Booked solid. Got your dream team working for you. Cash flow solid. Profits on target. These are all signs of success in your contractor business—but pros say, don’t let these milestones make you complacent: incremental lapses in attention and service pave the path to decline.
Always Answer The Phone
Though it’s terrific to review your dashboard and find that hard work is putting the business ahead, it’s still key to tune into servicing every customer–and even every potential customer. As Nick Howell of T&N Asphalt Services puts it, avoiding complacency in the face of success is a must for business leaders:
Don’t get fat and happy and become complacent. No matter what your current schedule or workload, try and give each customer or potential customer the respect all customers and prospects deserve. That doesn’t mean you have to take all the work that comes your way, but simply be respectful to them, even if you have to decline to bid. My company often books up rather fast, and some years we’ve scheduled out for the season very early. While a good “problem,” it doesn’t stop the phone from ringing. But I always respond to people, even if I can’t bid….I often refer the customer to other decent contractors. I can’t tell you how much this has paid off. We consistently have customers use us later in the season or the next year, just because of how we handled the first interaction.
Indeed, despite, or perhaps even because of the prevalence of tech and artificial solutions for the challenge of answering the phones even in busy times, a real, human voice and response goes a very long way, as Howell underscores:
I have some…competitors that spend a fortune advertising online, mostly to feed leads to their dozens of estimators. They get tons of calls, and their schedule gets booked up very fast….
What happens then? They simply stop responding to calls. This way of doing business frustrates so many people….The crazy thing is that so many businesses just don’t care and will ghost customers completely (or they’ll take the job and offer very subpar service). How often has someone called and told you that they have called several other contractors, and you were the only one that responded?….Answer the phone and return all calls. If you are booked, politely decline…. Simply by answering and giving that caller a little respect for their time, we potentially can gain a loyal client … .Every customer interaction – even if you can’t provide the service right then – is an opportunity to build your book of business.
Another practical strategy for keeping your business flying high is to cultivate a referral network among contractors who do solid work. Although this may seem counterintuitive, pros find that it pays off: “When I make a referral, that receiving contractor generally won’t forget and eventually I get paid back with a referral from them. I call it ‘the circle of friends.’ We all help each other and take care of the customer at the same time.
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