 |
sign in Questions?866.663.4711
|
Thank you to everyone that attended our webinar earlier this month on SEO or Search Engine Optimization!! We discussed the value of owning a website and the impact of ranking well in search engine results to traffic to your website. Of all the many aspects of SEO, this webinar focused on keyword research, onsite optimization and website content. We are planning on hosting another SEO webinar soon so be sure to be on the look out for the schedule. If you missed the webinar or want to watch it again - you are in luck. Click here to watch the webinar now! Now, here are the answers to you...
(By: Ashley Bodi) How many times have you tried collecting money from customers but they ignore your letters and don’t pay you? It happens to so many business owners especially in today’s economy. One thing that is very important to do before you take on a job with a customer is to require a certain percentage down. This will at least cover your materials in case the customer decides to not pay you after the work is done. Charge whatever you feel comfortable charging them upfront and what you think will help you out just in case the situation goes south. When you do get in the situ...
It’s easy to feel your muscles tense and your blood pressure rise at the simplest things when you are already consumed with worry about your business, your family and the economy. And even though you may know all the health consequences of being stressed out – that may only make things worse! Here are some real tips to calm that twitching eyebrow and provide relief. To start eliminating stress you need to identify stress factors in your business and life. Take some time and write down what it is that stresses you out. This way you can start to weed these factors out or at t...
How many of your jobs result from a clumbsy or overly confident homeowner? We know there are plenty of individuals who experiement with do-it-yourself projects that result in nothing short of diaster. Here are some funny "after" (possibly "before" depending on your perspective) pictures of ill-fated projects... This Homeowner either isn't aware how gutters work or really hates Dish network. Sure the garage door doesn't go up.. but it's still useable This balcony is good for teenagers to practice their ninja techniques as they sneak out at night... Now for a series in HVAC disasters... ...
(By: Tim Clark) You have a website but it is not generating leads for you. Or, it does generate a few phone calls and emails but you want more out of it. It’s time to consider renovating your site to make it friendlier to search engines. This is called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. Your site may be set up to please your human visitors to entice them to call you. But there are things you must do to make your site more recognizable to Google, Yahoo! and Bing. When people search for a plumber, and you happen to be a plumber, in your city using a search engine there are things you can ...
(By: Tim Clark) Here’s how it works. You get a lead, via email or text message, and you call the potential client. As soon as you can, you either leave a message or call back (and sometimes call over and over again until you finally give up.) And that’s it. You never end up talking to the prospect and you give up on the lead. Or, by the time you do, they tell you they’ve already hired someone. End of story. Big mistake. Do what no one else is doing. Be different. Be creative. Get the job. If you call and leave a message, or make a few calls, consider your alternatives. If you...
With swirling news of increased construction industry employment and the new Home Star Act legislation, things could be improving for contractors and service professionals. Here is a brief look at three current topics. Earlier this month, the “Cash for Caulkers” or formally, Home Star Energy Retrofit Act passed in the House of Representatives and is now in the Senate. Although a financial regulation bill and energy legislation are currently under debate – supporters believe the bill could very well become law this summer, just in time for winter. "The innovative Home Star pro...
With the seasons changing and the weather heating up - construction and home improvement projects begin to pick up naturally. Companies hire more sub-contractors and temporary workers and with this increase in "man"-power also comes the responsibility of training and ensuring everyone knows what they are doing - safely. To get you in the mood and to make sure you cover all angles - check out this video of construction safety tips. Hopefully this be the reminder to keep your crew out of harm's way (or creators of harm..) Watch Construction Safety Tips (Humor) Now! Click picture to Play W...
(By: Tim Clark) We’ve talked about the importance of advertising your business in any way you can afford. And yard signs are still a great option, for both big and small companies. We’ve also discussed the right and wrong way to design your sign – it needs to be readable from a distance, obvious what service you provide, and it needs to be contemporary. But what is the optimal way to utilize the classic yard sign to help generate more leads? Americans are hit with something like 4,000 marketing messages every single day. Most people certainly are not aware of all these me...
This article is written by the our partner and President & Founder of BusinessBeware.com - Robert Bodi. Business Beware is a great website for business owners to take control of their business and utilize tools to peacefully deal with slow paying or hard-to-please customers. Robert Bodi has worked in the service industry for over 25 years and knows not only how to deal with customers but also how to select the right ones to work with. Here is his advice on how to pre-qualify your customers. Most service oriented businesses still offer free quotes for their customers. If you are one of the...
(By: Tim Clark) Many reports are coming out that the economy is improving and that many contractors see better months ahead for business. Home improvement spending will recover this year, according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The LIRA suggests annual spending will accelerate, with nearly five percent growth in 2010. Builder confidence is also up for the month of April. Confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes improved significantly in April a...
So it is finally Spring! New tree leaves are budding and flowers are unfolding... new life is everywhere! Enjoy this photo story (it's one of those photos worth a 1000 words) to celebrate new life! "So there I was.... just relaxing in front of the tv... and then the kids yell.... 'HEY DAD! Come see the kittens!'.............................
(By: Tim Clark) A small job means different things to different contractors and service professionals. Some claim any job under $100 is too small while others consider anything under $50,000 to be too small. Whatever the case may be for your business, you really shouldn’t discard the small job. Here are two reasons why: The small job lead may come to you and you choose not to do it. That could be a big mistake. Someone else is going to take that job and get the project done. If your competitor completes this tiny piece of work and does a great or even a good job, there’s a good cha...
Thank you to everyone that attending our Webinar in February! We had a great turn out with some challenging questions - so thank you to everyone that attended and participated! The webinar covers the ways to track your leads while staying on top of your budget, how to take advantage of leads from lead generation services and learning what to look for in a lead generation service. Incase you missed the Webinar or just want to share with your colleagues - here is ConstructionDeal.com's webinar presentation: Maximizing Lead Generation Services. Click the picture to watch it! To make sure yo...
Everyday when I am driving on the long and congested freeways of Los Angeles, I see contractors driving with me. How do I know they are contractors? From the advertising on their trucks! I see everything from established plumbing franchises to pest controllers to full remodelers to HVAC Repair Companies trying to make a name. I notice them all - and rarely applaud any. The most typical sign I see is a white trucks with black words within a black oval shape - and I would be surprised if they gain many leads this way. The photo above is easy to read sure, but it's not the clearest in explaining ...
Contractors - Do you offer decorative painting services? Or mural art services? ConstructionDeal.com has a category for that! Enjoy these two entertaining murals we found (if only all clients were always that appreciative of creativity!)
Dear Contractors, Join ConstructionDeal.com and get one month of exclusive phone leads, FREE! When you sign up for a premium membership between Feb. 9th and Feb. 12th, 2010 - we will give you 30 days of FREE phone leads. What are phone leads? Phone leads are exclusive calls to you, from job owners that want to discuss their project and potentially hire your company. Every day, thousands of project owners search for contractors on our website and if you're listed in our directory - with your phone leads activated - you should receive these calls. Step 1 Sign up for free at ConstructionDe...
(By: Tim Clark) You probably know which gas station near you has the lowest price per gallon. You know where you can buy materials for less. But one thing many contractors do not know is where all their leads are coming from. It’s so important for any small business manager to understand what is working and what is not. You can put an ad in the yellow pages, you can drop off flyers door-to-door, and you can pay for an ad on the radio. But if you cannot measure the effectiveness of doing these things, how will you know which ones to invest in again? When you know what works, you can conti...
(By: Tim Clark) Many contractors have a certain notion of what lead generation is about and how leads can help their business. This notion could actually hurt their business. It’s almost like having a coupon to buy a particular product and giving up on that coupon because they think it’s for a specific product they don’t want. They choose not to see the fine print on the coupon that says it can be used for many other products, too. And so they lose out. When you sign up for a ConstructionDeal.com Premium membership, you can receive a variety of job leads based on your service...
If you are going to be spending your marketing budget on yard signs - you want them to grab potential customers' attention right? Here are some yard signs we found that are attracting the wrong kind of attention... Is this a yard sign for a flight school? The font is too small and hard to read. The perfect yard sign for a restaurant .. in 1989. TMI - Too much information - Who can read this as they drive by? This one isn't too bad a sign with the picture of the House, the Company Name, Service Listings & Phone Number.