Written by Ari Greenbaum, co-founder of conXpros
Last month I shared a post highlighting the power that text messaging can have on your business. I shared some personal antidotes along with some practical applications for any home improvement pro. Shortly after posting, I was contacted by one of our clients, Phillip B. (Bowman & Sons Contracting), with some great feedback. He generously agreed to an interview to pick his brain and share some of the things that make him and his company highly successful with all customers, especially leads. I appreciate his insights and am sure you will find them useful in your own business.
Ari: Phillip, I appreciate you taking the time to chat and share some of your personal experiences with myself and others.
Phillip: My pleasure, happy to help where I can.
Ari: You contacted me right after my last blog post about the power of text messaging, what prompted you to reach out?
Phillip: I have been using a similar approach with new leads and work inquiries for a few months and experiencing some nice results. You guys have been great to my business, so I figured I would share some feedback with you on what text has done for my numbers. Your post hit the nail on the head.
Ari: I appreciate the feedback. Before getting into more details about text, can you share a bit about your business and experience with leads?
Phillip: I am a believer in leads. I have built a large part of my client base from leads. I am a roofer by trade, but we do all types of exterior remodeling now. I find that leads, if approached the right way, are a great tool. Just like any tool, you have to use it properly to get the result.
Ari: Can you elaborate on the process or approach do you take to your leads?
Phillip: Sure. I have a simple rule, do whatever it takes to reach the lead. After all, I paid for it. I always call them as soon as I see it on my phone. Customers often are amazed at how fast I call them and it makes a good first impression that I am eager to help. I reach a lot of my leads this way, but not all. If I do not reach them on the first call, I immediately send a text and email with a brief message letting them know I am here to help. I keep it simple. I make another 3 calls and send another email and text within the next 2 days. If still no contact, I them add them to a “later” file where I try to call and email a week later.
Ari: Sounds like you have a strong process in place. How long have you been incorporating text into your process? And what impact has it had on your contact rates?
Phillip: It is pretty new. I started using it as a standard thing only a few months ago. I had always sent a text, but only when I could not make contact, as a last ditch type of thing. Since utilizing text from the start, I have seen my contact rates with leads increase by more than 27%, so I am a big supporter of this approach.
Ari: Wow, that is huge! Any advice for the messaging in the text you send that you have seen good results from?
Phillip: Nothing too fancy. I did some research that suggested short and sweet is the way to go with text communication, so I follow that approach. A brief note letting them know I received their request and I am eager to help them, along with my name & company name. I always ask for them to message back or call me to set up a free estimate. Really, that’s all I send.
Ari: Have you ever checked out Contractor Texter? I mentioned them in my last post. A lot of our clients have found great success with their system. It would automate the text for you vs. manually sending them like you currently do.
Phillip: I had not heard of them before, but nothing wrong with automating some of the processes. I’ll check them out.
Ari: Of course. You can’t argue with success. You sound like you are doing great with the system you have in place currently. I am a big supporter of process driven business, especially in sales. I am of the belief that without process, you are destined to fail. You are a great example of process in action. Keep up the awesome work. I truly appreciate your willingness to take the time and share this valuable information with everyone. I wish you continued success with your company and leads. Happy hunting!