My Thoughts, Your Thoughts

The way I was taught biz success was a very simple method.

Numbers equals sales.

The more people that see you and read of you equals leads, number of leads equals sales.

When I was a VERY young pup I was a door to door solicitor/Closer. From 9:00 AM till whenever I knocked on doors till I got at least 2 appointments. At night I went back and pitched the family on Aluminum Siding and/or Roofs.

Many a night I got to a persons home at dinner time and unless I had a signed contract or was asked to leave I was still there for midnight snacks.

This may sound crude but keep in mind, this is how it was done 50 years ago. The Movie Tin Men gives you like the short version of what we did.

Today we have the computer. I opened a Web Store for selling Layered Cue Tips for Pool Cues. I am retired so I look at this as "fresh Money". I don't reach into old money. If I don't sell an order of tips that day, I don't buy anything the next and yes, this has happened.

To me, it makes me hungry so the next day I just work harder, see more people on line and push a little harder.

A new video, a blog anything that will attract more people both new and old.

Yes, I am a Carney Man but I am not a Con Man. I might have to push hard but I deliver quality.

You may have a better way. What is it.

Lefty Said:

[quote]Lefty, you amaze. Your the guy they never see coming.

I also think I shared a joint with your Dad in Woodstock back in 1969. :)

I never really seen a pot smoker with any real ambition.

You would have seen my dad working till midnight and beyond. Sleep came when the job was done. He worked one job to keep my mom happy. Then he built his business in the hours that were left. A big corporation left him go till he became a treat. Then the big corporation dried up all the materials he needed to stay in business. These were real problems. He found a way to get around this and stay in business.

I am sure you experienced this yourself to.

LOL, I have had more people try to pull rugs out from under me than I care to count. Every biz plan I put together has a secret plan B just for that reason.

My new little gig I am building to give my neice and nephew with instructions to sell it and split the money.

[quote]Lefty, you amaze. Your the guy they never see coming.

I also think I shared a joint with your Dad in Woodstock back in 1969. :)

I never really seen a pot smoker with any real ambition.

You would have seen my dad working till midnight and beyond. Sleep came when the job was done. He worked one job to keep my mom happy. Then he built his business in the hours that were left. A big corporation left him go till he became a treat. Then the big corporation dried up all the materials he needed to stay in business. These were real problems. He found a way to get around this and stay in business.

I am sure you experienced this yourself to.

Lefty Said: Tom,

Your post is timely. It is a numbers game.

We just had a new website made. http://holencik.com/

Here is the old website. I have not redirected the address yet. http://holencikroofing.com

Lefty, you amaze. Your the guy they never see coming.

I also think I shared a joint with your Dad in Woodstock back in 1969. :)

I played the HIGH numbers game for over 20 years. Get as many leads as possible. Sell as many jobs as possible. The more the merrier. ETC. ETC. What a rat race!

These days its a different game for me. I play the LOW numbers game. I only want/need enough work for myself. I don't want LOTS of leads or lots of jobs. I just want a small amount of "HIGH QUALITY" leads and the right amount of "PROFITABLE" jobs. With a 75% closing rate this is not that difficult to achieve.

On one hand it's amazing how few leads/jobs I need to keep busy and on the other hand it's equally amazing how much of a workload I can handle alone. When I ran my full service roofing business we would get way more calls than we could handle during the rainy/stormy times and a lot of it would go to waste. Then during the slow/dry times overhead, advertising, employee salaries, etc. would suck up a LOT of money.

We had 8 inches of rain here a few weeks ago and I got a LOT of calls but I managed to visit each and every job site and no one was left behind. I found out what my limit was however as I don't think I could have kept up that pace permanently.

I don't waste anything anymore. Today I turned a pile of left over materials into $1,500. Feels good even though I'm tired. ;)

Nice Lefty.

It is so awesome to see someone in a highly competitive marketplace throw all the excuses aside and show that a residential roofing contractor can succeed both in quality and business, with employees, growth and most importantly, customer satisfaction.

Your mom would be proud. :)

Tom,

Your post is timely. It is a numbers game.

We just had a new website made. http://holencik.com/

Here is the old website. I have not redirected the address yet. http://holencikroofing.com

I've been real content with no desire to work harder, but we seem to be growing anyway. WOM and just doing it right. Though we are on the verge of a major breakout this year... just looking at the clutch in the nest. Part of me hopes most of them never hatch, part of me wants the next to overflow.

I'm trying not to think about it.

Seems to be working.

LOL