All About Reputation Home improvement companies in small markets have nowhere to hide if they failto return requests for service on warranties, if installers offend customers, orif salespeople subject prospects to high-pressure tactics. On the otherhand, in such markets companies with the right culture and systems havea rare opportunity to develop substantial word-of-mouth. That’s the small-marketchallenge.
“My lead costs are $75 and we’re closing at 45% to 48% across allproduct lines,” Brenke says. He is not someone given to bragging, anda few hours in the company’s offices/showroom — where previous customersdrop by, inquiring when the company can get started on that other jobthey had in mind — offer at least anecdotal evidence as to why 54% ofthe Schmidt Siding & Window’s business is generated by repeat and referralleads, and another 14% comes from what Brenke calls reputation, andwhat marketing experts would call branding. Actually, the company has a categorycalled “Reputation” on its lead sheets, and when prospectscall and say something like, “We just know you,” that’s whereit’s noted.
“The worst reputation you can have is high pressure and high price,” Brenkesays. Branding is “all about reputation. You don’t createit, you live it.” In home improvement contracting, consumer awarenesscombined with the level of competition that’s out there means that “thedays of pillage and plunder are over. You can’t do that and run a businessof any size or longevity.”
Sell the Whole Process Hard-charging home improvement companies would likely find the selling philosophyat Schmidt Siding & Window a bit soft. Brenke says the company mightclose on the first call 5% to 10% of the time. More often, getting a contractinvolves a second visit.
“As long as there’s a comfort level, I don’t feel the necessity of closingon that first call,” says Peter Matejcek, a one-time installer whobegan selling gutter protection systems for the company in 1996 and lastyear sold $1.2 million worth of business. “I’m there to builda relationship.” Matejcek gives as an example the gutter project hesold in 1997: Last year, that same customer bought a $34,000 sidingand window job from Schmidt Siding & Window.
Brenke says companies that insist on a first-call close “have to sellthe first time out, because if the homeowner gets another estimate, they losethe sale.” Schmidt Siding & Window’s preferred method is to measure, developa price, and leave behind a proposal plus information, suchas the company’s DVD. Then, follow up. “We tell them: ‘We wantyou to be completely comfortable with this decision,’” Brenke says. “Thisis something you need to learn about. It’s not a spur-of-the-momentproposal.” Reps also photograph the house when they come for thepresentation. “We want photos in every job folder we sell.”
Window department production manager Bruce Kirby points out that customers aregiven a week’s notice before installation takes place. Installers “showup with their own vacuum cleaners and tarps,” he says. “Peopleare impressed. That’s what gets you a referral.”
The company has found that a measure call, followed by a trip to close the sale, buildscomplete trust in its ability to deliver satisfaction. So greatis that trust that in many window installations, clients are not even home. Theyleave keys for installers.
“People think a soft sell is the easy way out,” says Matejcek, whovigorously contests that idea. Four of Schmidt Siding & Window’s sixsalespeople each sold more than $1 million in business last year.
Brenke says that in his 35 years at the company, there have been only threejobs cancelled.
Another benefit of its reputation for low-pressure selling and top-quality serviceis that almost every lead — 99% — becomes a sit. Homeownersaren’t wary of being sold a job they don’t want, or paying too much forone they do want. “We tell them: ‘Here’s what we can do. If thatworks for you, give us a call in a few days.’” If salespeople “triedto coerce customers with a hard sell, they’d have to see twice asmany customers,” Brenke says, to sell the same number of jobs.
Installers are held accountable for the way they treat homeowners. ABC Seamless, SchmidtSiding & Window’s siding supplier, and Renewal by Andersen, itswindow supplier, conduct their own customer satisfaction surveys. “Theyget right back to us” if customers have complaints, Brenke notes.
