It Started Wars

There may be some of you who remember, as I do, that there was a time during the 1950’s thru the 1980’s that wars were literally started to prevent the spread of communism throughout the world.  Although we are far removed from the era of “the communists are coming” I see a lot of what defines communism in the mediocre performers in many service businesses in our country.

At the heart of communism is that nobody should have something more outstanding or better than the average person.  Whatever one person gets, so should everyone.

That brings me to a question I must ask all of you in the service contracting industry. Are you aware of the spread of communism that may be spreading throughout your company starting with your mediocre performers?

Choices Not Upselling

All right, I know you are fed up with your poor performers – but calling them communists? Isn’t that taking things a bit too far? Not really – considering how far off the mark poor performers are with the way that most people in this country prefer to buy things. Service technicians and sales people in the service contracting industry have by-and-large decided that clients should only get the minimum of what they are asking them for.  To provide more than what a client wants is considered “upselling” clients.  I think that word is deplorable and should be stricken from a service person’s vocabulary.  What I am talking about is offering choices, not upselling.

In communist regimes the removal of choice for the people is paramount to maintaining control over the masses. Also every communist empire ever built is famous for restricting information so that the people do not get envious or restless about desiring the things that the “free” country’s of the world have.

Being “Off Code”

Poor performers are not “on code” with the average American when they choose to restrict information with their clients.  What are they afraid of? That the buyer may want more if we show it to them? What would happen if they were free to choose from a more permanent solution with more warranty and service and also from options that were very minimal?  It would be an interesting science experiment to say the least.

In the days of the iron curtain in communist Russia, people would stand in line for hours for a loaf of bread. In those days, there was no choice. Only one kind of bread was given to everyone. Well, okay, they had two choices. They could take it or leave it. Fair enough? So why as a service professional would you offer only one solution to your customer?

Give Me Freedom Or Give Me…

Our country was built on freedom. To give anyone who lives in the United States of America only one choice restricts people and makes them feel as if something isn’t right. In essence, your customer feels “not free.”

Give your customer the most premium option first and that has the most complete renovation you could perform along with the most service and warranty that could be included.  I know this solution a higher investment, but why not let them see what the good life is really like?  Then, show them the options in the middle that have less warranty, less service and don’t include as complete of a renovation. Finally, show them the least that you can do by giving them the choice for the minimum of what we were asked for.  I have done this for years and so have over 3,000 of my students and the thing we have all found is one simple truth.  People love choices.

Don’t stand in the way of the freedoms that we in this country have paid dearly for and continue to pay.  Sell like a patriot and give your customer ALL the available choices.  After all, it’s the American thing to do.

Cut Through Hard Times

Although we try hard to not listen to the news we realize that the world around us as we know it is changing rapidly and for independent businesses in the contracting industry, mostly not for the better.  Many of you that started out as a family enterprise are now struggling with the many challenges that face us going into the new millennium.

This is especially true when it comes to our industry. It only takes a moment of listening to the news to hear about the difficult economy. People are working more hours for minimum wage and small businesses are devastated by the lost jobs and the demolition of the local economy.

There is no doubt that your job in the contracting business has become increasingly difficult regardless of how big or small you are.  However, these hurdles do not need to play havoc on your ability to survive or even thrive in this unstable environment.  While other industries are realigning their businesses, eliminating the perks that used to come standard with their product, and finding other ineffective ways to cut the fat in a difficult economy, you could be realigning your attitude and getting back to the basics.  Not the basics of business or cutting back, the basics of serving.

A Hard Look At Your Job

Take a hard look at what you do in your business.  You provide help, answers and solutions to your customers by offering them a product. Thus, the foundation of your success has been built on serving your customers with great care.  This is the problem with many in this industry. They offer “red carpet service” at “brown bag” prices or even give away their service as a loss leader.  In today’s environment, no business can sustain a loss or operate in the red in ANY part of the business.  This is especially true for the service part of the business where costs have skyrocketed but the pricing to the consumer has not.

That’s right, in this new environment we cannot afford to give away our most valuable asset our service. The cost of providing service has gone through the roof. Everything from labor, transportation, insurances, fuel and even communications are quickly eating into the profits of even the most traditionally stable companies all over the country. Service to our customer in this day and age cannot be done at a loss anymore.

Is your definition of service to deliver products or equipment? Is it helping your client through a problem with their heating system? Maybe your definition of service is helping your customers by selling them tomorrow’s service at today’s price. While the specifics of your service may differ, service is still the thing that set you apart from your competitor.

End The Pity Party

In tough times like these, it is far too easy to get off track and focus on the wrong things. You and your friends in the business can start to validate your struggles by holding a pity party about how bad things are going.  Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, approach the challenge that lies in front of you with a new found vigor. Move forward into this difficult new era by increasing the level of services that you currently offer you customer. Only this time design your new found sense of service by making it profitable. Service is not a loss leader at all if approached properly.  In fact it may replace your core business as being the most profitable of all the things you do.

Offer Your Best Service

Concentrate on being the absolute best by providing help, answers and solutions to your customers for the things they ask you for the most.  There may even be fewer buyers in certain areas of the country for your product because of the economic times. This may be true, but there will always be a need for service of the things that consume your product because your HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems do not read the newspapers. They just break down and deteriorate in due time.  If you can diversify and create a service business with your current client base, you will have a job for life.

You may wonder about the cost of integrating new services into your company during these unstable times. The truth is offering more of your services can create the revenue that will get you out of any difficult situation. It will provide the cash flow that you so sorely need when you traditionally slow down. Place your energy on creating more revenue through profitable service and you wouldn’t have to spend time trying to cut costs.

How Do You Start?

Start thinking positively about how your current clients that love and trust you could use your company for more services right now.  Use the unfair advantage that you in the contracting industry have over the normal run of the mill service contractor. What are these unfair advantages? Well if you look, they’re not hard to find…

1. Your Clients – You start your new service business with a built in loyal customer base.  It would be the dream of any service contractor to begin his business with a proven list of loyal customers to start up a new business.  Your current client list is an embarrassment of riches.  Many if you may think that your customer would expect extra services you may offer for little or no cost. The answer to that is a resounding NO! Your perception of value is only driven by your own thinking.

There are many in the contracting industry that now make a double digit net profit on the same service that their father used to do for free on everything from heating equipment to fork lifts!  What has created this change? It is the thinking of these business people that came to the realization that through the eyes of their customer, great service cost more money. Conversely they have discovered that a cheap price or free service has little or no value to the consumer.  Have faith in the ultimate law of commerce which still states, “You get what you pay for.”

2. Your Inventory Of Time - Your other services provide productive time when there is no service work. The down fall of typical service repair contractors is that they cannot keep busy year round and then they lose valuable employees between the busy seasons. In the contracting business there is much to offer beyond the normal demand service work. Your additional complimentary services like air or water quality, building performance and earth-friendly solutions can sustain service employees or techs by giving them productive work between repair calls. Your additional opportunities may be an answer to the dreams of a service tech who is tired of being laid off each year by a “normal” contractor.

Maximize Overhead

You already have overhead. Why not maximize the use of it? The facts are what they are. All the people and things that are overhead in your business can be put to better use and to be more productive. If you already answer the phone, why not make an outbound call to let clients know of additional services or solutions you have? If you have a computer program, why not go through the work history of clients to find older systems to offer an upgrade?  There are tons of ways to make your overhead generate more revenue if you just put your mind to it.

Get back to the basics that started your business dream to begin with your service to your customer.  Alright, go ahead and cut out the fat, and just get back to the core of your business if you must. But if you get to know your customer like you did when you first started you business, you will surely find out that they would actually prefer that YOU make their homes safer and more efficient.

Ask Your Clients

Don’t trust or believe me. Get to the heart of the matter with your customers. Talk to them one on one like you used to with the integrity and sincerity of a friend. Remember, those who contribute to society through their service will prosper in return. This is a law of nature. If you are helping others, then you will receive prosperity in return. It is a law of nature like gravity; if you do it will always happen.

Trust in this law. Help others by providing them with the service that is inside each and every one of you. Help them with a new sense of service. Do the kind of service that gives you a tingle down your spine after providing it.  The type of service that makes you beam with pride when you talk to or see a valued customer at the local market.

A Legacy Of Great Service

What will your legacy be? There are opportunities to provide and profit from service everywhere in your business. Whether or not you see them is completely up to you. Wasting your time complaining to others who are having a tough time will not get it done. While you complain, others are passing you up.

Our actions now when times are difficult, will push us to success when times are good. Only those who focus on their customer and then know and provide what their customer wants will make it through to see it. Leave your legacy for sure. Make it one of great service and you will always be remembered as one to look up to.

Does Your Life Ever Feel Like The Main Plot of a Movie?

In the 1989 film classic Field of Dreams, an Iowa farmer by the name of Ray Kinsella, hears a ghostly voice that whispers, “If you build it, he will come,” and sees a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield.  Although his wife is skeptical and his family thinks he’s a bit off-centered, he plows under his corn to build a baseball diamond, only to find himself on the verge of bankruptcy and having to sell the family farm.

We All Identify With Taking Chances

I suppose most of us reading this can identify with this movie.  We all hear that little voice inside of us at one time or another telling us to take a chance. Take a chance in starting a business or starting a family. Take a chance in purchasing our first home.  Take chances with our future.  And we do it because something deep down inside tells us we “have to.”

Ray could have decided not to build that baseball diamond.  He could have chosen to continue on the same path that he had been on for years growing corn, making a little money to support his family, just barely surviving.

Listen To That Little Voice

Instead he decided to listen to that little voice inside his head because he began to understand the meaning. It’s not about the overpaid ball players or fancy ball parks with trains and waterslides. It’s about the experience and connections that we tie to those memories of the game.

For anyone who has ever thrown a ball in their backyard with their dad the experience is what recalls the strong emotional connection.

Your memories of this year’s Service Super Summit should be as if you were out there playing a game of catch.  A place you will go to hear great speakers, learn new information, and make new connections with people you will hold dear throughout your life.

We Need Your Help

That is why we need your help.  Although we have a good group of people signed up to attend this event, we could still use more and are asking your help to bring those connections together.

If you know of anyone who could use help with their business or is good at helping others, please send them our way.  We would like them to attend so we can make this year’s event the one you remember.

This year’s Service Super Summit will focus not only improving your sales, marketing and profit, but also an emphasis on a “Turn-Key” approach that will sustain your success month-after-month.

Join us in Long Beach, CA, March 13-15, 2013 to learn how to…

• Automate Marketing To Work Every Time
• Convert Callers Into Buyers
• Recruit, Compensate & Manage Premium Technicians
• Create An In-House Performance Coach
• Rocket Your Sales
• Manage Rapid Growth
• And many more speakers and subjects that will inspire you and your employees to lay down the ground work to create a business that will achieve your vision.

Here is what you’ll get at the Service Super Summit 2013:

• Early check in and Social Meet and Greet on Wednesday evening
• Breakfast and Lunch on Thursday and Friday
• Access to video replays of all speakers after the event included
• MP3 downloads of all session included
• A 30-60-90 day action plan from each speaker
• Follow up access to all speakers included
• Investment to Attend $497 – Buy Tickets Now!
• Contractorselling.com Members – $397 Bonus Price Click Here

It is important to call and make reservations as early as you can. Ask for Julie or Colette to help with your arrangements 9 a.m.-5p.m. PST.

With warm regards,

Joe Crisara

Contractorselling.com

877-764-6304

Building Your Vision

Recently I watched the movie Under the Tuscan Sun, in which they tell one of my favorite stories. Here it is…

“Between Austria and Italy, there is a section of the Alps where it is an impossibly steep, very high part of the mountains.  They built a train track over these Alps to connect Vienna and Venice.  They built these tracks even before there was a train in existence that could make the trip.  They built it because they knew some day, the train would come.”

When I first heard this story, I thought it was part of Hollywood fiction. After a little “googling” and a lot of reading, I came to find out how this amazing achievement was accomplished.

A Labor Of Love

The Semmering Railway had been the genius of engineer Carl Ritter von Ghega who had started thinking about building the railway in 1842, before any train at that time could possibly traverse such a steep grade.  Twelve years, 14 tunnels, 16 viaducts and 20,000 workers later, the railway was complete, as well as a train that could make the grade five times steeper than any other.

You see, Ritter von Ghega didn’t spend his time wondering if the train would never be built, or if it would make money, or if customers would pay to travel from Vienna to Venice.  His passion and love for his work propelled him to act “as if” the train could climb the steep traverse even though it actually hadn’t been invented yet.

Winning Hearts & Minds

What he did know is that if he could win the hearts and minds of the people by providing an inspiring vision of what could be, while laying out the groundwork on how to complete this massive task, that the questions would be answered. And over 170 years later his vision is still achieved.

Do you have a vision of what you want your company to look like in the future?

Do your employees know where your “tracks” are leading them?

Do they have a job description, tools and the resources that they need to make your vision a reality?

Create “Turn-Key” Systems

This year’s Service Super Summit will focus not only improving your sales, marketing and profit, but also an emphasis on a “Turn-Key” approach that will sustain your success month-after-month.

Join us in Long Beach, CA, March 13-15, 2013 to learn how to…

• Automate Marketing To Work Every Time
• Convert Callers Into Buyers
• Recruit, Compensate & Manage Premium Technicians
• Create An In-House Performance Coach
• Rocket Your Sales
• Manage Rapid Growth
• And many more speakers and subjects that will inspire you and your employees to lay down the ground work to create a business that will achieve your vision.

Here is what you’ll get at the Service Super Summit 2013:

• Early check in and Social Meet and Greet on Wednesday evening
• Lunch on Thursday and Friday
• Access to video replays of all speakers after the event included
• MP3 downloads of all sessions included
• A 30-60-90 day action plan from each speaker
• Follow up access to all speakers included
• Investment to Attend $497 – Buy Tickets Now!
• Contractorselling.com Members – $397 Bonus Price Click Here

We are only able to accommodate 150 people at this event, so it is important to call and make reservations as early as you can. Ask for me, Julie 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. PST.

Awaiting your commands to make your vision come true for you!

With all my heart,

Julie Crisara
President, ContractorSelling.com
877-764-6304

This is a video of an interview with Rick Picard who is a $6 million dollar per year HVAC salesperson and his experience with learning how to sell big numbers with high conversion.

Rick will be hosting the Sales CSI: Who Killed the Sale webinar series starting on January 31st.  You are invited to attend this exciting event to help your team breakout this year.

Click Here To Attend

A Search For Truth

The following is an excerpt from article which features an interview the the good folks at Plumbinginfo.com did with me (America’s Sales Coach Joe Crisara) in the fall of 2012.  Author Sean Kavanaugh was researching sales systems for plumbers in attempt to help those struggling in this economy. He was searching for a true “customer focused” system that would benefit clients and contractors when he came across our material.

I invited Sean to audit the training and he actually attended the 6-day training program with 4 weeks of follow up coaching so he could see first hand how it worked in the field.  Sean called me back several times to convey how the results were beyond his expectations.

After seeing these results and how it increased his revenue and also how clients were pleased with the process, he requested this interview and I decided to post it here so those who have visited us but needed more info about our services could understand the motives and science behind our program.

TPI (The Plumbing Info) : Hello Joe, So you’ve been training sales professionals for quite some time, why did you want to make the transition from owning a service company to being a service coach?

Joe Crisara : My story begins the same as yours.  I never received the right training on how to persuade consumers to get the work done the right way.  I mean, I knew what they needed to do the job the right way, but was never able to convince them to purchase those solutions.  After being fortunate enough to have some impressive mentors kick me in the rear and show me where to find the information I needed to communicate value, I tried these techniques with actual clients and it actually worked!  After lots of experimentation and study, I was on my way to success.

I basically saw first hand how the right information changed my life from a day-to-day battle with anxiety and struggle and the eventual transition into a state of calmness, mind-like-water, financially building wealth, I knew I found my true calling.  I found the thing I knew I was meant to do in my life. That is to help service contractors that struggled like I did, discover the same material I did and help them live the life they always imagined. Free of debt, anxiety and fear.

TPI : I know that your sales training has evolved over the years. What is the single biggest change you’ve made from where you started to where you are now?

Joe Crisara : I think a lot of people are like me. They first seek this information out of financial desperation. Learning how to use the laws of persuasion will work short term if you implement it for your own self-interest.  However, to make this system work long term, you must have a “Pure Motive.”  You have to make sure you are using these powerful laws to help clients first.  In turn, you will also benefit financially as well.  So everything we do now (and in the past) is customer focused.  Every segment of our program is great for your clients first.  In the end when your clients purchase a higher quality of workmanship, warranties and products, you succeed beyond your wildest imagination as a result.

TPI : Everyone in our industry talks “U.S. economy” why do you think your sales system can help overcome a service company’s economic woes. Or at least minimize it’s effects?

Joe Crisara :  A good economy is a great service company’s worst enemy.  Client’s call us and place orders without any effort. This makes even the best service contractors lazy.  One of most successful clients, Rick Picard from Coventry, Rhode Island who is a $6 million dollar sales person says, “I refuse to participate in a bad economy.”

I really feel that the job situation and the economy will NOT improve because of government intervention or the geographic area you live in.  When people and businesses get desperate enough to learn the skill of creating value and persuading others that they are the right solution, then they will find the jobs and projects that will turn our economy around. I believe anything else, will be a band-aid on our economy.  I really feel that there is nothing more important in the world than what we do here at ContractorSelling.com.

It is the center of the service universe. Learning how you and your company can differentiate yourself from the pack and be chosen as the solution for the people you serve.  Persuading people to the point where you can make your idea their idea without those people thinking you had anything to do with it.  Essentially getting other to “discover” the quality way to do everything the right way.

I mean this is powerful stuff that is not only work related but touches every part of our lives at home, school, work and in our community. Yes even in your marriage and family relationships.  This program is not about learning how to sell.  It is really learning about yourself and the fears that are holding you back.

TPI : Most sales systems I’ve run across are in constant pursuit of the “upsell”. How does your system eliminate that pressure for both the technician and customer while still maintaining growth for a service company and it’s technicians?

Joe Crisara :  I absolutely HATE that word “upsell.” I believe that in the service business that the best service begins with the provider being willing to default to showing their best service.  I also believe in offering clients options and not ultimatums. In our system there is no upselling. Instead, we show clients the possibilities of choosing the best and most economical solutions when repairing or renovating their home.

When clients are honestly shown the best, mid-range and worst possibilities they are allowed to make their own choice. You will be shocked at what they choose when you show them a list from best to worst. We’ve found that the average homeowner will choose 2.73 times more solutions if all the possibilities are shown at the same time.

TPI : You talk about “pure motive”. Can you explain in your own words why it’s so important to success in sales and why it is the cornerstone of your system?

Joe Crisara :  To be successful, the increase in revenue and profit comes from those we serve.  If our motive is to always “get” something from someone, the results will be to do bad work for a high price. The key is your motivation. If your motivation is to provide “more” for those you serve, then the results will be high-end work, longer warranties and long term relationships with our clients, employees and family.  So the pure motives of a service professional is to show the possibilities of high value first, then learn how to communicate that value and finally to provide that value with our work.

TPI : I’ve written a little bit about why I think having a sales system in place is almost essential for a service orientated company. Can you give me your thoughts on it as well?

Joe Crisara:  Without a system to communicate, connect and provide solutions to clients we are leaving this important task to the individual employees. That means that everyone will do it differently. It is just not fair to clients if one employee does all of this great and another sucks. No company can sustain success in the service industry unless that service is consistent. That is what a sales system provides. Comfort, fairness,  consistency and sustained success.

TPI : Joe thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions regarding your Total Immersion sales training system. I know it’s been life changing for me. If there is anything else you’d like to add feel free.

Joe Crisara: I just want everyone to remember that every contractor in the world is the reason I exist as a person and as a business. They are never an interruption to me. The only person holding them back from learning more are themselves. Please reach out if you need the help.  My method is to help you first BEFORE you become a client. Call me at my direct number if you need to improve at 847-833-7912 so I can serve you.

Three webinars for one price by one of the most successful sales people in the HVAC industry

Cost: $57 for entire 3-part course and archive access

Package: 60 minutes EACH, plus workbook, downloads, follow up for each and access to replays of all three webinars for one year

Service CSI: Who Killed the Sale? is a series of THREE webinars held on consecutive Thursdays starting January 31st that will help you improve your service and increase your sales. Investing in your service & sales people is like becoming and HVAC Service & Sales Champ! Remember, 2nd place is first loser.

Course #1 – January 31st – Service CSI: Who Killed the Sale?: $6 Million dollar HVAC sales person Rick Picard will show you the skill of investigating each service and sales opportunity to find the issues that will kill a sale. More importantly he will show you how to eliminate it before it happens. Stop losing profitable opportunities!

Course #2 – February 7th – Handling the Dreaded Price Objection: World famous performance coach Joe Crisara will show you how to create more value to eliminate price objections. Joe will perform a “rapid-fire” segment on how to handle the dreaded price objection and have the confidence needed to get the job.

Course #3 – February 14th – Stop Thinking & Start Doing: Both Rick Picard & Joe Crisara will help your team shorten the sales cycle by working through the common “Think-It-Over” stall objection. Find out how only one more question can make all the difference between losing and getting each job.

Bonus: Sign up now and receive immediate access to Rick Picard’s secret, off the market, life-changing program, the 52 Quick Start Sales Improvement Video Series Guide to SUCCESS!

Click Here To Sign Up

Speaker: Rick Picard, Sales Expert

Rick has been part of the service contracting business for most of his life and he currently works as a salesperson for a company in the New England area. He has accomplished some of the most eye popping sales results that have ever been achieved in the service contracting business. He has achieved $6 million in sales directly to consumers with NO new construction or remodeling.

Click Here To Sign Up

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A Hard Business Indeed

HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical service contracting companies are like no other small business out there today.  Most small businesses are made up of only 1 person and consist of selling their old lamp shades and shoe laces on Ebay.  All they need is a camera and computer.

A contracting business on the other hand, well, they need a brick and mortar building, trucks, inventory, and a whole lot of other things on top of that camera and computer.  Not to mention dealing with government regulations, licensing, permits, tech training, software training, driving records, unfathomable workmans comp insurance costs, not to mention all the other insurance costs…should I keep going?  You’d probably never even get to see your family if it weren’t that they all work for you.  Who has the time to work “on” your business.

For you, my friend, I have a SOLUTION!

With this email, YOU are entitled to two full days (and an evening or two, if you choose) charmed by all the creativity of Joe and Julie Crisara, and the Contractorselling.com Success Team at the Service Super Summit 2013 in Long Beach, CA. – www.spmsummit.com

When you and your team arrive at the Hotel Maya in Long Beach this March, you will be treated like the rock stars of the industry that you are.  (When you make your reservation from this email, I will personally GUARANTEE your preferred check-in and front row seating!)

Mingle With Service Contracting Stars

In this under crowded, intimate conference room there will be NO phones ringing, NO customers complaining, NO disruptions. A haven from the hustle, bustle, noise and pushing and shoving and rushing of the real small business world.  We offer you a place where you can relax on the beach while you mingle with some of the greatest that the service contracting business has to offer.

Welcome Party At the Beach

As Day One Begins…

Day one gets you going right into the heart of your business as Joe kicks starts us off and begins to show us how to sculpt our business into shape, piece by piece. We are going to start off with your marketing, carving out a plan for you to make it automatic and fearless. Then we’ll turn to the internal staff, teaching your CSR’S how to close 96% of calls, your dispatchers how to have “zero tolerance for turn downs.” Your sales people, well, they will get the best of the best with the “6 Million Dollar Residential Salesman” sharing his “top secret” sales tools and methods.   All before lunch!  Well, maybe not before lunch, but lunch is included with your ticket for both days.

And that’s just day one!

Day two consists of real contractors with real answers to your questions on hiring and recruiting, management and growth. Growth, what’s that?  Oh, I almost forgot. Well, the contractors speaking on Friday didn’t and have continually proven to up their game and their numbers.

Now, does that sound like a couple of days you could enjoy, to educate yourself, to remember?  Will it make you a hero to your employees, your customers, your family, if you came back with all the answers to running a smooth and profitable business? I GUARANTEE it will.

You Only Regret Will Be To Lose Out On Coming

We are only able to accommodate 150 people at this event, so it is important to call and make reservations as early as you can. Ask for me, Julie 9 a.m.-5p.m. PST.  I’m the one with the great smile and infectious laugh.

Awaiting your commands to make magic for you!

P.S.  The cost?  EVERYTHING, the entire three day event exactly as I just described for you-$397 per person for our Contractorselling.com members. If you wish you can even sign up yourself at www.spmsummit.com and check out our great line up of speakers.  Be sure to keep checking back to see who else you know might be there by going to our discussion forum.

P.P.S.  If you want to get the special $100 bonus bucks off the tuition then call Colette at 877-764-6304 and she will get you a membership to ContractorSelling.com so you can apply this money AND start increasing your sales before you attend.

With warm regards,

Julie Crisara
Contractorselling.com
877-764-6304

Whenever I have a task that I don’t want to do, I find anything other than doing that task simply irresistible. Basically I put my head in the sand by doing the things I enjoy like talking to a client on the phone about how to turnaround their sales results or working on a new script to help a company convert more callers into buyers.  The time I spend avoiding the work I need to do can be very productive.  However, at the end of the week or month or quarter, I am still left with the task I HAVE to do.  What’s worse and more dangerous is that now the task seems more daunting because it is so far overdue.

I’ve noticed the same trend with a lot of my contracting clients as well.  Whenever I ask them about the things that they HAVE to do, I met with procrastination and the excuse is always because they are so busy with things that are productive but secondary in priority.

In 2013, we all need to think before we start working.  As a service contractor, there are tons of things you could do to work ON your business as opposed to working IN your business. Here are some examples…

Working On -> Creating an agenda and holding a weekly sales meeting

Working In -> Going on a call to make sure you sell a job

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Working On -> Actively searching/hiring new high-performing techs & sales people

Working In -> Looking at statistics over and over and imagining them changing

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Working On -> Changing your prices to reflect a higher cost of doing business

Working In -> Ordering the materials for an installation that was undersold

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Don’t get me wrong. The diversion we use to avoid the bigger issues still needs to be done. But who says that the owner of the company has to do it?  Assign employees to do “research” or to make purchases on your behalf.  Make this the year you work ON your business and reduce procrastination to work In it.

Let’s be careful this year to not bury ourselves in “busy” work in order to procrastinate on an activity that is essential.  Let’s bite the bullet and spend a small amount of each day clearing our desks of the things we NEED to do and not just use work as a way to hide from them. If you do, you are on your way to growing, profiting and succeeding.

Shed Light On Dishonesty

I want to start by saying that I am against government interference in the contracting industry as much as anyone.  It is certainly hard enough to profitably operate an hvac service contracting business without another partner who is guaranteed their profit before the contractor owner has to pay all of the bills associated with each job to reveal if there even IS a profit.

However, one of the places where local government and some dishonest people in the trades makes a mockery of the statutes and laws, is in the area of licensing and permits.  The reason for licensing and permits is to protect the public against unsafe work being performed. There is also an element of consumer protection.  Local government has registered and tested licensed professionals to protect against unsavory characters that are posing as legitimate service contractors.

All of the honest contractors I know voluntarily follow the requirements to be licensed or registered if the community requires it.  These same contractors comply with permits and inspection requirements as well. Even though it increases the cost of doing business and the prices the consumer pays for this service.

I Know It’s Harder To Do it The Right Way

With the economy the way it is, unlicensed and un-permitted work is at an all-time high. Many could argue that those who skirt the laws and codes are honest people just trying to make a buck for their family.  My question is, what about the families of legitimate licensed contractors who follow the rules?  Is their family less important?

Without the added costs of licensing, permits, inspections, insurance, payroll taxes and other expenses needed to operate in the light of day, the prices of those who work in the dark shadows avoiding these laws charge less than half the amount of a legitimate contractor.

Lessons Will Be Learned

Thankfully most homeowners in the long run, learn their lesson by receiving shoddy work that needs to be fixed or redone by a real contractor.  However, real contractors should not have to wait to feed their families while these lessons are learned.

I understand, this licensing and permit process is a great burden to the average contractor who complies with these laws in good faith. This raises the question… What can the licensed or registered service contractor do about the fringe side-jobber or dishonest contractor who works in the shadows and does not follow the process?  You know, the people who willfully skirt the local ordinances requiring permits, inspections and in some cases licensing?  The ones who seem to consistently “forget” to get a permit over and over again.

Following this process protects consumers as well as increases the quality standards of the work that the hvac, plumbing and electrical industry provides to consumers.  When asked most contractors will say there is nothing you can do about it.

Do Nothing & You’re Part Of The Problem

I would like to offer some ideas to all of the honest contractors who follow the correct licensing and permit process.  The people who have worked hard in some cases for generations to build their name and reputation on doing things BETTER than local government asks them to.  You who have scratched and clawed in a day-to-day struggle to make ends meet only to have some “hack” avoid the local laws and ordinances that you follow each and every day and then lowball a price to do the work without permit or inspection.

You Can Make a Difference If You Take Action

Remember that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. I have personally seen contractors I know make a difference in towns and villages who have sleepy or just downright dishonest inspectors, by getting serious about this issue.   You may not think it is worth the time to take action.  I know time is money but I want you to think of how much time you spend on estimates competing with these lowball losers who don’t follow the rules and then get the job anyway.  On top of that think of how much time you spend complaining about how potential customers will “learn their lesson” by going with the unfair competitor.

Okay, What Can I Do?

Here are some of the techniques that I recommend honest contractors do about this problem…

1. Do It Legal - Get a lawyer to write a letter on your behalf about the specific contractor and the specific address of home.  Ask if you can purchase these in bulk.  How much effort does it take to change the name and address of the complaint?  One attorney said he would send out 10 letters for $175.
2. Ask For Enforcement - State the law or ordinance that is being violated by the contractor and homeowner not being in compliance with licensing or permit laws.  Remember YOU are paying taxes.  Hold them accountable to give you what you are already paying for. Enforcement!
3. State the Consequences – In the letter state the unfair business practice this presents, the loss of jobs and the potential danger to the community from these non-inspected jobs.  Let them know that if a fire, flood or carbon monoxide incident occurs at this address that you will be front and center that you reported this activity months before it happened.
4. Demand Action – Demand the contractor be fined, penalized and even banned from doing business for not following the permit/inspection process.  In some states and cities it is a crime to do business without a license or permit.  If this is not the case write your councilman and start a movement to make such a law.
5. Get Names – Walk into the building department and hand the letter personally to a supervisor or inspector.  Most importantly GET THEIR NAME and write it down in front of that person.  Tell them to update you with the progress as a public citizen as to what action has been taken. Provide all contact information so they can keep you in the loop.  Tell them you will not forget to follow up with a superior if you don not hear back.
6. Kick It Upstairs – Let the building department know that you are sending this letter to the mayor’s office and village or city board members.  This makes all parties responsible and culpable should a horror story happen to a homeowner who purchases from an unlicensed contractor.
7. Accountability – Advise all interested and influential branches of local government that legal action will be taken against the city if nothing is done about this issue.  They will be held accountable as public servants and personally as a member of the community.
8. Make a Deadline – Create a deadline as to when you expect to be updated about this situation.  Follow through by escalating the report to higher ups in government and also the media.
9. Use the Media – I know that politicians, inspectors and the media are not very popular with service contractors.  However, use them to further the greater good.  Local television stations absolutely LOVE to do stings on illegal contractor activity.  Witness ACCA member Bobby Ring from Myer & Depew in New Jersey who was the “consultant” to NBC’s Dateline in a recent sting.
10. Turn Over the Rock – Also send the letter to the offending contractor, (If you can find them) and let them know that they may be a party to the eventual lawsuit.  Turn over all rocks and let the maggots squirm in the light of day.  Let them know that trouble is coming and that everyone has been informed.

Don’t Give Up At First Resistance

Get permission from your lawyer to send this same letter to other cities and towns where you find license and permit violations. With the only change to the letter being the address of the home and the contractor or person in violation. You must keep doing this for each time you lose a job where no permit was pulled.  Obviously this will rock the apple cart but you must stand firm on principle.

Create An Alliance Of Honesty

Also attend local contractor meetings such as ACCA and PHCC and let your fellow honest contractors know about this process so they can do the same thing. You will probably never take legal action, but the threat of this is too big to ignore. Especially if multiple people in the local city or village know that each other knows about the situation but does nothing to stop it.

Call The Press

Finally send a copy of this letter about this situation to the local media with a letter from you talking about how unlicensed contractors are a danger to our community. Ask them to run a story about this to create awareness. Tell them that you are available as an expert on this subject to be interviewed for the story. This is great PR for your company as well.

You CAN Do A Lot

I completely disagree with those who say we can do nothing about this. As you can see by the above, there is a lot you can do. Remember that if you want a fair playing field you sometimes have to fight for it! When it cost “Cheap Charlie” contractors money, they will take the path of least resistance and start to follow the codes and laws to keep our families safe.

I also completely disagree with those claiming that government is “too lazy” or that this is “government interference” in this situation.  It is a matter of fairness and a service we are already paying for with our taxes. Shame on us as for not demanding that we get the enforcement of these laws that we have paid for with our hard earned taxes. Remember “We the People” ARE the government and as citizens, we are the boss of the building department and the mayor’s office. Hold them accountable and the laziness and uneven enforcement will stop.

VIDEO- Unlicensed Contractors Arrested: www.contractorselling.com/snip/120.htm

Joe Crisara, CEO of ContractorSelling.com is America’s Service Sales Coach. Joe has a style that has you feeling like he is a member of your family or someone you met before. His down-to-earth, direct and impassioned approach combines 31 years of contracting experience with strong expertise in sales best practices. Thus, anticipate hearing the thunderous ring of truth from Joe, who stands apart from the traditional methods as he helps contractors achieve revenues 3-5 times greater than the average salesperson.