ExteriorContractor.com |

It’s an age old axiom, and you’ve heard it a million times. The three most important factors in making a good investment in real estate are location, location, location.

Because you’ve heard this so many times, I’m sure you got the analogy immediately. There are surely other factors in making your business successful, but the first three are leads, leads, leads.

Do you know the difference between successful home improvement companies and everybody else? The companies that succeed big or small share a common denominator of success: They are constantly refining their lead-generating activities and seeking new ways to prospect. While some companies find their lead numbers shrinking, others are generating more than ever before.

How? They do it by employing a variety of lead generation techniques, which they monitor constantly and improve upon consistently. The classic ways to get leads simply aren’t as effective as they once were. The name of the game now is proactive direct marketing, and the faster you adapt to this new paradigm, the more likely you are to stay in business. Let’s look at three different methods to generate leads that are more plentiful and less expensive than traditional media advertising:

• Produce repeat business from your customer database
  
• Do an energy audit canvass
  
• Get qualified referrals from job installations

Produce repeat business from your customer database

If you’ve forgotten who your best prospect is, it’s your past customers. They are more likely to continue to improve their home and they’re more likely to do business with a company that they’ve had good experiences with; that’s you. Set aside some time and visit with them via phone or in person to do a “checkup” on their degree of satisfaction with the product you installed and with your company. Address any concerns that they may have and suggest an energy audit visit to see if you can help them make their home more energy efficient and perhaps capitalize on that energy tax credit everyone is talking about. This should be an easy lead to get and an easy sale if one of your products fits his needs.

Do an energy audit canvass

We’ve talked about canvassing before but now more than ever you have something to talk about at the door. Energy-efficient products and energy tax credits should make it easy to motivate prospects to listen to you. The statement at the door can be as simple as:

“I’m Joe Smith with Acme Home Improvements and we’re looking for homeowners who would like to learn about the tax credits being offered for investing in qualifying energy-efficient products. It’s free and there’s no obligation to purchase anything now or at any time in the future. Sir/Madam, does that sound like you?”

Get qualified referrals from job installations

If your company is like most, it began life as a one- or two-person operation and grew through word-of-mouth about your great service and products. I’ve heard countless stories from remodelers about being approached by neighbors of the customer they were working for. Others have told me that they would get phone calls with the same request. These are passive referrals and in the past could support a company’s need for new customers. To be more proactive why not actively generate leads while the job is being installed? Have information available in a “take one” box. Have the installer give out a company business card to interested onlookers. Do the same with the homeowner; leave some business cards and ask him to jot down the name and number of interested neighbors. Then reward them appropriately.

Bonus

Those are three tried and true inexpensive lead generators — but wait there’s more. Consider becoming an affiliate member of your local board of realtors and offer discounts for needed improvements to the homes they have listed. Also new home buyers are an immediate and continuing source of business as they improve their new homes. Additionally some lenders have programs that enable buyers to borrow money for improvements over and above that needed for the mortgage and then escrow it payable when the improvement is completed.