U.P. General Contracting (UPGC) is in a part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula that owners Klint Miller and Brad Crofoot say has become an increasingly popular vacation spot. As a result, most of UPGC's clients aren’t local to the area, so in-person meetings can be tricky.
Miller flies to meet with clients in person a few times a month. If the client lives eight hours away or less, the company will drive to meet the clients. Miller classifies these as marketing endeavors, so the travel expenses come out of the marketing budget.
“When we go see clients, the close rate is in the mid-80s,” Miller adds. “We feel more confident in seeing these clients, and that follow-through sets us apart from the competition.”
Miller says many of the homes are more than 100 years old, and clients purchase their houses sight unseen. When they hire UPGC to renovate, Miller and his team will show the clients 3D renderings of the space so they can see the home’s potential. In addition, for the selections process, Miller sometimes will send samples to clients to help them choose. They also have a Skype meeting with clients each week to go over the process.
To keep clients engaged, UPGC sets up cameras at each jobsite so clients can see the work being completed in real time. Miller says there is also a feature where clients can ask questions of the field staff as they’re working on the home. Miller says his employees enjoy the feature.
“Our crews used to never see clients … and clients never got to interact with the crew,” Miller adds. “Clients buy into our model of what we’re doing.”
