KickStart: Obsess over the “important stuff” in business. (And life!)
The secret, folks? We learned in Part I of this series to reject treacherous, time-wasting Displacement Activities that add nothing to your home service company bottom line and/or future family happiness. How?
In Part II I shared a 13-word Introspective Question to ask yourself continually: “What is MY “highest and best use” (HBU) today for my family’s future welfare?”
HINT: Most of the time (even though you may enjoy it) your HBU is NOT actually doing the physical work.
Of course, your HBU is a “constantly moving target”. After all, at any given moment your focus on your “family’s future welfare” may have absolutely nothing to do with money and/or business success. However…
Here are my TOP 3 Essential “Highest and Best Use” candidates in a Home Services Business…
1) Marketing, 2) Team, 3) Money (MTM for short and no, I’m not talking about the ever sparkling Mary Tyler Moore!)
Let’s do a 30,000 foot overview each MTM topic. (In future KickStarts I’ll do a deeper dive on each one.)
1. Marketing. If you don’t get (and keep) a presence in your prospect’s consciousness everything literally will… STOP!🛑 Sure, homeowner’s 5-star online reviews are the Gold Standard. (And these babies are virtually free!)
You’ll supercharge your ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ online reviews (and word-of-mouth referrals) by programming Positive Moment of Truth for your residential clients. ProTIP: You must also obsess over the “ATA” (Appearance, Actions and Attitude) of your team! But a multi-pronged, consistent marketing program will complement all of the above efforts.
2. Team. You’ll notice I didn’t put “Employees” here. And not just because “MEM” makes for a lousy acronym!🤪 IF your long-term HBU goal is to build a Critical Mass Business (a company that will run smoothly without you) then you must create a TEAM of the Very Best People.
NEWS FLASH! Most Very Best People are already working! So you must git out there and recruit (encourage, entice, convince, romance 💖 and/or even poach)😲 these great Career Candidates to work for you!
RESOURCE #1: You’ll get 100’s of new hiring ideas and systems in my 3-hour, online Hiring the Very Best! LIVE seminar. To learn more and/or easily register online click HERE.
3. Money. I’m always amazed at how fragile even a great company can be. Complacency (especially when it comes to a consistently profitable cash flow) will doom even the most established service business. As my accountant always reminded me, “Steve, every number tells a story.” And so it is…
HINT: If (like me) you dread focusing on “da numbers” at the very least dramatically raise your residential pricing immediately! Trust me, homeowners expect to pay more- but they’re not going to offer to do so! Still nervous?😖 Then test this “charging more” hack!
RESOURCE #2: In my “Winning over your caller!” LIVE seminar I share a “Booking Previous Residential Clients after a Price Increase” phone script guaranteed to close the sale! Click HERE to register online or learn more…
Meanwhile, we can all learn from the one and only, original MTM, “You truly have to make the very best of what you’ve got. We all do.” Mary Tyler Moore
Steve