5 Words That "Just Amped up the Delivery"

"This is how we work."

Here's an upbeat story to kick off the remodeling week. It's especially relevant if you think you're wasting your time with Twitter and other social media tools. Even more so if you're committed to thinking there's little you can do (other than slashing your prices to rock bottom) to get remodeling newbies to trust and hire you.

A Midwestern remodeler reports that he is "very, very close" to signing a $165,000 project of an old home in an upscale, historic neighborhood. The couple has never remodeled, "and they are very nervous," he says. "They called three of our past clients and also requested a walk-through of one of our projects."

During the walk-through (at another old home), the couple asked wisely about the "unforeseen changes" that often arise in old structures. "I saw this as a great opportunity to use these five words" the remodeler says. "I said, 'This is how we work' in the context of anticipating changes, performing thorough pre-construction planning and minimizing changes as much as possible.'"

The couple responded positively to that statement and everything that came with it. "I think it showed conviction," the remodeler muses. "I think just giving someone something to have confidence in gives them comfort. And the five-word statement just amped up the delivery."

So what's the Twitter connection? The couple was referred by an architect with whom the remodeler has been communicating on Twitter. "Score one for a great Twitter lead," the remodeler says. 

And the genesis of the five-word statement? From the talented Kyle Hunt, who provides marketing advice to remodelers. One of his recent emails recommended the "This is how we work" statement thus:

"Make it clear. Make it easy. Limit the options. Have it written out for them. This puts them at ease, makes their choice easier and converts more of your prospects to clients.

"Homeowners crave a PROCESS. Give it to them!"

Sign up for Kyle's email at his website. And follow his marketing tips on Twitter: http://twitter.com/KyleHunt.

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Kitchen Design Trends: #kbtribechat gleanings

If you're not on Twitter you probably don't know #kbtribechat, a popular virtual round-robin that brings together kitchen design enthusiasts for online conversations 140 characters at a time. There was a #kbtribechat Wednesday about "learning from automotive design," but I think remodelers would enjoy more the previous chat from last week, which covered kitchen trends for 2013.

Since there are hundreds of tweets, many of them verbatim repeats (retweets) of others and many others along the lines of "Hi!" and "Welcome!", I've culled some of the meatier ones for you.

The opening question:


Some responses:







Which prompted this question:


Some responses:

 
 



 

And this is only 12 minutes into the chat, which went on for hundreds more tweets. See the full thread here.




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