Every potential client faces the problem of finding the right contractor. With social and professional networking having gone digital, finding a contractor has never been easier, but finding a reputable contractor has never been more difficult. That goes doubly so for clients ready and willing to pay for quality services and products, because reputable contractors then must compete against every lowbid, low-quality vendor.
A niche industry like power sweeping confers two advantages to contractors: 1) limited competition and 2) limited places for potential clients to find contractors. The best source to find power sweeping contractors is, of course, NAPSA. If your municipality or company needs street sweeping, construction sweeping, parking lot sweeping, or snow removal, then find your contractor through the NAPSA website.
NAPSA provides an online, open-to-the-public directory of contractors for a potential client to find a power sweeping contractor serving their locale. The “Find a Sweeping Contractor” page on the NAPSA website offers three search paths: search by service area, search by state, and an advanced search.
The search by service area option opens a drop-down menu of U.S. states and Canadian provinces listed in alphabetical order. Metropolitan service areas are listed under each state having such distinct service areas. Some, like Vermont and Wyoming, don’t. The advanced search allows potential clients to filter search results by whether a company is certified, the company name, the first and/or last name of the company’s contact person, the city, and the state. The search by state option opens with a map of the USA. The user then clicks on the state and, voila, the results display.
Regardless of which search option is used, search results are displayed in alphabetical order by company name. Each company displayed shows the following information: company name, contact name, mailing address, telephone number, email address, website URL, and service area. Companies that have been certified are designated by the NAPSA logo and the word “certified” in capital letters. The search page notifies potential clients that, “‘CERTIFIED’ - Notes that this sweeping contractor is a Certified Sweeping Company. A CSC adheres to strict industry guidelines and standards as outlined by NAPSA.”
That doesn’t mean companies which aren’t certified don’t adhere to those strict industry guidelines and standards, but it’s reassuring to potential clients that they can easily distinguish those companies obligated to do so. If you’re interested in getting your company designated as a Certified Sweeping Company, check out the certification information posted on the NAPSA website.
Inclusion in the sweeper search directory comes with paid membership; but, how does it benefit your company specifically? If you’re on Alignable or LinkedIn or other professional networking site, you’ll be prompted to recommend or endorse those within your network—whether you’ve transacted business with them or not. It’s easy to do: just write a complimentary sentence or two and post it. The ease with which a recommendation can be posted gives rise to a quick feeling of satisfaction in both giver and receiver; however, that recommendation doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Is the recommendation honest? Is it based on an actual business encounter? Has it been paid for? There are many unethical vendors offering their services to post recommendations and positive reviews for a small fee.
Customers, existing and potential, know that, so they’re not likely to choose any company based on online reviews alone. However, when researching a contractor, a savvy client uses several resources. First is finding contractors serving their area. Second is checking other networking sites for additional information. Third is contacting those who might be in a position to make recommendations. That last is where the professional network comes in handy.
If a network acquaintance of one of your employees mentions that he or she is looking for a power sweeping contractor, that employee has two options. The first is to simply direct that person to the NAPSA contractor directory. The second is to personally recommend a company. That company may not necessarily be that person’s employer, for example: “My company’s in Colorado and doesn’t serve Paris, Kentucky, but X company does and they do excellent work.”
Remind your employees that referring potential clients to their employer nets the benefit of continued business for the company which means continued employment. You might also offer an incentive to employees to refer your company to potential clients, with each new client signed on resulting in that referring employee receiving a bonus or valuable perk.
NAPSA’s online sweeping contractor directory should not be your only source of client acquisition, but it should serve as an integral part of it.