Construction Contractor Realty Relations

 

  
  Face it. When people have something nice and new, they like to brag. If someone builds a new home, they have a housewarming party. If someone gets a new deck, they have a barbeque.
 
If someone gets a new pool, they have a pool party. If someone turns their unfinished basement into a bar/rec room, they will have a Monday night football or beer tasting party.

And, if someone gets a home theater system installed, they will have a movie night. You get the idea.

When people see these things, they may ask who did the job. In that case, many customers will tell there friends and family about their contractor. But if people are just in awe of what they see, they may not ask who did the work, therefore the customers may not share.

Who cares who did it? They are having fun at our party- who cares if they know Joe the deck guy. Joe the deck guy does.

We all know that word of mouth advertising is wonderful and it works. And many contractors are lucky enough to have work that speaks for itself, and customers who will spread the word on their own. But what about they shy people, or the people who just don’t care? Or, those pesky folks who say, “What’s in it for me?!” You will have to work a little hard to get
them to say something.

A referral program is something that can speak volume for your business. At the end of a job, when following up with your customers, you can find out who else they know. Say something like, “Now that you have seen the work we have done for you, can you think of anyone else who might be able to benefit from my services?” You can even have a form for them to fill out. This form can have spaces for name, address, phone number, relationship
to them and notes on what they may need. The relationship is important to ask so you can say, “You niece said you were looking to do this….”, rather than saying, “Someone told me to call you…” If they can’t think of anyone at the time, leave a form or two.

But what’s in it for them? Here’s where you can get creative. If someone they refer gets an estimate from you, you can send them a coupon for a percentage off their next service.

If they actually contract you to do a job, when paid in full, or when a deposit is made, you can give the referring customer a gift- maybe cash, maybe a $50 Home Depot gift card, but you get the idea. The key here is to make sure you get the job before rewarding the customer, as friends and family can get together to try and pull one over. You could create
different levels on your referral program, but just make sure it is appealing.

Another thing this does is build your database. Perhaps you will not call the referral right away, or maybe they will not contact you. But, you can add their name so they will be added to your next mailing!

People will talk to people, but offering a referral bonus will get them talking, and talking more often to more people about you and your business. Watch your network grow, and your wallet fatten!