In part one of this post I gave my 2 cents about contractors marketing with door hangers and some of the things and techniques I have learned over the years. I've never kept count, but I am sure that over 35 years, I have probably put over a million door hangers on the front door knob of somebodies home and I didn't do that because they don't work!
Now I would like to tell you of a great way to get these door hangers delivered "free" and at the same time increase the happiness of your employees. It is simple. When you get a job you send your crew out to do the work... right? These guys are usually paid hourly and are always looking for more ways to make money. Here's what you do...
On the next residential job you get in a neighborhood of homes, print up 100 door hangers with the address of the customer on the door hanger. Once again, this is why it is great to have contractors forms software that can do this for you.
On the door hanger, be sure to put something like "we are doing your neighbors home at XXXXXXXXX, please drive by and see what a professionally (insert your service here) job can do for a home like yours... then give us a call for a FREE inspection & Estimate..." Also, be sure to code these door hangers so when you get a call, you will know where the door hanger came from.
Now give these door hangers to your crew. Tell them that ON THEIR OWN TIME, put these on 100 doors of houses that need the same services you are selling and that they are doing. Why should they do this?
Because you are going to give them a commission for every job you sell from one of these door hangers. BY commission I mean a HUGE commission, (by their standards), for your entire crew. WE used to give them the same commission that are sales staff received for selling the job, 10% of the job price. You can give them whatever you want but there are great advantages to giving them a nice - big - commission.
- First... your guys will know that their commission depends on the customer driving by and taking a look and sometimes talking to the homeowner, so they know the job better be done RIGHT!
- Second... your guys will appreciate the chance to make a nice chunk of change over their wages, for this simple "job".
- Third... doing this will make your guys not only part of production which they are anyway, but will make them a part of "sales" which they always feel left out of. You'll find your workers rooting for the salesperson instead of griping that they do not have enough work and that the "stupid" salesman doesn't know anything about, well, anything.
Believe me, when you institute this, after getting a commission or two, your crews will BEG you to print up more door hangers! Your job quality will go up. Best of all, your crews will "police" themselves about the work they do, about how the truck looks and about how they look on the job because they know their commissions depend on it!
If there ever was a win - win situation between a contractor and his employees... this is it!
P.S. Be sure to get permission from your customer to use their name and address in this way. This should be part of your home improvement contract terms and conditions!
Have any questions about where to buy door hanger paper or how to make door hangers from your PC? Just put any questions in the comments below and we will be glad to answer them!
Topics:
home improvement contract,
contractor forms,
contractor door hangers,
door hanger marketing
My 2 cents on door hangers used for marketing by painting contractors, roofing contractors or any home improvement contractor that does ‘visible" work.
By visible I mean work that is visible from the street by a neighbor driving by. This could be re-siding a home in a neighborhood where many homes need this but could also apply to swimming pools or any other trade where the work is visible from the street.
First, I have seen some really PRETTY door hangers that mostly get thrown away. Why? Because if the home owner is not thinking PAINTING or ROOFING or whatever else you're providing at that precise moment they pull them off their door, they will be considered nothing more than a nuisance just like any other junk advertising.
Pretty doesn't get the lead. What gets the lead is a strong "call to action". The call to action must be designed to make that same person think PAINTING or ROOFING even though they are probably thinking about having to pick up the kids or run to the dry cleaners. A coupon is a plus but that alone will not get the door hanger read!
There is no more Direct advertising than door hangers advertising exterior painting, placed on the front door of a home that needs painting. You can't even consider this a "cold call" , it's more like fishing in a bucket full of fish! If this is not your target customer, what is? Why do so many of these get tossed without a second glance... because you have not given the home owner a REASON to read the darn thing. A pretty picture may grab their attention for a moment but in order to get the door hanger read, you must give the homeowner compelling TEXT, you know ...writing, that makes them think about PAINTING their house. When you do that, the door hanger will be kept and you will get a call! With the right call to action, UGLY door hangers get read much more than "Pretty" ones!
To find the MOST compelling call to action, you need to experiment and that's why it's nice to have a contractors form software program that allows you to be able to print door hangers from your PC. That way you can test without being locked into 5000 door hangers that do not work because you got a deal from a print shop. TEST your call to action. One of the most difficult thing for contractors to do is to stop doing things the way YOU think they should work, and start doing things the way they ACTUALLY work for your customers. Duh, you say! Of course I want the door hanger to work but... you have to keep your OWN MIND out of the process. That's why it is so important to test different approaches, coupons and call to actions! Once you have found the ones that work, then think about repeating this big time with those 5000 hangers!
One of the most compelling "calls to action" for painting, and other "visual" trades like roofing, that I have found in 30+ years as a painting contractor and roofing contractor, is the "keeping up with the Joneses" approach.
You know, Marge & Jim down the street are getting a new paint job or roof by these guys, so we should too! I drive by their house every day and it sure looks good! Something like:
"Marge & Jim Jones are getting their home protected, beautified and made into the sharpest home on their block by Chillax Painting Company. Please drive by their home at XXXXXXX Wisteria Lane and see what a professionally applied paint job can do for a home like yours, then give us a call for a FREE Inspection and Estimate."
I've even had great success with making the word "FREE" as the first thing seen on the door hanger. Everyone likes something for free, don't they. It can be a FREE ESTIMATE, or a FREE ACCENT COLOR, or a FREE UPGRADE TO OUR PREMIUM PAINT, or a FREE
UPGRADE TO OUR BEST PAINT JOB (if you offer different "grades" or "levels" of work . . . and you should).
The important thing is NOT to get caught up with "pretty" and experiment to find what actually works!
In part two of this series about door hangers I'll tell you how to get these hangers delivered for "FREE" and help your paint crews at the same time!
Topics:
contractor door hangers,
door hangers,
door hanger marketing,
contractors