Employees Can Generate Sales Leads
By Michael StoneEmployees, properly motivated, can generate a lot of new business for you.
Close Out Package
By Michael StoneAs you’re walking out the door on a finished project, you want your clients to remember you as the company that went the extra step for them.
Construction Pricing is Cost Based
By Michael StoneOne of my coaching clients told me recently about a client who is quite affluent and apparently has been taken advantage of by several contractors over the years.
Profanity on the Job
By Michael StoneDo you have a potty-mouthed employee who is offending your clients, subs, suppliers and maybe even your other employees?
Contract Cancellations
By Michael StoneCancellations happen, even with the best of salespeople. Clients have all kinds of reasons to cancel an agreement, and you need to be prepared.
Overhead Creep
By Michael StoneOverhead creep is one of those subtle things that business owners often don’t notice. It leads to cash flow problems real quick.
Watermelons and Sales Leads
By Michael StoneYou might not think of watermelons, but one of our clever coaching clients shared a method he’s used to attract new leads for his business.
Payment Schedules for Cash Flow
By Michael StoneA good payment schedule keeps you paid for the work you are doing. If you're using a 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3 schedule, you are financing most of the job out of your pocket.
Design Agreements
By Michael StoneAll too often in construction sales, the focus is on selling a job. Let's rethink that; sell the design agreement so you can do the work needed before the job starts.
What It Costs to Be Lowest Bidder
By Michael StoneWhy would any serious construction-related business owner want to be the lowest bidder on a project? Let’s look at what that means.
Rounding Up, not Down
By Michael StoneWhen we talk about making money, it's rarely about big chunks of change. One overlooked item that costs money is rounding numbers. For instance, your markup.
Employees to Volume Ratio
By Michael StoneIn our book we talk about the ratio of employees to dollar volume of business. Many contractors ignore this ratio and get caught up in the urgency of building a job.
Know Your Cash Flow Needs
By Michael StoneContractors have cash flow problems for two major reasons: poor money management, and poor payment schedules.
Cost Plus – A Homeowner’s View
By Michael StoneA very nice gentleman called me last Friday. He related a story about his home remodeling project. It was done a Cost Plus job, the "plus" was negotiated at 18%.
Marketing is just like planting seeds
By Michael StoneFor those who don’t understand the need for an ongoing marketing and advertising program for your business, let me try this analogy:
Business is business
By Michael StoneWe’ve noticed the same problem that we’ve seen with other specialties. They believe that because their work is focused on one thing, their business operates differently.
How Not to Do Business
By Michael StoneA friend called today with a problem. He subbed his work to a general contractor from the east coast to do a job here on the west coast at a government facility.
Transparency
By Michael StoneTransparency, as I understand it, is opening your books to your potential clients and showing them all the numbers pertaining to a job you are quoting.
Connecting with Potential Clients
By Michael StoneIf you aren’t getting a response to your advertising, either printed or on the web, you aren’t connecting with your potential clients. You must connect with them.
Paying a Bonus to Employees
By Michael StoneWe are approaching the time of year when the subject of bonuses comes up. Your employees might be saying, “Do you suppose they will pay us a Christmas Bonus this year?”
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