Home Improvement Sales

Home Improvement Sales.

I was in this business for 10 years. This business has a low start up cost. With one salesmen we were selling $250,000 per year on a part time basis.

You will need a home improvement contractor's license. Check with your city, most have very few requirements for home improvement contractors.

It is best to start with the simple jobs such as carport covers, patio covers and screen rooms. As your experience grows you might tackle the larger more complicated work.

You can learn what to look for when measuring a home for a carport or patio cover and what is needed for installation by one of the following methods. Work for a company as a salesperson for three months. Have your installers, instruct you on how to measure a job or work with them on a few jobs, and lastly, your suppliers can help advice you if you ask them.

This How-to manual has advice in these areas. When I started twenty years ago I went to the suppliers and picked up installation instruction manuals and then worked with the installers that the supplier recommended for a week as free labor. After that I would sell a job and then go help install it to learn what to do and what not to do.

The manual covers all aspects of this business. including supplier sources. The manual cost is $59.00 Excerpt from page one of the manual"

The Business of Selling Exterior Home Improvements The information provided here is based on my ten years of experience running a home improvement sales and installation business. I will take you through every step in running the business from deciding what to sell and how to price it, to getting sales and installing the jobs.

You will learn all the ins and outs of the business that I picked up over the years. I will tell you how to make money, save money, and stay out of trouble operating your exterior home improvement business.

The profit potential home improvement business's varies greatly depending on your methods of operating your business, how you control your overhead expenses and how much competition there is. You should be able to net 20% of sales if you control your cost. At $250,000 annual sales you would make $50,000.

 With an annual sale volume of $500,000 you should make about $100,000 a year.
The business consist of presenting home improvement products to the homeowner, in their home, making the sale, and arranging for the installation.
Homeowners purchase home improvements to solve a problem, or to improve their life style. For example, a home with a west facing glass patio door would benefit from adding a patio cover over the door. The cover would reduce heat gain by shading the door, thus improve the owner's life style by making the patio usable more days of the year.
Homeowners buy this type of product once or twice in a lifetime. Because of this, the homeowner does not have a feeling for how much the products should cost or an awareness of what is available to purchase. That is why the large companies have not dominated this business category; it is still a one on one personal sales business. The customer wants you to help them select and properly install the improvement to their most valuable possession, there home.

This business has a low start up cost.

You will need the following to get started.
1. You will need a home improvement contractor's license. Most cities have very few requirements for home improvement contractors. Check with your city hall for details on local requirements.
2. A sales tax permit maybe required in your area. Check with your local sales tax office. In some states you pay tax on the materials and do not charge tax on the whole job. In other states you tax the whole job.
3. A truck or car and basic tools will be needed. If you plan to do your own installations you will need more tools.
4. Salesmens hand samples of the products you plan to offer will be needed to demonstrate the products. Samples are available from your suppliers. You will need completed job photos. The supplier's brochures will do until you can take pictures of the jobs you sell. Customers buy from the photos.
5. A business plan. Most small contractors fail because they do not have a business plan, and/or a plan on how they will run the business.
This manual will take you through all the areas you need to be aware of. Expansion: Once you earn one segment of the business you can expand into other products such as decks and fences to increase your sales volume.

INVESTMENT:

You need very little money to start this business. Your customer's deposits can cover most, or all of the material cost, and the installers have their own tools and equipment. You will need a sales book, (ring binder) made up of the brochures, and pictures you get from your suppliers. Customers buy from the photos, and the drawings you do showing their job's specifics. As you complete jobs, add you own job photos to your sales binder. A pick up truck is helpful, if you do not have one, your installers can pick up, and deliver materials for the jobs.
If you run ads you will need money to cover the cost of advertising for the first few months. If you are going to advertise by putting fliers on doors a little less money will be needed. You can also find jobs by setting up a booth at the flea market to get sales leads. You could start with as little as $1,000.

"You have to take that first step, no one else can do it for you" Jim Glasgow "