Discovering the proven methods of construction marketing success

Does participation in community activities like Habitat for Humanity (this image is from a "build" under-way in Ottawa) help your marketing and brand? I think so, and would go so far as to say it is a proven way to succeed, but can I prove it to the contractor in Charleston? If only things could be that simple . . .

At contractortalk.com, a custom home builder in Charleston, SC, posted this rather direct message:

I am looking for PROVEN examples of marketing materials (post cards, door hangers, newspaper ads, etc...) that actually work and will help us generate work. Which is the best method and how often do you need to run the ads, etc...?

I have someone that can go door to door with door hangers for $10/hour, or should I just mass mail them? We are in the process of developing our website before marketing in this way, but need some helpful ideas and language to use in our materials. Your help is much appreciated.

Not surprisingly, many of the people who responded were less than forthcoming, and quite a few were just a little snappy.

For example, Mike Finley in Colorado responded:

Would you like the account number to some one's bank account too?

Sorry, I kind of find it funny how someone would expect to be handed the keys to vault just for asking.

Somewhat more graciously, a contractor in Peoria, IL, wrote:

I was in the marketing/advertising business for over 20 years before starting my own company. There is NO such thing as PROVEN marketing - too many variables. Also, different advertising (media) work differently in different areas of the country.

You might also try a certain method of advertising & your message/creative/copy/offer... whatever, could be ineffective.

If someone in this thread was to tell you that something they do - will work for you - and you blindly invest money into it - you would be a fool.

Yet the question is not all that unreasonable. Are there "proven methods" that work? Does someone have answers that you can be certain virtually 100 per cent will be successful for your business?

The answer is, yes, maybe (how's that for evasion). For example, on another thread, I read Los Angeles Plumber Leonard Megliola's assertion that newsletters are not the best way to go, but simple flyers work all the time. They are, for him. And I suspect if you follow his formula and have the patience to do what he says without modifying things much if at all, you will be successful in your approach.

Within the thread, a landscaper in Idaho and a contractor in Oklahoma bantered about their very real market differences. You can't compare apples to oranges, you may say, but both are sweet, tasty, and healthy.

So, if you want, I'll do my best to give you the 100 per cent proven success formula. Believe me if you wish, but don't hold me personally liable if I'm wrong.

1. Listen to your current customers; connect with them, understand them, and why they want what you have to sell. If you like them, and what they are doing, see what they like, and which media they respond to.
2. Listen to your national or state trade association, and look for non-competitive peers in other but reasonably similar markets. Which approaches do they use, what works, and what is best for them.
3. Read forums like contractortalk.com and blogs (like this one) for ideas. Pick the brains of successful consultants who aren't promoting a specific product or service.
4. Then, allocate a budget of between 5 and 15 per cent of projected sales for next year, and plan your strategy. Remember, you need multiple impressions for maximum success, somewhere between nine and 13 is a good idea (there is science behind all of this stuff). Figure out what approaches will give you the right number of impressions within your market at the lowest cost within your budget. Talk to the media sales reps to the extent you need; do business with the ones with enough vision to suggest ideas beyond their own self-interest.

Are you sure of success? Well, if you are used to relying on referrals and repeat business, you are likely to be initially disappointed (though of course you should plan part of your marketing to pick the low-hanging fruit and induce and encourage this repeat/referral business).

Most marketing and advertising simply doesn't attract a response from most people, no matter how well targeted. Thousands may receive your flyer, or newsletter, or see your ad, but few are going to respond. That is the way it is.

Getting lucky

Matt Handal at Trauner Consulting Services, Inc. in Philadelphia, forwarded this link to a wonderful Readers' Digest article by Richard Wiseman: How to Get Lucky: Scientific Proof that You Make Your Own Breaks.

The article's main point is that your attitude and perceptions of the world around you, indeed, shape your 'luck' with an open mind:

Consider chance opportunities: Lucky people regularly have them; unlucky people don't. To determine why, I gave lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to tell me how many photos were inside. On average, unlucky people spent about two minutes on this exercise; lucky people spent seconds. Why? Because on the paper's second page -- in big type -- was the message "Stop counting: There are 43 photographs in this newspaper." Lucky people tended to spot the message. Unlucky ones didn't. I put a second one halfway through the paper: "Stop counting, tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $250." Again, the unlucky people missed it.

The lesson: Unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they're too busy looking for something else. Lucky people see what is there rather than just what they're looking for.

The last quoted comment is worth repeating: "Lucky people see what is there rather than just what they're looking for." Maybe that explains why our business is now thriving, even as other publishers lay off employees, and maybe it explains this really interesting comment on Michael Stone's Markup and Profit blog from Paul Choate:

There is a prayer called the serenity prayer and part of it goes like this”…give me the courage to accept the things I can not change, the strength to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”.

I am being inundated with negative attitudes from everybody about how bad things are out there. It’s depressing and if I let it get to me I will eventually be one of those guys always complaining about things instead of taking action to make things better. I can not control the overall economy but I can control how I deal with it and how I run my business in good times and bad.

I’m closing on a home next week to live in (not a flip) and plan on spending a good month or so and several thousand dollars renovating it. Some people think I’m nuts and should just hold on tight to my money…I would rather contribute to the economy! Things are good. I believe we live in abundance and if we take action to encourage positive results then all will be well. My phone is ringing, my guys are working and I will hopefully continue taking action to keep it rolling.

Realistically, things are indeed really bad out there for many people in our industry and I'm not a wild believer in the hype that your attitude is everything: You need to be well grounded in the real world. But maybe you will find your luck, as Richard Wiseman and Paul Choate suggest, when you keep your mind and eyes open for the opportunities around you.

The refugee's dream

David Karami and his son at a construction project in Thunder Bay. David and his wife Negar arrived in Thunder Bay in the early 1980s with nothing but a will and drive to build a new life away from the horrors of political repression and life-threatening violence in Iran.

David and Negar Karami feared they would lose everything -- including their lives -- when they made their way out of Iran in the early 1980s, after the Islamic revolution. As Kurds, the Ayatollah's henchmen confiscated their property and some of their relatives were murdered. They escaped, a young couple, penniless, using fake identities, crossing through to Turkey then France. And, through one relative's connections in Canada, they landed in Thunder Bay, Ontario, in 1983.

Fast forward 25 years -- Karami's business, Finn Way General Contractor Inc. completed $28 million in business last year; and is likely to reach $50 or more in the next few years. The Karami's have built an incredibly successful, substantial business, through the sweat of their brows and the intelligence and resourcefulness that define the best of the Canadian dream and adventure. Their two children have an entirely different life than their parents -- their eldest son, 17, is heading next year to Lakehead University for a degree in Civil Engineering.

In a few hours, I'll write the first draft of the story about their business for Northern Ontario Construction News. I thought about those who complain, who blame, who say we should close the door to refugees who deny Canadians (or Americans) jobs, and about the two people ahead of me in the line at the Thunder Bay Airport hoping to get rich by purchasing lottery tickets. (I chose instead to purchase a Globe and Mail and New York Times.) Where are the real opportunities, choices, and options? And why do so few people see the opportunities that are right at our hands, even while others despair and complain.

Yesterday, I asked a question: 'Where is the owner?" about a struggling business in another community. Today, I found the answer: With entrepreneurial resourcefulness, hard and smart work, we can all achieve greatness despite apparent adversity and horrific challenges.

And, thankfully, I'm able to make it my business to find and report on these stories.

It's good to be home tonight -- tomorrow I head in the air again, this time to Timmins.

The common denominator of success

Sonny Lykos referenced me to an online version of this article (not from this source) quoting a 1940 speech by Albert A.N. Gray presumably to a group of life insurance salespeople. It is a timeless classic.

The message:

“The common denominator of success --- the secret of success of every man who has ever been successful --- lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do.”

Here is a link to the complete article:

http://www.theintellectualviewpoint.com/reading/thecommondenominatorofsuccess-albertengray.pdf

Lykos referenced a source, a marketing consultant using free (non-copyrighted) web materials, and an ill-maintained blog to develop search engine traffic. I can't vouch for the actual reference source here (apparently a young student), but it seems much more genuine to me.

Why passion is important

I think this newsletter article, Success vs. fulfillment. Which is it for you? by Jeffrey Gitomer explains the importance of passion for true success better than anything I've read in a while.

Gitomer's writing effectively elaborates on one of what I think are the three pillars of real achievement outlined in my earlier piece: Passion, Sincerity and Respect: The Foundation of Construction Marketing Success