As a construction business owner, I hate sales cold calls. I do not like to get them, and I do not like to make them to attract business from people I do not know. I also hate it when subcontractors I do not know cold call me to ask if they can get on our bid list. I do like it when my business friends and associates refer me to subcontractors they like because they did a great job for them. And I really love it when potential customers call me to ask us to work with them on their next projects. So, I developed a simple marketing plan that does not require sales calls and encourages potential customers to call us when they need what we offer. I call it: “Bug ‘Em Til They Buy or Die!”
Twelve steps to get customers to call you:
- Create awareness and a perception of the value of your business
- Pique the interest of potential customers
- Stay at the top of the customer’s mind
- Generate inquiries: Potential customers call you when they need what you offer
- Acquire a lead and follow up on the opportunity
- Qualify whether the customer is a good fit
- Get “belly to belly” and have a fact-finding appointment
- Prepare and then present your proposal in person
- Follow up on the proposal aggressively
- Get ink wet—ask for the order, close, and convert the bid or proposal into a contract
- Build and reinforce a relationship of trust with the customer
- Ask for referrals and your next opportunity
The ongoing implementation of the first three steps over time will build awareness of your company’s capabilities and what you can do for customers. If they are aware of you, you piqued their interest and stayed at the top of their minds, so they will contact you when needed. Once you get an inquiry, you can gauge the opportunity, meet them to find out the facts, and then submit a customized proposal or estimate based on their needs. Then to improve your chances of securing the work, be sure to follow up and ask for the contract. Finally, when you have a customer who likes and trusts you, work hard to build the relationship, get referrals, and become their contractor of choice.
Set yourself apart
To get customers to remember your company, you must offer something different than
your competitors. On-time completion, good service, or quality work is expected and not a differentiator. Creating awareness of the reasons why customers should hire your company is based upon the “Rule of 7.” You must have at least seven contacts with potential customers before they remember your name, plus feel they know, trust, and like you and will, therefore, call you.
We use email and the post office to make sure future customers are aware of us. We email or mail out something to our entire target mailing list at least six times per year. Once is not enough. And we do not just send any old boring pieces of mail but creative, unique, and informative “Bug-em!” mail. Rather than sending out brochures or advertising about us, we provide content that will help potential customers improve their business. Our image is kept consistent and recognizable with an orange hardhat and blue background. Everyone recognizes our orange hardhat on every piece of mail, logos, emails, job signs, job trailers, trucks, shirts, and on our proposals. We are building awareness that is easy to remember.
To create interest and be remembered, get crazy, clever, creative, fun, and unique. Stand out from the crowd. Never send the same old throw-away pens, ball caps, notepads, and “hire-us” messages everyone else sends. Send professionally created materials that consistently reflect your brand. To pique a customer’s interest, we mail cartoons, jokes, small hard hats, coffee cups with hammer handles, golf tees, and ball markers, and American flags on the 4th of July. Once, we mailed envelopes filled with nails and a banner reading, “When can we nail down your next job?” A few years ago, I sent postcards from Aspen, Colo., with this note: “Thanks to my loyal customers for sending me skiing. I appreciate your business!”
Tell customers what you want them to remember
Remember, your goal is not only to create interest but the right kind of interest in you. You must tell customers what you want them to remember about you. To show we’re more than a “local” construction company, we sent out maps indicating our many project locations within a 100-mile radius. To create a perception of fast service, we mailed out “on-time schedulers.” To reflect quality workmanship, we sent out magnifying glasses. Tell future customers what you want them to remember—over and over and over.
Getting customers to call you is a long, slow “drip-drip-drip” process requiring constant reminders and nudges over time. Marketing and customer awareness is not a one-time event; it takes one to two years to be effective. I have sent “Bug-em” mail every two to three months since 1984 and an email e-newsletter monthly for the last 20 years. I have never stopped because it works! I always get lots of potential customer calls after every mailing, and some call us many years after I added them to our list. The best part? They know, trust, and then call me!
Low cost and high return
When building our construction company from $0 to $50 million in annual sales, we diligently mailed out “Bug-em” postcards, letters, or items to 500 to 1,000 current and potential targeted customers and referring parties six times per year. In my opinion, postcards are a more effective marketing tool as the recipient will touch and see your message versus quickly deleting an email. The average printing and mailing cost, including postage, is around $2 for each postcard or item sent. Our annual budget for six mailings costs around $12,000 per year, and it’s worth every penny times 10. We use a low-cost database CRM software program to keep track of customers, which sorts by address, industry, customer type, or any other criteria we need. You can also create personalized form letters to mail. We also send out an email newsletter to mirror the postcard or mailing.
We only dedicate four hours every month to our “Bug-em” marketing program. We constantly look for great ideas, articles, perfect mailing pieces, fun flat gifts, and photo opportunities. Photos include project stories showing before and after, our team helping customers, construction activities in progress, and other unique or interesting things to get customer’s attention. To remain consistent, we originally hired a local marketing and graphic design company to create our brand. We generally design a six-month marketing program twice a year. We layout and create the mailing pieces in-house by using an outside promotional products vendor or online services to print postcards, brochures, flyers, or mailing pieces. We bring a college design student into the office monthly for a few days to help us design the email newsletter, layout postcards or flyers, print labels, assemble packages, and stuff envelopes for mailed items, which is easy and affordable.
Customers will call you
After all this work, then we wait for the phone to ring. It always does. To get started on your plan, send an email to gh@hardhatpresentations.com to get a copy of “Winning Ways To Win More Work!” I like the old saying: “Any plan is better than a perfect plan never executed.” The key to getting customers to call you is to regularly “Bug ‘Em Til They Buy Or Die!” So, get started today, and customers will call you soon!
George Hedley, CPBC, is a certified professional construction business BIZCOACH, consultant, and popular speaker. He helps contractors build better businesses, grow, profit, develop leaders, improve estimating, and field production, and get their companies to work. He is the author of Get Your Construction Business To Always Make A Profit—available on Amazon.com. To get his free e-newsletter, start a personalized coaching program, attend his webinars and workshops, or get a discount on his online university for contractors, visit his website @ ConstructionBusinessCoaching.com, watch his videos on YouTube, or email GH@HardHatBizCoach.com.
