Remodelers Advantage, Author at PowerTips Unscripted

Ep.76: [Unscripted Back-Up] Managing Your Customers with Chip Doyle

August 14, 2019 00:38:02

It’s time for another Unscripted Back-Up. It’s a chance to revisit some of our best and most informative episodes. They’re jam-packed with information you can use — so if you missed it the first time around, here’s your chance to catch up.

This is one of our most popular episodes, and digs in to a part of your remodeling business that few people really consider — managing your clients.

If you — and especially your designers — aren’t managing those customers you’re wasting time and losing out on potential profits, says Chip Doyle.

In this episode, Victoria, Mark and Chip discuss how to speed up the hand off from design to production. Effectively managing client expectations, setting clear goals and deadlines, and guiding clients intentionally, gets you out of having projects park in design and selections.

Chip has been in the sales industry for 29 years, and training with Sandler for nearly 17 years. He’s a sought-after speaker and co-authored Selling to Homeowners The Sandler Way. Chip has a licensed training center and trains companies of all sizes in Pleasant Hill, CA, helping them reach their full potential, exceed expectations and continue to grow.

Empowering designers to guide, and ultimately lead, clients through the design process can increase your profits by 25 percent. Some of the ways to get there include:

Cutting design time in half, without cutting corners
Giving designers the right role models
Managing “genius attacks”
Setting clear meeting goals and timely next steps
The importance of deadlines — for clients
Getting projects through that would otherwise stall
The traits to look for in a designer — toss the DISC assessment
And much more …

Need More Help?

If your designers, project managers, and other customer-facing team members need guidance on how to deliver excellent client services effectively, Chip is leading a course, Client Management Training for Designers & Architects, to address it all. It’s not a sales course, it’s specifically designed to give your team members the skills they need to get selections and designs past the bottleneck and into production, while creating and excellent customer experience.

Ep.75: Cash Flow: The Silent Killer

August 7, 2019 00:09:41

It’s incredibly busy in the remodeling world at the moment — leads are pouring in, proposals are flying out, and jobs are being scheduled like crazy. We’re seeing businesses with 30 percent growth, year over year.

Yet there’s a silent killer lurking beneath all the fevered growth: insufficient cash flow.

In this episode, Mark’s flying solo and he tackles the phenomenon of “growing broke” — being busier than ever, but running out of cash.

It can happen to the best, most experienced remodelers — times are almost too good, and it’s easy to lose track of your cash flow. Mark shares why you need to control it, and what to do if cash is starting to run out, including:

How to assess your cash flow situation
Why cash flow is king
Long-term planning strategies
What to do when you start feeling the pinch
How to address a problem if you’ve got one
Keeping your customer experience safe
And more …

If you’re concerned about where your cash situation is, set a calendar alert for the all-new RA University, launching Monday, Aug. 12 (the link is still to the older site). You’ll find five new lessons — and one of them is The Importance of Cash Flow. You’ll also find the The 5 Things to Never Do & The 5 Things to Always Do, Running a Paperless Office, Marketing that Works, and Setting Goals and Hitting Them. If you want to go even deeper and you can always reach out to us to help you find the solutions to your cash flow issues.

Ep.74: Pheel the Love — How the Most Powerful Force in the Universe Builds Great Companies with Tom Burgoyne

July 31, 2019 00:22:35

Everyone would love to have raving fans — and today’s guest is the most popular mascot in sports.

Tom Burgoyne has had a 30-year career as the best friend of the Phillie Phanatic — the most popular mascot in sports.

In this episode, Tom talks to Victoria and Mark about what the Phanatic has taught him about the importance of customer service in business — and how it can be the difference between being a good company and being a great one.

Tom has applied what he has learned in costume and talks about how the love people have for the Phanatic can be applied to your everyday working life. He’s also the author of Pheel The Love!: How the Most Powerful Force in the Universe Builds Great Companies — Phillie Phanatic Style !

Tom was working in sales when he answered a blind ad to become the backup to the original Phanatic. He was the backup for four years before stepping up into the primary role. He realized the power of the character and the love the Phanatic generates and has applied the principles to boosting customer service and your company through love and fun, including:

Being authentic
Deciding to be loving
Noticing opportunities to share the love
Acting on the opportunities
The big smooch — making people feel special
Being optimistic consistently as a company
The Love 15 evaluation
And more …

Tom shares some of his most enduring memories as the Phanatic, including leading the 2008 World Series parade, and hot it gets in the costume, and what the Phanatic and Remodelers Advantage have in common.

Tom also has a podcast called Phillies Backstage with Brazer and Burgoyne. And you can check out his page on LinkedIn.

Ep.73: A Leader’s Inactions Are Just as Important as Actions with Wayne Rivers

July 24, 2019 00:13:20

Victoria and Mark are just back from their own peer group meeting, and were inspired by what they learned. In particular, they were excited by something they heard from another member, Wayne Rivers.

Wayne has a video blog, and we’re picking up one of his episodes about leadership. He says leaders tolerate bad behaviors in their organizations too often, and it can cost you money and time. The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate. You may hear some things that hit home for you in his talk.

Wayne is the co-founder and president of The Family Business Institute Inc. He has authored four books on the subject of business families, the latest of which is Our Family Business Crisis and How It Make Us Stronger. Wayne has appeared on the Today Show, CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, BusinessWeek: WEEKEND, and on the Retirement Living Network.

Wayne gives examples of toxic employee behavior in his talk today, and tells you how you can curb them, including:

The reasons you keep bad employees
Why you need to have performance reviews
The definition of stewardship
Why you need to have a recruiting system
Developing your spine
The benefits of outside support for leaders
The improve or remove system
And more …

You, as a leader, have to find the bad behaviors you’re tolerating, and figure out what to do about them to keep your company healthy. For more of Wayne’s videos, go the The Family Business Institute’s YouTube channel.

Ep.72: [Unscripted Back-Up] Building a Successful, Profitable Remodeling Company with Brandon Bailey

July 17, 2019 00:27:19

Growing your remodeling company is filled with pitfalls and challenges that can prevent you from getting to the next level successfully. So many of our Roundtables members say it takes hard work, yes, but also a concentrated focus and a willingness to look for help from outside your organization when you need it.

In this episode, Victoria and Mark talk to Brandon Bailey, who’s a textbook example of a successful remodeler who made the right moves after deciding to significantly grow his business.

Brandon is an owner of Bailey Remodeling & Construction, a design build company in Louisville, KY. After starting his business in 2005, Brandon was where many of our members were when they were starting out — producing good, reputable work but spinning their wheels with long hours, no systems in place, and no predictable revenue model. Sound familiar?

In 2009, Brandon and his business partner, Jon Steimel, set out to significantly change and grow their business. They’ve done a fantastic job, their awards include being named the 2017 Remodeler of the Year by the Building Industry Association in Louisville.They won two project awards from BIA in 2019. They are now have 10 team members and are looking for more.

Brandon talks about how the company has managed its growth, things to look out for, and what it has meant for the business and his life, including:

The specific challenges when growing
Finding outside resources to help his business
What it was like working with a business coach and peer group
Which KPIs to keep an eye on
Growing his team beyond the two partners
Building a sales system
Establishing a consistent and predictable revenue model
Increasing net profit
What his business and day-to-day life is like now
And more …

Brandon’s story will sound familiar to so many remodelers, and the steps he has taken to build a more successful, profitable remodeling company can be guide your own journey.

Join Remodeling’s Top One Percent

Brandon is a fantastic example of a business owner who took advantage of the Power of Roundtables. Our program is a world-class peer advisory service that brings together smart, motivated remodeling professionals, just like you, to help one another grow.

Want to learn how you can participate in this experienced braintrust? Learn More Here >>

Ep.71: Strategy Isn’t Enough with Brian Gottlieb

July 10, 2019 00:30:01

A successful remodeling business isn’t only dependent on tactics or the larger strategy behind them. A company’s culture plays a crucial role in executing any business strategy.

In this episode, Brian Gottlieb discusses the key steps needed for a business to implement their desired strategy with Victoria and Mark.

Brian Gottlieb is the founder and CEO of Tundraland Home Improvements, which serves all of Wisconsin. He started his business on a plastic folding table, with just $3,000 in cash. Today, Tundraland employs more than 220 people, and revenues are in excess of $42 million. We’re excited that Brian will also be a speaker at the Remodelers Summit in Orlando this September.

He defines strategy as an integrated set of choices an organization makes to position against the competition, add value to their customers, and add value to the company. Brian’s “a-ha” moment came last summer, when he understood that when a community is at its full potential, we’re all in a better place; and when an organization is at its full potential, we’re all in a better place. He calls Tundraland a training organization — developing an employee to his or her full potential is a key point of the company’s strategy. Brian describes the four ways to define your culture, and how to make it stronger, including:

How building a strong culture is like building a ship
How realizing potential depends on others
Why Brian doesn’t have drawers in his office
Examples of the wrong strategies
Knowing how to add value for you customers
Why you shouldn’t hire people like you
Finding the root causes of your weaknesses
Why throwing dollars at a problem doesn’t work
The differences between vision and a road map
Why firing someone should never be a surprise
And more …

Including how Brian sees his role in his organization, what he does, and what it means to the culture of his organization.

See Brian Speak at the Annual Remodeler’s Summit

We’re thrilled that Brian will be joining us for two sessions at the 2019 Remodeler’s Summit, Sept. 24-25, in Orlando:

To learn more the Summit event and our line-up of other great speakers, go to Remodelerssummit.com!

Ep.70: The Most Important Part of a Remodeling Project with Robert Kauffman

July 3, 2019 00:24:14

So many things go into a successful remodeling project — the design, the materials, the actual build — but what’s really the most important part? It’s your client.

Remodeling a home can change your clients’ lives. Robert Kauffman says the secret to a successful remodel is working upfront to get to know your clients to the greatest extent possible.

In this episode, Robert shares his story with Victoria and Mark, and how and why he gets to know his clients so well. Getting to know your clients takes asking questions — and listening to the answers.

Robert is the owner of Kauffman Design Services in Atlanta, GA. He’s worked with architectural firms, as a remodeling contractor, and currently as a remodeling designer. He has never taken for granted the trust it takes for clients to open their lives up to him.

On his first remodeling project, Robert realized that digging for answers from clients helped him understand how the clients wanted to live in their home. Each client has a unique story, Robert says, and getting them to open up to tell it is vital to understanding their real goals. He talks about how to get the answers you want, including:

His book of 1,000 questions
Why asking what people do in their bedrooms isn’t creepy
How different people use identical homes
Guiding clients to direct the project
How family dynamics affect the questions and final designs
Observing the non-verbal clues and cues
Putting all the details together at the end
How long it takes, and how to do it
And more …

The more you understand your clients’ lives, and how they live in the home you’re remodeling, the better your projects will be.

Ep.69: How to Protect and Grow your Business with Performance Testing with Corbett Lunsford

June 26, 2019 00:30:06

Physics and chemistry affect the interior of every home, every day. Performance testing can enable remodelers to predict and prevent health, safety, and comfort issues, earn more for your work, and predict and prevent callbacks, claims, and lawsuits.

As a remodeler, you have two choices. You can test for and design performance controls into your projects to predict and prevent side effects. Or you make assumptions and hope for the best.

You might make problems worse, and take the heat for it.

In this episode, Corbett Lunsford talks about home systems, performance, and testing with Victoria and Mark. Home performance is the invisible “stuff” that happens inside a home — how it feels, smells, and sounds.

Corbett loves investigating invisible dynamics using high-tech techniques and tools. He’s the co-host of the PBS series Home Diagnosis, the Building Performance Podcast, and the author of Home Performance Diagnostics: the Guide to Advanced Testing.

Every remodeling project will affect how a home works — for better or worse. Building inspections are about the static state — what’s there all the time. Performance dynamics have to do with all the actions of the house while it’s working. You need testing to be able to predict that. Remodelers deal with and interfere with these dynamics as part of their work — there will be changes. Corbett says the first tests to do are a blower-door test, using infrared cameras to pinpoint roof leaks and moisture detection, and other reasons why home testing can improve your projects, business and client satisfaction, including:

Tuning a home like an instrument
Taking the guesswork out of the home performance
How pressure issues can cause mold and mildew
Why home interiors affect health
Atmospheric draft, water heaters, and range hoods
Charging more for optimizing home system performance
Testing for the invisible dynamics
Load calculations and energy models for HVAC choices
Why testing also makes homes more energy efficient
The marketing opportunities for you
The power of statistics
And more …

Corbett warns that your clients may know about the importance of performance testing because they’re watching home-improvement shows like his — and you have to stay ahead of what the general public knows or lose credibility. As a first step, you can download his ebook, Proof Is Possible: How to Keep an Eye on Your New Home Construction or Home Improvement.

You can also see his tiny house and more on his YouTube channel: https://YouTube.com/c/HomePerformance.

Ep.68: Managing Your Sales while Wearing Many Hats with Chip Doyle

June 19, 2019 00:32:43

Most remodelers wear many hats, and sales management is only one of them. So you have to handle sales functions on a part-time basis. As you grow and add salespeople, overseeing that department becomes yet another job duty.

In this episode, Chip Doyle discusses how to successfully manage the sales department on a part-time basis with Victoria and Mark.

Chip wrote the book Selling to Homeowners — The Sandler Way. He trains many R/A members, including owners, salespeople, designers and project managers how to sell — without sounding like salespeople.

Being a good sales manager takes a different skill set than being a salesperson does. You need to be patient, predictable in your coaching, and temper your expectations for their own lead generation. Chip says he’s seeing a higher success rate with developing salespeople from within remodeling companies, rather than hiring from outside — people who are good at selling are already busy and making great money. But wherever your find your new sales staff, Chip talks about ways to set them — and your company — up for success, including:

When to hire a new salesperson
Performing a sales assessment
What they should sell first
Why prospecting is crucial
Why they should under-qualify leads
How many meetings to have and when
The questions to ask your sales staff
How to help your salespeople
Why truthfulness is mandatory
How much time to spend on sales management
And more …

Including why just selling the next step — not the whole project at once — is the key to good sales.

Get The Edge You Need

If you’d like to help brushing up your — or your staff’s — sales techniques, Chip runs a weekly training session called Sales Edge. It brings together a group of non-competing R/A members to sharpen their approach to this vitally important business function. Find out more today.

Ep.67: Kicking Off Slippage Awareness Month with Tim Faller

June 12, 2019 00:26:49

Here at Remodelers Advantage we set aside the month of June to focus on an issue that plagues most service-based businesses, but can be a critical metric in looking at the success of a remodeling firm. This is our third annyal “Slippage Awareness Month” and this year you’ll see content submissions from our consulting, sales, and production experts here at R/A. Enjoy!

Every remodeling business owner wants to add more money to the bottom line. Reducing slippage is the lowest-hanging fruit to pick in your quest.

In this episode, Tim Faller talks to Victoria and Mark about reducing slippage in your remodeling company. Slippage occurs when your estimate is lower than the real costs of the job. Reducing it takes a change in mindset throughout the organization.

For 17 years, Tim has worked with hundreds of remodeling companies to improve profits by creating smooth, efficient production systems. As a Senior Consultant and Master of Production for Remodelers Advantage, Tim’s field and business ownership experience is vital to his additional role as facilitator for Owner and Production Manager Roundtables Groups. He’s also a published author and popular industry speaker, Tim is co-host of The Tim Faller Show, a weekly podcast focused on “Improving The Bottom Line Through Production Training.”

The biggest challenge in reducing slippage is getting your whole team involved in the effort. Tim says slippage is too often brushed off with “It is what it is.” That’s where the change in mindset comes in — the attitude should be “It is what we make it.” Slippage is controllable, but it takes a company-wide awareness and work to corral it through realistic and accurate estimating, job scheduling, and building in time to de-bug a job before it starts. He talks about the ways to reduce slippage in your processes, including:

Finding the slippage
The perfect planning process
Building in time, and how much
Developing a critical eye, not a critical attitude
Why realistic estimating geared to your team is key
Why you need long-term, short-range, and daily planning
Killing schedule creep for better net profit
Building extra time into the schedule
Figuring out days-per-job overhead
Controlling the client
Doing change orders properly
And more …

Cutting slippage is possible — and will make a big difference in the health of your business.

Remodelers Advantage