The Personal Touch
RC: You’ve found a successful theme around which to organize your marketing.
JP: About 10 years ago I wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were a neighborhood contractor with a surname that everybody knew. So we came up with a teaser question: “Do you know Joe?” We put it on lawn signs. We found a British tattoo artist who had a website called doyouknowjoe.com and we bought it. Year by year, step by step, I’m trying to create a name brand.
RC: So, in effect, you’re using small-town marketing tactics in a big market.
JP: In the ’60s my dad never advertised or marketed. And he always had another job. Then you get a little bigger. Suddenly you’ve got five guys working for you. Now you have to start advertising to keep these guys busy. But what if you had five people treating customers the way you treated them when you didn’t advertise? We’ve reverted to those key principles that guided us when we were a one-and two-man company: the personal touch. We provide people with the best advice whether we get the job or not. I tell people that and it goes a long way with the customer.
Selling Step by Step
RC: Is it more difficult today to sell a job?
JP: The guy who knows his stuff will sell that job hands down over the guy who doesn’t. But in the last three years so many things have changed in the way we do business. Ten years ago we didn’t think about mold, about tax credits, energy efficiency, greenhouse gases. So if I go into a home I might think: This is going to sell for $5,000 more than those other quotes. And I have to have the wherewithal to say [to the homeowner]: “If you want to buy those other products, OK, but I wouldn’t put them on a chicken coop.” You have to be able to have that information.
RC: Your work is half replacement, half full-service. How did that evolve?
JP: We are full service. We do siding and windows but also decks, bathrooms, additions. Fifty percent of my business is general contracting, 50% is specialty. It’s great doing a $30,000 to $60,000 job versus doing 10 smaller ones. But we have to be careful about estimating the job. We can do that kind of job as long as the numbers work. Right now, in 2010, I have the best design and production team that I’ve had in 10 years. I have a production manager for every job and they’re all truly builders. They really know the job.
RC: What’s your sales process like?
JP: Our salespeople are going to meet you and take notes from top to bottom. At the end of the meeting they may have suggestions. They snap a couple digital pictures, write some things down on a piece of paper, then load up the computer with all the information. We may re-set the appointment once our salesperson has sat down with our estimating team. But we don’t skip steps. We can’t afford to make a mistake anymore. In the ’80s and ’90s, so much work was coming at us that we could move a lot faster. We’ve learned to go slower, be more precise and exact. And that’s the key.
RC: So you’re doing a two-step selling process?
JP: A lot of guys say a one-call close is 10 steps. But you may not be able to do all 10 steps in one day or one meeting. The important thing is that they’re done and are done sequentially. If that’s the case, you will have the opportunity to present each part of the process. Last night I did a walk-around and got to step two, and then I re-set the appointment. In another week I’ll go there with my digital camera and present options for them. I’ll have them call my references and I’ll tell them my company story.
Taking Care of the Customer
RC: Your company has been cited for its high repeat rate. Is that still the case?
JP: Repeat ebbs and flows with the economy. It depends on how much money people have and how many opportunities they have to spend it. The referral number is what you should be looking at. And the only way to increase it is to take care of your previous customer. Really make friends with that customer. Stop in and have a glass of iced tea. That’s going to go over big. You’ve got to have something that sets you apart ? and that makes it fun for yourself so that what you’re doing every day isn’t boring.
RC: How has your growth changed the competitive game in your market?
JP: You want to be a go-to guy. A lot of our business derives from referral-type selling. The message is: Not only did we do a good job for you, but we’re extremely knowledgeable, we recommend products that truly work, and we provide a 12-year no-nonsense guarantee on anything we put in the house.
If your guys don’t do good work, what are you going to do, change your company name? I can’t change my company name. Would you rather have a canvass lead 20 miles from your office or go back to the guy you already sold a job to?
RC: In what ways is your company different now?
JP: We’ve created a system-driven company and spent lots of money on it. But I believe that the second half of this year is going to be a proving ground for what we do, for the techniques and products we use.