KickStart: “Words are important. If you cannot say what you mean, you will never mean what you say.” George Bernard Shaw
Yep, in business the words we use with prospects (and clients) can have big consequences going forward. For example…
I see many Home Service Businesses offering “free estimates”. Me? I disliked this word “estimate” so much I banned it in my own residential services company!😡 Here’s why…
KickStart: Tactfully use Valid Business Questions to sort home service prospects into different Response Options.
Question: “Do you want to work for every homeowner that calls your Home Services Business?”🤔
Answer: “No way, Steve! After all, some callers live too far away, other prospects want services we don’t provide and some homeowners simply can’t afford us!”
Well answered and a good analysis! And yet… how much time do you waste with prospects that simply aren’t good potential customers? (Even worse is scheduling an onsite pre-inspection that is a complete waste of time!)😲
KickStart: “Accountability breeds response-ability.” Stephen R. Covey
An essential part of growing into adulthood is becoming “accountable” for our actions. Honestly? Prisons are full of overgrown babies who have never matured enough to follow this basic rule of nature: “For every action there is… a re-action.”😥
However, I (eventually) learned that “accountability” shouldn’t focus ONLY on the bone-headed mistakes of my service employees! Instead, when a worker took “response-ability” I needed to both praise them and share the extra profits that they generated!
KickStart: “If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.” – Henry Ford
If only for the sake of your aching back (not to mention your own Personal Freedom) I sincerely hope your Home Services Business (HSB) is more than a “group of one”! If so, you need to meditate on Mr. Ford’s sage observation above!
By far the biggest challenge you will ever face as a residential services entrepreneur will be recruiting, hiring, onboarding, training, motivating and managing employees. Am I “preaching to the choir” here?🤔 However…
KickStart: Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. C. S. Lewis
I’ll admit it. When I started my first Home Services business I was a cocky, proud and yet insecure jerk!😲 (My dear wife is saying right now, “So Steve, you think you’ve changed over the last 50 years?”)🤔 Hmmmmm…
KickStart: Develop remote workers to answer your service business lines when you (or your office staff) aren’t available. Read on to review the four simple steps to “git ‘er done”…
I’ve been (unjustly) accused of being a bit OCD in my Home Services business!🙄 And yes, too often I was guilty as charged when it came to me personally answering incoming calls on my business line(s)… 24-7!
Steve’s Embarrassing Confession: Even after we were grossing almost $2,000,000.00+ yearly I STILL was answering my business lines… even at home 24-7! In fact, (GULP!😲) I STILL kept on doing this AFTER I sold our company. That’s when my dear wife Sioux blew up! (Hopefully she won’t get mad again reading this- 30 years later!)😡
Sure, you should focus on your business phone. After all, every missed/mishandled call can literally cost you many 1,000’s of dollars in downstream income. But eventually I realized that not every call needed to be answered by me (or any business owner) personally! Instead…
KickStart: “Success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure…” Andrew Grove, CEO of Intel
During his eleven years(1987-1998) as CEO at Intel, Andy Grove used his absolute hatred of “business complacency” to rocket Intel’s value by 4,500%! (From $4 billion to $197 billion!) But now let’s talk about you and your residential services business…
Keep your best employees from quitting with the power of employee recognition. These 4 tips will guide you to build emotional bonds and keep your team happy.
KickStart: Stop treating your business phone as a distraction. Instead, obsess over each and every service inquiry!
When your business phone rings do you: A) ecstatically scream with delight?👍💪💖 B) fall into an anxiety attack?😬 or C) collapse in panicked dread?😨 For all you “B” and “C” folks, let’s move you into the delighted “A” category with a ringing phone!
First, reflect on the HUGE stakes with this caller. I know, you’re thinking, “Ummmm, Steve, I thought you were going to cheer me up. I’m even more freaked out now!” My reply?
KickStart: Maintain your prices high enough that homeowners routinely wince… and then book the job anyway!
True Confession Time: Steve Toburen is not remotely an accountant and/or a financial planner. In fact, Steve HATES and despises “number crunching” of any type!😡
In fact, I tell each client and every online class I teach: “I’ve always been good at MAKING money. But I’m terrible at counting, tracking or even investing this money!”
And yet, even with this major financial disability I’ve enjoyed a very successful career as the owner of multiple Home Service businesses! I’ve built my (very profitable) success on one informal pricing concept I call…