Refer Madness

Growing numbers of remodelers are segueing into retirement by operating their own referral services, many of them franchises, licensees, or models of existing companies.

“Remodeling is a very local business,” says Kurt Reuss, CEO of Contractor.com, which recently began selling franchises.

Remodelers themselves, he and others note, are well-positioned to run referral services because they know the business, understand their local market, and have networks of contractors from whom to draw.

A few opportunities:

Some leads no money can buy. Ask your clients if they're on a listserv —a community-based e-mail group —and if so, to use it to recommend your services to their neighbors and friends. Craigslist.com, a free online bulletin board with many categories of postings, can serve a similar function in the dozens of cities in which it operates.

Do your clients subscribe to angieslist.com? Available in 26 cities, this word-of-mouth network compiles consumers' opinions about local service companies. A similar guide, franklinreport.com, surveys homeowners in four metro areas.

New models are emerging as well. Consumers in four Virginia communities pay $65 a year to post messages and referrals on the Neighbors Network (www.neighbors-international.com). Founder and remodeler Sharon Rainey says there are “no negative posts,” but no unsubstantiated referrals either: “We ask them to write a full paragraph. We don't want to be a Yellow Pages.”