Many Remodelers Gave Up On Telemarketing A Long Time Ago… But It Does Still Have Its Place.
Dialing For Dollars
The Phone Is NOT Dead! Pick It Up And Make Some Money!
Written by Rich Harshaw.
October 1, 2003.
That was the day that life officially changed forever for many home improvement and remodeling companies. That’s the day the National Do Not Call Registry began enforcing penalties on infringers of the new Do Not Call Law. Suddenly, thousands of companies in the industry needed to find a new way to generate home improvement leads.
You could say it was the day the phone died.
Or did it?
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The Reluctant Buyer Suddenly Turned Into A Motivated Now Buyer… Thanks To The Gift Card.
People Perceive Gift Cards To Be Extremely Valuable…
Here Are Seven Ways To Use Them To Your Advantage.
Written by Rich Harshaw.
A few weeks ago I wrote an article called “Wink, Wink Deals” and gave an example of a remodeling salesman pulling a gift card out of his wallet and offering it to a client as a “deal clincher.” I’ve had several people ask me for more details about that, so I decided to cover it in more detail—along with several other ways to use gift cards in your business—in today’s article.
But first let’s talk about gift cards—what they are, how they work, and why they’re so darn powerful in a contractor’s marketing campaign.
For our purposes, there are two different kinds of gift cards—gift cards that can be redeemed for purchases with YOUR COMPANY, and gift cards for other companies… usually restaurants or retailers.
The second kind of gift cards—restaurants, retailers, etc. —have swept over the country like a plastic tsunami in recent years. They’re the go-to (and admittedly lazy) gift for all occasions—from birthdays, to holidays, to thank you’s, to graduations, to anything and everything else. These kinds of cards can be extremely useful in a marketing campaign… but they also have given a sort of “credibility by association” to the other kind of gift cards—ones that are only valid for purchases at your company.
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A Chain Is Only As Strong As The Weakest Link… Which Just Might Be Your Receptionist.
Your Receptionist Has A Lot More To Do With Your Success
(Or Lack Thereof) Than You Might Ever Imagine…
Written by Rich Harshaw.
Victory goes to the one with superior forces at the point of contact. – Chinese Proverb
Remodeling companies spend a huge amount of money on advertising and marketing. And beautiful home improvement websites. And SEO. And jobsite signs… and colorfully wrapped trucks and trailers. And a hundred other expensive, well-orchestrated things designed to get the phone to ring.
On top of that they also spend a veritable fortune recruiting great salespeople; then paying their salaries, commissions, and expenses… and training them to become closing machines.
But in the middle of those two things—marketing and sales—there’s a little thing called “THE PHONE CALL.” And in my vast experience working with both interior and exterior remodeling companies, I see a boatload of cash falling through the cracks here.
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There Is A Ton Of Cash Sitting In Your File Cabinet Just Waiting To Be Liberated.
Dentists Are Notoriously Lousy Salespeople.
If A Patient Doesn’t Come Back For Additional Treatment,
They Don’t Do Anything. Unfortunately, You Don’t Either.
Written by Rich Harshaw
Note: This article is part of Monopolize Your Marketplace’s ongoing “Outside The Box” series, which feature ideas, strategies, and case studies from OUTSIDE the remodeling industry, with suggestions of how to implement those ideas into your business and contractor marketing.
Dentists are notoriously lousy marketers, which probably explains why we get so many of them calling us looking for help. Understandably, they’re always anxious to find as many new patients as possible. After all, the more new butts in the proverbial seat means more teeth to fix and more money to make.
But new patient generation isn’t where the real money is in dental marketing—it’s in their file cabinets.
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