Where do you get your business from? The answer is from people who trust that you will get the job done on time and on budget.
How do they know that will happen?
1) You have done work for them previously and did a good job at a fair price.
2) You did work for someone they know who sang your praises.
3) They saw one of your jobs and like the quality of the work. They asked around.
For some reason they trust you and are willing to put their project or part of it in your hands. Construction clients spend a lot of money and need to feel very good about your ability to do it the way they intended it to be done.
So, how do we get new clients? We start by letting them know we exist. That is one of the main purposes of advertising, signage, and all the other ways we spend the advertising dollar. Do they trust you just because of the promotional stuff? Not yet.
The next step is to make the sales call to see what they need, what the budget is, and the schedule. This gives the client a chance to meet us and get some particulars like references. How we act during the pre-contract meetings and how well we respond to questions and concerns will have a huge impact on whether they put their signature on the contract.
At some point a trust is established and we do business. Are you done yet? NO!! The next step is to deliver what was promised in a professional manner that leaves the clients perceiving that they got more than what was promised. Notice I said “perceiving”. Usually this means that your project manager went the extra mile and communicated with the client over the course of the project. Weekly reports, returned phone calls, proper and accurate billing, consideration for neighbors, etc. don’t cost much but greatly enhance the perception of the client. Now we are done, right?
NO!! You spent a lot of money getting the client. You spent a lot of time and money preparing the estimate and proposal. You went the extra mile to make sure they loved working with you. So now you let them drift away? That would be the height of foolishness.
This will turn them into enthusiastic referrals! Referrals cost much less to obtain than the clients we got from the advertising and they are much more likely to buy the job from you!
Now you pay attention to post construction calls and make sure they are attended to promptly and professionally. Now you put them on you contact list and call them every few months just to check in. Now you include them on any mailing pieces you send to prospects
