Oct 6 2008 1:21PM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
Blog This! using: Blogger.com | LiveJournal |

I was talking to Ben Thompson of Thompson Remodeling recently for an item I'm writing on his radio show and podcasts for the November issue when we started talking about marketing in general. He told me that one of the most effective things he has done lately is the simple task of picking up the phone and calling past clients.

"I think so many of us remodelers are really resistant to that," he says. "I know I was. I didn't want to feel like a bother."

Ben says it's not a sales pitch ... it's just a chance to remind clients that he's there if they need anything. He thanks them for their work with the company and makes sure that everything is still going well with the project.

For him, it's been especially important to make contact as the new president of the company, having taken over from his father only 8 months ago. It allows him to build his own relationship with them, and the clients are always happy to hear from him.

"It's not a bother, it's not obnoxious," he says. "You reach out and touch them and build a relationship with people."

UPDATE 10/7: I guess great minds think alike. Here's another view from remodeler Bob Peterson on this from today's NAHB newsletter.