Too Busy to Worry about Your Attitude?

“We” is stronger than “me”.

I was a scout leader for years. At one of the first meetings where the boys were introduced to the wonders of camping, one of the scouts carefully made his way to my side of the room. He signaled for me to bend down so he could ask me a question. I reached eye level and heard him carefully and deliberately ask in his scratchy, little voice, “Hey Mister, when do we get the weapons?” I learned then and there that we were in for a long summer. However, it got me thinking as a business man. It’s easy to teach young boys who are already filled with wonder and ambition how to use tools to benefit them out in the wilderness. How can you bring that kind of enthusiasm and excitement to an older, struggling, and frustrated service contractor? Maybe that scout is right. Maybe we need to, “Bring out the weapons.”

I remember the first time I saw the Honeywell Prestige Thermostat. I was at a trade show a few years ago and remember noticing it from a distance. Prestige was bright, clear, and quite an attractive piece of equipment. As I was admiring it, I didn’t consider how important this new product would eventually be to my company.

How exactly could a small piece of equipment become a “weapon” in my arsenal? Shortly after the tradeshow, I met an outside territory salesman from Ferguson Supply Co. located about 50 miles from my shop. I had ordered a gas powered, 16-horsepower industrial vacuum cleaner with 100′ of 6-inch vacuum hose. That will pull the nylons out of your dryer vent! But, my service company intended to use it to suck out old insulation from attics to seal the plumbing and electrical penetrations, cracks, and crevices to increase the IAQ in the home. That process stopped the infiltration of dust-ridden, dirty, hot, humid air into the home. It was a big market for us at the time.

The Ferguson dealer decided to introduce the idea of the Honey Prestige Thermostat. The representative arrived right on time and we helped unload the heavy vacuum off the back of his truck. He then gave the standard pitch, “If you need anything, I’m a phone call away.” Two weeks went by and the Ferguson representative called to find out how our new vacuum was working. He then asked, “Rodney, have you seen the new Honeywell Prestige Thermostat?” I shared my trip with him that involved the recent tradeshow. He insisted in presenting me with a few thermostats. Again, he arrived on time as promised with the entire new Honeywell Prestige line up in tow including, the outdoor sensors and remotes. He also brought pre-wired transformers and powered them while he explained the features.

It’s great technology but let’s face it, contractors have had more thermostats move off van shelves due to damage than to add-on sales. We have attempted the, “Programmable saves 10% on your bill” approach with mostly disappointing results. There was still an add-on market but, I’ve found what sells thermostats the fastest is what sells everything: a pretty face. Except, I’m not talking about the pretty face featured in commercials, I’m talking about the pretty face of the thermostat. It gives the “Wow, the Honeywell Prestige is beautiful!” It also helped that the thermostat had just enough bells and whistles to be useful without being complicated. And, at the time, it was the easiest high-end thermostat to program and use.

Keep in mind, we had a very good relationship with our local distributors, who visited and delivered products to the company weekly. They could probably match prices, but the Ferguson representative was adamant about being our Honeywell supplier. He had certainly earned our business simply because he opened our eyes to a product that we had failed to utilize. Our local based reps had mentioned the product but, didn’t think to demonstrate it. I understand that distributors and their salesmen can’t carry every product around but, presentation without demonstration is just conversation. If something is merely mentioned, it can be easily forgotten. The representative from Ferguson gave a demonstration that compelled us spend money. 

However, it was a concern that our new potential supplier would not be present with the 100-mile round trip that he would have to make. Would we still get the same attention as our previous distributors? The Ferguson representative eased my worry quickly by emailing us the order form, allowing us to do online transactions and covering the shipping costs for us. The process was so incredibly easy that it allowed us to give him the business he had earned. I immediately bought a thermostat for my office, one for my house and one for my son’s house, who is also our lead technician. I knew if we all fell in love with the product, it would fly off our service trucks and into our customer’s homes. We stocked our trucks and printed a book with five thermostats, including pictures. We have to show that pretty face! Anytime a customer suggested that their thermostat might be an issue, the book was ready in hand, resulting in a sale almost every day. Most of them being the most expensive, the Prestige.  

Thermostat sales became the new add-on and once again, we obtained ownership of the most valuable piece of advertising real-estate: Our name branded in their home. I say, “Hats off!” to one excellent territory rep, who used his weapons of presentation and demonstration to earn our business. For us, the Honeywell Prestige and the book we developed to clinch the sale with the homeowner is a weapon that we will always value. And, it’s one we’ll fire off any chance we get.

 

Service Roundtable is dedicated to growing your bottom line and helping your business maximize its full potential. These group of contractors work together to assist you with marketing, sales, business, and so much more. Twice a month, seminars around the United States and Canada are held to network and further assist your business. Visit Service Roundtable.com to see if there are Success Days in your area and do not forget to register for International Roundtable in New Orleans on April 4 - 6!

Football season and the Big Game has come and gone and it only shows what a difference a year can make. The Eagles stood in last place just 12 months ago and now they are champion. All this success happened after Wentz got injured late in the season and second string Quarterback Nick Foles led the Eagles to the franchise’s first ever win! Congratulations are certainly in order!

Now that football season is over, which sport should be your next focus? For those of interested in hockey, there is still the quest for the Stanley Cup. The Blackhawks are essentially having the exact opposite season the Eagles had, while the Las Vegas Golden Knights are having an unbelievable inaugural season. There’s always March Madness, NBA, the Olympics, and Spring Training, and coming soon, baseball’s regular season.

Being from Chicago, once Spring Training starts, it’s only a matter of time before the weather breaks, summer is here, and the MLB season is in full swing. This is also the time of year where the Indoor Air Quality spring training kicks into gear. Just like baseball players, technicians and sales consultants need to refine their skills and knowledge of IAQ so they can be at the top of their game. Every team needs a great manager and coaching staff to perfect each position and hold the players accountable to put together a winning season. Through Service Roundtable and partners, you can train your team way beyond Spring Training.

Like all sports, baseball has a season. IAQ is unique though in that there is no season; it is a year round sport. It’s crucial to continuously train your roster of players to take an IAQ swing on every service, maintenance, and sales call.

As I have said in the past, learning how and when to communicate IAQ awareness on every single call is the key to your IAQ success by learning how to take technical information and translate it into layman’s terms for the homeowner. The homeowners your team visits on a daily basis are your fans, and they all have the right to enjoy the benefits of cleaner, fresher, and healthier air.

Let’s all step up to the plate this season and let the team and fans know that we are serious about IAQ.  Just like in baseball, when the team wins, so do the fans.   

 

Service Roundtable is dedicated to growing your bottom line and helping your business maximize its full potential. These group of contractors work together to assist you with marketing, sales, business, and so much more. Twice a month, seminars around the United States and Canada are held to network and further assist your business. Visit Service Roundtable.com to see if there are Success Days in your area and do not forget to register for International Roundtable in New Orleans on April 4 - 6!

A solid understanding of how to get more applicants is guaranteed to get you a speaking engagement at your next mixed group meeting. Why? Because it’s a simple metric that can easily be transcribed into what matters most to your company: money. Applicant conversion provides a benchmark that eliminates the stress and worry of hiring success.

So, what is applicant conversion? At its most basic level, applicant conversion is when a job candidate performs an “action” on your job site or on one of your job ads. If you want to hire successfully and grow your business with qualified professionals, here are a few tips to consider.

 

Compel Candidates to Click on Your Position

At first glance, this probably seems like a “duh” suggestion, but you’d be surprised at the challenge this tip poses for HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical clients. The reason why so many owners and even HR professionals encounter these issues is due to being naturally HR minded, and not marketing oriented. Stepping into the shoes of your candidates can skyrocket your applicant conversion because you’ll start writing job ad content from the lens of your job seekers.  

Writing a marketing oriented job ad ensures that you’re communicating to your applicants in way that resonates with them on a deeper level. The more you can “pitch” them on working at your company, the more likely you’re going to increase your applicant conversion metric. Don’t be the company only adding “bonus “or “Hiring techs now”.

 

Make Your Position Mobile-Friendly

Nothing will negatively impact applicant conversion like providing an application that is not mobile optimized. Almost 70% of applicants you seek use mobile platforms to apply for positions. If your application isn’t optimized for mobile devices, then your applicants are going to get frustrated and will move on, which will cause your applicant conversion to plummet. This equates into rolling a ball uphill.

Star employees know their worth and won’t waste their time fussing with an application that doesn’t allow them to complete certain fields on a mobile device. In addition to hurting your applicant conversion, having an application that is not mobile friendly can harm your employer brand. With society’s increasing reliance on technology, applicants will likely be put off by a system that is outdated and the perception could carry over into how “innovative” and “cutting-edge” your company is viewed. Essentially, using the technology advantage maximizes every dollar you spend on recruiting. 

 

Ditch the Long Application

 Long applications requiring unessential information to the position will cause your applicant conversion to suffer. When was the last time you or another member of your team actually completed an application for a job opening you have? Ask yourself if it was frustrating or if it contained duplicate questions. Requiring social security information in the first round in the hiring process is an example of an unnecessary question that will deter applicants.

If your application has any of these, it’s possible that you need to reevaluate your process to avoid hurting your conversions. It’s unlikely many applicants will spend hours recording past job information, attaching a resume, and providing a social security number without a higher probability to hear back from the employer. If your focus is growing your applicant conversion, you will need to spend time reviewing every step of your hiring process with a fine-tooth comb.

 

Service Roundtable is dedicated to growing your bottom line and helping your business maximize its full potential. These group of contractors work together to assist you with marketing, sales, business, and so much more. Twice a month, seminars around the United States and Canada are held to network and further assist your business. Visit Service Roundtable.com to see if there are Success Days in your area and do not forget to register for International Roundtable in New Orleans on April 4 - 6!

Five Places to Invest Your Marketing Budget in 2018

 

Wondering where you should be investing your marketing budget in 2018? Don’t waste money on strategies that no longer work. Instead, check out these five strategies for making the most of your marketing dollars this year.

 

1. Targeted Facebook Ads

Imagine your amazing ad showing up in front of your captivated customer just as they’re about to dive into their 500h cute cat video of the day. And all of a sudden, they remember, “Oh yes, I did need to get my plumbing serviced, didn’t I? I’ll give them a call.”

Facebook Targeted Ads are inexpensive and effective in getting you noticed by potential customers.

With Facebook Ads, you can design custom audiences to target your ad to different kinds of people more likely to need your service. You can also set location targeting, which lets you market to people within a certain radius. Or, you can even retarget ads at customers who visited your website but never converted.

Overall, through the power of Facebook targeted ads, you are able to reach more potential customers who need your service, while bypassing those that don’t.

This is a marketers dream.

 

2. Email

By now, you know how powerful it is for local service businesses to keep in contact with their customers. Consistent communication helps to build brand loyalty, customer retention, and helps businesses stay top-of-mind throughout the year.

This is why email marketing is the most effective way to communicate to your customers throughout the year while delivering the most return on marketing investment.

One well-written email and a single click of a button can reach all of your customers at once. This is fantastic because you can contact customers without spending too much money.

Stretch out your typing fingers and start sending newsletters, service reminders, holiday greetings, and company updates throughout the year, so your customers will remember your company name when they need a service.

 

3. Video

People like to watch videos; a lot of videos. More than 500 hours of video are watched on YouTube every day. According to a new study by SearchMetrics, YouTube now commands SEO visibility rankings.

Many local service companies are beginning to introduce video content as a way to get more customers to pay attention to their message.

Here’s why you should, too.

According to Diode Digital, 50% of customers will watch a video if it’s available on your site. Also, websites with videos are 50 times more likely to appear on the first page of search engine results (Forrester Research).

How-to’s, testimonials, or even just an introduction to your team will help you get noticed online and leads to increased calls to your business.

 

4. Managing Your Online Reputation

By now, you already know your online reputation is your most valuable marketing asset. Having a stellar reputation is essential to a growing business.

That’s because 97% of consumers read reviews before making a purchase decision. And 85% of those consumers trust a review as much as a personal recommendation.

But did you know that many local businesses are now using reviews as a way to get more sales?

You can send an online review portfolio of your team member to your customer before an appointment. This helps to establish your team member as a trusted advisor and makes it easier for them to close deals.

When the time comes for your team to recommend a particular piece of equipment or service, your customer will know they’re credible and trustworthy based on the great reviews they have earned.

Reviews mean revenue. In fact, according to one study by Moz, 67% of consumers are influenced by online reviews. Unfortunately, one negative review could cost you nearly a quarter of all potential customers who began researching your brand.

What does this mean for you? A stellar reputation is crucial to bringing in new business.

 

5. Take Care of Your People

Your people represent your brand, your values, and your business to your customers every day. When they provide remarkable service, it results in happy customers leaving glowing online reviews that attract new customers and help grow your business.

When they don’t provide great service, however, you get unhappy customers who leave bad reviews, resulting in a bad reputation and countless dollars of lost revenue.

So what leads to subpar employee performance? According to a study by Globoforce, the answer could lie in how employees are being recognized at work.

78% of workers would be more motivated to perform better at their job if they were recognized and appreciated for their efforts. Which is alarming, considering that same study says that 45% of employees have received no recognition in the past six months.

Inspire your team to be remarkable by recognizing and rewarding them when a great job is done. Cheer them on at company lunches, post shout-outs on your company Facebook page for their friends and family to see, or even give them a simple, “Thank you for all your hard work.”

Extra efforts like these cost very little, but go very far in motivating your team. Motivated employees provide better service to your customers, which results in better online reviews, and more revenue for your business.

What’s even better? Your happy employees can help you with recruitment and retainment of more great people. Employees who feel recognized at work are two times more likely to recommend their workplace to others. They’re also half as likely to leave a company for a competitor.

Investing in getting and keeping great people who positively represent your company’s brand and values with every customer interaction is essential for a great online reputation.

It’s the best investment you can make this year.

 

Service Roundtable is dedicated to growing your bottom line and helping your business maximize its full potential. These group of contractors work together to assist you with marketing, sales, business, and so much more. Twice a month, seminars around the United States and Canada are held to network and further assist your business. Visit Service Roundtable.com to see if there are Success Days in your area and do not forget to register for International Roundtable in New Orleans on April 4 - 6!

Businesses exist for many reasons—to provide goods or services, to fill a need, to address consumer pain points—but ultimately, they exist to make money. As such, it’s alarming how many smaller companies actually aren’t generating as much as they should. They may make revenues, but they don’t necessarily save any of that money in the bank as pure profit. The effect on the business owner is a constant feeling of treading water; never going under, but also never feeling like the business is growing.

Believe it or not, a lot of this has to do with the business owner’s mindset—and a change in perspective can unlock surprising profits in your company. It’s a model called Profit First, outlined by author Mike Michalowicz in his Profit First bestseller. The book and its insights have revolutionized countless businesses. In this post, we’ll show you how they can revolutionize yours.

 

The Problem with Your Accounting

There’s a decent chance that your company uses the GAAP accounting model, even if you don’t necessarily know it by that name. This has long been the conventional accounting framework; in fact, that acronym stands for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

What it boils down to is this: SALES – EXPENSES = PROFITS. Your revenues, minus your expenses, equal your profits. It sounds right. Mathematically, it checks out. But in fact, it’s nonsense. The way you know it’s nonsense is that so many of the companies that use this accounting formula have no profits to prove it.

 The Profit First model inverts this formula just a bit. In Profit First, the math looks like this: SALES – PROFITS = EXPENSES. That may sound like a minor variation, but actually, it makes a world of difference. This particularly makes a difference in the business owner’s behavior.

 

Understanding Parkinson’s Law

But why does this inverted formula change business owner behavior so drastically? For an answer, we look to Parkinson’s Law, an observation attributed to author C. Northcote Parkinson. He famously stated that our demand for resources rises to meet the supply. That means if a project is allotted two weeks to complete, it will take the full two weeks. If it’s allocated five weeks, it will take five weeks. You get the idea.

Profit First uses this law to your advantage. Here’s how: Rather than paying your expenses first, you start by putting aside some money as pure profit—literal money in the bank. What you’re left with, you use for expenses. Remember Parkinson’s Law: The demand for your resources (in this case, money) adjusts to the supply. When you set aside profit first, you simply learn to do more with less money; in other words, your expenses are minimized.

 

Just Look at Your Bank Account

If you’re unsure about any of this, let’s come at it from a different angle: bank account balancing.

Frankly, most business owners don’t have the time to read all the different accounting statements that are available to them. This includes balance sheets, cash flow statements, and the list goes on. As such, they resort to bank account balancing. This simply means looking at your bank account and making financial decisions based on what you see there.

Business owners who use Profit First have a big advantage. The difference is that, with a Profit First mindset, you take a portion of your deposits and immediately allocate them to profits. As such, when you look at your bank account balance, you see what’s available for spending after those profits have been claimed, and you adjust your spending accordingly.

 

Using Your Habits to Your Advantage 

One of the great assets of the Profit First model is that it doesn’t really require you to change your habits, rather it allows you to use them more advantageously. After all, simply forcing yourself to become more financially disciplined is a hard thing to do. However, being proactive in setting aside profits each month, then letting your natural spending habits kick in from there, is very doable.

You, too, can learn to use Profit First by setting up some savings accounts, forcing yourself not to “borrow” from your own profits, and ultimately turning your cash-eating monster into a money-making machine. Start thinking in terms of profit first and put cash profits in your business today!

 

Meta description: Many businesses make profit an afterthought—but the Profit First accounting system can help any company become more profitable.

 

Social media posts: 

The #ProfitFirst system can revolutionize any company’s approach to #cashflow—but where should you begin?

Does your company devour cash, without generating profits in return? If so, #ProfitFirst is for you.

 

Service Roundtable is dedicated to growing your bottom line and helping your business maximize its full potential. These group of contractors work together to assist you with marketing, sales, business, and so much more. Twice a month, seminars around the United States and Canada are held to network and further assist your business. Visit Service Roundtable.com to see if there are Success Days in your area and do not forget to register for International Roundtable in New Orleans on April 4 - 6!

“Hi, my name is Don Page and this is my first day at work here.”

Marketing with Imagination

 

The Power of Moments