Contractor Marketing Blog

I officially launched my career in the field service industry when I was contracted to select and implement a service management solution for an extremely busy regional plumbing and HVAC company in Boston.  The company moved at the speed of light.  There were over 35 trucks that were each dispatched to 4-6 service calls every day throughout New England.  Phones would ring off the hook, technicians would call in to report their status and obtain credit card information to purchase parts and since it was a family owned business there was someone always yelling at somebody. Sound familiar?  It was an extremely reactive environment and there were several business challenges that a service management solution would be able to solve including:

It’s summertime and for many field service businesses it is the busiest time of year, especially for break fix organizations like air conditioning contractors. Service calls are pouring in and revenues are at a season high.  It’s easy during the peak season to lose focus on efficiencies since cash flow is good this time of year.  Here are 4 tips to keep your dispatch and scheduling process efficient during your peak seasonality: 

Many service companies operate with multiple vehicles or a “fleet” to travel and get jobs done at different locations. This inevitably leads to a hefty fuel bill to account for jobs and travel throughout the workday. Here are some ways to minimize the gas bill when dealing with “fleets.”

The other day I had a plumber over my house because my pipes froze. Yea I know- pretty rookie mistake. When I showed him the spot where the water came into the house he took out his phone and used a flashlight app to see up into the crawl space. He then used his iPhone to take a picture and take notes of what he saw. I asked him how he liked his phone and he said “I can’t live without it now.”  I was intrigued to look for some more awesome iPhone apps for the service industry:

Are you doing everything you can do to accelerate your sales pipeline and close more deals?    Let’s say your company installs AC units. Everyday your technicians leave behind 5 quotes for new systems.  At the end of the week your technicians have quoted 25 new AC units and have closed 5.  Not bad - a 20% close is respectable.  Assuming each install is worth $5000 you now have 20 active opportunities with a pipeline valued at $100k. And this accumulates week after week.  Here are 3 ways you can rehash and close more open estimates with the use of PURL:

Your database should be treated as one of your most prized positions. When evaluating your company’s assest you should most certainly  add in a line item for your company database. Most service companies have years or even decades worth of numbers and addresses from clients and the dollar value of the database could be worth much more than you think.

I've been on all sides of the table when it comes to small business software.  From sales, management, implementation and recently a negotiator for a few clients in the past couple of months and what I have found is that most software salespeople are horrible at identifying business challenges and offering a clearcut, easy solution to end a business owner's pain.  

Yesterday I was at dinner with a friend of mine and his girlfriend. We were sitting down and his girlfriend's phone started to ring. Four hours prior she had put up an ad on servicemagic.com for a painter to paint their kitchen and dining room in their new house. When she spoke to the representative about the ad she said "just to warn you, you will be getting call right away and often". My friend's girlfriend said ok, not knowing what was in store for her.

As a small business owner, there's no doubt that the explosion in gas prices has taken a huge toll on your bottom line. How can you keep your fuel costs from destroying the company you've spent time and money to build?
Of course, the best way to save gas is to keep your company vehicles parked instead of on the road. However, this isn't a viable option for most companies that rely on their trucks and equipment to service their customers.

Have you ever stopped to think about how much more efficient your company can be just by implementing a service management system? It can. How, you ask? Well, let's go over a few of the reasons why a service management will help your company grow and prosper.