Presentation Transcript

1. DESERT CONSULTANTS

   Execution, Financials, Sales
2. Execution Rules! Insulation might be sexy, but execution isn’t Execution is the difference between progress and procrastination Business Execution is the Missing Link Between Aspirations and Results
3. Execution Kills Complacency “Man’s ability to rationalize is infinite”—Fred Poses (former CEO of Trane/American Standard) Business is filled with hip initiatives, trendy “game changers”, silver bullets, and over complicated strategies Action cures fear.
4. The Beast Never Sleeps A competitive market won’t wait to see if your elaborate business strategy plays out
5. 7 Essentials of Business Execution Know your people and your business Insist on realism Set clear goals and priorities Follow through Reward the doers Expand your people’s capabilities Know yourself
6. 1: Know Your People and Your Business You ARE your business—lead by example Communicate the results that you are looking for, THEN determine how to get there Strive for simplicity: fewer goals and priorities will yield a higher result Exemplify a culture of excellence: upfront communication, honesty, accountability, focus You can’t delegate ownership!
7. Examples Personality/Skills Assessments Updated job descriptions Regular performance evaluations Consistent price structure Know your numbers: close rate, break even, daily sales goal, lead sources, etc. Daily or weekly service billing Sales “autopsy” Best practices from your staff—do they have a way to share them?
8. 2: Insist on Realism Successful execution = a systematic process of rigorously discussing the “hows” and “whats” of your business Consistent questioning Tenacious follow through Total accountability for processes and outcomes Realism is the difference between managing your business and presiding over it
9. Examples Processes create a baseline for execution Involve the key people in process development Set clear inputs and outputs If something is broken, review the process and repair Don’t kid yourself—things won’t get better on their own! If you don’t have one already: create a process manual for the various jobs in your business
10. 3: Clear Goals and Priorities Many business owners practice “mojo” goal setting Result: declines in business are attributed to “the weather,” “the competition,” “the market,” “those troublesome customers” Reality: The market is ALWAYS competitive, price is ALWAYS an issue Goal setting drives focus, action, and results
11. Examples Close ratio Gross sales # of accessories per job Leads generated by Service Technicians Maintenance agreements Self generated referrals Billable service hours Labor hours per job Call backs
12. 4: Follow Through Avoid “Snowflakes” in your business Determine which aspects of your business are most critical to profitability Determine the stakeholders Design the processes with the outcome in mind Assign tasks Implement, review, re-design, re-implement Measure progress
13. 5: Reward the Doers According to Business Week magazine, “A sense of purpose” is the #1 reason people like their job Ask yourself: Do you reward the people that help you get the job done? Rewarding the “doers” reinforces the activities that are most vital to your business Rewarding the “doers” also reduces costly turnover, attracts potential employees, and creates a culture of excellence
14. Examples Jobs completed under labor budget “Installation of the Week” % of $ above sales goal Highest billed service hours Most efficient service dispatching Sales calendar scheduling/follow up Look for ways to reward the right behavior and reinforce “the push” to excel
15. 6: Expand People’s Capabilities As your business grows, developing people will become a key function of your organization Attracting and retaining employees has a lot to do with opportunities for additional responsibilities Capable employees allow you to work on your business Focusing on development creates additional loyalty Your employees want to know that their hard work will lead to added opportunities
16. Examples Tiered Installer Job Descriptions: Entry, Level 1, Level 2, … Salesman to Sales Ninja Service Tech to Service Manager Your staff wants to know they have a future Train, train, train—your best employees want to be the best, your good employees want to get better, and your low performers may surprise you
17. 7: Know Yourself Knowing yourself requires emotional fortitude Be open to change Accept responsibility Demand honesty for you and your staff Relentlessly look for ways to improve Celebrate the wins and look for the next one There is no finish line in this game!
18. Examples Do you have personal goals—why’d you get into business in the first place? Are they quantitative and qualitative? How “deep” is your plan? Take a Personality Profile/Assessment Do you have staff to offset your “blind spots?” Have you done a “360 Review” of yourself?
19. Execution in 2010 What THREE things did every successful contractor have in 2009? Quality sales leads A sales process that works Solid financials…
20. Numbers Don’t Lie…Right? Sandbagged sales performance Inaccurate service billing Materials budget Labor hours Department profitability “Value added” give aways I’m going to kill my Tom Tom!
21. Your P&L Gives You Three Choices:
22. Let’s Tell it Like it Is: A Profit and Loss, even if it’s accurate, is a history report…
23. Reasons for Financial Management Understand basic terminology for financial statements Understand how financial statements are developed Emphasize departmentalized financials Understand how overhead is used to develop pricing Understand various pricing methods To implement accurate job costing To calculate break even To help develop sales forecasts/operating budgets So you’re not held hostage by a book keeper!
24. Do you… Have an annual budget (by department)? Know you’re break even? Have a formal job costing system? Receive monthly financials? Use a purchase order system? Have a consistent pricing policy? Know your service department overhead? Project your cash flow needs? Have an adequate line of credit? ADD UP THE NUMBER OF “NO” ANSWERS
25. Lost Profit Equation For every $100,000 of volume, each “no” answer represents $1,000 of lost net profit. Example: 1,200,000 (12) X 5 X $1000 = $60,000 Volume (units) #of No’s Lost Profit
26. Would Your Business Improve If You… Had a “one stop shop” for budgeting? Had an accurate, departmentalized P&L? Could quickly determine your break even? Could easily job cost your projects? Made money on every job? Knew how many leads you needed? Had consistent pricing to protect your profitability? Made decisions based on accurate financial data on a “real time basis?”
27. Financial Strategy Let’s take a look at the “killer app”…
28. Sales Drives Revenue Fewer than 12% of sales people use any product literature during a sales call Less than 20% of sales people use a presentation book Fewer than 20% of sales people have a formal proposal Less than 15% of sales people offer any form of financing The national average close ratio is around 25% Is it any wonder we generally compete on price?
29. Quality Leads Not every lead is created equal: Newspaper Inserts/Direct Mail/Magazines Internet: SEM/SEO/Banners Cable TV Network TV Radio Billboards Mobile
30. Marketing Exposure
31. Quality People Every person in your business is a salesperson! Administrator: The Voice of Your Company Installers/Technicians: Add-on sales Sales people: Sell it, follow up, get referrals! Owner: Drive processes, educate, develop skills, close jobs
32. Quality Processes Almost every aspect of the sales process is controllable by you and your team! Process-driven sales means each customer receives the same first class service Process-driven sales means that each team member is accountable—no “Hero” sales Process-driven sales means you OWN the SALES PROCESS You differentiate your business from the competition!
33. Administration Greeting the customer Gathering relevant lead information Updating sales leads for tracking Making specific product recommendations Reminding customers about promotions or specials Offering to pre-qualify the customer for financing Pre-sales lead communication Updating sales reports for management/owner
34. Administration Customer name Address Primary and alternate email How the customer learned about your business Specific area of interest Interested in financing or promotions Summary of the sales process Set appointment Direct customer to your website
35. Admin for the Small Contractor Have you ever answered the phone while in an attic, crawlspace, or on the roof? Virtual assistants are increasingly common Answering services will gather basic information and forward it to you Point is: You only have one chance to impress a new customer…let someone else do it for you if necessary!
36. The Retail Sales Experience
37. First, Do You the Right People? Affable Communication skills Ability to handle rejection Resilience Self motivated Problem solving ability Negotiation abilities Time management/organization Non-complacent
38. Do You Sell, or Do You Price? Lesson #1: People buy BENEFITS!! Lesson #2: People buy ACCESSORIES Lesson #3: People want OPTIONS Lesson #4: People are VISUAL Lesson #5: People FINANCE major purchases Lesson #6: People are investing in their HOME Lesson #7: Female consumers IMPACT decisions Lesson #8: PRICE should never be a mystery Lesson #9: FOLLOW THROUGH Lesson #10: EXCEED their expectations
39. The Basics Be on time Be clean Wear a uniform Wear an ID badge Don’t smell like smoke Wear boot covers Address female and male customers equally Listen your way into the sale—let the customer steer the ship Respect their time
40. The Retail Edge “A foolish man sells me his idea. A wise man sells me mine.”—how well do you listen? Present your offerings visually—pictures make sense Give the customer options Communicate your solutions in terms of BENEFITS ROI Energy savings Comfort Improved health
41. The Retail Edge: Female Customers Listen and ask open ended questions Make appropriate eye contact Don’t interrupt Explain but don’t patronize Repeat her statements to show you were listening Identify her biggest concern Discuss service and warranty policies Give her a reason to refer your company You’re selling help and peace-of-mind!
42. Constant Improvement Standardized sales processes—in writing! Regular coaching Ride along and observe Identify opportunities and reinforce best skills Set stretch goals—great sales people are motivated Tie rewards to performance Regular training
43. Financing Always offer SAC and minimum monthly financing plans List the financing plans on your proposal Have at least two financing institutions to draw from Have a pre-approval process during the initial phone call Link pre-approval sites to your company website Train your people—they need to know how to share this information with customers
44. Follow Through When is a lead “dead?” (and are you sure?) If you don’t sell it in the home you have to re-sell it later!! CRM Excel database A big table Consistency is the key with follow through!
45. Installers and Technicians Spend more time with the customer than anyone else in your company Frequently mistake their names for “Hurry Up” and “Get it Done” Have a huge impact on the customer service experience and future referrals Generate leads with an 80+% close ratio!!
46. Installers and Technicians Show up on time Park on the street—ask permission to use driveway Clean uniforms, ID badges Floor coverings if in the home Boot covers if in the home No smoking on job site Ask permission to play music (ask me about Howard Stern) Clean job site Full installation review with customer when done
47. Installers and Technicians Can sell warranty and service agreements Should be trained to recommend certain products Be able to sell add-on/accessory items Be able to generate leads Have additional product and company information Have an incentive system to reward the right behavior: Jobs completed under hours/budget Leads generated Warranty/Maintenance/Accessories sold
48. Owner’s Role Develop (or help develop) processes to ensure consistency Set performance goals based on profit Manage activities to the desires results Control pricing Continually train your team Customer service and follow up Own Your Sales Process
49. Referral Generation A free lead with a high close ratio! The most difficult lead to generate, but the best to manage! Results from exceeding the customer’s expectations and delivering total peace-of-mind
50. Referral Generation You have to plant seeds Conduct a quality audit after the installation Stay in contact with the homeowner (the “pop by”) Give them a way to refer you: card, newsletter, e-blast ASK FOR TESTIMONIAL LETTERS!
51. The New Sales Cycle Defined by a series of events that deliver peace-of-mind at every level Demonstrates an unexpected level of professionalism from each employee Delivers “above and beyond” your promises for service Differentiates you from the “shade tree” competition
52. Summary Incredible market advantages New exposure to drive leads Amazing incentives to drive sales Consumer interest growing exponentially Competition that will take a “business as usual” attitude in our fields 2010 is poised to be a turn around year for us!!
53. Make it Your Best Year! EXECUTE! FOCUS ON FINANCIALS! SELL YOURSELF RICH!