I’ve never met a contractor who didn’t want huge amounts of business success. This success can be measured in many different ways, but most often it’s based upon things like:
- Sales goals being met
- Increased profits
- More free time
- Getting the owner out of the field
- Consistent lead flow
Your business success is up to you to define. Today, I want to talk about how you can guarantee it no matter what the goal is.
Clarity & Consistency
These two words will always lead you toward business success. By far the biggest mistakes contractors make (or any other business owner) is they aren’t clear where they’re going nor are they consistent in their efforts.
For example, in your marketing have you identified a clear strategy based on company goals? If you just say “let’s grow the business 15%” it’s falling short in the clarity department and it will be hard to create a marketing strategy. A better goal would be, “Increase the sales of interior painting projects in Colorado Springs by 15% in 2016.” From there, you can begin to ask good questions to create the strategy to get there.
Clarity is also important in other areas of your business like ‘People.’
If you are looking to grow your team take some time and get clear on exactly who you need and what their role is. By identifying this you’ll have a better chance at finding the right people.
Consistency is the second word that will guarantee your success.
How many times have you said you were going to train your people or have operations meetings and then fizzled out within a few weeks?
Many contractors are also too quick to throw the towel in when they’re marketing their businesses. I speak all over the country about using content on your website to get more leads and sales. People tell me they tried blogging and it didn’t work. Here’s how the conversation plays out:
Me: “How often did you blog?”
Contractor: “Every week for 2 months.”
Me: “How long ago did you stop?”
Contractor: “6 months ago.”
Like it or not marketing takes consistency over time if you want to have staying power. Pick a horse and ride it!
Clarity & consistency matter in all areas of business.
- Sales: get clear on what you want to sell & consistently follow a system day in & day out.
- Management: create a clear plan & consistently measure against it & make adjustments.
- People: clear roles & descriptions coupled with consistent training will pay off big time.
- Operations: clarity in scope of work & consistent pre-planning leads to winning jobs.
Slow down and get clear. Create a plan of attack and be consistent with it. That’s the hard work it takes to build a contracting business that will get you off the hamster wheel and increase the size of your wallet.
Remember, if you’d like help getting clear & consistent in your business you can give a listen to The Strongpreneur Podcast or grab a free copy of 6 Ways to 6 Figures.
