building contractor relationships
TRANSCRIPT
BUILDING CONTRACTORRELATIONSHIPS
Why Would You Buy Something From Somebody?
• Know• Like• Trust
Where are Relationships Going Today?
• Moving from a relationship model to a transactional one
• Only conversation is on price and availability• No room for a value proposition discussion
Issues with Your Distribution Network
• No direct contact with contractor• Distributors don’t like to share contractor
information• Hard to establish loyalty• They sell what they have and can make the
biggest margins
Relationship Selling
• Need to know and understand the contractor (face time)
• Engage contractors with success stories• Ask for feedback–good or bad
Contractor Profile
• Very loyal–don’t like change• Day starts around 6 and ends around 5• Multi-tasking from sales, to project
management• Most of their day is spent in the field• Biggest challenge – finding qualified workers• Second biggest challenge – training them
What are Contractors Looking For?
• Contractors buy stories before they buy stuff • Solutions to their problems – good content• How to do it better in less time using new,
improved methods• Access to knowledgeable factory people for
problem solving• Manufacturers who do what they say they
will do
How to Connect with Contractors
• Send them referrals (Owens Corning)• Have your sales force spend 70% of their time
in the field and 30% with distribution• Special contractor, portal, hotline and email• Online training for their staffs• Responsive website• Apps• Social media marketing• SEO – Google it
How to Connect with Contractors (continued)
2016 Content Marketing Trends
• Subscribers, not leads• Email, not social followers• Less, not more• Longer, not shorter
Social Media for Contractors
• YouTube• SlideShare• LinkedIn• Blog
Looking at YouTube
• YouTube has 1 billion unique visitors each month and sees four billion video views every day
• Second largest search engine in the world• Integrated into Google results
Opportunity for Quality & Engagement
• Not TV Advertising• “It’s got to be 30 seconds?”
- Tell the story first- Shorter is almost always sweeter- Focus on first 15 seconds
Telling a Story
• Engage customers• Educate customers• Point of differentiation• Entertain customers• Be different
What is SlideShare?
World’s largest community for sharing presentations
60 million monthly visitors 215 million page views/month One of the most visited 200 websites in
the world
What is SlideShare? (continued)
Upload: Presentations – Documents– PDFs– Videos – Webinars
What are Some SlideShare Benefits?
• Largely untapped SEO potential• Improve your presentation skills• Get invited to speak• Ties together with Facebook and LinkedIn• Grow your professional network• Embed SlideShare on your blog
What is LinkedIn?
• Professional social networking site• Virtual community for professionals• The most under-utilized social media tool
for business
Why Use LinkedIn?
• 347 million members worldwide• 84 million members in the USA• 30 million company pages• 1.5 million LinkedIn groups
LinkedIn Groups
• AMHA Home Improvement Industry – 14,000 members• Commercial Construction Professionals – 10,000 members• HVAC Professionals – 118,000 members• Linking Construction – 155,000 members• Friends of NAHB – 18,000 members• Building Commerce – 6,000 members
LinkedIn Company Pages
LinkedIn Company Pages
LinkedIn Sponsored Updates
LinkedIn Sponsored Updates
• Companies can sponsor updates to appear in users’ feeds who don’t follow the company
• Don’t get lost in the “noise” of sidebar ads• Boosts your content across all devices• Ability to custom target
• Title• Job function• Industry• Company size• Seniority
What is a Blog?
• A form of social media• Websites that allow individuals, groups and
companies to share opinions and information in long form on a regular basis
• Considered “owned” media
Key Questions
• Who is your audience?• Who is competing for your audience’s
attention?• What do you want your blog’s focus to be?• What goals are you trying to achieve?• How are you going to measure those goals?
Pros of Starting a Blog
• Establish your brand as a thought leader in the industry
• Share your professional knowledge with personality
• Creates a central hub for social media efforts• Build relationships• Can be used to support other marketing initiatives• The size of your organization doesn’t affect the
quality of your blog
Referrers
Summary
• Know your audience• Build a relationship• Become a resource• Help them build their businesses• Make it a long-term commitment
