If you’re not a techie, Penguin is an algorithm Google released in 2012 that penalizes sites that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines (duplicate content, bad links, etc.).
With this new update, Penguin now refreshes data in real time.
This means if Google puts your website on their “Naughty List” for whatever reason, you no longer have to wait months for an algorithm update to be taken off of it.
Instead, you can fix the problem on the page, submit it for reconsideration, and get the penalty removed almost immediately.
Another piece of excellent news is that Penguin now treats pages on a website individually, rather than as a whole. So if Google flags one of your pages, it will no longer penalize your entire website.
Here’s the takeaway from all this Penguin talk…
With this update, Google is giving honest website owners a lot more leeway if they make a mistake. If you end up in the Google doghouse, you can get out of there MUCH more quickly now (as long as you correct the problem).
Are there things that need to be fixed on your site to avoid a “Google slap”? Let MYM perform a free Lead Generation Audit of your website and find out.
As part of the audit, our SEO nerds will perform a 21-point inspection of your website to identify what’s hurting your rankings. We’ll also provide you with the exact blueprint to fix these issues, so you can start improving your search engine rankings ASAP.
Today, I want to show you how another contractor used Renoworks Pro to boost business by 30%.
Here’s the story…
Paul Trautmann, President of Timberland Exteriors, started using Renoworks Pro 10 years ago… and still utilizes it on almost every job to this day.
Before Renoworks Pro, though, Paul’s project visualization method was straight out of the Stone Age.
“We used to place cellophane over a picture of the prospect’s house and slipped colors behind it,” Paul says. “It was so crude.”
It goes without saying that Paul needed a better way to help homeowners visualize their projects. So when Renoworks Pro hit the market, Paul immediately invested in it.
Renoworks Pro has been one of the most lucrative investments Paul has made in his company. Since using the visualizer, Paul’s business has increased by 30%.
Renoworks Pro works in 3 simple steps: 1) Snap a photo of the home. 2) Upload it to Renoworks Pro. 3) Start designing!
Paul says, “The ability for homeowners to see what the house will look like before it is done, to dream and build with them makes it a powerful sales tool to close the job. People think, ‘If you take the time to do this, I have to imagine the work they deliver on my home will be excellent.’”
Paul says he still gets the same amazing customer feedback about Renoworks Pro that he did 10 years ago.
“When I first started using Renoworks Pro, I received a ‘wow’ response from every customer,” Paul says. “I still get that same response today.”
Want to boost business like Paul? Join your fellow contractors and hop on the Renoworks Pro train. Discover more about the program by visiting MYM’s official Renoworks Pro page.
Fill out the form at the bottom of the page, and Renoworks will provide your first month of the program for free (a $99 value). They’re nice like that.
In fact, the folks at Renoworks are so nice that they’ll walk you through a no-pressure, no-sales-pitch live demo of the program before you make a decision.
Trust me, though. Renoworks Pro is the real McCoy.
Once you see it in action, you’ll be clamoring for it. I tested it out, and it’s ridiculously easy to design in. I was making Picasso-level works of remodeling art within 10 minutes, and I can’t design anything to save my life.
P.S. Remember, you get your first month of Renoworks Pro free—with no commitment—but only if you fill out the form on MYM’s Renoworks Pro page. Do it now, or lose out on an exclusive deal on the visualization software that’s making contractors across the country mountains of cash.
Your website visitors are subconsciously making split-second decisions about whether to continue looking at your site. Here are the three major hurdles you’ve got to help prospects clear—within eight seconds—to truly engage them and make them consider doing business with you.
Five business-changing tips on how and where to spend your marketing budget. Do this, and watch your sales soar. Don’t do this, and watch your sales sink.
The foolproof 4-step method to executing a winning radio campaigning. This is one of over a dozen articles I’ve written that teaches contractors how to master radio marketing to make it one of their leading sources of leads. (Scroll to the bottom of the article for a list of radio topics I’ve covered.)
If you think your customers don’t want financing—or that offering financing costs you money—you’re just plain wrong. This article is a concise, by-the-numbers breakdown of how offering financing creates a surge in profits for your company by landing you more customers and higher-paying jobs.
This info-packed webinar shows you how to shut down price objections before they’re ever raised. You’ll also discover how to skyrocket your closing ratios and average sales amounts.
Here is the video if you don’t feel like clicking the link:
Want over 160 more articles, videos, and webinars that will help you attain unqualified marketing success?
Then you are in the right place. To find a specific topic, use the search bar or Topics menu on the right side of the page.
Trust me. If you’re looking for a specific contractor marketing topic, odds are it’s in here.
Happy reading!
P.S. If there is a marketing topic I haven’t covered in the MYM blog that you’d like to know more about, email me and let me know. If it’s something enough people want me to write about, I’ll be more than happy to. Promise!!!
With home show season almost here, I thought I’d share some tips for boosting foot traffic to your booth.
These are ironclad methods we teach our clients to generate up to three times more leads.
And I’m giving away the farm… right here, right now. For free.
Let’s get crackin’…
Pick The Right Home Shows
The one thing you don’t want to do is set up shop at a show where tumbleweeds outnumber humans.
Do some sleuthing on any home show you’re considering. Ask the show organizer for references from the previous year’s show. Then call the references and ask about attendance, attendee responsiveness, and if they’re attending this year.
If for some reason the organizer doesn’t give you references (not a good sign), check the event’s website—you can usually find info on previous attendees there.
Pick The Right Booth Location
Location within the show determines whether your booth is bustling… or a bust.
Try to get a spot smack-dab in the middle, or near the middle on the right-hand side. Why the right side? Well, ever been to a grocery store? Most of them lay out a counter-clockwise path for customers because studies show that’s how people tend to “migrate” while shopping. Crazy!
Also, try to get a booth next to a national company. They get lots of attention, so you can piggyback off their foot traffic.
And if possible, shell out extra for a premium location. It may cost you a little more upfront, but you’re practically guaranteed to experience better results.
Integrate A Powerful Identity
Infuse your booth with your business’s identity from head to toe. Make sure you articulate who you are, why you’re better, and what people can look forward to when they hire you. Convey the message with—you guessed it—power, passion, and precision.
Also, don’t slouch on design. You want banners and backdrops that attract the eye, not repel it (or worse, get ignored).
Here’s an example of home show materials done right:
Have A Giveaway
Giveaways are massively effective for drumming up interest in your booth. They also give you a reason to follow up with people after the show.
Make the giveaway amount large enough for folks to WANT to enter. A $100 remodeling giveaway? No one cares. A $10,000 remodeling giveaway? Now we’re talking! If you’re afraid of giving away that much, just think about how many leads it will generate, as well as the fact that—depending on your margins—the giveaway will only cost you about half the face value. You’ll easily more than cover the cost of the giveaway.
Lastly, have pre-printed signup forms, or—even better—a lead-capturing program like iCapture in Market Sharp. This way, you can effortlessly keep track of your leads and won’t have to juggle a bunch of drawing slips or try to read people’s chicken-scratch writing.
Attract Attention With The “Big Bill”
Want to grab passerby attention? Stop handing out pens, candy, and trinkets. (Seriously, has a free pen ever enticed you?)
Instead, give out Big Bills. These are glossy, oversized flyers that look like money on one side and contain your identity on the other.
Example:
The denomination should be the same as your giveaway amount. (So if your giveaway is $10,000, the “bill” side should say $10,000.)
Sticking a Big Bill into someone’s line of sight and saying, “Hey, I want to give you $10,000!” as they walk by stops them in their tracks. Try it and see.
Ask People Questions
Gauge a prospect’s urgency and interest with 6 to 10 questions that start out general and become more specific. If they give you rushed answers, they’re probably not interested; however, if they engage with you, you might be talking to a future customer.
Here’s a list of questions you can use if you sell windows (adapt to other projects as necessary):
How old is your home?
Are the original windows still on your home?
Is there anything specific that bugs you about your windows?
Do you think your energy bills are too high?
Does your home get drafty?
Are you here actively looking for windows, or are you browsing?
Do you know how to tell good windows from bad ones?
How long have you been thinking about replacing your windows?
Have you received a bid yet?
Book Appointments Right There, Right Then
Setting appointments on the spot should go without saying, but I’m amazed at how often contractors don’t do it. And if you use a CRM program like MarketSharp, there is especially no reason not to set appointments then and there—these programs make it ridiculously easy to capture, store, and organize lead info.
Also, offer leads extra incentives or an exclusive home show special for booking an appointment.
FOLLOW UP!!!
Sorry for yelling, but I need to. Contractors usually follow up well with hot leads, while letting the rest collect dust.
Fortunately, the giveaway I mentioned above provides you with an easy way to follow up with ALL of the home show leads you generated. Here’s how you do it:
Call them and say, “We have not yet drawn our Grand Prize winner, but we have drawn several first prize winners… and I’m calling to let you’re one of them!”
Make the prize a gift card for your company that’s worth some fraction of the Grand Prize—maybe $200 to $500.
When you tell them they’re a winner, they’ll stop trying to find ways to get you off the phone and start fixating on the fact that they just won something.
Once you confirm their address and tell them you’ll be sending the gift card, say, “I noticed you said on the form that if you win the Grand Prize, you’d use it for windows.”
Ask them qualification questions about the service they chose. If you detect interest and urgency, double the gift card amount if they set an appointment then and there.
Go to their house with your best closing game. Voilà.
Whew… that was a long one. But it was worth it. Follow these tips, and you’ll create a stampede of leads to your home show booth. Just watch.
If you need help with your home show materials, that’s why MYM is here. Get in touch with us, and we can provide you with all the materials you need to make your next home show—and every single one after that—a rousing, lead-generating success.
P.S. Need advice on a thousand and one other contractor marketing topics? Tomorrow, I will dispense a marketing education on every subject you could ever possibly want to know about. This info is easily worth seven figures… and I’m giving it away for the sum total of $0.00.
