Month: September 2016

E555: Your Personal Vision

September 30, 2016 TonyB Improvement 0 Comments

Your vision guides your life journey to the proper destination.

 

  1. Who do you want to become?
    1. What is your vision
      1. Think about what a day in your life would look like
    2. What will people say at your funeral?
    3. Look at all four legs, work, family, community, and self
  2. Create a clear vision of you
    1. Look at who you want to be in 5, 10, 15 years
      1. To express your vision try to write a daily journal passage from the future you
    2. Remember we overestimate what we can accomplish in 1 year and underestimate what we can do in ten years
    3. Create a vision board
      1. Add what / why / key characteristics
  3. Start living like you are already there
    1. To become what you want, you have to be that person
    2. Not fake it til you make – do things like you are already there
    3. It’s all about your mindset

E554: Create Efficiencies

September 29, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, General Business 0 Comments

Create efficiencies to help control your overhead.

 

  1. Managing the General & Adminstrative side of the business
    1. Controlling overhead costs
    2. Building your culture
    3. Controlling the flow of information
  2. Create efficiencies first
    1. Look at processes and make improvements
    2. Build great communication tools
    3. Establish a system for sharing information
  3. Develop a mindset of constant improvement
    1. Build a culture of improvement
    2. Engage your teams in the process
    3. Think CANI (Constant And Neverending Improvement)

E553: Protect Your Profits

September 28, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Project Management 0 Comments

Businesses exist to make a profit, be sure to protect yours.

 

  1. Profit is not a dirty word
    1. It keeps businesses in business
    2. It supports the economy
    3. It supports charity
  2. Don’t be afraid to stand up for your profits
    1. Don’t let clients push you around
    2. Stand up for change orders
      1. No “catch you later”
    3. We can help the client save money but not by giving up profits
  3. 5-key things to protect your profits
    1. A good estimate
    2. Accurate budgets
    3. Proper schedule
    4. Good contracts, purchase orders and subcontracts
    5. Monitor and manage

E552: Chase The Right Work

September 27, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Estimating, Marketing, Sales 0 Comments

Landing the wrong project can destroy a good business.

 

  1. Not all work is equal
    1. Different project types, sizes, locations, etc.
    2. Different Owners, clients, managers, financing, etc.
    3. Different requirements placed on the contractors
  2. Determine what is best for you
    1. Start with your vision – what types of projects support it
    2. How do you want your business to run
    3. What are the skill sets you have now and in the future
  3. Use the Go / No-Go process
    1. Create your ideal project and create a score
    2. Score each potential project should be scored and compared to the ideal
    3. Use this scoring to determine which projects / clients you should chase
    4. Don’t be afraid to walk away

E551: Ask Coach – What Should I Do First

September 26, 2016 TonyB Ask The Coach, Coachcasts 0 Comments

To make proper changes we must know what we want to accomplish.

 

Q: I have been listening to all the content and want to implement the change in my business. Where should I start?

A: First, you need to have a good understanding of what you want to create.

 

  1. We have to have a target
    1. What do you want to do?
    2. Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years?
    3. What is important to you?
  2. Understanding what you really want
    1. Get out a sheet of paper and start writing notes
    2. What do you want from your business or career
    3. What do you want to become
      1. The best contractor in your town? The fastest contractor?
    4. What markets excite you?
    5. Write these things down and include the reason why
  3. Create your vision – 5-year and 10-year
    1. Write a narrative of what your company or career would look like
    2. Think of what your website would look like
      1. Who are your customers, employees
      2. What projects have you done, how large is your business
      3. What is your claim to fame
    3. Once you understand where you want to get, where to start becomes a lot clearer

E550: Be A Seeker Of The Good

September 23, 2016 TonyB Improvement 0 Comments

How you see people or events is up to you, focus on the positives.

 

  1. Build a mindset that seeks out the good
    1. Typical reactions/thoughts are Good or Bad – our bias is towards the negative
    2. This creates paths in our brains – neural pathways
    3. If your pathways lead to bad you will see the bad in everything
  2. Change the path
    1. Don’t leave the paths to chance
    2. Breakdown the roadblocks that close off the good
    3. Build the proper pathways
  3. Seek out the good in everything and everyone
    1. Who would you rather be around?
      1. A person that always see the doom and gloom
      2. A person that can see the positive and bring out the best of the situation
    2. Learn to be a better observer and start to seek the good
    3. Build a bias towards positivity

E549: Leading By Example

September 22, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, General Business 0 Comments

To build an Elite organization you need to be a leader, not a manager.

 

  1. Leadership builds elite teams
    1. Managers get work done
    2. Managers keep things organized
    3. Leaders develop teams that can accomplish great things
  2. Be a leader, not a manager
    1. Often people get promoted to management and think “no more late nights”
      1. Leaders burn the midnight oil along with the team
    2. Managers tell people what to do, how to do it, and when to get it done
      1. Leaders go further and explain why each thing is it important
    3. Great leaders build confidence in their teams
  3. Start leading by example
    1. People are going to do about 80% to 90% of what you do
      1. Set the right example
    2. Be the first one to arrive and the last one to leave (a majority of the time)
    3. Be willing to roll your sleeves up and help out

E548: Realistic Schedule Logic

September 21, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Project Management 0 Comments

Create schedules that are used as tools, not as placemats.

 

  1. An effective schedule must be realistic
    1. There is a lot that goes into a realistic schedule
    2. Too much for a single Coachcast – today we are focusing on the logic
    3. The logic is the sequencing and the coordination portion of the schedule
  2. When creating your schedule be sure to check the logic
    1. The obvious – this is what we typically build the schedule on
      1. The underground pipe before the pavement
    2. We need to go beyond the obvious and take a closer look
    3. The not so obvious
      1. Installing metal studs to bottom of a slab on deck before the concrete is poured
    4. Manpower loading and space restrictions
      1. Scheduling the framers, electricians, plumbers and others all in the same room at the same time
    5. Trade interaction
      1. Scheduling dry-fall ceiling painting the same time as framing below
  3. Create your base schedule then check and adjust
    1. Look at it like an assembly line
      1. Put the tires on the rim before mounting to the car
    2. The difference is the product doesn’t move, the trades do
    3. Work through each step testing the logic

E547: Move Towards Best Value Sales

September 20, 2016 TonyB Coachcasts, Marketing, Sales 0 Comments

Shift your focus to clients that care more about value than price.

 

  1. The low price market is a tough racket
    1. Unless you are set up for it move away
    2. Find a better market – look for best value clients
    3. Best value clients select the contractor based on more than price alone
      1. They look at qualifications, experience, services, reputation, etc.
  2. Change your sales approach
    1. Must contractors use an inbound marketing system
      1. Put listing in directories and wait for calls
    2. Shift to more outbound marketing
      1. Outbound marketing is about strategic efforts to sell your brand
      2. Reaching out to your targeted customers
    3. Market your message and educate your clients
      1. Tell them why they should choose you
  3. Qualify your leads
    1. Interview all your potential clients to determine what matters to them
      1. If they don’t fit you then tell them
    2. Profile your potential market and target them
    3. Continuously refine the process to get better leads

E546: Ask Coach – When To Push Back

September 19, 2016 TonyB Ask The Coach, Coachcasts 0 Comments

Don’t confuse a pesky client with good customer service.

 

Q: I have a good customer that I do work for but they are always asking me to do additional work for free. When should I push back?

A: From the beginning.

 

  1. We all get asked from time to time
    1. Can you do this for me? Can you add this for free?
    2. Can you get done early?
    3. It can be hard to say no to our customers – be Elite not a push over
  2. Be sure your lines are clear
    1. What are you willing to do for your good customers?
    2. How much, how far, how long?
    3. Know this upfront and it’s easy to say “our policy is”
  3. Establish boundaries the first chance you get
    1. Stand your ground when you are asked – don’t just give in
    2. Make it clear what you will and won’t do
      1. Follow your guidelines and policy
    3. If they don’t understand they may not be that great of a client after all

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