By: Stuart Jeffcoat—CEO, Burgard

Can you believe it’s already 2022?! As folks have returned from the holidays and are back in their regular daily routines, many are thinking about upcoming home improvement and building projects. It’s time for contractors to seize the opportunity by launching their sales and marketing efforts for the New Year.  

But where to begin? So many tactics and strategies exist to kick-start the sales cycle! To help make the process less daunting and to get your year off to a strong start, we’re sharing some time-tested tips. 

1. Outline your sales process. 

Likely, the journey from that first phone call with a prospect to the final payment is similar from customer to customer. Write down the process and keep track of how it impacts your business; doing so will provide several benefits: 

• Efficiency: By identifying what steps you take with clients, you can remove parts of the process that are redundant or aren’t offering value. 
• Consistency: While not every customer is the same, providing a consistent experience is a great way to ensure top-quality service. By observing what you’re doing, you can concentrate on repeating good habits and eliminating bad ones. 
• Improvement: When you have a handle on what’s happening in your process and the outcomes, you have the information you need
  to improve. For example, if your sales numbers are lagging, or you simply want to grow your business, identifying what’s working and what’s
  not is the first step.

2. Understand your market. 

Clients come to you instead of the other guys for a reason. Maybe you have extensive expertise and experience in certain projects, or perhaps you provide a price point that your competitors can’t match. Regardless of your distinctive competitive advantage, understanding your market allows you to: 

• Communicate the value you provide (and your company values): Sharing what you do best and what your company stands for gives prospects a reason to choose you over the competition. 
• Understand what you DON’T do: There are probably types of jobs you don’t like, or that aren’t your specialty, or that don’t turn a healthy profit. Deciding to pass on that work can save you time, money, and hassles. And it will allow you to focus on what you do well.

3. Get the word out. 

Sales and marketing aren’t just for big companies with large teams and massive budgets. In 2022, it’s essential to put yourself out there so that prospective customers know you exist. Marketing your company is also critical for reminding past customers you’re still here to serve their needs. 

Ways to promote yourself, regardless of the size of your business, include:

• Website: Websites come in all shapes and sizes. Some are big, robust, and expensive—designed and maintained by a professional website developer. Others are cheap and simple—created using free tools (like WIX). Whatever option you choose, having a website is an important tool to make your company visible and to connect with prospects and customers. 
• Google My Business™ profile: Most consumers find service providers in two ways:
  1. Asking friends.
  2. Searching on Google. Having a Google My Business profile helps to ensure your business turns up on Google when folks search online for contractors in their area. The best part? It’s free! 

We wish you a successful 2022! If you have questions about any of these strategies or want to discuss your marketing challenges, feel free to contact me: stuart@burgardagency.com or 717-693-2204.