When it comes to acquiring clients in an increasingly competitive new home and remodeling market, there is no surefire way to guarantee success.

However, as many experienced homebuilders and remodelers have come to find out, staying ahead of the game often requires some savvy strategizing mixed with good old-fashioned hard work.

The good news is that by taking advantage of the latest marketing trends and propelling your business forward through increased visibility, you can remain competitive in any marketplace — even during challenging economic times.

In this episode of Conversations that Convert, we’ll explore practical tips for utilizing client case studies and business-to-business partnerships so that steady stream of high-quality leads keeps on flowing!

If you’re interested in learning more about how to remain competitive in any marketplace, read/watch/listen below and stay tuned as we explore even more practical tips for improving your business’ visibility and staying ahead of the game.

Builder Lead Converter captures & converts leads for home builders & remodelers so they can grow sales revenue and margins. Find out how at https://www.builderleadconverter.com

 

Transcript:

Rick:  Today on Conversations That Convert, we’re gonna go into part two of what is the best way to acquire new clients in a tough market. Let’s get started.

Welcome to Conversations That Convert. Every week we’ll spend about 10 to 15 minutes tackling relevant lead generation, marketing, and sales topics for remodelers, home improvement companies, and home builders. Conversations That Convert is brought to you by Builder lead Converter, your perfect sales assistant. And now here’s Rick and Daiana. 

Rick: Welcome to Conversations That Convert everyone. Hello Daiana. 

Daiana: Hi. Hello everybody. Welcome, Rick. 

Rick: You are looking lovely as ever today, Daiana. 

Daiana: Thank you. Thank you. Really appreciate it. 

Rick: You always keep your house in such pristine condition behind you. I’m, I’m always so impressed. 

Daiana: I have employees.

Rick: We have people that take care of that, right? 

Daiana: Actually. Yes. 

Rick: Oh, that’s very good. Yes, absolutely. So what are we talking about today? 

Daiana: Today, today is part two of what a builder can ask. What’s the best way to acquire clients in a tough market? 

Rick: The topic of the moment. Yeah. And this is all part of our Builders Ask series where we deal with the most frequently asked questions to things like lead generation and lead conversion and, and, marketing, sales, sales management. And what we focused on last week is trying to answer the question, you know, how do new home and remodeling buyers change? When market conditions deteriorate. So I’m gonna run through just real quickly what we discussed there. Then we’re gonna pick it up with what we’ll be talking about today. So the answer, of course, is the buyers who have wants to take themselves out of the market and the buyers who have needs are still going to stay in the market. Now, these buyers look for incentives and discounts, since they know that there are less people out there hiring builders.

And since there are less builders, builders, or since there are less buyers, excuse me, builders take on jobs that are outside of typical scope and service areas. So this is called survival mode. So we wanna avoid survival mode and we wanna go back to and say, well, how should a builder adjust their marketing to attract leads that have a need? So we know the wants won’t buy, but the need still will buy to remodel their home. And so we talked about the answer. It’s focusing on who you know. And by that I mean it’s not like who you don’t know, which is a lead you haven’t met yet. But who you know would be your current database of unsold leads, the clients you’ve already sold, and also referral partners, so business-to-business referral partners. So today, again, we’ll be looking at ideas to reactivate cold leads, resale past clients, and create partner programs with other local businesses. So what do you say, Daiana? Should we hop in? 

Daiana: Yes. Let’s go ahead and get started. 

Rick: All right. We’re gonna talk about my favorite marketing item for builders today, and that is what’s called a case study. A case study is if you want to, you know, look at what is your to-do for 2023 and beyond. You want to create case studies. And I say you want to create at least three but ideally, you would have, you know, many, many more than that. The reason I say we want to create at least three case studies from past clients is. They, so you can focus on your breath of offering. So every builder has a breath of offering where they have more of an entry-level or a low-end project. They have a mid-range, which might be more of their bread-and-butter type project. And then they have their very high-end.

So you wanna show a case study from each client type, so you can show future clients and future leads. These are the type of projects that we serve, and more importantly, you want your lead to be able to resonate with people that you’ve already done business with. And by resonate, I mean, they can see that you serve people, you’ve helped people that have the same types of problems that they do. So they had the same type of kitchen or they had the same issues with their home, or they wanted to build a certain style of home or motif for a certain location that you were able to serve that. So what do you, what do you think about these case studies, Daiana? Cause I know you’re familiar with these as well the world of coaching.

Daiana: Yeah, I think that’s a very good idea when, when you relate and see something that, oh, that’s me. So you can identify yourself in other stories. This is very powerful. And then you’ll know for sure what to ask and, okay, I should, I should go there. I can risk that because a similar person who had a similar situation just deals with that so I can do it too. So you have a great example in front of you, and then you can decide faster. 

Rick: That’s right. Case studies are all about believability.

Daiana: Yes.

Rick: Because it’s a project that’s similar to your future clients. It is a person that they can relate to, and also they, you already solved the problem once. 

Daiana: Yeah. 

Rick: So they believe that you can solve the problem again. Remember we talked about marketing? Marketing is simply where you are selling a lifestyle. Your product or service is you’re fulfilling a hoped-for lifestyle. 

Daiana: Yeah.

Rick: So case studies show that, and the best thing about case studies is, is that they involve the two primary components of marketing. So number one is visual, where you ha, can show photos of the completed project. And number two, Show it, it will show the body language and the tone of voice. So the communication style, so the excitement of your, of your clientele, so whether that’s in a photo or it, better yet it’s a video, but that’s what we’re really looking for here. So when we have these case studies completed, and, and by the way, you already have ’em, you, you’ve already done business for clients, it’s just a matter of going and interviewing them that possibly, you know, going to their home, taking a video of them, asking them the right questions.

We have all this information, by the way, the types of questions asked and how to set up these videos, you just have to do it. And I realize it’s a little bit of work, but the good news is, is that there are lots of people in your area that will be videographers that will do the interview for you, that will edit the video. It’s really all you need to do is actually just have a plan and, and, and do it. So the case studies you, you complete them. What we wanna do next is wanna promote those case studies to cold leads and past clients. Now we wanna use a vague reference to a special incentive or discount. Now, I can already hear it right now for you, builders out there saying, well Rick, we don’t offer discounts. We don’t offer special incentives. You’re thinking monetary.

Not every incentive has to be a monetary discount. Okay? Sometimes there can be an add-on service that you’re, that you are going to offer that is desirable to your leads. Sometimes it might be a discount, and sometimes it might be a perceived discount when they think they’re getting a deal, but you’re just building that cost of whatever you’re giving away into the package. But you wanna have a vague reference to this. And what I mean by that is that it’s vague enough that it will create curiosity for the lead to respond. Hey Daiana, tell me more about this. Oh, I love this kitchen that you did for these people or I love this style of home that you built for these people. Tell me more about this. So that special incentive or discount.

The best time to bring this out and offer it to your people are typically right after the new year. You know, we’re recording this now on December 8th, and, we’re in the holiday season, so a lot of people kind of put everything on hold, but then right after the new year, those people that do have the needs, they are going to do something. What are your thoughts, Daiana? 

Daiana: I think that’s a very, very smart technique. And I remember how I reacted as a client when, when, someone just heard my needs and they, well, oh, we can help you with that too, and we’ll offer you an extra discount, and here is something. So they, they heard my, I, I felt heard and important, and then they offered me a discount specifically on that part that I needed the most. So that was, that was fun. I said, oh, yes, good. I was, 

Rick: And actually.

Daiana: Yes.

Rick: You figured it out already whether you realized what you said or not. But the reason that we put it together with a case study and a vague reference to a special incentive is that the sale is made emotionally. 

Daiana: Yes. 

Rick: So the case study creates the emotional connection. I connect with your, your past client. That’s in the case study. I connect with their project.

Daiana: Right.

Rick: So that’s the emotional connection, but remember, we still have to get a logical justification to move forward. So what is the special incentive discount that is the logical reason to move forward? And so I, I’m, I’m gonna do the things to create urgency. I’m gonna offer a limited amount of them. I’m gonna have a deadline of when they need, need to be picked up, and again, it’s not always financial, it might be a service that, you know, a lot of you that do high-end custom homes or high-end remodeling. Interior design is really, really big component of those projects. So getting a nice hot, you know, somebody that’s very, very, well maybe renowned in your area. Or perhaps as a specializes in a certain motif for architectural style, that can be an incentive as an example.

You can offer after-sale service as an incentive. There are all sorts of things that you can offer outside of discounting your service, and quite frankly, if you do design-build work, That’s the type of incentive you should be offering. If you’re gonna be selling, like say, more lower and more standardized, like if you’re production or semi-custom home builder, perhaps a specialty remodeler where your, your jobs are a little bit lower cost. Yeah. And offering some sort of a discount or incentive for financing et cetera. Makes a lot of sense to do that. So let’s move on next to B2B partnerships. So this to me is, you know, one of the low-hanging fruit in this particular marketplace. So b2b of course stands for business-to-business partnerships.

And what every builder wants to have is a network of business partners who can bring them business. So there are different ways that you can go about this. I’ll talk about a couple of those, but I guess the first question is, well, Rick, how do I approach? my lender, or how do I promote approach, you know, the business down, down the street, or think of other people that are already in your industry. Trades are your biggest set of strategic partners from business-to-business partnerships. But very simply, what you wanna do is you want to create a reciprocal relationship right off the bat. So, what I suggest doing is reaching out to your business partnerships by starting to build up positive online reviews by asking them.

And I put on here your trades because that’s where I would start. And your trades could include your title companies and your lenders and your attorneys and your bankers. And you know, ask them to leave a review for you, an online review for you, and then, and then offer to reciprocate for them. So you wanna start with that, just leave reviews for one another, and build up your online reviews, which are gonna help for future clientele. So that’s how you get the conversation started. Hey, Daiana, this is Rick from ABC Builders. Hey, have an idea. I’d like to build up our online reviews, you have done business with us, and you’ve had a relationship with us. If I sent you a couple of links to my Facebook and Google My Business and how’s accounts, could you leave an online review for me?

Sure, Rick. Absolutely. Hey, and guess what? I like to do the same for you. Since I have a relationship with you, I’d like to leave some reviews for you to help you with your business. Boom, done. Okay, so now the relationship has started. Now we have a couple of other ideas. So one is you can trade leads with one another, and this is what I mean by this. You are bringing in leads. Some of them will not fit what you do, so maybe the jobs are too large, or maybe the jobs are too small. Maybe the jobs are outside of your service area. What you want to do is look for maybe other builders or remodelers that offer a product or they serve a location that you do not. And so when you get a lead that does not fit what you do or where you do it, you can then reach out to that builder and you can trade a lead for them.

So this is so simple because it’s already happening right now. So instead of just telling a lead, ah, we don’t really work in that area, or we don’t do that type of business, you say, you know, I, I don’t work in that area. We don’t do that type of project. However, we have a relationship with these guys. They work in that area, they do that business. Can I refer you to them? To which they would gladly say, yeah, great. That would be awesome. So that’s the first place to start, is to start trading leads with one another. You can, and, and the other thing you can do with your trades, if your trades sell retail as well, meaning that they sell directly to the consumer. You can offer to promote their business into your database, to your database of clients, and to your database of leads.

Put it on your website, in your blog, and on your social media. Hey, by the way, we recommend so-and-so for plumbing fixtures. We recommend these guys for light fixtures. We’re recommending these guys for appliances. So there are lots of different ways you could do here to create that reciprocal relationship. And then of course, turn around and ask the contractor or the business to do the same for you, what do you, what do you think so far, Daiana?

Daiana: I, I like the idea and then the client will get the impression that, hey, he, he helped me, he supported me, and he recommended me to someone else. So you, you are living the client with a good impression, so they will come back to you and they need, and they need you because there is trust and you build trust with this referral. And the other partner is also happy because he has a new, new sell. So it’s a win-win, win, win, win, win.

Rick: Win, win, win. Yeah, exactly. Like you’re right, the client wins and each of you, each of the two businesses wins. There are things out there called BNI or Business Networking International. That’s where you get together with other businesses in your local community and you exchange leads. The challenge with that is that you’ve got 19 or 20 other businesses that are outside of this type of business that you do. By using this type of approach, you’re gonna work with businesses that attract the same type of clientele that you do. So that’s what’s really important about this. So find those businesses that are already dealing with the type of clientele that you want to sell to, and then work with different ways for them, even competitors that are doing the same thing that you do, but are maybe outside of your service area or they build a different type of project than you build.

So the last thing here is something that I’ve done that was, was usually would add another sailor to a year was offer a special price structure for any of your trades that hire you to do some work for them. Meaning that you go to your trades and you say, Hey if you want to work with me, I will give you this. So whether it’s a straight discount, whether it’s cost plus, but this could be like, say your cement guy wants to build a house and he wants to do all the cement themselves, but he wants you to do everything else. Say, yeah, I’ll build your home and I’ll give you this discount for it, or I’ll build it for you cost plus, and I’m gonna make this much money on it.

When I was a sales manager for the building that I worked for, we had an ongoing relationship with all of our trades. We would get probably two or three sales a year from our trades or friends and family of the trades that would say, Hey, can you build a house for so-and-so and give them that same, you know, that same offer that you gave to us? We’d be like, sure, absolutely. We would it. And was a great way to add to the bottom line. We were still profitable, didn’t really cost us anything to get the lead, and we never would’ve had the job unless we would’ve had the program there in the first place. Any final thoughts, Daiana?

Daiana: That’s a great strategy. So if you only apply one, you’ll be successful.

Rick: Yeah. Anything’s better than nothing. And this is a simple way to actually start finding out those people that need to do something today. Work with your business partners. Work with your unsold leads Work with the clients that have already bought from you, and again, offer them that incentive or discount or add-on service that you’re going to do to help them logically justify moving ahead and, and fulfilling that need that, that they have. So if you, 

Daiana: Yes. 

Rick: What, what was that? 

Daiana: So just stay in the game and just adjust small behaviors and you’ll be good. 

Rick: True. Spoken like a champion right there. Yes. 

Daiana: Yeah. 

Rick: So you wanna talk more about it again? How, how to start acquiring clients in a tough market. Go ahead and just click on that link right below, schedule your strategy call, find out how we can help you capture and convert leads so you can focus on growing your revenue and, and profits. So for our brothers and sisters in Christ, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Always. Thanks again for joining us in conversations That Convert. Hope you found this helpful. We’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.