The Four Rs of Turning Leads Into Customers

Over the past severalweeks, we’ve talked a lot about how to generate more leads for your plumbingbusiness through smart advertising , search engine optimization , and more. Here’s thetruth: Leads are great. But customers arebetter. And here’s another truth, one that’s maybe a bit of a gut-check: Converting leads into customers is entirelyup to you.

Sure, you can influenceyour Google search ranking using keywords. You can pay to show up in Facebooktimelines. You can send money to directory services like Angie’s List and HomeAdvisor (soon joining forces as ANGI Homeservices Inc .). Those are smartthings to do, for sure, but those strategies will only bring you potential customers.

What happens next hasnothing to do with algorithms and everything to do with you and your business.To turn more leads into actual revenue for your plumbing company:

If you’ve done a good job optimizing your web content for search, lots of potential customers will be dropping by your site. But if your site isn’t built with consumers in mind, they’ll take only a quick look around and then move on to the next Google result.

To be ready means to think like your potential customers. What questions are they asking? Does your website address them?

• Is this company skilled at solving the problem I’m having?
  
• How much will they charge me to solve my problem?
  
• How long will the job take?
  
• Can I trust them not to rip me off?
  
• How long will I have to wait to get my problem fixed?

Obviously, you can’t answer all of these questions thoroughly without having a conversation. So, the most important way you can be READY to turn leads into customers is to have a clear and simple call-to-action. Include contact information on every page of your website. Provide an attractive button on your home page with an invitation to schedule a free in-home estimate. Invite people to complete a form that offers details about their plumbing concerns, and promise to respond within two hours.

Which leads us to the next point:

If you’re paying for leads through directory services, Facebook Ads, or Google AdWords, it makes absolutely no sense to let those leads languish in your inbox. Go get those customers—now. If you’re the first company to respond to a customer’s inquiry, you’ll likely earn their business.

By the way, if you have a “contact us” form on your website, when’s the last time you tested it? Where do those inquiries land? Who’s responding to them? What turnaround time do you expect?

For you, as a plumbing entrepreneur, backed up sewers and burst pipes are pretty great. They keep you employed, after all. For homeowners, though? Plumbing problems are among their worst nightmares. Make sure the people responding to web inquires and answering the phone treat your leads accordingly. There’s a big difference between this:

“Yeah, we can repair your overflowing toilet on Wednesday.”

And this:

“Yikes. Yep, that’s definitely not something you wanted to deal with today, I’m sure. No worries: We can absolutely take care of that overflowing toilet for you. Before we schedule that service call, though, let me walk you through turning off the water supply to that thing.”

No one looks forward to spending their hard-earned money on plumbing repairs. And when they’re faced with a leaking faucet or gurgling bathtub, they’re probably assuming they’re about to get ripped off. It’s up to you to convince your lead that you offer expert service at a fair price.

Unless your shop offers Up-Front Pricing with a guide book, you can’t give a line-by-line estimate of a project before you see what the actual problem is, but you can offer a price range.

“From the problem you’re describing, it sounds like you may need a new garbage disposal. I won’t know for certain until I have someone take a look, but if that’s the case, it would cost between $___ and $___ for us to take care of that for you, including the service call, parts, and labor. Or, we can coach you on trustworthy disposal brands and you can install it yourself. In that case, the service call would be $____.”

If your lead tells you they got a lower estimate from another company, use that opportunity to share your expertise and reputation:

“I can see why that would be tempting. We prefer not to offer firm estimates over the phone because it’s tough to diagnose plumbing problems without laying eyes on them. Really, it boils down to not wanting to disappoint customers by giving them wildly inaccurate bid. 25 years in the business has certainly taught us some things about caring for our customers.”

If you’re looking for more opportunities to connection with leads for your plumbing business, we have the know-how to get them to your front door. All you have to do is open it. Contact us today for a consultation.