For commercial service contractors, connecting with prospects that are responsible for facility management has historically been a tremendous challenge for the following reasons: Finding the decision maker is challenging Discovering their contact information is difficult Bypassing the gatekeeper is impossible LinkedIn is the centerpiece of a host of technology available to overcome these challenges. From prospect discovery to initial […]
Cloud applications are like banks: Your money is much safer under lock and key at the bank than it is under your mattress because anyone can “hack your house.” Bank security is as good as it gets, but like a bank, your data is only as secure as the keys to the vault; your password(s). […]
Consumers no longer turn to the yellow pages, newspaper ads, or direct mail to find the best service contractors. Instead, they turn to Google to answer the question “Who should I call?” To address this change ServiceTrade is happy to announce an integration with Nearby Now, a tool that helps the best service contractors showcase their great reputation online and improve local search results. […]
Service contractors need the cloud, but over and over again we see companies that are confused or unsure about how moving to the cloud will affect the operations of their business. Change is scary. As human beings, we are wired to avoid change, especially when it concerns a switch from what we are use to. Cloud […]
Unless you’ve been living under a rock recently, you know that Uber is a taxi service start-up that connects drivers with folks who need a ride. As a business, Uber connects riders and drivers (just as a taxi service does) and they collect a 20% fee on top of what is paid to the driver. […]
If you expect customers to find you online, they must be able to find you online. Sounds like circular logic, but it is true. Google is always shifting their rules to make their search engine more valuable to users and advertisers. You have to keep shifting your website to avoid being pushed down the […]
I recently went to Vegas, but I was not there to gamble away my kids’ college funds. Instead, I was participating in the annual western region meeting of the National Association of Fire Equipment Dealers (NAFED). During the meeting, an interesting narrative regarding the value of an inspection job versus the value of repair work […]
As the Internet shrinks the world and arms consumers with information on how much things should cost, the service contractor’s service area will shrink as well. Customers will have information on which contractors are nearby, and they will make judgments on who can likely deliver the service for less due to lower expenses for travel time. Customers will also […]
Operating a business in a vacuum is a handicap. There’s a limit on information you can gather about smart business practices when you are swamped with managing the details of your enterprise. How helpful would it be to have “partners” in your business that are constantly on the lookout for solutions to your most challenging issues? […]
– Apologies to Ben Franklin – . The actual quote is “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” If Mr. Franklin were alive today, there’s little doubt that he would add a third item to this list – Software as a Service (SaaS) …aka Cloud Computing. Why is […]
