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.
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SALES & MARKETING Increase Your Sales 67 Percent Without Having To Generate a New Lead By Tim Musch W hat? Impossible? If leads are a problem for your remodeling business, there are two solutions: Get more of them or get more out of the leads you are currently getting. The latter is what we'll explore here. Your leads are the biggest asset your company has. Consider this: Averages show for every 10 leads your salespeople visit in this industry, they close approximately three (or 30 percent) right away. This leaves seven maybes. Unfortunately, too many of us don't do a very good job following up on these seven. According to statistics, 60 percent of these seven maybes will end up purchasing a similar project from someone within one year (when the timing is right). This equates to 4.2 additional sales. Can your company get them all? Of course not. But through proper follow-up, you can manage to acquire two additional sales from these maybes. That would increase your business 67 percent without having to generate a new lead. You are now getting five sales for every 10 leads you generate instead of three. That's squeezing the most out of these expensive leads you are generating on a daily basis. The fact is that plugging the holes in your follow-up bucket is infinitely more profitable than simply pouring more leads into your bucket full of holes. The name of the game in the future isn't just about the ability to generate new leads. Certainly, that is important. But successful remodeling companies of the future will be those with systems and processes in place to help implement automated followup programs (lead nurturing) to squeeze the absolute most out of each and every precious lead. Our unsold leads are a fantastic source of new business. To be most effective, your follow-up program has to be much more than a single event and should include 10 to 15 follow-up touches in the year following your initial meeting. It should be an ongoing process that recognizes the impor tance of proper timing and Action Plan: Have a brainstorm meeting with your marketing staff to discuss this critical business strategy and lay out your systematic follow-up plan. It might include a follow-up letter/survey immediately after your salesperson's visit, then a courtesy phone call to reference the survey and answer any questions. Additional communications could include notices of upcoming price increases, relevant informational links related to the product they are considering, links to online reviews/testimonials of new customers, ongoing company newsletters, etc. Remember, today's technology allows you to implement these sequential follow-up activities with a mouse click or two. Be sure to research the availability of industryspecific software to make this important lead nurturing process as easy as it can be. Today's new normal is all about sales and marketing efficiency. The companies that set out to identify and execute the little things that separate themselves from their competition will be the winners. Our business is quickly becoming a relationship business and having an effective, consistent follow-up program is a must. 16 July 2013 QR ForResidentialPros.com frequency with your marketing efforts. Some of these follow-ups can be emails, postcards, letters, courtesy phone calls, etc. Our business is quickly becoming a relationship business and having an effective, consistent follow-up program is an absolute must. That all sounds good, but what is the best way to go about doing it? Fortunately, today's technology makes it a snap to nurture these valuable leads. In fact, much of this can be totally automated, making sure nothing falls through the cracks. With new leads costing us an average of $327 (according to industry statistics), the need to implement efficient follow-up programs is absolutely necessary. Tim Musch has spent the past 25 years developing and refining computerized database marketing systems for the remodeling industry. Prior to that, he spent 15 years gaining experience in a family-owned remodeling company in central Wisconsin. Currently, Tim is Director of Business Development for MarketSharp Software in Lacrosse, Wis. Tim's formal education includes a degree in marketing.