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Viewing posts tagged: accountability
January 10, 2013 at 1:39pm Tags: accountability, customer service, Differentiate, family, fear, Sales Skills
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.
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January 02, 2013 at 3:41pm Tags: accountability, office, Price, process
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.
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January 01, 2013 at 12:55am Tags: accountability, leader, professional
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.
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October 10, 2012 at 4:21pm Tags: accountability, closing, Sales Skills
A Sad State Indeed
With the economy seemingly in an endless loop of futility and so many people in the contracting trades struggling, it is inevitable that we reached this point in time. That, is when a consumer has a problem with their HVAC, plumbing or electrical system but they are shocked at the prices at first glance and decide to tell the proud tradesman they want to either find someone who is cheaper or put the decision to move forward on hold.
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June 12, 2012 at 5:20pm Tags: accountability, professional
Band-aids Cause Callbacks
In a recent discussion on the ACCA Linkedin group, an intense discussion broke out amongst HVAC contractors about the reason some techs generate callbacks while other do not. Callbacks are caused by techs who are NOT thorough in their diagnosis. Why are some techs very thorough and others not? That is a question for the ages.
One thing I do know is that callbacks happen because techs fail to take into consideration the age, neglect, design and installation of a system and ONLY focus on the immediate problem. Fixing the immediate problem is a temporary solution sort of like a band-aid. It does not take into consideration the big picture issues that caused the problem in the first place.
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May 06, 2012 at 1:39pm Tags: accountability, improvement, leader
Paper Pushers Not Managers
The state of sales management today is getting worse than I have ever seen it. I believe this is because sales managers have been trained so inadequately that they have basically given up on the coaching aspect of their profession. They have turned into glorified paper pushers and have gotten away completely from the essence of managing which is to change strategy and behavior that is not working and replace them with functional ones that do.
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December 09, 2011 at 5:13pm Tags: accountability, Debt, Differentiate
Engine Or Anchor?
I love the use of analogies. One of the prime examples I use is a owner of a contracting company as being the captain of a ship. As the leader you may find yourself heading towards “stormy business weather.” This storm is approaching as your sales revenue is lower than your overhead, field labor and material costs can substantiate. When this happens, you start to take on water. (Go into debt) Soon the whole ship is in danger of sinking.
When you finally wind up in the worst part of the storm the telltale signs are all around you as the captain. The rain of phone calls from vendors looking to collect on what you owe or the lightning of your having to consider a loan, line of credit or even take money out of your own pocket, just to make payroll this week are just a few of the signs that your ship is indeed in trouble.
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December 05, 2011 at 6:48pm Tags: accountability, celebrate, employees, responsibility
A Non-Litigious Holiday Party
By Elizabeth R. Ison, Esq.
With another holiday season approaching, companies nationwide are busy planning parties. Holiday socials are longstanding company traditions to thank employees and celebrate annual accomplishments. They can also be a breeding ground for employer liability — especially when alcohol is served.
A 2000 survey conducted by Vault.com found that 44% of employers had to reprimand an employee for behavior at a company holiday party. A 2010 poll by HR firm Adecco corroborate these findings: 40% of people surveyed saw or suffered a major indiscretion at a work-sponsored holiday event and 14% knew someone who was fired for bad behavior at a company holiday party.
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October 28, 2011 at 6:03pm Tags: accountability, closing, Differentiate, Sales Management
An Important Question
There is an important question that owners and sales manager’s in a successful contracting business ask themselves before engaging in training, coaching or accountability activities.
Here is that question…
“Do I have the right person?”
The difference between mediocre and champion caliber sales managers lies in their willingness to ask this question of every employee, themselves included at any time. The mediocre manager falls in love with the personality of the people they manage and assumes things will turn around eventually.
The winning manager never assumes that the person who they manage hasn’t changed to the point where they might not be a fit with the team any longer. In essence they are asking if the employee is capable of performing the skills and techniques that make up their sales system. Furthermore, if they do have those skills are they willing to take action by using them with a potential buyer?
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