The Following Is An Outline From Patrick Ingram's Guest Appearance On The Contractors Success M.A.P. Podcast which you can listen to below. It is on iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Pocket Casts and all popular podcast directories.
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Editor’s Note: I have known Patrick Ingram for many years, I trust him and find him to be very knowledgeable and capable on the subject construction and mentoring emerging contractors as well as helping contractors who are facing current challenges to turn around their construction companies and put them back on the road to growth an profits.
I Highly Recommend all contractors spend some time on his website www.constructionaccountingandconsulting.biz and get to know him/her. He/she is a valuable resource to all contractors, not just remodel contractors. Please be sure to let him/her know Randal DeHart, The Contractors Accountant, recommended you.
I have forty plus year's experience in construction contracting from preparing the start-up plan, to raising capital, to writing business policies for: safety, operations, hiring and training personnel, to finally selling the company. Businesses included: electrical contracting, solar contracting, and general contracting. Industries served were commercial tenant improvement (strip malls and high rise office towers) and residential remodel (multifamily, condos, and single family).
My specific duties included managing companies; create and execute marketing plans; bidder design/estimating of construction costs; cost accounting and financial analysis
Retired Corps of Engineer officer from the US Army after 20 years active and reserve service.
Currently own and manage a Residential Property management company and a Construction Consulting and Education Company
I was a third generation electrical contractor. I started working for my father as an electrical apprentice on new homes when I was 14 years old. Through high school I worked part-time as an electrical apprentice.
I then went on to active duty in the military. When I returned home I re-joined the family business and went to college at the same time studying business management and marketing. I also continued on as a reserve member of the Army Corps of Engineers eventually retiring after 20 years.
Eventually I left the family business and branched out on my own and formed various electrical specialty companies to meet the market demand (fire alarm, security, data/voice cabling, and commercial wiring). I saw the upcoming opportunity in solar so I formed Solar Builders Inc. and marketed residential home design and the different solar heating systems until the market changed.
I then went into commercial tenant improvement as a general contractor. During this time I formed a partnership with another successful contractor friend of mine and we took over an existing electrical contracting firm and grew it to over 1.5 million in sales. Again the market changed in 1992 so we decided to form separate electrical contracting companies and decided to joint venture when appropriate to compete for larger jobs.
This new company was organized to compete in electrical commercial tenant improvement and residential remodel and continued doing this until I sold it in 2011. Since then I have formed and continue to manage a residential property management company and a business consulting firm working with construction contractors.
We recognize the time constraints and tight budgets contractors face we were contractors. This is why our consulting business is organized to get them quick results. We believe they want skilled advisers just like themselves who can actually deliver what they say they can do.
This is accomplished by bringing years of experience from being general and sub-contractors. We bring expertise as former staff members of large contractors and as hands on contractors who have operated successful general and electrical contracting firms. This coupled with ongoing research into current marketing and management trends mean our systems have a track record of success.
We can say this because our systems have been field tested and are historically proven effective marketing tools that will help you to reach your target markets and close more deals. Finally we are flexible. We offer personal or group coaching using face to face, Skype, email, phone, and an online coaching / education using our E Learning contractor marketing system. Plus we give you the convenience of meeting either in your office or other convenient locations and we will meet at a time that is convenient for you
Our experience has been that most contractors need more qualified leads so they can present their contracting services to more buyers. Then they need to determine how to close the sale at a price that is profitable and gives the client what wanted. Our system addresses these critical areas of contracting
#1 - Our experience in running different contracting companies in expanding and slowing economies
#2 - Our willingness to do the work for you or guide you through the steps so you can carry out your own marketing plan independent of us. We can also be a trusted source you can use as a second opinion.
#3 - Our ongoing research into understanding the most effective construction marketing techniques
We work with individuals who are willing to embrace the marketing techniques that will grow their company or turnaround it around if they are not meeting their financial goals. They typically are open minded and willing to look at the different options we have to grow the business in line with their marketing budget.
Our first advice is that we want to look at the four step Sales Conversion Equation formula with them. That is: interrupt (identify a problem), engage (promise to educate & find a solution), educate (build the case why we have the solution), and offer (risk reversal or ethical bribe).
We show them how we interrupt their target audience with a known problem the customers are experiencing. We then offer the customer hope that there is a solution to the problem by engaging the customer and educating them as to the different possibilities for solving the problem.
Finally we teach them how we will make a guaranteed offer to solve the problem. An example might be for a plumber who offers emergency drain cleaning services. The interrupt would be discovering the drain is plugged prior to a family holiday dinner. We would then let them know we have the tools and expertise to quickly correct the problem and the offer is we are willing to come out even if it is a holiday – guaranteed the problem will be solved.
Our services include business management coaching with particular attention to developing the marketing plan and how to execute it. We offer a couple of choices:
#1 An online self-study Contractor Marketing Academy System that includes our weekly one hour training modules:
> Monday is the Business Strategy videos with downloadable and printable workbooks to follow along.
> Tuesday is the Coaches Call covering Marketing Strategies using a webinar in which the audio can be downloaded to an MP3 file for use at a later time
> Wednesday we offer the Ask the Expert Call for those contractors who need help executing their marketing plans but don’t need one-on-one guidance
> Thursday is the Self Development PDF document covering areas such as time management and goal setting.
> While enrolled in the academy the contractor has access to our Quick Start Marketing program which covers areas such as developing your elevator pitch, business cards, signature block, post card ads, website design, brochures, and guidance on how to write attention grabbing headlines and blogs.
#2 We also offer a mix of one on one coaching and the E Learning Contractor Marketing Academy System:
> The contractor goes through the Quick Start program and/or the weekly video series and we work with them to develop their specific marketing plan.
#3 We can prepare the marketing plan for the contractor so they can continue contracting while we develop the plan and work with them to execute it.
This Is One More Example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners all across the USA including Alaska and Hawaii put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that and a lot more valuable to people like you so stop missing out! Call Sharie 206-361-3950 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation.
Profitable Contractors and Construction Company owners have known about the value of outsourced bookkeeping services and contractor coaching services like ours for a long time and now you know about it too!
We Scan Your Receipts And Invoices link the appropriate transactions to QuickBooks or Xero Accounting Online depending on the construction accounting service you are using and provide ongoing Cloud Based Contractors Bookkeeping Services by accountants who understand construction.
About The Author:
Our Co-Founder Randal DeHart - Is a Certified PMP (Project Management Professional) with several years of construction project management experience. His expertise is construction accounting systems engineering and process development. His exhaustive study of several leading experts including the work of Dr. W. Edward Deming, Michael Gerber, Walter A. Shewhart, James Lewis and dozens of others was the foundation upon which our Construction Bookkeeping System is based and continues to evolve and improve. Check out our Contractor Success Map Podcast on iTunes and Follow Randal on Google+