Contractor Update

If you are a contractor, a plumber, an architect, a kitchen designer, or any other specialist in the building, remodeling, or repair industry, you are a service professional. You provide service to people using your expertise in your specialty.

As a service professional, even a nearly perfect one, you're still going to make mistakes. You're human. And even if you don't make a lot of mistakes, you're still the main person that your clients look to -- in other words, you're in charge. You may have employees, subcontractors, suppliers, and bosses who mess up something on your project. And there are many times when you need to apologize for mistakes that you and others working with you make.

I found this great post on Seth Godin's site about making a truly good apology. I'm sure that many of these are ones you've used or heard in the past:

"On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is best:

• 'You can always take your business elsewhere.' (1): Thank you, I will, and so will all of my friends.


• 'It's not our fault.' (2): This is a non-apology, where you are not seeking to redress the issue, nor evincing any sort of sympathy for the injured.


• 'We're sorry that you feel that way.' (3): This is also a non-apology, which roughly translates into 'It pisses us off that you feel that way. If you didn't feel that way, we would be happy.' It also doesn't take any responsibility for the problem, and places all of it onto the injured party. Be careful of any apology that starts 'I'm sorry that you...'


• 'We're sorry if we did something wrong.' (6): This is getting there, but doesn't really accept responsibility either. You are not acknowledging that you did anything wrong; you're still hoping that you haven't. You are offering an apology for appearances sake.


• 'We're sorry that this occurred.' (7): You are sorry, but as a matter of principle you're still trying to insist that it wasn't really your fault.


• 'We're sorry that we caused this problem.' or 'We're sorry that we have let this happen.' (9): This is a full apology, and is what the customer needs to hear. Frankly, it doesn't matter that it was really the post office's fault, and not yours; the customer doesn't care. Most people hearing this cannot help but respond with some sort of graciousness, such as 'Well, all right then, these things happen. What are you going to do to fix it?' This is the target level that you want to hit for your customer service. But for the record, there is still one level to go. The complete apology is:


• 'We're so sorry that we caused this problem; we are really distressed over this. Please know that we take this very seriously. This is a huge oversight on our part. I will immediately notify my supervisor, and we will review our procedures to ensure that this cannot happen again. In the meantime, that is no consolation to you for our lack of service! What can we do to regain your trust? We will be sending you a little surprise as a token of our appreciation of having you as a customer.' (10) In truth, this little speech goes on until the customer interrupts. And it is followed by a few more apologies as the conversation closes, as well."

I thought it was a great ranking and a thought-provoking post. Keep his apology list in mind the next time you hear yourself using one of these. How far down the rank will you go?

Every one is more than tired of getting beaten over the head with the "Customer Service" mantra, but as a service professional you've really got to consider the feelings of your clients and how they're going to be talking about you and your company.

Labels: Customer Service, Small Business Advice

Building material news from the Associated Press: "Due mostly to the slowdown in new home construction, lumber prices have sunk from a peak of about $1,000 per thousand foot board 18 months ago to around $200 per thousand foot board. In addition, prices for oriented strand boards, or OSB, are at a four-year low."


From Forbes.com: "Lumber and building materials supplier Louisiana-Pacific Corp. on Tuesday posted a fourth-quarter loss due to feeble demand from home builders in the sluggish U.S. housing market."

"'Fourth-quarter sales declined 40 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago, as levels of building activity dropped to the lowest levels we have seen this decade,' said CEO Rick Frost. 'Weakened demand negatively affected volume and pricing in all of our product lines.'"

"Frost cautioned that the first quarter this year 'looks and feels a lot like last quarter, with lower building activity and depressed prices for our commodity products continuing.'"


From Yahoo Finance: "Building Materials Holding Corporation, a leading provider of construction services and building materials to professional residential builders and contractors, today reported sales for the fourth quarter of 2006 decreased 26% from the same quarter a year ago."

"Robert E. Mellor, CEO, stated, 'Our fourth quarter results reflect the on-going correction of inventory levels which currently overhang the housing market. The rapid deterioration of our markets during the second half of the year has made for a very challenging quarter as homebuilders curtail production while excess inventory is absorbed.'"


Finally, from the Houston Chronicle.com: "Mueller Industries Inc., a maker of copper tubes and fitting used in plumbing and refrigeration, said Tuesday the slumping housing market and lower copper prices led to an inventory write down, sending fourth-quarter profits tumbling."

"The latest quarter included a charge of 26 cents per share to write down inventory that lost value as copper prices fell during the period. Mueller said the slumping housing sector also hurt sales volume."

Labels: Construction Industry, Construction News, Material Costs

A contractor's business can fail or succeed based on how well referral sales go. You spend most of your marketing budget trying to acquire new customers. And you spend a lot of time and energy trying to gain a new customer's trust. The advantage of a referral sale is that it is a warm lead.

Why do People Give Referrals?

• They might want to help out friends and family by making sure they get the same great service that he or she received
• They could want to be perceived as the person who knows how to find the best contractor or service professional
• They most likely want to help you and your company out for doing good work on their project
  

If your clients are happy with your service, they will be giving other people a glowing recommendation of your business - for free. It is very important to ask for referrals from all of your clients because it is a great way to keep your business going and increase your revenue.

How to Get Referrals

If you want your clients to give you a great testimonial, you need to not only offer a great service but you need to go beyond their expectations. I've found that most companies who are afraid to ask for referrals are those who do not trust their own abilities and do not believe in what they have to offer.

Start the process of requesting referrals when you close on the contract. Do not ask immediately but... set the stage. Let them know you enjoy working with homeowners and helping them complete their projects - you don't enjoy doing any of the marketing work. Tell them that after you've done the job, and if they're happy with the quality, that you'll be asking them for referrals.

When you have completed your work is the best time to ask for a referral. The homeowner or business owner can see the quality of work you've done. They can see the benefits. When they are happy that the job is done, close to budget and on schedule, they will be very happy to spread the word.

The Wrong Way to Ask for a Referral:
"Do you know anyone else who needs a new roof?"

The Right Way to Ask for a Referral:
"I'm glad you like the work. Because we use this product and that installation method there will be no leaks and it is guaranteed for 30 years. No one else in the business does it the same way. I'm trying to let as many people know about our service as I can. If you know of anyone who's home would benefit from our method and products, please call them and give them my information. Oh, and if you can write down their phone number or email address, I'll follow up with them in case they have any questions."

Make sure you leave plenty of business cards and any product or company brochures you may have. Would even be the perfect time to give them a refrigerator magnet so that your phone number is always handy - in case they don't know anyone at that time who needs work done.

When Else Can You Ask for a Referral?

• If you run into a major problem on the job site and you solve that problem... ask for a referral. Once the client knows that you're capable of overcoming a severe issue and that you're flexible, he or she will be happy with your service and be willing to pass your name along.
  

• If you are able to present your client with really good news - like the product being shipped has arrived early, or you were able to give the client a discount - go ahead and ask at that point. When they are happy that you could provide a surprise or were able to go beyond their expectations, it will be easy for them to sing your praises.

To get started on your journey to land more first-time customers to impress and gain valuable referrals from, you can register your construction, remodeling, or repair business with Construction Deal. It's a free membership that allows you to:

• Receive Leads matched to your business in real time (preview only)
• Review Complete Lead Details
• Create your advertising profile for your company online
• Access Construction Industry News & Trends
• Receive our activity update with lead information customized for your company
• Get outstanding customer support

We have a variety of premium plans available when you're ready to add one of our premium plans to you're account. And we'll be adding a Pay-Per-Call plan shortly, as well as a free Contractor Directory!

Labels: Referrals, Small Business Advice, Small Business Marketing