How can social proof help contractors close more deals?

To succeed as a contractor, you need to convince potential customers to hire you. Using social proof is one of the best ways to get new sales in the door. In this article we will review different ways to use social proof to boost your sales.

Estimated Read Time: 9 minutes

When people hire a contractor, they want to make sure they’re entrusting their home or business to top professionals. Before making a decision, they’ll look for proof of a contractor’s strong reputation and capabilities.

Typical questions they ask:

May I see photos of your work?
What reviews and ratings have you received?
Have you worked on projects in my community?
Can you provide any references?

To succeed as a contractor, you need to provide convincing and memorable answers to these questions. Whether you’re presenting them on your business website or during sales appointments with prospective customers, these answers serve as social proof, a powerful source of evidence that you’re the best contractor for the job.

What is social proof?

People are socially oriented. They like to pay attention to what other people are saying and doing.

If prospective customers see that you’re earning approval from other people, they’re more likely to trust you. If you’ve established a successful track record, they’re more likely to see you as authoritative and reliable. You want to show them proof of a well-earned positive reputation.

Types of social proof for contractors

Online ratings and reviews. Yelp, Facebook, and Google are the top three platforms where you want to shine.

Testimonials. If you receive glowing feedback directly from customers, you may want to publish these testimonials directly on your website, along with a selection of top reviews from third-party platforms.

High-quality work photos. Photos or videos of completed projects have a powerful impact on prospective customers. They showcase your versatility, your experience, the excellence of your craftsmanship, and other qualities you want to highlight about your work.

Social media. Through social media, you can demonstrate authority, trustworthiness, and your brand’s core values. You can impress prospective customers by engaging with your followers in a variety of ways, including answering questions and offering useful information.

Digital mapping platforms. With a memorable interactive map, you can show where you’ve worked, giving a visual demonstration of the neighborhoods you’ve served and the many projects you’ve successfully completed.

Word-of-mouth referrals. Offline and online, you can encourage happy customers to spread the word about your business to their family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and social media followers.

Accreditations and awards. By highlighting awards or certifications, you show that your professional excellence has earned official recognition from industry authorities.

Your website. A well-designed site ties everything together. It’s a key place to display different types of social proof, giving customers a well-rounded picture of your strengths and the qualities that set you apart from competitors.

How does social proof benefit contractors?

Social proof is the idea that people are influenced by the actions and opinions of others, especially those within their social circle or community.

Social proof can benefit contractors in several ways:

Increases Credibility

During the sales process, customers expect you to promote yourself and make claims about the superiority of your services. Social proof gives your claims greater authenticity and credibility.

A Stronger Reputation

When customers observe that a contractor has established a history of successful projects, it instills a sense of confidence in them. They are inclined to place their trust in the contractor to deliver a satisfactory outcome, similar to the positive experiences that prior customers have had.

Differentiation From Competitors

You’re competing in a crowded market, and you need to seize every opportunity to stand out. Social proof elevates you, so that you’re no longer just a name on a list of local businesses. You appear highly respected and firmly established, more trustworthy and reliable than your competitors.

Boosts Conversion Rates

When potential customers see social proof, it can help to boost conversion rates. For example, if a roofing web design has a high number of positive reviews, it can create a sense of urgency for the potential client to work with them.

When should you provide social proof?

A contractor should provide social proof to potential customers during the sales process, particularly when they are trying to persuade the customer to hire their services.

Here a some good ideas on when and how to use social proof:

Pre-Appointment Communications

Before you meet with customers, you should prime them with information about your track record and the quality of your work. If your website ranks high in search results, or if you have a prominent presence on a social media platform, they may have already encountered you online and read about your business. However, even if they’ve come across some types of social proof, you may want them to learn more about you or focus on specific facts.

Let’s say you send customers a pre-appointment text or email. Maybe this message will include links to your website, such as a landing page or digital portfolio page that’s relevant to the type of project you’re discussing with them. Other possibilities include linking to a sample of top reviews or testimonials. Before the time set for your appointment, prospective customers should already be thinking about you as their top choice.

Another useful strategy is to send them a pre-appointment video. In this video, a sales representative can give them a brief and lively introduction to your business. Along with displaying beautiful visuals and highlighting some of your company’s strengths, such as awards that you’ve won, the video will humanize you and your employees. Before any face-to-face interaction, customers will already be forming a human connection with you.

In-Home Sales Appointments

A sales meeting with a prospective customer will go more smoothly if you use the right software to demonstrate social proof. For example, Ingage is a powerful presentation software that allows you to create interactive displays of videos, photos, and text. To emphasize your strong reputation, you can use Ingage to showcase recent projects, highlight outstanding reviews, and demonstrate your commitment to local communities, including any charitable efforts that you’ve spearheaded or contributed to.

Proposals

Sending a proposal is another opportunity to remind customers that you have a stellar reputation. If you use a high-quality proposal platform, such as Roofr or SumoQuote, you’ll have an easier time crafting a memorable proposal that demonstrates how you’re different from competitors. For example, you can use these platforms to once again highlight the amazing services you’ve performed for homeowners or business owners and the high ratings you’ve received.

The top three ways to strengthen your social proof now

1. Capture Online Reviews

You may not have many reviews for your contractor business. Even when customers are happy, they don’t necessarily think about leaving good reviews.

If you know that your customers are satisfied, it’s important to encourage them to write a review or at least give you a high rating on Yelp, Google, or other sites. You can make it easier for them by streamlining the process. For example, if you email or text them immediately after a project, express your appreciation for good feedback, and include a link to a review platform. Also, when a customer gives you an especially enthusiastic response to your work, you can ask them if they would like to write a testimonial for your site.

Once you start collecting more reviews, you can display them on your site, in emails, or on social media. If your site has a well-positioned badge with your Google My Business rating, or if it presents a carousel with a rotation of top reviews, you’ll be offering persuasive types of social proof.

2. Create a digital portfolio of your work

There are different ways to present images of your work. For example, you can create an album that shows different aspects of a project, including before-and-after comparisons.

If you want to take your digital displays to another level, look into using Project Map It. This powerful software generates an interactive map of your projects, showing the scope of your work over years. Customers can browse by project type and other dimensions, and they can see the details of specific projects, including photos. Plus, Project Map It will display ratings and reviews. Its persuasive presentations can truly help you close deals.

3. Post on social media

Evaluate the social media landscape, and consider which platforms work best for you as a contractor. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok enable you to share videos that showcase your work and convey your expertise. For example, you can post videos where you demonstrate a particular construction technique or point out signs of a problem in a home, such as a roof leak or a faded paint job.

Social media also gives you opportunities for customer engagement. For example, you can encourage user-generated content through an online contest, or you can set up polls that help you determine what issues people care about and what they need for their homes or businesses.

Also, make sure you aren’t overlooking certain platforms. LinkedIn, for instance, may be a good choice for you if you have many commercial or industrial customers.

Social proof consistently closes deals

Whatever claims you make about your business, customers look for proof. It’s not enough for them to hear your own opinions about the services you offer. They scan your ratings and reviews, and they look into your experience serving local communities. They get impressed by concrete evidence of professional excellence, ranging from certifications to portfolios of your work.

If you show them that you’ve earned a strong reputation and have developed a track record of success, you’re significantly more likely to close a deal. With the right tools, including software that helps you create memorable visuals, you can make strategic use of social proof, building on your previous achievements to generate future success.

As you gain more customers, your reputation will strengthen, and your social proof will become even more convincing, allowing you to keep winning over new customers. It’s a positive feedback loop that helps your business thrive.

Do you have a question or are you interested in working with our team?