An unknown author once said, “If you want to get me to do something, bribery usually works.” The home improvement pros that get the most leads from their web presence are the best “bribers.”

It’s fitting that way back in January we started talking about the keys to explosive growth in your door and window business and we’ll end the year tying it all together.

First, let’s review.

We’ve talked about the different types of website traffic that you can get and how to maximize your opportunities from each. We’ve evaluated design concepts and debated the fact that “pretty” doesn’t convert on its own. We’ve also determined that getting prospects to spend as much time as possible on your site is a function of how much of your content is focused on them rather than “us.”

Now it’s time to convert. A definition that is fitting here is “score from an opportunity in a sport or game.” Sometimes we make the mistake of narrowly defining what a “score” is.

Virtually every home improvement site I’ve ever seen has a “Contact Us” form for the moment a prospect decides they are going to give us a shot.

Naturally, getting an appointment is the ultimate score, but any conversion that moves the ball forward is desirable.

We all intuitively understand that it often takes several visits to our sites from a prospect to get that ultimate score, but what can we do to move the ball forward if the prospect isn’t ready?

This is where the bribe comes in. Take a look at the websites of some of the best-known names in the door and window business and you’ll see that they are great “bribers.”

Today, maybe even more than ever before, lots of research is done before a homeowner chooses to begin the process of gathering estimates. Why not take advantage of all the intermediate, fact-finding visits that they make by “bribing” them to giving you some minimal information that would allow you to continue to market to them as they move through the process?

Let me illustrate.

We work to provide homeowner leads for our dealer partners in many ways. One of them includes offering an eBook on the consumer-facing portion of our site. Following are a few of the details for this strategy.

• The eBook’s title fits right in with what a consumer that’s fairly early in their research activity would be looking for.
• The eBook is substantial and filled with valuable information. (This is a key part of the strategy: free, valuable information drives trust.)
• To download the eBook, the homeowner only needs to enter first name and email address. (Asking for too much information this early may scare them away.)
• Via an autoresponder, the consumer is then “marketed to” on a semi-regular basis with links to more valuable information that reinforces the concepts in the eBook.
• Every other email gives them a no-pressure opportunity to talk to a dealer about products like the ones they are reading about. If they click the link they are taken to a full-blown, lead information gathering form and this homeowner lead is forwarded directly to one of our dealer-partners.

While this undertaking may seem time-consuming, it’s totally automated and easy to set up.

In my opinion, doing this one thing in 2021 could have the single most positive effect on your lead capture efforts. Think about it: What is a better lead, a homeowner that is looking for the window that you carry, or the one looking for a window?

Saying that it’s been an interesting year is the understatement of the decade. But I believe that our industry is poised for a massive 2021 and I’m excited to be a part of it.

Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays to you and yours! Stay safe and we’ll talk next year!