Pete Morici
2007-12-26, 02:53 PM
After 30 years of contracting, I've realized that I've always focused my thinking on what I believed to be the 7 basic elements of owning any successful company.
1. Get the customer
2. Get the money
3. Make a profit
4. Keep the customer
5. Focus on the big picture
6. Work ON the business not IN it
7. Have an exit strategy
I’m sure you can insert a number of items, but that’s not the point. Rather, my point is that I hold 3 license classifications, yet my technical skills didn't make the list. Those skills were most helpful in the beginning but their relevance faded over time. My technical skills were critical when I was "on the truck", but they didn't make me a better bussinesperson. All of the contracting sectors are full of people with technical skills, but the business skills are lacking. That is - understanding the business of business and the management concepts.
Today, I spend a great deal of time answering basic business questions and giving sales training to contractors of all types. The skills are transferrable. The curious thing is that they all have the same questions whether they’re plumbers, drain cleaners, pumpers, remodelers, AC companies, carpenters, electricians, etc, etc....
Very, very few, have a good grasp on pricing, marketing, advertising, training, sales or developing a company that someone would want to buy or take over.
I am often asked, “What is the one thing that made the biggest difference?” My responses are always the same....
In the field it was knowing what a customer needs... what they ultimately buy and why... and selling the job. You can do everything else on my list, but if the people in the field can’t sell the job, then you are overspending on advertising and a lot of other things to make up for it. Selling in the field (and getting the job done) is where the rubber hits the road.
In the office, it was about understanding how business works and developing repeatable, automatic systems that continue to work even when you're not there. Without those systems, the business spins its web around you and you become a prisoner. That's not a business - it's a job that no one will ever want to buy from you. Without those systems, all you have to sell at the end are rusty trucks, old tools and a few hard assets.
Food for thought...
1. Get the customer
2. Get the money
3. Make a profit
4. Keep the customer
5. Focus on the big picture
6. Work ON the business not IN it
7. Have an exit strategy
I’m sure you can insert a number of items, but that’s not the point. Rather, my point is that I hold 3 license classifications, yet my technical skills didn't make the list. Those skills were most helpful in the beginning but their relevance faded over time. My technical skills were critical when I was "on the truck", but they didn't make me a better bussinesperson. All of the contracting sectors are full of people with technical skills, but the business skills are lacking. That is - understanding the business of business and the management concepts.
Today, I spend a great deal of time answering basic business questions and giving sales training to contractors of all types. The skills are transferrable. The curious thing is that they all have the same questions whether they’re plumbers, drain cleaners, pumpers, remodelers, AC companies, carpenters, electricians, etc, etc....
Very, very few, have a good grasp on pricing, marketing, advertising, training, sales or developing a company that someone would want to buy or take over.
I am often asked, “What is the one thing that made the biggest difference?” My responses are always the same....
In the field it was knowing what a customer needs... what they ultimately buy and why... and selling the job. You can do everything else on my list, but if the people in the field can’t sell the job, then you are overspending on advertising and a lot of other things to make up for it. Selling in the field (and getting the job done) is where the rubber hits the road.
In the office, it was about understanding how business works and developing repeatable, automatic systems that continue to work even when you're not there. Without those systems, the business spins its web around you and you become a prisoner. That's not a business - it's a job that no one will ever want to buy from you. Without those systems, all you have to sell at the end are rusty trucks, old tools and a few hard assets.
Food for thought...