditional Painter is generating so much specialist targeted work now, because 4-5 years ago I spent 18 months writing blogs explaining what I do, and sharing what I know.\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I could really stop here because this IS the end game I always tell people about. I consistently say if you start creating content today, the fruits of that labor will ripen in a year, two years, but it will happen and the amount of leads your site brings in will REPLACE some, most or all of the ad spend you\u2019ve had to use to create the same amount of leads, so cheers mate for sticking with that!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a long game\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

It sure is! When I started this company it was me putting everything I knew offline into online results for home improvement companies. There was no million dollar funding, there wasn\u2019t any investment partners or venture capitalists, it was just me, and I wrote my ass off. Now we are up to 5 people on the team and working steady across the globe!<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe one of your mantras is not to make it hard for readers to know what to do next?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO tell people what you want them to do next. From every ad, to every post to every page on your site, if you don\u2019t provide a solid call to action, you are wasting time.<\/p>\n

\u201cFaceBook or Twitter feeds don\u2019t feature too high in the helpful hierarchy, beyond getting you noticed?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As the post states, Twitter is about PR and Facebook is branding. They should both help deliver traffic back to your site, just don\u2019t use the advertising\u2026yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne practical way that extensive and relevant content pays off in our business, we spend hardly any time selling ourselves to prospective clients. We will get an enquiry, start to chat, and usually they say, I read your site, can you give me a quote?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

THIS IS HUGE\u2026This is the living proof of what I\u2019ve always said, position yourself as an expert and not a salesperson and you can expect your closing ratio to increase, you can expect to shorten the sales cycle and you can maintain your margins\u2026all things you\u2019ve proven in that paragraph, so cheers to you mate!<\/p>\n

Thanks again Andy, you are proof positive that the story I tell works!<\/p>\n

-darren<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There, that is actual physical proof this stuff works. No sitings, no footprints in the snow, actual hard facts from a living, breathing contractor that getting off your duff and implementing these tools will drive revenue to your business!<\/p>\n

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