Marketing A Small Business Process Package

toolsforlife

I have perfected my profitable remodeling process over these 31 years - and I'm thinking of selling the process (contracts, RFQ's, Change orders, strategies, marketing, company culture, problem handling, charging, estimating tips, etc.).
I thought that this forum might be a good place to ask:

Is this something that anyone is interested in?

No better place than in a contractor's forum. I'm not spamming. I'd just like to take the pulse of the market.

More later if you are interested. And thanks for reading this - and even more for commenting.

Best, Randall

Mike Finley

I know of a couple of guys who have done what you are thinking of.

Post some free stuff in the file share section here and you'll get an honest evaluation (I mean brutally honest!) no better way to test the marketability of something.

toolsforlife

I appreciate that. I am liking this place already.

Max Nomad

Greetings, Randall,

A couple of ideas:

1) Consider writing a book covering all the intangible stuff related to the business strategies (marketing, company culture, problem handling, estimating tips, etc). Set up a website to promote the book. On the website give away the Contracts, Forms and Spreadsheets and make sure they have links promoting the book's website and the book itself.

2) Produce a DVD discussing all the same business strategy stuff and package all the forms with the DVD. You'd be liable to make more money by selling it for $25 and $50 dollars than if you tried to sell it for over $100. The downside to this is the startup expense and the team required to produce a marketable training DVD.

Speaking from experience with book packaging and publishing, #1 is an option that would be the least expensive avenue and would probably yield the greatest profit margin. Producing a professional-grade DVD (from footage to editing to packaging) would subject you to additional lump sum expenses every time you needed to shoot and edit in new footage to update the DVD to keep it current. With a book you'd just need to edit some sections and maybe add another section or two at most.

If you'd like to get more advice about the RIGHT way to publish, send me a PM. There's a ton of ways to go that will insure that your book never gets picked up in bookstores or hardware stores -- and I've seen countless people screw up some really good book ideas.

Good luck with it...

__________________
Majestic-Tile, a division of Majestic Home Improvement, LLC.
http://www.majestic-tile.com/
My Publishing Company and Graphic Design Portfolio:
http://www.bgpublishing.com/

toolsforlife

I love to hear different ways to market something. It's hard to think outside the box when you have one thing in mind.

Mike Finley

I'd go another way. A book is a book and books don't make many people much money. The million dollar best seller on the NY times list will never have toolsforlife's construction book on it.

Consulting is where the money is at.

The people I know that do this already sell their package starting at $1500.00 minimum to start.

What you are offering has a limited market, not a mass market, mass market means sell it for $25 and sell it in volume, a limited market means sell it for $5000 in limited quantities. The stuff you are talking about is very, very targeted and very very difficult to get from any sources out there, it should be sold as a very valuable product.

rbsremodeling

I paid 1500 bucks for a similar kit. I am filling it in hoping to have a system set up along with a kitchen and bath company to sell in 5-10 years.

The system is well written and very easy to follow. The guy did a very good job with it. Nothing really ground breaking just a good template to follow.

He also sends emails for seminars to join for a fee to make sure your following along and give you advice on systemizing your business. I would assume he makes better money on the seminars and consulting than he does on the actual system books themselves as Mike pointed out

__________________

nlgutters

What kit did you buy? I have never seen one that is directed to construction companies.

rbsremodeling

Sent you a pm

__________________

Max Nomad

Making any money in the Consulting game requires more than just hanging your shingle out and saying as such. In all kinds of industries many do that and end up starving because they didn't do it the right way. Just like Contractors require the portfolio, some references to back up their track record and etc to build credibility so they can win the big contracts, Consultants need that as well. More often than not it, a big part of that comes in the form of a book, published articles, or both.

For a Consultant, the book is a powerful marketing tool, an additional revenue stream AND it is the necessary gateway to paid speaking engagements which are often a stepping stone to high paying consulting gigs (and vise versa). Most consultants in many industries don't even make that move into the consulting world WITHOUT either a book, a string of articles published in reputable publications, or at least some notable industry award(s) under their belt (which is how Bob Vila got his start in TV). Without the later two, a book is in order -- hands down. Why? The reasons vary but they can be narrowed down to a perception thing: People generally won't take a consultant seriously as someone to hire unless they've either (1) got a proven (documented) track record for helping their consulting clients make money or (2) they are considered "experts" because of the works they have published. For credibilty sake usually the two go hand in hand. To see this in action, talk to anyone who is making over $60,000 a year solely on their consulting or even an agent at a Speaker's Bureau and do a survey on how many of them have books or published articles versus those who don't. After the first few people you talk to, how the book fits into process will speak for itself.

__________________
Majestic-Tile, a division of Majestic Home Improvement, LLC.
http://www.majestic-tile.com/
My Publishing Company and Graphic Design Portfolio:
http://www.bgpublishing.com/

Mike Finley

That's one way of looking at it. The other is being regarded as somebody who actually knows what the frick you are talking about by your peers. This comes from

#1 having a track record of having acutally run a successful home improvement business.
#2 Being know in your industry - as in having gotten press in our trade magazines.

All I know are 2 guys who have #1 and #2 and that I wouldn't give Michael Stone the sweat off my balls.

What can I say?

rbsremodeling

why do you say that Mike? I am curious about that statement.

__________________

Mike Finley

Like I said you want credibility -

#1 having a track record of having acutally run a successful home improvement business.
#2 Being know in your industry - as in having gotten press in our trade magazines.

That's what I want.

I've talked with Michael Stone, he's a nice guy, he wrote a nice book, I wouldn't hire him.

I'd pay PCplumber, Greg Di, marc, carportking or even a couple of others here on this forum my money before Michael Stone.

rbsremodeling

I Think sometimes not being in this industry full time and looking in from the outside so to speak can be a blessing and a curse sometimes.

I understand what your saying though.. I know next winter I am going out to LA to visit friends I am definitely looking PC Plumber up.

__________________

Mike Finley

I reread this and I think I'm not being clear because I left some stuff out.

For me, I don't want the basic business stuff, like Emyth and Mark up and Profit. I know how a business works, how to make money all that stuff.

I need the inside info on a unique method applied to a slot of home improvements like Plumbing service work or the replacement window business model.

I think the way to get that is to find somebody who actually is or was successful at doing exactly what you are looking for. The consultants I'm talking about who would be valuable to me are those types of people. I could careless about how to be successful in home improvements, I would want to know how to be successful in kitchen remodeling business or the concrete flat work business.

So I think that is more along the lines of where I am coming from, I should have been clearer from the start.

Max Nomad

Everything you've said is all true. The sad reality is that we're living in a different day now. Thanks to the Internet, anybody can become famous with a blog or a YouTube clip. With a well-crafted image, anybody can become an "expert". Credibility is a relative term -- and when it comes to potential customers it's one that is becoming more and more rooted in perception over anything else.

Think about it. When you first got into your area of Contracting did you seek out the top experts in your field? Even if you happened to learn things from reading their articles in the trade rags, did you memorize who wrote it or sought out everything about their careers? For most of us, the answer is probably "No". Most contractors started out by taking a job to pay the bills, picked up some skills along the way, and eventually sharpened some of those skills to the point where we went on to pick up some licenses and certifications.

Most Contractors are so focused on keeping the business coming in that they probably don't care about giving or receiving industry recognition among their peers, at least until their bank accounts are fat. Whether it's DIY homeowners or newbie Contractors looking to learn finer points on things like installing hardwood floors or build a deck, most probably aren't going to scrutinize industry credentials when they pick up Jack HandyMan's book, watch his show on HGTV or buy one of his DVDs. The reality is that most customers want information and instructions that is well-presented, makes sense, and something that they don't already know. I'm not saying that it's right to disregard the need for industry credentials but the fact that a search on Amazon for "Construction Contractor" brings up a little over 11,000 books illustrates the point. To use a wornout cliche, "It is what it is."

__________________
Majestic-Tile, a division of Majestic Home Improvement, LLC.
http://www.majestic-tile.com/
My Publishing Company and Graphic Design Portfolio:
http://www.bgpublishing.com/

Max Nomad

Thanks for elaborating on that... this makes ALOT more sense now as far as Consulting is concerned.

__________________
Majestic-Tile, a division of Majestic Home Improvement, LLC.
http://www.majestic-tile.com/
My Publishing Company and Graphic Design Portfolio:
http://www.bgpublishing.com/