By Andrew Smith
Home Contractor’s Guide to Social Distancing
In many states, contractors are considered an essential service. Breakdowns or leaks do not stop despite these circumstances. Customers still want to plan their projects, but they need assurance that your company has the technology and systems in place to conduct business safely.
So what should you do?
1. Let your customers know that you are open and ready to help them! Explain how you are going to practice physical distancing and give them an indication of the precautions you are taking. Reach out via your website, email, and more to make these precautions clear and let them know about the services you are still able to provide.
2. Adapt your sales process to meet the new challenges. Homeowners need assurance that your company has the systems in place to do a combination of a walk through from outside the home and online meetings. Talk to customers through windows to keep a safe distance while still maintaining a human connection. Adopt video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, and technology to allow you to get photos of the property and measurements without having to be onsite. Homeowners can help by taking interior pictures and sending them to you. Look into digital tools to help you create proposals and contracts that can be sent to the homeowner for signature via email.
3. Keep costs low, but remember: the more you can preserve, the less you have to rebuild. Layoffs may be a short-term solution that could create long term problems. Conserve your resources as much as possible and consider creative solutions such as role reassignment, reduced hours, or deferred pay.
4. Market! This is a great opportunity to build better brand equity while there is less noise. There is still demand from homeowners so now is a good time to keep and even grow your market share. Consider promotions that make it appealing to commit now and be creative with financing options.
5. Get creative with credit lines. Reach out to your suppliers, landlords, and more to work out a deferred payment plan and use State and Federal programs to help you retain employees.
6. Use this opportunity for training, particularly if you are introducing new software or other processes. If you have put off training on certain systems, like your CRM or back-office systems because of time constraints, use this time to get everyone familiar with these systems.
Download the full Home Contractors Guide to Preparing for the Great Comeback
About Leap
Leap is transforming the home services industry as the first complete point-of-sale application, digitizing every stage of the in-home sales process including estimating, financing, contracting, and real-time communication. Created by seasoned home services professionals, Leap’s application helps businesses eliminate errors and increase efficiency by simplifying and automating the day-to-day sales process.
For Additional Details
To find out more information on how taking the leap to digital will benefit your business, click the link.
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and may or may not reflect the opinion of Leap (Leaptodigital.com).