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 [...]

Here are some ideas for which I take absolutely no credit.
Adams Hudson writes in his regular newsletter that he is in Washington, “talking to a group of dedicated HVAC professionals who are looking to get leads during this warm winter.”  Of course he is speaking about Washington State on the West Coast, because those of [...]

Recently, someone pitching for a multi-level marketing scheme posted on the LinkedIn.com Construction Marketing Ideas group (you can join by clicking the link on the sidebar), with a seemingly innocent but perhaps important question:  “Have you ever achieved your dreams?”  Initially, I took the message at face value, and answered “Yes”, describing how my early [...]

Over the years, some of the strongest ideas have been expressed in concepts where four acronyms can be set down to a single letter.  The SWOT Analysis is one, and Bill Caswell’s PAVF is another. (You can learn more about the latter at the special Webinar on Tuesday afternoon.) Years ago, the late Walt Hailey [...]

Yesterday, I reported that I would try an email experiment to discover if readers would be able to direct some referrals for advertising feature profiles in the Design and Construction Report. The early results:  Failure.
I sent the email to readers who had asked to receive the bi-weekly Construction Marketing Ideas Newsletter, along with some who [...]

I hesitated a little before deciding to send out a special email this morning to nominees and voters in the Best Construction Blog Competition. The goal:  To see if participants can recommend colleagues, suppliers, clients (or their own business) for a full-scale advertising-supported feature in The Design and Construction Report.
Why the hesitation?  My response is [...]

Here are two questions to put your mind to work:

Which works best:   An inbound  call from someone out of the blue, who has heard good things about you and wants you to proceed with a project; or paying a canvasser or outbound seller to attract sales for you?
Referred leads from satisfied (enthusiastic) clients or a [...]

This week, we’re evaluating a candidate in the Washington, D.C. area to be our publisher/representative for The Design and Construction Report. A couple of other candidates who have successfully the passed initial evaluation are waiting in the wings, and if necessary we can repost the career opportunity on Craig’s List.
The person we are evaluating, and [...]