Everything You Need to Know to Become a Top Contractor on BuildZoom
We know that getting hired isn’t as easy as the simple push of a button. Home improvement is, after all, not a mere transaction. It is a partnership between people, and it takes a lot to nurture the trust that is at the foundation of a good partnership — from timely communication to submitting a complete and organized proposal to showcasing your amazing track record of projects. BuildZoom is designed to help you build relationships with clients and to help you make a strong case for why they should hire you. In this guide, we’ll walk through all of the key elements you should be familiar with to develop rapport with your potential clients, increase your hire rate, and ensure you continue to get first access to the best projects out there.
Making the Connection: Messaging
When a homeowner submits their project on BuildZoom, they are waiting to hear back from the best contractors in their area. The longer you wait, the higher the likelihood someone else will have jumped on the lead and is getting closer to being hired.If you’re interested in the project, make sure to reach out. Messaging early, responding reliably, and making a great first impression will help you close the deal. Whether you prefer to use your phone or a desktop, there are many ways you can stay connected with the client and nurture the lead.</br></br><a href='/blog/guides/messaging'>Read more about how to send messages here.</a>
How to Blow the Socks Off a Client with Your Proposal
Once you’ve had a chance to discuss the project with the homeowner and have a good idea of the scope of work, it’s time to submit your bid. Some contractors use Excel or cost estimating software to calculate their estimates, but often forget about presenting their bids in a way that is easy to understand and visually appealing. We’ve got you covered with our free bid proposal template which can create beautiful and organized bids in minutes!</br></br><a href='/blog/guides/proposal'>Read more about how to upload and update your proposal here.</a>
Getting to Yes: Uploading and Updating Your Proposal
Submitting bids on the BuildZoom platform lets us know your progress, and we’ll put in extra effort to help you get hired. It also boosts your bid rate and your BuildZoom Score. Whether you used BuildZoom’s free proposal tool or have your own system for preparing estimates, you can easily send the file through your dashboard. You can make changes to the proposal and update your bid price.</br></br><a href='/blog/guides/uploading-and-updating-proposal'>Read more about how to upload and update your proposal here.</a>
Turn a Past Hire Into a Future Job: Reviews
You got hired. You did awesome work. You got paid. Now move on to the next project, right? Not quite. A savvy contractor knows that your last hire is often times the key to your next one, and is a perfect opportunity to get someone to vouch for you. Whenever you complete a project, you should ask the homeowner to write a review for you on BuildZoom, which will boost your BuildZoom Score and give you access to bigger projects. We’ve made it easy for you to reach out for reviews from your dashboard – you can even ask multiple people at once with a single message!</br></br><a href='/blog/guides/reviews'>Read more about how to get reviews on your profile here</a>
Rake in the Projects (and Cash): Optimize Your Profile
How do I get more leads? This is a question we get often. At BuildZoom, we distribute projects based on a composite evaluation of many indicators, including the BuildZoom Score. A lot of what informs us about the quality of a contractor is revealed over time – from always satisfying customers to consistently engaging with BuildZoom and getting hired. However, there are things you can do right now to optimize your profile and increase your BuildZoom Score instantly.</br></br><a href='/blog/guides/optimize-profile'>Read more about how to optimize your profile here.</a>