Over the past week I've been in several discussions where contractors mentioned NOT getting as many calls (or any) from their mailers.

...if you're serious about "CRO" conversion rate optimization (on your marketing), here's a few things you may want to double-check:

Problem #1: The Silent Phone

One contractor recently sent out a solid mail campaign — great targeting, great message, great timing (weather-wise) — but felt he didn't get any calls (some may still come through over the next two years 🙂).

After some digging, the challenge seemed to boil down to:

Traveling quite a bit and couldn’t answer calls live (showed some missed calls)

Voicemail was a bit confusing, referencing an unrelated product

The greeting missed giving confidence to serious commercial building owners

It begs the question, if you were calling about a $100K+ roof, would you leave a voicemail on that line?

Probably not.

Solution: Fix the First Impression

Here’s what I suggest:

Have a business-only phone number that gets answered live in two rings or less (at least during hours) with call routing or live answering service as a backup

Keep voicemail greeting extremely professional yet friendly, gentle, and in a helpful tone. If need be, have someone else record the greeting for you. (Some say that having a lady's voice answering gets a higher response rate 🤷‍♂️): “You’ve reached [Company Name]. We help building owners by repairing and restoring roofs. Kindly leave your name, building location, and best callback time. We return all calls within one business day.”

Add text-to-lead capabilities (some (I'd say most) people hate voicemails). This could be as simple as putting "text/call" in your marketing if the number goes to your mobile (or text-enabled calling system)

Watch next week's email for problem 2 (and the solution).

Keep On Coating,
​-Owen

P.S. This Thursday, I'm hosting a LIVE conference call for current website clients.

If you want to know what other roofers from around the nation are doing... or get answers to your business challenges... then you'll want to be there!

This is the FIRST call of this kind so if you're a commercial coating contractor, I'd love to have you join, listen in and participate. We'll share updates and then open for Q&A with your peers!

Need a website that loads FAST, looks pro-fessional, and doesn't cost the price of a new Graco 833? Contact Owen and get a f.r.e.e scan of your current site or no-obligation quote on a new one. Just bang the reply button or visit CommercialRoofingWebsites.com to get a beautiful site just like Ernest Schwartz, Elias Raber, Little Man, Pete Miller and so many, many others!

If you have employees or 'helpers,' do they know EXACTLY what their job is?

I've seen this challenge several times, and especially in newer and growing companies...

...they hire staff, but the staff isn't sure what is expected of them. And the leader (manager or 'boss') doesn't know how to track their performance, nor how to incentivize them!

I recently (re)discovered Dave Ramsey and started digging into his business training, which covers all areas of business in all stages of growth.

I was impressed, :) which is different than how I felt 15 years ago (they've changed a lot 😁).

Ramsey now uses a KRA (Key Results Area) template to set crystal clear expectations for his team and to hold them accountable (with 1,500 employees, you should have something).

With one or two, you do as well.

Get it here, for nothing: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/business/entreleadership/key-results-areas

Can you help? Take 30 seconds and reply to this email [or leave a comment under the post, online] with your review/testimonial/feedback about this email newsletter. Anything you can share would be most welcome. Thanks in advance!