How do you recruit contractors

John S.

Josh,

I'm new to the business as well. One of the first things I did was to purchase an ad on HeatingHelp.com. The cost of the ad was covered after my first job! Not to mention, my first deal was sealed within a week of placing the ad. I've never had that kind of return on any investment in my life.

The phone isn't ringing off the hook from it, but I've gotten several leads that panned out in a short amount of time.

Here's the great part...

One of the clients was so happy with my work he wants me to come back in the spring to properly pipe his steam boiler. Another customer is ongoing. From installing TRVs to help balance her system to lining up someone to blast and paint some of her radiators, I'm now her "guy". I live in a small community and word of mouth goes a long way!

Dan is probably the most well known steam/hydronic heating expert in America. I feel that being associated with HeatingHelp.com on a professional level, provides instant credibility.

BTW, thanks for the education Dan.

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Josh M.

Getting contractors

How do you guys get new contractors? Anybody make cold calls? Any great ideas for spreading the word that there is a new guy in town?

Rookie_3

The best, free advertising you will find is from doing good work. You take care of your customers and they will do the advertising for you. I don't know about your area but where I am a cold call comes off to most people as a con-job in the making................ROOKIE

PS
you are the contractor

Josh M.

Thanks Rookie.. Guys what I am getting at here is how can I get the word out. I can't just sit here and wait for the phone to ring!

Mark Hunt

Whew!


Big order there Josh!

Let's start with this.

What do you want to do?? Radiant? FHA? Plumbing? All of the above or a mixture??

Once you decide that, pick your target market. If you want to do high end systems, do not bother talking to the tract housing guys. Waste of time. If you're willing to do that type of work you need to find the chink in the other guys armour. Differentiate!

Next!

What does the new guy offer that the "regular" guys don't or can't??

VERY first order of business is to differentiate yourself from the pack. Sit down and look at what the pack is doing wrong. Then offer AND DO the opposite. DO NOT go in with a list of negatives about the other guy! Emphasize the POSITIVES you bring to the table. Positives attract, negatives repel.

All that being said, NEVER EVER EVER lower your price just to "get your foot in the door". 9 times out of 10 you end up with a broken foot and a broken bank account. There are monsters out there!!

Do your homework on any and all contractors BEFORE you approach them. Ask around the local supply houses. They all have the skinny on the local contractors. You need to interview them MORE than they need to interview you. Remember, they will hold the check book. If they stink when it comes to paying, pass on them no matter how BIG they may be. They'll starve you to death with the "carrot on a string" trick.

Funny part of our business. We are looking to increase our chances of getting stiffed. Some contractors are REALLY good at this.

So #1 is: Define your goal. #2: Define your uniqueness. #3: Define your target market. #4: Empahsize your strengths. #5: Avoid the crooks.

I was called by a HUGE "Quantity" home builder a few years ago because his plumbing contractor was giving him a headache. He wanted me to give him a price on some townhouses they were building. Now I know as a fact that he was hoping he could get me to do it for a few dollars less and would have given me the contract if I was dead even with the other guy. The reason he was looking to replace the other guy was that the other guy was falling behind in production. The other guy "bid the job tight to get his foot in the door" and was getting both his feet and his legs broken on the job.

I gave them my price and the GC almost died. I was 2.5 times higher than what he was paying the other guy to do the job. He asked me why I was so much higher and I said because I will do the job he wants but the job he wants can't be done for the price the other guy said. The other guy knew this now and was cutting his losses.

I did not get that contract and it didn't upset me one bit. Let the other guys sell themselves out of business.

E-mail me if you want to discuss this further.

Mark H







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J.C.A._3

Josh,

Sometimes, your customers are the best way in to a contractors web. Have them specify that YOU will be doing the work for the job...UPFRONT.

Sometimes all it takes is for a general contractor to hear it a few times and then you'll be "their guy" for most situations.

A word of warning....Sometimes this can bite you HARD ! If you get affiliated with a "skip out" contractor, and even hold up your end of the deal, you could be lumped in with THEIR reputation. Been Bit, got the T-shirt and am no longer working with them. Chris

Todd_12

Find a pro

Is a great way to start. I deal with people all the tme who can't find a professional.

Where do you work/live?

Steve_35

Join your local homebuilders association

I joined our local. Not so much to get more GCs to work with, but rather to get referrals. It happened the first years dues of around $425 generated almost $50k of work we wouldn't have otherwise gotten.

I go to every monthly meeting and talk with the contractors there. Most of them are the better business people in the contracting profession. You can find your local through the URL below.

http://www.nahb.org/Default.aspx

BTW, how the heck do you make a URL a hyperlink here? I can't seem to cut and paste it and get it to work.

Steve_35

Why are you looking for contractors?

Frankly, it's a poor way to build your business. I am of the personal opinion the GC is the cheapest form of life on earth.

Seriously, when building slows down or the contractor you've hung your star on slows down, you're dead. Much better to build your customer base much broader.

If you're interested in doing that there are lots of little things you can do. We run a small 1 column x 2" ad in a local paper with a circulation of maybe 18,000. It runs every other day from September to April. Costs us about $160 a month. It generates about 4 customers a month.

Take your business card. Get a rubber stamp and make a $20 off (or whatever amount you choose - we use $35) coupon out of the back of your card for a new customer. Leave these cards all over. Offer to match this to any existing customer who refers you. $70 in service to obtain a new customer is darned cheap.

Talk with other subs who are in unrelated trades. Cross refer each other. You probably know a carpenter, electrician, roofer, drywaller, painter, etc. Ask them to refer you exclusively and you will reciprocate.

DanHolohan

Make believe

you're a homeowner looking for a good contractor. Then do what most people do nowadays. Go to the Internet and log on to Google. Type the words "heating" or "heating systems" or "steam heating" or something like that. Notice how HeatingHelp.com comes up as either the first or second site on Google.

Go to HeatingHelp.com and notice the Find a Professional option. Go there and type in your Zip code.

Does your lenghty ad appear there to explain to the homeowner why you're the best choice when it comes to a local professional?

And your investment is just $400 for a whole year, or you can try it out for just $125 for three months.

That's the best advice I can give you, Josh. You decide whether it makes sense.

soot_seeker_2

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[Deleted User]

Why...

persue contractors? Very few of them understand their cost of doing business, and they have to get you to cut your price to them so they can make money off of you.

If you're a masochist, you might consider a sharp stick in the eye. It's quicker, causes about the same amount of pain, and it's covered by insurance:-)

In all honesty, I wouldn't suggest you swim with the sharks. If you use your smarts, you can call yourself a "comfort consultant" which entitles you to be able to charge more than your alleged competition. You become the expert, going around picking up everyone elses messes, and you gain the honored degree of "the only who can do it right".

If you MUST do business wiht a GC (we have maybe 3 that we do business for), then choose your dancing partner carefully. Once in his confidence and friendship, offer to help him put in a little RFH in his personal home. He then becomes a salesman for YOU and YOUR skills. And he quits shopping around looking for the best "deal". If he gets the job, you get the job. If you don't do the hydronics, they don't get hydronics.

I'd suggest you persue the end users, not the contractors. If you get to the consumer first, they will DEMAND that you be their hydro guy. Otherwise, you're at the mercy of the GC.

Advertisement is OK, but publicity does even more for exposure. Invite the local media the next time you're installing a snowmelt system on the north side of the local church to avoid breaking the hips of senior citizens from falling on the perma ice. now THAT will make your phone ring:-)

You'd be amazed at what the local TV stations use for PM filler around here. Dog Washes and DOggie DAy CAre!?!

They JUMP at the chance to cover something legitimate.

Just be careful if you decide to swim wid da sharks.

ME

Weezbo

i cannot give you anything you havent already got...

however i will say Let Your Work speak for itself.

My solutions may not work for you as there are very few people like me Left *~/:) )

one Big thing to get together in your mind is What Do YOU want to do/.... if it is service work thats commendable just there is a host of experientials i will call them that make a HUGE difference in profitability and verascity. is your word Worth anything? if not it is likely you will be a here today gone tomorrow.

if you are into commercial service work you will need some support group to keep it together.

light industrial commercial work you have to have a lot of know how to get in and out there your work has many variables and when they call you it means it needed to be done yesterday and the expectation is that you have the man power to get it done or are oneof the "in-House" bad boys that they can get to run the job. this is my experience on this.


if you are into replacing boilers or only new installs you make it or break it on knowing the distributors their stock some of the inside ales men who does what that you are thinking of doing and some of the local GC's who need work done..dont start out thinking that someone as crazy as Weezbo is so easy to kick to the curb as the truth is they will want me back 1/2 hr after they thought to fire me.

i dont worry as i have plenty work know all kinds of people who hunt me down in the grocery store or parts dept.s or gas station...spin that ride right around and slam the pedal to the metal. Rocky is the same way,he has all kinds of work...because he does what he says and if he doesnt feel like saying it then ok He isnt into it.No means No with us and Yes means Yes.Urinate him off a bit though and that will be the LAST WORD you'd get out of him.

that pretty much goes for anyone who has done all this kind of work for years.so ...you may really want the work just dont be too Eager to jump at the opportunity. you have alot of things you are good at,so the thing to do is stick with what you know and do it well...at first advertizement seems like a good "Idea" well,there is a heck of a Chasm betwix idealization and actuality.

Schooling and classes that are offered at the distributors CC and on line are your $ well spent invested in You.That isnt something easily peeled off your hide at the drop of a hat. having the tools and reliable transportation helps or you can go with the idea that God Will Provide and everything You will ever need is right there wherever you are,You just got to SEE it.

donating your time to the United way and Community is also a great way to advertize that you know how to do work and you can make a donation of your time and people will think welll, now ...this work needs to be done at BillyBobs home and jenny said just yesterday that She needed such and such done,and by people bidding on YOUR SERVICES there will ba a ready made market as soon as you are available from the time you have donated ...maybe there will be quite a few people who will be LOOKING FOR YOU instead of the other way around. then too you have now a piece of your workmanship that they can see and the person you worked for will likely praise you for the good work and feel no compunction to keep it to himself/herself should anyone ask.

and ad in the local newspaper on wen and saturday or Sunday under the who does it works pretty good as over time many people will have seen the ad and will likely call.

there is another tact to take, go out and do something worthwhile for some older people on fixed incomes or a church group some community based thing that Helps people help themselves,they dont want charity the dont want a hand out they just need a hand up. there are alot of people that have done a heck of a lot of worthwhile things in thier communities over the years ,now that they are older with no real way to change it in anyway ,are finding things Difficult to negotiate... You might be suprised as who the heck thier son or daughter might be ,and you would wonder how it could come to pass that they too have all but forgotten where they came from. some homeowners have put me to at least stopping by their fathers home or their moms home to talk to them about some work in the future.... sometimes the very people you helped last week turn out to be these guys moms and dads elementary school teacher:) Hey They didnt even Know they were Alive anymore... in other words this is a relatively small world in which we live.....

i would think that Dans offer here would be a great place to put some seed money. it would be as though you planted your garden in a rented field made fallow and enriched for years,and it is been cultivated specifically for the professional young and old alike. really, i dont need any more work and so i would say i wouldnt make business cards and hand them out willy nilly or someday you will probably be crazy from the work AND they will Know how to contact You )


*~/:)

Steve_35

Thanks for the info.

Josh M.

Thats what I was looking for guys. Thanks very much. Truth is I have been doing factory service for a few years and all of the people I now know are current mechanical contractors. Now that I am going into business for myself I need to get the word out there that there is a new guy in town. Thanks a bunch! There are alot of really good tips and ideas in here!

Joel_3

Marky Mark

Did you steal my buisness plan again ? My thoughts exactly Why do you want to work for a contractor anyhow? We are comfort consultants fix the messes and have plenty of work interviewing two more right now.

Exception : We have "teams" that we work with on custom projects . Biulder ,Architect,plumber, electrition, comfort consultant etc. We work down the whole chain to provide the best we can for a clients budget. There is no counter bid for our services from a competitor .

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hr

I get a lot of referals

from several of the local supply houses. i went in and introduced myself, actually took THEM to lunch. Works well for me.

I'm amazed how many homeowners call plumbing and heating wholesalers for contractor recomends.

I have 4 CG's that I work for on a regular basis. They don't shop me and their customers don't shop them.

It did take about 6 years to weed through the low ball GC's. and get to this group. i suspect they were watching me and seeing if I had the staying power?

Home shows and radiant manufactures contractor teams are also excellent lead generators.

In addition to all the above good advice.

hot rod

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Mad Dog_2

If you want to make little to no $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

and, have your schedule and destiny controlled by others.........work for "contractors." Mad Dog

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