One of the many advantages CTi’s product line offers homeowners is the curb appeal offered by their home. The first impression when guests are arriving or the first glance of a potential buyer if you’re trying to sell can go a long way towards creating a welcoming first appearance. Below is an example of a home before and after CTi’s curb appeal treatment.

One of the advantages of the CTi product line is its versatility. Dealers can use the same components to create unique looks by mixing and applying them in different ways. Below are some of the examples.

Your driveway can have the look of brick, tile or a look that is uniquely yours along with being easier to maintain and twice as strong. Call CTi at 800 447 6573 to find a Dealer near you.

CTi is proud to announce its addition of the F1 Fast Floor Low Odor to its product line. The F1 offers a tough, durable, easy to clean floor that is perfect for garages, workshops, basements and commercial areas such as hangars and restaurant kitchens.

The F1 technology allows for a fast turnaround that is perfect for areas where the customer cannot have the area out of use for extended periods of time.

One of the ways we support our Dealers and keep them on the cutting edge of the decorative concrete industry is getting together for a Dealer Rally. Our most recent event was held at our national headquarters in the Tampa Bay area in Florida. Dealers learned new application techniques and we rolled out our new low odor F1 Fast Floor System. Dealers also participated in round table discussions regarding best practices on subjects such as advertising media, best ways to maximize cash flow in their Dealership, where to find the best employees and more. Below are a few pictures to give you a flavor of the event.

We get comments regularly from customers who are happy and amazed with how durable the CTi System is. Periodically a customer will send us a photo and drop a line that is simply too good not to share. Below is a walkway that was done in Cincinnati, Ohio nineteen years ago. The Dealer came out pressure washed and applied a new coat of sealer and the job looks brand new!

The latest job reports came out and the unemployment rate has fallen to 3.8%; great news for job seekers as the market is becoming tighter and it appears that most anyone who wants a job has one. This is not so great news when it comes to business owners looking for people to fill multiple positions (read fast food, construction businesses, etc.)

A CTi Dealership has the main advantages of being a high margin and low overhead business; however, one of the other advantages it offers is the business only requires 1-2 employees to operate the business. CTi Dealers are primarily owner/operators in their business, this means they are either meeting with prospective customers or on the job site. As the business grows, they can either find or groom one person to install the product (along with one helper), or they can hire someone to meet with prospective customers and concentrate on the installations.

Either growth path only requires the hiring of 1-2 people to create a business that can generate a healthy business and an abundant bottom line.

In the 26 years I’ve been speaking with prospective Dealers, one of the more popular questions I get is, “what does it take to be successful as a Dealer?” My answer always revolves around the same three main areas although I tell the person it’s a lot like golf in that you can learn to play the game in a few hours but you’ll spend a lifetime mastering it.

1. Commitment and Persistence – when starting any business, the more committed you are to its success, the more it will reflect in everything you do. I’ve seen Dealers who go the extra mile for customers, who come to work everyday with an unstoppable attitude but really the main thing is waking up each morning with a set of goals you want to accomplish. These daily goals lead to monthly goals which, in turn, lead to yearly goals. Successful Dealers work this attitude into their lifestyle and create a type of person in which anything is possible.
2. Selling – any business owner knows one of the best talents to have is the ability to sell your ideas. This isn’t just the ability to convince a prospective customer that the CTi System is the answer to the issues they’re experiencing with their concrete when they see it; it’s also the when you can sell your crew on they’re capabilities of getting the job done in a fashion that will exceed the customer’s expectations or those times when they have to sell themselves on their ability to overcome adversity.
3. Organization – This seems to be obvious, but I see it so rarely done in the contracting world. A Dealer’s ability to keep his business organized, to show up for appointments on time, to complete the project on time, to keep his business humming through each and every “touch point” it has with the customer is crucial to its success. Does the advertising look professional? Is the website easy to navigate and up to date? Is the phone answered in a way in which the customer is not put off when they call? These are but a few of the areas where a business can help itself stand out from the competition.

You’ve met with the prospective homeowner, you’ve presented a great solution to the issues they’re facing with their concrete and you’ve offered them a competitive price; however, you still hear “we need to think about it.”

What do you do in a situation like this? Most business owners in the home improvement field may make a phone call or two in order to follow up and see if the customer might be interested in doing the project at a later date. What these people don’t know is that the average homeowner needs more time when they’re considering a new project and that 20% will make the decision to move forward in three to four weeks if they have a communication in front of them that keeps the decision on their mind.

Estimate Rocket (click here for more details) offers you the ability to keep that communication with your customer automatically after you meet with them for the first time. Drip marketing is a way of keeping your offering on the customer’s mind until they’re ready to move forward. This type of marketing has proven to increase closing rates 20% on average and is easy to implement.

Drip marketing, via Estimate Rocket, is as simple as establishing a series of email messages (normally six messages) that will be sent out to the customer over a period of time (normally four weeks). Once you’ve created these messages, the drip marketing campaign is initiated automatically by entering the customer’s information into the system. When you enter the information, you simply click and let Estimate Rocket to begin the campaign and the emails are automatically sent at the time intervals you preset. So increase the number of projects you’re selling from your current leads with this simple marketing tip.

Starting a new Dealership or running one that has been around for decades both have the same question, where can I advertise my Dealership most effectively? 28 years of being in the marketplace with hundreds of Dealers providing feedback, CTi has developed a comprehensive list of areas to consider along with what to expect from your advertising investment. Advertising a Dealership falls into one of the main areas listed below:

• Home and Garden Shows
• Online home improvement related lead portals
• Advertising your website with Pay Per Click Advertising
• Social Media advertising through a page setup specifically for your company.
• Direct mail advertising through marriage mail firms as well as individual flyers sent to the right prospective customers.
• Magazine advertising through local home improvement related magazines.
• “Grass Roots” type advertising such as handing out flyers in neighborhoods where you’ve done work, putting a lawn sign next to the job you’ve just completed and other ways to let the neighbors know who did the work in their community.

The purpose of your advertising should be to generate enough inquiries to lead to the amount of work you need to meet your company’s goals. Simply establishing an attitude of advertising “as much as you can”, or “as much as you can afford” leads to results that may of may not meet your overall needs from your company. CTi provides its Dealers with a set of metrics that have been proven over three decades of doing business and can quickly establish what your Dealership needs in regards to an advertising investment in order to meet its goals.