What makes a contractor business stand apart from its competitors? That’s the million-dollar question. In fact, many contractors struggle to convert their home improvement leads and there’s a variety of reasons why.
From your processes and plans to your messaging and timeliness, you can’t drop the ball when speaking to homeowners. Therefore, let’s dig into the key areas that every contractor should perfect to help convert more leads into successful sales.
Managing Your Home Improvement Leads
Lead generation is often overlooked and underutilized by contractors. And that’s because referrals have always been the most consistent way to bring in business.
While referrals are important, you still need to drive more leads and manage them properly. That’s why so many businesses are investing in their digital footprint and new software.
“What we’ve seen in the studies that we’ve done is that 80% of consumers looking for home improvement pros don’t even have a single company in mind when they’re searching on google,” Doug Schatz from Socius told us in a recent webinar. “I think a lot of business owners have gotten very comfortable assuming all they need is referrals.”
By optimizing your website and developing an evolving plan for digital advertising, you can bring in more qualified leads. However, you also need to manage every lead that comes in.
With CRM software, you can pull home improvement leads directly into one platform and access all their information, send emails, follow-up calls, and schedule appointments. The software ensures you don’t overlook a lead or fall behind in the process. It’s also a great way to store your customer data that you can track and analyze. Furthermore, you can better understand the source of each lead to determine how the homeowner found your business.
It’s an invaluable tool that can help you improve your lead generation and sales plan over time. You may recognize trends within the data that suggest certain marketing efforts work better than others to bring in leads. Or maybe one advertising campaign is converting higher than others. With this information, you can adjust your messaging and spending to focus more heavily on sources that generate more leads.
Converting Leads into Sales
Once your lead generation plan is underway, you still need to convert these home improvement leads into sales. This is where your sales plan and overall operations need to shine.
You need to know your customers, because they certainly have done their research on you. According to Exploding Topics, 93% of users say online reviews impact their buying decisions. In addition, 81% of consumers use Google to evaluate local businesses.
Homeowners are well informed about your business before ever reaching out. That’s why your sales plan is so critical.
“Sales plans differentiate the professional from the lowball competitor,” Gary Cohen of CCN told us during the webinar. “We want to be the professional. A sales plan will help to explain the differences between the two so that the homeowner understands the value and is comfortable paying that higher price.”
Americans understand that home improvement projects are expensive. And if they’re reaching out to you, they’re willing to pay those costs if they can trust your business.
“Differentiate your offer from your competition so that you become the owner’s preferred contractor regardless of your price,” Gary added. “People buy based on value not on price. If you deliver great value, they are willing to pay more.”
Your sales team needs to provide a professional experience that resonates with homeowners. You need to be clear and concise about your services to build trust and close more deals.
“You need to ensure that what is promised is delivered and that the customer has a great experience. This is all through your process,” Gary explained. “A successful process is not just your sales process; it also includes your production. At the end of the day, your production is going to deliver a world class customer experience, which increases your referrals and repeat business.”
Make the Most of Your Leads with Leap
The Leap platform is an all-in-one tool built for contractors. It’s not your average CRM software. Specifically, the Leap platform provides customer relationship management, office and field management, quick estimates, instant proposals, contracts, scheduling, and remote business control. You can also manage your employees and operations through the platform!
Along with the complete platform, Leap’s industry-leading sales software, SalesPro, is available as an add-on or standalone tool. With SalesPro, you can drive higher margins, control your pricing, and give your sales reps more confidence as they meet with homeowners.
Leap is also proud to partner with other industry experts that provide further value to contractors. This includes measurement tools, 3D imaging, and financing options that can help you close more deals!
Speed to lead has never been better! With Leap, you can turn home improvement leads into sales faster and more efficiently. To learn more, fill out the form below and schedule a demo with one of our software gurus!
