It was one year ago (apprx) that I decided to start taking my experiences with running and growing a the contracting company and sharing them on a blog. With 131 posts and a Facebook Group of over 500, it has came a long way! Some of my posts and insight have been featured on podcasts and other blogs / publications such as; Contractor Coachcast, Sales Babble, and The Site Shed (full list to come).
While some of my posts are on the topic of operations, and the most popular post is on financial management, the objective has been to educate trades business owners on how to market, brand and sell. I firmly believe that premium brand positioning, and a steady stream of inbound leads is vital for ‘success’. With professional marketing and high quality leads, you can sell projects at healthy margins so you can hire employees, buy resources, and grow without fear.
Yet day in and day out I see contractors struggle with marketing; while marketing agencies present their services with a veil of mysticism. I want to pull that veil back. To get to the position of “premium brand positioning and a stream of inbound leads” in 2018, you (or someone in-house) needs a solid understanding of all the digital marketing platform available. Otherwise, you’ll just end up wasting money on agencies, and ‘treading water’ in the pool of frustration.
That’s why I’m not the slightest bit interested in start an agency!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pB17_dGqDwQ
You Can Watch It /\
Or You Can Read It \/
Here We Are Now
In some ways I’m proud; the blog has survived 1 year and grown with consistence. The search search traffic to this site has started over the last 6 months. Most ‘projects’ simply never gain that momentum. But there’s still much more to do.
A group of 500 is absolute peanuts relative to the total number of service business owners out there. Many of my past blog posts seem incomplete; or are missing details that went unobserved at the time I published them.
And then there is monetization. This blog / group effectively makes a loss. The plan is to host paid courses. While I did host 2 paid courses on Facebook Advertising for contractors (more on this coming up) earlier in 2018, net of my time, there was no ‘profit’. I’m fine with that as I love working with everyone and building Facebook Ads, but to really put together some awesome courses I need to focus my attention on that solely — which I cannot do right now as I actually run a business; unlike many of the ‘gurus’ that claim to be able to teach you how to 10x your business in the next 6 months without frustration.
What’s Coming Up
Website Solution. The top 2 FAQ’s I get are;
“Who do you recommend to build a website?”
And…
“Why does nobody calls my website?”
Possibly the largest challenge in the whole ‘marketing’ landscape for contractors is getting the damn website right. Most websites I see are horrible at converting. Getting a website seems to be a puzzle. Even designers that charge thousands of dollars don’t produce what I consider to be an effective website that captures leads. Sure they often look beautiful, but beautiful doesn’t = $$$ in the trades world.
And then there is the updating / editing of them. Most contractors don’t even know where to begin
In the near future I need to bring out a quick, easy, and economical solution to the contractor website struggle if I want to maintain the objective of this blog.
A Full Circle Marketing / Lead Gen Course. Earlier this year I hosted a course on Facebook Advertising for contractors. Now I love Facebook Ads, and each month more of my marketing budget is allocated to Facebook Ads, and subsequently we generate more business from them BUT Facebook Ads are only one piece of the marketing puzzle. The next program I launch will be all encompassing from starting from website, logo and marketing message, all the way through to content, Facebook Ads, PPC, and even some paid directory style sites which, like it or not, are gaining user share.
Maybe A Podcast. I love writing, but you don’t! Data shows that across the board, video, audio, and graphic content is far more consumable the general population online. This community is no different. Considering that, a podcast may be in the works!
What Needs Improvement.
Lots. I actually cringe sometimes when I review this site and community. I guess I’m my toughest critic.
The Facebook Group. The total member count is over 500. Engagement is relatively high.
But damn, we are all over the place! Topics range from lead generation, to someone trying to find subs, to someone complaining about customers, to general complaints about life.
The group needs focus. Everyone working towards a common objective.
Blog Posts. I find some of the blog posts need more substance. When I initially wrote them, I gave them all I had in one sitting, but on second look I find many details that have been left out. Like this one on the Valve Stem Sales Strategy. While the post certainly gives a good overview, and the information takes anyone from ‘dropping a bid’, to a structured approach, there are a few nuances that my team uses in practice, that I didn’t realize has been left out! That will be one of the first posts I update!
Communication and Updates Via Email. Many have signed up to receive emails from this site (me), but I haven’t sent any. I’ll be getting the ball rolling on that.
Have Feedback? Head on over to the group and leave a comment!