7 Words To Set Yourself Apart

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“Let me tell you about our process…”

 

Over the past several years I have had the pleasure of helping fellow contractors add systems and processes to their businesses to calm the chaos behind the scenes. Today I’d like to talk about another piece of advice that I’ve shared with almost everyone I’ve worked with since launching my business…. The more you can think like a customer the better.

We all know what it’s like to get great customer service, and I’m saddened to say the experiences are fewer and farther between these days. As busy business owners trying to juggle it all however, we often forget that our greatest strength and differentiator is HOW we interact with our customers. They don’t know there’s a pile of paperwork on your desk that could rival the leaning tower of pizza. They don’t know that you have a deadline for a big job looming that’s keeping you up at night. They don’t know that you just lost a good employee or had to let go of a bad one. All they know is that they need what you offer, saw your name and number somewhere (kudos on your marketing), and now they’re ready to learn more and potentially hire you to do the work.

Now back to my opening sentence… When you answer the phone and a new prospective customer is on the other end, after they say what they’d like to say (please don’t rush them – learn to listen and take notes instead) IF you’d like to set the tone and take control of the conversation (in a good way, of course) I’d encourage you to reply with these seven words.

“Let me tell you about our process…”

A few things happen when you use this as your opening line.

  1. It instantly changes the tone of the conversation and elevates your level of professionalism (oh, they have a process… )
  2. It sets you apart from your competitors (unless they’re also reading this blog)
  3. It gives you more control over the flow of the conversation and hopefully you’ll be met with less potential objections

Now, once you’ve shared these seven words, you will need to follow through with an actual process. 😳😂 If your company likes to get photos and details BEFORE you schedule an in-person estimate or consultation, share this as well as the WHY behind it.

If your company schedules in-person meetings while on the phone, share this and then gather any additional information you’ll need to set the estimator/salesperson up to pick up the conversation where you left off and be prepared to answer additional questions about their specific project once on site.

And before you hang up, be sure to confirm the details and next steps as discussed and then follow through in a timely fashion. Keep in mind, whoever answers the phone in your office is setting the tone and the expectations for the overall customer experience, and you want to be sure it’s a good one. So, think like a customer and then create a process that would make you feel like your company is the best option in town.

Want help with getting this all in place quickly and efficiently? Check out my new stand alone course, The Full Circle Sales Call. This is the “first stop” on my Customer Circle and will get you heading in the right direction in under an hour. 👍🏼

What’s On Your Bucket List?

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This has been a “milestone” year for me, with my daughter graduating from high school last month 😊 and getting ready to head off to college next month. 🥲

We celebrated by taking a trip out west to Colorado and Utah (Salt Flats pictured). At some point around her 5th birthday, I decided visiting all 50 states would be a cool thing to do and added it to our bucket list. With this trip now complete, I’m up to 41 and she’s up to 32.

To make sure we had enough time to do and see everything we wanted to, it meant taking 8 consecutive days off of work (this included a weekend). The best part of it all was I did not get one “emergency” phone call while gone from our painting business. Flash back 5 years, and that would not have been the case. After a vacation full of “avoidable interruptions,” I made sure to set myself up so that would never happen again. What’s the point of taking a vacation if you can’t truly unplug?

What did it take?

Clear systems and processes that could be delegated and followed in my absence, and taking care of as many things that only I could do before heading out.

As business owners and entrepreneurs, one of the perks is being able to control our own schedules. Unfortunately, more often than not, we quickly fall victim to spending too many hours working IN our businesses, leaving no time for those long weekend getaways or bucket list trips we vowed to finally take now that we “have control” of our time.

For those of us who started with the tools in our hands, the thought of delegation can be a scary one, but is necessary if you’re looking to:

1. Grow and scale your business

2. Be able to say “yes” to that once in a lifetime trip when it presents itself

3. Build a business that can operate without you (at least for a week or two, to start…)

#3 should be the ultimate goal for all business owners, especially if selling the business when you’re ready to retire is on your to do list. This requires stepping out of your comfort zone of “doing it all yourself” and building a rockstar team around you along with solid systems and processes that everyone follows.

Want some help figuring out where the best place to start is for you?

Schedule a free discovery call at the link below. ⬇️

While it may seem daunting, the steps between where you are now and where you want to be aren’t usually as steep as you think. And as the old saying goes, “the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, but the second best time is today.” Don’t put off building the business of your dreams so you can live the life of your dreams any longer. 😎

Schedule a Free Discovery Call Now

Is Your Business Built Like A Rube Goldberg Machine?

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My younger brother and my daughter have always had a special bond. I blame it on their shared traits of being wicked smart and a little bit naughty. 🙃. They’re both great at “solving puzzles” and from a young age, he loved teaching her how to do things and then teaching her new and “more fun” ways to do things.

When he introduced her to Rube Goldberg, I didn’t know who he was or what he was famous for, but once he explained it, it all made sense as to why he chose to impart this particular bit of knowledge.

You see, Rube Goldberg was known for taking something simple and making it as complicated as possible, just for fun.

Need to open a door? Let’s build the most complicated contraption that doesn’t require you to use your hands, but will turn your entryway into a impassible space once you have the door open…. Want to pour yourself a cup of coffee? Let’s set up the pot and the cup and then add levers, pullies, dominoes, etc. to tip the pot and fill the cup without spilling, leaving your kitchen counter cluttered with non-kitchen essentials….

So what does this have to do with your business you might ask? …. (If you’re new to my blog, you’ll learn quickly that I like to tell stories and then connect the dots…..) Many of us have built businesses that operate like Rube Goldberg machines without even realizing it. As our businesses grow organically, which is part of the natural evolution, we often add steps to our processes or new systems to the mix and before we know it a simple process is now overly complicated. In Rube Goldberg’s case, his “complications” are intentional. I’m encouraging you to do the opposite and be intentional about not over-complicating things.

What’s the best way to do this? Take some time each quarter to work ON your business and re-evaluate your current systems and processes. The goal should always be simple, easy, and repeatable. If they’re not, brainstorm with your team on how to modify them and then try, track and tweak as needed until you get It just right.

Think back to being a kid and building a domino chain that would topple with just one tap. You most likely didn’t get it right on the first try, but if you stuck with it until you got the spacing and angles just right so the small push at the start led to a smooth chain reaction with a clean finish it was well worth the effort.

Want more help with looking at your business from a different perspective? Schedule a free discovery call and let’s chat about the areas of your business that could use some simplification.

The Natural Evolution Of A Business

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I talked to a fellow contractor recently and when I asked him how long he’s been in business, his reply was “20 years, but I think I repeated the same year over and over for the first 15.”  😳 😂 If you’re nodding your head and thinking “been there, done that,” I’ve got some good news for you….  almost every business goes through a Natural Evolution.  The trick to successfully navigating it however, lies in your ability to:

1. Identify what phase you’re in

2. Make the needed adjustments to move into the next phase

Here are the phases:

                         Common Sense –> Brute Force –> Best Practices

The Common Sense phase is just what it sounds like. You’re good at something, or interested in a specific trade and decide to make a go of it, so you do what “makes sense.” In the world of painting (which I know best as far as the trades go), this might mean buying tools and equipment, learning the basics, spreading the word that you’re now providing painting services and taking on one job at a time for a price that allows you to pay your bills with a little left over. With no major overhead expenses yet, you can work IN your business during the day, work ON your business after hours or on the weekends, and you can maintain this for a while as you continue to build your brand and establish a reputation…

But … as I like to say … if you’re good at what you do, your business will grow naturally, and to meet the new demands and increase your profitability, you will need to add more people to your team. Finding a few guys and gals to join you will allow you to produce more work and generate more revenue, but it will also mean additional business expenses to accommodate your new structure. This inevitably leads to the Brute Force phase, which is very easy to move into (often times without even realizing it), but more difficult to move out of.

In the Brute Force phase, you’re still operating on the principles of Common Sense, but by now your business has most likely outgrown the ability to “just do what makes sense” anymore. Multiple projects and multiple crews often lead to inconsistency from job to job without a more formalized approach to HOW you do WHAT you do (i.e. – written systems and processes). You might deliver 5 star service on one job only to turn around and have a major callback on the next. And you may struggle to identify WHY, in your mad dash to keep up with the new demands on your time both IN and ON the business. If you’re working 60+ hours a week and still don’t feel like you’ll ever get caught up, then you’re most likely in the Brute Force phase and “just pushing through.” No one wants to stay here, but many business owners struggle with determining HOW to move out of Brute Force and into the Best Practices phase….

Getting to Best Practices requires you as the owner to spend more time ON your business than IN your business, and to do so effectively you will need additional overhead to support this shift. This could include people, technology, and infrastructure, and should be looked at as an investment and planned for in your overall budget. I like to call them “step changes,” and while you should plan out a few at a time, you may not be able to execute them all at the same time without causing too much of a dip in your overall profitability.

The first “step” is often hiring someone to help out in the office, which will be a new overhead cost for your business. If done well, after a slight dip in your productivity (during training and on-boarding) having a dedicated person to handle your administrative tasks should result in more efficiency overall and more time for you to focus on selling and continuing to build your brand. Hiring this person will also require you to get the “common sense” systems you’ve been operating on out of your head and onto paper. To successfully onboard and delegate, you’ll need clear procedures to train this new hire. This is also a great time to add procedures for the field as well to ensure a consistent experience on each and every project.

The Best Practices phase is where you truly formalize your business. The goal is having the day to day operations of your business run smoothly without you needing to oversee every little thing yourself. While this may seem like a daunting task, consider the alternative – staying in the struggle that is Brute Force for yet another year. Mapping out the path to move you into Best Practices phase is the starting point for it all. While business growth is often organic and unplanned in the early phases, successful and sustainable growth is intentional.

Need or want more help? Sign up for my free Business Assessment Webinar or schedule a free discovery call and let’s chat about mapping out the best plan for you to reach your business goals and life dreams. 🤩 🤩

Do You Need More “SC” In Your Business?

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If you’re familiar with the DISC profile, here are some interesting statistics…. Only 10% of the overall population are “high D’s”, but when it comes to entrepreneurs and business owners, that number jumps to 65%. This makes sense given that it takes guts and action to launch and grow a business, and high D’s are big “doers.” What I’ve seen and found, however, over 15+ years in the contracting world, is that most business owners need more “S” and “C” in their businesses (and lives) to help balance things out as they continue to scale and grow.

When I joined the family painting business back in 2005 and starting attending conferences with my father, I noticed something pretty early on. The other business owners in attendance who were running successful and streamlined businesses (most of them being high D’s or high I’s) had hired a office managers who were high “S” or “C” to balance things out. And what I’ve continued to see over the years, is that smart business owners build teams that compliment their strengths and fill the gaps where they are weak.

While high D’s want to go, go, go, and aren’t always focused on or worried about the details, having a high S or C in the mix helps to ensure that all options are reviewed and a clear plan of action is outlined. Together, this combination of the “idea” generator paired with someone who’s great at implementation can lead to amazing results within a business. And collaboration often leads to a final result that is better than what could have been conceived or achieved individually.

One of my favorite quotes is “the fastest way to get something done is to slow down.” As a creative person and a high “SC”, finding the balance between idea and successful implementation comes naturally to me. I love taking the time to truly look at a system, process or procedure and say “Is this the best way to do this? Is there a way to make this more efficient, simpler, and easily repeatable?” Then I like to take it one step further and use my Try, Track, & Tweak method to evaluate and create the best possible process.

If you’re in need of more “SC” in your business, lets chat. You can schedule a free discovery call here, and if there isn’t a date that works well for you, just send me an email and we’ll find some time to connect.

You Only Have To Do It Once*

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Every time I talk to a busy business owner who says they really need to get their systems and processes in order, but just don’t have the time, my answer is always the same… “I have good news and I have bad news for you… you only have to do it once.”

The good news is, that once in place, most Singular Operating Systems (SOS – also known as Sink or Swim) will stand for years to come and only require tweaking and adjusting as your business evolves and grows. The bad news is, you will have to sit down once and do what I refer to as “the brain dump.”

The truth is, most business owners do have systems and processes, they just happen to keep them all in their heads. Taking the time to sit down, document the way you run the daily operations of your business, and then evaluate if it’s the best way to run your business is not only necessary, but once one the other side very freeing as well.

Here’s my personal story to prove that even those of us who live for and love a good system can dread having to document the process. In our family painting business, we usually hire a college student to help out in the summer months when we’re in our busy season. After a few years in the business and a few summer helpers had come and gone, I finally decided to document ALL of the office procedures and create a manual to use for all future training needs. I’ll be honest, it was not a whole lot of fun, and meant taking extra time document each task as I was completing it. BUT, that following summer when we hired another new office assistant, I used the manual to train her, then asked her to try to follow the procedures on her own, and finally tweaked it so anyone with a brain could come in, sit down at the main desk and figure out enough to answer the phone and carry out our basic office functions without any help.

Fast forward ten years and that extra time spent creating that manual has saved me (and our company) hours upon hours of time in training new admins every time we’ve hired one. In hindsight, it was one of the best things I ever did with regards to increasing the productivity in the office and adding consistency and repeatability to all of our office procedures.

What would implementing consistent and repeatable systems mean for your business?

– Would it allow you to delegate with less fear?

– Would it allow you to hire or outsource tasks that are not the best use of your time, but still need to be taken care of?

– Would it allow you to take off one of the many hats you’ve been wearing and breathe a little easier?

If you answered YES to any or all of the above, I highly encourage you to set aside some time to get your systems out of your head and onto paper. And if you’d like some help and don’t want to start from scratch, I’ve done the heavy lifting already to get you 85% of the way there. You can learn more about The Full Circle Customer course here and here’s to doing it once, and once and for all.

*Doing it once the right way will lead to optimal results and not having to repeat the process. 👍🏼

Systems vs. Software – Where, What & How

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I’m going to go ahead and date myself right now by telling you that when I first joined the family painting business, there was very little software for the industry, and nothing at all for those of us who have always been Mac users. I know a fellow contractor that purchased ACT and tweaked it to the best of his ability, and there were plenty of us who made due with Microsoft Word and Excel for years until a few dynamic Excel platforms were launched specifically for painters. Fast forward to the present, and the problem seems to have almost been over-corrected. So much so that APC magazine is now hosting Virtual Tech Fests to help us all evaluate and choose what’s best for our businesses within the world of contracting.

Which brings me to the point of this post…. the difference between systems and software. For clarity, please note that while I am a systems specialist, I am not a software specialist. What I can tell you about software, however, is that it’s the WHERE in your business. Tie it back to the name – software – and it’s easy to remember. Whatever software you’re currently using or considering, it’s WHERE you store all of your information.

Systems, on the other hand are the WHAT and HOW of your business, and are critical in setting up a streamlined and successful path for growth (with minimized growing pains). Systems answer the questions of HOW you do WHAT you do, and HOW you gather information and WHAT you do with it. Of course, you need somewhere to store and easily access all of this information, but without clarity in your processes for the WHAT and HOW, the WHERE doesn’t stand as well on it’s own.

Here are some quick examples:

  • HOW do you reply to a new lead?
  • WHAT do you do with that information once you have it?
  • HOW do you prepare for a meeting with a potential client?
  • WHAT do you do with the information once you’ve discussed the scope of work?
  • HOW do you plan internally for each project?
  • HOW do you communicate with the customer throughout?

I think you get the idea, and the list goes on from that very first marketing piece that caught their attention to the successful completion of the job. Which leads me back to what started it all… the Customer Experience Circle. I’m thrilled to announce that my comprehensive course is now available, in which I’ll “walk” you around the circle and assist you in setting up systems for each “stop” along the way. You can learn more here.

Think Like A Customer – Act Like A Business Owner

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While I hate to have to say this out loud, Customer Service seems to be a dying art. With the continued advances in technology and automation, it seems many businesses and industries are attempting to “make things easier” by automating as much as possible. But who is it really easier for? More often than not, it’s easier for the business, but not the customer (and don’t get me started on “convenience fees”…I did all of the work 😝). 

This trend is all the more reason Customer Service should be your primary focus for the coming year. There’s no easier way to elevate your brand and stand out from your competition than to deliver exceptional customer service. And for many of us, isn’t that what we set out to do in the first place?

The trouble, however, often lies with implementation. And the hard truth that we’re usually thinking like a busy business owner and not thinking like a customer. Once we are able to shift our focus, the next question that comes up is How? How do I set up my business so it’s customer focused, but still keep control of the internal processes so it’s manageable for my team?

The short answer – Implement A Singular Operating System.

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve most likely seen “The Customer Circle”, some of you may have seen the detailed version, a few of you may have heard me talk about it in Denver, and now I’m excited to share the launch of my On-Demand course where I’ll take you through it all in full detail.

As busy business owners, we’re all guilty of spending too much time IN our businesses and not enough time ON our businesses. My goal is creating and launching The Full Circle Customer course is to help you carve out 1 hour a week to work ON your business, teach you how to build out systems for consistency and success (you’ll be able to download my notes, tools, and templates as well) and turn the 8-10 hours you spend working through the course into 10x that in time back once you’ve implemented the processes into your business.

If you’d like a preview of what’s included Click here to learn more.

Big Changes & Little Adjustments

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My daughter got her license a few months ago, and with a dad that’s a bonafide car guy (he buys them, rebuilds them and races them), together their working on “building” her very first dream car. It’s a (used) Jeep Wrangler – 4 door, hard top, all black – just as she requested. 🖤

Once she got the hang of driving it and passed her test (in a Mini Cooper 😂), the first big change was the tires. And when I say big, I mean big. She picked them out, dad swapped them out, and back out onto the road she went.

As she was driving around, turning left and right to navigate the roads and back out of parking spots, she noticed a rubbing sound she hadn’t heard before. So back to dad’s shop she went only to discover the new and much bigger tires were rubbing up against the fenders. So what’s the solution? Lift the car a bit. This was on her wish list as well, and was added sooner rather than later to eliminate the sound and the extra wear on the new tires.

What’s the point of my story you might ask?  If you’ve read more than one of my blogs so far, you’ll notice that I like to tell stories and then “connect the dots.”

When it comes to growing our businesses, it’s often easy to spot the big changes that need to be made to continue to grow and reach our goals. But in the midst of figuring it out, executing and getting everyone on board with the big change, we often forget that big changes almost always require small adjustments.

There are very few things in life that work perfectly out of the box, and we’ve all learned to tweak and adjust things as needed in our day to day life. Somehow though, we seem to forget that similar tweaks are often needed within our businesses. Like the old saying goes “don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”

So the next time you’re considering a big change in your business, be sure to give it time, pay attention to any hiccups you encounter, ask your team for input, and adjust as necessary to reach the best final version – which is very rarely achieved on the first attempt.

What Tools Might You Be Overlooking?

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“Smart business owners use tools.”

I was on a podcast with a handful of other coaches earlier this week and one of them said this in the midst of our conversation. He then went on to give a few obvious examples. Here are a few of my own….

If you’re going to plant a garden, you’re not going to dig the holes by hand… you’d use a shovel.

If you’re going to change a tire, you’re not going lift the car with your hands… you’d use a jack.

If you’re going to paint a house, you’re not going to do it with your hands … you’d use a paint brush.

In “real world” scenarios, we have no issues with picking up a shovel, a jack, a paint brush, etc., but when it comes to “business tools” we are often reluctant to add something new to the mix.

Here’s the kicker though, tools are actually designed to make tasks easier… once you’ve learned how to use them properly, of course. By passing up on taking the time to learn how to use a new tool that could potentially save you an exponential amount of time and effort over the next few months or years, you’re basically saying “I’m going to keep digging my holes by hand because I don’t want to stop and learn how to use a shovel.”

So here’s the million dollar question …. well, two actually

In what area(s) of your business are you struggling with efficiency, consistency, or both?

What tools might be available to help you address the issue and make the process smoother, easier and more consistent?

They’re out there, you just have to be willing to take the time to identify the areas of your business that would benefit from the addition of a tool and then find the right one for the task at hand.