Recap of Your Las Vegas Expo: Video Is Now Available!

Your Las Vegas Expo came to a rousing conclusion just a few weeks ago—it was an incredible event full of new information and insight to help you build even greater success in your business. Below, enjoy a brief synopsis of each session—and if you see something that strikes your eye, watch the video of the presentation! It’s now available on the SGI HUB.  Simply click on “EVENTS” and then “SGI EXPO.”  You’ll be right there!

Although watching the sessions will certainly be helpful, nothing can replace the experience Expo provides. That’s why you’re urged make plans to join us at your next Expo in Orlando, Florida, October 25-27! Expos are something that are best experienced—not watched. Being in the meeting rooms and around other contractors is the best and fastest way to become successful.

In the meantime, here’s a detailed breakdown on what transpired in Las Vegas:

“Live Inspired”- Guest Speaker: John O’Leary

At age nine, a fire exploded and burned 100% of John O’Leary’s body. Given a 1% chance to live, he fought extraordinary odds and won. His recuperation process required five months in the hospital. John underwent dozens of surgeries, lost all his fingers to amputation, and had to relearn to walk, write, and feed himself.

John’s journey of overcoming this extreme trial, had mostly been kept private. Then, in 2007, his parents showcased the story in their book, Overwhelming Odds, which they wrote as a thank-you to the family and friends who supported them. This book resulted in organizations around the world requesting to hear first-hand how John defied the odds.

To meet the growing requests and recognizing his calling to be an agent of inspirational living and overcoming adversity, John began professionally speaking in 2008.  He shared his message with you at Expo.  It’s deeply emotional, yet uplifting.  We hope that you watch John’s story again and share it with your team. 

SGI State of the Union

Your Success Group International team was thrilled to share with you what’s been transpiring within your organization over the last six months.  Rebecca Cassel explained that SGI continues to grow larger and stronger.  More than 200 contractors joined the organization in 2016, and we expect to surpass that number in 2017.  Furthermore, more members than ever are getting involved, opening their doors to trainings and tours, and we have incredibly strong Executive Advisory Boards providing great input.

Rebecca explained that SGI is currently on-target with our organizational growth goals.  Learning Alliance has become well-established, and Service Line is gaining traction.  The next big step is the launch of your new vendor buying group, SGI Partner Network, which officials opens for business on July 1st.  In the meantime, please, continue reporting your purchases to BuyMax.  In the next two months, you will see more information about your SGI Partner Network and how to prepare for the transition.

Lastly, SGI announced a new charitable mission, and we hope you choose to participate.  SGI is working with the Folds of Honor charity to Stand with Honor.  Those members interested have elected to raise $5,000 each to help fund scholarships for children of fallen soldiers.  This is an incredible program, and for more information, please reach out to your Client Success Manager or watch the Expo video.

Change Management: Dealing with Necessary Endings

SGI owner and member Gus Antos delivered an eye-opening presentation based on the Dr. Henry Cloud book, “Necessary Endings.”  Gus explained what a ‘necessary ending’ is: It’s something that at one point in time was a good idea, it was working well, it made sense—but times, seasons, environment, circumstances have changed, and it’s time something else changes, as well…

Gus explained in every aspect of life we go through seasons or cycles, much like the weather.  We go through cycles with relationships, mentors, business segments, etc.  Often these segments of our life evolve into the winter.  They’re not good for us any longer.  They should be pruned.  Put even more plainly, they should be eliminated.

As business owners, Gus shared there are four key areas of your company you must always be evaluating, to see if something needs adjustment—or in some cases pruning:

  • People – Someone is in position they once did well, but the role has changed. Maybe they have changed.  Maybe the company has changed, and now that person needs a change.
  • Pricing – A pricing system that was designed for a company to compete on price was built. Or maybe a promotional idea that worked well, but isn’t working anymore, and it needs to change.
  • Processes – Struggling to find techs? Your recruiting/hiring process needs to change.
  • Profits – Your model was setup to earn you 15% profits, but that hasn’t been happening, your model needs a necessary ending.

Often, we know these areas of our business and life need a necessary ending, but it’s not difficult to make those difficult changes.  As Gus said, “Change is here to stay,” and “The good cannot begin, until the bad ends.”

Hiring Strategies: Steps to Conducting a Behavioral Interview

Finding good people is difficult.  As Learning Alliance’s Kelly Robichaud shared—and you know well—the cost of replacing employees is difficult to swallow.  Kelly reported a stunning 46 percent of new hires fail within their first 18 months.  The reason?  Poor cultural fit.  If you’re not training people properly, that number will be even worse…

We know what a company’s culture is: It’s your business’ personality.  It’s the environment you’ve crafted.  The only way to tell if a potential new employee will match your cultural identify is to conduct behavioral interviews, as Kelly explained.  Behavioral interviews reveal important information about candidates to help find those who will be successful.  It does so by asking applicants to offer examples of when they’ve been required to display a competency.

Behavioral interviews are founded in the idea that past performance will reveal future performance.  An effective behavioral interview question has three parts: the introduction, a competency-based action, and qualifiers.  An example: Describe a time you had to interact with an angry customer due to a mistake you made.

Kelly revealed that you should use the STAR method when crafting your interview questions.  STAR standing for situation, task, action, and result.  While creating these types of questions takes some time and the interviewing style can take some practice, when employed properly, you’ll dramatically reduce your turnover due to poor hires.

Women in Contracting: Leading in a Male-Dominated Industry

The trades haven’t always been receptive to women.  While it’s become more welcoming, some challenges still exist.  Rebecca Cassel explained that women should continue to fight for respect.  She outlined nine ways you, as a woman, can establish yourself in a male-dominated industry:

  1. Image – Be professional in your attire—and in your etiquette, attire, body language, behavior, and communication abilities
  2. Knowledge – Learn the industry. You should push yourself to learn all elements of the business as a leader in the company.  Have you ever been on a ride-along and helped on a job?  Have you shadowed a sales call?
  3. Attitude – If you’re going to command respect in the workplace, you must have the attitude of a leader.
  4. Build Rapport – If you want respect in the workplace, you also need to make an effort to build rapport with your team members.
  5. Find a Mentor – The very best way to become successful is to find other success-minded people who’ve been where you are. There are hundreds of successful female leaders within SGI you can turn to.
  6. Listen and Then Talk – This is something both women and men should all work o, that’s being active listeners.
  7. Be Willing to Work Hard – Want to command respect from male counterparts? Be willing to work hard… Are you showing up to the office late and leaving early?  Are you taking two-hour lunches?
  8. No Special Treatment – You should act like a part of the team.
  9. Go Above & Beyond – Be a problem solver. Always seek out ways to make a positive impact.  Do more than what was asked.

Women are incredible leaders.  As Rebecca explained, unfortunately, only 5 percent of Fortune 1000 companies have female CEOs.  However, those female CEO’s unilaterally earn higher stock market returns than male CEOs—and they tend to reward their investors with better dividends.

Woman can rule our businesses and the world.  You have the ability.  Go do it!

Online Marketing Trends: Attract, Convert, and Delight your Customers   

Online marketing seemingly changes daily.  The founder of PulseM, Pawan Jaggi, shared with you the critical components your online strategy must have.  Pawan explained that today’s consumer is more educated than ever thanks to the internet.  It’s imperative you best control your online content.  To do so, here’s what Pawan said you must do:

  • Your website – it must be mobile friendly. When working on its copy, you must think like a homeowner searching for a contractor.  I must include local keywords.
  • SEO strategy – it should have local intent, and you need html tags in your site to include your name, business type, location, etc.
  • Reputation management – you must constantly monitor your online reputation and address problems or complaints immediately. Test your SERP by using “incognito” on Google Chrome. Your online/social media reviews are the most critical ingredient that will determine if a prospect investigates your company.  Not having recent reviews is as bad as having negative reviews.  Using services like PulseM, you can immediately capture people’s emotions about your service after its done—and you can control and eliminate negative reviews by responding immediately to any challenges.
  • Social selling – You must close the education gap by having customer advocates. Provide the best service, and you’ll get glowing reviews.  Those reviews will attract more customers and more employees.  It’s a cycle that continues over and over.

Business Review Workshop (Each SGI Group Had Its Own Review)

Each SGI group had its own Business Review Workshop.  For PSI, ESI, and RSI, it was on Thursday; AirTime was on Friday. (This may help you search for the video.)  It’s important that we always review our businesses.  Why?  Because not everything is running as you intend.  We also review our team’s performance, so why not our own?  After all, we do inspections for a living…

Each Business Review Workshop had a detailed checklist that it asked you to complete.  It offered five questions about each of the pillars in your business, which are: Sales (for ASI & RSI), Operations, Call Center, Marketing, Admin & Reporting, People Management, and Leadership.  Once you answered those five questions, the review challenged you to identify your top three priorities/tasks and assign deadlines to each.

Of all the sessions at Expo, we encourage you to watch this one.  It featured a panel of highly successful members within your trade.  They offered keen insights into each of the critical facets of a profitably business.  The time you spend watching and listening to their knowledge is time well-spent.

Working with Family: Overcoming the Inevitable Challenges to Find Success & Growth

A significant number of SGI companies are family businesses.  There are many benefits to having a family-owned business.  But based on a 2012 Harvard Business Study, family businesses rarely survive multiple generations of ownership.  Rebecca Cassel shared there are five major challenges family businesses face and must answer to survive:

  1. Challenge: Too much ego. Everyone wants to make the important decision because they think they know best.

Resolution: Have a clear organizational structure, so there’s no confusion who has the final say.  That means org charts and job descriptions.  You should be using accountability tools like clearly stated goals, utilize the DMER, have performance reviews and disciplinary procedures, etc.

  1. Challenge: Everything feels too personal.

Resolution: Strive for work/life balance, and put yourself in your employees’ shoes.  How do they feel when you’re fighting over family issues in the office?  Rebecca shared a Culture Assessment and Employee Engagement Survey you can utilize to see how well you’re fairing in this department.

  1. Challenge: Family members treat the company as a last resort/safety net. They always come back when they need employment.

Resolution: Be true to your team and business first!  If your family member isn’t respecting your company, why should you allow them to come and go?  The answer is you shouldn’t.

  1. Challenge: The next generation is unprepared.

Resolution: If your son is going to take over the business, ensure they’re properly trained on all aspects of the business.  They can’t be a tech for 20 years and smoothly move into management.

  1. Challenge: Ownership transfer issues.

Resolution: Have a succession plan.  Know what will happen to the business if something happens to you.  And if you’re planning on selling/giving it to a family member, ensure they’re prepared.  Whatever you do, be sure to have it in writing.

Running a Faith-Based Organization

SGI owner and member Gus Antos offered his customary Faith-Based Organization discussion.  During this version, he asked you to take a look at how most people think of their work.  The statistics Gus shared were stunning: While 97 percent of people need to work, 70 percent hate their job.  That means 70 percent of those people hate half of their lives—because that’s how much time we typically spend at our jobs.

Gus emphasized that we all have one life to live.  Within the Bible, it says, “There is nothing better for people than to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in their work…”  Yes, God calls us to find enjoyment in our work.  Gus went on to share Milestone’s mission and values.  He also shared that he emphasizes to his people that Milestone cares.  It cares about them, their families, and their future.  It’s because he knows his people will spend more than half of their lives at work.  Finally, Gus challenged you: Build a business that you enjoy working in.  You’re going to spend at least half your life doing it.

Operational Excellence: The Bottom Line Matters

Paul Riddle and longtime AirTime member Leland Smith took a deep look into what makes a contracting company operationally excellent.  Here are some of the tips these veteran contractors shared:

  • Hire for your slow periods. Determine the manpower you need to provide service in your slow periods and hire that amount.  Then, make sure you’re profitable during your slow times.
  • Trucks aren’t your assets. Your people are your assets.
  • Be the highest priced and provide the service to back it up. And make sure all of your costs are considered in your pricing.
  • Your pricing determines the quality of people you can hire. The quality of your people determines the quality of your service. So, if you’re the cheapest, you can’t have the best.
  • Determine your team’s starting capacity (1 or 2 calls).
  • Watch your call booking ratio and lost call ratio to determine success.
  • Remind technicians of the opportunity before the call, and then conduct a full, live debrief after every call.
  • If a technician needs a part, call dispatch first.
  • Remember the 5 touches of the club membership sale.
  • The dispatcher’s customer is the technician, and their role is to serve in order to get them to their highest potential.
  • Less is more for comfort advisor and technician leads. Comfort Advisors = 2 leads a day.  Technicians = average of 3 calls a day
  • Know Your KPIs.
  • Find a friend(s) within SGI to share financials and reports with to keep yourself honest.
  • Always be training, recruiting, and marketing.

Call-Center Success: Training Strategies for Your CCRs

Milestone Call Center Manager Missy Jones spearheaded an incredibly important presentation on an incredibly important topic: Onboarding new CCRs.  Here are the highlights of what she shared:

  • Remember that new CCRs are new! Don’t expect them to be comfortable or productive immediately.  You must invest in them.
  • New CCRs should be placed on a 60 to 90-day probationary period with a review in the middle and at the end of that designated time.
  • Introduce your new CCR to everyone in the business, and assign the person a “buddy” to mentor them.
  • It’s your responsibility to ensure they understand the basic company core standards and operations.
  • Your CCR should go on one to two calls with your technicians to fully understand what they’re doing in the field. Be sure to debrief with your CCR afterwards.
  • Missy explained there are four ways to determine if your new CCR is ready to take the phones: written tests, walk throughs, role playing, and sit-a-longs.
  • Training should never stop with your CCRs. It should be continual and be structured with a formal plan.
  • Your CCRs should have a checklist they must follow; this is your way of keeping them accountable on a daily basis.
  • CCRs should be exposed to the price guide, so they understand how it works and what the customer should expect. They should also know how to prioritize jobs for dispatch purposes.
  • CCRs also must understand how to conduct memorable calls and introduce the club memberships.
  • You, as the Call Center Manager, must provide feedback, the more immediate the better.
  • Ultimately, your Call Center’s effectiveness should be measured by your KPIs.

Marketing in Your Own Backyard

Mike Layton from Stochastic Marketing will show you strategies to “make more money by having the brains to know where your market really is…and the guts to say “no” where it isn’t.”   Here were Mike’s takeaways:

  • Your service area does not equal your market area. Adding square miles to your service area dramatically increases the number of square miles you need to cover.
  • Even with the internet, more than half of your web traffic comes from within 10 miles of your location. It’s because there is comfort in familiarity. With the number of choices people have today and the constraints on our time, there is comfort in choosing what’s familiar.
  • You’re most familiar in your primary zip codes.
    • Your primary market area: Zip Codes with Total Sales of greater than $100,000 in the most recent 12-month period
    • Secondary market area: Zip Codes with Total Sales greater than $10,000 and less than $100,000 in the most recent 12-month period
    • Other market area: Zip Codes with Total Sales less than $10,000 in the most recent 12-month period
  • Even though there are 5x the number of houses in secondary and other zip codes, you’ll likely see 1.6x more customers come from your primary zip codes. Plus, the lifetime sales of customers in your primary zip codes are 1.9x the amount of all other zip codes you market to.
  • Here is a DIY method to determine which zip codes generate the majority of your sales:
    • Gather your sales data for the previous 12 months.
    • Sort the transactions by zip code.
    • Add up the sales volume for zip code.
    • Identify the zip codes in your market where you have generated more than $100K in the last 12 months. These are your primary zip codes.
  • Once you’ve identified your primary zip codes, focus more of your marketing there.
    • Target direct mail pieces to the best prospects in those zip codes.
    • Target your PPC spend on searches within primary zip codes.
    • Use Victory Village to give a consistent presence in select areas of those zip codes.
    • Have a professional image and eye-catching truck so your increased presence in those zip codes leads to familiarity.
  • All it takes to be a big fish is to choose the right

Your New, Turnkey Technician Resource: Begin Hiring Today (ASI Only)

We all know that there is a labor shortage in the trades.  Often, you’re doing nothing more than hiring another contractor’s trouble.  SGI Partner Network’s Kevin Gurski shared with you a new vendor who can help you solve you labor issue: Retail Ready.

Retail Ready takes U.S. military veterans and trains them in HVAC.  In the end, you have a ready-made service technician who is happy to relocate.  Retail ready has 40K square feet of training space, eight labs, and 10 classrooms.  It’s a six-week course where the student gets an intense education on topics such as: technician foundation, residential AC maintenance, residential heating maintenance, and intermediate low voltage electric.  A Retail Ready graduate will leave being able to:

  • Build rapport
  • Preform a AC clean & check
  • Preform a furnace clean & check
  • Be EPA certified
  • Earn up to 6 NATE certifications
  • Perform simple diagnostics & trouble shooting
  • Perform customer service skills & flip sales leads
  • Earn a RFG IAQ certification
  • Work on residential & light commercial units

How can you get a Retail Ready graduate?  There are various levels of involvement in the program.  We urge you to watch the Expo video and contact your Client Success Manager.  As an SGI member, you receive priority access to students interested in your specific area.  Even better, there are Federal tax credits that can cover a significant amount of the cost needed to relocate a tech to your market.

Success Comes One Day at a Time: Mastering Your Daily Management Essentials Report (ESI Only)

You start every year with a budget and a plan. You’re eager to break new records and accomplish great feats. By the end of the year, you may have found that you’ve fallen off-track. How does this happen? More importantly, how can you avoid it? Simple… Begin using your Daily Management Essentials Report every day.

During this session, it was explained why you should be using your DMER.  And it was shown precisely how to use this critical reporting tool.  Your DMER helps you red flag any issues and make corrections and adjustments as they’re needed.  You’ll find that reaching your annual goals will become much easier, and you’ll have a far more fulfilling year.

StraightForward Pricing® Update (PSI Only)

Your PSI and SGI team continually looks for ways to enhance the dynamic tools we offer you. We’ve heard you and the rest of your PSI membership loud and clear. You’re looking to add a few key additions and alterations to the StraightForward Pricing® Guide to better represent your product offerings. With the help and direction of PSI Executive Board Member James Wisler of Wisler Plumbing and PSI member and owner Jimmie Dale of Baker Brothers Plumbing, some critical changes were made.  Among them the additions of boilers and well pumps.  James and Jimmie, along with Bill Watkins, shared their thoughts on the new guides and pricing in today’s climate.  This was an eye-opening presentation—and members challenged you.  If you’re not utilizing StraightForward Pricing, get off the sideline.  Don’t get paralysis by over-analysis.  Pick up the book, and start using it.  It’s okay to charge more.  You’re worth it.  This would be a great session to watch if you’re still struggling to price right.

Success Comes One Day at a Time: Mastering Your Daily Management Essentials Report (RSI Only)

You start every year with a budget and a plan. You’re eager to break new records and accomplish great feats. By the end of the year, you may have found that you’ve fallen off-track. How does this happen? More importantly, how can you avoid it? Simple… Begin using your Daily Management Essentials Report every day.

During this session, it was explained why you should be using your DMER.  And it was shown precisely how to use this critical reporting tool.  Your DMER helps you red flag any issues and make corrections and adjustments as they’re needed.  You’ll find that reaching your annual goals will become much easier, and you’ll have a far more fulfilling year.

Crown Champion & Top Scoreboard Performer Panels (Each SGI Group Had Its Own Review)

Every Spring Expo, SGI honors the top salespeople, technicians, and call-takers in the entire organization at our annual Gala. With so many talented professionals in Las Vegas to receive their awards, we know this is an exceptional opportunity for you and your people to learn from them. During this session, several of the most successful performers in our industry to took the stage to field a panel.

These top performers explained how they do their jobs at such an incredibly high level every day. They highlighted specific things that make them different from the competition. And they shared some of the tips and strategies they employ to accumulate such impressive numbers.  This would be an incredible session for you to watch and review with your team.

Featured Speaker: Wintley Augustus Phipps

Wintley Phipps is a world-renowned vocal artist, pastor, motivational speaker, and education activist.  He is the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. Dream Academy, Inc., a non-profit, national after-school program that provides mentoring and tutoring around the country to children of incarcerated parents and children falling behind in school,  www.usdreamacademy.org.  Whitley shared his incredible message and singing talents with us all to wrap up one incredible Expo.