Landis Construction

“Our biggest sales and marketing challenge was having to sell — explaining each time we made a sales call who we were,” says Chris Landis of Landis Construction in Washington, D.C.

Addressing this challenge was a key to growing the business from two owners, Chris and his brother Ethan, to 25 employees with a steady stream of work.

Landis Construction uses its website www.landisconstruction.com to market its company — the work it can do, the services it provides. “We do get a lot of referrals, but if you’re interested in growth, you’ve got to supplement those referrals,” Landis says.

But Landis learned early on the website could offer more than just marketing value for the company. “Once we started the site, it took on a life of its own. We could use it to sell, but we could also use it for everyday functions,” he says.

The website includes sections such as owner background information, a digital project portfolio, a what-to-expect-during-your-renovation page, even ballpark pricing information, which can help act as a preliminary lead qualifier. The site is optimized for search engines and includes title pages and keywords patterned after how prospects search the Web for home improvement related ideas. The more detailed the wording, the better the chance a search engine will hit on the site.

When clients welcome Landis salespeople into their homes for initial meetings, a big chunk of the sales process is already done. “It saves us time because I don’t have to go over my portfolio. Clients have already seen it,” Landis says. They are also informed on the process Landis Construction uses, from design through construction, so they know what to expect going forward with the project. And, they also have a rough figure on the cost of the project.

“People want the price wherever they go, so why not have it in design/build construction,” he says.

LANDIS CONSTRUCTION
Washington, D.C.
www.landisconstruction.com

COMPANY STATS
Full-time employees: 25
Industry memberships: AIA, NARI
Annual design/build projects: 75 percent
Residential remodeling: 100 percent
Average annual revenue (including
sales, overhead): $3.1 million