Business Articles - Marketing

No matter how your potential clients come to you—referrals, ads, ServiceMagic leads, phonebook—they have value. For example, a fence builder might build one $1000 fence for every 10 clients he talks to, meets, or gets a phone call from. At that rate, each name, each phone number, each potential client is worth $100 of business. The game for you, of course, is to convince more clients to hire you and to build more expensive fences.

While we can't help what type of fence your clients prefer, we can offer some internal advice that has bubbled to the top in terms of best practices.

"If you don't get them on the phone. Leave a message anyway," says Dave Lupberger, long-time remodeler from the DC area. "Sure, maybe they're screening, maybe they hired somebody else. But maybe that contractor doesn't work out. Maybe they need other work." And maybe they don't yet realize that they need you.

What You Should Do
If you get their voice mail, here is your chance to leave an impression. Give them your name, the company name, phone #, email or website, and tell them that you are available if they need an estimate, some advice, or to relieve them from another contractor's mistakes.

Practice this. Write it down so that it is short and sweet and delivers a compact message about you and your business. Find what works and stick with it.

Your Job is Done
Beyond this, what more can you do? You tried to contact, you made yourself available should the need arise, you left contact information, and you were cordial. But the point is that many service professionals waste this opportunity. They hang up and move onto the next client. Yet if you take 30 seconds to leave an informative message about who you are and why they should care, you can never predict the amount of positive outcome from this little act.

It's those little extras that make the difference. Hope this helps.

Judy Davis, Account Management Team