The 5 Different Rehab Contractor Styles - The Salesman

I’ve dealt with enough contractors now to know their different styles, their values, how they view their potential customer (you), and I share with you the most painful and expensive lesson of all; how to identify and manage each style.

This is the first in a series of the 5 Rehab Contractor styles, how to identify them, what to watch for, and how to manage them.  The 5 categories are The Salesman, The Perfectionist, The Investor/Rehabber, The Snob, and Hose A & Hose B.  The first style I bring in the series is The Salesman:

1. The Salesman:

The salesman is excellent at helping you visualize the end product.  He’ll use his arms and be flamboyant about what he will move and what he will keep.  He’ll suggest really cool changes that will improve the marketability of your house.  He’ll show enthusiasm and also tell you the cost will be minimal.  You will recognize the salesman because you’ll feel yourself start to get excited.  He’ll convince you that minor upgrades will really make your house POP.  He’ll tell you he’s got a team and they will get it done in a matter of days.  In addition, he;s most likely come to you through a trusted business associate, establishing mutual trust in this person. The salesman is a dreamer and he LOVES to create.  He lives for the beauty of the end product.

The Salesman contractor will be to your benefit IF:

-          He has a production oriented business partner.  My first contractor was a salesman.  I attribute our success to 2 things: 1. he had a production oriented business partner, and 2. we made him stick within a budget.  But we still went over our initial budget AND we got sold on upgrades that didn’t make a bit of difference to the selling price of the house.

-         You can keep him within YOUR budget and check on him daily – Many salesmen are dreamers and just don’t have the mental capacity to stay on track.  They are easily distracted with more exciting opportunities or other issues – most often unfulfilled commitments to previous clients.

-          It’s not enough just to see his work (believe me I learned this the hard way).  You need to find references (besides the one that referred you) and you must ask those references open-ended questions that encourage them to tell the story on how the project progressed.

The Salesman won’t work IF:

-          There are no contracts.  This guy is a dreamer and to him, anything is possible.  His enthusiasm is contagious and it’s easy to feel that he is as trusting as if he is your own brother.  You both agree on the image and you pull the trigger.

-          Don’t let his financial arrangement fool you.  I was impressed my salesman didn’t ask for money up front.  By about the 3^rd draw and 3 months later I had to fire him because he was so busy trying to live up to his previous commitments.  Even then I was taken by his sales ability – he asked for one more week to prove himself.  Like a fool, I allowed it, but he blew it again and this was the biggest and most expensive lesson of my rehabbing career.

If you feel yourself getting excited, then you are getting emotional about your project. Step back, keep it in check, speak to your mentors, and manage the project on a daily basis.