Developing and implementing systems to manage your contracting business directly impacts your bottom line, your peace of mind and your customer's happiness. Residential contractors often wear too many hats leaving little time for the important things such as working on the business, spending time with family, hunting, fishing and recreation.
Reactive versus Proactive, which adjective describes your daily activity?
Are you the business owner who is constantly putting out fires and wondering where did all the time go at the end of the day? Do you find yourself constantly reinventing the wheel? Do you kick yourself in the butt because you forgot to do something because you are too busy building things? Are you missing opportunities to win jobs because you have no processes in place to manage the details of building your projects? Are your customer's questioning your activities and looking over your shoulder everyday? Are the job costs of your completed projects matching your original estimate amounts?
Prepare to make 2014 your best year ever; Cradle to Grave System
With the new year right around the corner the slower winter season is a good time to do some of the business improvement you know you should tackle. Developing and and implementing a Cradle to Grave System will lead to predictable outcomes in your business including happy customers, more profitable jobs and save valuable time.
What is a Cradle to Grave System?
Our system involves determining the Traffic Pattern in your company’s critical path processes and capturing information at the most opportune time using simple forms and checklists. Once the system is developed all one needs to do is remember to use the tools (forms and checklists) which will trigger what needs to get done. Your stakeholders need to be trained on the process. The system covers the lifecycle of a lead from the initial contact or phone call from your prospect and concludes with the final closeout and forensic review of the job.
Does your current business model and processes match up with the new consumer and marketplace?
You may have noticed that today's consumer is vastly different than the consumer in 2006-2007. Today's consumers are more savvy due to the explosion of knowledge from the internet. Consumers have changed how they find contractors for remodeling and home improvements. Some marketing strategies from yesterday have yielded to the newer more effective ones utilized today.
Today's professional consumers (I am not talking about tire kickers) are looking for contractors who have organized approaches and logical systems in place before they give you the keys to their home. Consumers (higher income) who can afford to hire the pro typically have work backgrounds where systems and processes are the way business is conducted. They have a hard time understanding, working with and hiring contractors who use the WAG (wild @$$ guess) method to run a business.
You know that the costs of managing a finely tuned legal and compliant business requires that you charge the right price to cover those costs, pay your salary and realize a fair profit after the bills are paid. Educating your prospects with your well developed and implemented Cradle to Grave System will lead to increased consumer confidence and trust in you and your company. This helps you build value increasing the odds that you will sell your work at the price you want and deserve.
Cradle to Grave System Information; Contact Mark.