Technology & The Evolution of Home Remodeling Sales

Major Opportunity for Contractors: Online ‘Remote Selling’?

Home remodeling companies already know that the internet’s impact has been huge over the past decade. The power of the web and technology is only going to grow and ignoring trends can be fatal to the health of any business.

Up to now, there have been 3 critical areas for generating online success for home remodeling companies:

  1. Getting Found Online. Companies that master Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising generate more leads. It’s where most homeowners start their search, so it’s only common sense that getting found online is critical.
  2. Website Appearance & Clarity. Once homeowners find a business online, they start making judgements and decisions based on what they see. For home remodeling companies, the key is a website with professional presentation, clear messaging, and a good way to capture leads.
  3. Online Reviews. Reviews from independent websites are extremely influential for potential prospects. Having a good online reputation is a huge advantage.

Hopefully you’ve already mastered these 3 areas or are at least keeping up with the competition.

But is there now a 4th area that presents a great opportunity, and may be the future of how remodeling projects are sold – remote sales presentations?

There is, and it has everything to do with how the balance of power has now shifted toward the customer in virtually every sector of the economy. Homeowners have access to more information than ever before and it makes convenience and transparency very important values to them.

(Of course there’s always the temptation to grumble about yet another trend to keep up with, but savvy home remodeling companies should view it as an opportunity to get out in front and dominate their competitors).

So, what is the 4th key area of the online world that will dictate future success?

  1. Online Purchasing Of Big-Ticket Products & Services. The convenience and control of online purchases is now being extended to products and services with large price tags.

Many home remodeling companies are skeptical when they first hear about selling a project partially or completely online (also known as ‘remote selling). Can you really sell jobs that can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 online?

Consider this: you can’t now find a quality car dealership that doesn’t have an internet sales department. The reason for this is very simple: consumers demanded it. Any dealership that didn’t respond to this trend would lose significant business.

The question is: is the home remodeling industry next? And the answer is: it’s already happening. (For an example, see this article in Pro Remodeler Magazine).

Here’s why ‘remote buying’ will likely emerge as a key shopping method: many of today’s customer prefer to avoid high pressure sales people in their home. Web-savvy buyers now expect almost complete control of the terms and setting for many purchases they make.

Some in the home remodeling industry may bemoan this, but what if it wasn’t a burden, but a tremendous opportunity?

Think about saving money due to fewer truck rolls.

And consider times savings. Think about being able to sit at the kitchen table with your family at night because you have to make less return visits to close a sale.

If you want to explore a way to use remote selling to your advantage, you’ll find this follow-up blog post helpful. Click here to read ‘What Should Home Remodeling Companies Do To Respond To Today (and Tomorrow’s) Sales Environment?’

Obviously, this is still an emerging trend. In-home sales are not going to go away – at least not anytime soon. But it’s also fair to say that contractors offering remote selling options are seeing great success and are getting rave reviews from happy homeowners.

If you want to know more, here are 4 things you can do:

  1. Go here to read the Pro Remodeler Magazine article that shares insights on this trend.
  2. Read this follow-up blog post, ‘What Should Home Remodeling Companies Do To Respond To Today (and Tomorrow’s) Sales Environment?’
  3. Listen to this webinar hosted by Renoworks Pro that describes the advantages of Remote Selling.
  4. Go here to schedule of free demo of ‘Renoworks Pro: Fully Loaded’ that can demonstrate the tools you need to implement remote selling.

To discover more about remote selling, schedule a free demo by clicking here.