Tough Times? Get Tough!

Well I guess by now it's pretty evident to everyone that the economy is bad and not going to get better any time soon. Of course pavement people feel that just like everyone else as property managers get budgets slashed for maintenance because their properties or retail outlets are not making money either.

So what do we do? The strong will learn to deal with it. The Internet is coming up with more and more things every day that you can do with websites and Internet technology. Have you noticed those little squares on some things that look like a bunch of squiggly lines? Those are assembled that today's smart phones can actually look at and go directly to a website that that little symbol the size of a postage stamp tells it to. Something to consider when you're doing direct mail, or any other communications with the client where you might be able to generate one of those for yourself and use it to make it very quick and easy for them to go to your website when they need work done. Just one of the new opportunities available today.

There is still work out there. As of 25 July we have had over 5000 searches for contractors this year, and our main website averages around 1500 visitors a day with our informational site averaging around 400 page views per week. While these are not the best numbers we've ever seen, they are holding steady with previous years, at this time. So people are still looking for quality workmanship because if they do have to have work done, they know they're not going to be able to budget for having it done again anytime soon.

And that's where selling quality comes in, and identifying yourself as a quality contractor who guarantees their work and has the appropriate insurance makes it easier for the customer to find the type of contractor that they want, instead of some fly-by-night or somebody that does cheap work to keep their prices down. If they are looking at you is in NPCA member they already know that the quality is going to be there, it's just your job to explain why rising prices have affected our industry like everyone else and if they want to get the best value for their dollar, it's going to cost more than it did in the past, just like everything else. Remember these folks go to the grocery store in a gas station just like the rest of us, their kids need back-to-school clothes and all the same things that we do, and believe me they have noticed the increase in prices just like we have. One item I usually buy at the grocery store has always been six dollars and in one day just went up to seven. That's a large percentage increase!

So don't let the economic times scare you, yes many contractors who just got in the business and have a heavy debt load and poor sales skills may not make it, a lot of them have already folded up. So it's your job to establish yourself as being among the highest quality contractors, telling people on your website and other communications about the increases in the price of the materials and labor for our industry just like everything else, but when they buy from you, they will be getting a long-lasting quality. Being in NPCA member is like an immediate "seal of approval" for many property managers already and it will just continue to be so. So don't give up, join us on our discussion forums which have thousands of page views a day and chat with other contractors about how they're dealing with the economy, and if you're a member, remember that the members only forum which only members can see will allow you to discuss things that you might not want seen in public.

Most of all, don't panic and don't give up when times get tough is the old saying goes the tough get going it's canna take different marketing, harder selling, and providing a great product. That you can survive and thrive if you know how to work in bad economic times.

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