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It was late Summer in New England and we were booked for two months out which  is not to unusual for any trades company in the summer months of our short exterior work season.

The phone rings, customers are booking online, emails seem to be non-stop filling up our inbox.

When I first ventured into the contracting field I was quite happy to hear I had 6 voice mails and 26 unread emails and that friendly voice that said “You’ve Got Mail”.

Today, not so much…

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Why you may ask?

Years ago we took the Fishing Net  approach to everything.

We would throw the biggest net over as many people we could and hope we could catch some customers.

We usually ended up with:

  • Customers who we were not a match for.
  • Price shoppers.
  • People out of the geographical area.
  • And the list went on and on and on.

We then:

  • Drove all over the place.
  • Worked crazy hours to provide estimates
  • Negotiated our prices.
  • Hoped they would pick us to do the work.

Times have now changed and I value my time much more as well as my company’s resources.

With modern technology and our World Wide Web, we can stay at our desks, and pre-qualify the customers and who might not fit our “Ideal” customer?

This resulting with customers we want to work with.

Our process:

  • Online bookings will answer tailored questions regarding their project. for some the process ends here as certain information has to be entered.
  • We then follow with an email with a link to one of our blog posts of what to expect during an estimate.
  • We follow up the day before to verify the estimate time and require a response or the booking is paused.

The appointment:

  • We are always a couple minutes early but do not knock on the door until the exact time of the appointment.
  • We park our car/vehicle right in view of the front door, always clean and looking great.
  • Arrive neatly dressed with branded attire
  • Name tag clearly visible
  • Start with a smile and when entering take off your shoes or put on booty covers to protect floors even if they say they are not necessary.
  • Listen and do not talk.  Utilize he 80/20 rule. Customers love to talk, let them.
  • As you are looking around the home or business notice something you can relate to and make a note on your notepad for later, such as:
    • A picture of the kids/family
    • golf clubs
    • a collection
    • a pet
  • Provide an information packet about your business;
    • Insurances
    • past recent local customers
    • Reviews or Testimonials
    • Warranty
  • If possible provide an estimate on the spot, with modern technology today this could take minutes to do.  If needed ask for ten minutes to do so.
  • If providing an estimate on the spot is not possible let them know when they will receive it and over produce by sending/delivering it early

The follow up:

  • A Personalized “Thank You” card for the appointment and at this time might ant to relate to the special thing you noticed while walking thru the appointment.  i.e. Thank you Mr. Smith for allowing me to provide the proposal for your exterior painting.  Have a great time on your vacation in Aruba next week.”
  • Automate emails and different daily intervals regarding the proposal sent that is waiting for a decision.
  • A thank you gift hand delivered to the client.
  • A video testimonial recorded when the customer is at the high point after the project and accepting the “gift” which is then published to social media and your web page.
  • After the project completion and automated request for a review posting and after the review is placed it is published on different forms of social media.

The Extras:

  • Annual anniversary of the project cards with a reminder you will be by to inspect the work on or near the anniversary date.
  • The reward to the customer for referring us to another client who successfully completes a project with us.
  • Happy clients tell friends who then tell friends

We quite often refer to the processes over and over again.  Working with these processes and providing a complete “over the top” experience to your customers will result in you working for the customers you want to work with.

 

It was said that you are like the 5 closest people you hang around with.  Great customers know other potential great customers.

 

Find your great customers, and they will take care of you.

 

 

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7 Prequalifying Sales Questions,

E-mailed To You NOW!

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About the Author

As many of you know, my journey has been one of grit, grace, and transformation. At 19, I was a high school dropout, single father, and struggling paint contractor in Michigan. I later moved to Florida, where I faced both personal and professional hardships. With nothing left to lose, I turned to prayer—and was blessed with a relentless hunger to learn. I devoured books, attended seminars, and discovered better ways to streamline and grow my business—even through the Great Recession (and yes, I did hit the wife lottery along the way!). In 2014, I published How To Double Your Business and later sold the painting business, launching a new chapter: coaching others to grow their businesses. For the past 10 years, I’ve dedicated myself to helping business owners scale through the DYB System, while also drawing from frameworks like EOS, Scaling Up, and The Four Disciplines of Execution. Yet something was still missing—something more adaptive, integrated, and complete. Then I found Pinnacle. After months of research and interviews with other Guides, I joined Pinnacle. Their tools and strategies have exceeded every expectation. Now, as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help leadership teams implement a custom-tailored operating system that draws from the best in the industry—but flexes with your unique business. It’s a dynamic, proven approach to achieve clarity, momentum, and lasting growth. I’m no longer taking on any more 1:1 coaching clients… Instead, I now specialize in working with visionary business owners who are ready to get their leadership teams aligned—around a clear vision, a focused strategy, and an actionable execution plan. With the tools and process I now have as a Pinnacle Business Guide, I help turn alignment into momentum, and momentum into results. If your business is growing—but your leadership team isn’t fully rowing in the same direction—let’s talk.

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