Why Fall Decides Your Winter: Filling the Pipeline Before It's Too Late

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Welcome to Contractor Cuts, where we cover the good, the bad, and the ugly of growing a successful contracting company.
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Welcome to Contractor Cuts.
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My name is Clark Turner.
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And I'm James McConnell.
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Thank you for joining us again this week.
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So today we are covering while right now, this month, usually September, October, going into November are the most critical months of growth for your company.
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Everyone goes into the winter and it's usually a slower season.
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From really from Thanksgiving till New Year's, they don't want you in the house.
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They don't want work being done or they're not thinking about that.
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Even if it's okay to be working in the property, they're not, you people aren't two weeks out from Christmas saying, hey, let's let's talk to a contractor and maybe rip our bathroom apart.
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Like that's that's not this month's thought process for homeowners.
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Well, the ones that are thinking that are the dangerous clients.
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I think before everybody comes, we should redo the bathroom.
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They should be able to get that done in three weeks.
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I saw it on HGTV they did in three days.
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Easy peasy.
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Remember Ty Pennington?
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Oh, he was called Ty up.
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Call Ty.
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He was a tall drink of water, wouldn't he?
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So handy.
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The goal of this month and where we're going, this kind of reflecting a lot of our coaching conversations that were happening this month, um, is right now is the most critical time to fill your winter up.
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And if we don't have a winter with work, if it dips in the winter, we are starting all over again in spring.
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Right.
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The whole goal of, you know, maybe like a squirrel.
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You're coming into spring and you're doing$25,000 a month.
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And by mid-spring, early summer, we want to be bumping up to$50,000 a month in revenue.
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At that point, turning into the winter, we want to keep it at$50,000 over the winter.
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So we turn the corner in the spring, and now we go from$50 to 100 month in and month out in the spring.
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So the goal is we want uh to kind of increase in revenue spring, summer, stay flat in the winter and not dip and then go back up in the spring.
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Kind of like stairs.
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Yes, exactly.
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Exactly.
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Like stair, stair step it.
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Where most companies fail is they do that big growth in the spring, summer, 50,000, you know, over the winter.
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Spring, summer, I'm hitting 100,000 a month.
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Yeah.
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Fall comes again and we hit a 40,000 month, and then a 45, then a 60,000.
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And it's that dip that really stops you from growth because you're now resetting in the spring as opposed to doubling down and growing.
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So the goal of what we're talking about today is how do we do that?
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How do we keep the winter months busy?
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And it all starts with right now.
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We're in the time we're releasing this podcast.
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You know how I do it?
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What?
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I just grind.
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I turn, I turn every eight-hour day.
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Uh-huh.
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Yeah.
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That's amazing.
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Yeah.
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You work your entire winter by the end of October, usually.
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That's so smart.
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Yeah, I know.
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Uh so trying to get booked now, what does that look like?
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How do we prioritize that?
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And what does this month look different than other months?
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And to be honest, the way that we're about to talk about what you should be doing right now going into the winter months is if you do it well, you keep this rhythm and you do this year round, and it really boosts the company.
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Yeah.
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As you grow, how we are doing this game planning for the winter is not a one-off do this for one month a year.
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This is if you learn how to do this well now, you turn the corner in the spring, and this is how we can manage a lot more work than you're managing right now, is the the way that we're going to plan and look at look at how how the September-October calendar lays out in your game planning.
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What you're saying kind of reminds me of what Jesus said at the start of his ministry when he said, metanoia or change your way of thinking.
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And it really forced the apostles to kind of start thinking a new way.
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And I feel like that's what you're encouraging your listeners to do right now.
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Am I right?
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Man, or are you reading my notes?
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You're right on.
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I'm not.
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Um All right.
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This is very similar to our podcast, I think two weeks ago, booked versus busy.
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Uh and this is more of the pipeline side of that.
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If you haven't listened to that one, go back two weeks.
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Uh, you know, the difference of a busy contractor versus booked contractor and and why we're trying to be booked up and the longevity of having a pipeline.
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So we're not going to rehash that, but what we're talking about is what you should be doing differently to build that pipeline, how we're focusing on clients and estimates differently, uh, and then kind of how do we expedite some of the signatures on contracts that that we can utilize going into the winter that we don't have that that the same uh levers the pull on other in other seasons.
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So starting off, the number one thing that I want you to shift in your mindset right now going into the winter is we aren't responding to estimates because I need something for next week.
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We need to, as we talked about a couple weeks ago, we need to have a pipeline, visible pipeline of what's coming up over the next four to six months.
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What are we doing?
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What jobs do I have booked?
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What are signed?
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What are contracts that are done?
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This is a client that wants to start in January.
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Great, let's put them on the tracker.
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We know how much I'm gonna be able to invoice.
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If it's a$100,000 job and you think it's gonna take you three months, maybe you say, hey, the first month I'm gonna buy a lot of material, so I'm gonna spend, I'm gonna uh budget$50,000 of invoicing in January.
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And then over the next two months, I'll probably do$30,000, then$20,000.
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And that's about what I should do.
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And so we're gonna write those down on our projections, looking at what jobs are landing what months on my current calendar.
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Once we have that down, how we're changing that right now from the ways we've done it in the past is in September, October, I am now looking at every estimate that's coming in as I've got to double down on my estimate writing and my sales process now because I'm doing it for three to four months, as opposed to doing it kind of a one-month lag.
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So the goal of what we're doing right now is building the pipeline for the next six months.
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It's it's setting ourselves up to where we're gonna spend this month doing a lot more uh admin work, estimate writing, chasing those estimates and trying to get signatures and using it like a puzzle piece.
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I'm trying to fill out the entire puzzle of November through January.
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Um, so that's that's the goal.
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And that's what we're talking about today is how do we really work that pipeline to be able to do that?
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James, what would you say changes for you in your mindset when you're thinking of prepping for the winter, going into the winter months and kind of what what I just laid out?
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Well, if I was if I was unsuccessful getting my calendar full before I've reached the dead zone, I am I'm focusing a lot of attention going back into previous clients, even dead estimates that didn't land like two, three years back because you have an entire catalog of people that at one time or another were looking to have work done.
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Whether you were able to land that work with them or not, it doesn't matter.
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You have a list of people that are in the market for renovation work.
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They might have gotten the work done that they were looking for, they might have not, they might have put it on the back burner.
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At any rate, you probably have a list of hundreds of people that you can reach out to that might need some work done.
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And very few people uh work their list of previous clients.
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Yeah, it's odd.
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Yeah.
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Well, and it's because for the next 12 months, they probably don't need me.
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We just spent 80 grand on that primary bathroom and they're not going to be doing so.
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We kind of put them out of our minds and our marketing, and then all of a sudden, you know, we're three years away and they might need something, but we haven't thought about them in three years.
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So it's it's it is something where we need to keep tapping them on the shoulder for that marketing and finding.
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I think there's two different clients that we deal with in this season.
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One is like, I got plenty of leads, I'm good.
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Like, I'm just trying to figure out like I'm I've I'm closing out all my summer projects and I'm starting some new ones and I'm just too slam, so I'm not getting back with people.
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That's one.
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The other, the other client is I don't have any work and I'm I need some leads, right?
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And so those are kind of two different directions directives of what you should be doing right now.
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The the one of churning up leads is I know you are booked up through the end of October.
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We need in September, if you have no other jobs uh potential, you don't have a pipeline of work, we don't have a large number of potential estimates that are out there.
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We need to start building that pipeline of work, the potential of work that's coming.
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Um, and so doing the marketing that James's talking about is right now it feels good.
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And I've got six weeks of work right now.
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That doesn't mean it's okay just to sit back and relax because you at the end of that six weeks, November 15th hits and nobody's calling.
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Nobody's going to your website looking for work.
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And people push sometimes.
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Yeah, a job that you were, you know, I'm 99% sure that this job is happening in September, November, uh, it could go away.
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And so there's there's always that chance.
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So like the other thing is uh not just the the previous clients, but if you haven't already invested any time into finding um realtor, designer, architect, engineer relationships, those are not hard to make a connection.
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Yeah.
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And it might not be it might be somebody that has uh they have a contractor already that they work with or they have multiple and they they're like, yeah, I pretty much give all my work to these two, three guys.
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That's fine.
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There's a lot of them out there and they all want people to refer work to.
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And even if that doesn't turn anything up for you in the winter, it it it's okay.
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That casting a wide net in this type of uh in this type of quarter is not a bad move.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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I think if you if you're low on leads, that's that's absolutely where you gotta be.
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I think the other side of this is the the guys that have, you know, I've got a uh my marketing funnel set up.
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I've got my faucets to where I've got decent leads coming in.
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They've slowed down some, but I'm still getting five or six a week.
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And like those guys that that that were coaching, those companies, the where that I see them fault falter and and kind of mess up is they're used to landing at like they're kind of sitting back and relaxed because they got they've built that this year.
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Over the last 12 months, we've really built a really good sales funnel for them and and this this faucet of how the marketing's going.
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And so they're good because I just keep doing the doing these estimates.
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I kind of pick and choose which ones I want, land the ones I I I've got, and I'm good for the, you know, my next month or two is booked.
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The problem is you have to capture every single one of those now because we're going, it's like what we've talked about in the past.
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I'm gathering the fruit, the all of the food that I need because winter I got to eat it.
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Where most guys operate of I can walk around and there's enough fruit around me that I just eat what's on the ground and I don't have to collect anything because I'll find some more fruit at the next tree.
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And so the idea of how do we start looking at the leads differently?
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And so I like to look at my leads in three different categories.
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You got your booked signed, scheduled, they're they're committed.
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We're 99%, if not already 100% signed.
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Um, probables, estimates out, they're engaged.
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There's not a signature on it, but I'm like 75, 80% sure they're going with me.
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I don't know why they wouldn't.
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Um, and then pending.
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I've priced something, I've sent it out.
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There's nothing happening, right?
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And so looking at those three categories, we're one, I want you to play the game of being a contractor.
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Like look at your leads, look at the open estimates, look at, all right, I've got this one estimate that's$250,000.
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And I've got these other 10 that are between 20 and 40.
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I want that$250,000 one because I sell that one job.
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That's 10 of these other jobs combined.
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So let me look at that project.
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And so, I mean, and again, all of us look at a$250,000 job, like, oh, that's juicy.
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I want, I want to, I'm gonna go after that anyways.
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But I'm looking at these saying, okay, where can I fit this into my calendar?
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Where, how, how do I take uh these jobs and start laying out the process for the client?
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And so that's going into the next stuff of how do we start selling these clients differently?
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Reasons to sign now.
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How are we doing the reasons to sign now?
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Number one, I like beat the frost.
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Uh a lot of you know, half of the US, if not more, has has ground that makes it very difficult to do any sort of groundwork or footers or any sort of concrete in the winter.
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Um, it's doable, it just takes a lot more work and it costs a lot more money to thaw out ground to build up poor footers.
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I'm always on those jobs.
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Any exterior job, especially in the north, I want it to be hey, I know you want this deck done.
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Let's go ahead and sign and get the footers done in October.
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And then after your Thanksgiving with your whole family there, we'll go ahead and start on the deck.
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But I need these footers in the ground before we start, right?
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So we're trying to expedite a signature earlier than when the client actually wants to start the job.
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Um, another one, I want to expand my pre-con on purpose.
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Um, if it's a job and they're like, hey, you know, we want we want to start in the new year, we want to start after Christmas, and it's a decent sized job, a six-figure plus job.
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I can in October say, awesome, let's do that.
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What we need to do is start pre-con now.
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And I'm gonna have a two-month pre-con phase for them for a couple of different reasons.
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Number one, I'm gonna have some downtime in my winter.
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Let me start planning this.
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Let me do the the all of the pre-con work I've got to do.
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Let's do, let's start the permitting process.
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Let's get your selections picked out, let's get Gantt charts laid out, let me talk with my crews.
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And so when January hits, we're not starting planning, we're starting execution.
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Um, and so by expanding in a normal scenario, I'm not doing a two-month pre-con on a job like that.
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But if they my client's limiting my start date, then I'm gonna go ahead and get that signature and expand that pre-con and say, hey, let's get signed now.
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Uh, what I can do is meet with the city and try to make sure that our plans are going to fit what needs to get done.
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Um, so expanding the pre-con is another way that we can expedite that signature to get these clients signed.
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Um, permit expediting, which is part of the pre-con.
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Um, one thing I always say, hey, I'm trying to fill up my calendar in the winter.
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I've got a lot of bigger jobs starting.
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I want to make sure I got spot for you.
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That's kind of a all year-round sales, though.
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Um calendar is a bad guy.
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I'm trying to get you uh fitting into the calendar.
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Um, we got pricing changes in the new year coming up, or uh I've got leads on materials and uh that that are slowing down, or you know, spring rush, we are gonna get slammed.
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If we go ahead and do this, we can get this taken care of and expedite a little quicker.
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Things that we can do to start talking to the client as reasons to sign now versus yeah, we're gonna do that in just a couple months.
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Let's talk to me in the middle of November and we'll have a conversation.
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Well, let's go ahead and sign now.
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Let's not wait till the middle middle of November.
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Let's get some of the stuff working and get that deposit on the pre-construction.
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Um from there, I think it's uh really game planning every lead.
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Um, and so by all the stuff we just talked about, what I want you to do is have a list of every lead in the software.
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Hopefully you can pull that up.
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Um, and we're looking at every single lead, making a game plan per lead.
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And so what I've done with coaching clients is when we're doing this on a call, we pull up the leads and I just walk through their jobs.
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What about this one?
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What are we doing about Susan Yates?
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What's happening with that project?
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I mean, she's interested.
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And so we we are deciding who's let's let's order of importance these clients and make it kind of a wish list.
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These are ones I'm gonna go after and land.
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This, you know, Susan Yates might have a project that's$50,000 and it's a kitchen, and Bob Jones might have a$50,000 kitchen as well.
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Which one am I picking to go after?
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:49.519
I'm gonna go after both of them, but Susan Yates wants to start in November.
00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:51.519
Bill wants to start in in the spring.
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:53.680
Bob, whatever his name is, wants to start in the spring, right?
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.640
And so Bob's not Bob's not going with you because you called him Bill.
00:17:57.120 --> 00:17:57.759
Hey, Bill.
00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:02.640
No, so I'm I'm identifying why I want to go after which clients.
00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:04.960
It's right in my right up my alley.
00:18:05.120 --> 00:18:11.200
Hey, this is an interior job versus an exterior winner's coming, and I want the interior ones can won't get delayed and can happen.
00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:12.560
Um, this is a juicier one.
00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:22.400
So I'm gonna, and so we're trying to make decisions as to who we're gonna go after and who is we're gonna send estimates in and chase, but if I've only got one hour to talk with the client, which one am I going with?
00:18:22.560 --> 00:18:22.720
Yeah.
00:18:22.800 --> 00:18:23.920
Who's my blue chip?
00:18:24.080 --> 00:18:24.640
Yeah.
00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:37.279
Um, so we want to, you know, the step-by-step way to do this, we want to pull every open estimate, every potential client, every lead, and start looking booked, probable, pending, laying out and the puzzle pieces.
00:18:37.360 --> 00:18:40.800
When when can this this when do I have availability for this client?
00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:51.440
Um, ranking the profit, uh, the probables by margin, crew fit, uh, the the client scoring on the inside of your company of who do we want to work with and what jobs we want to do.
00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:54.480
Then we're gonna start calling this week's top leads.
00:18:54.560 --> 00:18:54.880
All right.
00:18:54.960 --> 00:18:59.120
I want to pick the reason that fits and give them a real deadline.
00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:07.200
What one thing that I that we're gonna talk about in a future podcast next week or the week after is the value add phone call.
00:19:07.360 --> 00:19:09.519
Um, I don't want to just say, hey, I'm just following up.
00:19:09.600 --> 00:19:13.440
What are what are you uh what do you guys want to get started?
00:19:13.519 --> 00:19:14.080
Are you interested?
00:19:15.600 --> 00:19:16.880
Just check it in.
00:19:17.120 --> 00:19:20.400
Uh what is uh I did an estimate for you a little bit.
00:19:20.480 --> 00:19:21.920
You remember, yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:19:22.160 --> 00:19:24.080
Um yeah, I was just checking in.
00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:25.440
How are you doing?
00:19:25.759 --> 00:19:26.800
Can we get that going?
00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:30.240
Are you considering like writing us a check today?
00:19:30.560 --> 00:19:36.720
Uh instead of just the generic follow-ups, we're doing value add follow-ups, which we're talking about, I think, next week.
00:19:36.800 --> 00:19:40.480
But the value add is simply, hey, Bob, I have a gift certificate.
00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:41.279
Would you like it?
00:19:41.600 --> 00:19:41.920
No.
00:19:42.560 --> 00:19:49.680
The the value add would be uh think about what the project needs and bring that to the client in the estimating phase.
00:19:49.840 --> 00:19:54.560
So, hey, you know, Bob, I was thinking, you know, you were talking about trying to get more light in this kitchen.
00:19:54.640 --> 00:19:58.400
What if we did, instead of glass front cabinets, what if we did shelving?
00:19:58.560 --> 00:20:05.360
That way that window that's right beside them is gonna shine like something where I'm thinking through and adding value to the thought process of the project.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:07.840
Hey, Bob, I was just in the shower.
00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:08.720
I popped out.
00:20:08.880 --> 00:20:11.680
I was thinking of you while I was in the shower.
00:20:11.840 --> 00:20:22.160
And I was thinking about that kitchen window and just imagining you sitting there holding your coffee with the light pouring in just in the early morning, and just wouldn't that be peaceful?
00:20:22.320 --> 00:20:24.320
Anyway, call me back.
00:20:24.640 --> 00:20:25.680
That was a voicemail.
00:20:25.840 --> 00:20:26.960
That was a whole voicemail.
00:20:27.039 --> 00:20:27.680
Yeah.
00:20:29.600 --> 00:20:31.840
And you don't land that many jobs, you're saying?
00:20:32.080 --> 00:20:33.120
No, I don't know.
00:20:33.360 --> 00:20:38.960
No, and not have like three or four uh pending restraining orders.
00:20:39.840 --> 00:20:44.720
So what we're trying to do is fill up the future, like we keep saying.
00:20:44.880 --> 00:20:52.880
So, what with what we're talking about, I'm laying these out, I'm calling, and I'm trying to have the client come into the conversation.
00:20:53.039 --> 00:20:55.279
I'm saying, hey, listen, I want to fit you in.
00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:56.320
I want to get this done.
00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.000
I know you want to get it done before Christmas.
00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.759
What if we start it right after Thanksgiving?
00:20:59.920 --> 00:21:00.320
Give me this.
00:21:00.720 --> 00:21:08.880
And so I'm trying to dictate timing on when they need to start by what fits in our calendar and when I'm trying to fill up my puzzle pieces in the right spots.
00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:10.240
And I'm having those conversations.
00:21:10.320 --> 00:21:12.080
And the client's like, oh, that that might be great.
00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:13.360
I'm gonna double down with that client.
00:21:13.600 --> 00:21:14.480
How do we expedite that?
00:21:14.560 --> 00:21:14.640
Right.
00:21:14.720 --> 00:21:19.920
And I'm gonna lean into that conversation and I'm always setting up our next contact.
00:21:20.080 --> 00:21:21.440
When are we talking again?
00:21:21.600 --> 00:21:22.080
Can I talk?
00:21:22.160 --> 00:21:22.720
Can I call you?
00:21:22.800 --> 00:21:24.240
I know you're gonna talk to your husband this weekend.
00:21:24.400 --> 00:21:27.759
Can I call you on Monday and we'll figure out uh kind of the game plan?
00:21:27.920 --> 00:21:34.880
Whatever that is, I'm laying those out, but I'm being strategic in every single client as this is the person I wanna I want to go after.
00:21:35.039 --> 00:21:38.320
This is the job I want, and I want it for my October, November spot.
00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:40.960
I want it for January spot, I want it for my December.
00:21:41.120 --> 00:21:42.720
And so an investment property.
00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:43.519
Hey, this is a great one.
00:21:43.600 --> 00:21:48.000
I'm gonna do it over Christmas, New Year's because no one's in the house and I can rip it apart.
00:21:48.080 --> 00:21:51.519
So I'm gonna talk to the investor about trying to slot them into that time slot.
00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:51.920
Right.
00:21:52.080 --> 00:22:07.039
So the the other uh the other thing that you could do it just in this uh if you're like really trying to pinpoint some jobs, finding a line item that you can source a meaningful savings.
00:22:07.279 --> 00:22:18.640
So like I've got uh like a a coupon at Home Depot for like 20% off orders over$1,000 or whatever the thing.
00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:32.080
And you you can be like, hey, I just wanted to let you know I have uh my flooring guy, I've got a good deal on the floor that you guys identified that you wanted.
00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:35.759
I can save us two thousand dollars on that material.
00:22:36.080 --> 00:22:38.640
Um, but that's like I've got that thermometer.
00:22:39.840 --> 00:22:43.200
So if you want to, I would love to get this project started.
00:22:43.360 --> 00:22:46.560
I can save you two thousand dollars off the bat with this material purchase.
00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:46.960
Yep.
00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:51.279
Is this something that you'd be willing to get going with so we can take advantage of that?
00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:52.080
Yeah, for sure.
00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:57.200
I I think But there's like it's not just the floor, like you can find look for it.
00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:58.720
Like look for an opportunity.
00:22:58.800 --> 00:23:03.680
Like, how can I save money here past that savings as a foot in the door?
00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:11.519
And a gesture of good faith and adding a little bit of urgency where it's like, yeah, I mean, that's 2,000 bucks.
00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:13.759
Like we want to do the work anyway.
00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:14.800
Yeah, let's do it.
00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:15.279
Yep.
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.840
Where I keep talking about the next podcast we're we're doing because we've already planted.
00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:22.320
God, you love planting little seeds, don't you?
00:23:22.560 --> 00:23:23.360
You little gardener.
00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:35.920
But laying out the sales process of um I'm not going, if I've got 20 leads, I'm not going to give 20 leads 10% of my 5% of my attention each.
00:23:36.080 --> 00:23:38.640
So that's all my attention goes 5% to each of them.
00:23:38.800 --> 00:23:45.440
I'm going to pick of those 20, here are the 10, here are the eight that I'm going to give 100% attention to.
00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:49.680
And I'm going to do the sales process, not just transactional, not just, here's your estimate.
00:23:49.759 --> 00:23:50.400
Let me know if you want it.
00:23:50.480 --> 00:23:51.039
Here's your estimate.
00:23:51.200 --> 00:23:59.120
Cause right now, those 20 potential jobs that you have are actually five for this month, five for next month, five for the next month, and five for the next month.
00:23:59.200 --> 00:23:59.360
Right.
00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:03.120
And so we we need to capture all 20 of them, ideally.
00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:05.360
But if we can't, what are the 10 that I have to land?
00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:08.480
Because I can't end up at the end of this only landing two.
00:24:08.560 --> 00:24:12.240
I need to land five to six to seven to eight to fill up my winter.
00:24:12.320 --> 00:24:14.720
And so we need to double down that effort right now.
00:24:14.880 --> 00:24:20.240
So part of doing that is extra office hour, September, October.
00:24:20.480 --> 00:24:29.039
I am blocking out a time twice a week to where all I'm doing is sniping my sales, right?
00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:32.400
How do I shift into a sales manager, a sales?
00:24:32.720 --> 00:24:36.080
Um really, I'm not a contractor for this time period.
00:24:36.160 --> 00:24:37.519
I'm doing sales for the company.
00:24:37.680 --> 00:24:38.640
I'm a salesman.
00:24:38.800 --> 00:24:46.000
So do we, you know, Tuesdays and Fridays, I'm gonna spend one hour going through all my open estimates and making a game plan.
00:24:46.080 --> 00:24:47.200
I'm getting a whiteboard.
00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:56.960
I'm gonna do kind of an attack plan on these clients and list them by my top priority through my through, hey, that'd be great if we land it, but I'm not going spending all my time going after this person.
00:24:57.120 --> 00:25:01.920
Um, and we're gonna spend the office hours to chase those down and fill up the calendar.
00:25:02.080 --> 00:25:17.440
What's really good about this, we said this in the beginning, is by doing this and getting in that habit and preparing for the winter, when you turn into the spring, this is how you grow the company because this is you have to be able to be three, four, five months out to be able to hire a project manager.
00:25:17.759 --> 00:25:31.600
You have to have a you the, you know, I always say like my minimum for a GC just doing renovations, additions, you got to be doing 120, 125 a month to justify a hire.
00:25:31.920 --> 00:25:36.320
And when you hire them, we need to be doing about 200 a month by the, you know, by month four or five.
00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:40.080
And so we got a game plan where that revenue is coming from and how we're gonna get there.
00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:43.759
What most guys do is, hey, I did 120 last month, I'm ready to hire.
00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.440
But then the next month they do 40.
00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:49.519
And this next month they do 80, and the next month they do 120 again, and then they do 60.
00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:56.560
And it's like hitting it a little bit, that's because you you killed it this month and you did really good this month.
00:25:56.720 --> 00:26:02.240
But the drop-off in the next two months show you were not planning and not building out that pipeline.
00:26:02.560 --> 00:26:08.800
So, how do setting up what you're doing now is how successful companies run month in and month out.
00:26:09.039 --> 00:26:27.920
But for the guys that are one-man shows, two-man shows that are just hunting and eating what they find right in front of them and they're not gathering and learning how to do this longevity of projections of the next four to five months and filling my working on three months from now, not on next month, that's how the successful companies grow.
00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:46.400
You know, I find it really interesting that um what you're describing sounds a lot like the way um, you know, Neolithic man started cultivating the land um and actually like planting things and they were thinking forward, whereas before it was, you know, very much the hunter-gatherer.
00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:48.960
Uh, and so you're kind of making a distinction between those two things.
00:26:49.039 --> 00:26:49.920
I find that fascinating.
00:26:50.160 --> 00:26:51.120
That's thank you.
00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:51.920
Yeah.
00:26:53.600 --> 00:26:58.000
Um if you want to do this, we're gonna go with you, Sunsa.
00:26:58.240 --> 00:27:04.160
All right, so if you want to do this, here's one thing that we're offering to anyone who's coming on the retreat.
00:27:04.480 --> 00:27:04.800
Hold on.
00:27:04.880 --> 00:27:06.880
Before you do that, I have a couple, I have a couple notes.
00:27:07.120 --> 00:27:07.360
Perfect.
00:27:07.519 --> 00:27:09.680
It sounds like you're we're wrapping it up here.
00:27:10.080 --> 00:27:18.320
Um we talked about I talked about past clients, but also like your personal network.
00:27:19.120 --> 00:27:22.240
I think people have moved away.
00:27:22.480 --> 00:27:25.440
It I do this, I'd always did this.
00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:31.360
I didn't want to involve anybody in my world into my business.
00:27:31.840 --> 00:27:37.519
And so I would never reach out to like personal contacts really for work.
00:27:37.680 --> 00:27:39.840
It was all like, what does my business network look like?
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:41.440
What does my marketing look like?
00:27:42.080 --> 00:27:49.039
Um but there's a way to do that that is totally like you're not asking them for work.
00:27:49.120 --> 00:27:55.920
It's hey, this person was in my small group and I know that they're they're kind of connected in a network.
00:27:56.080 --> 00:28:05.840
Hey, this person, this is my my dad or my father-in-law still working in this, you know, Fortune 500 company and he's works with you know 200 people.
00:28:06.080 --> 00:28:11.920
I'm reaching out to some people in my world and saying, hey, trying to fill up the the calendar for this month.
00:28:12.080 --> 00:28:21.759
If you hear of anybody looking for renovation work, um, just your reminder, I'm this is the kind of stuff that I do, we would be happy to take any phone shoulder.
00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:22.000
Yep.
00:28:22.480 --> 00:28:28.400
And it's a very low cost, very uh when I say low cost, I mean like social capital.
00:28:28.480 --> 00:28:35.600
Like it's a if somebody called you or texted you and asking the same thing about their business, it would not be offensive to you.
00:28:35.759 --> 00:28:36.000
Yeah.
00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:48.880
It would be, it would open your ears to conversations that are happening around you, like, oh hey, actually, I I actually just spoke with it's like when you buy a car and then you start seeing that car all yeah all the time on the road.
00:28:49.039 --> 00:28:51.360
You you're putting that little bug in someone's ear.
00:28:51.440 --> 00:28:57.840
And then when they're having lunch with somebody or they're out at their small group or they're playing pickleball, like, oh, actually give this guy a call.
00:28:58.080 --> 00:28:59.440
My nephew, he actually does that.
00:28:59.600 --> 00:29:00.480
Uh you should call him.
00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:06.000
It it really drums stuff up, putting yourself out there, letting the people in your world know that you're doing something.
00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:06.400
Yep.
00:29:06.560 --> 00:29:14.400
Uh the other thing though, we we were talking a lot about what do you do with your your given leads, the leads that you have.
00:29:14.560 --> 00:29:16.800
How do you cultivate those and land those?
00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:42.480
But if you don't have those, the I'm not saying pivot from what you do as a company, but in the jobs that you're actively working in, go get with Chat GPT, use your logo and design and make a uh a flyer, a leave behind flyer, a door hanger, something that in the houses you're working in, canvas that neighborhood.
00:29:42.560 --> 00:29:42.720
Yep.
00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:55.680
These are the types of things that we do, or even better, here's some stuff to get prepared for the fall, here's some stuff to get prepared for the winter, like a checkbox list of a la carte stuff, or maybe it's a$500 minimum.
00:29:55.840 --> 00:30:07.120
Check the box of what you want us to do, and just something that is pushing out there in the areas that you're already working in and the neighborhoods that already see your signs, and the neighborhoods that's already seeing your cars.
00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:13.039
Hey, we're here, we're happy to do some stuff to get you prepared for the the winter months.
00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:21.279
And there's a a whole laundry list of things that you can do, a lot of small interior work and stuff that you might not necessarily want to be involved with long term.
00:30:21.519 --> 00:30:21.840
Yeah.
00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:34.480
But something that if you don't have enough work going into the winter, very easy, low-cost canvas style uh marketing that is it turns turns work over.
00:30:34.640 --> 00:30:34.880
Yeah.
00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:40.320
Well, and it's that works so well because we're two two reasons.
00:30:40.480 --> 00:30:43.519
Number one, we're removing the friction of finding the person.
00:30:43.680 --> 00:30:50.080
You're showing up at someone's door and they uh they actually were talking about getting their house painted at some point in the next six months.
00:30:50.240 --> 00:30:51.360
And I you're standing here.
00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:52.400
Yeah, give me a bid.
00:30:52.960 --> 00:30:58.000
That the friction of finding a person and where do I find the contractor is solved two ways.
00:30:58.080 --> 00:31:04.160
Number one, because you're standing at their front door, leaving them a leave behind, saying, Hey, we're working in the neighborhood, let's know if you need anything.
00:31:04.320 --> 00:31:06.320
Number two, people trust their neighbors.
00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:12.160
If your neighbor picked you, if their neighbor picked you, then already verified, like they trust you.
00:31:12.240 --> 00:31:15.120
So you're building that trust, like not just some fly by night.
00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:17.200
We're working in the neighborhood, working with for your neighbor.
00:31:17.360 --> 00:31:20.080
So yeah, those are great ways to turn it up right now.
00:31:20.400 --> 00:31:29.440
And I would venture to say, even if you have leads, you need the this whole podcast is you need more leads right now than you think you do.
00:31:29.600 --> 00:31:32.480
Like then what your normal normal lead count is.
00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:39.279
We need to double triple that because we're selling today's leads for November, December's jobs.
00:31:39.440 --> 00:31:42.080
And in November, no one's calling you.
00:31:42.240 --> 00:31:46.080
And so December 15th, you are rarely getting a phone call.
00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:48.560
Someone saying, Hey, let's, I want to do an addition.
00:31:49.039 --> 00:31:49.360
Okay.
00:31:49.840 --> 00:31:50.160
Right.
00:31:50.240 --> 00:31:58.480
I think one thing we've done before, I've I've I remember one project where a guy literally bought a kitchen renovation for Christmas for his wife.
00:31:58.640 --> 00:32:00.320
I'm like, that was our sales.
00:32:00.480 --> 00:32:10.160
Like, hey, why don't why don't we plan this out, get some drawings done, and present to your wife for Christmas, she can open up a portfolio of what the new kitchen could look like.
00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:11.360
And then we can design from it.
00:32:11.440 --> 00:32:14.000
I'll show up at your house Christmas morning.
00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:17.440
Rap Christmas the whole plan.
00:32:17.600 --> 00:32:18.880
It'll be great.
00:32:19.200 --> 00:32:24.000
But just getting creative with stuff like that, of what we're doing, when we're doing it, and why we need it.
00:32:24.080 --> 00:32:42.400
Um looking at I I think the biggest thing is sitting with guy guys that are newly doing this is the they get it's almost like this perfectionism brain um uh analytic paralysis, whatever they call it.
00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:43.920
Analysis paralysis.
00:32:44.080 --> 00:32:46.400
Yes, where they're like, okay, I gotta do this, I don't know.
00:32:46.560 --> 00:32:53.519
And it's it's almost like they get stuck thinking through who should go where, and that and if I don't get that, then I'm not gonna they won't be there.
00:32:53.680 --> 00:32:59.680
So and it's just like this freezing on the amygdala's response to fighter space.
00:33:01.360 --> 00:33:16.720
So what what you should do, and this is something that we're offering, is if you want help doing this, anyone signing up in the month of September to come on the retreat gets three coaching sessions for free.
00:33:16.800 --> 00:33:19.039
And what that means is that sounds like a deal.
00:33:19.279 --> 00:33:38.720
James and I will, James or I will meet with you in the next two weeks when you after you sign up, and we're gonna do a full planning session on what now through the end of the year getting to the retreat should look like a blueprinting session of your company and just understanding what you've got, what you should be concerned about, what you should be looking at from an outsider's perspective, looking in.
00:33:38.880 --> 00:33:47.039
It's like an hour, hour and a half conversation that we have with you going through your company, laying out now through the end of the year to come on the retreat.
00:33:47.200 --> 00:33:48.720
Then we did two more sessions after that.
00:33:48.800 --> 00:33:57.600
We'll do one at the beginning of December, which is a group session talking through the retreat prep workbook of what it looks like, how you should be prepping to come on a retreat like this.
00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:08.079
And then we have one final meeting between Christmas and the retreat, which is like a three-week span where we're looking at your homework, saying, okay, let's go through what you've prepped and what you've planned.
00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:10.559
Look at I don't like that answer on this question.
00:34:10.719 --> 00:34:11.599
Can you go deeper on that?
00:34:11.679 --> 00:34:13.039
Hey, you actually missed this one.
00:34:13.199 --> 00:34:14.559
Why don't you think about this way?
00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:19.039
And we help you kind of round the edges of your homework of what you've been prepping.
00:34:19.119 --> 00:34:23.119
So when you come on the retreat, you're on step 10 instead of step one.
00:34:23.199 --> 00:34:24.239
And so you're already there.
00:34:24.320 --> 00:34:26.480
Your brain juices are going towards growth.
00:34:26.800 --> 00:34:28.159
You're headed that direction.
00:34:28.320 --> 00:34:39.039
And so that's that's kind of if you're coming into the retreat, sign up right now so we can do this whole game plan with you and launch you into the new year coming off this retreat.
00:34:39.199 --> 00:34:45.119
Um, we still have a few, uh, we've we've awarded a scholarship winner already, and we've got a couple left.
00:34:45.199 --> 00:34:48.719
So that's still available on the website if you want to uh apply for that.
00:34:48.880 --> 00:34:58.079
If if you don't have the means to come, but you have the will and want to come and you're you're trying to get the company launched, just apply for a scholarship and we'll talk through it with you.
00:34:58.159 --> 00:35:01.920
I usually help on a call and hear about your company and we make a good game plan for you.
00:35:02.079 --> 00:35:07.519
So sign up on our uh if you go to uh contractorcest.com, check out the retreat.
00:35:07.599 --> 00:35:19.840
But let's get some of these uh coaching sessions scheduled with with James or I to really help make sure that what we're talking about today is actually happening and a game plan to execute this going into the the the winter months.
00:35:20.240 --> 00:35:21.280
So Amen.
00:35:22.240 --> 00:35:23.680
Thanks so much for listening to us.
00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:26.079
Have a great rest of your week.
00:35:26.800 --> 00:35:27.200
Bye.
00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:27.840
See ya.