Help with marketing your concrete countertop business

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Marketing Help

The business side of concrete countertops is just as important as the concrete side, if you are going to have a successful concrete countertop business. The Concrete Countertop Institute is here to help. We offer a wide range of business learning opportunities, as well as web marketing through our Find a Contractor listing.

Find a Contractor Listing

Sales and Marketing Training

Project Management Training

Get expert help

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I want to market my concrete countertop business with a Find a Contractor listing:

Basic Marketing Membership

Market yourself as a concrete countertop professional and a member of The Concrete Countertop Institute. The Concrete Countertop Institute is the most trusted source for concrete countertop information, and our outreach programs to consumers, designers and architects mean referrals for you.

It's not enough just to have a website - that's like sticking a cardboard sign in your front yard. Nobody will see it. You need a billboard on a highway. Get listed in CCI's Find a Contractor Listing for just $26 per month. Plus, save 5% on all the tools and materials you need to make concrete countertops! The savings alone will pay for the membership.

And, members receive a contract, estimating spreadsheet, architectural specifications and more - valuable tools that will help you manage your business.

Find a Contractor Listing

• Listing in a graphical map format, with your logo, contact information and photos linked to your website

Consumer/Trade Literature

• Personalizable brochures to educate your potential clients about concrete
• Personalizable architectural specifications that will help you get specified by architects
• Quality standards and code of ethics publicized to consumers and designers

Sales & Marketing Documents

• Member logo for your website and collateral
• Personalizable contract to use with clients
• Estimating spreadsheet

PLUS: Product Discounts!

• Across-the-board 5% discount with online ordering on everything you need from Concrete Countertop Supply by Fishstone
• Discount on StoneLok E3/2K from V-Seal 

Show clients your dedication to professionalism and quality by joining today for just $26 per month.

Please note: Membership is only for companies either training to or currently actively engaged in manufacturing, producing, finishing, fabricating, installing, maintaining, or restoring concrete countertops. No do-it-yourselfers, and no vendors.  

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I need sales and marketing training:  Sales and Marketing 101, Self-Study Concrete countertops are countertops. You need far more than concrete skills to sell concrete countertops. While a technical foundation is important, it doesn't matter how high-quality your product is if you don't know how to sell it.

The 132-page e-book details the entire marketing and sales process, from first contact to after the countertop is done. It tells you exactly what you need to do to sell concrete countertops, down to actual scripts for phone calls and meetings. (Table of Contents) Comes with the electronic files for every single piece of marketing collateral you need, from a brochure to an estimate to a contract to a client satisfaction survey, and much more, along with detailed instructions on how to use them and when. (More information about the documents included) Result: You'll have the confidence to sell concrete countertops to designers, builders and architects, plus all the marketing and selling tools at your fingertips. Get started on the road to real success. $285. Order now! Also available: Just the documents for $95.   Results: “I wanted to thank you for the marketing package we purchased. It has shaved months, if not years off of our companies’ sales and marketing efforts. From the textbook to the estimating spreadsheets, everything is professionally done and very useful. Twenty-five years of concrete experience did not prepare us to talk to our first certified kitchen designer, your marketing package did. I would recommend it to anyone in the industry regardless of their level of technical expertise.” — Mark, PA “We had been making concrete countertops for a while, but nothing really came about until we got the sales and marketing book, and now we're flourishing because of it. Once we read your book, we got in with a designer who has connections, and now I'm worried that we're going to have more business than we can handle.” — Bill, NY “The sales and marketing information was exactly what we needed. My wife has years of sales experience in granite and natural stone countertops in our area. The CCI Sales & Marketing has really helped her understand this product and how it differs from selling other countertop surfaces. We're very excited about concrete countertops and you guys have given us the tools to begin our business.” — Will, SC

What you'll get: Marketing basics Features and benefits of concrete Learn how to compete against other countertop surfaces How to make samples Understand kitchen designers, interior designers, architects and more Step by step process for getting your concrete into showrooms Phone call scripts for contacting kitchen designers How to network with professional trade organizations How to organize an event such as a showroom grand opening Dealing with architects and architectural specifications Develop a marketing plan How to price concrete countertops How to do an estimate Estimating spreadsheet A contract that covers all the bases How to execute print and email campaigns Easy website tips Easy customer relationship management tool The most effective techniques for getting referrals and word of mouth business A customizable tri-fold brochure Much more! Table of Contents and List of Documents About the author: Lane Mangum, formerly marketing and sales manager for FormWorks Concrete Countertops, developed this self-study course based on years of experience actually marketing and selling concrete countertops. Lane took FormWorks from a hobby-level garage-based business to the dominant fabricator of concrete countertops in the Raleigh area of NC, increasing business rapidly year over year, using her proven marketing and sales techniques. She is now the VP of Business Services for The Concrete Countertop Institute, and helps educate students about the business aspects of concrete countertops, while Jeff educates them about the technical aspects of concrete countertops.

 

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I need help juggling multiple projects without making profit-skilling mistakes: Project Management 101, Self-Study The Concrete Countertop Institute offers the only comprehensive toolkit for running your business efficiently! Concrete countertops are a lot of work. Inefficiencies and mistakes can ruin your profit margin. In any successful business, you have to keep your overhead low and your costs down, while maximizing sales. Concrete countertops are no different. Use Project Management 101 to manage your business well and minimize your costs.

A complete toolkit for efficiency, with checklists and systems to prevent mistakes and keep your business running smoothly All the instructions and files you need to implement tried and true processes for managing multiple concrete countertop projects Result: You'll have the systems to run your shop and crew efficiently, and minimize costly mistakes and miscommunications that can quickly eat away your profit. $159. Order now!

What you'll get: Quality Checklist to prevent mistakes and keep your product at its highest quality Project Scheduling Spreadsheet to help you juggle multiple projects effectively Project Specification to help you get all the details right – color, edge, sink style, etc. Mix Batch Report to help you mix without mistakes ("Did I add the superplasticizer yet?") Templating and Installation Checklists to minimize site visits Installation Inventory for precast projects to help you load up for installation quickly and efficiently

 

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I'd like to get one-on-one help from an expert:

Guided Business Success Program

Are you uncertain of what marketing and sales techniques work best for concrete countertops?

Are you concerned that you're wasting your money with ads, but know you need to get more business, and you're not sure how to get it?

Would you rather be in the shop than on the phone or in an office, and you want to minimize the amount of time you spend marketing by using the fastest, most effective techniques?

Watch as Lane Mangum explains how the Guided Business Success Program is going to help you sell more concrete countertops, using the most effective and least expensive marketing and sales systems.

  

A message from Lane:

Most concrete countertop professionals enjoy the technical stuff. They love getting their hands dirty and creating beautiful projects. But you've got to make a concerted effort at marketing and sales if your business is going to succeed. If you're like most of our students, you'd rather be working in the shop than on the phone or in an office, and it's hard to get motivated to do marketing when you're not sure what to do, and you don't really enjoy it.

That's why I developed the Guided Business Success Program. It will help you, or your spouse or partner, stay motivated, use the most effective and least expensive marketing and sales techniques, and stay on track to build your business. Monthly calls with me and with 5 peers in non-competing markets will keep you accountable and keep you doing what you need to do to succeed. This program will give you more confidence in marketing and sales.

It doesn't matter how high quality your countertops are if you can't find prospects and sell to them. Word of mouth doesn't cut it. Think about it: Let's say you made a beautiful concrete countertop for me, and I was thrilled and told all of my friends about it. How many of my friends do you think are remodeling their kitchens or bathrooms right now? Actually, none. So word of mouth didn't help you.

You need faster, more effective methods than word of mouth. Every project you don't get by not marketing costs you an average of $5000. If you could increase your sales by $5000 per month with marketing and sales techniques that cost almost nothing, wouldn't you do it?

Join the Guided Business Success Program, and not only learn the most effective methods, but actually do them, with my help and the help of other non-competing concrete countertop professionals. The cost of not marketing is enormous. The cost of this program is tiny compared to the amount of business you will lose if you don't market. I guarantee that this program will make a difference in your business. I look forward to helping you on the road to success.

The program includes:

Initial training:

• Sales & Marketing 101 self-study training class
• Project Management 101 self-study training class
• A one-hour Comprehensive Marketing Strategy Analysis call with Lane Mangum

Ongoing guidance to help you with challenges:

• Monthly Q&A calls with Lane Mangum and other members. Members can submit questions or topics of discussion before the call, put Lane on the spot during the call, and learn from Lane's regular topics each month.
• Business discussion forums with other members, closely moderated by Lane Mangum. Q&A calls get archived here too, so if you miss a call you can catch up online.

Accountability to keep you motivated:

• Bi-weekly, peer-lead masterminding calls with 5 other fellow members in non-competing locations.

Show the world that you're a concrete countertop professional:

• The Basic Marketing Listing membership (worth $26 per month) is included.

Investment: $65 per month
Signup fee: $365 fee includes Sales & Marketing 101 self-study training worth $295, Project Management 101 self-study training worth $159, and a one-hour consultation with Lane Mangum worth $150.

Or, add on to your Guided Technical Success Program for only a $299 signup fee and $19 per month.

Contact us now to set up an interview for the program. Only those who are serious about building their concrete countertop business will be accepted.

Please note: Membership is only for companies either training to or currently actively engaged in manufacturing, producing, finishing, fabricating, installing, maintaining, or restoring concrete countertops. No do-it-yourselfers, and no vendors.

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