In 2018, 97.3% of all leads for contractors were driven using this single marketing method…
If only it were that easy.
That said, there are four marketing concepts that nearly guarantee lead-gen success.
And that’s incredibly important, because like all of us, you have competitors who are working night and day to snatch your company growth and pocket it.
Now, there’s a small galaxy of tactics you can use to follow through on the following concepts — marketing can get stupid-complicated, really fast.
So we’re going to keep it smart and simple.
If you use these proven lead generation habits in pursuit of the subsequent methods, you’ll successfully generate leads a solid 8 out of 10 times. (You’ll see what I mean. By the way, when I say leads for contractors, I’m talking about home service companies like plumbing, HVAC, electrical, roofing, landscaping, etc.)
The Foundation: Up Your Lead-Gen Chances by Over 500%
- Lead Generation Strategy
Company owners who document their lead-gen strategy are 538% more likely to successfully generate leads than owners who don’t. But that’s just the bird’s eye view. Let’s get on the front lines on a more tactical level.
- Lead Generation Tactics
Company owners who document their lead-gen processes are 466% more likely to successfully generate leads than those who do not. That’s really good. But we still need to dig deeper.
- Lead Generation Objectives
Finally, owners who set lead generation objectives — smart goals — for their company are 429% more likely to successfully generate leads than those who don’t. And lastly, 81% of the people who set specific objectives also achieved them.*
Now, let’s jump straight into the top 4 ways to generate more leads for contractors.
The Hub: Turn Your Website Into a Contractor Lead Machine
Your website is the hub of all your online lead-gen efforts.
It’s 2018. Newspapers, commercials, and outdated websites are heading in the direction of Alexander Graham Bell and dubstep (they’re either dead or dying).
Your customers are all online, and most of them will find and research you online. That is, on their phones. Tablets. Watches. Crazy times. Having an outdated website in this market is like hiring a sales rep who can’t count to ten without taking off his shoes.
Your website should be your digital CSR.
It should be prepped and ready to serve every visitor that steps through it’s programmable doors.
Not only that, it should be able to a) reach out to pull in new customers (by sending blog posts to your marketing list for example) and b) convert them instantly, in real time once they get there (see below).
This is how.
- Build a regular blog and email list. First, the numbers. B2C companies that published 16+ blog posts each month pulled in 4.5X more leads than companies that published between 0 – 4 monthly posts.*
Your blog is one of your best excuses to reach out to your customers and potential customers every week. Think about it. If you texted them every week, or randomly called, they’d get mad, right? But with a blog post, you’re giving them something valuable.
This does two things. First, it reminds them that you exist, keeping your company at the top of their minds. Second, with each new post – if they’re good posts – your reputation as a leader in the industry grows, and the goodwill they have toward you grows as well.
- 24/7 live chat. How much traffic does your site get each month? If live chat can book even 1% more of your website traffic (when realistically, it’s closer to 15%) think about the revenue your company could generate.
I like using every tool in the toolbox, as long as it’s profitable. Live chat is a very profitable tool and there’s no two ways about it. Whether you do it in-house or hire a live chat team, you should be using it.
Amp Up Your Google My Business & Facebook Pages
As a rule, sales friction is your most bitter enemy. Wherever you see it, you need to squash it like the parasitical bug it is.
Sales friction is simply whatever makes it harder for your customer to do business with your company. (Slow response times, bad website user experience, slow pages, no “click to call” buttons, no instant chat service, etc.)
Now, I’m going to tell you something important. Most companies are behind the learning curve when it comes to their online platforms. This represents a massive opportunity for your company.
The key is to cut the sales friction from your online platforms, and the best way to do that is to man those platforms with 24/7 live chat. That way, instead of having to visit multiple sites before finding a way to communicate with you (most customers will start their research on Google and find your Google my Business page), the moment they land on your Google my Business or Facebook page and read your reviews, is the same moment they can talk with your company to learn more and book an appointment. (If you have any questions about online chat and want an answer NOW, chat with my team in the chat box below — they’ll take good care of you.)
To convert your leads immediately, get those pages loaded with social proof as well. Aside from your digital CSR, that’s what convinces them to do business with you.
Reviews are little trust bombs that blow up every time someone visits one of those pages. Gets credibility and social proof all over the place. It’s glorious. But you won’t generate many new reviews without asking for them. Make sure you have a smart system in place that incentivizes your CSRs and techs to ask for the review.
Plug Your Contractor Lead Leaks
Depending on the company, a single lead could represent hundreds to thousands of dollars of new revenue.
A bad lead conversion strategy (or not having one at all), will result in a lead “leak,” where many of those leads fall through the cracks. (They aren’t followed up on, or are kept waiting for hours and even days too long, etc.) That could easily be thousands upon thousands of dollars down the drain every month.
Here’s a simple way to fix that problem:
1. Call your leads immediately.
2. Text your leads immediately.
3. Email your leads immediately.
4. Call your leads every day for 10 days.
5. Email/text your leads twice in addition.
6. Establish monthly long-term follow-up for unscheduled leads.
The Email Campaign
Email marketing ROI is incredible. But you have to go about it in the right way, and it’s not always easy.
This is what we did. We created a newsletter. In this newsletter, we gave away things we knew our customers valued. Things they really wanted. (The giveaway should match the audience you’re giving to.)
In the middle of each of our branded newsletters, we planted the giveaway, followed by our promotional material.
We created the giveaway link with Survey Monkey.
The form was very simple:
Name, phone, and email.
One question. (How old is your heater? For example.)
And this is key.
We encouraged them to share the giveaway on social media. And they did.
Every time they shared, our email opt-ins increased. That’s one simple way to grow your newsletter/email list.
We spent $12k per year on the giveaways, to give you an idea. It was more than worth it.
