PowerTips Unscripted Remodelers Advantage

Our Roundtables members share their financial metrics at every meeting, in what we call the composite report. But there’s one field that’s almost always reported as zero.

It’s the proactive outbound sales call metric. It’s confusing to many, not just as a field on a spreadsheet, but as an activity.

Abe Degnan says this metric is valuable to all remodeling companies, and making those calls builds his own company’s sales pipeline.

In this episode, Abe joins Victoria and Mark to explain the proactive outbound sales call, how to track it, and what it can do for your company. 

Abe is president, problem-solver and life changer at Degnan Design Build Remodel in DeForest, WI. He also manages day-to-day business operations — and as a long-time Roundtables member, Abe knows how important it is to measure what is managed.

This statistic isn’t just for replacement companies with a call center, says Abe. A proactive outbound sales call also doesn’t have to be a phone call. It occurs any time you follow up on your sales process in a way that is outside of your established sales routine or is something your client isn’t expecting you to do. Abe talks about what those follow ups can be, and how to track them, including:



* Why sales needs to do it, not marketing

* Sending handwritten note cards

* Calling on cold leads

* Contacting a lead that fell off your radar

* Networking for leads

* The number of activities you should do

* The ROI on the effort

* Who you should reach out to

* Including it in your marketing plan

* How long it can take to convert

* And more …



Making proactive outside sales activities a part of your business can get, and while it’s a marketing activity, it has to be carried out by the sales staff to be effective.

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, a Member of the Remodeler Hall of Fame, and the recent recipient of the Harold Hammerman “Spirit of Education” Award. 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 …

Today on Power Tips Unscripted, Arlin Sorensen, the CEO of Oak Road Consulting joins the show. Understanding the art of creating value within your business is pivotal, especially in the context of planning your exit strategy. It’s all about setting clear goals for your personal wealth and translating that into a business value target that can drive your success. Arlin is here to share invaluable insights on how you can craft a robust value-creation strategy and harmonize it with your long-term financial goals.

Arlin Sorenson is a simple Iowa farm boy who fell in love with technology and has spent the past 40 years in the IT industry. His passion is helping business owners and leaders achieve their definitions of success.

Arlin, Victoria, and Mark talk more about:



* How to create a value-creation strategy

* Legacy/succession planning

* What things can derail value?

* And more…

We talk about the J Curve a lot around here — picture a lower-case J. When you apply change principles to your business — new people, systems, and processes — they can initially send your business on a downward trajectory before soaring with your success. If you want to grow your company, listen carefully!

Our guest today breaks this process down into four stages of development:



* Forming: The getting to know you stage

* Storming: When conflicts arise (the bottom of the J)

* Norming: Common goals are defined, an agreement is reached

* Performing: Working toward a common goal and looking forward



In this episode, Kathy O’Brien talks to Victoria and Mark about how to manage your growth strategies and the importance of being a strong leader in challenging times.

Kathy was the founding CEO of the St. Louis Alzheimer’s Association for over 25 years and then served as Senior Vice President of the National Office in Chicago. She received numerous awards and recognition for her work. 

Kathy says those four stages of development apply to making positive growth in professional development, organizational development, and personal development. You go through the stages in every business relationship, personal relationship, and client relationship. She breaks down the stages, and how they present themselves in the remodeling business, including:



* How it plays out with employees

* Why it’s a continuous process

* Getting through the storming stage successfully

* How one person can cause a storm

* Why leadership and core values are important through all the stages

* Making it okay to disagree, and fostering honest dialog

* What to do when you’re still sinking

* And more …

Is your company struggling to attract top-tier employees? Joining us today on PowerTips Unscripted is Erin Longmoon, the founder of Zephyr Connect. Erin will share some valuable insights into how to hire people who align with your company’s culture. She will discuss the strategies and tactics that have played a pivotal role in Zephyr’s 98% placement rate for their Residential Remodeling clients.

Erin Longmoon is the founder of Zephyr Connects. After a number of years as an Interior Designer, then turned business coach, Erin designed Zephyr Connects to solve the grueling hiring challenges of the Residential Remodeling industry. Zephyr is also an RA Preferred Member Benefit Partner.

Erin, Victoria, and Mark talk more about:



* Why hiring for culture fit so important?

* Can we really hire carpenters and laborers for culture fit?

* Interview tips

* And more…

In this episode, Paul Kowalski shares his experiences in applying LEAN in his business with Victoria and Mark. His company recently implemented the process, and he says the results have already been eye-opening.

Paul owns PK Builders in Charlotte, NC, and is a member of our Remodelers Advantage Roundtables group. PK Builders has a team of eight, including Paul, with four project Managers, an estimator, and a draftsman.

When PK Builders was experiencing growing pains in 2018 — bottlenecks in the design-build process, some cash-flow issues, higher overhead — Paul called in Doug Howard for help. Paul says it was intimidating at first, but soon becomes second nature to look for ways to speed up processes. It started with 16 feet of paper festooned with sticky notes detailing steps in the design process. Hear how they implemented LEAN, including:



* Explaining it to your staff

* Sharing in chunks

* Finding the hiccups

* Why the people closest to the work have the best feedback

* Getting over the intimidation factor

* Timelines and swim lanes

* Not including time for revisions

* Building in collaboration upfront

* Unintended consequences

* And more …