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Bet Big…or stay at home!
As I’m sitting here in my office looking forward to Connections next week, I couldn’t help but to reflect on my many Connections and ASCR Tradeshow visits over the past few years.
I recall one particular Trade Show where I was seated at a table with several very large players in the restoration game. At that time we were just beginning to dabble in restoration crossing over from our carpet cleaning business.
I vividly recall my feeling of inadequacy as I sat amongst some of the largest restorers in the country. Why were they so successful I thought to myself? What makes them so different from myself, or the thousands of other struggling restoration firms, (there is a sense of comfort in numbers) I silently thought to myself.
I left that trade show more confused than before I had arrived. Though somewhat depressed with the realization that my restoration company was no where close to where I had hoped it would be, I left with some knowledge that began the transformational process that I carry with me today.
The big lesson was that while Hope is nice, it will never, ever build my business. It was only when I was successful at developing and refining a crystal clear vision in my minds eye that I finally was able to accept the fact that Yes, I could in fact do it. There really is something magical about creating a vision of success in your own minds eye.
Think about this; how can you ever possible expect to be successful, if you can not at the very least see yourself as the embodiment of success?
Once the Vision is crystal clear the real work of imparting your vision to your staff, customers and your community begins. I’ll hopefully share some ideas that worked for us in a future post.
One of the most common questions I get regarding consulting services is “If I purchase yours or even someone else’s Programs, will it help me grow my business? The answer is always…yes you can, if you think and believe with every fiber of your being that you can. Most importantly though is being able to see oneself as being there already.
But here is where I sense a disconnect. So many of us, myself included long ago, silently wait for permission to be successful. Sometimes we secretly seek the permission of colleagues, sometimes it’s the permission of family members that we seek permission from and often times we turn to Industry Leaders or Consultants for permission.
Next week is going to be the turning point for many restorers who attend Connections with an open mind and a willingness to make the transformation form average to great.
This show promises to offer a lot to the cleaning & restoration industry, with presentations by some of the industry’s finest success stories. Remember though, there are no deeply guarded secrets to becoming a successful restorer.
It begins and ends with giving yourself permission to succeed!
Here’s to your success,
See you all next week,
Ivan
Let’s Talk Restoration
Having been actively involved in the cleaning & restoration industry since around 1992, I’ve made some serious blunders which have cost me precious time and money. I’ve also learned a great deal, though in all honesty, it wasn’t until the past few years when I finally matured as a businessman and was ready to accept the fact that I didn’t know nearly as much as I thought I had known.
Thankfully, this year has been a record year for my service company in terms of revenues, operational capabilities, quality relationships forged and best of all it has without a doubt been the most fun year I’ve ever experienced in business.
I’ve done quite a lot of reflecting recently on just how much this wonderful industry has changed. Today’s restoration industry doesn’t look anything like it did when I first got my feet wet. I think tomorrow’s industry is going to look even brighter.
Today my business looks completely different than it did even five years ago. While reflecting I couldn’t help but to ask myself a few questions;
1. Why did I get into this industry? Why did I not choose a different industry?
2. What was I doing so wrong, for so many years?
3. When was the turning point?
4. Who has been instrumental in my own success?
Why - Why did I get involved in the cleaning & restoration industry? The answer is simple. Dumb luck and poor planning. No research went into our decision to start a house cleaning service. It just so happened that during our search through the yellow pages this is the heading that we ended up choosing. Had I been a little smarter, I would have listened to Lisa when she suggested that we choose becoming a Law Firm. Even so, for me it ended up being a situation where I said I’m already in too deep with too many years invested to turn back. That’s the kind of thing that silly pride can cause an individual with my mindset to do.
What - What was I doing so wrong, for so many years? This was a very difficult question to answer to myself. The truth is that I was pretty much doing everything wrong. I lacked direction. I never had any written goals or objectives. It was pretty much a game of wait and hope for the best. I always considered myself fortunate just to make it another day. Another important dynamic lacking in my business was balance. Often times we business owners have the tendency to focus all or most of our efforts on only one or two of the areas of our business. An example for me is that I have always viewed my business as being separate parts. Operations, Administrative, Sales/Marketing. Like many business owners I was fairly good at one, maybe two parts. Administrative & Human Resources was my specialty. I could spot an employee with one unshaven whisker from 50 yards and quickly set him or her straight on the cleanly shaven policy.
Looking back I realize that I would have been much better served by focusing a little more on all of the parts as opposed to one or two of the parts. Why didn’t I do this? How hard would it have been to share some of the responsibilities with other, more qualified individuals? The answer, years later and countless thousands of dollars shorter is simple. That is exactly what I should have done! Again, it’s very difficult to make rational decisions when one is operating out of a sense of pride.
Finally, I realized that my company was a product of all the other competitors that I had tried to copy through the early years. It made no difference at the time if these competitors were making money or not. In my mind they possessed something that I perceived as good and thus I wanted to be like them. It finally dawned on me that I had chosen the wrong operators to emulate. My Dear sweet Mammy had told me when I was a teenager that I had an uncanny ability to find the worse in life to hang with. She warned that my continual association with the “Crew” (my friends) as she not so affectionately referred to them would lead me down the path to ruin. In retrospect she was right on the money.
When – When was the turning point? Hmmm, this was another difficult question to answer. I’m sure that it never happened overnight. I sort of think of it like what the alcoholic or drug addict must go through. You might have many people along the way trying to help you through the highs and the lows, but it’s only when you hit what they refer to as “Rock Bottom” that you say enough is enough, and commit to change.
Rock bottom for me came upon departing SFS at Jon Don in 1998.
Mining your market niche
Like the Forty Niner’s who worked the fields of California and exclaimed, there’s “gold in them dar hills”, the Multi-billion dollar restoration service industry provides unlimited opportunity for success to persons who have the right combination of guts and business savvy to overcome identified hurdles. To succeed, you must do more than purchase equipment, attend industry schools or subscribe to the leading industry magazines; in addition, you must have a plan and you must intelligently work that plan. In conjunction with your plan, you must establish guidelines for marketing and this includes marketing to that most important entity - the insurance professional.
For those persons just starting in the restoration business, marketing may seem unnecessary; however, it Can not be stressed more stringently, that your ultimate success is unlikely if you do not recognize the importance of marketing to the insurance agent.
Marketing your restoration services to the insurance Agent may at first seen daunting. But, by following a few simple rules and working with the persistent outlook of a gold miner you will begin to see the “gold” you seek in your business.
The restoration industry is integrally tied to the insurance industry. For this reason you must sow seeds to develop a working relationship with insurance agents. Accepting the importance of insurance professionals in the success equation of restoration services is the first step to a successful career.
(IP + RS = IRS)
Insurance Professional + Restoration Services = Insured Risk Solution
The formula is your key to success. Working hard to develop contacts in the insurance industry is like the miners of old, panning until they found that nugget to light up their eyes and imagination. You will need patience and persistency, but after a period of time you will find your first insurance professional and this nugget will provide you with some confidence and direction for continuing your success.
A discussion of insurance agent marketing requires a brief mention in this piece and maybe something more detailed at a later date about Preferred Vendor Lists. This current hot button topic illustrates why small players in the restoration service industry feel helpless. The fact that some large carriers guide the insured’s, and not always in their best interest, towards listed restoration vendors is
recognized; however, there is a movement to legislatively discontinue this practice and provide a more level field for all legitimate restoration firms to operate. In the mean time, it is important that you identify insurance agents, and offer them a solution to their problems at any opportunity you are given.
As long as the preferred vendor list exists, you must be clever enough to overcome this obstacle. This is why it is important that you effectively market your services to insurance agents and start your efforts with “high profile” agents.
The “high profile” agent is one who is equally influential in his community and within his company. It is this agent who has authority to assign a job to your company and to see that you are paid for your services. Insurance companies that have Vendor programs typically mandate that their agents follow loss protocol by referring their policy holder to the call center which then forwards the claim to their preferred vendor. There is however, an unwritten policy within the insurance company. Never ever, under any circumstance chastise or reprimand the high profile insurance agent for not following loss protocol. These are the men and women who typically have large books of business and the insurance company can not afford to ruffle their feathers. The “high profile” agent must be approached in a professional way and you must sincerely present him with a “win-win” package. Ask yourself “what can I do for this agent that will be best for him and his clients?” But you may ask “how do I find the ‘high profile’ agent to help you succeed?” Research!
Research the Market:
As business professionals we have all been exposed to insurance professions in some manner. We have our personal agents who have policies for our autos and
homes and we have our business liability coverage with another. This is where we begin our research to market to insurance professionals.
Example: You enter Mutual XYZ Insurance to make a payment on your homeowners policy (I know you normally do it by mail or on the net, but you are making an excuse to see your “favorite” agent) and while your agent looks up your account you make polite conversation about your business and your success. When the time is right, ask your agent: “who handles your claims?” In the course of your discussion you may determine he is a person to know having draft authority. Don’t stop here.
Build a profile sheet for each agent you or your staff contacts. Use the profile sheets to send your insurance professional a birthday wish or some interesting information you discovered in the course of your business contacts. Be a useful resource for your insurance professional friend by offering your expertise with no strings attached.
Profile sheets or other methods used to gather information are useful if used correctly. It is insufficient to just place the information on the sheets and consider this the end. The information you gather must be assimilated and categorized. Recognize there are differences in agents and agencies and categorize your findings to reflect difference
discovered.
Example: You enter two different agencies on Wednesday. Agency A is the office of agent “X” who is dressed professionally, speaks professionally and whose office reflects his professionalism by being clean and neat. Later you enter Agency B and the agent “Y” is slovenly and the office in disarray. Note the information, but don’t go by first impressions. It may very well be that the “slob” is the person with draft authority.
Research is an ongoing process requiring your profiles be routinely updated with additional information gathered. Assess your information constantly; remember the profile sheet is a living document; that lazy agent who always played pong on his computer and whose office smelled like a category 3 sewage loss may have had an epiphany and now is Mr. GQ and has an immaculate office as a result of his promotion and new found draft authority. But don’t stop!
Continue to Research:
One of the neglected methods of research in our high tech society is the phone directory. In this ageless tool you will find an exhaustive list of potential contacts. Identify agencies you would like to approach. List those agents you know personally or believe that your insurance professional contact knows personally. Prepare referral letters and have your insurance professional contacts put a personal note on the letter for you. Get that first meeting to sow the seeds of future project referrals.
Additionally, for those more comfortable with the computer tools, you may access similar information by use of on-line directories by way of Yahoo or Google or other web engines. The important thing to remember is that you are using research tools to gather initial agency information in order that you may establish that important rapport with your insurance professional.
While you’re researching, spend a week or two learning the language spoken by the insurance agents. Words like peril, co-insurance, reserves, multi line, etc. Being able to speak the language used within the insurance industry will drastically increase your odds of success. A great place to start learning the basic language is with your own insurance policy.
Marketing to the insurance agent requires persistency. You must do the research, make the calls, send the letters and meet face to face; perhaps, many times, before you gain the trust and eventually that first assignment. Then, when you have the first job, remember that you must do the research, make the calls, send the letters and meet face to face with the next of your insurance professional contacts. The process is never ending. Make your marketing efforts routine. It has been our experience that the optimum time to meet agents is between Tuesday to Thursday and on a rotation schedule between eight to ten weeks. Do this with each of the agents you have researched or with whom you have an existing relationship and you will have a good start for your profile sheet data base.
Remember that you want to make a good impression with your insurance professional and this requires that you step out of the self-serving mentality and think about the agents needs. Ask yourself how you can help him to help his clients and you will serve yourself as well.
This truism was most aptly demonstrated by Tom Cruise in the movie “Jerry McGuire” when Cruise, as a self serving sports agent, unsuccessfully tried to market the aging, injury prone football player acted by Cuba Gooding, Jr. As the movie continue Cruise learns more about the Gooding, Jr. family and personal dynamics.
It is only when the Cruise character steps back and asks himself “what can I do for him?” that he becomes the success as a sports agent he was destined to be.
Do the marketing and market to the right people and you will find your company profiting. Make certain that your insurance professional understands that you
are a co-equal in the successful completion of a risk project. Follow the simple acronym for marketing your business, KISS (Keep It Simple and Smart) and you will achieve a high level of success.
Guide To Building A Successful Restoration Business
Entering the insurance repair industry is quite different form entering the carpet cleaning industry. While both carpet cleaning and insurance restoration are rewarding and both involve cleaning at their core, the required equipment, industry expertise, technical know how, and marketing of the services is where the two are 180 degrees apart.
The advantages of entering the insurance repair industry are numerous, including; Excellent cash flow, recession resistant, and little need to advertise. Insurance restoration is generally immune to the normal economic cycles. Mortgage companies and banks require insurance coverage to be in place and insurance companies pay the bill. What a sweet deal!
Now that we’ve established the need for the service, and the source of payment, let’s discuss a few of the basic steps involved in entering and succeeding in the restoration business.
Like any business start-up, prior to commencement comes the planning stage. This is the time when tough questions must be asked and honestly answered. Your ability to determine the answers to these questions will greatly increase the odds of your success.
New Site Launched!
The restoration industry has undergone many changes during the past five years, with many more changes looming on the horizon. For an industry that has yet to reach maturity, change could not have possibly come at a better time. There has never been a better time to enter or excel in this industry than now!
There are those who think and act, and there are those who lay and wait. Today’s volatile industry makes no exceptions for the weak, weary or overly cautious.
Our own experience has proven that a company that is innovative, continually tries new ideas, and embraces the latest technologies is a company that excels. Mistakes are inevitable, lessons learned from the mistakes are priceless.
It’s through many years of learning and making countless mistakes in our own restoration company that our programs were developed. Had there been a program similar to ours years ago we would have jumped at the opportunity to purchase it
We hope you enjoy our site. It is our sincere hope that you take something away with you that you lacked before your visit. Good luck, and here’s to your success!
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have regarding our programs.
Carpet Cleaning Marketing, Plumber Marketing