ShuBee Tips

Flat Rate Pricing Revisited – Part 3

This will be the last article in this series. Here I will respond to some common questions and criticisms that arise about flat rates from contractors around the country. Isn’t flat rate pricing merely a sneaky way to raise prices? I’ll begin my explanation by repeating a key statement from last month’s article. It is [...]

Do the Math… Raise your Prices

I subscribe to Fortune Small Business Magazine. In a recent issue, columnist Jay Goltz wrote an article called Do the Math. He described a friend’s business this way… “My friend was running something of a Ponzi scheme, except that he was conning himself instead of clients.” The article illustrated how you can fool yourself (and [...]

Lead to Greatness

One of the best attributes I like about the people I meet in Nexstar is their entrepreneurial spirit. This attribute alone is what inspired most owners to go into business for themselves. Everyone has strengths and limitations. An entrepreneur will always tackle what they don’t know. They figure it out or find a way around [...]

Could You Use an Extra $100K?

You may remember seeing Benjamin Franklin Plumbing®, Mister Sparky, America’s On Time Electrician®, and One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning® appear on The Celebrity Apprentice recently. In their episode, the first ever featuring a service company, wily project manager Bret Michaels came up with catchy and creative jingles that won Mr. Trump’s challenge and the [...]

Brand U

Once again Service Roundtable will be hosting our exclusive seminar, Brand U, the first day of HVAC Comfortech. The seminar will be held in the Baltimore Convention Center making it convenient for our members to attend. Keynoted by Drew Cameron of HVAC Sellutions, we’ve assembled a panel of contractors who have taken their companies to [...]

Give Me More SALES

spread out their invoices so they can finish up their paperwork. The SM may complain about general poor performance by team members. Because it sounds like a wife whining, the Techs hear, “Blah blah blah blah blah.” Then, the enlightened SM turns off the lights and turns on a Sales training DVD. The Techs squint [...]

24 Ways to Boost Your Average Ticket, Part 1

Why It MattersRaising your average ticket even a few dollars can make a tremendous difference to your bottom line. Let’s consider the following scenario. A pure service company has an average ticket of $325. The company promotes braided steel washing machine hoses for $49 installed on all service calls. The company buys these hoses for [...]

Make Job Tickets Work for You

The next sentence of boilerplate is also for CYA purposes: I recognize that aged and deteriorated plumbing fixtures, piping and appurtenances may no longer be serviceable, and I agree to hold Blau Plumbing Inc. blameless for any damage or destruction to those items as a result of these conventional plumbing repairs… Collection Assistance: The next [...]

Meeting Customer Demands in the Trenches

Homeowners and businesses across the country are replacing their clogged and disintegrating sewer mains while their landscaping stays in tact. In fact, plumbing contractor sales are going up because trenchless technology and techniques are going down-under.   Until recently, homeowners shied away from taking the plunge into sewer pipe repair because it was a messy [...]

Knock, knock… who’s there?