Equipment, Supplies, and Training for the Professional Refinisher
NAPCO Refinisher
The Value of Referrals
There are many different strategies for refinishers to gain new clients. Advertising through direct mail or pay-per-click can be very productive. Cold calling is another path for refinishers who are seeking commercial clients in hotels, apartment complexes, and dormitories. A good website with some SEO to attract traffic is a good strategy. Joining business associations and networking groups through champers and industry associations has been highly productive for some refinisher businesses. However, none of these activities is as efficient or cost-effective as getting referrals. Referrals are the all-time champ of business development.
Experience has shown many refinishers that the single greatest engine to grow your refinishing business is a steady stream of referrals from satisfied clients and trusted partners. Not only do referrals cost less than the money you would otherwise spend on marketing, but they also close more quickly and more easily than leads from other sources. Every refinishing business owner loves to receive referrals. Some refinishing businesses do not cold call or door knock because they get so much of their business from referrals.
Statistics bear out the truth of these statements:
- • It takes seven times as much effort to win a new customer from cold prospecting than it does to win one from just one referral.
- • When considering a purchase, 84% of buyers trust recommendations from families, friends, and colleagues.
- • Customers who were referred by a friend or other customer have a 16% higher lifetime value.
- • The average referring customer invites an average of 2.7 people.
- • In the home improvement industry, studies have found that the close rate from referrals can be as high as 80%.
Some business owners have recognized that the ROI on time spent with clients who are a source of referrals is much higher than time spent with clients who do not refer.
While many businesses earn a significant portion of their revenue from referrals. It is also true that most businesses do not ask for referrals or systematically develop them. They are happy to receive referrals, but they are reluctant to ask for them. In this blog post, we will discuss the value of referrals, the obstacles to getting referrals, and the effective strategies to develop them.
The Obstacles to Asking for Referrals
Considering the great value and productivity of referrals, it is somewhat surprising that many refinishing business owners do not ask for them. During a recent informal survey of refinishing business owners, we found that less than half of them were actively asking for and cultivating referrals.
When we asked about the obstacles and challenges to asking for referrals, they shared several challenges or obstacles to doing so. They:
- • Uncomfortable asking for referrals
- • Don’t know when to ask
- • Don’t know what to ask for
- • Don’t know how to ask
- • Don’t know who to ask
Below we will discuss each of these objections and why they should not hinder your referral generation efforts.
Uncomfortable asking for referrals. This objection is by far the most common obstacle. This discomfort comes from several beliefs that are untrue and unhelpful. The first unhelpful belief is the fear of hearing “NO”. The salesperson may have convinced themselves that the customer might not think that they deserve a referral, or the quality of their work does not warrant one. Some refinishers think they will sound “needy” if they ask or that they are being pushy and rude.
These objections live in the head of the refinisher who is reluctant to ask and typically depends upon the “mind-reading” skills of the refinisher. You cannot read the mind of the customer. Most customers are very happy to give referrals when you do a good job. They will even brag about the work you did and your professionalism.
Banish these mind-reading stories that you are telling yourself. They are not true. Smile. Be proud and confident that you deserve referrals, and you can ask for them in the most professional way. The very best professionals ask for and get referrals all the time — so can you.
Don’t know when to ask. There are two great times to ask. The first time is when the customer sees the final project for the first time. They will be thrilled with how their new bathroom looks. The second great time to ask is when you are hired. When you are hired, you ask if they are open to giving referrals when the project is completed, and if they are thrilled with the project. Besides these two times, all the other times you can think of are also good. Just ask.
Don’t know what to ask for. Your first request is always for a warm referral. You are asking for an introduction to the person you are referred to. This can be an email a phone call or a handwritten note. The note simply warmly introduces you to the referral, speaks positively about your work, and suggests that the two of you might talk. Ideally, you and the referral are both copied on the note/email.
Other softer versions of what to ask for include passing along your information in the form of a brochure, flyer, or business card. You can also send your customer an introduction email, which includes your contact information and links to the website. You can suggest that they forward this email to the people they want to introduce you to.
How to Ask for Referrals
This is not the biggest obstacle to asking for referrals, but once you have a well-developed approach to asking for referrals, several of the other challenges melt away. Here are several scenarios:
- • This discussion occurs at the beginning of the project, probably immediately after your client agrees to work with you.
“At the end of this project, my goal is that you are completely thrilled with how this refinishing project looks and how this new bathroom makes you feel. If we can do a wonderful job that makes you feel great, can we take a couple of minutes at the end and talk about one or two people you might know who would appreciate this kind of refinishing work? Is that OK? YES (They always say YES)
- • At the end of the project, you can ask again.
If you DID set the expectations at the start of the project, here’s how that conversation might go:
You: Now that you have seen the finished product, what do you think?
CLIENT: WONDERFUL, LOOKS GREAT.
I appreciate that. It was a pleasure to do this project. Thank you for this opportunity. Can I ask one more thing?
SURE.
At the beginning of the project, we discussed that if you were thrilled with the project maybe we could talk about one of two people you know who might appreciate this kind of refinishing work. Do you remember that?
YES.
Well, I want to know if we did a good enough job to have that conversation.
YES, ABSOLUTELY. IN FACT, I HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT A COUPLE OF PEOPLE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO.
Wonderful. Do you have time to sit down and discuss that now?
YES
If you DID NOT set the expectations at the start of the project:
Now that you have seen the finished product what do you think?
WONDERFUL, LOOKS GREAT.
I appreciate that. It was a pleasure to do this project. Thank you for this opportunity. Can I ask one more thing?
SURE.
A big part of how I get new projects is recommendations from the wonderful folks I work with. Is it possible you know one or two people who might appreciate having their bath look like this? YES.
Would you be comfortable introducing me?
YES.
Thank you.
Here are some options for wrapping up the conversation and planning how they will get you in touch with the new prospect:
Option 1: Would you be comfortable giving them a call and explaining what we did with your bath?
Option 2: I can send you an introduction email. Would you be comfortable forwarding that email to them to introduce me?
Option 3: Would you be comfortable passing along my card/brochure?
Who to Ask: Your Best Referral Sources
There are many wonderful sources where you can get referrals for your refinishing business. The most obvious sources of referrals are your clients. This includes the homeowners where you may be doing a single bath or a tile floor. Additional sources also include commercial property managers, maintenance managers as well as commercial and residential realtors.
Homeowners are a terrific source of referrals because they take such great pride in their homes that they will often be eager to show off their new bathroom or tile floor to friends and relatives. They are very likely to give several referrals. They are also typically happy to make introductions.
Commercial property managers and maintenance managers can be good source of referrals for a couple of different reasons. First, they will often refer you to other property managers or maintenance managers within their same hotel brand. They are very friendly with the other managers in their chain.
The second reason you can get multiple referrals from these property managers is that they often move from one property to another and even from one brand to another. In this way, they get to know many managers at other properties in town. They often have a strong informal network where members refer good vendors to each other. Commercial managers are used to being asked for referrals, so your request will be expected, and they will generally be very cooperative.
Commercial and residential realtors can also be a source of referrals for different reasons. They generally have an excellent network in the community. They know many other professionals. One caveat: a residential realtor who likes your work may not refer you to another competing realtor. They can sometimes be a very competitive group.
Additional referral sources are other trades. As you build relationships with carpet cleaners carpenters, plumbers, and electricians they will periodically refer work to you. They will also expect that you return the favor. The expectation of reciprocity makes it a mutually beneficial arrangement.
As a refinisher who does great work and is highly professional, you can become very well-known in their local community. When you build this reputation, you may get referrals from people and facilities to which you have no known connection. Remember that the quality of your work and your professionalism will generate referrals for you when you're not even asking. This is a classic example of word-of-mouth advertising.
Your Referral Generation Strategies
When it is done correctly, generating referrals is not an event but a strategy that becomes an ongoing habit. You should build the referral conversation into your regular business rhythm. You will make sure you have that conversation in one form or another during each project you do.
Here are eight simple referral strategies you can employ.
- • Ask about the possibility of referrals before starting the work. This is not asking for referrals, rather this is asking, “If we do a great job are you open to talking about introductions to other people who may like our work?”
- • Ask for referrals during the during the final inspection and walk-through. This is when the client is happiest.
- • Use a referral request postcard. Share a postcard asking for referrals with your client. It is a card where they can write a name and a phone number.
- • Compensation for referrals. This is a strategy that is effective with residential and commercial realtors. They are very money-motivated, and this will get their attention.
- • The introduction email. This is a pre-written email that you send to your customer that they can forward to their contacts to warmly refer you,
- • Giving referrals. This is especially effective with other trades and partners. The quickest way to increase referrals is to give more referrals. It works like magic.
- • Use thank-you rewards. Give a small gift to each person who refers you to a project you win. This is not to thank them for the referral; rather it is an incentive for them to send you another one.
- • Start a contractor referral circle. Gather a team of four to five non-competing contractors to meet for breakfast monthly to share referrals.
The most important aspect of any referral strategy is simply to do it — and do it consistently. As you begin to receive projects from your referral program, track how many projects and how much business you receive from referrals. You will be amazed by how much money these programs will bring to you.
While many businesses earn a significant portion of their revenue from referrals, it is also true that most businesses do not ask for referrals or systematically develop them. They are happy to receive referrals, but they are reluctant to ask for them. In this blog post, we discuss the value of referrals, the obstacles to getting referrals, and the effective strategies to develop them.
An important strategy to scale your business (part 2)
As you are growing your refinishing business one of the challenges is how to create scale and stability in your business. Multi-unit opportunities are one important way to do that. Multi-unit opportunities are found with hotels, apartment complexes, dormitories, and realtors. Each of these is slightly different in terms of what they care about, how, and why they buy. In this paper, we will profile each type of buyer and discuss how to approach and sell to them.
General Guidelines for Selling to Multi-Unit Opportunities
These projects are different than single-family home jobs, so the approach is also different. When attempting to win a multi-unit project, remember the following:
- • Focus on the person, not the property: In multi-unit opportunities, your first objective is to build a relationship of trust and credibility with the decision-maker. If you can do this the decision-maker can provide you with a series of projects. It can be a very lucrative partnership.
- • Ask good questions and listen: Take the time to understand the decision-makers’ priorities for the refinishing project. Their priorities will likely include speed, quality, and price.
- • Solve a problem: In a multi-unit opportunity they are striving to solve a business problem: Poor online reviews, rising vacancy rates, newer competition, and meeting corporate brand requirements. Ask questions so you know the problem they are solving.
- • Timely, Professional Follow-up: The decision-makers in multi-unit opportunities are extremely busy. Provide them with a simple, clear proposal for the work you will do and follow up with them in a steady professional manner.
Selling to Hotel Managers & Property Managers
Selling to a property manager or a manager at an independent hotel or hotel chain is significantly different than selling to a homeowner. The most important differences are:
1. The decision-maker could be one or more of several different people.
2. Their criteria to invest is based upon a specific problem being solved.
3. They can sometimes be more price-sensitive depending upon the level of the Hotel.
4. Turnaround time is a high priority so the room can be occupied and generate revenue.
5. They will often need multiple units refinished. Know who the buyer is.
When you’re selling to hotels and property management firms, it is important to understand you are not selling to a property. You are selling to a person. Sometimes the decision-maker is the property manager, other times it is the maintenance manager. In other cases, the decision-maker could be the owner or someone in a corporate office. Typically, your best bet is simply to ask: “Who here makes decisions for refinishing and maintenance projects?”
Once you reach the decision-maker understand that you are building a relationship with that person. This is important for two significant reasons. First, hotel managers and property managers move around throughout their careers. The person you sell to and build a relationship with today could be the manager of a property just down the road in a couple of months. You want to follow the manager to the new property and begin refinishing there are well.
The other significant reason you sell to the person is that the hotel managers in your area are a small tight-knit community and most of them know each other. When you do a good job for one of them you can receive referrals from their good friend just down the street.
Always remember, you are in a people business first.
When you are selling refinishing services to a hotel, the buyer may be one of several different people. Within the hotel, it could be the hotel manager, or it could be the maintenance manager. In other cases, the buyer might be the owner of the hotel, the management company, and sometimes the hotel brand corporate office itself.
Your best strategy is simply to ask who makes decisions on refinishing. Ask at the front desk or ask the manager on duty, but quickly figure out who you should be talking to. Do not waste your time or talk about refinishing with someone who is not the decision-maker.
Understand the Managers’ Needs, Priorities, and Pains
Take the time to understand the needs of the hotel/property manager. Understand the competitive properties in their market. Are they surrounded by newer properties? Are they surrounded by properties of higher quality or similar quality?
Read their website for the hotel or the property to understand what they emphasize as their brand. Hotel brand standards are important. When the corporate office sets standards for the quality of the look, feel, and experience of that room it is very important. Each property and each manager face regular inspections. Minor issues can be corrected, but the manager could be fired for a single bad inspection.
Read reviews of their hotel and the property online. That will give you a sense of what their guests value and what they have found unsatisfactory. Read the one-star reviews.
This information is critical for preparing to present your refinishing offerings as a solution to a business challenge they have.
Use Their Time Wisely
The average hotel has almost 10 open positions. Property management firms are notoriously short-staffed. They often have little time. When you do get in front of the decision-maker be ready to explain quickly and simply who you are and what solutions you can offer in less than two minutes. You do not need to get into the details of schedule and prices, but you must quickly establish yourself as relevant. If you start with a long story or explanation or it takes you forever to get to your point, the decision-maker will get rid of you.
Offer a Solution to a Business Problem
Although it is certainly true that you do high-quality refinishing and have beautiful pictures to prove it, the hotel manager does not care if you do not solve a specific business problem that they are facing. There are several examples below:
- • “I think we may be able to reduce the number of negative reviews you have and increase the positive reviews.”
- • “I may have a solution to improve your properties’ attractiveness compared to your nearby competitors.”
- • “I think we may be able to improve the appearance of your rooms with a minimal investment.”
These are just examples and as you do your research into the property other ideas may come to you. When the hotel or property manager understands that you've done your research, and you understand his property and business challenges, he or she is more likely to work with you.
Make it Easy for Them to Say Yes
Make sure that your proposal is straightforward. They should see the financial investment and the time required to turn each room. You should also consider adding a very brief ROI calculation, with assumptions, that demonstrates the return on their investment in lower maintenance costs, higher occupancy rates, less discounting, or higher room rates. Emphasize that non-skid surfaces can lower the liability to slip and fall.
Offer Creative Packages for Refinishing Multiple Rooms
The hotel/property manager who wants to work with you will probably have multiple tubs and multiple apartment units to refinish. Develop a creative plan to do a certain number of tubs each month or each quarter. This allows them to spread out their investment in refinishing throughout the year. This levels out their budget. They will appreciate your creativity and flexibility. This also opens the door for developing an ongoing contractual relationship to do tubs every month.
To build credibility offer to do the first repair for free. A well-executed service call builds your credibility as much as the quality of your initial refinishing.
Effective Follow-Up
Like many homeowners, you will not immediately get a decision when you present a proposal to the hotel manager. If they do not decide when you provide them with the proposal make agreements with them about when you will follow up. Politely and professionally continue to follow up with a combination of phone and email until you get a yes or a no.
Selling to Realtors & House Flippers
Realtors and house flippers are not exactly alike, but they are similar.
Selling to realtors or house flippers can be very rewarding because once you have established yourself as a quality reliable vendor, they will use you each time they see a need. Below are some of the keys to working with realtors and house flippers.
Understand Their Needs
Each realtor or house flipper may have their point of view on the best way to use refinishing services. Don't be afraid to ask them what they're looking for in terms of color quality turn-around time and price. When the realtor understands that you know their priorities you become easier and more attractive to work with.
Use Their Time Well
Realtors are extremely busy people. When you initially meet them be very clear and succinct about what you offer and how it can help the realtor sell homes more quickly for higher prices. When you can get those messages across quickly the realtor appreciates that you're using their time well.
Build a Relationship
If you're going to establish a long-term relationship with a realtor or house flipper don't be afraid to invest upfront in building a personal connection. Do things like:
- • Attend their open houses.
- • Drop by their office with some donuts.
- • Ask to be invited to their weekly sales meeting.
- • Offer to do a brief presentation at their weekly sales meeting.
The time and energy you invest in building the relationship will pay off handsomely.
Consider Gifts and Incentives
Among all decision-makers and influencers, realtors are particularly very money-motivated. When you offer incentives and gifts like gift cards or cash for a lead that closes it can be productive.
Sell the Value, Not the Refinishing
When you are offering your services to a realtor or house flipper you are not selling them refinishing, you're selling them, a shorter time on the market, higher sale price, and more showings. As you present, your refinishing products and solutions always include the benefits of refreshed and upgraded kitchens and baths to help the realtor and the seller.
Be excellent at communicating follow-up and follow-through.
A realtor or house flipper will appreciate your timely follow-up from each meeting and contact. In your follow-up things such as answers to their questions, a timely quote, and schedules for refinishing. Timely, accurate high-quality communication makes you a vendor who is easy to deal with. The realtor wants a vendor who is easy to deal with.
A Conversation with a Realtor/House Flipper
Below is an outline of an example conversation with a realtor that has been used successfully by one of our wonderful refinishing customers, Brad Stoffel of Quality Restoration Inc. Thank you, Brad!)
Your Commercial
Approach realtors and flippers with the overarching message, “We do reglazing and resurfacing of countertops, bathtubs, tile, and cabinetry.”
- • Let them know they can bring you their listings that:
- • Don’t show well … the ones that have “good bones” but are dated by out-of-style colors.
- • Were priced reasonably but not getting solid offers.
- • Tell them that by next weekend you can show that same house WITHOUT all the negatives.
- • No more honey oak cabinets from 1993
- • No more baby blue fiberglass surround
- • No more fake woodgrain laminate tops
When a buyer sees these things, they don’t think, “I could reglaze that tub for $800.” They think, “This bathroom will need gutted in the next few years.” and in their mind decrease their offer by at least $10K and are less excited about the property.
Be sure you show how your services can bring them more offers, from more motivated buyers, and much faster than any other home improvement they’ve ever experienced.
The Conversation
Usually, at this point the realtor or flipper will bring up a specific property they’ve dealt with in the past that had issues: it was all yellow everywhere … or had lime green countertops. You know the ones. This gives you an opening to pitch your solutions, so:
- • Talk about pricing and timeframe would be like on a similar project and strongly encourage them to call us when they run into any possible areas that are a strong negative for their buyers.
- • Stress that the objective is not to make this the buyer’s dream home, but to make it a more attractive option. Remind them about the couple that just toured four homes and is trying to decide where to make an offer, they’ll refer to your listing as “that house with the ugly greenish bathroom.” You can help both the realtor and their seller avoid those situations.
- • End by saying it’s been a great intro conversation and gives realtors a very good idea of how best to use our services.
Final Thoughts
Developing multi-unit opportunities is one path to develop and grow your business. It can help increase your total revenue. It can also help you create steady revenue streams in less certain economic conditions.
Developing multi-unit opportunities requires a strategic approach. This approach includes understanding the multi-unit opportunities in your area. It also includes approaching them in a way that establishes your credibility as an ongoing vendor. It will also require you to build relationships with these key decision-makers so that they can rely upon you.
As you develop the strategies and skills to develop multi-unit opportunities you will be able to use these skills to open a wide variety of opportunities.
At each step along your journey of developing your finishing business, you should always look upon NAPCO as your partner. We will provide you with quality products, best-in-class training, supportive peer groups, great customer service, and marketing tools. We see your success as our success.
As you are growing your refinishing business one of the challenges is how to create scale and stability in your business. Multi-unit opportunities are one important way to do that. Multi-unit opportunities are found with hotels, apartment complexes, dormitories, and realtors. Each of these is slightly different in terms of what they care about, how, and why they buy. In this paper, we will profile each type of buyer and discuss how to approach and sell to them.
Your most important business decision
Your refinishing business is growing, and you need more help – but hiring can be tough. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a foolproof formula to ensure every new hire would be a perfect fit? Unfortunately, there isn’t.
But you can improve your chances of finding the perfect hire by writing a great job description and asking the right interview questions. In this article, we will review the important steps and considerations in hiring. We’ll focus on hiring refinisher techs.
Investing in Your Refinishing Team
Every new employee you hire is an investment. You will need to invest time, money, and energy in them before they become a profitable member of your team. This investment involves onboarding and training. Onboarding is all the steps you take to get them officially hired, introduced to your team, and familiar with how your business works. Training includes all the skills and knowledge they will need to be productive, effective, and safe when finishing tubs, counters, and floors.
We are introducing this topic of training now because how you hire and who you hire will affect your onboarding and training investment. If you are lucky enough to hire a tech who already has successful experience refinishing tubs counters and floors, you are blessed. This means that your investment, onboarding, and training will take less time – and money. It also gives you increased confidence that they will be successful in the role.
A Starting Point When Hiring
This article is an overview of key considerations for hiring staff for your refinishing business. While there is more to discuss about interviewing, reference checks, compensation, and other topics, this article is an overview of the main factors to remember as you search for new employees. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for advice from other refinishing business owners in your peer group – they can be a great asset to you.
The key steps in the process we’ll discuss are:
- • Planning and Organizing
- • Marketing the Position
- • Screening Candidates
- • Screening Criteria and Interviewing
- • Making the Selection Decision
Planning & Organizing for Hiring New Staff
Job Description
Typically, the process of hiring a new refinisher begins with a good job description. An effective job description talks about skills and capabilities. Break down each part of the refinishing project from start to finish, from meeting the homeowner to final cleanup and project closeout. Each one of these key steps requires different personal skills, product knowledge, and technical skills. When you’re screening and interviewing, you will want to identify how many of these abilities each candidate has. No candidate will be perfect but the more of these elements they can demonstrate the less you need to train, coach, and teach them later.
The Job Ad
- • The purpose of the job ad is to attract qualified candidates and discourage unqualified candidates. Your ad should talk about:
- • The freedom to work outside of an office or warehouse
- • The chance to work with their hands
- • The satisfaction in doing beautiful, high-quality work that homeowners love
- • The opportunity to learn a highly valued technical skill
The ad may also talk about the sharing in profitability if that is part of your business structure.
The other part of the job posting lists the physical nature of the job, irregular hours, and the demands for high-quality work. The ad may also ad may say “If you do not have experience/skills in X, Y, or Z you are not a good candidate and should not apply.”
Marketing the Position
To market the position, you must write a job ad or post. This is a document or description that you will make visible in many places, including job boards like Indeed, LinkedIn, or local job boards, emailing friends, family, and colleagues, sharing with networking groups, and other places. You should be thoughtful and have a plan to spread the word about your job opening.
Don’t keep the fact that you are looking for good employees a secret. When you have a clear job ad, send it out to your network and put it on appropriate job boards and websites. Promote it on your website. Get the news out there. Believe it or not, someone is looking for this great opportunity right now. Help them find it.
You may find some great candidates among family friends, co-workers, and past employers. Often the best candidates will come from your warm network of family, friends, co-workers, and former employers. Make sure they know about your need for a new team member.
Screening Candidates
A great hire is a wonderful addition to your team and a building block for your future. But a poor hire is a drain on your time and money. Once you have a good ad and have successfully marketed the position then you should expect to get some applicants.
Some applicants may call you. Some may send an email. Be aware that some folks who are conscientious hard workers, good with their hands, and good candidates may not use email. Stay open-minded.
Some of the screenings will take place over the phone and always, most importantly face to face. You will make these screening decisions based on what they say, what you see, how they show up, and follow-up. Sometimes their words and actions will give you obvious signs they will not be a fit. Other times after a good conversation you will just need to trust your gut.
Candidates to Disqualify
Here are the people you need to eliminate:
1. Eliminate people who lack the skills, experience, or background for the position.
2. Eliminate people who aren’t honest about their experience or skills. (It happens.)
3. Eliminate those who are unreliable, undependable, have a poor work ethic, or can’t keep promises. These may be the most important criteria as they can cost you the most time and money.
Don’t Rush, Be Selective
It is important to get a good number of candidates for each position. If you have only a few candidates, you might mistake a weak or mediocre candidate for a good one. If you are so fortunate that a respected colleague knows what you need and refers a quality candidate to you with a good recommendation, then you may not need so many applicants.
Good Candidates are Screening You
Remember: Good people don’t quit bad jobs, they quit bad bosses. When attracting good employees, YOU are a critical ingredient in attracting them. When a good candidate gets the sense that you are dependable, reliable, and have high integrity they will want to work for you. All the small things you do during the interviewing process show the candidate what kind of boss you will be.
Screening Criteria & Interviewing
There are no perfect candidates. Some will need more training and management than others. Do not consider every requirement below as mandatory; decide in advance which ones are non-negotiable deal-breakers. The most important criteria will be reliability, dependability, and integrity. If you find a person with a high character and a strong work ethic who wants the job, that is 80% of the battle. However, these qualities should also be assessed when considering adding someone to your team:
Job History
If a candidate has a history of a new job every year, perhaps even changing to different fields without any growth, it’s a good sign they will repeat that pattern with you. That job history deserves a thoughtful conversation with the candidate. It is a “potential” indicator of weakness in dependability, reliability, or character.
Physical Work
Refinishing work is very physical. It involves loading and unloading equipment and supplies, often carrying them upstairs. Refinishing a bathroom requires moving around tight quarters to prep and mask the surfaces. Many people are not used to that type of activity, so it is fair to ask about their willingness and ability to do this physical work.
Quality
In refinishing, quality IS the product. Homeowners and building managers have high expectations and may inspect the refinishing with a careful eye. So, your hire should have excellent attention to detail. This will be evident if they show up on time, prepared and appropriately dressed for their interview. Someone who arrives late, unprepared for the interview, and sloppily dressed will show up that way for your customer.
Working with Their Hands
As a refinisher, you understand the importance of your crew members being able to work with their hands. Some candidates have worked in carpentry, plumbing, electrical work, or manufacturing and some may simply have hobbies where they use their hands a lot. Ask about their experiences working with their hands. Instead of simply asking what they did, ask for details, what specific skills they used, and areas where they excelled. Qualified candidates will often share more detail and depth on those topics.
Home Services
You should assess candidates’ experience surrounding going into someone's home to do a home improvement project. They need to understand the protocols and professional manners needed when working in someone's house. Small things like properly greeting the homeowner, taking off their shoes, and asking permission to see the tub are important. These skills also include things like explaining project details to the homeowner — what to expect, how long it will take, and what support the homeowner may need to provide for the technician.
Some candidates have done this kind of work before, so may be well-versed in proper protocol and have well-developed people skills.
They Want the Job
When you have spoken to a candidate for a bit and have learned about them, ask the question, “Why would you want a job like this?” You should sense an authentic interest in doing this kind of work and working with you in their response. Enthusiasm is a very positive sign.
Making the Hiring Decision
No algorithm guarantees a great employee every time you hire. Your best shot at getting this right is to have a good job description, and a thorough checklist of desired skills, experiences, and character attributes. Ask lots of good questions so both the good and poor candidates reveal themselves during the interview.
After you have done your due diligence, it’s still smart to trust your gut. It’s usually right.
Your refinishing business is growing, and you need more help – but hiring can be tough. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a foolproof formula to ensure every new hire would be a perfect fit? Unfortunately, there isn’t. But you can improve your chances of finding the perfect hire by writing a great job description and asking the right interview questions. In this article, we will review the important steps and considerations in hiring. We’ll focus on hiring refinisher techs.
So, you have your business started. You’ve created your marketing plan, put together your team of people, taken the training and are now ready to hit the ground running. But wait, how is your online presence? Is your website up? Can customers find you with a quick Google search?
We commonly hear from many of our refinishers that building and maintaining a website can be confusing and frustrating. “I don’t even know where to start.” Or, “I am not tech-savvy, how am I supposed to build a website?” Not knowing where to start is sometimes the most challenging part of establishing your online presence. In today’s digital age, if you don’t have a website, your online presence will be almost non-existent so it’s a crucial step to marketing your business or services.
Starting your website, or learning how to maintain it, doesn’t have to be a scary experience. There are numerous website building sites out there that offer an account set up tutorial and are making it easier to navigate the process. So, let’s dive into the basics, how to start.
How to Create & Design a Website
1. Select the site that’s best for you.
Choose from a huge range of template designs already ready to go. Each site builder has its different perks and varies in pricing. All of these options have a demo or tutorial that can show you have to navigate the site and will have you started designing your very own website in no time.
Vistaprint – Vistaprint empowers small businesses like yours to market themselves effectively. Design and order custom printed marketing materials, signage and websites. If you’ve already printed your marketing collateral through Vistaprint, you can purchase a matching website. Or vice-versa. Design a website then easily print matching marketing materials for consistent branding. So your business cards, magnets, pens, brochures, etc. can all have the same matching deign. Vistaprint is one of the cheaper website builders but doesn’t offer as much as other top running website builders like SEO, customer tracking, email marketing, and other marketing tools to help you. The cost of Vistaprint starts at a low $14 a month and offers a free trial.
Wix – WIX is a website builder that has grown in popularity over the past few years. It not only is a web builder but blog maker, logo designer, and is also SEO fixed. WIX offers a 14-day free trial to get you setup and make sure you like their site. Then you can purchase the professional version starting as low as $22 per month. Tutorials and demos are available.
Squarespace – Is an extremely popular website builder and has won awards because of its ease to create, navigate and is successful for almost all users who are taking advantage of all the site has to offer. It too has a web builder, logo designer, and is SEO fixed, but it also provides an online shop, a point-of-sale system to accept payments from customers, built in ability to send email campaigns and so much more. Squarespace also has a free trial offer and starts as low as $26 a month.
2. Get creative with how your site looks.
Now that you’ve chosen one of the above site builders, start to tailor the website to make it look the exact way you want it to. You can customize the fonts, upload your own photos, and change the margins with the built-in style kit. Think of your website as the face of your company. Take the time to make it look nice and professional.
3. View previews of your web design on all digital platforms.
Remember, the way your website looks on a desktop computer is going to be different than the way it appears on mobile. Make sure as you are building your site, you’re previewing in all platforms to make sure you like the way it looks.
4. Add your branding and logo.
The most important part is making sure you add your logo. Make sure you are following the correct size specifications so the logo is clear and not grainy. Don’t have a logo yet? That’s ok! You can create one for your brand with a free logo maker like this one.
5. Create your messages and setup your page(s).
Now that people will be able to find you online with your new website, you need to make sure they know who you are and what you do. Think of websites you like to visit. What pages do they typically have? Are there any refinishers or refinishing websites that you like, use those as a model.
You need to have at least a one page site that shows who you are, what you have to offer, and how you can help customers with the problem they have. All this can be said on one page, your homepage, and with just a few photos.
There are numerous amounts of build-your-own website building tools available on the internet to make building and maintaining your website an easy process. Utilize online demos, tutorials and videos to help guide you even further into this process and remember, your time and effort in building your site and establishing your online presence will quickly pay off when customers are easily able to find you when searching for a refinisher in the area.
In this “Market to Market” series, stay tuned for other blogs on marketing your services and how to reach more customers.
Starting your website, or learning how to maintain it, doesn’t have to be a scary experience. There are numerous website building sites out there that offer an account set up tutorial and are making it easier to navigate the process. So, let’s dive into the basics, how to start.
You’ve done most of the work – you’ve developed your marketing strategy, started your website, decided how and where you’re going to advertise, AND set up your social media accounts. Nice work! The hard part is done. So now that customers can find you and you are interacting with them, the last piece of business is making sure you’ve brushed up on your communication skills.
Good communication is A MUST in all successful businesses! It’s all about the right people getting the right message at the right time. If you are not communicating correctly to your target audience and, most importantly, to your customers, then your business will definitely suffer even if you thought you’d done all of the necessary steps to make sure people can find you.
They say there are seven keys to successful business communication.
1. Credibility – this builds trust.
2. Courtesy – this improves relationships.
3. Clarity – this makes people understand easier.
4. Correctness – this builds confidence.
5. Consistency – this introduces stability.
6. Concreteness – this reinforces confidence.
7. Conciseness – this saves time.
It’s important to make sure all of your messaging (i.e., in your marketing materials, on your website, social media accounts, and even just how you are speaking to your customer in person) have these seven factors when you are creating them. The HOW you say the message is just as important if not more important than WHAT you are trying to say.
Think about messages you see everywhere. “Best wings in town, stop by for a Wingstop.” They don’t say, “We got wings. Come and get them.” What message does that send? And why should you want to stop there? But when you hear they have the BEST wings in town, well, that makes you want to try them, right?
It’s all about HOW you say the message just as much as WHAT you are trying to say. Keep these keys in mind, and you will have excellent communications skills in your messaging and your daily communications and interactions with customers.
If you are not communicating correctly to your target audience and, most importantly, to your customers, then your business will definitely suffer even if you thought you’d done all of the necessary steps to make sure people can find you.
In our last blog about marketing, we discussed the importance of developing a marketing strategy and what that meant. So now that you have an idea on how to get started with making the plan, let’s talk about the different avenues there are to market your businesses and services. This is the HOW in how you are going to reach your customers.
Ask yourself, what kinds of marketing am I currently using? Are you hanging up flyers in your town? Or maybe you just have your website and customers are able to find you online. If you’re doing both print and digital, consider yourself ahead of the game. If you haven’t yet started with marketing, this is an area you should focus on in the next couple of months.
So, what kind of advertising should you be doing? First, let’s dive into the differences of traditional and digital marketing and the benefits of each.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing refers to any type of marketing that isn’t online and has to target the audience through physical printed forms like magazines, newspaper ads, tv ads, radio ads, billboards, pamphlets, direct mail, and banners.
Traditional marketing is not only one of the oldest forms of marketing and although we’re in the digital age, most businesses still utilize some form of traditional marketing today. You encounter some sort of traditional marketing in your everyday life, whether it’s getting the mail or your daily newspaper, reading a sign on the top of a taxi cab or a billboard along the highway, or watching a commercial in the middle of the football game.
So what are the pros and cons of traditional marketing?
Pros:
- Hyper-local reach: Traditional marketing plays an important part in reaching local
- Maintains a long “shelf life”: Printed advertising can be kept for a long period of time and give from one person to another. For example, if you mail post cards or magnets, those may be on refrigerators for some time, keeping you and your business in the back of their minds the next time they need a refinisher.
Cons:
- Reach may be too broad: While traditional marketing does reach a broad range of potential customers, it’s also wasting a lot of time and money by reaching people who aren’t considered your target audience.
- Limited use: All your printed material can be used once only. For example, you distribute 500 flyers, how many of those 500 people are actually looking for a refinisher at that particular time? There is no way to find out. If you need to make an update or your phone number changed for example, you would have to print all new materials rather than making a quick update.
- High cost: Paying for local radio and tv ads can be very expensive. They can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars per seconds and minutes of advertising, and again, reaching a broad range of customers without being able to target those needing your refinishing services.
All in all, it’s a good idea to choose your traditional marketing wisely. It’s important for you to know and understand the best marketing choice for your business at that time and for the type of customers you are trying to target.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is referring to any marketing that uses electronic devices to convey messages. This typically refers to marketing that appear on a computer, tablet, phone, or other device and can take many forms including online video, display ads and social media posts.
We are living in a digital world where everything is just one click away. In this age, digital marketing has significantly altered the way businesses reach and communicate with their customers, but the processes are still very similar to successful traditional marketing efforts.
So what are the pros and cons of digital marketing?
Pros:
- Ability to transform traditional marketing into digital: You more than likely already have a few traditional marketing campaigns going. The best part about that is, you already have done most of the work, now just turn it into a digital piece. Digital marketing is one of the best techniques which can boost your business.
- Saves you money and time: it’s much faster to post a digital ad than to run a printed ad in your local newspaper. On most social media platforms, you can start a digital marketing campaign as little as $5 and in less than 5 minutes.
- Ability to target your customers: You can select the target market you want to reach, by gender, age, location, and even by a persons’ hobby interests. You can also track each person that clicks the ad.
- Ability to make ongoing updates: You can change and edit that ad endlessly so you can retarget and remarket the ad at any time based on its performance. Your phone number changed? That will only take you a couple of clicks to update.
Cons:
- The learning curve: The idea of digital marketing can be a little overwhelming if you don’t have a good idea of what it involves, especially if you haven’t even started to establish and online presence yet.
- Requires a lot of updates and monitoring: If you want your digital marketing to be highly effective, you can’t just create one ad then call it done. You should monitor its success, make any updates as needed, then continue to tailor your digital marketing to what’s working vs. not working.
All in all, both traditional and digital marketing have its pros and cons and there are benefits to each. Most small businesses do a mix of each type of marketing, and you should determine who your customers are and how they are finding you and your business to determine where to spend most of your marketing dollars.
In this “Market to Market” series, stay tuned for other blogs on marketing your services and how to reach more customers.
Let’s talk about the different avenues there are to market your businesses and services. This is the HOW in how you are going to reach your customers. First, let’s dive into the differences of traditional and digital marketing and the benefits of each.
Developing a marketing strategy
As a business owner, either as a solo refinisher, or one that operates a small team, it’s important to have a marketing strategy in place to help customers find you. But wait, what even is a marketing strategy, and why is it important? Developing a marketing strategy is nothing more than setting business goals and making a marketing to-do list that will get you to reach those goals. Think of it as your plan to reach a much larger range of customers
Your marketing strategy is HOW you are going to attract customers and what you have to offer. When thinking of your marketing strategy, think of everything you are going to do from beginning to end – It’s essentially your business “game plan.” Developing this plan makes sure that you are making the most out of every resource, every dollar and every minute you are putting into your marketing efforts. Being proactive and developing your plan ahead of time will save you time and money.
Marketing Plans
A proper marketing strategy can take weeks or even months to be successfully created. And we know what you are probably thinking, “Isn’t there a faster, simpler way I can at least get started with today?” That’s what we’re here for! So here we are providing two plans designed to get you to start thinking, planning, and making money without it taking you days and weeks. While these aren’t the complete marketing strategy plans that every business eventually needs, they will allow you to start thinking about your strategies and long-term plans that you can eventually turn into your larger marketing strategy plan.
Click on the image to download
The first plan above is a one-page plan that outlines the essential marketing components or categories like your Mission/Objectives, Target Market, Offering, Pricing, Distribution, Communication. These are essential components that go into your marketing strategy and allow you to think big picture and get everything into one place.
You can use this format as a place to put your big thoughts so that you can focus on what the strategies are.
Click on the image to download
The second one-page plan above is less academic and more focused on emotional triggers that will get your ideal customer to choose you. It calls on a more personal level by using the true meaning that reflects the very reason of WHY you are in business and HOW your services can help those in need.
We recommend to get started, print and fill out these plans to get your wheels turning. Then you can begin to think about how much money you want to allocate towards your marketing, how you want to market and how you will reach your target audience. Stay tuned for more blogs for tips on effectively marketing your business and services!
In this “Market to Market” series, stay tuned for other blogs on marketing your services and how to reach more customers.
As a business owner, either as a solo refinisher, or one that operates a small team, it’s important to have a marketing strategy in place to help customers find you. So here we are providing two plans designed to get you to start thinking, planning, and making money without it taking you days and weeks.
Nearly three-quarters of American adults use social media, which makes it a crucial step for any business. Social media is easily one of the best ways to connect with your customers for free or a very low cost, while also reaching those who haven’t heard of your business yet. So not sure of where to start? Getting started with setting up or updating your social media pages doesn’t have to be expensive or scary. With these simple tips, refinishers of any size can reach new markets, build brand awareness, and in turn, drive more sales.
1. Choose Your Social Media Platforms
Let’s start at the basics. First, you need to determine your desired platforms. Think LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter…the list of platforms in today’s age is endless, making you feel stuck in deciding which one will be the most significant return of investment. Instead, think about which platforms you enjoy and where you’ve seen helpful information about your industry. A Facebook business page is one of the best ways for any business to connect with their customers and build a following. LinkedIn is the go-to platform for businesses, where users can establish credibility with products and services and a place to share company announcements and job listings. Houzz is a platform specifically for the construction management industry. Contractors, interior designers and architects can showcase projects directly to homeowners. Instagram is a photo-based platform, perfect for showcasing aspirational kitchens and bathrooms and/or before/after photos if your best work. Spend the time doing a little research to see what might be the best fit for your business.
2. Find Inspiration
Second, find inspiration in what other small businesses in your industry are doing. Emulate the posts, photos and videos you like (you can shoot photos or videos on your phone) and keep track of trending hashtags to participate in those conversations and ensure that your media is seen. You can also use these accounts to determine what you don’t like or things that you feel you can do better. Your regularly updated social media presence serves as your portfolio, a networking tool, a customer interface and a lead generator. A lot of times, social media is your first impression so use it as a way to have fun, showcase your work, and build relationships with your customers.
3. Define Posting Schedules
Third, make a realistic commitment to posting schedules defining how much you can post and stick to that plan. If you invest some time, you can get in front of your customers for free or very low cost. Followers will learn to expect your regular posts, so use your posts as a way to build trust with your customers. Keep the info short and sweet, and avoid direct selling appeals. Social media allows you to establish yourself as a knowledgeable, professional business owner, not necessarily just a salesperson. There are several social media management tools to consolidate then roll out your posts to consistently share fun facts and helpful tips about your brand and your industry. Tools like Hootsuite even allow you to schedule posts in advance, allowing you to plan ahead and not needing to think about posting every day. Posting regularly helps keep you in people’s minds next time they need a refinisher.
Become the Local Go-To for Kitchen and Bathroom Refinishing
We hope these tips allow you to feel that starting or updating your business’s social media doesn’t have to be complicated. By keeping your website current and venturing into at least one or two social media platforms, your social media presence will eventually help get your business to be the local go-to for kitchen and bathroom refinishing.
Steps to Building Your Social Media Presence as a Refinisher
There’s good news and there’s bad news.
The bad news is that according to the Leading Indicator of Remodeling Activity (LIRA) released by the Remodeling Futures Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, remodeling spending is expected to slow down considerably by the end of 2019.
Specifically, they project that renovation and repair spending in the U.S. will shrink from 7.5 percent in 2018 to 5.1 percent in 2019. This is due to a variety of factors, including flat home sales activity, rising mortgage interest rates and slowing house price appreciation rates, which cause owners’ interest in making major investments in home improvements to decrease.
The good news is that home improvement and repair spending is still set to reach more than $350 billion this year, and the even better news is that as a refinishing business, there are things you can do to remain profitable and busy even during a remodeling slowdown.
How To Keep Your Refinishing Business Busy
Below are three proven strategies you can use to keep your refinishing business going strong.
1. Diversify your services. If you want to appeal to more customers, you’re going to have to make them an offer they can’t refuse, and that starts with offering them a variety of services. If you currently only refinish bathtubs and bathrooms, consider adding kitchen refinishing to your business to boost income. After all, one bathtub refinishing customer will be set for the next decade or so!
Keep in mind that customer will remember your good work and will likely hire you again when they learn that you offer new services like countertop or kitchen refinishing. This strategy allows you to appeal to past customers, and also add new customers looking for reliable refinishing.
2. Re-engage past customers and prospects. If someone has already used your services, they’re more likely to hire you again when their next refinishing need arises. Call on former customers to let them know that you have added new refinishing services to your business and how you can help meet their needs.
Don’t forget about contacts that entered your sales process at some point in time but didn’t hire your company for the job, for whatever reason. Now is the time to routinely follow up with them, even if you didn’t get the sale. Maybe they didn’t move forward for their own reasons, but now they’re looking to hire for that job again. Maybe they went with someone else initially but ended up unsatisfied with the results.
The goal is to engage with customers who were previously in the sales pipeline — either as a paying job or a prospect — and show them the value and expanded services you bring to the table.
3. Optimize your marketing efforts. Now is the time to step up your marketing efforts, and it doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Start by making sure your website is clean and professional and showcases all the services you offer, as well as customer reviews and important contact information.
Next, add your business to Google My Business, Yelp for Business and Bing Places, which helps your business rank better in the local refinishers search results. And finally, don’t forget about the effectiveness of a local newspaper ad, direct mail and advertising wraps on your company vehicle. This is an easy and effective way to get your name out to prospective customers.
The Bottom Line
Just because a remodeling slowdown is predicted doesn’t mean you can’t still have a thriving refinishing business. Follow the tips above, provide exceptional service and you can remain busy — and profitable — throughout the year.
If you would like further advice on how to expand your refinishing business, get in touch with our customer service team at 800-888-1081. We’d be happy to talk to you about growth strategies and share our training manual with you!
As a refinishing business, there are things you can do to remain profitable and busy even during a remodeling slowdown. Here are three proven strategies you can use to keep your refinishing business going strong.
On our NAPCO blog, we talk a lot about how refinishers can use our products and services to start their own refinishing business. But what do you do when your company is already established? As a small business owner, it can be tough to know where to invest your time and money in order to take things to the next level. The first step to growing your small business is to increase your overall revenue. For refinishers, the easiest way to do this is to get more customers. Below are five proven strategies you can make use of to grow your refinishing business:
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Grow Your Customer Base Through Referrals
Instead of using your budget on marketing strategies like direct mail or online advertising (though these can be valuable tools as well), try attracting new customers to your business through existing customers. Though your excellent refinishing work and customer service will speak for itself, you should be actively seeking referrals after every job. This means asking the customer if they know of anyone else that could use your services and requesting they put them in contact with you. You could even set up a referral program with bonuses or discounts for friends and family!
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Extend Your Reach
To attract new customers, you may have to go to them. Though opening a new branch can be a daunting process, it can pay off in the end by allowing you to serve a much greater range of new customers. If you don’t feel ready to operate a multi-location business, you could also start by extending your reach online. Launching a website for your business is another great way to reach new customers, as you can take advantage of new channels of communication such as social media and email newsletters.
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Diversify Your Services
If you want to appeal to more customers, you’re going to have to offer them more. After all, one bathtub refinishing customer should be set for another 5 years at least! However, past customers will likely remember your good work and be interested when they learn that you offer new services like kitchen cabinet and countertop refinishing. Not only do diverse service offerings allow you to appeal to past customers, but they can bring your business to the attention of new customers who may be only looking for kitchen refinishing.
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Keep a Handle on Costs
This one comes as no surprise, but in order to grow your refinishing business you’re going to need to make some tough decisions when it comes to spending. If there is a certain product, service, marketing initiative, or, sadly, employee that doesn’t seem to be worth the cost, you will likely need to let them go. However, don’t be overly quick to pull the trigger on certain expenditures. Some programs may take weeks or even months to bring value but are worth it in the long run.
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Get Yourself Out There
Be it local advertising, paid social media campaigns, a new website launch, or attending trade shows, the most important thing to do in order to grow your refinishing business is to get it out in front of people. Participating in targeted marketing strategies ensures that you are reaching the right people in the right area who could benefit most from your services.
If you would like further advice on how to expand your refinishing business, get in touch with our customer service team at 800-888-1081. We’d be happy to talk to you about growth strategies and share our training manual with you!
The first step to growing your small business is to increase your overall revenue. For refinishers, the easiest way to do this is to get more customers. Below are five proven strategies you can make use of to grow your refinishing business.