Contractor U – The Upfront Contract

Now you might be wondering what am I talking about? What is this upfront contract method of selling? There is no way I can get a homeowner to sign a contract upfront. Well, you are right – they won’t!

Here is what I am talking about. When you first talk with a homeowner prospect, lay out what the process is that you go through when discussing a project. Tell them what is going to happen and get their acknowledgement that they understand the process and that they consent to it. If they don’t want to follow your process then you have to think twice about even moving to the next step with them.

Each meeting needs to have an agenda, be clear and concise and allow the opportunity for your homeowner to ask questions. They have to allocate enough time for your meetings and they have to put a hold on interruptions. Each call has to have a definitive end result and an agreement on the next step. Never leave a meeting without knowing why you are coming back and what you both expect to happen next. Book the followup appointment right there and then.

If at any point you find that the homeowner is trying to change the process, remind them on the steps that they need to go through in order to make sure that you can provide the renovation that matches their need and their budget.

The upfront contract is not easy to do and is a departure from how most contractors sell but it will definitely improve your chances of winning the renovation opportunity. After all, we want to reduce the number of proposals we do for people who never really did want to buy from us in the first place.