Your Opinion Please.

[firedog]

Eddie, I agree with the others. (plus I gave up about half way thru, as well.)
I think short consise statements are best (what Blueriver said.)

Also maybe an "about us" page on you website with a FAQ section. Here you could make some of the same statements in the form of a question/answer.
For example:
Q: What if my job is too big? A: On most projects, I work alone. For bigger jobs, or if time becomes an issue, I have qualified associates who can provide assistance for the best possible results.
Q: What if I change something in the middle of the job? A: If you decide to make a change to the project, or add to it, we will discuss if there will be any additional labor charges. Sometimes, if it痴 a simple change that really doesn稚 make any difference for me in time, there won稚 be any additional labor charges....

Anyway, for what it's worth.....my two cents.

 

[hr3]

Sorry Eddie but too many words up front... You can tell them all this in person,, Just a sample of all I would be interested in..

My name is Eddie Walker and I'm a Licensed and Insured General Contractor. This is what I do for a living, and to support my family. To do this, I will do the best job possible to satisfy you.

To do this, I will meet with you without obligation and listen to what you want done. My goal is to do your project the way you want it done.

On most projects, I work alone. For bigger jobs, or if time becomes an issue, I have qualified associates who can provide assistance for the best possible results. I will either include their pay in the original bid, or if it´s something that comes up during the project, will advise you on their pay and additional expense before bringing them in. Again, I will never surprise you with an addition expense without your approval beforehand.

 

[jinman]

Well, here's my example:

Hi, I'm Eddie. I love being a licensed general contractor because it allows me to do what is fun while supporting my family. My goal is to make you love what I do for you as much as I like doing it. I know that happy customers are the key to my long-term success. I ensure every phase of your project is done with your satisfaction as the highest priority.​

From there on, I'd use the fewest words possible to craft the ideas that you will do thier job with respect, care, quality, and within the exact budget they have approved. Leave them thinking that they will be happy when they meet you, during the project, and especially when it is completed.

If they want more detail, they'll ask for it. You need about three well-crafted paragraphs. Anything more will work against you. If you say too much, you'll make them suspicious.

Eddie, I'll be as nice as possible and just say that good writers are rare. Business communication and website design are things best done with professionals the same way as your profession needs professionals. Technical writing and business communication is an art. You would do well to consult with a professional.

 

[blueriver]

Eddie ... you also said word of mouth. I am in the process of getting testimonials from previous customers and have a link to the page ... "What others have to say"

Word of mouth is best ... last month I sold out a small business owned by another Auctioneer ... a sideline store for him. When he asked me, I snickered and told him your in the business do it yourself, he replied no way ... I have never seen anybody get as many folks to an auction and get as much money as you do. So I sold him out, complete liquidation. After the sale he made the statement that he wished he had another store ... we'd sell it as well!!

 

[Sigarms]

I will never ask for upfront money. Too often, clients hire a contractor to do some work for them and they are asked for a deposit or money upfront. The reasons given are to buy supplies for the job, or thatç—´ how they operate, or they are broke and just need some money. Whatever the reason, itç—´ where allot of clients get burned. Giving money up front to a contractor is a gamble that they will never show up for the work. I had one client tell me that he gave a guy $800 to do a job. That guy left the state and he was out the money with nothing to show for it. Unfortunately, I hear this with family members more than contractors, but because of my desire to only be paid for what that I actually accomplish, I do not want any money from you until it is due.

I think the above is not needed. Stay positive, and you can let the people know in person how payment is expected.

Remember, pictures are worth a thousand words. If you could inlcude some pics of your projects, I sincerely think they will speak for themselves about you as a general contractor. There is nothing wrong with having pride in your work and wanting to show it to prospective clients.

With the economy goind downhill, I want to hedge my bets with a website that future clients can go to if they like before hiring me.

You may not want to do it, or perhaps you haven't considered it, but is there a "loaning industry" in your profession? General rule of thumb, people who need credit for jobs won't qualify for credit, but people who don't want credit usually do qualify. However, with some people who don't want to finance, it could help you close the sale on a large budget job if you were able to offer financing so they don't have to take the money out of the bank in one shot (common sense, FICO scores normally have to be good to get a low interest loan).

 

[two_bit_score]

Eddie,

You are getting good advice about the length from everyone. The things that I find a problem on most sites:

Not enough pics of prior jobs.

Hard to find contact info. It is there -somewhere just hard to find it when you want it quickly. I'd recommend putting the contact address and telephone number on every page. Make it easy.

one other thing. Not everyone knows excatly what they want. Many times they know that have a need or want for something like ' abetter kitchen', 'bath remodel', 'garage', etc but they don't know exactly what they want it to look like, finishes, etc. Stress your problem solving- designing ability. That is where the pics help, too. People can see what you have done and get ideas.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[EddieWalker]

I actually have two sites. One is a free blogsite with allot of pictures. They are not organized very well, and the address is impossible to remember.

Then there is this paid for site that you guys are helping me out with. While I agree with Jim that I really should hire an expert here, I can't bring myself to spend the money for something I actually don't need. I'm booked up into next year and got another phone call today from a lady who's friends with one of my regulars. She hired a guy to do her kitchen, but he disapeared and it's a mess. I get the call after they get into trouble and start asking around who to use. That's when they call me.

What I really need to do is hire a few guys full time to take on allot of what I have lined up, but so far, that hasn't worked out so well for me. As a one man business, I have plenty and don't really want anymore. So the website is just a sort of insurance, get ready for a downturn, type of thing. I want it to be nice and give a good impression, but really rely on those pictures on the blog site. Those pics have been very good at getting me jobs from people who were interviewing contractors. They meet with me, I give them my bid, but it was what they saw in my pictures that sold them. Of course, they only tell me this while I'm already working on their project.

For those of you who have sent PM's. Thank you.

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Then there is this paid for site that you guys are helping me out with. While I agree with Jim that I really should hire an expert here, I can't bring myself to spend the money for something I actually don't need. I'm booked up into next year and got another phone call today from a lady who's friends with one of my regulars. She hired a guy to do her kitchen, but he disapeared and it's a mess. I get the call after they get into trouble and start asking around who to use. That's when they call me.

I hear you Eddie. What you don't want also is to do something that cannot help you and is wasted energy and time. Low information content is a killer. Don't you have a junior college or community college in Tyler that might have a technical writing course? You might approach the instructor of a course like that with your project and they could use it as a class project for students. With this approach, you'd get a lot of input and maybe something really clever to use. You could also give the class credit for helping you construct your site.

If you can't find help, then I'd keep things to a minimum and just maybe run a few paragraphs by this group. These folks are giving you great advice. I know you want to say volumes about your business, but you just can't do that in a website. After 10 to 20 seconds, your prospective client is moving on. What you say will never be read by anyone but yourself. Give it to them in small bites and photos. Be sure to include photos with completed projects and your clients smiling. The value of a smiling client is far greater than the most well crafted paragraph.

 

[KENSFM]

Hi Eddie,
I will keep it short "hire a PRO" to do what you are trying to do. Stick to what YOU do best "General Contracting". (See how few words it takes to get your point across)
Ken

 

[Alan L.]

I am in agreement about the length of the epistle. But you can say most of what you want to say if you feed it in small bites, with links. A frequently asked questions section would address some of that.

And easy links to prior job pictures would be helpful. Check into the legal issues with showing pictures of private property.

Testamentaries from satisfied customers could be impressive.

Join the BBB if you aren't already, and place a link to their website.