Home improvement sales have been through the roof over the past few years. Across the country, homeowners are spending money maintaining or remodeling their homes instead of buying new houses. This trend is due to a variety of factors. For one, the COVID-19 pandemic sparked a movement towards house projects and renovations. And now, the current economy is leading the next charge. Homeowners are staying put and improving their current homes instead of testing the difficult housing market due to high inflation and rising costs.
Is this good news for the home improvement industry? Demand is high and contractors are eager to sell more jobs. However, this trend has also exposed many companies that are falling behind their competitors. Inefficiencies in the sales process and operations overall are cutting into margins and affecting growth. Let’s take a closer look at how you can revamp your home improvement sales with new technology and better processes.
Developing a Home Improvement Sales Process
New contractors enter the industry each and every day. Unfortunately, many home improvement companies go out of business before they really get going.
“Out of every 100 home improvement companies in the United States, 50 will go out of business in the first five years,” said Gary Cohen, Vice President of the Certified Contractors Network, during a recent webinar with Leap. “And frankly, there’s really nothing holding you back other than some knowledge, systems, and processes.”
Leaving money on the table can affect your entire business operations. Moreover, improper tracking and understanding of your home improvement sales can hinder your growth and put you out of business.
That’s why the industry is moving towards new technology and sales automation. Sales software gives you a clear picture of your operations. You can track the entire journey of each job, from the initial contact with a homeowner to the inspection, estimate, contract, and job completion.
Every step of the process is managed via an easy-to-use sales application. It not only helps your sales reps become more efficient, but it also resonates with homeowners.
“You can rest easy knowing your reps are out there making sales,” said Melissa Megginson Axtell, Leap’s Product Marketing Manager. “It’s very easy, very professional, and your margins are protected.”
With sales automation, you can develop a repeatable sales process and have total control over your pricing and products. This will save you from unnecessary costs due to paper errors and miscommunication. In addition, it will drive higher margins and prevent your reps from underselling a job or offering a product that is no longer available.
The True Value of Sales Automation
As mentioned above, automating your sales will protect your margins, cut avoidable costs, and help you develop a definitive process for your operations that you can track and manage. Yet, its true value comes in its ability to resonate with homeowners and acclimate to the current market.
For example, financing is one of the most critical points of the sales process in today’s market. With rising costs, homeowners are having to prioritize spending and home improvement sales must reflect this change.
“50% of all home improvement jobs valued at $5,000 or more are financed,” Gary Cohen added during the webinar. “Your sales reps should be talking about financing in a big way because there’s a chance you could be losing sales.”
In the past, financing wasn’t even on the mind of a sales rep or offered to a potential customer. With new technology, it’s built directly into the software and it’s reshaping the way contractors sell jobs. Home improvement projects can be necessary, but also very expensive. With better financing options, you can offer low monthly costs instead of flat fees that often lead homeowners to decline your services.
“Homeowners are going to be a lot more protective of the money they have in their pockets,” Melissa noted. “You can do financing with Leap, and our lenders will meet every borrower’s needs.”
Better Home Improvement Sales with Leap
Great sales are the foundation for company growth in the home improvement industry. And that’s why Leap has developed software that gives you complete control over this process.
Leap helps you protect your margins and provides more transparency over each job. Better yet, sales software simplifies the training process for new reps and helps you retain the incredible individuals within your organization. Everyone’s job gets easier, and the customer experience is better. What’s not to like?
At Leap, we also partner with industry leaders that give you a total range of services, including measurement tools, financing, manufacturers, innovative imaging technology, and more.
We work with our partners to ensure you can maximize your operations and eliminate critical sales errors that are hindering your business. In fact, Leap software was built by industry experts with a contractor’s needs in mind.
To learn more about Leap, fill out the form below and schedule a quick demo with one of our software experts. You can enhance your home improvement sales and scale your business by going digital!
