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Depending on Referrals

By Michael Stone

Take charge of your marketing and let the leads you get by referral be the frosting on the cake.


Design Agreement Surprises

By Michael Stone

If you want to avoid problems when selling your services, take steps to prevent problems at your first meeting.


Selling Design Agreements

By Michael Stone

With a renovation or remodeling project, your goal from the very beginning should be to sell your services by way of a design agreement. Sell an agreement to design the project since that’s the first necessary step before the job can start.


A Guaranteed Price

By Michael Stone

When selling construction services, quoting a guaranteed price protects homeowners from the price increases that happen with a too low price.


Educating on Quality

By Michael Stone

Home and building owners need to know that hiring the least expensive contractor often means compromising on quality.


Sales: Setting Ground Rules

By Michael Stone

Michael shares a few situations you’ll run into when selling construction-related services that provide the opportunity to set ground rules for the relationship.


Sales Issues: Leaving Your Paperwork

By Michael Stone

When a prospective client “wants to think about it,” should you leave your paperwork? What can you do to close the sale?


Sales: Are You There to Help?

By Michael Stone

When selling, are youhere to find out how much money you can make, or to provide a service and help?


Doing Things Right

By Michael Stone

Michael shares a valuable tool that will improve both your sales and your relationships.


Should I Change My Markup If I’m Not Making Sales?

By Michael Stone

Should you change your markup method if you aren’t making sales? Don’t spend hours fiddling with numbers; invest the time in your sales skills.


It’s All About Sales: Gaining a Commitment

By Michael Stone

Can delayed job starts impact material prices and profitability? Not if you gain a commitment first. It’s all about the sales process.


Beliefs That Limit Your Profit

By Michael Stone

Owning and operating a construction business requires a strong will and self-direction, but those qualities can also lead you to hold on to beliefs that limit your profit.


Paying a Salesperson: Commission on Sales, not Profit

By Michael Stone

If you employ a salesperson to help you sell something, you need to pay them for their services. I am a firm believer in paying sales people by commission


Price Proposal Deadlines

By Michael Stone

All price proposals need a deadline because you never know when material and labor costs will increase rapidly.


Construction Sales: Make Time Count

By Michael Stone

Construction sales take time and your time is valuable. Avoid these common time-wasters when selling construction services.


Design Agreements and the Budget

By Michael Stone

The purpose of a design agreement is to get a commitment from your client to design the project so you don’t have to do the design for free. How do you keep the design within the budget?


Construction Websites that Generate Leads

By Michael Stone

A construction website should be a lead generating asset. It doesn’t have to be expensive, but if it doesn’t generate leads it’s a waste of time and effort.


Lowball Pricing in Construction

By Michael Stone

It’s not unusual to find a contractor who sells by deliberately underpricing or underbidding jobs and making up the difference with change work orders.


Remodeling Sales: Setting the Budget

By Michael Stone

A business owner in the UK asked a question that illustrates that remodeling sales challenges are the same regardless of your location.


You Have Better Things to Do than Estimate

By Michael Stone

Getting a commitment from potential clients is critical if you want to save yourself a ton of time and work putting together an estimate that won’t go anywhere. You have better things to do with your time.


The Sales Call: Budget and Design

By Michael Stone

Budget doesn’t need to be a major worry during the design and build of a project if you handle it properly during the sales call.


Four Diamonds of Communication

By Michael Stone

Sales is about communicating and interacting positively with others. Those skills make life easier in any delicate conversation.


Borrowing Jacks

By Michael Stone

I recently had to face what I thought would be an uncomfortable personal conversation. I fussed all morning, then went to visit the person involved.


Clear Sales Communication; It’s Your Responsibility

By Michael Stone

I want to share a recent phone conversation with a contractor concerning a problem they were having with a client.


Hiring a Salesperson

By Michael Stone

I’m a firm believer in treating salespeople well. When they’re treated well, they’ll sell. When they sell, you win.


Let’s Discuss an Acceptable Hourly Rate . . .

By Michael Stone

This note is a painfully perfect example of why you shouldn’t provide details on your pricing.


Words from an Expert on Hiring Contractors

By Michael Stone

A contractor sent us an online article written by a real estate investor with the purpose of educating you on “how to develop a fair relationship with your contractor.”


On Politely & Confidently Qualifying Leads

By Todd Milton

A guest article: How do you avoid going out on sales calls to look at jobs for folks who obviously do not qualify to purchase from your company?


Missing the Sale

By Michael Stone

Is there anything you can do about the sales you miss?


Promoting Your Business: The County Fair

By Michael Stone

It’s summer, and that means community gatherings for people wanting to have fun. In our area, the main event is the county fair. I’m confident there is a similar event in your area.


Focusing On Price

By Michael Stone

“The #1 reason I lose jobs is ‘your price is too high.’ What am I doing wrong?”


Spare Topics

By Michael Stone

It’s time to catch up on some spare topics I have lying around. These aren’t earth shaking but they can and will impact your bottom line.


Sales: Have Options Ready

By Michael Stone

Give clients options when you quote the work they want done.


Transparency and Partnerships

By Michael Stone

What do you do when your partner is listening to someone who knows nothing about construction, but still thinks they knows what’s best?


First Time Homeowner, Uncommunicative Builder

By Michael Stone

We’re aware that homeowners also visit our website. This letter is from a first-time homeowner who’s ready to buy, but his builder isn’t cooperating.


Design Agreement Fees

By Michael Stone

The last thing I want to do is cause a family problem, but apparently I did with one family.


Homeowner Advice: Some Misguided, Some Correct

By Michael Stone

Flaky contractors make us all look bad. But not all advice given to homeowners to protect themselves from fraud is good advice.


Marketing Your Business

By Brian Javeline

Don’t come up with excuses to not be marketing your business. Eventually you will be in the worst position of all, and that is when you say “I need quick help to get my phone to ring”.


You Can’t Ask Too Many Questions

By Michael Stone

When something seems amiss, don’t stop asking questions. A contractor shares his experience on a recent sales call.


Give Them What They Need to Make a Decision

By Michael Stone

Clients are changing, and if you want to stay in the game and make something more than a living, you’ll need to change with them.


Protecting Design Work

By Michael Stone

A contractor who has designed projects asked how to protect his design work.


Training an Architect

By Michael Stone

A contractor we’ve known and worked with for many years sent us a note about his experience working with a new architect. Ideally, the architect would have been working with the contractor from the beginning so he could have educated the client as well.


Share Your Cards

By Michael Stone

Business cards are a simple, inexpensive way to provide everyone you come in contact with the information they need to reach you.


Avoiding a Potential Pain in the Assets

By Michael Stone

A good guy we know was recently working with a potential client when he ran into some concerns.


Canvassing: Connect with the Neighborhood

By Michael Stone

One of the more unpopular things I recommend is canvassing the neighborhood around your jobs. It’s unpopular because it’s misunderstood.


Avoiding Jobs That Don’t Fit

By Michael Stone

It’s smart to specialize on the work that makes you the most money. It’s even better if you know contractors who can pick up the leads outside your specialty.


Unrealistic Price Expectations

By Michael Stone

If they called you, doesn’t that mean they need or want the work done?


Family Fights

By Michael Stone

The topic is uncomfortable but if you’re involved in residential sales, you’ll see family disagreements. It helps to know what to do.


Make Every Possession Count

By Michael Stone

Many contractors who write us are having a problem with their business, and in many cases, it’s because the contractor has lost focus on what’s important.


Clients Working on Their Job

By Michael Stone

Should you let a client work on the job they’ve hired you and your company to build?


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