Business Articles - Trade Tips - From David Lupberger

Homeowners desperately want to trust you. They are inviting you into their home, the most expensive thing that they own, and they hope and trust that you are going to do what you said you would do. To be successful in the home services, home improvement, and remodeling businesses, you must build trust with every customer. You must deliver on your promises. If you understand the basic elements of trust and practice them honestly, you will eliminate most of the issues that arise on most projects. Here are the four elements of trust:

• Consistency

• Honesty

• Promise keeping

• Reassurance

Consistency
The homeowners we work with need consistency. They are making big investments into their homes, and need a schedule that they can depend on. Their worst nightmare is a pack of unorganized workers dragging in at all hours on Monday morning, spilling coffee, asking where you want them to start. To be successful, you've got to make consistency important on every job, and you need to inform your employees and any associated trade contractors. You've got to let everyone know that consistency is the cornerstone of how you handle your customers.

Show homeowners that they can depend on your consistency. If you tell them that there will be no workers at their home until after 8 a.m., stick to that. If you tell them that work will end at 4:30 that afternoon, make sure that takes place. If you agree that the work area will be cleaned up every day, see that it's done, or do it yourself to make sure it happens. Because you are in their home, let them know when you are coming and going so they can plan around that. Let your customers know that there is a consistency to how you handle every project. When you are on the job, you are the expert. Let everyone know what the rules are on your worksite. Every customer will respect you for this kind of consistency.

Honesty
Advice is easy to give, but being honest rarely has much of a down side and usually has a big long-term upside. Here are two simple rules:

1. When problems arise, face them quickly and squarely. Most of your clients will always respect an honest admission of guilt. For example, if you have a custom kitchen order and discover that you left a corner cabinet out, say, "I made a mistake." If I mess up the order, the sooner I let the homeowner know, the better, because that missing cabinet is going to affect the time of completion. I want the homeowner to know as soon as I make the mistake. Some service professionals believe that they can work around this because they don't want to look bad. Forget about looking bad. Let�s look honest. Your integrity is worth more than trying to appear that you are always right, and it's this kind of integrity that your homeowners are looking for.

2. Let homeowners know what is happening on a regular basis. Tell homeowners what will be happening on their job. Make sure that they are prepared for what will take place in their home. For example, if dust is going to be a problem during demolition or during any drywall sanding, give them the bad news up front. If anything happening on your project could have a negative effect on their quality of life, you want to let them know. Guide them through the process by managing their expectations.

Keeping Promises
Keeping promises is so easy to accomplish when you start out in little ways. Be on time for the first appointment, no matter what. Call to let the homeowners know you'll be on time. This timeliness represents promise number one. Make little promises that you know you can keep: �The installer will be here at 8 am on Monday�. �Yes, I think I can have that estimate back to you in 10 days." "Yes, I can have that sample to you by Thursday." Keep these initial promises, and you will build trust that will help every project run more smoothly.

Reassurance
In my experience, you can't tell homeowners often enough that the job is going to come out all right. It's music to their ears; it's what they want to hear. Say it over and over. "It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna be here to take care of you." Every homeowner desperately wants to believe all through their project that you are not going to quit on them, that you're going to work with them and help them, and that you're going to manage their job from the beginning all the way to the end. Just as with children, they want to know that you're going to be there for them. They need to hear that you are not going to quit. You're not going to leave them hanging. You're not going to go broke.

Brass Tacks
Follow these simple steps, and the payoff will become apparent. Satisfied homeowners have neighbors and friends who need your products and services. Done correctly, you will create a steady stream of referrals and satisfied customers who will keep you busy, even during the slow times.