Qualified Remodeler helps independent remodeling firms to survive, become more professional and more profitable by providing must-have business information, namely best business practices, new product information and timely design ideas.
Issue link: https://qualifiedremodeler.epubxp.com/i/108899
MARKET MAKERS Being involved in the remodeling community is part of the renovation market���s culture, and as such Marshall is active in the classical architectural community, sits on boards of preservation groups, writes articles and is on the board of the local Institute of Classical Architecture and Art. ���They see me as the expert, and know I can address their needs,��� he says. WILLS COMPANY Ridley Wills Co-owner, design director Wendell Harmer Co-owner, general manager Nashville, Tenn. willscompany.com Group affiliations: Guild Quality, NARI, Remodelers Advantage Bidding on projects never sat well with Ridley Wills and Wendell Harmer, co-owners of The Wills Co. in Nashville, Tenn. ���We danced around it and were always the big whale in the mix,��� says Wills, design director. ���We would always be the most expensive, which is a bad recipe because in that situation all you���re able to sell is that you���re expensive. You���re not able to sell the dream. So we stopped bidding on work.��� Passing on projects was difficult at first, when the team needed work, says Harmer, general manager. ���But what happens is, they eventually see success, then you start earning credibility, and success takes off.��� Know Your Clients Wills Co. does design/build remodeling for affluent clients and has a strong grasp on where revenue and leads come from. ���All our clients and prospects fit our profile,��� Harmer says. Years ago, Wills would blanket ZIP codes with direct mail, but prospects would respond with houses that did not look like their ideal clients��� houses. ���They didn���t fit our profile, and we knew we were wasting 45 minutes on a lead that would go nowhere. For us, targeted direct mail is effective because it targets our ideal prospect,��� Harmer says. Wills Co. worked with New Yorkbased market analytics firm Neilson Claritas to examine its client base. For example, Harmer says, Wills Co. sent 1,200 names to Nielson, which were sliced and diced in many ways. ���Then we were able to divide our list by the ZIP codes we wanted to reach and do targeted mailings rather than a shotgun approach.��� Wills says, ���We started being clear about whom we wanted to work with and how to get in touch with them. This helps marketing efforts if you know who your client is.��� Marketing is Key When the Wills Co.���s financial health began sliding in 2008, marketing was first to go. ���That was the wrong answer. We know now we must be committed to investing in marketing,��� Harmer says. ���We���re a different company than we were years ago, but more in our mindset and caliber of people on our team,��� Wills adds. ���We���ve upgraded. We���re still a design/build company, but we spend more time thinking about how to get good leads through the door.��� With a new full-time marketing director, Wills Co. also changed its vision statement to be a marketingdriven company. ���The marketing person is on our leadership team. And we���re doing this ��� doubling down on a marketing person ��� in a recession,��� Wills says. Wills Co.���s handyman division can be thought of as a marketing tactic as well, Wills says. ���We are not using the handyman division to broaden our base, but to manage the jobs we have or have finished. We do it because it keeps us in front of clients all the time.��� ���We do about $2.4 million in handyman business each year. It���s a lot of small jobs, like 2,000 jobs each year. We have an active past client database of 1,500 clients and a ton of people who have hired the Wills Company,��� Harmer says. Ridley Wills (left) and Wendell Harmer of The Wills Company stopped bidding on projects and focused efforts on their vision of the ideal client. Now they can pick and choose their projects. ForResidentialPros.com QR February 2013 19 In a minute A bathroom becomes a more special place because of Geberit. More roomy. More aesthetic. Just more. Geberit installation technology is securely located behind the wall. Where it should be. Spend all the extra minutes you want, as long as you know Geberit is behind the wall. Call 866/787-3924 for your designer���s kit or visit ��� geberitnow.com. For more information circle 43