Adapting to the New Economy
By David Lupberger – RemodelForce.com
The economy has shifted. We can only guess if and when it will return to its former robust self. Most remodelers with project-driven business models are struggling because homes are not going up in value and the real estate market is stagnant. With stagnant home values, homeowners are much more cautious. Simply, they are not calling about projects they had once planned to do.
Remodeling companies have experienced a great deal of challenges the last few years. Due to fluctuations, and a positive (if modest) increase in the economy, many companies have experienced an increase in job size, sales volume, and number of employees.
With this increase in activity, there has come all the related responsibility and demands that accompany bigger jobs and all the people and details it takes to make them happen. Four or five years ago, was your business much smaller? Did life seem easier then? If your business has grown, and you now find yourself with more jobs, bigger jobs, and more employees, your role as the owner of a successful and profitable remodeling company has changed just as dramatically as your company.
Remodel / Contractors: Above & Beyond with Architects & Clients
by David Lupberger
There is always the competition for more business, and customers demanding more for their home improvement dollars. It makes sense to duplicate what successful remodelers are doing working with existing customers and architects. I recently spoke to Dennis Allen, the principal partner of Allen Associates, a custom home building and remodeling company in Santa Barbara, CA.
I’m going to give you a valuable “tip” that will pay you not only for the time you spent reading this article, but provide you with thousands of dollars of ongoing value if you implement what is noted here. What I’m referring to is the use of a carbonless memo form to document meeting notes every time you meet with the homeowners you are working with. Let me explain what I mean.Go to a local stationary store, or contact NEBS, an online supplier of business forms. What you want to create is a carbonless memo form, that will provide you with a simple form to take to all customer meetings to document what was reviewed an agreed upon. Let me explain how to use this. On the memo form, make sure the following items are included:
Sample Marketing Letter
(Company Name) is now offering a new service for our best customers. It’s called the Home Asset Management Service. We compare our service to the type of service homeowners receive from a trusted adviser they may use to manage their investment portfolio. Just as you may have a portfolio manager to manage and oversee your investments, we want to provide a similar service, and become the “asset manager” for your home.
Understanding the Model
for Professionals in the Remodeling and Construction Contracting Industry
CLIENTS FOR LIFE’s Home Asset Management Plan (HAMP) is a new and unique program that takes a comprehensive view of a customer’s home and property from the top down. HAMP is designed to be a full service program that meets the total needs and desires of a unique segment of the market. The cornerstone of the program is the strong relationship of total trust and confidence that your company has earned through past work. The goal of the program is to provide the client with a reliable and trustworthy “partner” or “advisor” for maintaining and enhancing the value of their home, assisting the client in creating a personal vision for their property.
