www.ServiceRoundtable.com

The following is based on Matt Michel’s column, “The Rant,” which appears in Contracting Business Magazine.

Matt Michel is CEO of the Service Roundtable, an organization dedicated to

helping service contractors improve their business and financial

performance, leading to a profitable exit strategy. The Service Roundtable

serves Electrical, HVAC, Plumbing, and Solar contractors. Learn more at

www.ServiceRoundtable.com.

Apologize for price, not quality.

Charge a little more and do the

job right. You only have to

apologize for price once, but you

will apologize for quality forever.

Get social.

People are interacting in new ways

with social media. If you don’t join

them, you’re not part of the

conversation.

Eat lunch with “centers of influence.”

You have to eat. Why not eat with

community leaders at BNI, Rotary,

Lion’s, Kiwanis, Optimist, or other

groups?

Offer solar.

Offer solar electric or solar thermal. This is plus business that most

contractors overlook. Depending on the trade, the same is true for

generators, geothermal, home security, home automation, water

purification, jetter services, remodeling, etc.

Watch your image.

You sell intangibles, which are invisible. People pre-judge you based on

the tangibles they can see. Your trucks, your people, your uniforms, your

marketing, your social media, and your website should consistently

present a positive, professional image.

Flat rate.

Consumers prefer flat rate. It’s easier for field

personnel. It allows you to price without

gamesmanship.

Build it to sell.

Whether you intend to sell your business, or not, create one that you

could sell. It will result in a better, more profitable company. Always be

working on an exit strategy.

Watch your cash.

Lack of cash kills more

businesses than anything else.

Conserve your cash. Stay away

from slow pay customers

whose require significant

expenditures of your cash

before getting paid. Better yet,

become 100% COD.

Hire slow. Fire fast.

Always recruit, but be careful

about hiring someone else’s

mistake. Develop your people.

When you make a hiring

mistake, fix it fast.

Focus on getting and keeping customers.

Market always. Market continually. Market to existing customers as

much as new customers.

Join a buying group.

Don’t pay more than necessary. Get

rewarded for a group’s buying

power.

Train.

Training never stops. Incorporate

training into your service meetings.

Pay for your people to take distance

learning courses, attend webinars,

and go to local and national training

programs. Remember, it’s better to

invest in employees who might leave

than to fail to invest in employees

who stay.

Know your numbers.

Track your important metrics.

Study your key performance

indicators and financial statements.

Build “your” brand.

If a customer wants your brand, you’ve got a monopoly. Make it the

focus of all of your marketing and sales activities. After all, it’s the only

brand you own.

Learn continually.

Read books. Read trade magazines.

Read blogs. Go to conferences and

seminars.

Pay for performance.

What gets rewarded gets repeated.

Reward behaviors you want. Create a

compensation system that turns

people into self-managers.

Relax and recharge.

Take vacations. Get away from

the business. This is mandatory.

Make yourself unnecessary.

If your company cannot exist without

you, you don’t own a company. You

own a job.

Hire above yourself.

Hire people who are

better than you. Hire

people who will lift the

organization up, rather

than hold the organization

back..

Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Your industry has lots

of resources from lots

of smart people. Take

advantage of other

people’s successful

ideas, products, and

programs. Pay them

for their experience.

In the long run, you

save time and money.

Seek good partners.

Find manufacturer and distributor partners

who will work with you to grow and prosper

together.

Own your customers.

Only offer extended warranties that you control. Be

sticky with service agreements, loyalty marketing,

and affinity programs.

Be easy to do business with.

Answer the phones with humans. Work

extended hours. Provide service and

installations on the weekend. Offer third

party financing.

Share your vision.

Where do you want to be in

five years? Describe it. Share

the vision with your team and

they will help you achieve it.

www.ServiceRoundtable.com

Give back.

Give back to your community. Get involved locally. Support local charities

and associations. And give back to your industry. Join a contractor group.

Mentor others.

www.ServiceRoundtable.com

Sharing this presentation.

This presentation may be shared without restriction, provided it is not

modified or changed.