T&K Contractors had a steady stream of repeat and referral business for years, doing mainly high-end work for a Wall Street-intensive clientele. When leads dropped acutely, post financial bubble, the company shifted into serious marketing gear.

“Marketing is our strongest point this year,” says majority owner Anthony Cammallere (pictured), who handles sales and big-picture issues, while brother Sal takes care of production. The company’s office in a 157-year-old Victorian home has been transformed into a designer showroom and, using multiple scripts, the company is calling clients from its 2,000-name mailing list to announce its new handyman division.

Partnering with a local bank, the remodeler is holding seminars to educate homeowners on how to do and finance a remodel. Regular postcard mailings and e-newsletters keep the company front and center with its market. Clients see 3D renderings of their project on a 50-inch plasma TV. And lead flow is everyone’s business, thanks to a daily staffwide distribution of who called when and why.

The brothers Cammallere aren’t the only “family” on staff, by the way; thanks to mutual respect and strong benefits, at least two employees have worked with them 20-plus years, and loyal trade contractors almost as long.

- Leah Thayer