When A Contractor Brags About Getting Referrals It Drives Me Crazy!

All Construction Contractors Get Referrals of which some are profitable and others are  not-profitable. The key is getting more profitable leads and fewer not-profitable leads.

Most Profitable Lead Referrals come from your clients and most not-profitable lead referrals come from customers.

Customers - Are disloyal price buyers who could not care less about you, your skills, your quality of service, your warranty or anything else about you. You are a walking wallet and the only question is how low you will go in pricing your services because to them everything and everyone is a commodity and cost is their primary consideration.

They also know how to take you for a tour into the land of "You are not going to get paid anywhere near what you were promised". Most referral leads from them are going to be not-profitable because they come from people just like them who are looking for the next victim to take advantage of and pass around to all their good buddies.

Customers Generate Most Of The Bad Reports against contractors because they know how to work the system and everyone in it, not just contractors.

As a contractor I have experienced hundreds of "Retired Living On A Fixed Income" people who know exactly how to get more and pay less.

One Example was a customer who was living in a very fine home in an upscale neighborhood who convinced me paying the standard rate to have a bathroom faucet replaced meant they would go hungry for the next few days.

I discounted the work to less than the cost of materials. Now imagine my surprise when I discovered later that week the reason we were not getting paid a $25,000 progress billing for plumbing and mechanical work on a rather large mixed use new residential / commercial project was because the "Investor" was waiting to get a bit more interest on their money before releasing several hundred thousand dollars to the prime contractor.

It turned out the "Investor" was "Retired Living On A Fixed Income" of several million dollars annually and had bragged to the prime contractor about finding a "Dumb Plumber" who should be hired for the next project.

Rest assured in over thirty years in the construction industry this was one of many instances of dealing with "Customers".

Clients - Are loyal value buyers who purchase goods and services with suitability as their primary consideration. They know intuitively The Universe is in balance and therefore good services must be met with equal or greater value in the form of money. They want to do business with contractors they trust and know they will be pleased with the results. 

One Example Of A Client was a person living not far from the previous customer who was delighted with our services, paid promptly and provided a number of profitable referrals. Oddly enough they cautioned me not to work for...guess who?

How To Separate Clients From Customers

Clients Tend To Associate With "Makers" or people who believe it is "Better To Make Than To Take". They are generally reasonable people who will always offer a hand up but not a hand out. They also are the first in line to invest resources in helping those who are truly in need with the understanding that charity begins at home and it does nobody any good to level down to poverty. They generally hold themselves and their friends to a standard of excellence and fair business practices and their word is good as gold.

Customers Tend To Associate with "Takers" or people who believe it is "Better To Take Than To Take". They are generally unreasonable people who are always in search of a hand out, a sucker or both. They also are the last in line to invest resources in helping those who are truly in need. They generally do not hold themselves or the people they associate with to any standards and their word is like the wind, forever moving and changing direction.

"Takers" Need "Makers" In Order To Survive!

"Makers" Do Not Need "Takers" In Order To Survive!

Before hiring an employee you interview them so do the same with new prospects and you can grow your list of high profit clients who like, trust, appreciate and refer you to their friends. You will be glad you did!

One of the most important insightful questions to ask is "Tell me what you know or have heard about ______?  Fill in the blank with what you do, remodeling, roofing, landscaping, painting, plumbing, electrical, etc.

Their answer will tell you everything you need to know to determine if they are a Maker or a Taker because of a concept called Leveling. Everyone tends to associate with people most like themselves.

If I seem a bit rough around the edges it is because I am! Having grown up in a construction family and spent most of my like around contractors has engrained me with a deep respect and heartfelt love for everyone involved in the construction industry.

I have seen the best and the worst contractors you could possibly imagine. I have been a contractor and made a lot of mistakes, had some spectacular failures and some amazing successes.

To summarize the difference between the construction contractors that earn a very comfortable living and enjoy a wonderful lifestyle and the ones that don't it is simply the difference between construction contractors who have a strategy, focus on their core competencies and work closely with their Board of Advisors and the construction contractors who try to "Do-Everything-Themselves".

• Thousands of contractors will read this article in the next few years

• Hundreds of contractors will consider contacting us for a No Charge consultation

• Dozen contractors will become our clients and we will have a great time together

• The 80/20 Rule says 20% will have a Paradigm Shift and become extremely wealthy

QuickBooks Expert Specializing In Construction Bookkeeping Services