Month: February 2016

E401: Ask Coach – Is Your Estimated Productivity Right?

February 29, 2016 TonyB Ask The Coach, Coachcasts 0 Comments

Manage your projects closely yo make sure production matches your estimate.

 

  1. Establish benchmarks
    1. Look at estimating guides (just for a start)
    2. Compare to your experience and actual production
    3. Use your gut
  2. Make adjustments
    1. Job specific adjustments
    2. Seasonal effects on production
    3. The effects of your personnel
    4. Use historical feedback
  3. Tracking, monitoring and adjusting
    1. It could be said that your estimate is right if you got the job
      1. Now it’s time to hit the numbers
    2. Develop tracking systems for key metrics to make sure you hit the numbers
    3. Make adjustments to productivity and cost
      1. The bottom line is to finish the project at or below estimated cost

E400: Focus On What You Can Do Now

February 26, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Improvement 0 Comments

Clear the clutter from your mind and focus on what you can do now.

 

  1. We all have those times
    1. We worry too much about something
    2. We get too mad and hold a grudge too long
    3. Our mind becomes consumed with the past or future
  2. When you do – think about the now
    1. Sure, vent / blow-off steam / cry  / grieve / etc. – let it out but get back to now
    2. What can you change in this moment
    3. What action can you take right now
  3. Focus on the here and now
    1. When those emotions come in, fell them and know these are a signal
    2. What changes can you make now that will correct in the future
    3. How do you put this behind you and move on

E399: Work In Progress Schedule

February 25, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, General Business 0 Comments

A proper work in progress schedule can give you a glimpse of the future.

 

  1. What is a Work In Progress (WIP) schedule
    1. A tracking of current projects
    2. A snapshot of current project health
    3. A summary of job costing and progress efforts
  2. What does it do for us?
    1. Let’s us get  a quick glance of all our projects
    2. Compare % complete by cost to % complete by billings
      1. This allows us to identify problems early before they grow out of control
    3. Show a prediction of future gross earnings
      1. Shows us the remaining work along with remaining costs to complete and our expected future earnings
      2. Giving us a heads up that we may be running into a shortage on revenue
  3. Setting up a WIP schedule
    1. See the template in the Resources tab for use
    2. It’s a spreadsheet that tracks key items of the project
    3. This should be updated on a regular basis that best suits your projects

E398: The Importance Of Job Costing

February 24, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Project Management 0 Comments

Proper job costing can help you correct problems before it’s too late.

 

  1. Know your numbers
    1. How do you know what it cost without job costing
    2. How can you track your progress
    3. How do you look back and know what happened
  2. Adjust your estimating
    1. Without job costing.\, you don’t know if you are using the right estimating numbers
    2. You may be losing work or losing money or worse – both
    3. You need to build good cost breakdowns
  3. Make adjustments
    1. Job costing will allow you to see problems while they are still correctable
    2. You can make adjustments and avoid loses
    3. Try different alternatives to improve

E397: Marketing With Educational Demonstrations

February 23, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Marketing 0 Comments

Build brand awareness and trust with training and educational programs.

 

  1. Marketing is about
    1. Building awareness
    2. Building trust
    3. Being the preferred provider
  2. Teaching is a great tool to accomplish this
    1. Share knowledge that others can use
    2. It builds awareness and trust
    3. Encourages reciprocity
  3. It’s an easy low budget marketing tool
    1. You do have knowledge to share
      1. Think about the questions people ask you because they know you are a contractor
      2. Create a program that answers those questions
    2. Volunteer to give presentations / demonstrations / speeches
      1. Look to Home Shows / Chambers of Commerce / Business Groups
    3. Don’t let fear hold you back
      1. It’s okay to not be perfect – your human just like them
      2. Just start and you will get better
      3. Get help if you need it

E396: Ask Coach – Is Your Estimate Right?

February 22, 2016 TonyB Ask The Coach, Coachcasts 0 Comments

Not making enough money on your projects? Is your estimate right?

 

Q: When I look at my financials I am not making the money I should be. How do I know if my estimate is wrong or something else is wrong?

A: There can be many things that cause us to lose profitability. The 3 key areas to look at first are productivity, overhead and market conditions.

In today’s Coachcast I am making the assumption that the overall estimating practice is sound and done based on crew production, not a plug and play unit price number.

 

  1. Productivity
    1. Your estimate should be based on productivity – that is a crew should complete so many units per hour
    2. Track your projects to determine if you are getting the same or better production then you bid
    3. Be careful of using best case productivity for your estimates
    4. If you are not getting the productivity then find out why and if you can correct it
  2. Overhead
    1. Are you making money on the projects only to lose money in the business?
    2. Make sure you have accurate overhead mark-ups
    3. Can you lower overhead, cna you increase mark-ups and still win
  3. Market Conditions
    1. Is your pricing being controlled by market conditions – you wouldn’t win if you raised your price
    2. Make sure that is the truth – many people say that then find out they actually win more with higher pricing
    3. If you cannot raise your prices then you have two choices
      1. Lower costs by increasing productivity and cutting expenses
      2. Find a new market

E395: Make Time For Some Adventure

February 19, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Improvement 0 Comments

Don’t let the grind wear you down, recharge with a little adventure.

 

  1. Many of us are Type A people that are very engaged
    1. We work hard every day – involved 24/7
    2. The homefront is hectic and non-stop so it seems
    3. Life, in general, can become a rat race
      1. It’s easy to get caught up in the grind and not enjoy the journey
  2. The saying from The Shinning sums if up well – “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
    1. The Dull in this statement can be looked at in several ways
    2. Personality – if all we do is work we become dull to those around us
    3. Physical – if we don’t recharge we get worn down which leads to more dull behavior like sitting on the couch watching TV
    4. Mental – the routine can cause your mind to get numb
  3. Break the monotony
    1. Add some adventure to your life on a regualr basis
    2. It’s the journey we live and work for
    3. Start with little adventures
      1. Eat somewhere new
      2. Go to a museum, paly a different park
    4. Include some bigger adventures
      1. Vacations
      2. Weekend getaways

There is always time for a little adventure.

E394: The Importance Of Happy Employees

February 18, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, General Business, Human Resources 0 Comments

“Look after your staff first and the rest will follow.” – Richard Branson

 

  1. We are in a service business – like it or not
    1. Customer service is a key to success
    2. Everyone is a sales rep
    3. People prefer working with happy people
    4. All of these are improved with happy employees
  2. Good morale boosts productivity
    1. Studies show happy people are more productive
    2. Happy people will go the extra mile
    3. Happy people will promote and grow your company
  3. Make your employees happy – it’s not that hard
    1. First thing – people need security – they need to know they can provide for themselves and families
    2. Second – employees like to know they can grow with your company
    3. Communication – be open with communication with your employees about the company and give thanks for their efforts
    4. Rally around a cause – people are happier when fighting for a good cause
      1. Build a culture where everyone is working towards a common goal against a common enemy
        1. The common enemy can be things like errors, unhappy clients, poor treatment

E393: Effective Project Coordination Meetings

February 17, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Project Management 0 Comments

Get good results from project coordination meetings with a solid plan.

 

  1. Regularly scheduled meetings with the subs and trade leads are important to a projects success
    1. A time to discuss schedule
    2. Coordination issues and concerns
    3. Project updates
      1. Changes / issues / RFIs / Other items
  2. The formal meeting
    1. Schedule a regular meeting every week or every other week
    2. Create an agenda
      1. Make it detailed so you can spend less time in the meeting
    3. Stick to topics and discussion that involve at least 2/3rds of the attendees
  3. Get the real work done in morning meetings
    1. Conduct daily quick gathering of sub / trade leads
    2. Discuss safety concerns
    3. The day’s work plans

E392: Selling By Listening And Educating

February 16, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Marketing, Sales 0 Comments

Keep the sales and marketing efforts engage throughout the sales cycle.

 

  1. It’s not enough to just get the opportunity to bid on a project – keep selling
    1. Don’t just rely on your pricing to get you the job
    2. Keep selling and marketing throughout the process – (but not the hard sell)
    3. Learn what make your customer tick – educate them
  2. Most contractors know to educate clients on the basics
    1. The history and experience of your company
    2. Types of materials and construction recommendations
    3. Payment terms and other contract issues
  3. Take it up a notch – 10X it
    1. First thing you should do is ask your customer about what is important to them
      1. Everyone else will be selling their companies – you will be showing your concern
    2. Ask how you can help – besides just the construction part – how can you make their life easier
    3. Educate them on the whole process
      1. Provide them with tips on how to choose the right contractor
      2. How to make sure they are getting what they want
      3. What’s in the contract and what’s required of them
      4. How you handle things like changes, lien releases, etc.
      5. Last…why choose you

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