Rebuilding a home can put a family in a disaster back on track.
When disaster strikes, natural or otherwise, the people affected have to piece their lives back together. Tornadoes and hurricanes can destroy entire homes and leave families homeless. As a construction business owner, you may want to rebuild everyone's home and eat the expense. The reality usually is that you can't afford to. However, you don't have to feel guilty about recognizing the opportunity. Insurance companies and government agencies are there to relieve impacted families of the financial burden of rebuilding.
Instructions
1. Set up a command center near the disaster zone. Get a permit from the city zoning department if it is functioning. Buy an RV or a small trailer that can be moved to another location if the authorities managing the disaster zone ask you to move.
2. Inform the local government that you have come to offer your services in the cleanup efforts. Place a call in to the Mayor's Office and the Governor's Office and possiblly the Sheriff's Department.
3. Start collecting names, addresses and phone numbers families impacted by the disaster, insurance agents who have been deployed to the disaster area to assess the damage, and key contacts from FEMA or whichever disaster relief agency is managing the situation.
4. Quickly re-organize your marketing message. Begin with a list of the major and minor construction projects that you see that community business owners and residents are going to need construction work performed immediately. Create a separate list for repairs you see that might be requested in the near future, and then the distant future.
5. Create a brochure to be handed out along with your business cards. Observe sensitivity to the members of the community. Avoid the hard sell. Write two introductory letters, one to the families impacted and one to insurance adjusters. Introduce your business and how you can help during the crisis and afterward.
6. Hand deliver your brochure and an introductory letter to the insurance companies and relief organization personnel. Mail out brochures and business cards to the local community businesses.
7. Find a shipping location such as UPS, FedEx or USPS and set up a temporary mail box to give you a local address. Use this location as an extension to your mobile office.
8. Make phone calls. Depending on the disaster area, the only way to reach people may be by phone or through a third party. Find the decision makers and those who can authorize construction.
9. Set a goal of the amount of calls you should make daily. Set a sales goal for the percentage of those calls that you want to convert to customers. In a "Construction Business Owner Magazine" article, George Hedley writes "To win more jobs, you must know your numbers and keep track of your weekly sales efforts. Every Monday, you must sit down with your sales, estimating and project managers to review the sales progress from the previous week, and lay out a sales plan for the four upcoming weeks."
10. Schedule meetings and offer free consultations. Walk through the property with the insurance adjuster or the customer. Go over the damage with the customer. Explain how you can repair the damages and stay within a reasonable budget. Give a time frame.
11. Ask the customer their intentions with the property. Before you start offering solutions, let the customer talk. Listen for clues to their most important goals. Ask the customer what they expect from the contractor that they choose.
12. Ask for the sale. Succinctly address any objections with solution-based rebuttals. Clarify any misconceptions.
13. Never leave a consultation without giving the prospect a business card. Before you part company, schedule a follow-up date by casually asking the client when you should follow up with her.
14. Negotiate contract terms and conditions. Come to an agreement on rates for labor and material. Review the design specifications. Include all documents and negotiations in the contract agreement.
15. Exceed your own expectations when you perform the jobs to encourage future referrals.
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