Remodeling is all about delivering a great service, right? Maybe, but it technically isn’t the real business you are in. I know this will come as a shock to most of you but you are NOT in the remodeling business, you are in the marketing and selling business. Your business will continue to struggle immensely if you have this backwards.
Most people in the remodeling business have this running through their minds: “If I do great work, people will notice and I will be so busy I cannot keep up. The money will really start to come in. I just need to make sure I perfect my services.” Unfortunately, this business just doesn’t work this way anymore (maybe it didn’t ever work like this in the first place).
The remodeler whose sole focus is on the production (the end product of their business) can spend years generating top-notch work without seeing a significant increase in business. Why? They’re missing a crucial piece of the puzzle—marketing.
Perfected service means nothing if you can’t get your service in front of enough of the right prospects at the right time, and yet I know many business owners who will sacrifice investments into marketing for the sake of providing what they feel is a higher level of service. There are dozens of excuses to delay, or avoid marketing; “I don’t have the money or the time to advertise...” “It’s never paid off for me in the past…” “My books are a mess!” “I’m already overloaded…” But, none of these excuses are good enough--they need to stop now.
Think of it this way, you cannot sell a job you don’t have a lead for, and you cannot produce high quality work if you don’t have the job itself. Getting jobs hinges on changing the way you think about your business. While there’s no doubt that you are providing remodeling services, as a business owner, you must also be an entrepreneur first. An entrepreneur focuses on more than just the services; they also create a multi layered marketing strategy with comprehensive lead generation that creates the jobs that sustain a thriving business.
Once you make a commitment to put marketing first, you’ll quickly find that you have the revenue to deliver top-notch service. A consistent and growing influx of leads allows you to generate the revenue to attract high performing workers, and you know better than anyone how much the right tools can affect the job. So, how do you make the switch from being a producer to the entrepreneur? It starts by simply prioritizing marketing in your business model, and keeping the lines of communication open with prospective clients. Never lose sight of the services you deliver because you won’t get far with a lousy product, but give marketing its due and embrace the potential of an entrepreneurial mindset FIRST.
Getting this reversed will lead to constant frustration and ultimately failure in your remodeling business.
About Ryan: Ryan Paul Adams is the CEO of PME 360, former remodeling professional, author of 7 Secrets to Achieving Rapid Growth in Your Remodeling Business, and host of Remodelers On The Rise.