As a contractor, if you don’t have a direct response system in place, you are leaving cash on the table. For absolutely every contact you have with any individual who could be a prospect or who might even know someone someday who might need your services, YOU NEED A DIRECT RESPONSE SYSTEM OR YOU ARE MISSING THE BOAT.
What is “direct response” you ask? It’s pretty simple. You have to have a valuable offer, and a specific call to action. The worst mistake most contractors make is they hand new prospects their business card and then just cross their fingers. If you haven’t noticed: Business cards and other marketing materials are very easy to ignore, lose, and throw away. And websites are even easier to escape. Just click away, right?
This is true unless you have a killer direct response OFFER, and a CALL TO ACTION. This works so well it’s ridiculous. And it’s so simple. Yet few construction companies use it. I don’t know why. I just throw up my hands on that one. For example, a free report could be your offer. Then you could have more products and services available for sale to people who want more of what you have to offer.
Your call to action? Ask people to get on your email list to get more valuable info. Can you do a free report? Sure. Are there other options that might work better for a construction company? The possibilities are endless.
Let me share some examples of direct response techniques that have worked in the past:
One builder I know of has been offering a free hot tub with the purchase of a new home. This may sound like an expensive method. But the cost of this method can be justified by building some of it into the cost of the home.
There are also some high impact, inexpensive methods you can use to create a compelling offer. Personally, I use an offer for a free information-packed report. I advertise this report on my business card, my website, and any other publication or marketing piece which will reach my target prospect.
One marketing area where this works very well is direct mail. With direct mail, depending on your goals and costs, you should aim for at least a 5% to 10% response. This means with every 100 letters or postcards you send, you get 5 to 10 phone calls. For the typical construction company, a 5% to 10% response rate would be very effective and make direct mail a worthwhile endeavor for your business. It’s possible, with good copywriting and a great call to action, to get 20% response rate or more!
Using an offer and a call to action in your direct mail piece can mean the difference between no response and a response that will land you enough projects to keep you busy for months.
