The Design Builder's Blog

Five Keys To Getting Contractor Financial Reports That Speak To You

Guest Blogger: Melanie Hodgdon is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who has been providing financial analysis and QuickBooks training for contractors since 1994. She’s the co-author of A Simple Guide to Turning a Profit as a Contractor.  Melanie and Shawn often coordinate their efforts when helping remodelers develop financial systems for their businesses so they serve the contractor, not just their accountant.

“How can I get meaningful financial reports for my construction business?”

There’s a big difference between a pile of materials and a well-designed building. Yes, everything required to create and use the building is contained within the pile, but until it’s been put together with the intention of producing something useful and well-thought-out, it’s pretty much useless.

The same thing applies to contractor financial reports

I have worked with literally hundreds of contractors’ financial databases, and many of them have got the majority of the information in there, all right. The problem is that, just like the pile of materials, the information isn’t organized in a way to let them easily draw conclusions. Just like the point of having a house is to provide shelter, the point of having financial reports is to make informed management decisions.

My clients, seminar attendees, and reader audience are probably sick of hearing this, but if reports don’t provide useful information at-a-glance­, they aren’t doing you any good. Contractors can’t afford to have their bookkeeper or accountant adjust, explain, and interpret reports. Waiting for this kind of information puts them at the mercy of others. Instead, any contractor should be able to instantly access, review, and draw conclusions from standard reports any time he feels like it!

Begin with the end in mind

The key to getting this right and meaningful is to decide beforehand what questions you want answered. So if you want to know what your gross profit is, for example, then you need to set up your Chart of Accounts to show it to you. If you want to figure out how much your production workers are costing you, then be sure to capture all the burdens along with the wages. If you want to find out which marketing methods are working best, then you’ll need to have two categories of information: (1) you’ll have to have your financials set up so you can see costs by marketing source, and (2) you’ll have to have a lead tracking system that will identify which leads are coming in from which source.

Even software that advertises itself as being set up specifically for contractors doesn’t necessarily classify costs in the most useful way for a particular company; relying on the software to control the content and level of detail of information means you may be giving up answers that are important to you.

Here are five keys to getting the financial reports contractors need:

1. First and foremost, give accounts names that make sense to you. If you want to call your refuse disposal garbage, do it. Don’t be hung up on what your accountant thinks it should be called. Use names that are familiar, descriptive, and have meaning for you.
2. Separate costs related to production from overhead by using different types of accounts; when you run your financial reports, they will be in different regions of the reports and you should be able to get key numbers (such as gross profit) without doing anything more.
3. Use account numbers to control the order of the accounts. Without numbers, your reports may appear in alphabetical order, which may be far less revealing.
4. Organize the accounts in clusters; use sub-accounts to provide detail when required. For example, you can have a main account for marketing, but use sub-accounts for web, home show, print, and other categories.
5. Arrange accounts to show the biggest numbers higher up. For example, if you cluster your production-related accounts together, and 50% of your production costs are for subcontractors, then put the subcontractor account at the top of the production cost list. If you spend only 3% on permits, put that at the bottom.

Take control of your Chart of Accounts so that your financials will speak to you.

You don’t have to have an MBA to derive meaning from reports; the basics are pretty darned easy to understand. However, if your accounts have arcane names, are organized with an inappropriate level of detail, or are in the wrong location, your job will be made more difficult. It’s challenging enough being a contractor without making things harder than they have to be!

Guest Blogger:  Nicole Allen is the Social Media Manager at R2R Marketing where she is responsible for maintaining and executing a clearly defined social media strategy to increase brand equity and awareness for current clients.  She is also the group manager for “Home Improvement Industry Specialists” group on LinkedIn.   Nicole is an expert in Social Media Management and has a military background as an Aircrew Survival Equipmentman.

Joining A Contractor Trade Association Should Be An Informed Decision

There Are Many Reasons to Join a Professional Organization…and many questions you may want to ask before you join.  Here are some things to ponder.

Membership in a professional organization is an investment in your professional credibility.

• There are many organizations out there that will help your credibility. However, there are a few out there that do not. Check them all out before you join no matter how cheap the dues are. Are their agendas in your best interest? Are the key members upstanding in their field and community? They are the face and voice of the association and if they are unprofessional or unethical in their choices, you will be seen the same.

 

It’s an investment in personal development, and growth.

• Choosing the right association should involve doing a little fact checking. Does the association promote and foster a learning environment or does it seek to push its own agendas on you? Does it offer you training materials that are relevant to your company? Does it offer you a place to network with your industry peers? What is the overall tone of the association? Above all, does it portray a professional appearance? If their agenda is not in-line with yours you may want to re-think your membership.

 

It’s a place to get and expand your knowledge

• Membership is a way to stay connected to your professional peers who are going somewhere, and don’t mind sharing knowledge on the journey. The age old adage, “If you want to be successful, surround yourself with successful people” applies here. The association you join should promote professionalism, ethics and training to help you succeed. Many say this is what they do- make sure they actually do it.

 

As a professional association, they should work hard to help you succeed.

• You should receive tools (including a high-quality member website) and training to help you grow. They should offer support as you meet professional challenges, and opportunities to develop your business.

 

Here is an example

As a member of the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), for example, a contractor has access to all-inclusive member resources and tools through the AGC Legislative Action Center and receives member discounts on AGC products and services. Additionally, with a nationwide membership of more than 32,000 firms and a network of 96 chapters, AGC offers its members the opportunity to meet and build relationships with fellow professionals, owners and suppliers.

Can the new association you are checking into offer you something that is comparable? Even if they are charging you low or a no-fee membership, is it really worth it if they cannot help you succeed?

Last thoughts

Membership in trade associations can not only benefit the employees of your company, but it can also project a positive image of your firm to your customers; if you choose your association wisely.  Membership in associations shows a business’ initiative, its engagement in a particular trade and its commitment to staying abreast of current developments in the market. It can also affect you negatively by conducting itself in an unprofessional manner and by throwing business and moral ethics out the window. Look closely at the way their key members hold themselves in a public forum and ask yourself one question- Is that the way you want yourself and your company to be seen?

Guest Blogger: Chuck Green is a Big 50 remodeler who returned to video production, winning a New England Emmy® Award in 2012. Chuck and Shawn have worked together on several video productions including a series of RRP videos for Remodeling magazine.  Check out Chuck’s work at www.PerpetualMotionMedia.com   He can be reached at: CG@PerpetualMotionMedia.com

Tips For Using Video On Your Contractor Website To Introduce Your Team

To consumers a remodeling project can either feel like an invasion or a friendly co-occupation.  Using video on your website is a great way to convey which reality your company offers if they hire you.  

In my last guest blog here at the Design Builders Blog I discussed 6 Creative Ways You Can Use Videos On Your Contractor Website.  In this blog I offer some tips and suggestions for getting the best value out of the videos you use on your website to introduce your team. 

Topics for staff to address in their video interviews

Before you do these videos I suggest you consider your goals for doing them.  Below I offer two suggested goals and some topics to help accomplish the goals. 

Goal 1: Convince your future customers their home will be in good hands.

• What is their background and/or length of time at their trade?
• What does it mean to them to be a team member?
• How long have they been with the company, and how have they moved up in skills and responsibilities?
• Is there a special project they’re still passionate about? Any award winners they’ve worked on?
• Mention how, especially if they’re also homeowners themselves, they really understand the importance of (for example) closing outside doors and wiping off their feet.
• Or perhaps it’s keeping work disturbances to a minimum.

Goal 2: Deepen the personalization, demonstrating they’re people not too different from your customers:

• What town do they live in? Grow up in?
• Say something about their children and family.
• What are their hobbies and outside interests?
• What are their significant achievements both in work and outside?
• What’s the most interesting place they’ve ever traveled to or lived in?
• What instruments do they play, and for how long? (Sometimes it might be wise not to talk about the kind of music they’re into.)

Tips for creating high quality video and audio

Ideally, keep each of your construction team introduction videos to under a minute, but 1-1/2 minutes should be the max. Record all the relevant topics, but post only 2 or 3 of the elements which come out best with each person.  Here are several important considerations to keep top of mind if you want to maximize your video investment.

Relax them    

It’s important to have everyone around be relaxed; if it doesn’t flow easily after a couple of tries, take a break and return to the filming later. For the interviews, have each person sitting while looking at someone they’re friendly with, located just off to one side of the camera. Interviewees should remain looking at the other person continuously and avoid quick looks at the camera (or look only at the camera). If a person's eyes shift back and forth, they literally look shifty!

Lighting         

All the introductions should have extra care taken to light the person and background well.  To look best, avoid mixing daylight, fluorescent, and incandescent lighting; either applying gels to change the color temperature of sources, or swapping out bulbs.   

Sound            

Surprisingly, the mantra in the film and video world is “Sound is half the picture.” Poor sound is a hallmark of schlocky work, dragging down many otherwise promising videos. If someone insists they don’t need an external microphone to record speech, don’t even consider working with them!   Also, watch out for and eliminate distracting sounds in the background.  Radios OFF! And don't seat someone close to an inside corner, because there will be very slight but irritating echoes.

Tools do not make one a master  

As with construction tools, mastering the use of the equipment to do professional-level work is a long process. Not surprisingly, creating video worthy of a company which does high quality work involves far more than just having good equipment.

Script 

Prepare a rough script, allowing for the improvisational nature of most interviews. It can serve as your guide during the production recording work, in many ways. When developing your script you might also want to consider and plan for the places other than your website where you will show off your videos.  For example a cable television commercial could be filmed simultaneously if your efforts are well planned.

Guest Blogger: Melanie Hodgdon is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who has been providing financial analysis and QuickBooks training for contractors since 1994. She’s the co-author of A Simple Guide to Turning a Profit as a Contractor.  Melanie and Shawn often coordinate their efforts when helping remodelers develop financial systems for their businesses so they serve the contractor, not just their accountant.

You Can Build A House, But Can You Build Financial Reports Too?

For many contractors, there’s a frustrating gap between what goes into their financial software and what comes out in the form of useful reports. After twenty years of helping contractors obtain and interpret useful reports, I find that the vast majority of my income comes from cleaning up, restructuring, and sometimes discarding and re-starting accounting files that simply aren’t doing their job.

What’s important to know?

The only reason to use financial software is to provide answers to questions. Who’s asking the questions? How about

• your production manager?
• your estimator?
• your sales team?
• your marketing department?
• your tax accountant?
• your CFO/partners/investors
• the bank you’re approaching for a credit line?
• the prospective buyer of your company

If you haven’t thought about these questions before you start, you may be doomed to relying on luck to get your answers.

Starting right

Nobody starts out by saying, “Hey, I’m going to buy software, invest a whole lot of time into entering information, and then hope that I get good results.” Yet, with the best of intentions, most contractors don’t get it right the first time. There are three basic elements that need to be in place before the results will justify the investment of time, energy, and dollars:

If you’re setting out to just “drive around” you don’t need a destination. But if you need to get somewhere, it’s important to know where the destination is relative to where you are. So if I want to drive from New York to California, I should be heading west, not south. It’s the same with your financials. If you don’t have a clear view of the destination (answers to your questions), getting there is left to chance. You must identify what you want to find out.

If you’re planning that trip from New York to California, the path you select will reflect your criteria, such as whether or not you are interested in the fastest route, the most scenic route, the cheapest route, etc. Accounting software varies in its user friendliness and flexibility. QuickBooks is highly flexible and very user friendly, which leads users to take inappropriate routes with a high degree of confidence! There are many ways to accomplish any given task. Making the right choice can be confusing, sort of like making the New York to California trip without the benefit of road signs (or GPS!). You must know the software.

Can you turn right on a red light in Iowa? Is the maximum speed limit in Kansas the same as that in Missouri? Is it mandatory to wear seat belts in Nevada? Do you have to turn on your lights if it’s raining in California? Just as you can get yourself into trouble while driving if you don’t know the law, you can get yourself in trouble in accounting if you don’t know the correct way to classify transactions. You must understand the basics of construction accounting.

The Bad News

The unfortunate truth is that most business owners come from the field. They started a business because they were convinced that they could do a better job (and make more money) than the company for which they worked. Unfortunately, many of the “improvements” they make are in the areas of production and customer relations; few have to do with the numbers side of things. Very, very few construction business owners come to the business with MBA or CPA after their names; most are more of the FEA (Field Experience Acquired) persuasion. And this sets the stage for unfortunate results on the office front. They don’t have the accounting background, they don’t know the software (which is often selected for them by their accountant or bookkeeper), and they haven’t stopped to plan ahead to determine what kinds of answers will help them steer their business towards a desired destination.

The Good News

Help is available! There are good, experienced, qualified resources out there who can either start you out right or help you adjust your course. The key is to look for consultants and trainers with experience in your industry and in your software of choice. Find out how many businesses similar to yours they have worked with. A construction expert who has only worked with development companies with revenue in excess of $20M may not be appropriate for a startup remodeling company with forecast revenue of $600K. Get references. Request a no obligation 15 minute phone call to get a feel for whether they will be a good fit for your business and you.

Final Word

If you aren’t getting the information you need, whether it’s answers about achieved margins, overhead costs, profit centers, or profitability of individual jobs, you owe it to your company and your own peace of mind to turn things around. If you’ve already started driving without a map, without knowing the traffic rules, and without helpful signage, STOP where you are. Don’t make things any worse. Get the help you need so the rest of your journey will be sure to bring you to your destination.

Guest Blogger:  Nicole Allen is the Social Media Manager at R2R Marketing where she is responsible for maintaining and executing a clearly defined social media strategy to increase brand equity and awareness for current clients.  She is also the group manager for “Home Improvement Industry Specialists” group on LinkedIn.   Nicole is an expert in Social Media Management and has a military background as an Aircrew Survival Equipmentman.

Clarification About LinkedIn Group Discussion Moderation From A Group Manager

As of January of 2013, LinkedIn has put in place a policy of placing anyone who has been “Blocked or Deleted” from one group into “moderation mode” across to ALL of the groups that they may belong to. This has been a highly controversial policy with much discussion about it around the group sites on LinkedIn. This policy called, “SWAM”- Site Wide Auto Moderation, is intended as an anti-spam measure. Unfortunately, many members have suffered the consequences through friendly fire.

How do you fix this? Good Luck!

There is no automatic appeal process- you can’t get it fixed by LinkedIn Customer Service- and you won’t be able to find out which group owner has blocked or deleted your postings. You are pretty much left on your own. My advice is to contact the owners of the groups that you are most interested on posting in, and asking them to change your permission to “allowed to post”.

As a group manager, I have set up my group in such a way that a new member to the group is automatically moderated for the first 2 days. This is to accomplish only ONE thing- that is to cut down on the spam the group is inundated with on a daily basis. Everyone wants to have a place to sell their wares and we understand this- There is a specific tab for you to do so. It’s called the “promotions” tab- use it.

As for some of you that have come to my group wondering why they are being moderated—please re-read the first two paragraphs. This should explain to you why this is happening. The most that I can do is remove the moderation for you manually and I will be more than willing to do this if you should ask.

Group moderation is sometimes a necessity.

To encourage a good flow of free speech, we must weed through the “look-at-me’s” so that it is easier to find that healthy discussion that LinkedIn groups were made for.

My personal policy is to NOT delete or not allow anyone’s comments or discussions that are in the spirit of the group. However, I have had to do this in the past. Comments that are derogatory or otherwise hurtful or inappropriate will end up in the recycle bin. It is not my job to tell anyone how to feel, what to post or when to be nice. I fully expect you, as grown adults to have enough decorum to be able to control yourself in a professional manner.

With that said, happy posting- and should you find yourself on the moderation list, chances are that you have been "SWAM-ed"!

Related articles:

Should You Participate In LinkedIn Discussions If They Are Moderated?

One Member’s Disappointing Experience With LinkedIn Group Moderation

Guest Blogger: Randal DeHart, co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood Washington is the leading expert in outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services for small construction companies across the USA. His experience as a Contractor, Project Management Professional and Construction Accountant allow him to see the world as the contractor and the accountant sees it. This dual understanding sets him apart from other accountants. Visit http://www.fasteasyaccounting.com/ to learn more.

One Member’s Disappointing Experience With LinkedIn Group Moderation

LinkedIn is one of my favorite places for networking and getting to know people on a business and personal level. For the first few years I rarely participated in any of the discussions and used it mainly as an online CRM to keep track of some of the people with whom we have built business relationships.

Lately, I have become involved in LinkedIn discussion groups and have discovered another source of informative and stimulating conversations.  However, there are situations when it is best to leave a group as that is the most respectful and kind thing to do, which brings me the subject of this article.

Shawn McCadden recently started a discussion in a LinkedIn group titled “Should You Participate In LinkedIn Discussions If They Are Moderated?” After reading all of the comments on this discussion I was surprised to learn some LinkedIn groups moderate all comments and only allow those which appear to be in agreement with the moderator. I understand some social media sites may need to control and censor comments but was surprised to find LinkedIn in that same category.

I wrote a comment and added it to Shawn’s discussion thanking him for bringing this issue to light and “posted” it, or so I thought. Subsequently I searched all of the other groups I was a member of in order to determine if any of my comments were ”pending” only to discover a few of them had put my comments in perpetual “pending“ status and left them there.

Most of the group discussions where I make comments everything is posted immediately. And all of the feedback has been positive including a health quantity of “Likes”.

Just to be thorough I checked the comment I thought was “posted” in Shawn’s discussion and found it was also in the “pending” section. I could only smile and wonder what had went wrong or if I had offended someone.

I sent messages to all the moderators asking if I had offended anyone or violated any rules so I could make amends and changes in order to get in compliance. Only one person had the courtesy to respond and now all my comments on that group show up immediately.

After waiting a few days to allow time for the other moderators to respond I deleted all of my “pending” comments and left all of the groups except the one with the discussion Shawn initiated because there are some very worthwhile postings and comments on it. My “Like” button appears to work on the discussions in this group so I will continue reading and signaling agreement and support with “Like”.

Having built a network of business and personal relationships that number in the thousands and spans the globe I understand the importance social graces and especially the importance of showing respect and kindness to friends and strangers alike. It is also just as important for us not to tolerate disrespect and a lack of common courtesy.

It is astounding how many times a kind gesture or recognizing someone by responding to a letter, note or email has led to some very profitable business for me and/or someone else in my network.

One of the keys to having a comfortable network that grows daily is that even though I may not agree with everyone on every subject I seek to understand another person’s point of view and find some common ground upon which we can agree and build a connection from there.

Like most power networkers I refer business back and forth without regard for what is in it for me because the Universe is always in balance and I have learned I cannot give more than I receive.

All comments and observations are always welcome.

Warm Regards,

Randal L. DeHart, PMP, QPA

Guest Blogger: Chuck Green is a Big 50 remodeler who returned to video production, winning a New England Emmy® Award in 2012. Chuck and Shawn have worked together on several video productions including a series of RRP videos for Remodeling magazine.  Check out Chuck’s work at www.PerpetualMotionMedia.com   He can be reached at: CG@PerpetualMotionMedia.com

6 Creative Ways You Can Use Videos On Your Contractor Website

The trend of including video on websites is advancing rapidly, but remodeling company websites have been slow to catch on. This is an opportunity to get ahead of the competition. Dr. Tom Leighton, from MIT and Akamai Technologies, has predicted HD video will be 75% of all Internet traffic by 2014.

Creative ways to use video if you have a contractor website

Capture attention

Engage website visitors through well-made videos.  Use them as a way to start building a relationship with your company even before the first meeting or call takes place. You can really show your company as a professional operation, while putting a personal face on the business and easing potential customers’ fears about having their house remodeled and who will be doing the work.

Introduce the leader

A pitch from the company president or owner should have a short intro about the company, around minute in length if possible, sort of an expanded elevator pitch.

Show and tell

Present the (hopefully) polished staff who will be working in clients’ homes and as well as those interacting from the office. Also consider including key trades people if you work with them regularly. By using videos you’ll be going beyond what a write up can do with these introductions. The talks will pro-actively address any uneasiness homeowners may have about what kind of people will be in their homes.  Ideally I suggest keeping each one to under a minute.            

How We Work:

Consider having a section illustrating the company’s methods of working.  A simple piece would be the president/owner or project manager speaking interview-style about the company’s philosophy and policies on areas ranging from smoking to not using occupants’ belongings.  While a narrator describes things a How We Work video could show things like details of dust control methods in use, how flooring is protected, workers in clean company shirts, how a temporary kitchen is set up during a kitchen remodel, a message board area in use (if any), end-of-day cleanup going on, and any details which demonstrate the company’s professionalism.

Testimonials:

Include testimonials by home owners filmed in their favorite spots that were part of the project.  Since people generally choose to work with those recommended by people they feel they can relate to and trust video testimonials of real customers in their real home settings can be a powerful way to do this.

Walk-throughs:

Before and after photos can be powerful, but a before and after video can really pull a viewer in deeper; especially those who have no experience with remodeling. One particularly engaging feature would be a smooth video walk-through of your completed projects, filmed without any camera shake using a camera dolly or special stabilizing rig.  Handheld, shaky camera work rarely makes for high quality video and may not project a professional image of your business.  Moving a notch up would include adding a before walk-through of the space recorded before any work begins.  The before video does not need to be free of shakiness, as long as it is paired with a carefully done after video.

Remember, video killed the radio star. 

If Dr. Tom Leighton is right it may take over for the written word as well!                       

Watch for Chuck’s next guest blog

Chuck has committed to contribute another guest blog in the near future.  Be sure to subscribe to the Design/Builders Blog so you won’t miss it.  Here’s a rough outline of what he will discuss in that blog.

• Topics for the introductory talks
• Tips on creating high quality video and audio
• Additional sites and uses for your video

 

Guest Blogger:  Kim Downs has been focused on building WOLF’s brand and shaping product messages for 17 years. Her integrated approach to program development includes interdepartmental communication as well as common sense strategy resulting in programs that work. She has a steadfast belief that building a marketing plan doesn’t require an unrealistic budget. Kim contends that even small, meaningful steps can do wonders in building a brand.

How Contractors Can Sell Themselves - Without Selling Themselves Short

Last month Shawn posted a blog warning contractors of the price shopper titled "11 Common Traits of People Who Buy Remodeling On Price". He explained two types of prospects who price shop remodeling; Those who are driven to pay as little as possible and those who simply don’t know what else to consider so they base their decisions solely on the bottom line. 

I think the biggest problem is that consumers just don't know what to expect. HGTV has been a blessing and a curse for our industry. Because of shows that do a major project in 2 days for just $1000, people have gotten the idea that improvements are not only easy...but cheap.

Rather than chastising their ignorance, you need to educate them during your sales process.

Unfortunately, I agree with Shawn when he stated that many contractors are terrible salespeople, so they have to sell on price.  If that’s you, then you really need to ask yourself if you’ve actually invited the “haggler” to contact you.  If your brochure, ad, website or any other selling tool you use promises “Best Prices”, “Affordable Service” or “Small Cost for High Quality”, as Jeff Foxworthy would say…"there’s your sign”.

If this sounds like a lot of the potential customers you talk with, it’s time to get tough.  Not on the prospect…on yourself!  You need to do a better job of selling yourself and not the job.  So how do you sell yourself, without selling yourself short?  The easiest way to do that is with your website.

By the way, if you’re saying to yourself, “Wow, I don’t even have a website,” then that’s an entirely different issue!

Website tips to help you differentiate your business

Tell your story

Most people do a bit of research before calling for bids. Make sure your website clearly explains your business philosophy, process, product choices and anything else that will help steer folks away from price shopping. Include lots of pictures. Before / After shots are great…and if they include the homeowners in the “after shot” better yet!  Real people, real project, real happy! 

Let others tell your story

When you buy something on Amazon, do you read the reviews before pushing the “Buy It” button?   You can have the same type of “rating system” on your own website.  Easier yet, add testimonials from the happy customers in your photos.  But be sure to keep it current…and real.  Many people visit a website multiple times before making the first contact.  You want to be certain they see new images and comments when they visit so they know you’re a busy professional with lots of satisfied customers.

Brag a little

Have you earned awards or accolades from pertinent associations?  Non-customers and peers giving you kudos speak volumes to a potential customer. Are you a Certified Installer for a particular product?  My company offers perks and real benefits for becoming a certified installer of our products…and it has proven to make a big difference in our Certified WOLF Pro’s sales process. 

Get personal

People do business with people.  You can be professional and still let your clients know a little more about you.  A personal connection can build a level of trust and comfort that goes a long way in building a better working relationship.

Leaving out the dollars makes sense

Steer away from the phrases mentioned above and focus on the quality of your service, your process and the satisfaction of your customers.   If you don’t want your customers to focus on the price, then you shouldn’t!

Watch for Part II

So now that you have your website crafted to sell, you need to understand how to make it an integral part of your sales process.  In a follow up blog to this one, titled “Using Your Website As A Resume To Help You Sell”, I’ll share some suggestions for improving your sales process. 

About WOLF:  WOLF provides kitchen and bath cabinetry and building materials, marketing and sales support and financial services exclusively to independent LBM dealers in 28 states in the Eastern and Midwestern U.S. Since its founding in 1843, York, Pa.-based WOLF has evolved into a sourcing company that offers American-made, WOLF-branded products and other high-quality product lines.  Learn more about WOLF at www.wolfleader.com and www.wolfhomeproducts.com.

After Bad Experience At His Own Home, Contractor Shares Thoughts With His Employees

Guest Blogger: Tim Piendel is the Principal of GreatHouse Atlanta, a full service design/build remodeling firm serving north metro Atlanta. Reach him at tim@greathouse-atl.com or 678.352.1035.

Back story to this guest blog

Tim is one of my coaching/mentoring clients.  We have been working together to help Tim grow his business and put a plan in place so he can slowly reduce his day to day involvement by empowering current and new employees as his business evolves.   Tim shared the email below with me after sending it to his employees.  In the email Tim shares a challenge he had with a painting contractor doing work at his own home as a way to help his employees understand how GreatHouse wants to build and protect its brand.  With his permission I am sharing it with you.

Here is Tim’s email text.

ALL GreatHouse Employees and Subcontractors:

I just wanted to share with you an experience I recently had with a contractor since I don't want this happening with our jobs. It is my intention to stay successfully in business and I want you to be part of that success.

Here's the story…

Just recently I had some painting work done on my home. There were two parts to the project, a preparation and a completion. The contractor came to my home and performed the first part of the project but did a poor job. I pointed it out and gave the person a chance to fix it but I was given excuses. I talked it over with my wife and we fixed part of the project ourselves and called the contractor back to fix the issue. They came back and saw what a corrected preparation should be like but offered no apologies, just excuses. They finished the preparation fine after that, but I, as a homeowner had to initiate it. 

The next step was to complete the project. This was an exterior project so it was expected they would not be here when the rain had made completing the project impractical. However, there was no call. Kind of obvious, but still, a courtesy call is always welcome. The next day came and was ideal for completing the work. However, the contractor was a no show and a no call. This is unacceptable. Now, with rain coming in again, the project was delayed another week. At this point, as a homeowner, I am frustrated, mad, and have lost confidence in the contractor. This all could have been remedied with a simple communication. 

Lessons learned…

1. NO MATTER WHAT THE JOB, DO IT RIGHT! Shoddy workmanship always cost you more in the long run. Return trips always cost more in dollars and confidence.

2. DON'T MAKE EXCUSES. APOLOGIZE AND MOVE ON! A customer does not want to hear excuses; they just want honesty and closure. Besides, you'll dig yourself a deeper hole.

3. YOU CANNOT OVER COMMUNICATE!!!!!! Call, text, email…whatever is appropriate, but do so promptly and often.

4. AGAIN, YOU CANNOT OVER COMMUNICATE!!!!! When you don’t call to say where you are and they are expecting you, they are just sitting there boiling and waiting to pounce on you and make your job harder and unpleasant.

You may think that your job is only to complete your service or product but that is only part of it. We are PRIMARILY in the customer service business. We have fabulous clients! By the nature of our business, we are invited into people’s homes and we must respect their rules and timing. We must earn and keep their trust. They must have CONFIDENCE that we will complete the project correctly, on time and on budget. That's what we do.

Thank you for your time. As always, feel free to contact me with any question or comments. I want all of us to be successful. I am willing to help anyone that needs help.

'We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.' - Aristotle

Thanks,

Tim Piendel

Guest Blogger:  Erica England is the Marketing Communications Manager for GuildQuality, the leading customer satisfaction surveying company for remodelers, home improvement contractors, and home builders. Supported by comprehensive reporting and marketing tools, GuildQuality helps its members promote their quality to stand out in a competitive market. For more information, visit www.guildquality.com.

3 Ways Surveying Your Clients Can Add Value to Your Business

While surveys aren’t a new concept for companies, if executed correctly they can deliver significant gains for your customer relationships. Think about it, your client may not feel comfortable bringing up any constructive criticism or concerns unless they have a forum to do so. Chances are if your customers aren’t sharing their concerns with you, they are sharing them elsewhere. Avoid this scenario altogether and make the first move to open up the door to communication with your customers.  If you’re thinking about introducing surveying into your company’s process, here are three ways it can add value.

1: Achieves Honest Assessments from Clients

In order to get the most out of your customer surveys, your client needs to feel as though they can be open and honest about their likes and dislikes regarding their project. The only way to ensure your customers are being 100% candid is to take yourself out of the equation and allow a third-party customer satisfaction surveying company to step in. The authentic commentary you’ll receive can help pinpoint your company’s strengths and weaknesses.

2: Measures Performance and Satisfaction

Once you have your survey process in place, it’s time to analyze what your clients are saying about their experience. Many companies calculate their net promoter score (NPS) to measure satisfaction and brand loyalty. The core of NPS is the likely to recommend score. Within GuildQuality’s surveys, a similar likely to recommend question is asked and measured on a 0 to 4 scale.

The satisfaction metric that most of our members use is the percentage of 4′s received, or, in some cases, the percentage of 3′s and 4′s. They focus on the likely to recommend question, but also zone in on other questions that are important to their business or are problems they need to address.

While surveying itself is important, it’s what you do with the feedback that can impact your business the most. Many of our members review each survey response together as a team at weekly meetings. This helps them to boost morale and create team engagement, as well as, develop a culture of customer focused employees.

3: Identifies Brand Ambassadors

Surveying clients also allows you to determine who your biggest fans are. Now you should leverage those relationships and empower your evangelical customers to promote their experience with your company. Think of these clients as your brand ambassadors. Equip them with your company’s business cards, web address, and especially social media links to share with their family, friends and neighbors. Homeowners are willing to give quality referrals for companies they appreciate.

The best remodelers and home improvement professionals understand the importance every customer’s experience has on the growth and reputation of their company. They survey customers in order to stay on point with their company’s delivery of service excellence. If you are interested in more tips for strengthening relationships with your customers download our free white paper, Guidebook to Nurturing and Leveraging Customer Relationships.