Bring in Business the Easy Way

Tired of sitting by the phone waiting for a call about your next job?  If you're in the home improvement field, you probably know this frustration well.  There are certain times of the year when people's needs for contractors, plumbers and handymen drop significantly.

While you may be tempted to spend your down time fishing or fixing up your own house,  it would make good sense to spend at least part of the time  working on ways to build your business.  A good place to start is by looking into methods that will get your name out there.  Many home improvement professionals rely on word of mouth from happy customers to get them more work, but to really grow your business you'll need to advertise.  

The typical methods are to place ads in the newspaper, on the radio and on television.  While you may think advertising is out of your budget, you'd be pleasantly surprised to find that there are ways to do it that are cost effective.  

Buying an ad in a small weekly paper will cost just a fraction of what a major newspaper would charge.  You won't reach as large of an audience, but small papers do offer the benefit of being able to reach a particular community.  Rather than hiring an ad agency or PR firm, you can produce a 30 second TV commercial yourself for a few hundred dollars by hiring your local or cable station to do the work; and as for radio advertising, local stations offer rates that are very affordable.

In addition to traditional advertising, you may also want to join a portal such as United Home Improvement, www.unitedhomeimprovement.com, which can deliver qualified prospects right to you.  To get started, all you have to do is submit an online form -- which asks for contact information, the kind of work you do, how far you're willing to travel for a job, whether you have general liability/workers comp insurance and if you have appropriate state licensing -- and someone from the company will call you back to establish your account.

"What makes our program so helpful to the business owner is that we offer exclusive leads from people who are already interested in their service," says Kelly Andrew Vaught, CEO of United Home Improvement. "The leads are delivered in real-time, and can be sent via email and mobile text messaging, so the contractor is able to contact the interested consumer within minutes of their inquiry, maximizing closing rates."

It's a pay-per-lead program.  The pricing structure depends on the kind of industry you're in.  For example, a handyman lead is less expensive than a custom home building lead.

To learn more about the program and how it can work for you, visit www.unitedhomeimprovement.com.

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