One of the biggest mistakes that contractors make in their sales & marketing is communicating in their contractor language.
Many make the mistake thinking that they are talking to other contractors instead of homeowners.
Since this comes naturally to them this is an easy mistake to make.
When you talk in the contractor language you’ll lose sales.
Talk like Donald Trump
Whatever you think of Donald Trump you have to admit that he is persuasive.
Trump was a huge underdog and political novice who shocked the world and won the election in 2016.
A big reason why he won the election was his communication skills.
Donald Trump speaks like a 4th grader.
Many people take this as a sign of ineptitude but in fact, it is the opposite.
When you speak and write like a 4th grader you know you will be easily understood.
If you want to sell/persuade people one of the first things you have to make sure is that people understand what you are saying.
People understand what Donald Trump says.
When I write copy I try to write as clearly and simply as I can.
My message will be more powerful that way.
If people understand what you are saying they are likely to take action.
Confused people don’t take action.
One of the first things I learned in marketing is that you have to lead people or else they will never take the next step.
Information overload
Another big problem is information overload.
You should only focus on the important information that will lead to a sale.
Irrelevant information can hurt your sales.
Don’t talk about things that homeowners don’t care about.
In our client’s marketing campaigns I listen to the inbound calls that our clients receive.
Many times when contractors answer the phone they start talking about some new product when the homeowner just cares about someone fixing their roof.
A homeowner or even a commercial property owner does not care about whatever new products you are selling.
Don’t get me wrong they do care about those things but it’s not the most important thing to them.
Benefits vs. Features
In sales and marketing campaigns benefits are what sell.
Benefits answer the question for the homeowner what’s in it for me?
A Feature is a factual statement about the product/service.
When you focus on the benefits of your product/service you’ll see better results.
Different drivers motivate different buyers.
Most of the time a buyer is looking for someone who is capable and reliable and get the job done quickly with the least amount of hassle.
Focus on what problems you are solving
What problems is your product/service solving?
When you focus on the problems that you are solving and communicate in a way in which you can easily be understood you’ll be a lot more successful.
What do you think a homeowner is feeling when they realize that they need to fix their roof?
For most homeowners, they know that replacing a roof will be a pain in the ass.
This makes them apprehensive about the whole situation.
They’ve probably heard horror stories from other homeowners or have had previous negative experiences with fly by night contractors.
This is why it’s important to communicate in a way that makes them feel at ease.
When they clearly understand what you are saying and when you’ve set the right expectations you’ll get better results.
Be like Bob Villa
Think of yourself as the spokesman for your company.
You are selling a product/service that has to have wide appeal. Part of that appeal is the words you use.
Explain yourself like a how a 10-year-old would understand.
Conclusion
In order to be an effective communicator one of the first things that you have to understand is who you are talking to.
Know your audience.
Don’t talk in the contractor language when doing sales presentations or making videos for your company.
Be like Bob Villa and try to be a spokesman for your business.
You’ll make a lot more sales.
Remember to KISS (Keep it simple stupid)
