28 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
28 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Telemarketing for Home Remodeling Leads?

by marc.v
21 replies
I have a general contractor thats practically begging to buy 100-150 leads a month at $75 per lead from me. Bob Ross has been extremely helpful in working out a way to try to produce this many leads with direct mail, and I thank him for that.

I'm very familiar with hiring telemarketers, though. From what I'm reading, telemarketing could be a very cost efficient way of generating leads for a general contractor.

Figure $10/hr. to a tmr on a 6 hour shift. If that tmr can generate 3 leads during that shift, that's $225 worth of leads I can sell. $60 in, $165 out. I do this exact kind of thing on a daily basis for insurance agents, so I know it's possible.

Has anyone here ever generated telemarketed leads for a general contractor before? I know its very nich-ey, but its worth asking.

(man I hope JD or kenmichaels sees this thread)
#home #leads #remodeling #telemarketing
  • Profile picture of the author marc.v
    It's also exciting because there are thousands of guys just like my contractor friend that are willing to pay $10,000 a month for leads like he is. It sounds like a lot of money to a lot of us, but there are so many business owners with deep pockets that are very willing to try something that will produce positive results for them.

    It took me literally 5 phone calls before I found him, too. We're having lunch this week and I'm going to show him a mail piece and we're going to talk about ways I can get him more business.

    Five phone calls and I'm in on a $120,000 year deal. And I KNOW I could do this same thing in 10 more cities.

    I encourage you guys that are struggling trying to make money helping other business owners make money to just get on the phone and make a few phone calls.

    Learn their language a little, just be a real person, and you're in like flint. It's almost too easy, and everyone benefits. It's a good feeling.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7255159].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Marc,

    My frist telemarketing job ever was for a remodeling contractor. What you want to do is focus on giving free "Home Inspections" or "estimates".

    Hi have I reached the homeowner at 123 main?

    Okay great, I have the right person. lol' This is Mary?

    Great Mary this is ___________, hope you are doing well today.

    Mary, I will be brief, Im calling on behalf of ____________ construction.

    We just wanted to give you a brief call Today because throughout the month of May, we are having our spring celebration sale, and for a limited time we are offering up to a 40% discounts on windows , roofing and siding... we also do kitchen and bath remodeling....

    Anyway, I have a couple of guys who are going to be out giving free roofing inspections to a couple of home owners out on (name their street) next week, and while we are out there we'd love to offer you a free inspection or quote...I was wondering if there's anything you have been thinking about doing for your home either now or in the near future that we could take a look at for you ....?"

    Back to Marc:

    Marc, I use to write 8-9 leads per day. Our quota was five. We had about 10 telemarketers in the room... "Consolidated Construction" in South Bend Indiana. They are still in business today doing the same thing in the same town 24 years later...and they had already been doing it for twenty years when I started, in the same town, with the same phone book, with 10 other local competitors doing the same thing. There is an ABUNDANCE of construction leads out there.

    Peoples homes are continually going through changes.

    If you are into lead generation, there is no lack of business nor leads in that industry! This will work for you. No doubt with just a little work on your part.

    -JD
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7255295].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author etrin
      Hyey Marc, good info. What criteria are you using to select the contractors you call on the phone?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7255815].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author marc.v
        Originally Posted by etrin View Post

        Hyey Marc, good info. What criteria are you using to select the contractors you call on the phone?
        Any construction company with more than 20 employees that work in my area. That's the only criteria I went by.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258037].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ScottGrey
      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post


      Hi have I reached the homeowner at 123 main?

      Okay great, I have the right person. lol' This is Mary?

      Great Mary this is ___________, hope you are doing well today.

      Mary, I will be brief, Im calling on behalf of ____________ construction.

      We just wanted to give you a brief call Today because throughout the month of May, we are having our spring celebration sale, and for a limited time we are offering up to a 40% discounts on windows , roofing and siding... we also do kitchen and bath remodeling....

      Anyway, I have a couple of guys who are going to be out giving free roofing inspections to a couple of home owners out on (name their street) next week, and while we are out there we'd love to offer you a free inspection or quote...I was wondering if there's anything you have been thinking about doing for your home either now or in the near future that we could take a look at for you ....?"
      -JD
      This is a great lead-gen script. You can modify this for almost anything, i.e. "is this the owner of whatever-domain.com? okay great.... i'm calling on behalf of whatever company, we're currently offering free estimates on SEO / conversion / website redesigns / social marketing / whatever"

      Thank you for sharing JD!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7255968].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author marc.v
      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

      -JD
      Wow John, that's incredible news. I might have to go the telemarketing route.

      From what you described that sounds more like appointments setting than leads.
      If that's true, I could easily charge more per appointment. It's a trade-off, though. I don't see him buying 150 appointments per month. His teams would be swamped.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7257958].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
        Originally Posted by marc.v View Post

        Wow John, that's incredible news. I might have to go the telemarketing route.

        From what you described that sounds more like appointments setting than leads.
        If that's true, I could easily charge more per appointment. It's a trade-off, though. I don't see him buying 150 appointments per month. His teams would be swamped.
        Is that a bad thing? Would he rather have leads or appts?

        150 appts isn't a lot either.
        With 5 reps, that's 30 each or 1 a week day and 2 on Sat.....
        See what I mean?
        Signature
        Life Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone
        - Neale Donald Wilson -
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258046].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author marc.v
          Originally Posted by vndnbrgj View Post

          Is that a bad thing? Would he rather have leads or appts?

          150 appts isn't a lot either.
          With 5 reps, that's 30 each or 1 a week day and 2 on Sat.....
          See what I mean?
          I actually just got off the phone with 'em. Hes had bad experiences with telemarketed leads before.

          He said the appointment setter always pushes for the appointment, and that leads to missed appointments a lot of the time.

          He also said when you go give a free inspection or estimate, the people don't really have any idea of the costs involved or don't want work done until months later.

          When I said I would need payment upfront for these leads, as opposed to him paying for call-in leads after they come in (which is how we structured it with the direct mail approach), he was done.

          No biggie, he's still on the line for $7500-$15000 a month. I just hope I can get enough leads with postcards, lol.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258118].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author umc
            Back in the day I was a telemarketer, and eventually led the telemarketing department, for the largest home improvement company in the state of Kentucky. My room generated close to $1,000,000 in gross sales each month. It could definitely be a profitable deal for all involved. I personally would set up 8-12 leads most days, sometimes less, sometimes more. It depended on the area that we were calling, if we happened to hit an area right behind someone else, etc.

            Anyway, if your client is scared to pay for these leads, maybe you could have him pay per "confirmed" lead. We knew that telemarketers would push too hard for leads at times, and so we had a "confirmation" department that would call back to confirm the appointment the day before. They would confirm that all homeowners would be there (husband and wife if need be), they would confirm the address and time and what type of work they wanted an estimate on, and then the salesperson would go out and give them their estimate and attempt to sell them on it right then if they could.

            If they don't want the work done until months later, your contractor client isn't out any more money. He paid for the lead, and he'll get the work later.

            The funny thing is that most of these contractors want you to charge less per lead for smaller jobs, but they certainly don't want to pay more when you get them a big job, do they? If you could trust them, you could maybe go on a percentage of each sale, but then you're at the mercy of his sales abilities, and whether or not he's honest. I went out on my own at one point and got a local guy a $70,000 remodel, which at my 10% rate was a good deal of money for me, and the guy basically skipped out on it all and went to jail. He had been a reputable contractor for years, but he went nuts I guess, and took the homeowner's money and basically ran. But it is usually the contractor that is so distrusting of us marketers, lol.
            Signature

            Simple "pay what you want" life coaching services online.
            Get out of your own way in business. It's personal. Click Here

            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258171].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author shadowmaster
      john Durham ... please send me a PM ... Really enjoyed your script writing ... thank you js
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7283416].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author betterwtveter
    What is funny is that I shutdown my construction business for network marketing, but I get tons of clients that still call me. Just for extra money, I have a contractor paying me $200 per month to have any of my leads that email me for service requests. I thought about charging per lead because I get about 3 emails a day, but these jobs are big and small jobs. I would probably charge $50 per lead if I did so.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7255988].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    @ Marc.... Consolidated construction had a special financing company that made the terms real easy for clients to say yes. Also yeah, I only put part of the script there, but we had a qualifying questionaire after we got interest, especially "no one leggers", which means both homeowners have to be present, both decision makers.... So it didnt waste the salesmans time. You should offer to rewrite any UQ's or no shows, up to a reasonable percentage. That is sometimes is the dealbreaker.


    @

    UMC, would love to see more from you on this subject, that was an awesome post to read. Some of the people teaching telemarketing here dont actually have any experience managing telemarketers. Its refreshing to hear the perspective of another real world trainer and telemarketing champion.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258342].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author umc
      Originally Posted by John Durham View Post

      UMC, would love to see more from you on this subject, that was an awesome post to read. Some of the people teaching telemarketing here dont actually have any experience managing telemarketers. Its refreshing to hear the perspective of another real world trainer and telemarketing champion.
      Ha, I guess it has been so long since I did any telemarketing that I was shocked to see anyone refer to my input in such glowing terms.

      I loved telemarketing back in the day. I guess it has been 15 years now. I'm not up on how hard it may be to get residential lists that have been scrubbed, or to how the changing climate regarding the perception of telemarketers may have devolved over those many years. Then again, people always hated telemarketers, and we always pumped out numbers day in and day out.

      Anyone that has seen my posts knows that my wife and I clean for a living. I started our cleaning business 12 years ago by making a total of 5 cold calls, landing three appointments, and ongoing contracts with two of those, which kicked off what has now been a long journey into this business. I come here because my true passion is marketing, my only problem being that I have too many ideas and a bit of ADHD which keeps me from maintaining focus, plus a pretty full schedule with my own offline self-employed businesses that doesn't give me much time for the marketing I'd like to do.

      If I had time I'd love to have my own telemarketing business to offer to others. My wife even got into telemarketing a bit, calling supposed "leads" for medicare type insurance for a friend of ours that sold it. To be honest, managing that telemarketing room was the most fun I've ever had at any job, including my own self-employed ventures. There was never a dull moment, and just so much energy in the room that it was palpable. I loved that business, and had it not been for some old crotchety consultant that was hired that basically told the owners of the company that I was too young to be in the position I was in and that as a nineteen year old skinny kid I didn't project the right image for their business, I would have loved to have stayed there. Instead, they hired someone more "experienced" (translated - older) that they then wanted me to train to do my job so I could be demoted, despite doing a mil each month in business, and I left. They went straight downhill after that and I'm pretty sure that they ended up out of business. I then went and bounced around in a few telemarketing jobs, looking for the fulfillment I once had in telemarketing management and never finding it again.

      I am an advocate of telemarketing though. I think it can be so effective. I never did much in the B2B realm and don't know the changes in the industry over the years though, but I've used it in my own businesses very effectively as need be.
      Signature

      Simple "pay what you want" life coaching services online.
      Get out of your own way in business. It's personal. Click Here

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258468].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    @ UMC,

    Great story. Yes, its still the most effective way to get business in B2B as far as Im concerned. Actually b2b is alot better than residential too. I agree, managing my own room is the most fun I have ever had in my career. Its not just making money, but the energy charged atmosphere, and working with the troops. Getting to see young people who feel unqualified develop skills and confidence, its awesome. Telemarketing rooms are fun.

    Thanks for sharing your story, will be looking out for your telemarketing posts. You may not do it any more, but you could help alot of people with the experience you offer here at the WF, people really do benefit from this knowledge, and when you share it there are great rewards in seeing what a difference it makes in peoples lives.

    Telemarketing might be normal for you and I , but it can be a great enlightenment for people who are trying to introduce their web skills to local businesses and dont know how to get their offer out there. The first time someone say "I got a Sale from your Advice UMC!" you will get that great feeling you did as a telemarketing manager.

    I remember this kid who applied for my room and he was a house painter. When I asked him why he wanted to come work for me he said "Because I know I can be more than a manual laborer and I want to learn how to sell". DING! That was the answer that fulfilled my whole purpose... besides money!

    I took him under my wing and later he became one of my top people...

    As a former manager, you probably know that kind of rich reward, the one you get for teaching a kid like that and knowing how it will enrich his life... and there are alot of those moments to be had again for you by sharing your knowledge here.

    Thanks again.

    -JD
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258573].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author umc
      Yeah JD, I was actually that kid that went into the telemarketing world sheepish and afraid, and came out able to talk to people. I was scared to death when I got the job as a part-timer, not a very talkative person, as I've always had a social anxiety issue and do to this day. But something about telemarketing broke me out of my shell in certain areas of life and really helped give me some much needed confidence back then. Leading a group of 20-30 people really upped the ante for me. I credit my telemarketing experience with much of who I am today. Telemarketing might not want me saying that, but it is true.

      Wow, with all of your encouragement for me to post more on the subject here, I think I'll just skip that step and launch my own WSO, lol. Watch out WF, here I come!
      Signature

      Simple "pay what you want" life coaching services online.
      Get out of your own way in business. It's personal. Click Here

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258622].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author John Durham
        Originally Posted by umc View Post

        Yeah JD, I was actually that kid that went into the telemarketing world sheepish and afraid, and came out able to talk to people. I was scared to death when I got the job as a part-timer, not a very talkative person, as I've always had a social anxiety issue and do to this day. But something about telemarketing broke me out of my shell in certain areas of life and really helped give me some much needed confidence back then. Leading a group of 20-30 people really upped the ante for me. I credit my telemarketing experience with much of who I am today. Telemarketing might not want me saying that, but it is true.

        Wow, with all of your encouragement for me to post more on the subject here, I think I'll just skip that step and launch my own WSO, lol. Watch out WF, here I come!
        Lol. well its better to share freely then more people will BUY your wso... But yeah man. Your posts are awesome. I can totally relate to how it enriches a person in ways beyond money! It really changed my life as a young person, and shaped alot of who I became later in good ways.

        If more people "got" what it does to you as a person more people would be attracted to it. Its more than just making sales.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7258660].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
          Originally Posted by marc.v View Post

          I actually just got off the phone with 'em. Hes had bad experiences with telemarketed leads before.

          He said the appointment setter always pushes for the appointment, and that leads to missed appointments a lot of the time.

          He also said when you go give a free inspection or estimate, the people don't really have any idea of the costs involved or don't want work done until months later.
          He must have had a horrible appt setter if the appts fell through regularly. We have had 4 home repair campaigns (1 current), you don't have to push, you offer the quote, explain that they will need the DM there (both husband and wife or whoever has the money and power to say ok, you don't want the wife only that says "I'll have to ask my husband."), tell them you will call them to confirm the day of - ask for their cell to confirm that day, then you get an email, send confirmation and you CALL THEM the morning of, or day of and confirm. We have MINIMAL fall through on appts for home remodeling...why? Because the people are HOME.


          Originally Posted by vndnbrgj View Post

          Is that a bad thing? Would he rather have leads or appts?

          150 appts isn't a lot either.
          With 5 reps, that's 30 each or 1 a week day and 2 on Sat.....
          See what I mean?
          I don't think you've ever made consumer home repair calls? 30 is a HUGE stretch a week, per caller. We currently call for a remodeling company and do 40 hours a week, we turn in 15-20 quotes/leads/appointments. Been on this campaign for over a year (and been doing this for over 8). You're seriously overestimating and better get some DAMN good callers to even get near that number. It's dependent on the list, but more consumer calls result in a NO ANSWER or VM. To get that many appts in a week you would have to REACH a high number of consumers.
          If you go with a call center you MIGHT get that number, but you'll end up with the "telemarketing leads" this client is scared of.
          Signature

          Looking for answers on how to SUCCESSFULLY market your company?
          Cold Calling, Appointment Setting, Training, Consulting - we do it all!
          PM for more information

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7261587].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
            Originally Posted by marc.v View Post

            Wow John, that's incredible news. I might have to go the telemarketing route.

            From what you described that sounds more like appointments setting than leads.
            If that's true, I could easily charge more per appointment. It's a trade-off, though. I don't see him buying 150 appointments per month. His teams would be swamped.
            Originally Posted by Mwind076 View Post

            I don't think you've ever made consumer home repair calls? 30 is a HUGE stretch a week, per caller. We currently call for a remodeling company and do 40 hours a week, we turn in 15-20 quotes/leads/appointments. Been on this campaign for over a year (and been doing this for over 8). You're seriously overestimating and better get some DAMN good callers to even get near that number. It's dependent on the list, but more consumer calls result in a NO ANSWER or VM. To get that many appts in a week you would have to REACH a high number of consumers.
            If you go with a call center you MIGHT get that number, but you'll end up with the "telemarketing leads" this client is scared of.
            MWind.... I think you took my post out of context.
            I was using the numbers given by the OP. If you look at my reply, the one you quoted, you will see that same quote, as the one above yours. I never said he could get 150 leads, I said it wouldn't be a problem for his reps to go on 150 leads. Because 150 leads, is an appt or two a day for 5 sales reps.

            Oh, and I didn't telemarket for home repair. I did telemarket and canvass door to door for home improvements.
            Telemarkteing, I usually got 2 appts a day. But, there were 30 of us all calling on an auto-dialer. We had to telemarket for our own leads, since the company didn't have enpugh to keep each rep busy.
            Same thing with canvassing. I would get 2-4 appts per day while going door to door.

            I am familiar with lead gen for the home improvement industry.
            I have also gone to school for residential construction.
            I can talk the lingo, and know what I am talking about.
            Then, I can do the improvements on top of that.
            Signature
            Life Begins At The End Of Your Comfort Zone
            - Neale Donald Wilson -
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7261696].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
              Originally Posted by vndnbrgj View Post

              MWind.... I think you took my post out of context.
              I was using the numbers given by the OP. If you look at my reply, the one you quoted, you will see that same quote, as the one above yours. I never said he could get 150 leads, I said it wouldn't be a problem for his reps to go on 150 leads. Because 150 leads, is an appt or two a day for 5 sales reps.

              Oh, and I didn't telemarket for home repair. I did telemarket and canvass door to door for home improvements.
              Telemarkteing, I usually got 2 appts a day. But, there were 30 of us all calling on an auto-dialer. We had to telemarket for our own leads, since the company didn't have enpugh to keep each rep busy.
              Same thing with canvassing. I would get 2-4 appts per day while going door to door.

              I am familiar with lead gen for the home improvement industry.
              I have also gone to school for residential construction.
              I can talk the lingo, and know what I am talking about.
              Then, I can do the improvements on top of that.
              I must have missed where he said he had "reps" - I saw in his original post that he was talking about hiring a person or TM at about $10 per hour...I was going off that. Even your quote of one person doing 30 appts per week is HIGH, whether they are part of a team or a lone caller. I'd venture to say (and we'll ask JD about this one) that even asking for 150 from 5 reps a week is being WAY optimistic.

              We all have our own expertise, it matters who has advice that works.
              Signature

              Looking for answers on how to SUCCESSFULLY market your company?
              Cold Calling, Appointment Setting, Training, Consulting - we do it all!
              PM for more information

              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7261957].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    150 leads/month is a lot, you have to have some really good strategy to pull that with direct mail and a lot of postcards going out.

    Mwind said:
    I don't think you've ever made consumer home repair calls? 30 is a HUGE stretch a week, per caller. We currently call for a remodeling company and do 40 hours a week, we turn in 15-20 quotes/leads/appointments. Been on this campaign for over a year (and been doing this for over 8). You're seriously overestimating and better get some DAMN good callers to even get near that number. It's dependent on the list, but more consumer calls result in a NO ANSWER or VM. To get that many appts in a week you would have to REACH a high number of consumers.

    15-20 in 40 hours is awesome. My callers set around 15 per week and approximately half get pitched. We filter out all the crap though (bankruptcies, poor credit, no plan to do it in the near future, etc...)
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7261727].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Mwind076
      Originally Posted by bob ross View Post

      150 leads/month is a lot, you have to have some really good strategy to pull that with direct mail and a lot of postcards going out.

      Mwind said:
      I don't think you've ever made consumer home repair calls? 30 is a HUGE stretch a week, per caller. We currently call for a remodeling company and do 40 hours a week, we turn in 15-20 quotes/leads/appointments. Been on this campaign for over a year (and been doing this for over 8). You're seriously overestimating and better get some DAMN good callers to even get near that number. It's dependent on the list, but more consumer calls result in a NO ANSWER or VM. To get that many appts in a week you would have to REACH a high number of consumers.

      15-20 in 40 hours is awesome. My callers set around 15 per week and approximately half get pitched. We filter out all the crap though (bankruptcies, poor credit, no plan to do it in the near future, etc...)
      Same here, Bob. That's the filtered "qualified" as the client wants leads/appts. We usually average about 17 a week, some weeks are slower (like this one because of storms), but I'm sure they will pick up LOTS after this storm moves through! We keep the "call back in 6 months" for our own records and we'll try to turn those into appts at the right time.
      Signature

      Looking for answers on how to SUCCESSFULLY market your company?
      Cold Calling, Appointment Setting, Training, Consulting - we do it all!
      PM for more information

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7261925].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author century90
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7796906].message }}

Trending Topics