Is your proposal part of your marketing strategy or

 as one of your marketing tools?

Each day we go out to or potential client to give a proposal

We’ve sent out a professional lead attraction piece or

 they have called off our professional website

Does your proposal build continuity with your brand?

How about using your proposal as a continuation of

your professionalism?

Everything up this point has been based on pure professionalism

continue with thought and hit that home run.

Give them the professional folder with your proposal and pictures

A copy of our insurances, your personal guarantee if you have one.

Maybe some testimonies out think your competition out preform them.

The more professional you appear in the beginning sets the stage

for the work ahead.

In this episode we give you a couple of additional tools you

 may not know about to help you out shine your competition.

Remember the client you seek is looking for value they will see

that in your professionalism.

Why do some contracting businesses thrive while others fall

 apart during an economic recession?

Do all  contracting businesses have to suffer during a recession?

What are some of the indicators or solutions that will

keep you business healthy and growing during an economic down turn?

1. Create and measure your targets your goals for sales

and growth and your revenue goals but be reminded that

profit should be our main focus

2. Keep in touch with your customer base they are the

 heart bear of our business also a source of information

 for customer service and  for the introduction of new

products and services.

3. Also develop strategies for gaining new customers

 it needs to be strategic and trackable.

4. Decide whether you are going to be reactive to

 the climate at hand or your are going to be responsive.

5. Are you practicing the 3 M’s

6. Management do you know your numbers, are your

 employees trained effectively,  do you have a up to date

 database of current clients you keep I contact with,

7. Money do you cost, labor ,job cost, what’s your break even?

8. Marketing shot gun approach or targeted approach ,

 is it trackable, is it an investment or an expense ?

These helpful strategies implemented properly

and methodically will put your business in a recession

proof mode. Start implementing these today and prepare for the future.

Keep your contracting business recession proof.

I moved my business, how do I market in a new market place.

A real live scenario.

I just moved my business to another state.

Some questions were asked

What do I charge?

I can’t seem to be able to get what I was charging back where I came from.

You’ve, created a minor hurdle to jump to get in to

 your new market place to do business. Suggest doing some market research

to create a basis for pricing.

After you do your market research you might sit down and figure

what it costs you to walk out the door I  the morning. You need to know you r

numbers so you know where your breakeven  is . Now you know where to

create profit.

You have no business but you can use your past and expertise to let

 the community know  all about you and how you plan to belter the community.

And of course networking  get out there let people know you’re in town.

Start to own the media go to last week’s podcast to get a better handle on that

And become the new expert in the community. Put the old dogs to shame.

It will all work out be patient attack it all at once  and everything will happen fast.

The one about becoming you own media source and owning your market #31

Being done correctly all of your marketing is bringing                                       you a steady supply of new or additional business.

Why not be your own media source? Sure you say                                          how am I going to do that..This week we talk about                                          just  that, doing your own media and how to do that.                                                  If your are a contractor worth your salt you are taking                                    before and after pictures or weird stuff that you come across.

Media equates with television start your  company tube channel.                          Take those pictures and make a video and now start making videos .                   We talk about how to get them transcribed and add the content to your blog post.   If done correctly you will raise your rankings on google and the searches.

Next media source newspaper how does that relate to you today.

If you are marketing correctly to your target then take a community                      you want to own and create a newsletter in this case a community                     newsletter as your marketing piece. In time if done correctly in time you            will own that community.

Next is radio this equated to podcasting  is an electronic business card . Think about it any ways. The nice thing about these strategies is that even                     if you are the new guy in town you can move ahead of all the established              businesses in your trade or service area.

The key is just start something and keep it going when you look back .You’ll say ot yourselfI shot that many videos and now I’m ranked #1 and I’ve become the expert in my area.                                                                                                     

The question was what is the most profitable marketing strategy? My answer was you have to change your mindset.  

That was the question presented to me at a recent UAMCC conference.

I am a big fan of marketing and he may different ways to market. And if you have followed this podcast you would know the many way that work on a regular basis for me and my company and the many we have helped. Other than relationship marketing direct response is my favorite mainly  for the reason it sets you up as the expert In your field, It becomes the most consistent sales person being that the message is always the same never gets bored with saying the same message over and over and never gets intimidated by the person it ends up in front of.   These forms of marketing will get you to the result you want.

But is not the most profitable marketing strategy. The most profitable strategy is mindset.

What you say mindset!  You have to believe that you deserve to be profitable. Believe that your products and services are going to benefit your customer. That when your customer does business with you ,they precieve the were given more than they paid for.

Whatever transaction that transpired benefited both. This is where the mindset comes in because if you don’t feel good about the way you do business, only think of your customer as a profit center without then receiving a benefit then you will never be able to have the right mindset to put together a great marketing campaign that will give you a great return. Or build your business that you can run by I self or sell in the future.    

 The one about how the successful contractors stay on top of their game

A special form of marketing only the truly successful contractor’s use.

They use this form of marketing more consistent than any of their competition, that’s why they are so successful and light years ahead of their competition.

As we talked about in earlier episodes   everything s marketing truly these forms of communication if handled properly and with consistency will put you and your company in the big leagues.

When you talk to other contractors and they complain about being slow it will be hard for you to comprehend because you have been consistent with your communication.  

Even though you might think this boring and possibly mundane it is one major  key to  success.

Be consistent with your contractor  marketing especially with your communication and  you will  be as busy as you want to be.

Let’s face it you know a tremendous about  your industry and trade

Every day you answer your customer’s questions, you answer your potential

customers questions and they are the same ones all the time.

You know you are the expert in your field but does your customer

How about your market place your community do they know you’re the expert?

Probably not you don’t have to be in business any particular amount of time to be an expert. Its not like an apprentice program.

What does it mean to have expert status in your community?

People search you out to do business with you.

Because you are the expert your new customers who searched you out are willing let me say that again willing to pay a higher price for your services. Why because you’re the expert .

So how do you become the EXPERT?

Write a book , you say I’m not a writer,  then think of yourself as an author,

This week we go through how to put together a book in 90 minutes. Not 90 days

You have everything in you mind and it comes out of your mouth every day.

Follow the formula in this week’s podcast we borrowed from Dean Jackson

And get started ,geting started is the hard part.

Really become the expert in your community get that book written and use it to grow your business.

Simple steps for adding customers  with really 

 cheap marketing you decide

This week we lay out a simple program for growth

The growth challenge 30 days to more profits

How simple can it get?

If you want to grow your business it really can’t get any simpler

This is so simple it’s absolutely crazy marketing but it works.

It will work if you are a one man operation or have 100 employees.

You get to work in your specific target area with your ideal customer.

In order for this simple strategy to work effectively you have to know your numbers.

What does it cost you to walk out of the door each day drop dead break even.

It will be helpful if you know your customer lifetime value then you will be able to see the bigger picture.

Once   you know our customer lifetime value things change. There is so much more you can do to grow your business.

Should you use form letters in your follow up marketing?

There are 3 types of sales your business goes through

Are you instituting a process in your selling cycle?

 Pulling everything together makes the whole process.

After the customer has contacted you, you start the process of

Using the sequence of form letters

The thank you for the opportunity to give you an estimate.

Conformation to your customer’s questions.

What about surveys?

Keep in touch with them on a regular basis (monthly newsletter).

Check out the new client kit. Very informative

 Remind them what you actually  d.

  The One About Can There Be a Target Market

  That Will Get You to Your Ideal Customer?

Could there be a target market with in your target

Maybe we could call it the bull’s eye.

Isn’t that what you are ultimately looking for is to hit the bulls eye.

Are there other players in your market that can get you?

In front of the people you want to do business with?

That might introduce you as the solution to their problem.

Does one marketing sales letter need to be generic or specific in your approach?

Or do you create a letter for each group that will get you in front of you ideal customer.

Discover how to become the expert in your field.

Pull the nuggets out creat your marketing plan and become e the expert.