What If You Don’t Get The Job?

Winning the job is generally our idea of success, but when working as a contractor, we know losing the job is a regular occurrence.

And while that can happen for a variety of reasons, it’s definitely no reason for grief — and here’s why.

It’s time for a reflection

Losing the job is the perfect moment to reflect upon your approach. You know your business better than anyone, so when you pursue a lead and it doesn’t go your way, you’re the only one who can figure out why that happened.

Do you feel like you’ve lacked somewhere? Like you could’ve done better in any way?

Then do it better next time. This one is in the past — if you’ve signed up with homeyou, new leads should be coming your way soon.

And even better, if you feel like you’ve done your best and the client simply chose another path, then you’ve got nothing to worry about. Ultimately, it’s the client’s choice who to hire, so these things happen.

But let’s not forget the importance of self-reflection. It’s a hard path that asks one tough question, but nonetheless, a question any entrepreneur and business owner must answer with brutal honesty:

Is there something about your brand that puts off potential clients?

Let’s find out.

How’s your presentation?

You’ve had to hire people in your life for a number of different services, so you know presentation counts:

Anything you present as a brand is a statement to the client — even if you don’t think it is.

How’s your logo? Think about how long it’s been since you’ve redesigned it. Some logos can resist the test of time, but that’s rare. Take a look at other modern logos. Does yours hold up?

How’s your business card? Business cards are important tools for contractors, so logically, it’s important to get them done right. Here’s how.

How’s your estimate? Presenting an estimate is just as important as sending one in the first place. Why make your estimate as bare as an email with a number if you can make it something pleasant to look at? And this is a common mistake contractors make.

How’s your online presence?

A great exercise to understand how your brand is presented online is to simply look yourself up on Google.

See what shows up — this is what clients will see.

From this research, you can answer the following questions:

Are your social media pages easy to find?
Are your logos and business images updated?
Are there are any negative reviews on display?
Is your website easy to find and is it updated?

If your answer for any of these questions is “no”, then you must take action — one problem at a time:

Be sure to post at least once a week on your social media pages, and that your business name is written correctly.
Ask a designer to create profile images for each page, and ask a photographer to take professional images of your business. You could also take the pictures yourself with these tips.
Be sure to answer any negative reviews — people always look for this. Leaving negative reviews unattended is a terrible red herring for potential clients.
Is your website up-to-date? Does it look like it was made in 1998? It might be time for a redesign.

Master the follow-up call

Make sure you’re not losing clients because of a proper follow-up — persistence and patience can make the sale.

Phone calls are all about first impressions, so be sure you make a good one (here are some great tips). But it doesn’t end there:

What if you’re forced to leave a voicemail? What if they say they’re going to call back and never do?

It’s a subtle art. While you don’t want to give up too soon, you have to know when to let go so you pursue fresh leads.

We’ve answered these questions right here.

Think about WHEN you lost the client

From the first call to when the client lost interest, can you pinpoint what put them off?

If you can, then that’s exactly where you need to improve.

But if it isn’t clear, you can get there by breaking down the process:

Was it during the first call?
Was it on the follow-up?
Was it after the estimate?
Was it the price?

This analysis shouldn’t discourage you — by following this line of thought, you’ll know exactly where to excel next time.

And if at all possible, simply ask the client if there’s a particular reason why they chose someone else. Most of them can give an honest answer to work with.