National Pavement Expo 2011

Jeff Stokes, Next Level Contractor System, warned contractors that selling shouldn't just be an afterthought. In his workshop, "Successful Sales for Pavement Maintenance Pros," Stokes encouraged contractors to create a sales system and train their sales team with several suggestions.

He stressed that communication is always important as well as developing a system or process to ensure success with the knowledge of what approach works the best. Another point Stokes made was creating a sales system that starts before meeting with a client in order to "funnel" which clients should be pursued. According to Stokes, contractors must always be prepared before the first meeting by having all of the materials necessary to educate the customer. It is pertinent for the contractor to understand that the objective of the first sales call is to make a good impression, not necessarily get the sale. Stokes said that building relationships takes time and may take multiple "touches" before reaching a relationship status where the customer is ready to buy your services.

Another piece of advice Stokes had for contractors was the faster a customer could see contractors as someone of value the better. He also said that contractors must know the different buyers they might or will be selling to in order to create different questions to ask each buyer. Always ask open-ended questions to get more information for the customer. Finally, Stokes said that contractors must take the time to develop the best and most successful strategy, and then they must take the time to teach it to their team.

NPE 2012 Moves to Memphis

For the first time in its 27-year history National Pavement Expo will be held in Memphis, TN, at the downtown Memphis Cook Convention Center. Dates are Feb. 15-18, 2012. Be sure to sign onto Pavement's Facebook page to get regular updates on sights, sounds and places to dine in Memphis!