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You’ve heard that first impressions are everything. Well, in the world of contracting it’s often the ONLY THING. When you go to a potential customer’s home to give a bid, quite often they’ll be watching you from the moment you pull in the driveway. Believe it or not, that 20 seconds or so that elapses between getting out of your truck and shaking their hand at the front door will very often determine whether you get the job or not. It’s got everything to do with how you look, walk, and talk. The packaging and presentation of a product is often perceived as more important than the product itself, and if you think this doesn’t apply to home improvement services then you’re delusional. You ARE the product in this scenario, and the sooner you come to grips with that reality the better. Part of learning how to become a contractor involves paying more attention to your image and creating a sort of persona for the customer.
For starters, drive to the estimate in a nice truck. Pull up in a Ford Escort and you can kiss the job goodbye (what are you, a contractor or a 16 year-old scooting over to your job at McDonald’s?). Whip into the drive with that old beat-up piece-of-crap truck and you’re just wasting your time (homeowner will think that if you drive junk, then you’ll do junk work). I’m not saying you need to go out and buy a $40,000 behemoth F-250 with tinted windows and a helicopter landing pad in the bed, but at least find yourself a truck that is a newer model and looks clean and well-maintained. I recently bought a nice, used F-150 from a dealer for under 10 grand. No, it doesn’t have a “pimped out” stereo system or even power locks for that matter, but it looks clean and new, and that’s what really matters for your image.
Now, as you step out of your truck, the real scrutiny of you as a person begins. Homeowners want to see the following traits, in no particular order:
- A relatively in-shape person. It’s a sad but true fact that lean people tend to get hired more often than their overweight counterparts. Subconsciously, people think that if you don’t have enough discipline to master your own body, how will you ever find the motivation to complete a home remodeling job that may involve difficult and often frustrating phases of work.
- Clean, professional, wrinkle-free attire. Ideally you’d be wearing long khaki pants (no cargo pants) and a tucked-in polo shirt with your company’s logo emblazoned on the front. Absolutely no gym shoes. Any tattoos should be covered up if possible. Skip the ball-cap, or if you’re going to wear it at least make sure it’s clean and subtle.
- Short, well-groomed hair and beard, if applicable. A lot of contractors have a problem with this one, but it is what it is. People see long hair and the first word that comes to mind is “punk”. It’s obviously a totally bogus and unwarranted assumption, but it’s reality. For the love of pete, if you’re going to keep the hair at least tie it back out of your face.
- A confident walk. No slouching or moping on your walk up to the door. You should look like you want to be there and that you’re excited to meet this person. Who would you rather hire: a guy that looks genuinely excited about his work and business or somebody that looks like they’d rather be at the dentist?
- A person that looks old enough to be experienced. If you’re 32 but look 18, you need to take measures to make yourself look older. Wear glasses, switch the Casio watch out for the Movado, comb your hair in a different way – whatever you have to do to age yourself. I once posted a photo of myself on our company website so that potential customers could see how clean-cut I look, but it backfired because it made me look like a teenager, even though I’m in my 30’s. The phone calls suddenly stopped. I removed the photo and it started ringing again. Crazy but true.
- A wide, clean, odor-free smile. Self-explanatory.
- A confident, firm handshake. When that front door opens you absolutely MUST give a friendly “hello” (no matter how bad your day has been), introduce yourself, shake their hand like you mean it, and look them in the eye.
If you can meet all or most of these standards then there’s a good chance that the homeowner has already made up their mind that they like you and that they want to work with you, or at the very least that you’re on their short list. This assumes, of course, that you know your business and don’t completely blow it during the rest of the meeting, but getting off to a good start will put the customer at ease and make the sale that much easier. Those first 20 seconds are paramount to the success of your business. Fail to prepare for and master them, and your company will struggle to survive. These tips may seem shallow or mean-spirited, but it’s reflective of our society, like it or not. If you want to succeed you have to learn the rules and play by them. If you’re the stubborn kind that refuses to change for anyone or anything, I applaud you. Just don’t expect to ever become a rich contractor.
My name is Jeff and I created this blog in 2007 to help and inspire contractors and home service providers. It’s come a long way since then.
Very interesting and informative, but what about a dress code for women? I do not drive a truck and have no intention of doing so, so am I doomed because I drive an upscale family saloon?
Hmmm…hadn’t really thought of that. My mistake. I would say just use some common sense as far as a dress code goes. Try to dress as professionally as possible. I would say long pants, a nice polo shirt, and hair pulled back out of your face would still apply here. No, you’re not doomed because you don’t drive a truck. It helps but is not absolutely necessary. Just use what you’ve got but try to keep it as clean and good-looking as you can. Remember, all of this stuff, from your clothing to your car to your jewelry, is a professional representation of you and your business. So treat it as such. Thanks for the comment, Elle Dee!