Can a Home Expo Help Your Residential Service Business?
Want massive home expo ROI? First make sure you’re ready—and the show is a fit. Otherwise, you’ll burn cash, time, and future customers.
KickStart: Home expos can work GREAT for a home service pro. But first, make sure you and the show are a good fit!
NOTE: This article is Part I in a 4-part series on Home Expos.
As a residential service provider would you kill for the chance to connect face-to-face with hundreds, maybe even thousands, of local homeowners over a one or two day period? You reply…
“Wow, Steve, absolutely! But there’s no way to do this… right?” WRONG! Home expos give you an incredible opportunity to get one-on-one to (forgive me) “Kick Start” your profits.💲
Why is this “face-to-face connection” with residential prospects so important? Because choosing a home service pro is totally different from selecting and buying a tangible good. For example…
Think about that new 4WD pickup, the new jeans, a new smartphone or that new set of golf clubs you’ve been lusting for and dreaming about! See? I’m everywhere, you dog! 😁
But unlike this physical object of your hot desire your residential prospects can’t touch, “try on” (test) or even visualize your finished service… until AFTER they commit to you! So, your prospects tend to 💡base their buying decision on emotional factors.
Home shows and expos let you make this all-important emotional connection that allows a homeowner to trust your company with their precious home… BEFORE you even do the job! WOO-HOO! 💐🎉🎊🪇💖
But WAIT! I’m gonna rain ☔ on your parade!😥 Many residential services companies (including you?) are wasting time, money, energy and even worse, losing 1000’s of potential clients at home expos!
Yep, home expos will just be an expensive way to burn you and your staff out unless you implement the strategies profiled in this series! 😥 OUCH! So, let’s get started with two huge reality checks!
Reality Check #1: Are you even capable of successfully doing a home show?
It’s no secret- I think home shows are an incredible route to long-term profits… IF you “do them right”! Done wrong? You’ll not only waste huge resources but may also “poison the well” for future business with homeowners turned off by your expo fumbles! So, ask yourself…
How does my company “present”? If you don’t have a professional logo and marketing pieces, snappy uniforms, clean equipment to display, and at least a few ‘before and after’ photos, you’re not ready! 🫣
Do you have the energy? Home expos are exhausting. Two 10-hour days of constant engagement, smiling, presenting, and being ‘on’ requires serious stamina. If you (and your team) aren’t up for it, your returns (and current clients) will suffer.
What’s my follow-up capacity? A successful home expo can easily generate 300+ inspection requests that for maximum return need to be followed up on within 48 hours. (Next day is the gold standard.)
Can you handle this much immediate follow-up? If you’re a solo operator or already booked solid, you might not be ready for this avalanche of leads.
You say, “Steve, I’m ready to rock a home show!” GREAT! 👌 Let’s proceed to your…
Reality Check #2: Check the home show out before you sign up!
Not every home expo is worth your financial and time investment. Before you write that check, investigate these critical questions:
Is the show a good fit geography wise? You don’t want huge amounts of “out of your service area” attendees. It dilutes your employees’ sales efforts plus trust me; you pay for all those non-productive prospects.
Does it target your desired demographics? For example, if you are a swimming pool service company and yet most expo attendees’ homes are downtown condos? Don’t do it! You need upper middle class suburban homeowners.
Does the show promoter actually “promote”? 🙄 Ask for their past attendance numbers. Find out where they advertise. A poorly promoted show means empty aisles and wasted resources.
💡ProTIP: Get last year’s exhibitor list and ask home service companies on it, “Would you exhibit there again?” Past results don’t lie.Is your competition already signed up? If there are already three pool service companies signed up for a small show, you’ll be splitting a very small pie. On the other hand, being the only company at a large show? That’s opportunity!
Once again, I’m a huge believer in most home shows for most residential service companies IF… they “do them right”! 👍👍 (This “done right” applies to both the show and the business.)
So, have you checked all the above items? Feeling good about this upcoming home show? Then it is time for your “Pre-Home-Show Preparation: The Make-or-Break Phase”! We’ll focus on this in Part II!
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