Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Until You.......



Yes You
Until you as a business owner decide to change and improve the performance of your company, profitability won’t change.
Until you decide to improve the look of your business and your Technicians, your company will still look like amateurs rather than pros.
Until you begin to understand the financial side of your business, you will continue to operate like a “Ma & Pa” operation rather than a business.
Until you understand that an employee won’t always do the way you would do it, you will micro-manage every phase of your business and limit it’s potential.
Until you expect and strive for the very best customer experience, you will just be another contractor, not memorable to your customer, not recommended by your customer if they even remain as a customer.
Until you enforce your company standards, you will have none.
Until you look at your employees as customers who deserve the best customer service, you will only attract mediocre employees.
Until you improve your marketing, you can expect that you won’t attract large numbers of new customers.
Until you have menu pricing (flat rate) and keep it current, you can expect customer complaints and low profits.
Until you plan and put aside money for retirement, you will be working until you die.
Until you train you Technicians, you can expect other companies to take you customers with better knowledge and better customer service.
Until you set goals, your future will drift like a ship without a rudder.
Until you check costs in each part of your business, you will loss profit by over paying to that friendly salesman.
Until you have your call takers use a script and check on 
them, you will loss opportunities to other contractors.

Until you work with a consultant or a contractor group, you will not grow in knowledge and learn from other’s experiences.
Until you set financial controls in your business, you open your business to employee thief and dishonesty.
Until you decide to change, your business is falling behind and will eventually fail!

Need help with change? Give me a call or email me, I can help if you are ready for cultural change.

You can get more information at our website www.SayYesToSuccess.com 

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com


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Thursday, March 12, 2015

Are You a Half-Hearted Kamikaze Revisited?

Why Update


Bergstrom - Elder Consulting GroupI find this trait so prevalent in small business today I see the need to write about it again with updates since I wrote about it in 2012. A lot has added to the causes of this disease that has infected small business owners.


A quick review of the term “Half-Hearted Kamikaze”


 It came from Tim Elmore a Christian Pastor and Speaker. I think it is relevant in today’s service business. First let’s look a definition of Kamikaze. As Tim Elmore puts it,” A Kamikaze is someone who (whether for good or evil) puts everything into one purpose.” Wikipedia defines the Kamikaze, literally: "God wind"; common translation: "Divine wind", where suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II. These attacks were designed to destroy warships more effectively than was possible with conventional attacks. Numbers quoted vary, but at least 47 Allied vessels, from PT boats to escort carriers, were sunk by kamikaze attacks, and about 300 damaged. About 14% of kamikaze attacks managed to hit a ship.

The Business Definition


So what is a Half-Hearted Kamikaze? My definition as relating to business is a service business owner who talks the story of improvement, change, and full commitment but does not consistently strive to achieve the goal of an extremely successful business with time for the owner to enjoy life.

BEC Group

So why are so many service business owners half-hearted?


My observations of dozens and dozens of service businesses demonstrate several reasons.
1.             They may great technicians but they are not knowledgeable business owners.
2.              Another reason is the owner just does not have the drive to take the business to success but is satisfied with a paycheck equal or less than they could make as a technician for a successful company. Perhaps their spouse works and provides the additional income and benefits for the family.
3.             Often an owner enjoy technical side of the business so much they shy away from the hard decisions, the “books”, margins, waste, and the changes needed to more the business to the next level. Not necessarily larger but more profitable.
4.             A recent trend I am seeing is business owners dealing with technology. They either get so involved in technology that they forget about the fundamentals of operating a successful business or they fail to grasp the opportunities that newer technologies offer to improve the fundamentals of a business.
5.             Also a recent issue is the red tape and regulations imposed by the government that stifle success these include regulations that do not make sense for a small business, burdensome paperwork, poorly trained inspectors, codes that change often, codes that do work for existing structures, laws that vary city to city, and of course government involvement in employee benefits.
6.             The last one I’m going to mention is marketing. A business owner can no longer rely on a simple “Yellow Pages” display ad to generate business. With websites, social sites, third
SayYesToSuccess.com
party advertising, customer online reviews, mobile marketing, and dozens of other newer marketing places and technics, the business owner is lost so they often give up.


The Consequences

The owner probably has little or no retirement fund when he retires. He may take cash under the table thus compromising his integrity. His business may be supported by his vendors who provide credit too easily. He owes more than the business is worth. He may have stress related illnesses such as heart trouble, high blood pressure, diabetes or another health issue. He retires to a life much less than a business owner deserves, if he is able to retire. Perhaps he works at a big box store like Walmart or Home Depot instead of enjoying retirement, hobbies, and the grandkids.

So what’s the answer?


Either become fully engaged or work for someone who is and avoid the downside of being half-hearted. Today there are dozens of ways to beat the half-hearted disease. Contact me if you would like to discuss this more and move your business forward.

Don't be a Half-Hearted Kamikaze, make the decision today!



Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. 


Wednesday, December 31, 2014

I had a Heart attack!


Here is the story in his own words of a young Technician who had a heart attack. Our safety and health training helped him survive and act quickly to prevent severe damage to his heart.


Bergstrom - Elder Consulting Health and Safety Training

Page 2
Need Health and Safety Training for you and your staff? Contact us!

You can get more information at our website, SayYesToSuccess.com 

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com


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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

13 Small Simple Actions to Change Your Company Culture


Being an owner or manager in a service business is fast paced, grinding, and can be total consuming
of all your faculties and inter-resources. This also holds true for your inside staff and your field Technicians. So here are 13 tips to improve the culture in your company by small things you as a manager or owner can do on a regular basis.

1.       Morning Greeting

As you walk in and some of your staff is already at the office, greet each one by name and with a positive greeting. I know you often come in with things on your mind, or lack of sleep, but this can give your staff a boost which can carry over to the customers they touch that day.

2.       Feed the Crew

Having a meeting? Stop at Mickey D’s or Dunkin Donuts and bring in something for them to eat. It doesn’t need to be exotic or expensive. They will feel you care about them. Be sure to recognize any food allergies or dietary issues and take care of those individuals also.

3.       Acknowledge

Acknowledge years of service with your company for each employee. You can do this on social media, send them a card, post it on the company bulletin board, have a cake with their name on it,  or even have something like a special hat or jacket for 1 year of service, 5 years of service, 10 years of service and so on.

4.       Celebrate

ALWAYS celebrate wins. When you reach a goal within the company such as meeting the monthly budget for sales and profit, reaching a specific number of Maintenance Agreements, excellent customer reviews, or a successful change within the company celebrate. This can be as simple as an announcement at a meeting or something more like lunch for everyone. Be sure to include everyone and show the benefit of the success to the employee.

5.       Orient

When a new employee comes into a company, they have a great sense of uneasiness. Introduce them to every employee you can. Let them know who to go to for payroll, uniforms, truck issues, in the warehouse and so on. When they agree to come on board, send them a letter welcoming them and their family to your family (company).

6.       Suggestion Box

Have a suggestion box where employees can express their ideas on improving the company. When a suggestion saves the company money or greatly improves customer service and revenue, acknowledge that suggestion and reward the employee. Incidentally, all suggestions must be answered by management within 1-2 weeks with an answer why or why not the suggestion will be implemented. If you don’t, the employees will stop giving suggestions.

7.       Ring the Bell

Have a bell and ring it when a replacement system is sold, a maintenance agreement is sold, or an add-on sale by a Technician. People like wins so celebrate wins. Casinos have bells, sirens, lights, and other devices to acknowledge wins.

8.       Post Results

Post goals and employee results to meet those goals. This could be sales, maintenance agreement sales, CSR sales, number of customer calls vs. closes and so on. This will increase sales just by posting and create some competition among employees. Also post a simple monthly company financial statement for all employees to view.

9.       Play Games

With the daily grind, employees get bored and their job becomes a heavy task each day. Have some games from time to time. Have everyone bring in a baby picture and post it. See if someone can guess whose picture each one is and have a small prize for the most correct guesses.  There are books with ideas for games that companies can play.

10.   Think Family

Each employee has a family outside of your business that is very important to them. Many employees are lost because of issues outside of work that deal with family. Look at your company policies and view them from an employee and family perspective. When you have a company activity, such as a Christmas party or picnic, think about making them family focused to include spouses, important others, and kids.

11.   Safety

Be sure to have a safety manual for the company and be a stickler for safety in the office, warehouse, and on the jobsites. Think of safety as an employee benefit that is reasonable to conduct and tells each employee that you care about them. If you bypass safety issues they feel you don’t care for their wellbeing and will not give their best to the company.

12.   Image

The image of your company is displayed every day by your trucks, employees and building. Employees don’t want to work for a company with dirty bathrooms, messy warehouses, poor uniforms, filthy office carpets, and so on. They want to work for the companies with the best images because it is a direct reflection on them. This is not an overnight or cheap change for some of you but if you make strides in the right direction without back-sliding, they will notice the change.

13.   Career


Most employees are looking for a career not just a job. For each employee, layout a career path they can achieve over a period of time. I would suggest over the next 5 years. There should be title changes as they advance, improved compensation, company provided training, and direction for them. They should have specific goals and skills to reach in order to move to the next level. They should be evaluated at least yearly but I would recommend semi-annually. Your employees are being enticed by other companies with opportunities. What are their opportunities at your company? Show them!

14.   Bonus Idea

A simple “Thank You” to an employee for doing a great job or going beyond the call of duty, goes a very long way!

Change Starts

Change starts at the top. These are “nice ideas” but if you don’t change and implement them or other cultural changes, your company will not change for the better. The culture will not improve and you will continue to struggle with many more employee issues and greater turnover.

Help

Need help with change? Give me a call or email me, I can help if you are ready for cultural change.

You can get more information at our website www.SayYesToSuccess.com 

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com


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Friday, August 15, 2014

Do You Need a Mobile Solution?

Helping Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Electrical Service Contractors
The continued march of technology has given us access to information in the palm of our hands. We can find any business, service, or product information on our cellphones. We went from "bricks that could only make calls to cellphones that easily fit into our shirt or pants pocket and allow us to open the internet or so to say everything in the world. It's not just us as business people but your customers and potential customers are becoming more and more dependent on their mobile technology. Although I started out by discussing cellphones, that mobile technology includes tablets and phablets. If you are not up to speed on technology a phablet is an over-size smart cellphone. The demand for desktop computers and laptop computers has dropped substantially with the power and ease of smartphones, phablets, and tablets. Website Magazine had an interesting 5 question quiz so you can understand the magnitude of use of these devices. Here is the quiz which you can take yourself. You will be amazed at the numbers.
 
1. What is the amount of time spent on mobile devices per day by the average U.S. consumer in 2014?
a. 20 hours and 14 minutes
b. 12 hours and 14 minutes
c. 5 hours and 57 minutes
d. 2 hours and 42 minutes
e. 38 minutes
2. What percentage of worldwide Google Play revenue do Freemium apps account for?
a.  98 percent
b. 72 percent
c. 38 percent
d. 17 percent
e. 53 percent
3. In what app category do U.S. smartphone users spend the most time interacting?
a. News/Info
b. Communications
c. Shopping/Commerce
d. Games
e. Social
4. What percentage of consumers are watching videos on their smartphones?
a. 75 percent
b. 93 percent
c. 25 percent
d. 42 percent
e. 12 percent 
5. As of June 2014, how many mobile Internet users are there worldwide?
a. 890 million
b. 1.2 billion
c. 106 million
d. 7.1 billion
e. 3.4 billion
Answers at the end of this post
Helping HVAC, Plumbing, and Electricial Service Contractors
So what should you do to tap into this market and assure your website is best viewed on every type of device? There are at least three choices. One is to have a responsive site  which means your website display changes when your customer uses their mobile device to access it. If it is a desktop or laptop it displays the way you had it built. If it is viewed on a smartphone, phablet, or tablet it displays differently to make it much more useful for the viewer. Another option is to build a totally separate design when one of these mobile devices opens your website. You could also develop an App but then the customer would need to upload your App to see your content. Probably not the first direction a contractor should select. Each of these solutions are time consuming and costly to develop but as with everything in business "It costs to attract customers". Begin to investigate the options and costs. As you put your 2015 budget together you should put this cost into it to meet this new trend. The numbers are only going to grow as more people have these devices and learn the convenience they provide.  

You can get more information at our website www.SayYesToSuccess.com 

Dan has been in the service industry for nearly 50 years. He has operated a large plumbing, heating and air conditioning service company and for the past 12 years has helped small companies in the service business to grow and prosper. Contact him at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com


Also check out these Posts:


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Answers to the Quiz: d, a, e, a, b