By Andrew Smith
[On Demand] How to Obtain Your Piece Of The Comeback Profit Pie!
Patrick Fingles, CEO, Leap, along with other industry leaders hold an all-out open forum discussion where no topic is unwelcome. Failure and success stories are shared and the conversation is focused on what’s working now!
In this article, we focus on Patrick’s segment of the discussion and his unique take on what is working in the industries new “normal”, as both the owner and CEO of Nu Look, and Co-Founder and CEO of Leap.
We Have Been Here Before
This isn’t the first time we’ve been through something like this, nor will it be the last time. These things happen and they’re going to happen again with people navigating through it and people struggling to navigate through it. This presents people with the question of am I winning or losing during these times? A lot of time success is defined not when things are going well but when things are not going well. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
The Economic Market Trailing a Slow Period is Typically Very Strong
This is a snapshot out of leap showing estimates and contracts. There is a V that typically happens when you’re coming out of a recession or a time of challenge that is followed by a time of triumph. Currently, we are starting to see this time of triumph beginning. In the above image, you can see that the first quarter usage is exceeding with a dip right when everything shuts down. However, forming immediately after that is a big spike in estimates and contracts being signed! This is the definition of V, and this isn’t some Bloomberg data where they talk about the economy. This is Leap’s data with customers just like you across the United States and Canada, and it shows that things are coming back and customers are spending. So if your business is not currently capturing a piece of the comeback pie, the question is what are some things you can do to get on board?
Hear from Patrick Fingles and other industry leaders who are building their businesses and what is working for them!
How Did The Winners Win?
So let’s talk about how the winners won and why some businesses are on the successful side of the fence and others are not. Being able to make your way through this challenge isn’t necessarily just about what was done during the challenge, but what could be done before the challenge occurred. Business continuity, structure, operational procedures, processes, and reporting, all give you clarity and the ability to operate with a game plan. This also prepares you for when your game plan gets disrupted because you are quick to create a new game plan.
The recipe for success is the things you do in your business every day. You need to ask yourself how are you growing the business, what are you investing in, how are you making your business stronger? The stronger you make your business the more leads you will get and ultimately the more sales you will get as well. This will simultaneously prepare you for any train that could be barreling down the tracks at you, like the pandemic.
Invest In Your Business To Be Crisis Proof
The struggle is how do you build the business strong enough so that there is consistency in it? Develop your sales tool kit – product presentation, your companies story, a price guide, price presentation that goes all the way through your contract presentation, and training. Using software for this allows you to have everything organized in one place for a seamless customer friendly sales experience. This will also be beneficial when you need to pivot to a remote sales presentation, whether that’s due to customer requests or a challenge such as a pandemic hindering in-person presentations. Not only does the ability to sell remotely help you in times of crisis or customer request, but it gives you the opportunity to expand your business and sell outside of your state, by outsourcing jobs.
Take Advantage of Technology
Sales Software, CRMs, Measuring Software
Investing in tech is one of the best things you can do for your business to help you rapidly grow and scale while creating a persona that you already are an industry leader. Sales software (Leap), CRMs (MarketSharp), measuring software (Hover & EagleView), and a quality website that gives you a professional appearance that your customers will trust, are a great start.
Social Media
A constant social media presence will allow you to give customers a peek into the quality of work you provide, the culture within the company, and inform customers that you’re still in business with a plan in place to ensure the safety of your customers, despite any ongoing challenges such as a pandemic.
Financing
Offering financing programs, but not just call in financing programs, a system that is integrated into your point of sales software. This will allow you to bring in more jobs at higher ticket prices, and by having the financing option integrated with your sales software you’re creating a fast customer-friendly experience that simultaneously gets you into the production process faster.
Operations, Training & Human Resources
The foundation of everything we have talked about so far is operations. Having a standard operating procedure in place for all divisions and aspects of the business, as well as best practices, will give your business the structure and ability to adapt to changes at a rapid rate. When paired with a strong Human Resources department that can implement cross-trained positions, you fill the gaps in the customer experience and prevent a decline in customer experience when you unfortunately do have to implement lay-offs.
Assess Internal Processes
Strong Businesses Were Prepared for Both Virtual and In-Home Conversations
When You Are Used to Having a Strategy Then Changing Is Easy!
Hear from Patrick Fingles and other industry leaders who are building their businesses and what is working for them!
About Leap
Leap is transforming the home services industry as the first complete point-of-sale application, digitizing every stage of the in-home sales process including estimating, financing, contracting, and real-time communication. Created by veteran home services professionals, Leap’s application helps businesses eliminate errors and increase efficiency by simplifying and automating the day-to-day sales process. To learn more, fill out the form below.
This blog post reflects the opinions of the author and may or may not reflect the opinion of Leap (Leaptodigital.com).