It’s the 21 century, and the remodeling industry changed – We’re living in the future. You have a TV, a calculator, and a telephone sitting in your pocket, all at the same time! Here’s a trip down memory lane, looking at the strategies that used to build remodeling empires, but now have been cast off for better ideas.

1) Long Demos

Before the internet, the customer was practically 100% dependent on the remodeler for information. How much does your average homeowner know about replacement windows? Not a whole lot, as it turns out. Customers would sit for 2 or 3 long, drawn out sales demonstrations, hoping to pick up enough information to make a good decision. And it used to work – customers who were suitably impressed picked the best (and probably most talkative) salesman.

No longer! Customers just don’t have time to sit – not for demos, anyway. Think about how many products you buy where you need a salesman to walk you through it. Not a whole lot, these days. The research process has moved from face-to-face onto the web, so there’s no need for HUH-YUGE informative sales presentations.

Unless you LIKE one-star reviews, that is…

2) Staking the Job!

For those of you who don’t know, staking the job refers to starting a tiny portion of the job to prevent the homeowner from backing out of a signed contract.

Imagine the scene, you sign the contract Tuesday night, and see an Acme Remodeling truck outside your house Wednesday morning. The tech walks up, slaps a single piece of siding onto the side of your home, and then drives off! Your house looks like a modern art project for about a month, and the contractor returns at their leisure to finish the job.

Customers would never stand for it – one of the common threads here is that customers value their own time and convenience. If any of your sales strategies don’t put a premium on the customer’s time and convenience, it’s time to phase them out!

3) The Yellow Page Special

When you see a company with a name that starts with A-1, you just know that company was founded before the internet. There was time when the A-1 Siding Co’s and ABC Siding Co’s had a commanding advantage by appearing first… in the phone book!

You’d be shocked to find out how many remodeling companies are still paying to appear in print. Really, shocked. A mental exercise for you – when was the last time you picked up a phonebook for any reason? Even just to get the number of the neighborhood pizza joint? Or to use a few pages as kindling for the grill? 

I probably haven’t touched one in a decade, they just disintegrate on my porch. I can find a company’s phone number faster on my smartphone, plus I get additional useful info like reviews and photos included.

If you’re not sure, put a trackable phone number in your print ads, and count how many times the phone rings. I’ll give you a hint, you wouldn’t need both hands to keep count.

So, there you have it! A blast from the past – strategies that you really don’t want underpinning your sales success! If you’re looking for cutting edge techniques to boost your sales numbers, we have that too – downloaded our sales planning guide below for the best tips for home remodeling sales!