You have to advertise -- Michael Stone

Since we sell advertising for a living, I will enthusiastically repost this recent blog entry from Michael Stone, "You Have to Advertise".

Note, if you are successful enough in business that in good times you have been able to work "only by referral" you have a great opportunity to build on our brand and reputation with effective marketing, which can include resources other than conventional advertising, and you will find your current and recent clients to be truly helpful in deciding which media to use and how to adapt our advertising effectively.

Advertising, branding, and service

Construction industry consultant Michael Stone with Sonny Lykos in a December 2006 photo

The late Sonny Lykos outlines in this June 2004 Journal of Light Construction posting, the basic issues you should consider in advertising and marketing. His points remain valid today.

Nothing - NOTHING we do or say that involves a customer is ever to be thought of as minor, small, unimportant, or insignificant. NEVER!

If your advertising brings your client to the door, the way you treat your client defines your ultimate business success, Lykos advocated. this is a fundamental point which you should regard consistently and vitally.

What advertising works? (2)

As I waited for my flight back home from Washington (D.C.) Dulles Airport today, I reached consultant Michael Stone across the country in Camas, Washington to find some answers to questions about his consistent recommendations that contractors should advertise, advertise, and advertise some more.

After all, my business sells advertising for a living. However, much money thrown into advertising is wasted. Worse, a contractor facing desperate hard times will easily be sucked into spending money on advertising not knowing what works, and why, and could lose a fortune.

Stone and I, it turns out, are not so far apart in our thinking. Stone certainly has no problem with your business encouraging and developing referrals, he just doesn't want you to be one of the majority who rely passively on word-of-mouth. Contractors who simply accepted in-bound referrals in good times, now find their phone has stopped ringing, while contractors who advertised effectively are stepping up their marketing, and attracting profitable business regardless of the difficult economy. In other words, relying on referrals is not wise; building systems to encourage and develop your referrals makes a lot of sense, and could be one of your first and most important strategies during hard times.

So what works, and what doesn't?

First, Stone says you should have at least six different forms of advertising to reach your market.

Second, he advocates you spend upwards of five per cent of your annual sales on advertising. This means if you are a contractor doing about $500,000 in business, your advertising budget should be in the range of $25,000.

Third, and most important, he suggests your advertising be geared to the demographic of your ideal clients. Spend some time with your best clients. See what magazines they read, what things they enjoy, what marketing approaches 'reach' them. (This conversation with your best clients, of course, givs you a chance to capture some repeat and referral business, as well.)

Now, lets get over the bad news -- what advertising should you avoid?

"Banish all Yellow Page advertising . . . it doesn't work," Stone says. "You have to have a long-term identification in business before Yellow Pages advertising will work for you, perhaps 10 years in business." In other words, if you have a long-established reputation (and I would add, are trying to reach an older demographic), you might use Yellow Page advertising, but if a Yellow Pages representative calls you, hang up on him.

Similarly, "unless you have long term name brand reputation, stay away from radio and television," Stone says.

Leads services are generally a waste of time, unless you have the good fortune to find one that "delivers on what they say." "They are all in it for themselves -- they are in business to make money, rather than for contractors."

Okay, now what works.

Business cards -- yes, handing out business cards is cheap and effective;
Your website -- spend some money (perhaps $1,500 to set it up), and you will be in a better position to find business.

Home and Garden Shows -- "They are excellent now," says Stone.

What might work?

Stone says the other media and advertising you would use will depend on local conditions, your client demographics,and what you find they are using. He says, for example, a high-end magazine in Atlanta works really well there for many clients, but a similar publication in New England is ineffective. The key to discerning what works and what doesn't is to spend some time with your ideal clients, and to really know who you will reach.

So how do you deal with the pesky advertising sales reps who call you. "Ask them to put in writing a performance guarantee -- that they will actually deliver the leads and clients they promise," Stone says. Most of course won't do that; because they cannot deliver on their claims.

Stone says he hounds his clients to advertise -- and the clients who listened to his advice and built systematic advertising into their systems, rather than passively relying on referrals in good times, are still thriving even in the recession. Others are struggling.

I think there is wisdom in these words, but caution you to be very careful if you haven't tested or validated your advertising in good times, before spending your scarce resources now.

While Stone is advocating advertising for the business-to-consumer markets, I think it is also effective in the business-to-business market; as long as you apply the principals of knowing and understanding your clients before you spend your money and relate it to other marketing methods including association participation, public and media relations and effective networking (the sort of stuff we do in our own business).

Remember, as well, that building your brand with great service and built-in-follow up systems to encourage and develop your word-of-mouth and referral marketing is probably your wisest and most effective form of marketing. This is not a passive activity. It is a systematic initiative. You are not relying on referrals; you are developing them. Go there first.

The profit of smaller jobs

Michael Stone's Markup and Profit blog relates two entries which touch close to home (literally).

The posting: Are you throwing away small jobs?, questions why contractors ignore or fail to serve the small projects they are invited to complete. Correlating with that posting is this additional observation, Connections -- finding a contractor where Stone relates the problems many people have in just getting someone to return their call.

Ask my wife about this matter, and you'll receive a handful of frustrating observations, and what makes this worse, is that I have 'connections'. After all, I publish construction trade newspapers and have been in this business close to two decades. So when she asked for assistance in finding someone to handle a small masonry job around the house, I went to one of the best known renovation contractors and the local commercial brick dealer -- both of whom I have good relationships with -- and asked for referrals. (I didn't expect them to be able to do the work required, but had confidence they could provide names of qualified contractors.)

We received five names from the two referring sources -- and Vivian called all of them. One of them showed up, but has yet to produce a quote.

Sure, the job is small, but we aren't trying to be cheapskates here; we are quite willing to allow for markup to allow for time and inconvenience -- and if we don't have more work that needs to be done, I certainly can spread the word and help their businesses (without pushing them to advertise or anything like that).

It's a puzzling dilemma that we see all around us. Contractors crying there isn't enough work; and consumers complaining they can't find anyone to do the job. Why is this happening?

An advertising webinar

Michael Stone has announced a free webinar about advertising this Saturday. I'm interested in attending, and think you should too, if you can. Here is the reference on topics at his Markup and Profit blog:

• Discuss how to calculate how much to spend


• Review the types of advertising that are now working best


• Analyze how to apportion your advertising dollars


• Discuss where to advertise


• Explain what times of year provide the greatest return on your dollar

Sounds pretty useful!

Here is link to the registration site.

Michael Stone on Sonny Lykos

Here is Michael Stone's observation about Sonny Lykos. You'll also see a link to Sonny's obituary in the Naples newspaper.

Micahel Stone, in his latest Mark Up and Profit e-letter, makes a really interesting point. Struggling contractors, trying to make the ends meet, are heading back to the job sites and picking up their tools to work.

We are hearing from more and more company owners (of the male persuasion) that they are back working part or full time with the tools. We have also heard from many of their wives, who are telling their husbands to read our blog posts and previous newsletters that talk about working with the tools.

Okay, a quick reminder. You do not make money working on job sites. You make a living, and only maybe that. The time you spend working on the job puts you that much further behind in your promotional efforts for your company. Yes, you have bills to pay and yes, yes, yes to all the other reasons you are working with the tools. But tell me this; what happens when this job is done? If you haven’t been marketing your company and selling new jobs, where will your next job come from? The referrals you might have depended on in the past are drying up. Referrals in construction today, based on what I’m hearing from many contractors, are less than 25 percent of what they were a year ago.

You must spend a certain amount of time each day marketing your company, advertising, schmoozing, letting potential customers know you are available to do their jobs. If you do not put in the marketing effort, your financial position will be worse than it was before you put the tools back on, regardless of what you charge for your time.

We are seeing more construction companies fail than we have seen since the early 90’s. It will get worse before it gets better. I personally expect this downturn in the housing market to continue through the next presidential election. If you and your company are going to survive this crunch, you must advertise, schmooze, promote and sell your company daily. That will be the difference between those that survive and make a profit, and those that go away.

I agree entirely with Michael about the importance of focusing on marketing and the business fundamentals. The business fundamentals side of my own business, frankly, is an area where I'm not totally satisfied right now -- we need to get our metrics in place, with clear progress to much better profitability and a healthier balance sheet. Publishing/advertising can do well at the beginning of recessions as some companies, who have never needed to advertise, start spending money (often unwisely). But we need to find more sustainability.

But I also appreciate there are advantages in donning the tools, especially in a downturn. In one of my hardest decisions about two years ago, I dismissed our editor and began doing all the writing for the publications myself. While this measure reflected a desperate survival orientation -- "if there is not enough work to pay an outside editor, at least I can pay myself as a writer" it had some important benefits crucial for the turn-around.

I learned, and got much closer to my market and clients than I could have ever done otherwise. I saw serious problems in client relationships, in the brand and image of our business, and the quality of our product. And in fixing these issues, I also connected with potential clients and sold stuff.l

Now of course we have a full time editor, Ken Lancastle, and shortly we will recruit freelance writers to lighten the load for Ken and myself. (I have continued to assust in writing many of the features in the last few months since Ken joined the company.) But I'll always "put on the tools" and get to work at least a few days a month, even as the business grows to its fullest potential.

Michael Stone is right, of course, you can't stop marketing and promoting your business, even when you get down to earth again -- but you can and I think should integrate the 'actual work' with your skills and the marketing process to achieve your goals. Leading by doing, and doing what you love to do, will help you through hard times much more effectively than desperate and ill-planned advertising spending. Just remember, however, you must do the marketing work even as you do the work itself. And that is where Michael Stone's advice is 100 per cent valid.

About advertising

This posting in Michael Stone's blog: You Have to Advertise, will brighten the day of any media salesperson (including, I expect, my company's own employees). Indeed, a rational, thoughtful and planned advertising strategy can work wonders -- especially when combined with editorial publicity, good community relationships, and of course your doing your work so well that you attract referral business. Note: You'll especially want to read the comments in the Michael Stone blog entry.

The importance of branding

So what do I find when I key in "Construction Sub Trade Branding" on Google? Not much. But I did come across this reference to Vicano Construction in Brantford -- and their page inviting subtrades to log in and apply to be suppliers. Obviously this is NOT branding for the subtrades -- but is great branding for Vicano! (And may lead to some jobs for subs not wishing to 'worry' about branding -- who just want to bid for the work.)

Sonny Lykos has sent me much useful information about branding. I am still going through his binder of material, his reference books, and other resources. Today, however, I connected the mental dots (sometimes it takes me a while) and realized that "Branding" is the answer for the struggling sub-trade; the victim of abuse and frustration; of bid-shopping and manipulation, and simply of being the low person on the totem pole in this industry.

Yet, for a very simple reason, I confidently will say that 99 per cent of the subs out there won't get it.

They won't because they see themselves as doing their trade, not as selling a brand.

Heck, they won't see it because I couldn't see it until Sonny laid on the materials and information to me. And I am in the marketing and publishing business, and read a lot, and, well, should know this stuff.

How can we expect someone who has built a business as a masonry contractor, a drywaller, or a mechanical contractor to understand branding? Heck, the company that excavates foundations doesn't think of itself as Coca-Cola or Dell Computers. "Branding" seems to be an arcane and absurd concept when your business is laying sod or stringing wire.

But if you are in any of these businesses; any of the subtrades "just doing your job", you will want to find a few minutes to figure some things out about branding, and then set to establish your brand and marketing plan.

"Huh," I'm sure you'll say. If you are a typical sub trade, you'll probably have a modest roster of regular clients, you know who they are, and you bid their jobs in accordance with your usual practices. If you are competitive, you win. Maybe you like some of your clients better than others; know who treats you well, and who tries to squeeze every cent out of you; and for the ones that are reasonable, you sharpen your pencil and give a bit better price. You get by. Marketing is for sissies. You have work to do.

But what if you could increase your prices by 20 per cent or more -- without investing in expensive equipment? And either diversify or improve your client base -- so you are less at the mercy of one or two organizations? Alternatively, you may decide you don't really want to grow -- to get too big for yourself -- but you would like to find a little more profit from your existing business. Again, carefully thought and planned branding strategies (correlated primarily with simple client service and relationship initiatives) may produce huge results.

So, the next step, is how do you get started? I'm going to assume for now that you are not the biggest reader -- and all the gobbledygook out there anyways doesn't really relate to your own business. So while it will be helpful to read some of the useful books on Branding, here are some other ideas:

• If you have ever purchased advertising in one of our publications, feel free to call me. I'll listen to your situation, and suggest options. (I promise not to try to sell you more advertising -- only a tiny portion of the branding process -- you may buy some, but that is because I've succeeded in practicing what I preach about branding.)
• If you aren't a member of your relevant trade association, or in the U.S., a chapter of the American Subcontractors Association, join. Then call and ask for support and resources relating to marketing and branding.
• You can hire a consultant. The challenge is getting the right consultant, not the BS and phony stuff that some consultants spout -- at overpriced fees. I can recommend Sonny Lykos (if he is available) and Michael Stone. Locally, you may find someone who works well with you (I use Bill Caswell in Ottawa).

Most likely, when you enter into this branding and marketing space, you will make some mistakes and possibly encounter some false starts. But it is worthwhile. Ask Sonny Lykos. He has avoided the commodity pricing trap and makes money, because he knows how to brand his business.

Personality, business and opportunity

I'll go out on a limb and answer the question in my previous posting. The reason most AEC businesses don't have blogs is that blogs generally only happen when the person has the authority to produce a blog -- in other words, he or she is the CEO or the company is so decentralized in management, that a more junior person can feel free to speak his or her mind.

So, most construction and related professional companies are established by individuals talented in their trade or profession, coupled with some entrepreneurial instincts. They aren't writers, like me. As their businesses grow, they hire people to be responsible for business development and marketing -- but I sense most of these executives would not dare step out on a limb and publish a blog with their personal identity stamped all over the place. Therefore, blogging -- with all of its market and business-development potential -- remains the exception rather than the rule in the construction industry. (A rightful exception are consultants promoting their services to the industry -- here the individuality and expertise of the consultant, coupled with the practical advantages of blogging, result in worthy opportunities.) Look at Michael Stone's "Mark Up and Profit" blog, for example.

Michael Stone's e-letter, some words about direct marketing lists

Michael Stone speaks with Gordon Clotworthy of the Information Refinery, http://www.constructionlists.com

Michael Stone's Markup and Profit eletter is a wealth of free information -- He provides much of this stuff publicly on his blog and website, but has wisely chosen to restrict some of his best suggestions to the e-letter (that way he starts building the relationship with you for his other consulting services). Unlike most eletters and websites, however you don't feel that the whole thing is about selling you something -- you'll be able to implement his advice without paying him a cent. This of course is the essence of "Permission Marketing" (see also Seth Godin's useful free blog). Again, I'm stretching copyright here (and will immediately remove these observations on request) but don't think Michael will mind because this blog, which also works on the Permission Marketing principals, is generating and sending significant traffic and positive references to Stone -- ultimately good for his business. This attributed exchange will also presumably help The Information Refinery, which provides mailing list and contact data services.

To wrap up our series, "Getting Your Phone to Ring", we interviewed Gordon Clotworthy, CEO and President of The Information Refinery in Mahwah, NJ. The Information Refinery (http://www.constructionlists.com/) has been in the direct marketing business for over 23 years, and is the #1 source in the world for construction-related marketing lists.
CPR - It's great to talk with someone who understands direct marketing and construction. Can you give us the rundown on direct marketing options for contractors?
Gordon - There are four basic approaches to direct marketing - postal (or snail mail), email, telemarketing and faxing.
Direct mail is by far the best method of direct marketing. It's affordable and, with a well-designed mailpiece and a well-defined list, it can prove to be the most economical and effective method for both immediate sales and future sales.
CPR - Where do you get your lists from?
Gordon - We manage over 100 construction related response lists which for all intents and purposes cover the entire marketplace. We also have strategic partnerships that provide us direct access to all of the consumer and general business-to-business lists and data bases available. Due to the high volume we purchase on a daily basis, we are able to obtain lists at the lowest possible price and pass the savings on to our customers and clients. We also have the ability to merge various lists together and append data in order to build a list that meets the best meets the target audience.
CPR - How many ways can you define a mailing list?
Gordon - There is a great deal of information that can be selected to develop the best possible mailing list. For example, you can select homeowners based on their income range, age of their home, time they've lived in the home, whether or not they have children, the ages of their children, the value of the home, single parent or married, handicapped . . . the options go on and on.
For example, if you specialize in bathroom remodels, you may want a list of homeowners within a certain area with an income over $100k living in a home that's over 20 years old. If you build new homes, we can provide a mailing list of apartment dwellers, with two or more kids and with whatever income level that suits your project.
CPR - How expensive is a mailing list?
Gordon - You can get a decent consumer list, sliced and diced to meet your target market, for about $65-$70 per 1,000 names, minimum of 3,000 names. For a few dollars more you can use the names over and over - in a year, for a very nominal fee, we will clean and refresh it for you.
For $10 more per thousand, we'll include phone numbers in case you want to follow up on your mailings with a telemarketing program.
Buying a mailing list is like shopping in a grocery store. You can buy prime steak which you know will be delicious, or you can buy a lesser grade and grumble all through dinner about how bad it tastes and how tough it is. But hey, you saved a whopping $3.00 on dinner for two, forget the fact that no one really enjoyed the food. You get what you pay for.
We see people shoot themselves in the foot every day. They come to us for a price quote and then shop it all around. They then come back and say they can get the list for $5.00 less per thousand elsewhere.
Unfortunately it usually is apples and oranges. The lesser price list is not even close to the quality list we quoted them on. So what happens? They "save" $25 bucks on their list purchase of 5,000 names and then gripe and moan about the dismal failure their mailing was. But hey, they saved $25 bucks.
Ask your mail list provider how deliverable the list you plan on purchasing is - will theyguarantee deliverability? When was the last time the list was "cleaned" by the post office? (On average, one third of all businesses and consumers move or make a change to their address each year.) If a mailing list isn't kept current you'll end up wasting up to 1/3 of the total cost of your
mailing and more importantly your response rate drops through the floor. We guarantee our lists to be at least 93 percent deliverable - some lists are guaranteed 100 percent deliverable.
CPR - What about commercial names?
Gordon - We have a database of over 13 million businesses. If you want to know owners of strip malls in your city, we can provide it. Facility managers, property managers, owners, we have it. Decide what kind of commercial construction you want to do and we'll match it to the prospects most interested in what you have to offer. Think out of the box. If you can pick up work from
strip mall owners there will always be work to do. If you are a painting contractor and gain the business of a few good sized apartment complexes you know that the end of the month and the beginning of the month will be booked solid.
One of the great things about direct marketing is that when you start the process, you begin to expand your thinking and realize other ways to tie your ongoing search for new business together. You develop plans. And plans always work better than just throwing precious money here and there because "it sounded like it would work".
CPR - What makes your business different from others?
Gordon - I come from the same background as Michael - building my business from the ground up. In my case I've had my share of trying to meet payrolls and working 16 hour days seven days a week. Those experiences helped me develop our corporate philosophy. I've known Michael for some 20 years or so and it didn't take me long to realize we think alike. We know the importance of each and every client and we treat them all with the same respect and desire to do what is best for them.
We actually consult with our prospects and clients. We let them know all of their options and guide them into making the right decisions. If someone wants to do something that we think might be a mistake, we let them know. We're the furthest thing from "yes" people you'll find. Our goal is to serve our clients best needs. Not to sit back and let a customer buy the wrong list just so we can make a sale. It's what separates us from our competitors. Every client matters to us, that's simply the way we like to do business.
CPR - What about the other avenues of direct marketing?
Gordon - Everyone thinks email is the greatest thing since sliced pizza, but it's not a great marketing approach. It can be dangerous - if you do it yourself and get complaints, there is the risk you'll have your website shut down. If someone offers to sell you email addresses, those are spam addresses. You can't buy or sell an email address, because they are owned by the person who holds them.
Currently we are discouraging our clients who wish to do email marketing. It's just not effective anymore and although everyone is under the misconception that it doesn't cost nearly as much as a postal campaign they are dead wrong.
Here's why, the vast majority of the emails sent aren't read because they end up directly in a spam folder. Because of viruses and scams people just don't want to risk opening emails from someone or some company they do not know. When you sit down and actually calculate the costs and the sales derived, you'll find that your cost per sale compared to a postal campaign are off the chart.
However, if someone is hell bent on doing it we'll grudgingly oblige. We take their message and do the email broadcast for them. Our email lists are from those who've agreed to receive advertising, and we follow all the laws. But, as I said before, it's not effective and you won't be happy with the results.
CPR - Do any contractors actually do telemarketing?
Gordon - Yes, usually large companies who've been in business for a long time. They realize the need to use all avenues available. Companies will buy a list of people in a neighborhood around a job they are working or a list in their service area and put their telemarketers to work. Our lists are cleaned through the "Do Not Call" database so they comply to the laws, but the telemarketers still have to follow federal guidelines.
CPR - What about faxing?
Gordon - Don't do it. Unless you have prior agreement from the party you are faxing you are breaking the law. You can get a $500 fine for each fax complaint. There are lawyers who advertise hoping to reach people and companies who've received junk faxes so they can go after the company involved.
CPR - How about lead suppliers,
companies that promise to send you qualified leads?
Gordon - I'm not impressed with them. If you want to know more about them, we have a number of those businesses listed on our website http://www.aecsalesleads.com/. Unless you are getting a 1 on 1 lead - a lead that is given to you or at most two others - it just doesn't make sense. If the lead provider is selling it to a slew of other contractors in the area, by the time you call that lead, they are sick of hearing from contractors. You might be the 20th contractor who's called them that day and you can be sure they don't want to talk to you. But you still have to pay for the lead.
That being said, I see a glimmer of hope on the horizon. A new site has just started and they will be working on the premise of providing leads on an exclusive basis. And get this, the leads are free. It's based on a reciprocal concept. The site is in beta format but you can find details here: http://www.leadpatch.com/
If you spend the money you'd spend on a lead supplier on direct mail instead, you'll get better leads. Your potential customers will know who you are when you call. You aren't just another contractor, you're that guy on the postcard who builds beautiful jobs. When a lead comes in, be sure to ask how they heard about you. Keycode your direct mail pieces so you know which are effective and which aren't. You want people to hear your name from a number of sources. And remember to use testimonials. When you can say, "We do great work - but don't ask us, listen to what Susie said", you'll go much farther. The bottom line is that there are a lot of avenues for advertising, and the successful company does a mix of all of them.

There is much excellent information here -- and this is a fraction of the content of one week's newsletter. Again, I think you can obtain much value from Michael Stone by signing up for and reading his newsletter, but you'll get even more by contacting him and paying for his services. (I'm not selling any consulting services myself -- at least for the next five or so years and, for my own business, this blog primarily is used for follow-up service and support to existing clients, and to help on our own staff recruitment and training, so consultants and services referenced here don't need to worry about competition at this end.)

To subscribe to the Markup and Profit newsletter, please go to this link: (http://www.markupandprofit.com/articles_7.html

Donuts for GCs

Michael Stone's excellent Markup and Profit newsletter is one reason I put him on the higher level of recommended construction industry consultants. (He is also smart -- he saves his 'best' free advice for people who actually sign up for the newsletter, no charge, you generally won't receive the information unless you at least provide your identity to him.)

His latest newsletter contains some of the best and most practical advice I've seen in a long time on how to get "advertising" right, both in the definition I use of paid media promotion, and in the broader lead generating marketing approach he explained in his email to me yesterday.

Since I am not selling consulting services and this site now is generating enough traffic to produce several outbound links to his site each week, I expect he won't mind me sharing with you some of his newsletter content. So here is one gem:

If you are a specialty contractor looking for referrals from either general contractors or suppliers, take doughnuts or cookies to your supplier or GC's sales or production meetings. Let them know who you are, what you do and that you want their business. Don't be bashful or shy. Get out there and let these folks know you want the jobs. Schmooze!
A friend of mine who does HVAC duct cleaning gets three to five new leads each week by simply dropping off a dozen doughnuts every Friday between 7 and 8 am. He normally works for between 16 and 18 different HVAC contractors, and he visits two each week. He buys Krispy Kreme doughnuts using a discount card that provides a buy one dozen, get one dozen free. Use your imagination and deliver the goods.

I should note that I advocate your linking your marketing/selling approach both to your clients' needs and orientation, and your own personality and temperament. Many of us (certainly myself!) hate schmoozing! If you are to be really successful you will need to work around this limitation, possibly by taking public speaking courses, participating in appropriate networking activities or the like. Or you can find other approaches such as properly planned paid advertising, or a really good website/Internet strategy, that will work for you. Also, as Stone suggests,you can set realistic targets that you can simply force yourself to do. Even the poorest 'schmoozers' can do it once a week or so, if the reward for effort is high enough.

Profitable Sales -- A Contractor's Guide

I am reading consultant Michael Stone's new book, geared primarily for the residential contractor. It certainly is one of the most thorough books I've seen and will provide some worthwhile guidance for the renovation contractor, small company selling siding, and smaller new home builder.

I'm not so sure how scalable the bulk of his ideas are to the ICI market, or, for that matter, to the point where you are ready to move from a "do it yourself" business model to one where you hire third-party salespeople; and ultimately a sales manager. The reason: Stone advocates 100 per cent commission sales and, after some years of experience with this, my perspective on the commission vs salary approach have changed.

Beneath the material is a tone (though he denies it) of the old high pressure style of pushing people for decisions. Of course Stone is right about ethics -- it is always wise to get it right with the client before starting the job -- and he is especially correct in insisting that you know your numbers, and ensure you are making a proper 'markup' and return on your work. Finally, you will find his closing ratios/lead tracking guidelines useful, especially if you are trying to see how well you are doing.

But I wouldn't follow his model on recruiting, hiring and compensating salespeople, with a paradoxical twist -- the quality of salespeople we should aim to high should be just as good as he advocates.

I've detailed earlier my system for finding sales reps. It works in Canada but may not apply so well in the U.S. We start off with a decent but not overwhelming salary offer, and then screen heavily using a systematized process minimizing the need for direct contact with bozos or people 'just looking for a job." At the very end of the process, after using third-party sales aptitude/orientation tests and a phone interview, we give our new sales representatives between a day and a week's paid work to see how they do in real life. They need to pass all the tests -- and a reference check -- before we hire them.

While sales are on a salary base, we pay commissions if they go beyond their salary; and the representatives know that consistently falling below their 'salary' is not a good thing. (I am learning a sustainable employee review/evaluation system and will introduce this once I've proven it in practice.)

Finally, since Stone is writing a sales book, he focuses on the sales process with lesser emphasis on the main issue -- developing and maintaining current client relationships. This of course, in my opinion is where most future sales originate, and should be the centrepiece of your selling and marketing strategy.

Would I buy Stone's book? Absolutely, certainly, if are a residential contractor with sales to the general public; we might not agree on everything, but you'll still find many useful ideas in its pages.