Send Quick, Accurate Construction Estimates

Every construction company needs to learn how to generate leads for their business.  Leads are the life-blood of any business.  The purpose of this course is to help grow your contracting business so it is important we touch on lead generation since without leads you won't be providing estimates! 

IMPORTANT: I've attached a FREE resource just for taking this course.  It's an e-book on 10 Secrets for Generating Leads.  Hopefully you find it useful.  I'll also attach it in the next section just in case you miss it here.

Generating leads can feel daunting especially for contractors who don't know very much about digital marketing since their passion is in construction.  A contractor can easily feel overwhelmed and not know where to start.  In this video you'll learn about a simple formula I created to help you understand that generating leads isn't rocket science.  You can use this formula for any lead generation tactic you decide to implement.

Without targeted traffic to your website you won't get very many leads.  Most contractors have no idea where to start... should you get a Facebook page?  Do you focus on getting more Likes?  Do you setup a Twitter account?  There's so much confusion.  In this video I give you tips on how to get the best, most effective targeted traffic to your website.

Your website is a "digital sales channel" that helps bring you more sales 24/7.  If you invest in the way your office looks then you need to invest in your website!  And it isn't just about building a "pretty" website.  You MUST build your website in such a way that it will attract and convert targeted traffic.  Learn the basic principles on creating "topical landing pages" for higher conversions.

If you want your leads to come directly into your CostCertified pipeline then learn how you can generate your own lead form to use.  A quick tip: Your web designer/developer should be able to design the lead form to match the style of your website.

Once you start generating leads through referrals, your website and whatever other means you'll need to manage those leads so that you can stay on top of them and make sure you get estimates out to those who are serious.  In this video you'll learn how you can use CostCertified's built-in CRM tool to easily and simply manage your leads and contacts.

A quick introduction into what you will learn in this estimating section of the course.  This is probably the most important section of the entire course so please make sure you watch every video and take the assignment at the end of the section. 

Before you learn how to use the CostCertified engine to build your own estimates, take a few minutes to see the end result.  It's always important to have a view of your "end goal" so that it motivates you to put in the necessary setup time to achieve success.

Learn the layout of the land.  It's important to know the layout of the estimating engine since it's the heart of the CostCertified platform and you'll be spending most of your time while using CostCertified in the quote engine.

IMPORTANT: This could be the most important video in the entire course!  Without truly understanding how the quote engine works you won't be able to use CostCertified properly.  I understand it is a "new approach" to the way you think of estimating. But after you get the hang of it, you'll wonder how you ever created and sent estimates without CostCertified.  Everyone has a learning curve at first since it's new... the most important thing is you watch this video and immediately take the assignment so that you learn it by "doing" instead of just watching.

We updated CostCertified since this course was published and have an easier way for you to link items to dimensions.  Now all dimensions are colour coded so you can easily see which item is linking to what dimension.  Instead of it always being the same blue colour, the different colours should help you recognize instantly how items are linked.  And, we've added more dimensions and a setup wizard for adding new items.

IMPORTANT: Learning how to save and update assemblies and items is probably the second most important thing to learn when using CostCertified.  If you get this wrong, you'll end up frustrated and not knowing how the database of items/assemblies work.

UPDATE: We now have a setup wizard for adding items to make it even easier!  Also, we have updated the layout of an item to make it more simple and easier to understand.  You can choose a unit (i.e. Sq ft, linear ft, each, etc) and then choose a dimension associated with that unit (i.e. floor area, cabinet length, countertop area, etc)

Learn how to create brand new items or assemblies that you can save to your database.  Sometimes you won't find what you are looking for by searching the database and you just need to create a new item (or assembly).

You're probably used to just adding a line item to an excel spreadsheet and putting in a price with a description.  CostCertified is bringing this to another level and each item is like a "mini" job on its own complete with a title, description, images, attributes, construction stage, unit price, markup, upgrades, etc.  It is important you fill out as much as possible in order to track your costs properly.  With any finishes (i.e. countertop, backsplash, floor, light fixtures, etc) you will want to add really nice images and attributes and upgrades (learn how to add upgrades in a future video). 

We have created a setup wizard when you add new items to make it easier to arrive at your cost and also make it easier to add all the necessary info like Title, description, photos, upgrades, etc.

Adding upgrades to your items and assemblies is where it gets really magical for both you and your customer.  This allows you to eliminate the need for allowance pricing and gives your customer the ability to interact with your digital proposal by making their own selections while seeing the different in price in real-time!  Remember, the money is in the upgrades... don't leave any money on the table, make sure you add upgrades to all the items or assemblies you think the customer will want to make a selection on.

Adding optional items to your quote can help you earn more revenue and save you a ton of time on re-estimating since your customer can remove it with a click of a button and all the items/costs associated with that optional item/assembly will be removed without you needing to lift a finger.

Learn how to change the background image of your proposal, change the colours, and change your logo.  It's amazing how beautiful your proposal will look to your customer by just spending a little bit of time selecting a great background image!

If you want to send out customized proposals based on what you are estimating (i.e. Kitchen vs. bathroom vs. basement) then learn how to save specific templates that you can use.  Also, use templates to use for different brands.

A lot of contractors don't like to show pricing for certain items.  Learn how you can "turn off" itemized pricing for assemblies.

Change orders suck!  No contractor likes to keep track of all the change orders... in this video you'll learn how CostCertified can help streamline change orders to make it almost automated and a lot easier for you.  Plus, you won't be exposed legally!

Tracking your costs based on your line items is incredibly important to know where you are making or losing money.  CostCertified makes it easy to track your costs since the budget tab is seamlessly integrated with the estimating engine.

And use CostCertified to track your material list so that you know exactly how much to order and can easily check it off when you've ordered it.

Learn how you can add users and assign roles.