An experienced dealer will tell you that the builders they serve are the backbone of their business. That means connecting with them and finding ways to connect with larger audiences both online and in-person.
It takes some research and yes, there’s homework. But there are a few ways to go about winning more builders (and growing your business) when you follow just a few simple guidelines.
Use these tips to strengthen your current relationships with builders or build a database of new contacts to increase your customer base.
Do Your Homework First
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If you want to win more with builder customers, learn about who they are; dig into the builder community in your area and find out what they’re building. Especially considering impacts from the global pandemic, finding out what projects they are prioritizing or where they need extra support can be helpful in establishing new relationships — or strengthening existing ones.
Once you’ve done some investigation, you’ll start to narrow down your list of local builders and determine which of them you’d like to work with. If you want to grow or strengthen your audience, figuring out exactly what you’d like to sell to a specific type of builder is going to help make your outreach more clear and focused.
Here’s a list of questions to start with:
- What types of homes do they build?
- How long have they been building homes?
- How many homes are they building a year?
- Who do they build homes for? What is their typical price range for a house?
- How does the builder sell to their target homeowners? Through realtors, a sales center, or spec homes?
- What are their pain points and biggest challenges?
- Who is their competition?
- What impacts has the pandemic had on their business?
This research will tell you what you need to know about the risks and challenges that your builders are up against. Not only that, but you’ll find out what solutions or products they need to achieve success.
Once you have the answers to these questions, you can use them to have specific, targeted conversations that will make builders feel seen—they’ll know you cared enough about their business to do your research first, instead of wasting their time.
Remember to Think About Their Risks
If you want a builder to switch to using the products you carry, you need to remember the risks they shoulder when they’re selecting building materials.
“It’s their reputation that’s on the line both in the short-term and the long-term,” says Zach Williams with Venveo, a building materials marketing firm. Venveo recently surveyed builders to learn more about how they choose the manufacturers and products they work with.
When builders select a new product, they have to weigh both the solutions and challenges that come from using a new material, and it can feel even riskier to builders in today’s environment. Some materials they are used to using are no longer available due to supply issues, and they may feel forced into choosing something they aren’t used to. As one of the survey respondents said: “If the products I use are working, why would I switch to something 'better?'”
Using new products comes with a few risks for the builder, but you can make those decisions a bit less daunting by providing solutions for them.
Provide resources for installation: If the builder hasn’t worked with a product before, help guarantee their success by creating installation resources for them on your website. From step-by-step instructions to design inspiration, dealers can help builders by showing them how new products will work in their project.
Make ordering products easier: Dealers can help all of their customers by ensuring the ordering process goes smoothly. Include pictures or videos of the products so builders know they’re working with the right materials, along with installation materials and any FAQs. If your website isn’t clear and easy to use, builders will be less likely to switch to you.
More and more, they want to be able to order what they need directly from your website. Make sure your website is built to accommodate the needs of builders, and ensure that all shipping and order information is consistently up-to-date. Communicate any potential delays due to external factors, such as the pandemic.
Dedicate your dealer business to customer service: Builders want to know that switching to a new product won’t affect their timeline, whether it’s from a new product being back-ordered or the wrong product being delivered. While you can’t guarantee that nothing will go wrong with an order, you can make every attempt to reduce the risks. One way is by having a training team that can go on-site to show your builders how to install new products, ensuring that there’s no mistake that could void warranties or cause delays.
Go Beyond "Good Enough" Customer Service
Customers are much more likely to stick around if they know that you care.
You can better engage with builders by showing them you’ve done your homework and understand their challenges. Help them stand out from their competitors by offering solutions that give them a leg up. But make sure you do your research first.
- Train your sales team to level up their customer service: they should talk directly to builders you want to target. In-person visits — or these days, virtual calls — go a long way with establishing a customer connection.
- Ask builders what issues they have on the job site: with materials, ordering from their suppliers, installation problems, etc.
- The construction industry is evolving everyday, and so are safety and code requirements. Be a real resource to builders and share your industry knowledge with them about the regulations relevant to them.
PRO-TIP: Remember not to underprice or oversell your services or products to get a builder’s attention. This just sets unrealistic expectations from the beginning, and you’ll wind up going down a road you don’t want to be on.
When dealers make their customers feel like a priority, they win big. Find out what makes your builder customers tick, and show them you’re not after their money: you’re after solutions that help their bottom line.
And remember, customer service doesn’t mean just one thing. You can support your customers in a few ways, whether that’s with cutting-edge technology, downloadable guides on weather protection, new products to meet their changing needs or installation training.
Talk to Their Subcontractors
Dealers can also win more builder customers by selling to subcontractors first. It’s a unique (and rarely taken) opportunity that dealers can take advantage of in their sales process.
With today’s labor shortage and pandemic impacts, builders have had to rely more heavily on subcontractors and work to create a dependable relationship with them. Builders are less likely to switch to a new product if their subcontractor isn’t already using it or doesn’t know about it.
If you’re able to get a foot in the door with a subcontractor and they’re sold on your product, they’re likely to convince the builders they work with to use your products, too.
Building Sustainable Relationships
There’s a lot of buzz around sustainable building, and the relationships that you have with your customers should also be sustainable.
But dealers aren’t going to win long-term relationships with builders if they’re just giving them a sales pitch. It can take several months to make that first sale, especially if you’re targeting bigger building firms.
When you’re able to demonstrate to builders that you care about their success and will work to provide solutions for their projects, they have a more compelling reason to work with you. (Note that delivering donuts or pizza to the builder’s job site also doesn’t hurt!)
Think of your builder outreach as the start of a longer dialogue. This creates trust with them and starts the foundation of a solid relationship — a relationship where everyone wins.
Help your builders win more business by sharing these 10 tips, or click here to learn about the color trends of 2020.
