Will it be that accidental drive-by when you see your competition at the same house you used to service? Will your heart sink to your stomach, like the time that two-year relationship ended unexpectedly. "What happened?" "What did I do wrong to deserve this." “I thought we had something special”. Is this what you look like when you lose a customer??  If not, it should ...

These customer-satisfaction laws will keep you ahead of your competition. 1. Treat the customers you have as though they're prospects. Basically saying that you haven’t got the job yet, even if you’re a return customer. Treat each job as it is your first job.   2. View customers as partners-members of your team. Customers are your partners. If you didn’t have this partner, ...

I had a pet peeve with my employees and the company trucks they drove. Keep them washed, keep the truck stocked and organized and not one paper is to sit on the dash inside the truck and they were to have their truck fueled up before you end the day. That is all I asked. I believe that was the bare bones basics. My company trucks represented how I do business. If I showed up with bald ...

This "Cheap" plumber used all the spare pieces of pipe he had to save the customer money.  Why do people call your business? Are you “cheaper” than everyone else? Are you the “cheapest” contractor in town? First of all, you need to remove the work “Cheap” from your vocabulary! What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear cheap? "It’s better to buy 1 good pair of shoes ...

  Probably the most difficult thing to manage is owning your own 24 hour service company. If you’re an employee it’s even worse. God bless the Flood damage and restoration business employees. And the first thing that comes to mind especially with a 24 hour emergency service company are the horrible hours. You just got done with your day and it’s your week to have the pager or you ...

  “Hi, can you tell me how much it will cost to install a 40 gallon water heater?”     How many calls a day do you get that ask these questions! I can only hope that you are not giving your customer a price over the phone. There are so many reasons as to why you don’t give out prices over the phone. Here are just a few reasons: Your competition is the one calling so they ...

  Have you ever considered going flat rate with your company? (Also known as Menu Pricing, Upfront Pricing or Value Rate Pricing.) I have talked with many service companies who are still stuck on T&M (time and material) pricing. They have called flat rate pricing the “book of lies” and the most common reply back is “My customers can’t afford flat rate prices” and “You rip people ...

I will never forget a business professional telling me about the law of thirds. And really, this can apply to anything. Great, good and bad.   The law of Thirds. As a contractor the hardest thing I had to deal with was walking away from jobs that I didn’t get that were bid by multiple contractors. The frustration that goes into getting prices, calling the supply house, waiting for ...

If your company provides a service, meaning, you provide a service to residential customers and receive payment upon the completion of that job, than this application is exactly what you need.   Service industries that LPSolutions cater to are: Service Plumbers, Electricians, HVAC, Handyman, Flood damage restoration, carpet/floor cleaners, pest control, Appliance Repair, home alarm ...

Creating your own price book specifically for your own company can be tedious, but will pay off with high dividends in the end. Let's keep in mind, this price book is what sells your company. In the old days of the 1980’s and beyond, can you remember when people charged time and material for a job? We look back at that now and think, what a time that was! If I didn’t feel good that day, I ...

      Every service company wants that perfect employee. The employee who can ethically sell a ketchup popsicle to a person wearing white gloves. This employee can also do everything under the sun, drug free, smells good, good looking, can diagnose problems better than you, who won’t leave the customer hanging and will be best friends with them by the end of the day. If you have ...

As a contractor, what does “Diagnostic Fee”  say about a company. “It’s something we have to charge!”. Customers want us to come out and tell them what the problem is so they can either do it themselves or have someone else do it for less. “Well, I’m not going to be taken advantage of, so I’m going to charge a diagnostic fee!”  That will teach the customer to call me out for free advice! ...

As times changes and businesses learn new ways to operate, the position of “Secretary” or ‘Office Manager” can take on many different roles. As businesses grow, call centers are now the ones answering phones, eliminating the need for a personal secretary. Many things are also taken into consideration, like the size of your business. Maybe you just starting out and can’t afford someone to ...

As every employer hires new techs, “etiquette” is becoming more of a sales tool.  Your company must stand out as thestand-alone, local example and elite service company. After all, that is what your in business for, to get more business….right?  These are a few etiquette guidelines to go by for your techs.  There will be another “etiquette” segment on secretaries and office managers at a ...

Computing your true cost of labor per individual employee is one of the most profit-enhancing and cost-saving analyses you can make for your company. A labor-burden analysis will provide you with the decision-making information you need to make the most accurate job cost estimates and pricing decisions. It's one of the best tools you can use to help finish jobs on time and within ...

It’s a well-known fact that numerous contractors come up short in their small organizations due to their absence of life experience. There is great value in experience as it shows individuals how to do things, generally as education does, yet what experience improves is that it gives proprietors a genuine response that remains with them through their journey of owning a ...

    Do I want quantity or quality customers?           As the saying goes, “the customer is king.” It’s no secret that a business is nothing without its customers. While customer relationships are certainly important, every business owner comes to ask themselves, what’s more important, quantity or quality? Is it worth dealing with overly demanding customers? Is it worth handling very ...

One of the things that our service industry software does to increase profits is to help our clients increase the value of each call rather than only trying to increase the volume of calls they receive. Please don’t misunderstand, you need customers and you need calls. However, merely increasing the volume of calls is not as productive as increasing the value of each individual call. In ...

  Are you providing discounts to your customers? Discounts can be in the form of free service or product. Discounts aim to benefit both the customer and the business owner. For the customer, it is a direct incentive, while for the business owner it is a long-term investment in the existing and potential customers. How do you go about offering discounts to your customers? How are you ...

We live in a day and age where people love simplicity. People are tired of the multi-tiered, complicated processes that they have to go through in so many of their interactions. Because of this, companies are constantly trying to streamline processes and consumers are always looking for a simple solution to their basic problems. Because of these facts, many companies are turning to having a ...

If you’ve been charging hourly rates, using a price book may seem a bit foreign and even a little daunting. There’s no need to fear. With just a couple pointers, you can build a price book that will serve to increase profits time and time again. Find Your Break-Even Point Step number one is finding your “break-even point.” This is what’s required to pay all of your expenses in order to ...

  What is the first thing that comes to mind when you here the word “Mentor”? An old man in a wheel chair in an assisted living community or a successfully retired old person who is grumpy and can’t hear. Maybe you think of a mentor as a person you don’t need because you know more than they do, they’re old school and things have changed, things aren’t what they used to be? I’m ...

Why Service Company Need To Be Flat Rate If you are reading this and wondering, “Do companies still charge time and material?” The answer is surprisingly…YES! So, for those still charging time and material, this article is for you. Flat rate for service companies implies predetermined rates for the service to be provided by a company. Customers will prefer this type of pricing as ...

Technology is flawlessly integrated into everyday lives, as it is used to manage records, track contacts, make products and provide speedy internal and external communication venues. Conversely, technology can also be a source of lost profits Employees’ training to use tablets requires time Technology is constantly being improved, which requires continuous and costly upgrading. The ...

Are you selling a service agreement? A tech goes to a house for a service call. He shows the customer a higher price out of 2 different pricing options. By adding up both the value rate and standard rate pricing, if the customer purchases the service agreement, they will not only get the lower “value rate”, but everything that comes with purchasing the service agreement, which could be ...

  Pleasing your customers can be a good thing for your business. You might be doing the right job but how you treat your customers after the job matters a lot. You should make the customer feel like they want to see more of you. Your employees should be jovial and interesting yet professional while at work. A few hours of happy faces will earn you bonus points to a customer. You ...

  The service industry—specifically plumbing, HVAC, appliance repair and construction—is very competitive and requires special technical skills. Consequently, it suffers from high turnover rates. For contactors, the demand for work hinges on quite a few factors, so it should come as little surprise that the workers in this industry seem to drift in and out as the economic winds ...

  It’s a fact of life that not everyone is a salesman. This can make it very difficult for people who are deliver excellent quality, but find selling their services to be difficult. While not everyone is born to sell, a good price book can make sales easier to achieve and can also encourage upsells in a way that is easy and comfortable for most employees. This is due to the simple fact ...

Owning a business is hard work. At LPSolutions, we know your business isn’t just a hobby; it’s your lifeblood. That’s why we want to help you better manage your business and revenues by helping you streamline your pricing structure. We want to help you improve your management and increase your profits so you can focus on what you love: actually running your business. Do You Know Your ...

If you own a small business, it’s crucial to hire a bookkeeping service to keep your finances in order. A bookkeeper can keep track of essential financial obligations and review documents like profit and loss statements. A price book, such as the one offered by the LP Solution, can also help with bookkeeping. Listed below are the advantages of bookkeeping. 1. Never Pay a Bill ...

  A standout amongst the most important lessons that unprepared entrepreneurs learn after ruthlessly being consumed is the importance of knowing their numbers. Not knowing your company’s numbers is similar to driving from New York to California without a map. The fact is that numbers tell the real story of a business. In the event that you want to be successful at managing a ...

The first rule in the service industry is “the customer is always right.” In today’s current economy, the new normal is the customer wants to spend as little as possible to get the job done, or else they will go somewhere else As customer loyalty plummets and more competitors enter the service industry, businesses now have to fight harder to thrive. Following these simple rules can ...

As the saying goes, the customer is always right. Customers are obviously the most important aspect of any business, particularly for service companies. Service companies rely on repeat customers for repeat business such as installation projects, regular maintenance, and other work. However, as any business owner knows, not everything is butterflies and rainbows. No matter how ...

Every time a company tries to recreate an existing product instead of purchasing it from the provider, there’s an incurrence of time and expense involved. The same is true in building their own flat rate systems from scratch. It is far more beneficial and cost effective to save the time and expenses involved, and to purchase a flat rate pricing system that includes ongoing maintenance and ...

One of the benefits of a flat rate pricing systems is their ability to be modified to reflect changes in services, price, products and the information about each. They can be customized to each individual company so that there is no template involved. This allows greater ease in calculating prices and in distributing those prices in a uniform manner. This also allows the customer to feel ...

One of the ways that a price book helps businesses succeed is that it keeps honest people honest. Nobody wants to think that one of their employees would purposefully overcharge a customer, but even honest people can make mistakes when estimating costs and time involved. A price book helps to eliminate this, by removing a lot of the estimating that can sometimes accompany bids. A ...

Very few people would have to think very long or hard about which one they’d rather have from their customers, but few have set themselves up to be able to choose between the two. One of the biggest instigators of customer complaints involve the difference between perceived costs and actual costs. When a customer is unable to see a price listing or a sheet with available services and ...

Your employee can be an asset or liability for your company. Can you account for an employees contribution to the profit your business makes? Do your employees have the right training to diligently perform their work in sales and in their trade? Unproductive employees can result in wasted resources, which will be evident in the profit and loss statements Are you hiring a salesman or ...

  Employees provide a reliable asset to improve the performance of your company. The workforce is the largest investment and thus the most essential component for the success of your company (Sage white paper – ROEI). Any form of expense that is directly related to your employees should be treated as an investment. However, you can invest in your employees without spending a dime in ...

Pricing a job for the first time can be difficult and nerve-wracking. While it can sometimes be a tedious job for seasoned professionals, this is especially true for new and/or inexperienced employees. If you don’t have a written, standardized price book that details the cost of labor and job costs, an employee may underbid or overbid a job. When a job is underbid, it comes at a loss to ...

  As the saying goes, “it’s hard to find good help.” For any company, almost more important than the company itself are the pillars holding it up. For business big and small, there are few more vital positions than that of the secretary. Your secretary will not only serve as your personal organizer, but will also be one of the faces of your company. He or she will greet your clients, ...

One of the things our price book does is simplify the process of quoting prices for jobs and giving estimates on what the total may be. While it may be difficult for some business to give a standard price for goods and services, it is by no means impossible. The key is making sure you have a system to account for skills, time and materials required for each varying job in order to meet the ...

  A little competition can be a good thing. It can likewise be both costly and heartbreaking on the off chance that you aren’t adequate with others in your specific business or industry. How you handle rivalry can be an immediate connection to the achievement or the disappointment of your organization. You can, nonetheless, altogether expand your shots of ending up a winner by making a ...

Pricing Strategy Establishing the right pricing strategy for a business’s products and services is a critical element in whether a company thrives or dies, but many businesses set prices without really understanding their costs, their competition, their customers’ needs and the economic climate. Setting the price too high drives customers away, while setting it too low may attract ...

  The profit of a company depends on the facilities provided by the employer to the employees. Profitable businesses want happy employees. Hard evidence shows that well facilitated employees provide better performance and higher profits. According to the Dr. Nelson, a clinical psychologist, when employees realize the company is taking interest in their benefits, they work harder with ...

Master Mind Groups Part 2 Should there be a membership fee? 7 things to take into consideration before starting a mastermind group. It takes committed time to facilitate a quality mastermind group. Depending on where you will be having the meeting may cost money. Will there be a cost for food? Alternatively, should you charge the members a monthly fee that will cover food and ...

What Is A Mastermind Group? Part 1. There is committed accountability and excitement that participants bring to a Mastermind Group. The awesomeness of Mastermind Groups is that members raise the bar by challenging each other to generate and implement goals, share breakthrough ideas, think outside of the box and support each other with decency, reverence and consideration. Mastermind ...