Radio Sales Café

Just returned from a meeting with a client who's in the construction business. His specialties include roofing and remodeling, though he's also built several new homes from the ground up in recent years. Construction here has slowed quite a bit, as in other parts of the country. He's sponsoring major league baseball broadcasts, so is on the air regularly throughout the summer. The purpose of the meeting was to figure out what commercial messages we need to develop to attract whatever prospects might be out there.

Here's what came out of our discussion:

1) He's been running a commercial (attached) that we developed during the early spring rainy season, dealing with fixing a leaky roof. It's helped bring him some business, but he acknowledged that he's been missing "a lot" of telephone calls during the day (based on his Caller ID history) from people who did not leave messages on his answering machine.

2) I pointed out that in this economy, no business can afford to miss opportunities like this, and stressed the importance of investing in an answering service, if he is unable to have someone there to answer calls during the day. It has been my experience that most people today tend to be impatient. If they want something, they want it now! If he's not there to help prospects when they call, they have other choices...and will probably exercise them.

[Have you noticed this, too? Everyone's busy - generally, too busy. Over-committed, over-extended, trying to do too much (on too little sleep). This is the reality of the marketplace, and if a businessperson expects to have a chance to make a sale, he has to do it on the customer's terms.]

We agreed that he would either hire an answering service or make it a point to check his messages at fixed times during the day, and in his recorded message let callers know what those times are, and when they can expect to hear back from him. Hopefully this will result in fewer missed opportunities.

3.) Because we can't "create" business out of thin air, we need a sense of what opportunities are out there for him to go after. We identified three that seem to have potential, so these are the commercials I'm going to write:

A. One for the homeowner who has a project he's been intending to do himself, but hasn't gotten around to it...for months, maybe years. It's the classic Time vs. Money struggle. If they haven't been able to find the time to get it done, maybe it's time to spend the money and hire a professional to build the deck, install the fence, pour concrete for a patio or dog run, finish the basement, etc.

B. Another spot addressed to business owners. Make the store, office, or commercial space more attractive or productive, the work flow more efficient, with a remodel or facelift.

C. One additional spot addressed to homeowners for residential jobs that are beyond the capabilities of the do-it-yourselfer. Room additions, tearing out walls to reconfigure an interior space, adding a garage, etc. In some cases, folks that had been considering moving into a newer, larger home have decided that it's preferable in the current economy to remodel or add to their present home.

So...we'll see how these things develop.

If anyone here has put together successful commercials or campaigns for contractors in your market, I'd love to hear about them!

Rod: I am working with a young fourth generation contractor that recently moved his busines to our side of the state. Our "Just Pay Half" program has worked well for him so far. Those purchasing through "Just Pay Half" have contracted him for additional services. Also, the radio promotion that he receives has driven people to his website and brought some new business. We are just starting to establish a relationship but it is off to a great start! It really helps that he understands marketing. He is an MSU grad in Marketing!

Great ideas for a contractor, also really enjoyed the commercial. thanks