Planning a Restoration Marketing Rep's Week

Lay out a badly planned Monday on a map. A plumber up north. Two insurance agencies at opposite ends of town. A property management office forty minutes in the wrong direction, then back across the river for a lunch that was set up last week. By Wednesday, the car has spent more time with the rep than any referral partner has.

A rep's week doesn't have to look like that. September is a good time to fix it. Vacations are over, offices are back to full strength, and the colder-weather calls haven't started stacking up yet. Here's how to build a week that puts the rep in front of the right people, in a sensible order, with something worth bringing.

Know who you're visiting and why

A rep's list usually covers a few kinds of people, and each one wants something different from you.

• Plumbers. They're often standing in the water before anyone else, and they want a restorer who answers fast, treats their customer well, and never takes their work.
• Insurance agents. Their clients often call them first after a loss. They want the client to come out the other side happy and to stop calling the agency upset.
• Property managers. Buildings full of plumbing and tenants. They want fast response, clear documentation, and an after-hours number that a person answers. Our guide to winning work from property managers goes deeper.
• Everyone else worth a slot. Association managers, facility managers at commercial buildings, and other trades that see damage before you do.

If the rep can't say in one sentence why a stop is on the calendar, it probably shouldn't be.

Sort relationships into tiers

Not every relationship needs the same attention. Split the list into a few tiers and give each one a rhythm.

• Active partners. People who send work regularly. They get the most visits and the fastest follow-up, because these are the relationships a competitor is trying hardest to win.
• Warming up. People who have sent a job or two, or who clearly want to. Steady, regular visits build these into active partners.
• Prospects. People you'd like to work with. Fewer visits, each one focused on being useful rather than on asking.

As an example only, a shop might visit active partners every couple of weeks, warming relationships about monthly, and prospects whenever the rep is already in the area. Pick the cadence that fits your market and your rep's hours, then review the tiers every month and move people based on what actually happened.

Group the visits by area

The fastest way to waste a rep's week is to plan it by who comes to mind first. Plan it by geography.

• Split the territory into zones. Three or four zones that each make sense as a day of driving.
• Give each field day a zone. Mix tiers within the zone so every day includes a couple of active partners, a warming relationship, and a prospect or two.
• Use active jobs as a reason to stop. If you're working a job in a zone, the plumber or agent who referred it may appreciate an update, with the customer's permission.
• Plan the next week before this one ends. A route set on Friday afternoon is a route the rep actually drives on Tuesday.

A sample week

Here's one way to lay it out. Treat it as a starting point, not a rule.

• Monday: plan and follow up. Review last week's log and any referrals that came in, confirm the week's appointments, and send everything you promised last week.
• Tuesday: zone one. Field visits, logged the same day.
• Wednesday: zone two. Field visits, plus a check-in on any job a partner in that zone referred.
• Thursday: zone three. Field visits, and a lunch-and-learn or office visit if one is booked.
• Friday: close the loop. Thank-you notes, the referral report, and a short run to whichever zone got shortchanged.

Leave slack. When a big storm comes through, the rep may be needed on the phones or on jobs for a few days, and the plan should bend without breaking.

Bring something worth the stop

Pastries open doors. They also have a way of turning the expense report into something that looks like a sponsorship deal with the bakery on the corner. A box of something now and then is fine. What keeps the door open is something the person can use.

• A one-page "before the restorer arrives" sheet a plumber or agent can hand to a customer: stay safe, stop the water if it's safe to, take photos from somewhere dry.
• A fridge magnet or shutoff tag with your after-hours number, for partners to give out.
• A short update on a job they referred, shared only with the customer's okay.
• The answer to a question they asked on your last visit.
• Seasonal tips they can forward. The list in our National Preparedness Month tips for customers works well for agents and property managers.

Log every touch the same day

A visit that only lives in the rep's memory disappears the day that rep moves on. Log every touch before the end of the day, in the same place, with the same fields:

• Date, person, and company.
• What you talked about and what you brought.
• Anything they asked for or mentioned, like a building they manage or a busy season coming up.
• The next step and the date you'll take it.

Then follow up. If the rep promised a handout, it goes out within a day or two. If a partner sends a job, thank them promptly, and with the customer's permission, let them know the customer was taken care of. If the shop also posts on social, our social media guide covers what's safe to share about a job.

Track referrals by source, and keep it clean

Visits are effort. Referrals are results. A rep's week only gets better if you can see which relationships send work.

• Ask every new customer how they found you, and record the specific person and company, not just "a plumber."
• Review referrals by source every month, next to the visit log. A partner who gets weekly visits and sends nothing deserves a different approach. A partner who sends steady work with almost no attention deserves a thank-you and more of the rep's time.
• Never pay for referrals. Rules on referral fees, gifts, and inducements vary by state, and many agencies, management companies, and plumbing shops set their own gift policies. Check your state's rules, and talk to your attorney before you offer partners anything beyond a modest thank-you.

Our reporting and analytics guide has more on reading referral numbers alongside the rest of the business.

Where route planning helps

Riivet's AI marketing suite includes route planning, so a rep can lay out a day's visits by area and in a sensible driving order instead of crisscrossing the county. You can see it in a demo.

Bottom line

Know who you're visiting and why. Sort relationships into tiers with a cadence for each, group visits by zone, and plan next week before this one ends. Bring something useful, keep the pastries as a side dish, and log every touch the day it happens. Follow up on every promise, track referrals by source, and never pay for one. A rep who works that way spends less time in the car and more time with the people who send the work.