When customers call with an emergency — especially after business hours — you need a system to determine if it truly is an urgent situation. If it is, how do you determine what technician to send? An option to control after-hours chaos is to give that privilege to service agreement program members.

In most encounters, the first impression is important. Contractors want to ensure that any team member communicating with clients is perceived as professional and knowledgeable. Richard DiToma discusses how this can be accomplished before and after arriving at the job site.

Consumers want value for their dollar. Contractors who are intelligent business people strive to deliver performance excellence. This is due, in part, to the correct calculation of costs, the application of a proper profit margin and the development of the correct selling price.

As we’ve dealt, or not dealt, with high inflation in the last few years, it is imperative to note that rising business expenses will need to result in higher pricing in order to make a profit.

Giving your customers a simple questionnaire about your company’s prices and services will provide you with valuable insight into challenges you need to fix and the qualities they appreciate the most.

Building your business around the principles of honesty, integrity and prudence will bring you more success than deception and greed. 

As older technicians continue to leave the industry, ensuring that new technicians know how to treat customers honestly and fairly is vital. Business owners must recognize and compensate outstanding techs so they stick around and influence apprentices and new techs, creating a circle of knowledge that will only benefit you and your company. 

Certain situations negatively affect the contracting business arena; some are facts, while others are figments of the imagination.

If a contractor finds his profits decreasing, it may be time to examine task pricing and how many revenue-producing hours your technicians bring in.