Better branding does not equate to higher sales revenues. I see so many home improvement companies get sucked in by a good advertising rep, convincing them that branding is the key.  Now, I do believe that branding has a place but as a home improvement company, it is easy to brand yourself broke! I know of a company that was running branding related ads on the radio recently. After a lengthy period of time without any returns, they wisely decided to run some spots with a direct call to action which was designed to generate leads. The radio salesperson was against it, admitting that they would likely generate leads but stating that they will become addicted to the lead flow and from that point forward, all they will want to do is run spots that make leads. My thought was “Exactly! Let’s start making some some leads!” As you might imagine, the aggressive calls to action worked and for the first time, radio provided the home remodeler with an excellent ROI.

I must admit, the advertising rep was right about one thing. The economy is strong. As a result, I see many in our industry doing well. It is during these times of prosperity that many companies do develop an addiction. That addiction is inbound leads. They certainly are difficult to resist. So, why not accomplish both? Keep branding as a core part of your strategy but generate some immediate returns as well. My most successful clients find a way to educate their target audience during the first portion of their ad spots and then drive traffic to the phone and web with an aggressive call to action at the end. With this format, you can build a powerful brand and still drive lead generation.

But what happens when that phone stops ringing? That is the real question. The truth is that you need to have a well balanced marketing mix. This should include both inbound and outbound lead generation. You need to be able to “take it and make it.” This means it is important to take the inbound calls when they come but you must be able make leads when the volume of inquiries start to diminish. If your marketing relies heavily on inbound leads, I strongly urge you to take a look at how you can diversify. Experience has taught me that at some point, whether it’s six months or three years down the road, inbound inquiries will slow down or stop all-together. The companies that have diversified are much more likely to MAKE things happen!

I hear that there is a big election coming up in November. History has shown that time and time again, inbound lead flow suffers tremendously when the air waves are polluted with politics and the advertising reps are flush with funding from campaign dollars. Will you be ready? For a free consultation on how to diversify and supercharge your lead generation efforts, visit www.TonyHoty.com

Kyle Powers got his start in direct sales while working in new business development in the cable industry. He enjoyed a successful career building high performance door-to-door teams all across the country. In 2008 Kyle took a leap of faith in to the Home Improvement Industry.