New Commercial Categories Added
Friday, October 20, 2006
Contractors! ConstructionDeal.com has begun implementing commercial categories into our system. And since our goal is to help your business succeed, we're expanding our listings to include categories in Construction, Remodeling, and Repair & Maintenance. Many of the members in our network requested the addition of these commercial categories and we, at Construction Deal, have listened! If your company does commercial jobs, you can add those categories to your Construction Deal account today!If you are a subscribed or registered member, you can log into your account and update your preferences to make sure you will receive job lead updates. On your "Lead Page", click on Preferences, and then click edit under the "Serving Categories:" section. Check off all the commercial categories that apply to your company! Simple as that!
Note: You may notice that some categories have already been checked for you - that's because we added them to your profile if you also do similar residential work.
If you have not registered for free with Construction Deal, this is the perfect time to become a member! With new commercial construction, remodeling, and repair jobs, we'll have more leads to offer to your company! We will continue to provide new services to help your company grow and prosper.
At this time, there is no extra charge for being added to our commercial construction job categories so feel free to select all the new services that apply to your business. Once we've updated our site, we'll begin marketing for commercial leads, and you'll see many new jobs being posted!
If you don't see a category that corresponds to your specialty, let us know today!
Doing Things FOR Your Customer
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
This is from a post on Seth's Blog, a marketing website. I think it applies to Service Professionals very nicely:
"To [or] For
"To [or] For
Here at the White Plains airport, I'm noticing all these people doing things to me. Enforcing irrational rules. Intentionally putting the seats far from the electrical outlets so people like me won't steal electricity. Yelling over the PA system. Scolding people for not standing in the right place.
The key difference between marketing for growth and acting like a monopolistic utility is one of posture. Do you spend time doing things to your customers or for your customers? When someone calls, are you viewing it as a chance to do something for them, or to get rid of them to cut costs?
One of the reasons small is so much more important than big is that people who think small have the power and flexibility to do things for their customers."
Top 10 Tips to Surviving Economic Downturns
Monday, October 16, 2006
With the slowing housing market and the rising interest rates, many are predicting that 2007 could be a slow period for economic growth (and might end up in a recession, depending on what the Fed does and how the housing market reacts.) Here is some information to help your building or remodeling business survive any business slow down:
1 - Advertise More, Not Less: When business slows, it's not the time to completely disappear from radar. Increase your ad and marketing budget to keep your company name in peoples' minds. The few who do need your services will come to you first.
2 - Learn a New Specialty & Exploit it: When you're an expert in a field where not many others practice, you'll always be in demand. Not all professionals can do this, but it might work in your field.
3 - Expand Your Services: If your field cannot support specialists, you can add more services to your list. If you're only in new construction and you add remodeling, you could be doubling job bids.
4 - Train Your Employees: The more training your staff has, the more efficient the company can run. Cross-training helps a company run leaner, with fewer salaries. And train employees to do the job better than you so that you can focus on running the business without worrying about job quality.
5 - Focus on the Short Term: Smaller, less time-consuming jobs can create positive cash flow due to higher turnover.
6 - Cut Costs: But do not cut key employees. Many companies cut jobs and pass on the workload to others. This can cause quality problems, morale issues, and you'll end up losing trained employees. You'll spend more to retrain new workers... if you can even find replacements. Let employees know you're cutting costs and involve them in the process - they may be able to find solutions you'd never think of.
7 - Customer Satisfaction More Important than Ever: Make sure you treat your customers well no matter what the economy is like. But go the extra mile when for your loyal customers when times are slow. They'll remember you and recommend you.
8 - Convert Costs: Cut down on fixed costs, if possible. Variable costs can be managed, but steady and regular payments can hurt you when the economy heads south. If salaries are your biggest fixed cost, try to align them with performance. Incentives mean you'll pay more when sales go up and pay less when sales are down. If conditions are really bad, try to turn employees part-time to avoid losing them completely.
9 - Expand your Circle of Business: By expanding your radius, you can bring in additional jobs. Travel to additional cities can mean more opportunities. And referrals can come later when the economy turns around.
10 - Negotiate with Suppliers: With the new home construction slowdown, materials are in less demand. Many suppliers are willing to bargain with you and bring prices down, which can increase your margins.
Register with ConstructionDeal.com, for free, to review possible job leads in your area. We will continue to be a resource for your company and we will help you expand your business. Don't forget to bookmark this Contractor Update blog and check it often for more tips on making your company more profitable!
Read the article - U.S. Economy Update: Will the Housing Bubble lead to Recession?
1 - Advertise More, Not Less: When business slows, it's not the time to completely disappear from radar. Increase your ad and marketing budget to keep your company name in peoples' minds. The few who do need your services will come to you first.
2 - Learn a New Specialty & Exploit it: When you're an expert in a field where not many others practice, you'll always be in demand. Not all professionals can do this, but it might work in your field.
3 - Expand Your Services: If your field cannot support specialists, you can add more services to your list. If you're only in new construction and you add remodeling, you could be doubling job bids.
4 - Train Your Employees: The more training your staff has, the more efficient the company can run. Cross-training helps a company run leaner, with fewer salaries. And train employees to do the job better than you so that you can focus on running the business without worrying about job quality.
5 - Focus on the Short Term: Smaller, less time-consuming jobs can create positive cash flow due to higher turnover.
6 - Cut Costs: But do not cut key employees. Many companies cut jobs and pass on the workload to others. This can cause quality problems, morale issues, and you'll end up losing trained employees. You'll spend more to retrain new workers... if you can even find replacements. Let employees know you're cutting costs and involve them in the process - they may be able to find solutions you'd never think of.
7 - Customer Satisfaction More Important than Ever: Make sure you treat your customers well no matter what the economy is like. But go the extra mile when for your loyal customers when times are slow. They'll remember you and recommend you.
8 - Convert Costs: Cut down on fixed costs, if possible. Variable costs can be managed, but steady and regular payments can hurt you when the economy heads south. If salaries are your biggest fixed cost, try to align them with performance. Incentives mean you'll pay more when sales go up and pay less when sales are down. If conditions are really bad, try to turn employees part-time to avoid losing them completely.
9 - Expand your Circle of Business: By expanding your radius, you can bring in additional jobs. Travel to additional cities can mean more opportunities. And referrals can come later when the economy turns around.
10 - Negotiate with Suppliers: With the new home construction slowdown, materials are in less demand. Many suppliers are willing to bargain with you and bring prices down, which can increase your margins.
Register with ConstructionDeal.com, for free, to review possible job leads in your area. We will continue to be a resource for your company and we will help you expand your business. Don't forget to bookmark this Contractor Update blog and check it often for more tips on making your company more profitable!
Read the article - U.S. Economy Update: Will the Housing Bubble lead to Recession?
