How is the road to success paved? With failure? With sacrifice? For Bob Kriesels of Coastal Improvement Corporation out of High Springs, FL, it's paved with hard work, determination, and relationships.
Bob has been an outstanding general-contractor since 1973 (43 years!) and he's learned a few things along the way. Bob seemed like the perfect guy for us to have a conversation with and he graciously agreed.
As anticipated, Bob was a wealth of knowledge and was happy to share his most essential tactics with the Networx community.
Call, Call, Call
"The first thing I do when I get a service request is call the homeowner that instant, or at least try to call at that instant. If someone answers, I set up an appointment. If not, I'll go back and call them again later. I assume that most of these people are working and because of that, there may be times they aren't there. If they give me a cell phone, I'll send a text on it. I'll try 4, 5, 6 times. After 24 hours, if I don't get a response, I'll write them an email.
"I sold an $8700 job today because of an email I sent out a while back. Back when I first got the lead, I thought, 'Dang! I spent 18 bucks but I can’t get this lady to call me back!' Still, I sent her an email. When she called me today, she said, 'you wrote me an email a few months ago...' I didn’t even remember her, but her name rang a bell. That’s why I always send an email. You never know.”
Relationship is Everything
“It’s not all business - you’re building a real relationship.” Bob starts relationship building the moment the homeowner answers the phone for the first time. Bob is conscientious of a homeowner's schedule and will regularly set appointments in the evenings and during weekends. Very important, Bob will never, ever brush off a homeowner!
When it comes to giving an estimate, Bob is proud of his no-obligation estimate. "I say no obligation estimate - if they want...great. If not, we're still friends. It works."
"You try to remain friendly. You can't be arrogant - that's one of the problems with some of the younger people nowadays - no rapport - very blunt and brusque. A lot of times my homeowners would talk to my wife on the phone and SHE would sell them. It's not all business - you talk about your kids, your dogs and cats...I'm not patting myself on the back but I've got a very good rapport with people."
Closing Tactic: Showcase Your Knowledge
Even once the relationship has been established, homeowners may still need to be sold on why they should go with Bob. A lot of it boils down to price. Bob is a master at building value in himself and at educating homeowners. "I take my proposal and point out what they're really getting. You know, being a little bit experienced, you know the tricks others are playing on these people."
Bob shared a quick story about how educating a homeowner can lead to closing a job. "A lady told me I wasn’t the lowest bidder - in fact, I was the highest bidder. She showed me a proposal she’d received from someone else - it was a list of 15 different items and the contractor was charging a separate fee for each task. I just folded it over so she couldn't see the pricing on it and said, 'You see these here, that's automatically included in my price.' I went through the list and explained what was required for each task - the materials and labor, and why they cost what they do. This happened to be $500-$700 higher than the lowest bid. But by breaking everything down for the homeowner, I was able to show her the value of the materials and sell her on the quality of the work that I do. She ended up hiring me for the project...and she couldn't have been happier with her decision."
This online world we live in is fast-paced and you need to stay connected or you’ll fall behind. In that frantic race to remain relevant, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important - the people we interact with every day and the opportunities we have to connect with them. Bob never lets these opportunities slip away and it’s served his business well for 43 years.
