The bright side to that dilemma is that designers and manufacturers are constantly working to bring down costs—to make green an easier sell and a lighter load for the average client’s pocketbook. Out of that ilk comes K-tect Sustainable Building Systems, an all-around green building gem judging by the bullet list of benefits on the website.

The biggest benefit for homeowners and the environment is that K-tect walls use less material than a conventional wall system and contain no thermal bridges. The walls are built to high efficiency in a factory and delivered to the site, where they can be erected and connected using manpower alone.

Construction costs are reduced in a number of ways, including:

• Air conditioning and heating capacity reduced
• Faster and easier installation—no cranes, forklifts or chainsaws necessary
• Reduced installation and framing labor
• No need for wall insulation contractor
• No on-site construction waste
• Reduction in weather-related delays

And the whole process is fast. According to K-tect, an example 4100-square-foot residence built with 10-, 12-, and 16-foot K-tect Wall Systems went from slab to roof trusses in only 2.5 days—with a four-man crew.

K-tect also boasts that their systems result in fewer callbacks and less warranty work for you, the contractor. “Factory quality control” ensures straight and square walls, as well as no warping, splitting or twisting of studs. The walls are comprised of light gauge metal studs with integrated insulation that purportedly eliminates thermal bridging.

As far as green building goes, K-tect wall systems meet or exceed all building codes, as well as all green building standards. So in the end, a job gets done quicker, easier, requires less manpower and is cheaper for the homeowner and more profitable for the builder.

K-tect Building Systems are GREENGUARD certified for homes, children and schools.

K-tect homes may contribute between 15 and 72 points toward LEED-H certification, depending on the size and design of the home.

Certified-aging-in-place (CAPS) contracting could be a key to remodeling success in the years to come. As the US population grows older, more homeowners are looking to age in place, which often entails transforming their home into a practical place to live as health issues and mobility begin to play a role in their daily lives.

Such steps include wider, wheelchair-accessible pocket doors, better lighting, reduction of tripping hazards, elevator installation, shower grab bars and tub cuts. Renovations such as these can mean the difference between a later life lived at home or one in a nursing home. That, for many of us, is a powerful incentive, accentuated by the fact that the average home itself is aging and in need of repairs anyway.

The Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS) designation can be achieved through a three-day training course offered by the National Association of Home Builders, in conjunction with AARP. Some 3,000 home remodeling and repair contractors have been certified thus far. That’s a relatively small number compared to the fast-growing number of senior citizens in America.

The scope of CAPS remodeling is wide, affecting nearly every aspect of home re-design, from rocker light switches to low-pile carpeting. Even patterned flooring can become a problem for those with poor vision. Understanding the many ways aging-in-place remodeling can benefit the homeowner, as well as how to broach the subject in a respectful way, could be your ticket to an increased work load. Not to mention a work that helps people live out their life in the most comfortable and familiar way they can.

To learn more about becoming a CAPS contractor, see the NAHB website. The included courses teach the technical, business management and customer service skills to succeed in the aging-in-place sector. In the United States and most other developed countries, a growing percentage of the population is reaching seniority, while the younger population is shrinking. Furthermore, most homes in the US are 30 years or older. It’s a tandem that’s creating quite a market for knowledgeable CAPS professionals.

Photo Credit: Chuck Miller

In desert-like conditions, contractors are looking to small remodels to stay afloat. There’s little speculation in the building industry, but there are aging homes, low-cost materials and energy efficiency incentives, which are a ray of light in a trade otherwise rife with downsizing and bankruptcy protection.

A recent article in The Tennessean tells the story of Capitol Homes. The construction company was booming with everybody else for much of the last decade, building 850 homes in eight years, including a high-profile showcase on ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Now, things have changed. Owner David Luecke filed for bankruptcy protection and downsized his business to become a home remodeler. Where once Capitol Homes was banging out new home after new home, they are now refinishing basements.

I can relate to some extent. In 2007, when the boom started to wane, I was working with a friend and contractor in Grants Pass, Oregon, a town that soared and fell with the housing boom and bust as much as any town in America. In the span of a few months, his work portfolio changed from 90% new construction to 90% home remodeling, and the mentality of making big bucks turned to that of survival. It started with additions but soon came to include fencing, decks and other small projects. Occasionally, and thankfully, he fit in a new home here and there.

The point is that in times of tight belts and thin wallets, a remodel can be the difference between company malady and company maintenance. And while that may seem a dire choice given the successes of a few years ago, remodeling offers a unique opportunity that can carry a contractor until the housing market stabilizes. Remodeling is your potential lifeboat for a few simple reasons.

Cost of Materials is Low

There is a need for homeowners to remodel, and despite fears about money, a sharp drop in material costs is enough to overcome them. The cost of framing lumber has dropped 30% in the last four years to $254 per 1,000 feet. Granite countertops are now only 15% more expensive than Formica. Moving from building $1 million homes to less than $10,000 remodels is a big step down, there’s no denying that, but without fallen material costs, there might be no work at all.

Energy Efficiency

Another reason also stems from money. But this time, it’s about spending money now to save money (and the environment) later. Government incentives to encourage energy upgrades offer money back in the short-term, and heating, cooling and electricity over the long run are improving ROIs for homeowners and providing jobs for contractors.

Education is playing a key role in energy efficient remodeling. Homeowners are more aware of the environmental and financial consequences of their remodel. They know more and want to know even more yet about material life cycles, clean energy, passive solar design, recycled products and eco-friendly remodeling options. As a contractor vying for survival in the remodeling market, knowledge of green building can be a huge asset. New construction, when it recovers, will certainly come out of its slump with a greener tint, but for now it’s with remodels – basements, bathrooms, kitchens, windows and insulation – that contractors are maintaining some water flow in an otherwise dried-up desert.

A search for “replacement windows” by Replacement Contractor yielded three top results: Window Replacement Center, the Replacement Window Site, and Calfinder. All three sites collect information from homeowners set on remodeling and then sell that information to contractors. Lead-generation companies have become a powerful force in the Internet age. Calfinder, for example, offers homeowners information, resources, a daily blog and free estimates on a variety of home improvement projects.

Contractors, on the other hand, gain access to a vast coffer of internet leads. These leads are exceptionally valuable because homeowners feel safer using a company referred by the lead-generation site. In other words, lead-gen companies are to contractors today what word-of-mouth referrals were before the age of Google.

Not every remodeling contractor is happy with lead-generation services. Some complain that too many companies receive the same lead or that leads are not well-qualified. Yet those who are successful with internet leads are often very successful. George Faerber, owner of Bee Window in Indianapolis, estimated that 8-10% of his leads come from lead-generation companies – among them Calfinder – and that about one-third of all his business volume comes through the Internet in some form or another.

The Right Time is Real Time

What separates success from failure with purchased Internet leads? It’s a matter of timing and determination. The right time to call a prospect won by Internet is in real time. As in now. To illustrate the point, take a couple of Calfinder leads offered to New Windows for America. The first lead came in at 10:37 a.m. and the second at 11:07 a.m. The first lead was not called for several minutes and, upon calling, received no answer. The 11:07 lead was called at 11:08 and a sales meeting was set. The Internet age demands real-time response, especially when you know you are not the only contractor who is receiving a particular lead.

First Come First Serve

Another reason to be quick on the draw – to drop everything and call a prospect – is lead competition. It is rare for a lead-generation company to offer exclusive leads, and the first contractor to make contact is often the first, if only, contractor to schedule an appointment. Developing an internal system for a quick and quality response is vital to turning Internet leads into real life sales. New Windows for America reports that it successfully sets appointments with nine out of 10 lead-gen prospects exactly because it has developed a working system to reply to those leads promptly.

Following Up

Determination is the second key to success with lead-gen inquiries. Even if you call every lead within minutes of their inquiry, you are unlikely to reach everybody on that first try. While immediate response is vital, follow-up is also key. This can mean anything from repeated phone calls for several days following the initial inquiry to monthly or quarterly phone calls and emails.

Cheap and Effective

You may have to work for a lead culled from a lead-generation company, but that lead can be both effective in generating business and relatively inexpensive. Ken Greene of St. Clair Corp, a home improvement company based in St. Louis, sees Internet leads as a major contributor to company sales. He notes that 73% of Calfinder leads become good net business, well above industry average. Furthermore, Calfinder leads are cheaper; marketing cost for St. Clair Corp on a Calfinder lead is 8%, compared to 14% companywide and across all lead sources.

So, Internet leads may take some work on your part to push them beyond the marginal, but companies like New Windows for America and St. Clair Corp have proven that they can be very effective. They do it by adjusting their company routine to accommodate the new wave of lead generation. In the age of Google and real-time technology, you have to help your leads help you.

Via Replacement Contractor Online

As a contractor, obtaining some level of green certification could make all the difference in a recession-weary building industry. Demand is way up for green building; spurred by government incentives, efficient materials and appliances, as well as increased awareness of long-term savings and environmental impact.

Understanding those factors and all the products and practices that go along with green building is key to winning today’s clients’ trust and signature. Proving that you have such knowledge and expertise only makes lead generation and confirmation that much easier. There are several ways to become a green certified contractor; some are nationally recognized, some vary by state or region.

Following are a few examples of how you can become a green certified professional:

LEED certification

The U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED program has become the number one standard for modern, green home design. Typically, LEED is referred to as a ratings system for sustainable buildings. At the same time, the USGBC also offers accreditation for contractors.

There are three levels of certification: LEED Green Associate, LEED AP and LEED Fellow. For a fee, and with some proof of previous work on a LEED project, you can take an exam, pass it, and become a registered green professional recognized by the most reputable green building organization in the country. For more info, see the USGBC website.

Green Advantage (GA)

Green Advantage provides training and certification for aspiring green building professionals. They do so on three levels: commercial, residential, and commercial-residential. Tests cover six topics, including basic understanding of green building, site and land use, water, energy and atmosphere, materials and indoor environmental quality. The exam costs $175 and includes three years-worth of certification. Learn more about Green Advantage.

National Association of Home Builders

NAHB Green is a program that focuses on green building education, resources and, of course, certification for green professionals. Their CGP program, offered through the NAHB’s University of Housing, requires 24 hours of approved training and education every three years. Courses are offered at NAHB national events and CGP designation is only available to individuals.

Build It Green

Build It Green is an example of a statewide certification program – in this case, California. Build It Green offers training, workshops and certification for contractors in the state. Training varies from the basics of green building to green remodeling and retrofitting. Build It Green also has its own LEED-like ratings systems for homes in California.

Training and certification through Build It Green costs $400 for members and $450 for non-members. Certification is good for two years before re-certification (at just $50) is required.

While LEED is currently the industry standard in green building ratings (and often the status required for many states’ green building tax credits), expect more states or statewide organizations to develop their own standards. Florida is one example.

LEED-certified buildings already represent six percent of the commercial building industry and over 40 percent of new buildings have applied for certification. Expect green building in the residential sector to see similar growth in the near future. The USGBC now has a ratings system for single-family homes, and resulting data should be forthcoming next year.

Even more important will be the push at the federal level to incentivize home efficiency upgrades. Tax credits, low interest loans and other factors will fuel the sustainable housing fire in the coming years.

For a remodeling contractor in a very competitive market, that could mean a shift in direction, a change in the questions you hear from homeowners, and perhaps even some new education (USGBC offers classes, webinars and LEED certification for aspiring green builders). A vital key to success in cementing leads and getting contracts signed will be knowledge of green building practices, materials, and trends.

Even now, when times are tight and wallets tighter, off-hand knowledge of the pricing and price differences between conventional products and newer eco-friendly rivals could make all the difference for you, the contractor. And perhaps even more unusual for many remodelers will be the need to understand the policy and politics that drive green building. Homeowners themselves are more educated these days and are likely to at least have a general understanding or awareness of federal tax incentives – can you explain the intricacies to them?

The easiest way to look at the benefits of becoming a “green” remodeling contractor (and soon) is simply to put it in conventional terms. Historically, the calling cards of a quality contractor have been experience, knowledge, communication, and of course, quality work. In the inevitable green age of home building and design, those four characteristics will take on slightly new definitions. All the old qualities must be present, but with the added green aura. And the sooner you’re educated about working with green materials, the further ahead of the pack you’ll be when the majority see the light.

For those new to the QR survey, it’s meant to gauge customer satisfaction on a large scale and identify those specific traits & practices of the remodelers who garner the highest satisfaction ratings. The survey accomplishes this by asking how satisfied, in general, remodeling customers were and then breaking it down to more specific topics, such as professionalism, availability, scheduling, etc.

By the way, most remodeling contractors get a passing rating from their customers; about a 6.5 out of 10. It’s not great, but its not bad either. The key is identifying what set the high scores apart from the low scores.

Availability and Communication

The two go hand-in-hand. A contractor who is on the job most of the time will be available for questions and answers, thus increasing communication levels. And it was communication that seemed to dominate the remodeling survey. The largest disparity between overall satisfaction ratings came in these categories.

Photo Credit: Qualified Remodeler

Customers who found their contractor there, on the job, when they needed him gave considerably higher ratings than those who listed that their contractor was often absent from the job or hard to get hold of.

While other factors are important, the consistency of numbers regarding communication were telling. With dominant regularity, those contractors scoring high in attentiveness, communicative ability, and presence on the job scored high overall, and were more likely to be hired again or referred to a customer’s friend.

See the full summary of the survey at Qualified Remodeler.

Photo Credit: billjacobus

Assumptions

His dissection of referrals utilizes several assumptions that remodelers too often make in regard to referred clients. These include assuming that:

• Friends of clients are always as easy to work for as the original client.
• Referrals will accept responsibility and make selections on time.
• Referrals will have the same sense of cost vs. value as clients.
• Referrals will be patient.

Indeed, making assumptions about any aspect of lead generation is not a good idea. Such a notion can breed complacency, which will usually lead to an end of referrals in general. Understanding that each client is unique, with their own sense of taste and process, is the backbone of any successful remodeling company. Yet personal inconsistencies seem hardly a reason to disqualify the referral as a quality, if not the best, lead. A contractor is measured by his or her ability to communicate and troubleshoot with any client. In terms of how an acquaintance with a client is generated, what could be a better foot-in-the-door than a personal reference?

Photo Credit: Midtown Crossing at Turner Park
What Are Your Aspirations?

The fifth and final myth, as well as the heart of the anti-referral argument, is that a contractor can build and sustain a business solely from client referrals. Referrals are inconsistent, and a successful remodeling company will create a dynamic lead generation process including advertising, community involvement, and other available resources.

Much depends on company goals or aspirations. I personally have seen contractors succeed without a stitch of advertising (one used only his church bulletin), relying solely on word of mouth and performance (although community involvement was always present). Yet these contractors did not aspire to grow into a large, several-crew outfit. They were happy with keeping it small, keeping it local, and keeping it personal. I also watched their companies wax and wane with the local economy and business cycles. They understood that business would be slow from time to time and adjusted their business plan to accommodate that fact.

Now, for a company wishing to grow and expand to its maximum potential and beyond, the idea that you can rely on referrals alone is indeed false, especially when you are trying to expand into new markets. On the other hand, maintaining a quality of service that will garner referrals when they are there to be had is still crucial. One might even say that advertising, newsletters, and others are a way to penetrate a given market, but it is referrals that will truly entrench the company.

Furthermore, remember that the work will always speak for itself (and then get clients to speak for you). One could almost include in the “referral” category a lack of negative discussion about your company. That is, a poor reputation will trump most lead generation strategies, especially when the Internet is so easily available for clients to voice their opinion for all to see. So while much depends on your aspirations, referrals, which are always based on service, are still the backbone of any company, whether they are, in their traditional definition, your main source of leads or not.

Referrals Are Tantamount to Success

So while referrals may not be numero uno for your company, they will always have an effect on your business. I maintain that referrals are still top quality leads because it is never bad to have a positive review, regardless of what it leads to. This is the very reason why online referrals are gaining in popularity. Despite their relative impersonal nature, they allow homeowners to get not just one but several referrals from past clients with just the click of a mouse.

In closing, the quality and consistency of referral leads varies widely depending on contractor and community. To assume that referrals will always be there to support your business is a certain mistake, although assuming that any lead generation strategy will be perfect is also a mistake. Yet at the heart of any company are always dedication, communication, and a quality of service. These are the characteristics that generate referrals.

That means that contractor-seeking homeowners are likely bombarded with lines like, “We do quality work” or “I have years of experience” or “I am honest, I work for you!” Nowadays it takes more than a smile and a handshake to get work. It takes some creative selling. So the question becomes: What is your unique selling proposition? Your USP?

The USP is not new to marketing. Today a number of businesses and corporations search for and use their USP to the fullest extent. And in a highly competitive market it is vital that you realize and utilize your company’s unique selling point. A recent post from Qualified Remodeler offered some good advice for contractors seeking out their own USP.

That advice includes something that many of you are likely already doing — contacting past clients. But instead of contacting them simply to maintain a relationship and check on past work (an increasingly important approach in its own right), you can use them as a marketing research tool. Surely there is some reason that those past clients chose you in the first place; something about your company that somehow appealed to them more than your competition.

So the deal is to call some of your favorite, most successful clients past, of course check up on the finished project and offer any assistance needed, but also schedule a rendezvous (i.e., dinner, lunch, etc.) where you can probe them as to why they hired you. As Qualified Remodeler suggests, do this with about five of your favorite clients and look for a theme to arise, the odds are good that you will find one. This may very well by your company USP.

Of course you can also search within. Your competitive bids and quality of work will speak for themselves. Is there anything else you have to offer? Perhaps some specialized skill that you can capitalize on? It could be a unique work method that ensures fast work without sacrificing quality. In what ways are you inventive? How do you go about your work differently than the competition?

Your unique selling proposition lies below the surface and only you can know it. It may seem a bit difficult to come by at first, but once you’ve grasped it, it will be as easy as A-B-C. Just don’t forget to include past clients in the search. They will be your most informative and valuable resources during your search. Surely it is past clients who can best reveal exactly what it is about you that will appeal to future clients.

Low bidding is not without its pitfalls, however, and it is vital that no contractor bid lower than his or her means allow, especially within the realm of remodeling.

Pitfall #1: Losing Potential

Low bidding can easily lead to taking a loss. A contractor, in the oft mad drive for work, might look at a job — quickly measuring up the job and the homeowner — and feel confident enough to bid lower than normal for the work. The general gamble here is that the job will run smoothly and according to plan, despite experience of the opposite. We often counsel homeowners to be prepared for just about anything when “opening up” their home. In this case, the same advice is useful for remodelers seeking to outbid the next guy — simply having work does not necessarily spell success.

Pitfall #2: Labor and Manpower

Labor is another key issue. You, the contractor, are responsible for paying your employees, whether the job is over budget or not. Low bidding combined with unforeseen circumstances can spell disaster for your job, finances, reputation, and that all-important relationship with employees. Furthermore, should circumstances send the job behind schedule, you won’t have the resource to recruit the manpower to get it done in a reasonable amount of time.

Pitfall #3: Reputation

Reputation. Low bidding is often looked sternly upon by other contractors and trades within the community. It may seem like the short road to ongoing work, but in the long run it can be more damaging than helpful. In tough economic times all contractors are forced to lower their bids, there is no denying that; we all have mouths to feed, and that includes homeowners. But on top of all the other risks involved in low bidding, which can also hurt your reputation, tarnishing the company name is not one to ignore.

Pitfall #4: The Gamble

The basic summation of the pitfalls of low bidding is that it is a gamble, and a risky one. I imagine there are several contractors throughout the construction world for whom this practice has been successful, but I would venture that these are few and far between. I personally have seen low bidding become the downfall of two separate contractors, one to the tune of millions of dollars in losses and owed debts.

Again, at this time we all have to sacrifice, homeowner and contractor alike, but be wary of the pitfalls of low bidding. This, unfortunately, is no 4-bit video game.