We Need Installers! Are Too Many Sales Killing Your Company?

It was a rough winter in the Northeast, which in turn created a growth opportunity for many home improvement companies capable of scaling up their sales force. It is easy to promise and deliver actionable results when you are responsible in your growth. When you have enough supply for the demand. But many business owners forget that too many sales will hurt your company if you can’t also scale up your installation workforce. It isn’t as simple as, not being able to deliver and just to return the customer’s money. If you become known as the company that can’t produce what you promise, whether in quality or timeframe, people will stop coming to you in the first place.

In this age of internet marketing, and instant communication it seems some contractors have forgotten how we used to find subcontractors to do the work. One of the reason people reach out to me on a daily basis is to find subcontractors for their overload of projects, because I still maintain my contacts (every day adding to them) of high quality subcontractors looking to increase their project loads.

People forget that when you are on a roof for 14 hours a day, it is hard to be listed on linkedin.com, maintain an angle’s list account, research new company’s, and post craigslist ads. The ways the industry has learned to increase lead generation, increase sales efficiency and allow us to massively scale up our sales force, has not effectively transferred to installation teams. And are we doing enough to find them?

I have several things I do to capture installation teams and maintain my relationships, first being I play matchmaker whenever I can, because when the industry as a whole is working effectively, there are far less objections for us individually to prove our trustworthiness to customers. When I find a good crew, I try to help them find a home. It is selfish first, using this commodity as a way to gain favor, or influence where I need it, or to restock the company I am working for. I find having an installer list is the Bitcoin of the Home Improvement world. It’s hard to define the value but we know it has a high one.

Some of the things I do to find installation teams are:

The Drive-by
There are countless times I am driving on my way back from an appointment and I see a crew ripping a roof or installing windows and I stop and introduce myself. Simple and straight forward. Granted I don’t drive a vehicle with a company logo so this is less threatening. I simple let them know that I like what I see, hand a business card and say I would love to talk to the boss sometime. I ask for a card as well if it seems convenient and I contact them later. People like knowing their work is of good quality and whether or not they need work, I have started our relationship by explaining I see their value.

Vendor Stops
I consistently work my contacts at the local vendors. I stop in person to ask questions (unless time sensitive), try to meet everyone and engage relationship building. I am a known quantity to them. They know I am always looking for talent and they in turn suggest me to their contractors who either are looking for work or looking to expand. This is basic networking. I support their events and they in turn work their networks for me.

Big Box Bonanza
Whether Orange or Blue, a stop at a home improvement superstore comes fully equipped with hundreds of contractors. You don’t need to solicit directly, but you can just write down the names and numbers of the truck signage in the parking lot. This lets you look at the quality of the vehicle, the tidiness of their storage methods. Are they deliberate or just tossing things in? You can know a lot about the consciousness of a company by how they treat their vehicles. Make your list and then make your calls.

New Age
Just because most companies might not have an internet presence, does not mean you can’t find the ones that do. Search multiple terms and look through the angle’s list and BBB.org listings. This is a little more cold calling, but can be effective.

Use your Sales Team
The people in your company that are most effected by you're having a high quality installation team and subcontractors is the sales team. As luck so happens these are also the individuals who have the most training in hunting for leads. You can motivate these individuals to find your contractors for you. Offer a monetary reward if they find a company that works out (say $100 for five good jobs), inspire them to understand the selfish nature of what you are asking for (more crews, quicker turnaround and commission payouts).

Regardless of how you find your crews, the trick is to always be recruiting. You can use this to entice your current subcontractors to increase in size. If you are a good company to work with, subcontractor will want the opportunity to work for you. You should always have more contractors in the pipeline than work to give them. If you don’t its time to invest more in your own infrastructure. Are you hiring the right Installation Managers? Do you have enough of them? Are you paying them for their Value? Are you motivating them the same way you motivate your sales staff(trips, bonus)?

What other ways are you recruiting? What is working for you?