August 2014 -

Contractor Software. 5 Tips for Nurturing Your Customers

It’s a proven fact that it’s easier up to 500% cheaper to keep the customers you have rather than to go out and find new customers. Many contractors who assume a customer is a one-time sale, or have moved away from nurturing customers and focusing customer service are finding out the hard way just how expensive this approach can be.

A few years ago I was chatting with the CEO of an established, local roofing company in a storm damage market.  The company had installed more than 30,000 roofs in their local area, but was having a hard time getting new customers.  I asked “when a hail storm hits, how do you communicate with your customers?”   The owner replied, “well, we don’t really have any customers, we are just out trying to get new business like everyone else”.   This is a classic mistake made by contractors.  Once a large project is finished it’s easy to assume that’s it. But, past customers are an excellent source of repeat and referral business.  Here are 5 simple tips for turning a one-time job into a customer for life using the power of the MaxCon Contractor Software. Read More

Technology. Do Roofing Contractors Really Need It?

Every day I talk to roofing contractors who have made a decent living doing roofing the “old fashioned way”. White boards, files and piles of paper have always worked in the past, so why change? When making looking at construction software and making decision about whether or not to switch from the old way of doing things, to construction technology here are 5 things to consider.

Competition

In many areas, construction, especially industries like Roofing, Restoration, HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical have become very competitive. With more contractors setting up shop every day, it’s becoming harder to stand out from the competition. At the same time, technology savvy customers are looking for ways to differentiate between companies. Imagine you are a consumer looking to get your roof replaced and you decide to speak with 2 contractors. The first is using the old-fashioned paper method. After inspecting your home the contractor creates a bid on paper. There isn’t very much detail and it’s hard to read the contractor’s handwriting, but the customer understands more or less the work to be done and the price.

The second contractor performs a similar inspection but is using a cutting edge in-field estimating system such as MaxCon Plus to create a highly professional construction estimate, complete with full descriptions, photographs and detailed pricing. In most cases customers are won over by contractors who have invested in technology and are making the best presentations in the field they possibly can. Read More