Plumbing, Heating, AC, Electrical Service Business

If the people are sleeping, wake up the pastor

2011-12-27T13:13:00.003-05:00

I saw this phrase somewhere and could not get it out of my mind. Sure I have seen the occasional church member dose off after a sleepless night. I even remember Wally who sat in the back row, always in the same seat of our small church. His wife made him come to church, I am sure. His head would bob from side to side or his chin would be touching his chest. Once or twice a year his head would bob back and hit the light switch. Out would go the lights and his wife would elbow him to wake him and reach behind him to flip the lights back on. Of course the title above is referring to a church setting but aha, on day I had an epiphany. It is the same principle in business. If the team is asleep, wake up the boss.

Over the years as I have attended meeting and seminars with contractors, I have heard that the employees just are not doing their job in the way the boss wants them to do it. They are lazy, they are stupid, they don’t care about the customer, they don’t care about the company, they, they, they. It goes on and on. Bosses are part of society today which likes to point the finger at someone else and not recognize the three fingers pointing back at themselves.

The boss needs to wake him or herself and actively make the changes within the business that will produce the results needed to make the business profitable and sustaining. It all begins with planning. A plan has goals, with each having finite measurements, and a time frame for completion. This requires the boss to sit down and think of the 10 –12 achievable goals that would make the greatest impact on moving the company forward. Then those goals need to be communicated to every employee. They should be posted if possible. Everyone should know their part in the plan and that they will be held accountable to achieve their part of the plan. This also requires the boss to express the option for an employee to come to him if they need help to meet their tasks. Weekly, biweekly or monthly updates need to be disseminated and posted. As a goal is achieved and maintained for a reasonable time, the team should celebrate the victory.

To help in this pursuit, BEC Group has provided a pdf goal sheet on our website, http://www.sayyestosuccess.com/, which you can download and use as a tool to start your awaking process. And remember this is a process not an end goal because if you don’t keep at it, you’ll be back to putting your team to sleep.

May your New Year be the best year of your life!

I saw this phrase somewhere and could not get it out of my
mind. Sure I have seen the occasional church member dose off after a sleepless
night. I even remember Wally who sat in the back row, always in the same seat
of our small church. His wife made him come to church, I am sure. His head
would bob from side to side or his chin would be touching his chest. Once or
twice a year his head would bob back and hit the light switch. Out would go the
lights and his wife would elbow him to wake him and reach behind him to flip
the lights back on. Of course the title above is referring to a church setting
but aha, on day I had an epiphany. It is the same principle in business. If the
team is asleep, wake up the boss.
Over the years as I have attended
meeting and seminars with contractors, I have heard that the employees just are
not doing their job in the way the boss wants them to do it. They are lazy,
they are stupid, they don’t care about the customer, they don’t care about the
company, they, they, they. It goes on and on. Bosses are part of society today
which likes to point the finger at someone else and not recognize the three
fingers pointing back at themselves.
The boss needs to wake him or herself
and actively make the changes within the business that will produce the results
needed to make the business profitable and sustaining. It all begins with
planning. A plan has goals, with each having finite measurements, and a time
frame for completion. This requires the boss to sit down and think of the 10 –
12 achievable goals that would make the greatest impact on moving the company
forward. Then those goals need to be communicated to every employee. They
should be posted if possible. Everyone should know their part in the plan and
that they will be held accountable to achieve their part of the plan. This also
requires the boss to express the option for an employee to come to him if they
need help to meet their tasks. Weekly, biweekly or monthly updates need to be
disseminated and posted. As a goal is achieved and maintained for a reasonable
time, the team should celebrate the victory.
To help in this pursuit, BEC
Group has provided a pdf goal sheet on our website, http://www.sayyestosuccess.com/, which you can download and use as a tool to
start your awaking process. And remember this is a process not an end goal
because if you don’t keep at it, you’ll be back to putting your team to sleep.
May your New Year be the best
year of your life!

I See You

2011-10-31T11:24:00.005-04:00

This seems like a rather strange phrase here in America. Perhaps when you have played with a small child you have used those words as part of a game but it does not seem part of our everyday. Maybe you remember it from the movie “Avatar”. In some parts of the world, “I see you” is used each and every time they greet someone. This would be similar to us saying “hello” although it expresses much deeper meaning. It is saying, “I recognize you as a person, as important, as you have my attention.”

Perhaps this would be a phrase to use with your employees on a regular basis. In my years in the industry, more employees have left an employer because they did not feel the owner or owners did not care about them as a person, as important or give them the attention they deserved than any other reason. Yes, pay was mentioned often, and the opportunity to grow and advance but these can be traced to “not seeing them”.

I was visiting with a business owner several years ago in his office and he was not seeing me. He was so preoccupied with his computer screen that he barely, if at all, looked at me during our 5 to 10 minute conversation. I felt unimportant, not a person across the desk, and not having his attention. I left that conversation feeling this owner did not respect me and I had very little respect for him. Is this happening with you and your employees, customers and suppliers? If so, a change in these habits can improve your company without a dime of cost.

Here are some thoughts for you to mull over and see if they might be of help.

1. When you are having a conversation with someone at your desk, turn the screen of your computer so it does not distract you from the conversation.

2. Turn down the ringer in your cellphone and landline so they are not a distraction and the calls go to voice mail.

3. Turn off the tone for an incoming text and leave the text reply until after the meeting

4. Keep the conversation on topic so it doesn’t drag out and waste time for both of you.

5. If it is possible, have the conversation at the employees work area or “off campus” such as a coffee shop.

6. Know more about your employees that just their name. Ask about their life outside of work without getting too personal.

7. Have regularly scheduled meeting with your employees without interruptions.

I see you can change your business. Drop me an email and give me your thoughts.

Gomo Part 1

2011-07-25T10:07:00.006-04:00

With the extremes of weather over the last few months, many of you are excited about all the incoming calls and keeping your Techs so very busy that they received large checks with oodles of overtime. The money is rolling in and you are so excited. You can pay down those “nasty” creditors, your suppliers, your advertising bills, your telephone bill and maybe even yourself. Oh what a rush we get from the business of extreme weather. Why it’s almost as good as that rush you got last fall and early winter when the phones were ringing as your customers wanted that new system in before the end of the year to get that tax credit and utility rebates.

But let’s take another look at the nine months or so. You finished the year with great sales because of the federal tax credits and utility rebates. Then came January and February with huge invoices from suppliers and once again you are in the 60-90 day overdue to most of them. The calls are coming in from creditors and you are giving excuses. Certainly some may be legit, but you are just putting them off to get some breathing room. Then came the weather. Heavy rains, scorching temperatures, oh were they ever manna from heaven. Guess what, come August and September you will be right back into the 60-90 days behind on your bills, not paying yourself, and in the dumps again.

Do you remember one of the definitions of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over the same way and expecting different results. A while back, I had read an article which called this type of behavior, “Gomo”, or going thru the motions. Sorry I cannot recall the author. I should have saved the article along with the hundreds I already have. I thought I might find the article on the web but the search came up with 526,000 results. Too much information, although the first page of results came up with the Urban dictionary definition of GOMO as “A homosexual who is also geeky, or into geeky things.” This was not what I want to rant about today. Then there was the use of GOMO by Susan B. Wilson on Execstratagies.com of “Get Over it; Move On!” Once again not exactly what I was looking for as an accurate definition of the point I want to make.

The frustration I have with owners in our industries is the fact that many, many of them are just going through the motions of being a business owner. They are just doing the easy day to day stuff and not making the plans and decisions to change their businesses into the high income potential that most all of them have the capability of becoming. Quit the Gomo mentality and move your business forward. Learn how to be a true business owner and not just a supervisor of day to day activities.

The picture is William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress depicting Inmates at Bedlam Asylum

Success comes in Cans

2011-05-17T17:56:00.003-04:00

Does Success Comes in Cans?

I was at the local grocery store this week and low and behold what did I find, but Success in a Can. Well that’s not true. Actually I heard “Success comes in cans not cans” on “Dancing with the Stars” last night from Hines Ward, an NFL football great.

What Hines was saying is success comes from our attitude. He is not the first to say this nor is he the last. Many great motivational speakers have said it with different words and phrases but the point is the same. When we have a positive attitude, we are much more likely to be successful in our pursuits. What are some ways we can change our negative attitudes into positive ones that help us achieve our goals?

Ralph Waldo Emerson is quoted as saying, “We become what we think about all day long.” To me this means focusing on the goal I want to accomplish. I have done this by posting a picture of the goal or something that represents that goal in places I will see it throughout the day. It may be on my desk or on the mirror in the bathroom. I have written the goal down on a 3x5 card and keep it in a shirt pocket which required me to handle it several times a day. I have verbalized it to my wife and other key people in my life. I have tried to keep the goal front and center in my everyday life.

This is not a panacea for every goal or difficulty I have had in life but it has helped me complete many of my goals that I may have let slip by in life. Try it and see if it helps you. Let me know about your successes at Dan@SayYesToSuccess.com.

Are you ready to drop the ball for 2011?

2010-12-27T17:55:00.003-05:00

It’s that time of year again with crowds in Times Square, Dick Clark (or his protégé) rocking New Year’s Eve, and the crystal ball dropping and ushering in the New Year. The dropping of the ball represents the move from the old into the new, the dying hopes to the new hopes, the aged thinking and ideas into the new and bright ideas. But wait a minute!

Haven’t we had 30, 40, 50, or more New Years to bring on the new, the bright, the exciting, and the change? I have had 63 of them. But I don’t remember all of them since I was a child for a number of those (my wife would say too many of them). I didn’t care when I was a teen or a young adult. I may have celebrated too much at a couple of them, but I have had 63 of them.

So many of us have had the real New Year’s Eve experience, we have dropped the ball. We have dropped the ball on making the changes that would make us better, healthier, nicer people. We didn’t quit smoking like we said we would, we didn’t lose weight like we said we would, we didn’t work hard to change ourselves into better people. We dropped the ball.

We dropped the ball when it came to our families. We were going to spend more time with the kids, we were going to have regular date nights with our wife, we were going to mend fences with our brother, and we were going to call Mom and Dad regularly. We dropped the ball here too.

The same goes in our businesses. We are going to follow a budget, we are going to work on our business not in our business, we were going to improve Customer Service, we were going to improve our website, we were going to pursue new business lines, we were going to clean-up the warehouse, we were going to make a budget and track our results. None of it got done. We dropped the ball again.

Well the Lord has blessed us with another New Year to celebrate and make changes that will affect us in such positive ways that we can’t even imagine. Try to think what it would be like if you were healthier, if you spent more special time with your wife and kids, or if your business became profitable (or more profitable). It’s really hard to do, but I assure you it can be done. A few dedicated people do it every year. The answer may be as simple as writing your goals down for 2011 and thinking about them constantly. Keep reminders everywhere, on the mirror in the bathroom, on the dashboard of the car, on a 3x5 card in your shirt pocket, on your IPhone or Blackberry in a spot you see often. Don’t ever give up! You can do what you pursue! Go get your new life in 2011!

Are You Too Blessed?

2010-12-07T07:31:00.003-05:00

I recently talked with a friend who has started to help out at a church that assists homeless people. I asked her what she knew about the people that came seeking help. She told me about one gentleman that her husband had met and spent some time talking with. The gentleman had lost his high paying job about three years ago. He searched for a new job. He then lost his house, car, and most everything he owned. But that's not the worse part, his wife left him with their two children and disappeared from his life. He didn't have a minimum wage job but has a college degree and had a good paying job. He had a nice 4 bedroom home in the suburbs, he was living the American Dream as many of us are doing.
I then asked her what they do for these homeless people. She told me they give them the basics of food, clothing, wash their clothes for them, provide showers, provide things like toothpaste and other basic human needs. But the thing that seems to mean the most to these less fortunate individuals, is the time the volunteers give to talk with them, do basics for them like washing their clothes or providing a warm shower.
I expect you are saying, "Another sad story, oh well." Could you share some of the blessing the Lord has provided to you? "But Dan, the kids want, the kids want, the kids want!" Sure they want and you can provide them with at least some of their wishes this Christmas season, but you could also teach them the joy and satisfaction of helping people close to home in need.
Yesterday I heard on the radio that the Detroit Salvation Army was significantly behind on donations as many of the charity organizations are today. Could you cut back on the gifts a bit and donate to the Salvation Army, Gleaners Food Bank, your church's local outreach, or directly to a homeless shelter close to your home. You could also volunteer to work at one of these facilities. You could contact one of them and offer you plumbing, heating or electrical services to someone desperately in need. You may have other skills you could provide. You could adopt a family for the holidays. You could get your whole family involved.
If you were to do one or more of these, perhaps the I want, I want, I want would change to the I am truly blessed, I am truly blessed, I am truly blessed!

Mystery of the Toilet

2010-10-11T10:35:00.001-04:00

Our daughter, Melissa and Son-in-law, Kevin recently moved into their new home near Orlando. The house is about 3 years old and was a short sale. The previous owners moved out about a month before Melissa and Kevin closed and moved in. It is a larger home since they have 4 children and need some space of everyone.
Lynn and I are in Florida for the fall months. Since we could not move into the home we are staying in for several days, we bunked in with Melissa and Kevin and the 4 grandchildren. I noticed that the toilet in the main bath did not flush properly. Of course being a plumber that was not something that could go unfixed! And as a guy who likes tools and working with my hands, I brought my trusty tool bag properly outfitted with us to Florida. I was fairly certain that one of the grandkids or a child of the previous owner had dropped something into the toilet that should not have been deposited there.
It was Monday morning and the two grandsons left for school thus removing some of the chaos of four kids wanting to know what Grandpa is doing. The toilet was a builder’s model but the other similar toilets in the house flushed well so I was sure I would find a comb, a toy, a jar lid, or some other item in the trap-way of the toilet. I did not have a toilet auger with me (they don’t fit well in a tool bag), so I removed the tank from the toilet and pulled the bowl.
This is where it gets interesting and my point of the story. I gently place the bowl into the bathtub on a rubber mat so I can check the closet bend for the “object”. There is no “object” but there is standing water at the bottom of the closet bend. I immediately thought that the “object” has gotten lodged in the lateral piping from the closet bend to the stack. I stopped and unfroze my brain and evaluated the issue. The trap-way is the smallest diameter of the water and waste pathway so an “object” logically would not make it into the lateral without continuing on its path through the system. My next thought was some sort of construction debris, a rag, a chunk of a 2x4 or something similar was the culprit. But then my brain got into gear and said to me that it would not just be a slow partial flush as the toilet was operating, but a total blockage and a potential overflow of the toilet, which did not occur. Also the water remained in the lateral at the bottom of the closet bend even after several minutes. Being a well-trained Master Plumber for over 35 years, I remembered the basics of plumbing. Hot is on the left, “stuff” flows downhill and payday is Friday. The lateral must be going uphill!
I removed the screws holding the closet flange to the floor and tried to pry up the piping. If it didn’t work, I would need to open the living room ceiling to make a repair and that was not my first choice of solutions. Slowly the PVC closet riser came up but the water was not leaving. I decided that I would continue to pry it up since there was not much to lose. If the line broke or a joint broke that wouldn’t be an issue since I would need to open the ceiling for a repair anyway. The pipe kept coming up. The water began to drain. I continued to pry it up. At four and ½ inches, the water finally drained out completely. Having cleared hundreds of plugged or partially plugged toilets over the years, I had never seen this problem before.
What do I do now? Thinking about the alternatives of opening the ceiling to provide support for the lateral or just cut the riser down and glue a new flange on to the riser to support the lateral, I decided to just depend on the closet flange to hold up the piping. Not the way I would do it if I have access to the lateral piping, but with a substantial gluing surface on the flange I used, I was counting on the flange glue joint to support the piping. With everything put back together, the toilet now flushes perfectly for a builder’s model.
But how did this happen? The installing plumber didn’t support the lateral properly and the finish plumber didn’t test flush the toilet to assure that it was working properly. Perhaps a carpenter or the tile man pushed down the riser and broke the hangers. In any event, the details of a job are as important as the core task of the job. Be sure to remind your technicians of the importance of details especially testing of the finished job whether plumbing, HVAC, or electrical. They too may find a unique problem!

Lazy Hazy Days of………

2010-08-03T19:49:00.000-04:00

Perhaps you remember the song lyrics,
“Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Those days of soda and pretzels and beer
Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer
Dust off the sun and moon and sing a song of cheer..” by Nat King Cole. I heard the song the other day and it brought some thoughts to mind.

Well, “the lazy hazy days of summer” are not what I was thinking about! I’m referring to the typical days of a contractor. Day in and day out they are too lazy to do what needs to be done to fix their business. Or it’s as if they have a haze around them and can’t see the issues that need addressing. In either case they let the days slip by without maximizing the income and profit they deserve for the efforts they put into their business. It becomes frustrating to a consultant when you pass along information that will make a substantial difference in the top line or the bottom line of a business and the owner or manager is too lazy or hazy to implement the change. I see it very often with contractors and as a very strong advocate for business owners and managers, it is so disappointing. The changes would make their life easier, or more fun, or more profitable, or protect their business, yet they remain in their lazy hazy mode. It appears to be an epidemic in the contracting business.

Recently, an old friend in the contracting business closed up shop. I had always admired him for the niche market he had carved out in the plumbing business. But he refused to move with the times, prospect for new customers, or add services to attract new customers and have additional sales to existing accounts. There was nothing to sell at the end except a small building and then bankrupt the business. There was nothing to pass to the next generations, nothing for retirement, and nothing to give to his favorite charity. He is not a pauper but his decisions left hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars lost. I have several other friends in the contracting business moving towards the same situation. What a shame after decades of struggling, sacrificing, and under-compensating themselves, they will not be able to enjoy a successful retirement in a few years.

I have been a member of associations, groups, been to hundreds of seminars and saw and still see the same thing happening to so many contractors. The epidemic has shown up everywhere.

Now some do have issues beyond their control that affect the profitability of their business. These can include health issues, accidents, unscrupulous owners or general contractors, theft, and family problems. Some of the results cannot be overcome but once again I have seen the lazy hazy contractor letting the situation control them.

Are you caught up in the lazy hazy days of business? You probably know exactly what you need to do to make your business a success. DO IT! If you don’t know what to do to make your business a success, then find a consultant to help you. Only do this if you truly are willing to change.

No-See-Ums on your P&L?

2010-05-01T09:36:00.000-04:00

No-see-ums are tiny insects that are a bother in the South including the Caribbean. They are so small that they can go right through screen. They bite like a mosquito with the bite welting up into an itchy red spot. You can get dozens of them without even knowing it until the itch comes hours later. Often their bite is more annoying that the mosquito’s bite.
The same thing is happening on many of my clients P&L statements. They were smart and developed a budget before the year began. They break it down into monthly budgets and even weekly budgets and monitor them against actual sales and expenses. They are getting bit by almost invisible expenses from a variety of sources thus reducing their profits. “What are you talking about Dan?” Let me explain.
Since all of my clients are on Menu Pricing, they quote a complete price to their customers. A water heater replacement is quoted including all expenses needed for a complete to code installation. This would include materials, labor, warranty, taxes, and permits. What they are finding is the fees for permits and licensing are increasing as a way for cities, counties, and states to increase income. The taxes for use and sales tax are increasing, and the suppliers are increasing fees for deliveries, returns, and warranty handling charges. Disposal fees of the trash from the job continue to increase. You have these tiny costs and cost increases biting into your profits. These costs were not planned on when they developed their budgets.
Additional “No-See-Ums” include federal, state and local business taxes, business annual inspections, increases in unemployment taxes, base rates add-ons to your utility bills, waste and water bills. Unfunded mandates from the federal government and state governments trickle down to the local level where you are taxes, assessed, fined or charged to cover the costs. Of course the banks continue to increased charges for credit card processing and other services.
Other “No-See-Ums” include additional fees for your vehicles including higher license plate costs, higher tire and oil disposal fees, higher tolls, stricter traffic enforcement (traffic tickets), and stricter D.O.T. enforcement (truck inspections).
I’m sure there are many others I have missed in putting this blog together. It is vitally important as a company to earn a profit to stay in business. Watching the little things on the P&L as well as the big things can help in achieving the profits you planned for when you developed your budget. Break down your expenses into reasonable categories so you can quickly monitor changes from the “No-See-Ums”.

The Only People that Lose Baggage are Airline Employees

2010-03-05T13:45:00.001-05:00

With 30 plus years in the plumbing and HVAC business, I think I made just about every mistake one could make in hiring new employees. I hired family members, I hired people back after they left for a small raise, I hired without checking references, I hired without the new hire having a drug test and physical, I hired without checking driving records, I hired applicants with poor skills and training. These were some of the most obvious and repeated mistakes I made. There were others, I just erase them from memory to feel better about my hiring skills back then. I have coached dozens of owners through the years who have made the same mistakes and often for the same reasons. Let’s look at some of those reasons.
“I really need someone right now!” How often I have heard this and how often I said this. Without planning and continual recruiting, a contractor puts himself (or herself) in a difficult situation when the season rolls around, the big job comes in, the economy improves, the weather, Joe just injured himself and will be out for several weeks or months, or Tom just quit. Without an immediate list of potential qualified, baggage free candidates, we have little choice, at least that’s what we think, than to place an ad and select from the first few who apply. Occasionally we even get lucky and stumble across a qualified baggage free applicant to hire. More often, we hired someone with baggage, but we selected the one with just two carry-on pieces. The other thing we do is hire someone who keeps calling looking for a job without investigating the entire market of available people. We do this because it’s easy. We probably know the person from somewhere and even know the baggage the carry but it’s quick and easy just to hire them. Here comes two carry-ons, two large suitcases, and two steamer trunks with them.
“He (she) will change once he (she) is working for our company.” Sure they will change or you will change them. A large portion of the fifty percent of marriages that fail are because one thought the other would change or they could change them. That usually does not happen. Most people can’t stop smoking without help from a doctor, a hypnotist, or a drug. Yet we, as contractors, think we are going to change a habit that a person has had for years or maybe their entire life because we are so smart. Face the fact, it is very unlikely that this will happen. Your energy is better placed on taking care of your customers and your business.
We make the mistake of not recognizing or acknowledging the baggage. Baggage can come in many forms. It could be job hopping. It could be anger. It could be drugs or alcohol. It could be a sense of entitlement. It could be sloppiness. It could be poor work habits or lack of skill. Of course there are others, but the point I want to make is that it is so very important to carefully and skillfully hire the very best candidates you can find with careful searching. Evaluate the baggage that a candidate is bringing to your company and how that could affect your company. Remember, “Airline employees are the only ones that lose baggage.”

Believer or Follower?

2010-02-08T10:53:00.001-05:00

We are babysitting our grandchildren in the Orlando area this week. Our Daughter and Son-In-Law are both out of town so we have the opportunity to enjoy and spoil the Grandchildren. There are four of them, all under the age of 7 and keep Grandma and Grandpa going from sun up to sunset. We were able to take them to church on Sunday. They go to classes and we have an hour or so to relax and enjoy the message and worship. Often I catch an idea from the message that carries over to the business world. And that was what happened this Sunday.
The pastor asked if we were a believer in Jesus or a follower. It immediately struck me that this applies to business in a little different way but still as an important point. Are you a believer in the basic principle of business and management or are you a true follower of those principles?
Let me give you a couple of examples. Do you believe your company should make a profit? Or, do you believe your employees should be accountable for their actions and produce a profit for your company? Do you believe a contractor is as valuable to society (customers) as a doctor or a lawyer? Do you believe in providing the customer with “first class” service?
I am quite confident that you believe in at least three of these examples. I find many contractors don’t believe in their own value to society (customers). I work with contractors and techs to help them realize their value to the health, comfort, and well being of society (customers). The other three are areas almost every contractor I have ever met, believe, but that’s where it ends. They believe but they do not follow. What does that mean? There is a huge difference. You can believe in these fundamentals but the real question is do you follow those fundamentals daily in your business? A follower is one who constantly is working at improving these fundamentals. They have a plan and goals. They have check points along the journey to measure their progress. They don’t allow themselves to get caught up in the little meaningless things of the day. They focus on the issues that make their company profitable, sustainable, and customer directed in every area of the presentation to the customer.
Are you a believer or a follower?

Wish it or Will it!

2009-12-27T18:15:00.000-05:00

We are quickly moving into 2010. The start of a New Year is a time that many of us make New Year’s resolutions. We are going to lose weight, get into shape, be more disciplined in following our faith, or kick a bad habit. It’s a time to change our ways! It’s a time for new beginnings, a time for improving ourselves, a time to make the New Year even better than the last year. We takeoff with a wish to change and many of us don’t have the will to change and the result is we fail. By the time February comes, the new exercise equipment is gathering dust, the few pounds we lost in the first weeks of January are back as our spare tire, and we still have that bad habit!
The same happens as we start a New Year and make some vague plans to improve our business. We’re going to make a profit this year. We’re going to grow and add a couple of technicians this year. We’re going to get rid of that problem employee this year. We’re going to start saving for our retirement this year, and so on and so on…. Each of these may be the exact thing your business needs in 2010, but my guess is it is the exact thing your business needed at the beginning of 2009 and maybe several year beginning’s prior! How do we get out of this cycle of “Goal Failure”?
Perhaps these ideas will help change the yearly “goal failure” in your business and possibly your personal life. First, the goals need to be written, then they must be very specific, and they must have a time frame for completion. Now for the hard part of the first step, you need to share your goals with someone who will hold you accountable. This could be your spouse or a friend.
Second, post your goals where you will see them almost every day. To paraphrase Earl Nightingale, “You become what you think about all day long”. Seeing the goals continually will keep them on top of your mind and what you think about. Put them up on your wall, on a 3x5 card that you carry in your pocket, on your “Outlook” calendar every day of the year so they come up as you start up your computer.
Finally, I would recommend that you mark your “Outlook“ calendar for a review of your goals every 2 months. Things do change, and you may need to change a goal or two. Who knows, you may be so far ahead of your goal that you need to set a higher goal before the end of the year.
Need some forms for the New Year to help set goals for your business? You can go to our website, www.SayYesToSuccess.com, and go to the “Free Stuff” tab. Near the bottom of the page are several free forms to begin a Successful 2010. Remember “Say Yes To Success in 2010”!

What’s up with this?

2009-12-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

I keep hearing about all the people who do not have during this difficult recessionary time. I keep hearing about all the programs the government at the state and federal level are telling us are necessary to help those who do not have. I look at the people I know and see how they are giving to those who do not have and something just is not adding up.
A small Bible study group Lynn and I are involved in raised hundreds of dollars just from a handful of families and provided Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas presents and a sizable gift card for two have not families. Church after church, civic group after civic group donated money and food for needy families during the Thanksgiving and into this Christmas season.
Our local PHC association here in Southeastern Michigan raised over $1,200.00 for Gleaner’s Community Food Bank. Additional money was giving by individual contractors to numerous groups who help others. At least five of the companies (there are only about 20 small companies) are having can food drives, giving customer discounts for cans of food and then giving the food to the Gleaner’s Community Food Bank. Literally thousands of cans have or will be given during November, December, and January.
During the Katrina disaster, thousands of people from the Detroit area alone went to Louisiana and Mississippi using their own time and money to get there. They worked tirelessly to rebuild the area with their sweat and love. Many were from faith based organizations and civic organizations. Thousands of others from around the country also made the trek to the hardest hit areas.
None of the folks or companies mentioned are wealth or exceptionally profitable, but they dug deep into their pockets and gave substantially to others with needs. Americans are a giving people when they know of a need. I’m a firm believer in limited government and the spirit of the American people. We do not need additional government handouts and programs. Perhaps we just need a few more Americans to see the needs of this world and get involved. I salute each of you who have given of your time, your money, and your talents. For those who have not or have only done so sparingly, consider doing it on 2010. It could be a New Year’s resolution that will give you a joy and satisfaction beyond understanding.

Less Calls = More Revenue Part 2

2009-11-01T16:04:00.001-05:00

It’s now been over a month since we had the Customer Service Training for technicians with three companies. Some of the training has “rubbed off” but that is only because we have continued the training in house. Training is so important to take an inbound call properly then have the technician follow the steps on the call needed to be successful in completing the call with an outcome that is excellent for the customer, the company and the technician. It’s always necessary to attempt to have a win, win, win situations with each customer. So much easier said than actually accomplished. The company can provide all the tools needed to do this, these would include a well training inside staff, a well equipped truck, a well designed truck inventory, thought out efficient systems within the office, technician technical and customer service training, along with the ancillary materials for the technician. Most companies provide a reasonable effort at each of these. What it really comes down to is the desire and abilities of the technician to go beyond “fixing” the initial called in problem and being a consultant that the customer is looking to for solutions.
I was in Micro Center Computers & Electronics this afternoon and there were dozens upon dozens of customers in the store. Some were there to buy ordinary supplies and others for upgrades to their computers or new computers. The store had an abundance of knowledgeable staff to assist those with simple questions and needs and those with very technical questions and needs. They were consultants. The customers could buy many of the items in the store at other merchants and likely for similar prices, but not the consultant service provided. The store’s cash registers were busy the entire time I was in the store with a line of 15-20 waiting to check out. How do we help our technicians to become consultants and not just fixers or part changers?
I believe it comes down to the things most owners and managers dislike doing. These include role playing, customer service training, coaching, ride-a-longs, and proper hiring. It is a full time job to do these if you have more than a couple of technicians. The results will be amazing if the effort is put into each of these. We work hard to get the telephone to ring and then we don’t maximize the opportunities on each call. The hook lies in the fact that many owners were technicians themselves and have that same built in resistance to the consultant environment. This is the advantage those who come from outside of our industry have when they operate a company within our industry. Are you ready to change?

Let the Do It Yourselfer Do It

2009-10-15T14:12:00.001-04:00

I was checking out the MSN home page this morning, I noticed a disturbing link. It was a link for “How to fix your own toilet”. Immediately I was upset because this is taking work away from contractors. The name of the article was ”Troubleshoot your toilet without a plumber”. One of the web gurus was showing customers how to change a flapper, with links to other articles on how to fix plumbing, electrical, and even some furnace and air conditioning problems. Contractors were losing opportunities to solve customer problems and make a few dollars in the process. Instead, it became another trip to Home Depot or Lowes so the customer can purchase the parts. Then it hit me!
If a contractor had key words on his website like “Do it yourself plumbing” or fix your toilet or repair faucet that it could attract the customer to his site. The same idea could be applied to an HVAC company or an electrical contractor. Of course, he would have to have the content in the website for Google and other search engines to give him higher ranking but a few pages of content developed by the contractor could easily be written and posted to the site. With may fixtures, faucets, electrical items, furnaces and air conditioning becoming more complex with more and more unique parts, the customer may find it necessary to contact that contractor to ask questions or even schedule a service call. At this point, the perceived value of the repair is greater because the customer has a greater understand of the repair and may have tried and failed at the repair attempt.
Let’s face it, on a small repair it is very difficult to charge the customer the “right” price and show the value provided. Most of the complaints I remember receiving were related to minimum calls or low billing calls and the value a technician was able to provide. I’m not saying we should give up on these calls, but a toilet with a reasonable quality working ballcock, shutoff valve, good seat, and without cracks does not leave much else for the technician to sell on the call unless he does the whole system inspection. Even then, there may be little to offer the customer as additional services so the call can become a low billing and a low profit to the contractor. Perhaps our marketing and focus should be on calls that provide a higher ticket and are often easier to provide the perceived value.
By having the go to website and the email or telephone answers for the customer on minor repairs, your firm could become the go to firm for all repairs. In the crowded marketing arena today, a contractor must somehow find a way to be the customer’s go to firm. Another way of thinking.

Less Calls = More Revenue Part 1

2009-10-05T10:35:00.001-04:00

We recently completed 7 weeks of technician customer service training. It consisted of 6 two hour classroom sessions with homework each week and a video taping of the technicians practicing their interaction with a customer. The customer in this case was another technician. As I reviewed the results of the class evaluation from each of the technicians and the owners, who were required to attend the training, the comments varied widely. Some really enjoyed the training and videotaping and others did not like the classroom sessions at all. This is where it gets interesting.
When I met with the company owners two weeks after the sessions ended, and ask if there is any change in the performance of their technicians, I got some interesting answers. Those that did not like the training were performing about the same as they had done prior to the training. Those that liked the training were selling more on fewer calls! It seems that there was a direct correlation between the attitude of the technician and the change in their performance.
Should this surprise us? I don’t think so. With today’s customer, the old attitude of you should just be happy I showed up to fix your plumbing (furnace or electrical issue) just does not work. The importance of exceed the customer’s expectations is what is necessary to develop the long term “love affair” with your company and therefore spend more with your company.
The long held thought in our industries was that we hire a new technician on his or her technical abilities alone. We need to get the job done therefore hire someone who has at least xx number of years experience, and worked for another company we respect. Today we might even do a drug test, a physical and a criminal background check. But we ignore the personality and attitude of the potential new hire. I’m not saying these things are not important, but we need to look further. We need to be testing for attitude and personality prior to hiring. An individual with an open mind to change and growth, and reasonable technical skills is much more of an asset to your company than the super technical technician without the ability to grow and change. Rethink your hiring and advancement criteria and look at adding personality and attitude testing before you hire another mediocre technician and hire a potential asset. Less calls can equal more revenue.

Three Ideas

2009-09-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Lynn and I just returned home from Nashville, TN and the annual Comfortech seminars and product show. Comfortech is an excellent opportunity for contractors in the HVAC field to learn and see what’s happening in the industry. There were many new and innovative products and services at the show this year. Some of these included an attic insulation program put together by Owens-Corning, a heat pump water heater from Rheem/Ruud, several customer contact companies, and a new line of heavy duty tool bags, to name a few. The seminars varied from okay to excellent with three topics that stood out in my mind.
The first topic that really hit me was social networking via the internet on sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The world of marketing may be quickly changing with customers looking for products and services from friends and acquaintances though these types of sites. The advantage to the contractor is the cost is almost completely in time, not dollars. Most of the sites are free or just a few dollars to have the access you will need. To make the most of this new network, a contractor will need to spend several hours a week to keep their “walls” and other information up to date. Many of us over 40 (I’m well over 40), will have a more difficult time setting up and keeping up with our sites. We are not familiar with this new medium of communication. If you have children in their teens or twenties, they are probably active already in this arena. Will our “typical” customer use this newer form of communication? Well, one of the fastest growing segments of social internet networking are the over 40 crowd. I would suggest you take a strong look at this change in customer habits.
The second topic which received a lot of attention was ongoing connections to customers by establishing a broader base of maintenance agreements. In the Detroit area, where our business was located, maintenance agreements were not a strong service offered by HVAC or plumbing contractors. In the last decade, that has changed. The push by utilities to offer breakdown insurance and maintenance on appliances, furnaces, air conditioners, and hot water heaters has caused the sleepy contractor community to wake up. With the heating season upon us, it is time for every contractor to set a goal to increase their number of agreements, get renewals, and provide the service the customer is expecting. It is time to closely look at renewal rate, monthly billing, 100% follow through on providing the service checks, and follow up customer satisfaction systems.
The third topic that really hit a nerve for me was branding. I’m not totally sold on the idea of having an in house line of equipment, but I am totally sold on the idea that each contractor must have a unique brand that differentiates their business from the others in the market. There are hundreds of white vans with some lettering on the side traveling through neighborhoods daily. Most do nothing to add to a potential customer’s knowledge, or awareness of that contractor’s business. Most contractors have uniforms which look like every other company’s uniforms, most companies use booties, carpets, and have the company name on the uniform. Many companies have customer service people who are reasonably pleasant and helpful. So what are you doing to leave a unique impression on each customer you touch or instill top of mind awareness in a potential customer? Every owner and manager needs to spend more time in developing these strategies and customer focus for their company and less time with vendor salesmen, the minor stuff others can handle or solitaire on the computer.
What to begin your change, contact me at Dan@saYesToSuccess.com.

Clean it out

2009-08-24T15:57:00.003-04:00

Over the past rainy weekend, Lynn and I started cleaning out our basement storage area. My goodness, what a collection of stuff we haven't used in years. There was an aquarium which I cannot remember the last time we had tropical fish. There was a box of golf balls that have to be at least 5 to 10 years old. I'm sure they have lost their elasticity. Perhaps I'll pass them on to opponents in our weekly golf outing. We found a lot more stuff like this that needs another home other than the Bergstrom's.

Just about every shop I have been in has a corner, a shelf, an area with stuff that has not been used in 5 or more years. Hubbed cast iron fittings, DWV copper fittings, galvanized reducing tees, street els, and much more hiding in the backroom. HVAC contractors with old circuit boards that have been replaced with updated versions, odd motors, OEM parts that are not used any longer. Electricians with outdated switches, panels and light fixtures that are not used any longer. In all of these shops, I see parts not used on a job, but not returned to the suppliers even if they were not special ordered. It is like throwing money away.

Prompt return of unused parts that cannot be turned over in less than 60 days would reduce payables and help cash flow without a substantial change in the business. It would just require a few minutes a week by someone in your company to process these parts and send them back. Even with a stiff restocking fee it is far better to return these parts than to keep them in stock.

Those parts that have sat in your inventory for years and not used need to be sold off, scraped, or just thrown out. You may find space in your warehouse that could be used for parking a truck inside, or better yet perhaps you could rent some of that gained space and get income. A good rule of thumb is you should not stock parts that you can't turnover in 60 days or less. Some suppliers will give you a discount for a large order but if it is more than 60 days of stock I would recommend you not buy. Work with that supplier to provide the stock you need when you need it and set discounts on the inventory you buy from them on a long term basis. Every item in your warehouse should have a min-max quantity set based on 60 days or less stock.

There is a trend in the industry of suppliers providing next day restocking for trucks and warehouses reducing the 60 day inventory down to a week inventory quantity. Having cash available and not tied up in "stuff" will make you money and allow you to take advantage of opportunities when they come available. I believe many contractors could work out of a smaller warehouse area thus reducing rent, utilities, taxes, and maintenance.

Some Yes....Some No

2009-08-18T16:17:00.002-04:00

As I have had contact with various HVAC contractors in the last two weeks, I have have two completely different reations to the business climate in the metro Detroit area. Some are very busy selling replacement air conditioning units and furnaces in the middle of August. They are selling high efficiency equipment and are not selling it at cost. They are selling it for a profit! The suppliers are telling them they are the only ones selling high efficiency equipment. They are getting the maximum support the supplier can give them to help them to continue to sell. Others are telling me that there is no business out there and sure enough for them there is no business out there. They are telling me the prices are too low, no one is buying, things are so tough! They owe their suppliers and other vendors because they have zero cash flow. So I asked myself what the difference is between those selling, saying yes, and those not selling, saying no. Looking onto the reasons I find two main points that differentiate these contractors. Those who are selling have said, "There is business out there and we are going to find it." They are marketing and putting the energy into their businesses. They are not waiting for the phones to ring, they are using the Internet to market, they are selling maintenance agreements, they are training their techs to look for add on sales and opportunities for replacements. The others are waiting for the phone to ring, they have cut back on marketing, they are not selling maintenance agreements, they are not using the Internet effectively, they are looking back on how it used to be. Change is hard but tough times require that we evaluate our businesses and make the big step of change.

Social Networking - Do I have Time

2009-04-15T11:13:00.004-04:00

Maybe I'm different, but the day runs out before I have time for all the "stuff" on the internet. I have a Facebbok page and a LinekedIn page, a website, several email accounts and several chat sites I follow. With having a life outside of my laptop, I just cannot keep up with all these. We were support to have more time in the new century. I remember visiting Disney World several years ago and going to Futureland. There was a display there that showed all the time savings we would have as we moved to this new century. I just don't see it. I spend as much time on our "part-time" business as I did on our full time business a decade ago.

As I see articles for the future of the internet, the way to improve your standing for your website is to be involved in social networking. I don't think this is going to be a time saver! Marketing for your company continues to evolve as the internet matures and it will be necessary to change with it, no matter how hard this may be.

Starting a Blog

2009-04-07T12:03:00.001-04:00

Why in the world would I add additional work to my already busy schedule to have a Blog on my website? Well, the answer is that's were the action is today. What do I mean? the action is where people are going to learn about you (or me) and our products. They want up to date information, not last month's or last year's as many website demonstrate. The Blog allows you to keep the customer coming back to your site if you become the expert in your field in their eyes.

I would suggest putting a reminder in your Outlook or similar calender so you add to the Blog at least weekly. More as I become familiar with the medium.