Reduce Risk: The Dash Cam Lesson
Every once in a while, I like to eat my own dog food, and this time it tasted like sweet justice. Just a few weeks ago I wrote a blog post, Photo Cliches Drive Sales and Retention for Service Contractors, wherein I identify the value pictures hold in their enduring ability to accurately and infallibly tell the whole story. Writing that blog post got […]
Photo Cliches Drive Sales and Retention for Service Contractors
We’ve all heard, and likely loathe, the plethora of bad cliches about pictures. As overused and seemingly meaningless as these cliches are, they hold a literal wealth of knowledge for field service contractors. From new sales to retention, these sayings will drive growth in your field service company: The big picture. Why should service contractors […]
Don’t Let the Back-Office Tail Wag the Company Dog
All too often, as field service companies are considering new software, they base decisions on their historical software usage patterns and let the tail wag the dog. Since accounting software is the primary, and often only, business application in use, companies search for ways to extend back-office capabilities to the front office and beyond. This line of thinking is understandable, but […]
Modern Tools for Service Contractors, Part 3: Outbound Sales and Marketing
Both residential and commercial service contractors rely heavily on new sales for growth. Where residential contractors rely on converting inbound leads, commercial contractors lean on a mix of inbound and outbound tactics. This post lays out a handful of sales tools that are not only easy to use, but also extremely powerful across the entire lifecycle of new sales from […]
Highway to Success: The Power of Customer Satisfaction
Your service contracting or field service company is a car casually driving down the highway to success, but the online giants are changing the rules and the road at a breakneck pace. For example, our blog post Google Home Services and its Impact on Small and Medium Businesses summarizes one of Google’s latest changes that […]
Don’t bring an operations knife to a customer service gunfight: Customer engagement must be the first priority in a connected world
“Why yes, I regularly purchase products from mail order catalogs” said no one in the last 20 years. Yet 20 years ago, most catalog retailers were thinking to themselves “If only we could improve our operations and reduce our cost of delivery, print, and call centers, we will outprice the competition and really rake it […]
Sushi, Sun, and the Digital Wrap: Second Annual OBX Customer Retreat and Fishing Tournament
The second annual ServiceTrade customer retreat on the Outer Banks of North Carolina was another huge success. Twenty-six customers representing 21 states and two countries (thanks Rick for traveling from Calgary) joined us to plan a future where service contractors build a premium brand through technology-enabled customer service. We also sent five boats offshore for […]
Don’t Get Gigged by Software – Measure the GIG
Lots of companies get “stuck” (or gigged) with bad software because they do not know how to measure the quality of the vendor during the sales cycle. One of the best ways to measure a software company prior to buying the application (aside from the advice in the The Practical Guide to Buying Software for […]
Stop Texting. Start Messaging!
On several occasions, I’ve walked into a meeting with dispatchers, schedulers, and service managers who were glued to their phone texting with their technicians in the field. Why should the office staff use a tiny keyboard on a phone to update and respond to the techs when they have a full size keyboard and monitor at […]
Password Headaches? Some Simple Advice to Ease the Pain
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). […]