Always nice to be recognized for doing the right things, below is a review received by our Dealer, Concrete Design Solutions in Louisiana:

The work on the patio looks great.
I want to commend your employee ( I think his name is Brandon). The young man in charge…when others would take a break…he never stopped and asked over and over again for us to keep looking to make sure everything was to our satisfaction including colors.
He is an excellent employee. I would only want him to do my work in the future…..
Pat him on the back. He deserves it.
Kerry, Baton Rouge

The Pandemic has created certain challenges for business people around the globe. A couple of the good things about the CTi Dealership is it’s considered essential and the application process allows the Dealer to keep the social distance needed. The challenge comes in how to present the product to the customer the first time. Some of our Dealers have gone virtual with this process, below are the tips they’ve provided over the last few months:

HOW TO HOLD A VIRTUAL APPOINTMENT

Before you meet with your potential customers, review the tips below so your virtual appointments will run smoothly. Also, include a brief run down to your customers on what they can expect on the call – some homeowners may not be as familiar with technology as you.

HOW TO SET UP A VIRTUAL MEETING

Many businesses, large and small, have turned to Zoom, GoToMeeting, or Google Hangouts to keep projects moving forward. To help you get a jumpstart, here are step-by-step video tutorials on how to use the platforms linked above.

•  Tutorials on how to set-up Zoom and use the virtual meeting rooms
• Tutorial for Zoom screensharing and running a meeting from Mizzou IT department
• Tutorial for Google Hangouts and how to use the virtual meetings
• Tutorial for GoToMeeting and how to use virtual meetings

BEFORE YOUR MEETING

Prepare your customers:

• Ask homeowners what virtual meeting software or app they prefer to use and try to accommodate and adapt to them. You can always give them options you’re comfortable with to choose from. (Our software suggestions are listed above.)

• Schedule the meeting over the phone or via email. Send them an email calendar invite to confirm and remind them of the appointment.
• Let your customers know to keep an eye out in their email for a link to the meeting invite. They should click the link and use the code given to sign into the meeting at the scheduled time.
• Request photos of the existing deck, patio, or space where the new build will go. If measurements would be helpful, give detailed and easy-to-understand instructions of how to do so.
• Suggest they browse to your website or Social Media pages so they will have a better idea of what they want the look and style of the outdoor living space to be.

 Prepare yourself:

• Before the meeting, straighten up your meeting space, especially the area that will be on camera during your appointment. Homeowners want to see a professional, neutral space.
• If needed, some software allows you to apply a virtual background that will cover up the area behind you. This is an opportunity to feature your logo or a beautiful, past build.
• A reliable internet connection is crucial
• Practice sharing your screen before the meeting.
• Test the connection by calling someone from a different room in your house.
• Be sure you have proper lighting so homeowners can see your face and the product samples clearly.
• If you can, create a presentation ahead of time, so you have visuals you can share to the homeowners’ screen.
• Go through your presentation to ensure a smooth experience while looking at your portfolio of past work and product samples.

DURING THE MEETING

• Wear a branded shirt.
• Share your screen and showcase your online reviews in real time, like on Guild Quality
• Make it feel real by showing them past work or presenting a prepared rendering of their outdoor living space, if you have enough information to do so.

AFTER THE MEETING

• Send a follow-up thank you email that day or the following day to keep the discussion alive – and keep you top of mind.
• Send a draft or rendering of their outdoor living space with the project proposal.
• Get set up to have homeowners sign documents online. DocuSign offers a free 30-day trial.

The floors around your home, such as workshops and garages, can be subjected to harsh chemicals, stains and other elements that will make your concrete look bad over time. CTi’s F1 Fast Floor System provides a chemical resistant, easy to clean, beautiful protective coating to these type floors. Normally installed within 1-2 days, having this new floor installed also will not inconvenience you in the process.

The entrance to your home helps setup your invitation and first impressions for your visitors.

Is the first impression of your entrance providing the warm message you want to share? If not, CTi can transform your ordinary looking concrete into an invitation and statement you can be proud of. This entrance was done by Christensen Concrete Coatings in Utah.

CTi Dealers can provide a personal touch to any project. The touches make the work unique and one of a kind. Below are some examples of the unique touches done by Dealers around the country.

CTi now offers Aqua Shield 365, an environmentally friendly urethane coating that has unsurpassed abrasion and chemical resistance. The best part of the Aqua Shield 365 though is it’s friendly to the environment and meets the demanding VOC standards anywhere in the United States.

Even after 30 years, I’m still amazed at the transformations our Dealers can provide homeowners around the country. This driveway before and after was done by Stingray Concrete Designs in Sarasota, FL.

Concrete cracks, it’s one of the main drawbacks this building material has had since its inception. CTi Dealers use this problem as an opportunity and incorporate the cracks into the design of our Acrylistain or Hallmark System and provide the customer a finished look that has the look and feel of cut stone.

Many people are familiar with “Pareto’s Principle” or the “80/20” rule.  In starting a new business, this rule is sometimes the make or break factor for whether a new business will stick around for years to come.

To refresh your memory, the 80/20 rule, as applied to starting a new business, states you’ll get 80% of your results from 20% of your activity. 

Those activities in this business are:

• Implementing, measuring and refining the marketing, advertising and referral generation within your business.  The goal is for your business to be able to establish the ideal balance between the quality of the response your marketing efforts generate with the cost associated.
• Educating your customers and creating new sales from the interest generated from your marketing efforts.  This is a combination of not only sitting with enough people to generate the sales your business needs, but also honing your skills in this area so you can educate your customer and build value in the solutions you generate for them.
• Order fulfillment or operational effectiveness – this means applying the product cost effectively when it comes to running a CTi Dealership.  What you charged your customer for the project, less what you spent for materials and the labor needed to install the project makes up the “Gross Profit” within the Dealership. 
  
  As you become more skilled in not only using the product more cost effectively, getting the project finished more time effectively but also building more value in your solutions and thus generating sales at a higher price with your customer all lead to greater profitability within the business.

Your first duty as a business owner is to figure out what activities make up the 20% that generate 80% of your results.  Once you’ve figured this out, make sure you’re devoting your energies to these activities daily and minimizing the 80% of the activities that only produce 20% of the results.

Pool decks can pose a challenge to homeowners. You need a surface that is slip resistant and will stay cool when the sun is beating down on it. CTi’s products offer a solution that can provide a safe, cool solution while also dressing up your pool area. CTi’s coatings are slip resistant as well as cooler than concrete and many other industry standard products. This amazing transformation was done by Concrete Designs of Tampa Bay.