Contractor.com “gives me a Web presence and positions me as a premium provider,” so prospects contact him, rather than the other way around.
Launched in 1997, Contractor.com is a massive online directory of 1.1 million home improvement contractors in 420 trade categories. You can buy leads, and the company sent 300,000 leads to contractors in 2005, according to CEO Kurt Reuss. But the model is primarily consumer-driven.
Many consumers don’t want their personal information sent to unknown contractors, Reuss explains. By visiting Contractor.com, they “can get pretty much all the information they need to select the contractor that they think would be right for them,” he says. Key to that information are unedited customer reviews of the companies listed, along with educational resources, including a cost estimator and dozens of articles about home improvement.
To enroll, you supply proof of licensing and insurance and, under a new model launched in January, pay a flat fee (rates vary by trade, but are $1,000 a year or $100 a month for remodelers). You get a profile, a Web page with project photos and more, and customer reviews, which you can rebut if you feel that they’re unfair.
When homeowners visit the site and indicate their project type and ZIP code, they get a link to your profile and those of other listed companies. “It’s not a leads program,” says Reuss. “We’re more like a Consumer Reports of contractors.” Homeowners may also elect to have contractors contact them directly.
For an additional fee, you can “enrich” your listing to receive these leads, which will include contact information and project description. “We visually review each lead we receive and call homeowners that we feel we need more information about,” Reuss says.
Grabowski sometimes purchases these leads, but “usually the customer contacts me directly.” While not all are viable prospects, “people who are price-shopping generally don’t come to me,” an advantage he attributes to the profile and customer reviews.
He also links his page to the cost estimator tool, which is “very helpful in establishing a benchmark,” he says. “If a person thinks they can remodel a bathroom for $5,000, we can get that myth out of their mind right away.”
Remodelers with their own Web sites also use Contractor.com. Charles Russell links his primary site for Masterpiece Remodelers, McLean, Va., to his listing on Contractor.com, and vice versa. He gets some “fantastic leads” along with some that he acknowledges “aren’t so wonderful.” But he says most people who call him have educated themselves about his company.
“It all boils down to credibility,” Russell says, referring to the customer review section. “Every referral that comes in, they have someone check back on it to make sure it’s legitimate. They don’t just take good referrals.” Russell also hosts a show on Contractor.com radio.
Bob Patch, of RM Patch Construction, Durham, N.C., gets only two or three calls a month through Contractor.com, but closes on about 80% of them. He follows the company’s advice to, among other things, respond to calls right away and create a detail-oriented Web site.
www.contractor.com
800.228.4990 Pros
Relatively affordable way to establish Web presence and portfolio, and attract prospects who don’t want to put their information on the Internet.
Flat pricing structure limits costs. Site has project estimating tool and other homeowner resources.
Cons You pay flat fee regardless of results. Lead quality can be mixed. You can never remove negative customer reviews (though you can rebut them).
HRNs are to the national services what microbrews are to Budweiser: locally owned, carefully cultivated, sometimes quirky, and relatively expensive. Serving areas as small as a neighborhood to as large as a few states, they typically have no upfront fees and charge contractors only for jobs they actually produce, using a commission model. More than 400 operate in the U.S. and elsewhere, says Debra Cohen, who created the model, sells the business plans, and runs her own HRN on New York’s Long Island.
What’s the advantage of the HRN model? “It’s a personal relationship,” Cohen says. As with the national referral services, contractors must meet basic screening criteria. Unlike the big companies, HRN owners typically interview contractors in person, getting to know “their quirks and strengths, and the same thing for homeowners,” Cohen explains. Both parties benefit, for instance, if the homeowner is forewarned that the remodeler looks a little rough around the edges. Similarly helpful is telling the remodeler that the homeowner has certain concerns or characteristics.
Most importantly, Cohen asserts, the leads are qualified. “You’re not going to just get someone who’s surfing the Internet and says, ‘Hmm, six months from now I might want to remodel my kitchen.’”
Marla Selko, who owns Urban Referrals, says she asks homeowners about their homes, budgets, remodeling experiences, and expectations, and then digs deeper as needed. She asks them to e-mail her photos to get a better sense of their space. When they don’t have a budget, she gives them a sense of what projects like theirs typically run. And when they seem difficult or non-committal, she discretely brushes them off.
“Marla is good at flushing out the tire-kickers,” Blumberg says. He adds that she’s also good at following up on leads and keeping open the lines of communications between homeowners and contractors.
HRN owners range from retired remodelers to stay-at-home moms, and, since HRNs aren’t franchises, they vary widely. Some have members as varied as high-end design/build firms and housecleaners.
Others specialize. Rich and Laura Storey run Handy Firemen and Co. in Mayfield Village, Ohio. Half of their 50 members are firefighters 90 days of the year and home improvement contractors the other 275 or so.
Above all, HRNs focus on making good matches. “That’s the genius of this model,” says Debbie Farson, who owns Home Solutions Connection in Alexandria, Va. “Not only are we screening the contractors for homeowners, but vice versa. We try to have a conversation, and sometimes it’s obvious they’re just not right,” she says. “I tell my contractors, ‘I’m not making a penny unless you do.’”
www.homereferralbiz.com
516.374.8504 Pros
Locally operated. Prescreened, personally qualified local leads. No job, no fee. HRN staff facilitate communication with homeowners before, during, and after job.
Cons Fewer leads than automated services deliver. Commissions are generally higher than flat lead fees. Network owners we spoke to charge between 2% and 15% of project price, depending on their market and the project size.