Last year, I lost alot of work, slipped through my fingers, didnt call customers back, bunch of mistakes. Made alot of money but couldve made more.
I'm thinking 2 books instead of the one I use now. First book for jotting down info on the road wherever, and transfer that info, when i get a chance to another book. That book would have date and time to do job, or estimate.
You have to find something that works for you! Everyone does something different! I keep a calender at home with a schedule on it. I take calls and emails during the day and keep a log of who called. The 1st thing i do when i get home is check phone messages,check e-mails, then look at who called during the day! I don't star making calls until after dinner!!
I try to answer the phone as much as I possibly can but, sometimes it's impossible to write things down. After I talk to them, I ask for them to call back and leave all their info on my voice mail. When I get home, I transfer the info from my phone to a notebook. When I provide the estimate, I put all their info into Quickbooks and then cross it out of the notebook. As far as scheduling, I keep one of those big calendars on my desk and write down when I have jobs scheduled. I also keep my schedule on my iPhone through an app called Project 365 Pro. It gives me alerts to remind me of everything I need to do!
I just got off the phone with Mike D talking about this. Gutter dog call me when you get a chance. I'd like to swap some ideas I have to stop losing calls, get more calls, and get more money per closed lead.
Like ed said we just talked about this and basically You just need a system to follow and stick with it. Everybody's mind works different so you need to see what works for you. I suggest a white dry erase board to write down scheduled jobs and another to write down estimates that need to be done. Also make a lead sheet and as calls come in write thier information on that and have a calendar book (travel Size in the truck) with your scheduled jobs in there so you can see what day is best for you to do the estimate.
Get a bin with 5 compartments and Keep one for leads,one for estimates for that week,one for paid invioces, one for jobs scheduled for the week, and one for jobs scheduled for anytime past the current week of work. But ultimately in the end just use a system that you can utilize everyday and stick with it. Good luck mike and thanks for the lead. I will let you know how i make out with it tomorrow.
Like these guys are saying, you can't rely just on memory. It's nearly impossible to so. Everything needs to be documented, I save them so I can look back and see exactly what I was doing on any particular day going back years.
Made a first step today. By the end of the day I'll have an answering service catch the calls I miss. A human voice on the other end taking info and setting estimates on the weekend.
That may or may not work, it is always best to take the calls yourself. Those answering companies will be bombarded with questions just like you or I and will be unable to answer them correctly. IMO
Gonna need some fine tuning. Set the estamate up and I'll sell them.
Trying something new. I stay in Sell Mode!
Gotta delagate something off me.
-- Edited by gutterdog on Thursday 22nd of March 2012 08:57:20 PM
That may or may not work, it is always best to take the calls yourself. Those answering companies will be bombarded with questions just like you or I and will be unable to answer them correctly. IMO
I bought quickbooks, which I plan on using eventually, but right now I use google calender. Its very simple. Every roof cleaning job I mark as blue. Every estimate I mark as green. Every other thing not pertaining to roof cleaning, I do in red. Also I schedule all my estimates all in one day. After my first two estimates of the day, I am in the sales state of mind. By the 6th estimate.. its cake. And as far as answering phone calls you guys should hear my voicemail. Its very professional and allows me to call the customer when I want.
I use a voice recorder, even when I'm on the for phone repeating numbers back to a client, it has multi-folders, I record home and business addresses that could be a potential client, look them up, put it in to a spreadsheet for digital printing mailings. We spent a little time setting up a simple CRM/database with G mail. It has a scheduler, follow up reminders and a e-mail job task with GPS for phone. We put a few notes in and measurements. We keep all past quotes in as PDFs. We send 95% of estimates out in 24 hours via e-mail, with a paper follow up copy. We try to separate the buyers from tire kickers prior to making in investment of time and gas. My goal is to have 1000 homeowner's names, addresses in my database that have nice homes with visible roof stains.
We also track every MLS listing and work with the Realtors. We measure everything on-line, visit site for up sell and view complications, and to size up client. My daughter keeps it all straight, so I'm lucky to have someone smarter than me to make it all work. I slept though high school and flunked out for not ever missing a party.