BUILDING CONTRACTORRELATIONSHIPS

Why Would You Buy Something From Somebody?

• Know• Like• Trust

Where are Relationships Going Today?

• Moving from a relationship model to a transactional one

• Only conversation is on price and availability• No room for a value proposition discussion

Issues with Your Distribution Network

• No direct contact with contractor• Distributors don’t like to share contractor

information• Hard to establish loyalty• They sell what they have and can make the

biggest margins

Relationship Selling

• Need to know and understand the contractor (face time)

• Engage contractors with success stories• Ask for feedback–good or bad

Contractor Profile

• Very loyal–don’t like change• Day starts around 6 and ends around 5• Multi-tasking from sales, to project

management• Most of their day is spent in the field• Biggest challenge – finding qualified workers• Second biggest challenge – training them

What are Contractors Looking For?

• Contractors buy stories before they buy stuff • Solutions to their problems – good content• How to do it better in less time using new,

improved methods• Access to knowledgeable factory people for

problem solving• Manufacturers who do what they say they

will do

How to Connect with Contractors

• Send them referrals (Owens Corning)• Have your sales force spend 70% of their time

in the field and 30% with distribution• Special contractor, portal, hotline and email• Online training for their staffs• Responsive website• Apps• Social media marketing• SEO – Google it

How to Connect with Contractors (continued)

2016 Content Marketing Trends

• Subscribers, not leads• Email, not social followers• Less, not more• Longer, not shorter

Social Media for Contractors

• YouTube• SlideShare• LinkedIn• Blog

Looking at YouTube

• YouTube has 1 billion unique visitors each month and sees four billion video views every day

• Second largest search engine in the world• Integrated into Google results

Opportunity for Quality & Engagement

• Not TV Advertising• “It’s got to be 30 seconds?”

- Tell the story first- Shorter is almost always sweeter- Focus on first 15 seconds

Telling a Story

• Engage customers• Educate customers• Point of differentiation• Entertain customers• Be different

What is SlideShare?

World’s largest community for sharing presentations

60 million monthly visitors 215 million page views/month One of the most visited 200 websites in

the world

What is SlideShare? (continued)

Upload: Presentations – Documents– PDFs– Videos – Webinars

What are Some SlideShare Benefits?

• Largely untapped SEO potential• Improve your presentation skills• Get invited to speak• Ties together with Facebook and LinkedIn• Grow your professional network• Embed SlideShare on your blog

What is LinkedIn?

• Professional social networking site• Virtual community for professionals• The most under-utilized social media tool

for business

Why Use LinkedIn?

• 347 million members worldwide• 84 million members in the USA• 30 million company pages• 1.5 million LinkedIn groups

LinkedIn Groups

• AMHA Home Improvement Industry – 14,000 members• Commercial Construction Professionals – 10,000 members• HVAC Professionals – 118,000 members• Linking Construction – 155,000 members• Friends of NAHB – 18,000 members• Building Commerce – 6,000 members

LinkedIn Company Pages

LinkedIn Company Pages

LinkedIn Sponsored Updates

LinkedIn Sponsored Updates

• Companies can sponsor updates to appear in users’ feeds who don’t follow the company

• Don’t get lost in the “noise” of sidebar ads• Boosts your content across all devices• Ability to custom target

• Title• Job function• Industry• Company size• Seniority

What is a Blog?

• A form of social media• Websites that allow individuals, groups and

companies to share opinions and information in long form on a regular basis

• Considered “owned” media

Key Questions

• Who is your audience?• Who is competing for your audience’s

attention?• What do you want your blog’s focus to be?• What goals are you trying to achieve?• How are you going to measure those goals?

Pros of Starting a Blog

• Establish your brand as a thought leader in the industry

• Share your professional knowledge with personality

• Creates a central hub for social media efforts• Build relationships• Can be used to support other marketing initiatives• The size of your organization doesn’t affect the

quality of your blog

Referrers

Summary

• Know your audience• Build a relationship• Become a resource• Help them build their businesses• Make it a long-term commitment

Contact Information

John Sonnhalterjsonnhalter@sonnhalter.com

216-533-7110www.Sonnhalter.com

www.TradesmenInsights.com