Managing a team of sales reps is an ongoing challenge in keeping the energy high, staying motivated and increasing productivity to continue producing great results. Not an easy task, but one that is vital to the longevity and success of your company’s future at every level. Remember, your sales reps are the front lines of your business. They will often be the first impression a prospective customer has of your business, and the conduit for effectively communicate the quality and care of service you offer the world. Here are 5 ways to keep your sales reps motivated and productive:

As a contractor, a phone call will likely be the first impression that a client will have of you. However, if you are unable to take the call the first time they try to reach you, your voicemail will set an expectation of what’s to come. This is why recording a professional voicemail is instrumental in your communication strategy. 

It only takes thirty seconds to set up, but many contractors fail to use their voicemail to their advantage. To learn more about what and what not to do when it comes to your greeting, read on!

My father, who was in the insurance sales business for 30+ years, used to have this incredible trick he used in sales. Ever since I can remember, he always wore a watch on his wrist. Nothing overly fancy, but a nice watch. And on the crystal face of his watch there was always a very small neon green dot sticker. Now, my father, being the quintessential sales personality that he was, would always address one’s curiosity the same way when asked about the presence of the green dot. It would go something like this:

The home improvement industry, like many others, has a wide variety of offerings when it comes to choosing a contractor for one’s project. One of the best pieces of advice for any homeowner making a decision is to allow 3-4 companies to submit an estimate for their work on a project. This allows for  objective comparisons by measuring a company’s history, references, quality of past project, capability of meeting your needs, and most importantly, the ability for the homeowner to make a decision based upon their personal gut feeling when face-to-face.

Seeing as you are reading this blog post right now, chances are you are savvy enough to navigate the internet and are already using some form of lead generation online. Many contractors and small business owners find helpful information to better improve their own businesses while reading websites, blogs and forums online. These are great sources for finding out the latest innovations and hot topics surrounding your professional field. There are plenty of great forums out there where contractors, like yourself, actively participate in group discussions about anything pertaining to their specific industry and where homeowners can ask for expert advice. Here are 3 ways you can increase inbound leads though online forums:

Most contractors don’t set out to do a job with mediocre end results. They want their work to shine. To speak for itself. To look so good  that homeowners can’t stop talking about it with their friends. This seems obvious when we stop and think about it. The problem is, we don’t often stop and actually think about it.

You may find yourself caught up in the rush of the day-to-day events and tasks, getting from one job to another, picking up supplies, and tending to your own family’s needs that the quality control check list of any project has the potential to fade and fall by the wayside.

Well, 2011 is behind us. Smart contractors will look back on 2011 and spot trends in their industry so they can make changes for 2012. And we wanted to help by providing some demographic data for all the house painting leads we received in 2011.

Here is a breakdown (highlights below the chart):

Total Leads: 24,724 – 12,208 female (60%), 8,047 male (40%)Most Common age: 34-44Top 4 states: California (13%), Texas (7%), Florida (7%), New York (7%)Most Common home market value: $100k-$250kHome ownership: 86%Marital status: 54% married

Ah, the winter. A festive season full of holiday joy, family bonding, and gift giving. And while gift giving tends to mean the high-point for many retail stores, it also means a major dip in home improvement spending.

November through January tend to be the slowest three months for almost every home improvement trade as people save their money for holiday gifts. Add to that the fact that the winter makes it near impossible to do any exterior home work in many parts of the country and you can understand why your lead volume drops this time of year.

I was speaking with a contractor a little while back who was explaining to me the whoas of not being hired for several job because the homeowner only wished to work with fully licensed contractors. The state in which he works is not one that requires all contractors to carry a license so he never felt he needed to spend the extra cash and time dealing with acquiring one. Upon asking about the costs and time involved in becoming licensed, it quickly became apparently clear that he had not inquired at all and therefore knew very little about the whole process, but had decided long ago that it was not worth it.

If there were one trait that I feel is most important for a person to have, it’s reliability. Knowing you will be there when you say you will, or having a friend who will drop what he is doing to help you out is immeasurable and invaluable. I imagine you will also find that you value those friendships above others. Now imagine what that could do for your own companies reputation.

When bidding a job from a lead you received from a lead-gen company, chances are the homeowner is going to hire a company that called soon after requesting a quote, showed up on time to the estimate, and left them with an overall good feeling about the nature of their business. Keeping that in mind and following those practices, you are likely to see great results from the leads you receive. Homeowners tend to hire a company not because they undercut the cost of the work by $100, but because the contractor they spoke to made them feel comfortable, showed a sense of pride in what they do and how they go about doing it, and felt a commitment and respect toward fulfilling the homeowner’s needs.