Some companies rely too much on a strong business developer, pay-per-click or social media for their growth. These tactics help you grow, but long-term growth is driven by a powerful brand reputation. Branding starts by aligning marketing and sales, but it’s much more than that. The expectations set by your sales team must be successfully fulfilled by operations. Operations must... read more
John Joyce is a contractor with a heart of gold. He and his team have passion, integrity and a dream of dramatically growing their business. They work in a midsize market, and the potential to dominate is huge. They have been enjoying consistent growth, but it came with no real plan, no true buy-in and too much stress. I helped... read more
The secret is not really a secret. Like the secret in life is “hard work,” the secret to sustainable growth is “the system.” There are at least 90,000 landscape maintenance, snow and construction businesses in the U.S. and Canada. Fewer than 10 percent of these ever grow larger than $1 million in annual revenue. There’s no crime in that, as... read more
It’s deep in the middle of the season, and it’s a grind. You have to ensure you’re filling the pipeline, retaining employees, not burning them out, getting bids out on time and keeping clients happy. You’re juggling many issues and problems—the irony is that the more you focus solely on solving your short-term pain, the more likely your short-term pain... read more
This may surprise you: You don’t need to build more relationships to have more success. Many people will tell you “this is a relationship business,” and they’re right. But some people go too far, building relationships with every person in their community and every prospect they meet. You need to pull back and find your sweet spot. You can either develop... read more
Can you really trust your numbers? That depends on how you manage your workflow and transactions. I spoke about this challenge at the GIE+EXPO 2015 and the response was, “Wow, my numbers are only as good as my management system? That’s scary!” In simple terms, the numbers accounting turns out are only as good as the numbers provided by sales... read more
