I consistently advocate contractors which “rely” on referrals and repeat business to become much more proactive in attracting this valuable business. You don’t need to wait for your phone to ring — you can use some simple and surprisingly inexpensive resources to attract this vital business. In fact, structured referral and repeat business programs [...]

Yesterday, I observed how leaving the safe zone (from traditional perspectives) can help you score a potential marketing home run.  With a few minutes to spare, I decided to wander over and listen to one of the speakers giving a presentation at the side of the show floor at the Construction Specifications Canada Toronto Chapter [...]

Through most of my life I’ve been an optimist.  I tend to see things with a hopeful eye.  Vivian, on the other hand, often sees the depressing problems.  A sign of a healthy marriage is we know our differences and often joke about them (and probably our respective attitudes balance to create a realistic perspective).
My [...]

John Poole, in his Constructonomics Blog, posts some insightful observations of the challenges of starting work as a general contractor in this brutal economy.
Competition, he has discovered, is fierce, and provisions to ensure fairness and openness invite/encourage cheating or manipulation to game the rules. When upwards of 14 businesses bid for the job in [...]

Yesterday afternoon, I enjoyed a rewarding conversation with Adams Hudson on a range of themes relating to construction marketing.  Hudson’s business (http://www.hudsoninc.com) focuses on the retail-oriented contractors, especially in the mechanical trades (HVAC and plumbing).  His early strength:  Developing better and more effective Yellow Pages ads.  He described in hos conversation how he won points [...]

As voting concluded in the Best Construction Blog competition, the campaigning and voting for the Ontario Construction Report’s 2009-2010 Readers‘ Choice Awards has moved into high gear. Unlike the Best Blog competition, which is international in scope, the Readers’ Choice Awards is a much more regional competition; closely tied to our long-established publications in [...]

Rick Pratt believes this blog from Wolfworks Designers/Builders in Colorado, not nominated for the Best Construction Blog competition, is a much better example of excllence than the other entries and finalists.  Do you agree?
Yesterday evening, I received this blunt and provocative email from Rick Pratt in Colorado.  He gave me permission to publish it.
I [...]

Readers here should be well aware that the key elements of effective marketing include attracting valid potential client leads and then converting them into profitable sales.  So I built some lead gathering for my own business in the Best Construction Blog competition.    Voters could check two boxes in addition to their votes.  One offered the [...]

The Best Construction Blog and Forum contest has concluded and the voting results are in, but what do they mean?
Obviously, results from what essentially is a “get out the votes” competition provide a different perspective than we would discover from an independent judging panel.  They suggest, for example, that Bobby Darnell (http://www.buildingnewbusiness.com) in Atlanta has [...]

The recently-concluded Winter Olympics, with the rather magical combination of sports, achievement and nationalism all rolled into a two-week extravaganza, remind me of the importance of passion, energy and willpower in achieving our goals.  However, you don’t get there without real and fundamental talent.  Of course, The Olympics are a marketing machine in their own [...]