Inside Work

As Summer comes to a close, your advertising should start focusing on work that can be done inside the home. Kitchen floors, foyers, basements, garage floors, workshops are all candidates for the various CTi Systems. Which system is best for each situation? Below are some suggestions:



Kitchens and Foyers: CTi can provide a custom built, truly unique look with its Euro Bond product line. Granite, marble and other natural stone looks can be achieved on not only the countertops but these looks can also be done on the floors to match. This gives the kitchen or bathroom a beautiful, custom built look for a fraction of the cost when compared to the natural stone alternative.



In addition, you can also install the Stone Classic look on kitchen floors. This natural stone look has a more "earthy" appearance than the Euro Bond and can provide the customer with a beautiful, natural, "rougher" look. The Flat Floor Finish can give the customer more of a marble type appearance and can provide a more refined overall appearance. The Acrylistain application can provide a lower cost, acid tinted look that is great for an area where you would want a comfortable, homey feel.



Garage Floors and Workshops: The CTi Durafleck product line is the most popular solution to giving the garage a showroom appearance. Not only will the floor be easier to maintain once the Durafleck is installed, but it will also become brighter and add value to the home vs. having plain, gray concrete. In addition to the Durafleck, you can also install the Color Blend application. This application uses the Hallmark products but provides a smoother, easier to clean floor. The Acrylistain application is becoming a more popular application in these areas as well where the husband wants to create more of a "man cave" for his workshop area and wants darker color combinations because of that.



Basements: The basement can be one of the most popular places in the house during the Winter months. The Stone Classic finish can give a basement that earthier look that goes well with exposed beams in the ceiling and a "lodge" type appearance. The Euro Bond can dress up a basement like no other product. Take a plain concrete floor and turn it into something truly spectacular and then do the counters for the wet bar area or the mini kitchen. Again, the Acrylistain application can be used here as well.



Sealers: Obviously the looks are what the customer likes most about the interior floors a CTi Dealer can provide, but what about ease of maintenance and durability? CTi offers interior sealers that can provide the customer with a tough, easy to clean surface. The Rapid Armor Interior can give you a low odor, rapid setting sealer when installing the product while giving the customer a chemical resistant, easy to maintain coating that will keep its beauty for years. Even after years of wear and tear, a coat of simple household wax will immediately bring the floor back to life.



In addition to the Rapid Armor interior, CTi provides a water borne, low odor urethane in its Aquathane 6000. This sealer is great for garage floors and other interior applications. It is chemical resistant and will withstand the abuse it gets with cars driving in and out of the garage along with the salts and other chemicals that fall on it throughout the year.



When installing the CTi products inside, the balance you have to strike with the customer is ease of maintenance vs. non-slip. Obviously, the smoother you install a floor, the less friction it provides when wet. This can lead to problems down the road in areas that see a lot of water or other materials that cause the floor to become slick. If you put too much texture into the floor, the textured areas trap dirt and make the floor harder to rinse off or mop.

Are You Missing The Easy Selling Opportunities?

Many business owners, in the rush to get new customers, miss one of the easiest selling opportunities available to them. Your current customers can help you secure additional work in two ways, namely with the ability to sell them additional work and in giving you referrals to other interested customers.

The key to getting this easy work though is follow up. Many businesses don't like to follow up with their current customers. They feel they are too busy or they think they will get a complaining customer by following up. The tragedy in this mind set is that one, most customers will give great reviews if given a little attention. A customer who receives regular phone calls is more likely to want to do business with the company calling when needed and is also more likely to refer the company to their friends. The other thing to consider is that if your customer does have a concern and you don't follow up with them, they might complain to their friends and give you the "word of mouth" advertising you don't want.

CTi Dealers who are good at getting referrals and additional work normally follow up with the customer a couple of weeks after the initial installation, and then follow up every 2-3 months to check in.

Make It Happen

Below is a terrific e-mail that was sent by CTi of Wisconsin to their Dealer network. Tom and Kathy have been representing CTi both as a Distributor and Dealer for over 10 years, so they definitely know what they're talking about!

Several dealers have been interested in more information on how to advertise conservatively and get more work for winter and spring....I have put together a list of things that we do here at our office and are currently doing to keep reminding people we are still here !! Tom and I have had one of our most successful years this year.....don't believe all is bad in the economy ! There are people out there spending money ~ it's just up to you to find them and cash in !!

1. We have been advertising in our local "shopper" paper. Our ads cost about $60 - $135 per ad depending on size and whether I use black or white print or color print. We have 2 ads going out again this weekend pushing garage floors before the holidays... Don't let the cold keep you from working!! Push Interior work!

2. For those of you who belong to a Home Builders Association or Chamber of Commerce ~ become active!! Start going to the meetings! We had one last night and I got 2 big job leads from contractors....which I have followed up with today already....this will fill up my December calendar!! Use your Home Builder Book or Chamber Book to send out emails or mailers to all the members listed! My emails offer special discounts to Members...this is free to do via email or website, however, takes a little more of your time....it also reminds customers we are still here and updates them on the latest products and designs and/or specials.

3. Go back through all your past leads and contacts from the past 2 - 4 years and resend them information. I have a call back on one garage floor that I bid out last year. That appt. is at 3:30 today - he verbally said he was ready to do the floor now and I am meeting him to pick out colors. Again ~ remind customers that you are still there and wanting their business!!

4. Followup with people you have already done work with. Call or mail to see how things are going. They may surprise you and say they need more work!! Or remind them to keep you in mind for Spring Projects! What you do today will help

you get work in the future!!

5. I recently went to a "cyber technology" seminar...there are several opportunites out there. Set up an account with Facebook or Linked In. Get your friends, customers, family to join...update photos with jobs or projects that you have done...remember ....all their friends can see this information too! What a great way to advertise for free !!

6. Are you following up on your reseals? This alone can fill up your winter interior work and spring schedule!

7. Contact your local water department for "new move in" lists. This is public information and free! We have found out that people purchasing existing homes are more likely to be spending money on improvements ! Make them spend some of that money on you!

8. Send a Flyer and letter introducing yourself to various hotels, condo associations, apartment building owners, resort areas, etc. This is the time of year they are working on budgets for 2010. Again - show them what you can do!

9. Now is the time to learn and practice the EuroBond System ! Master two or three designs to start and then start marketing countertop resurfacing ! This is great interior winter work ! Kits are available with detailed instructions !

10. We have put together binders with flyers and photo information for the "contractors" that we work the most with. Even when your not around, they have the information at hand to show their potential customers. They keep this information at their office and it is available to them whenever they want it to show. We update and add new photos periodically for them. Builders like this - gives them the "advantage" of knowing something new before others do !

We work with several flooring companies this way too....they may offer tile and carpet, but will sell a garage floor for you if the opportunity is there !! They get their commission and we get the work!

The worse thing you can do is nothing...don't just sit and wait for the phone to ring! Make it Happen!!

Setting Effective Appointments

Many times, a sale is made or lost depending on the type of appointment that is set. Going on a "one legged" sales call where only the husband or wife is available, is a sure fire way to raise your frustration level as they give you the answer of "well, let me check with the other half and we'll call you back".

Give yourself a better chance of making the sale by following this guide when your phones are ringing:

Dealer: "Thank you for calling (Company Name), this is __________, may I help you?"

Customer: "Yes, I wanted to find out more about this product"

Dealer: "Great, can I ask where you heard about us?"

Customer: "I received one of your cards in the mail."

Dealer: "O.K., to give you a brief overview, the CTI Hallmark System is an acrylic modified cement that is designed to be sprayed over an existing concrete surface. The System does two things, first it protects the concrete surface from such things as salts and de-icing agents, mold, mildew, and other elements that tend to cause concrete to look bad over time. The second thing the CTI System does is beautify the concrete by giving it a look, color and texture of anything from brick to tile, slate, marble or any kind of a look or design you choose."

Customer: "That sounds great, how much does it cost?"

Dealer: "The price depends on a number of variables, for all I know, you may have concrete that is in good condition and you may want a very simple design. I don't want to over charge you. It takes about 30 minutes for me to come out and measure up the area, show you some pictures and give you a few ideas of what we can do for you, and I can give you an exact price then. I have an opening Monday at 4:30 or Thursday at 6:00, which one is better for you?"

Customer: "Um...probably Thursday."

Dealer: "Great! Let me ask you, will anyone else be involved in choosing colors and design combinations?"

Customer: "Yes, my wife will want to look at this as well."

Dealer: "Just to make sure, will you wife be available at 6:00?"

Customer: "No, she normally doesn't make it home until 6:30."

Dealer: "I'll tell you what , I'll do some re-arranging and I'll see both of you at 6:30 on Thursday instead."

Customer: "That sounds fine."

Dealer: "Mr. Jones, provided you like everything you see on Thursday, what kind of time frame were you considering in getting something like this done?"

Customer: "I don't know, probably within the next couple of weeks depending on how much it costs."

Dealer: "Just wanted to check so I have a better idea of what my schedule will look like when we meet. I'll see you and Mrs. Jones Thursday at 6:30."