When I started the Chism Bros. painting blog in 2006, most consumers and business owners had no clear idea of what a blog was. After attending dozens of webinars, online presentations, seminars, lectures, receiving hundreds of cold calls, reading articles and much more, most Americans are now familiar with blogging. Now that does not mean that business owners actually believe in the power of content marketing and blogging. Instead, many have come to believe that if they don’t have a blog, they are committing a business “sin.”

So What Do They Do About It?

Not many companies today want to be considered old fashioned or behind the times, so instead of committing the sin of not having the blog, they start a blog and begin plogging along. For most of these businesses, having a blog is just to keep the techies, salesmen and marketing geeks at arms length so they can say, “Yes…yes, I have a blog. Now leave me alone.” or “Oh yeah. I have a Facebook page, and guess what, my blogs can be found there too. They automatically show up!”

Auto Posting

All that is just the intro and background to the real reason for this post, which is, “Should I auto post my blogs to Facebook or other social sites?” In most cases, my answer is No; still I would say Yes in a very limited sense. Let me explain:

Yes First

If you are going to have a blog, whether you write it yourself or have folks to help write quality content, sometimes it is ok to auto post your blogs. It is one less thing to worry about. I’ve done this sort of thing myself on my social sites and have helped my clients setup auto posting apps and features such as Social RSS, Hoot Suite and Tweet Deck.

Now The Reason Not to Auto Post 

Even though I’ve been one of those guys who has embraced auto posting features, I’ve never really liked doing it. Something did not sit well with me when I saw the auto post appear for my clients, for my business or when I saw auto post show up on my news feed. I’ve thought the same thing: this is NOT personal and/or social. Auto Posting lacks personality and engagement. I’ve watched the analytics plummet on auto postings vs. human posts that have a real summary before the link to a blog or article. Doesn’t it make sense that a post with a personal endorsement would get more reads, likes and comments than a post that was auto tweeted, posted and shared?

Keeping it Personal in the Contracting Business

Social Networking and Media has not really changed. It has always meant to be personal, not robotic and fake. Don’t just take my word for it. Check out these well known marketing author’s and some of their recent and past books:

• Seth Godin’s Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers (I listened to the audio of this book. It is a little boring after awhile, but it doesn’t take long to understand Godin’s main points: Be social, be polite, be real, ask permission, engage…and you’ll connect and grow your business.
• Brian Solis: Engage!
• Jay Baer’s Books: YoUtility & The Now Revolution
• Marcus Sheridan’s Blog: The Sales Lion
• Gary V’s The Thank You Economy

We’ve tried to be hip and cool by having a Facebook, Google+ or Blog page, but if we don’t keep things personal in our contracting businesses, we’ll see less and less engagement and fruit. So if you are like me, it is ok to make marketing mistakes now and then as long as those mistakes only help you to make choices that make your company better. Purpose this week to delete those auto posting features, type up a summary of your blog or article, then post!

If you stumbled upon this blog and wondered what the old way was prior to January of this year, my 2010 article called How To Setup Google Apps on Your iPad is here. As long as you do not have to reset your iPad or IOS device, the old way works. When you are ready to buy a new device or upgrade, you’ll need to follow new instructions.

Several Options To Setup Your Device

1. Gmail App for Email Only: If you just want to send and receive your emails, you can download the Gmail App from the App Store. This is actually what I do now. I like it because I have more control over my signatures, away messages, etc. So I no longer use the built in IOS Mail App. All you do is download the app, type in your Gmail username and password, and you are all set. Download it Here
2. Setup Google Apps Email & Calendar on Device: If you want to use the built in mail app and calendar features, just click on SETTINGS > MAIL, CONTACTS, CALENDARS > then tap Add Account. Next Tap the GMAIL icon. Fill in your name, username (your full email), password and the for the Description label it whatever you’d like (i.e. Business Account). Once it is verified, your email, notes and calendars should work just fine. A more thorough step by step approach can be found on the google site. When this step is done, make sure you double check your default settings. You can default your email to be personal or business. This can be found on the MAIL, CONTACTS, CALENDARS section in SETTINGS. As you scroll down, you’ll see the options.
3. Setup Google Apps Calendar using Calendar+ App: If you want an easy way to Sync multiple google calendars and have a Google Calendar-like interface, I have switched to using Calendar+ app on the Apple Store. I like it because the colors I use for each calendar are in sync with Google. To download the paid app, click here (type in your google username/password) and you are all set. This is for those who really don’t want to be all that techie and deal with Google and Apple compatibility issues.
4. Setup Contacts to Sync with Google: To make sure your contacts are in two-way sync with Google Contacts, follow a very similar approach as one of the methods above. Google Support explains it best. Click on this link to follow their steps: Sync Contacts with iPhone

This is a quick follow up to that post to keep encouraging you all to keep enabling your team to sell additional work. It works! I followed up with my dad today in how his staff was doing in selling additional work. He told me that one of his crew leaders recently sold $30,000 worth of extra work on just two jobs by using this statement to his customer, “You should consider doing ______.” This was after my dad already mentioned the same areas that needed work. The customer didn’t budge until the painter, whom they loved, made the same observation.

In all situations, continue to be a company of high integrity and only look for things that really are crucial. Encourage and remind your staff at every meeting about this simple yet effective tool of asking for more work and watch your profits and revenue increase.

An Example of the Business Growth Cycle

A slight detour for a moment (though it is related) A number of years ago, I shared this similar frustration to my business coach I had when I was involved in Vistage International. I told him that we had these ups and downs and had a hard time growing our business knowing that winter was approaching and we’d have to downsize again. The same cycle each year!

The business coach shared with me how a business works and grows. In short, it is called “growing pains.” To grow a business, it is and will be painful. A salesperson’s job is to sell jobs (profitably). He should not be as involved in all the other aspects of the business such as production and customer service. He just needs to sell.

Then production will see all the jobs he is selling and wonder how he is supposed to schedule all the work. He will conclude that he must hire new employees. This brings up another set of problems, training and customer service issues. When you hire new employees there is a training period. The staff that has been with you for awhile also might get a little frustrated because they have a “green” (new employee) helping them.

What happens when you hire new employees and have to train them? Customers might complain just a little bit more because of the growing pains you are experiencing. This too is normal, the business coach told me. You will then be forced to make sure you have good training and procedures in order. You will also make sure you deal with your customers concerns. There is no way around it.

So there is the cycle. To grow a business, you have to be ready to face the fact that you will have those growing pains. You need to face them head on or you will continue to go up and down in your business.

4 Things To Do When Swamped With Work Now

Now back to the main purpose of this blog, what are a few things you can do now when you are swamped with work.

1. Make sure you have a plan. Prepare in advanced for the uptick in work. You need to look at the previous few years to see when work really picks up and slows down. If April 1st is the date (historically) when the phone really rings off the hook, then your plan should begin ahead of schedule. This might be looking for an estimator in January and February. It might mean hiring a few extra employees in March.
2. Raise Your Prices: If you are really swamped, you also need to look at what you are charging for work. To keep staff busy during a slow season, most companies will lower their hourly rate, even operating at break even numbers for a time. Sticking to your plan of when you know you will typically be busy, start bidding work at your normal and profitable rate ahead of schedule. So in March, don’t offer any discounts.
3. Don’t Let Customer Service Suffer: This is probably one of the most difficult things to do. When you get so busy you lose sleep, it is hard to keep customers happy. Going back to step #1 (have a plan) make sure you plan out how you will keep customers happy. Maybe it involves taking an employee from the field and charging him or her with a few new responsibilities during the busy season. Make a temporary position and call it “Customer Happiness Manager.” Create a job description for this person that might require another 8-10 hours of work each week. This person can possibly help estimate/bid smaller projects, call to confirm start dates, follow up on how the job went, write thank you notes, encourage online reviews, ordering supplies, etc.
4. Don’t Stop Marketing: The last thing you don’t want to do is pause any of your marketing efforts. When you send your mailers, email blast etc out, just don’t discount. Keep your name out there in front of your target audience. This is also a great time to plan ahead. See if you can pre-sell work for those who are not in a hurry. Tell them about your slow season or a “rainy day” special.

What Do You Do When You Get Busy

I am curious to what you all do now when you get busy, what ideas you have and what you plan to do this season. I do hope you are off to a great second quarter like many of the contractors I’ve spoken to lately. Let me know by email or in the comments below.

What is a Tag?

Nutshell CRM’s website does the best job of describing what a tag in a CRM program is and what it does.

Tags are a way to organize your data in ways that are more customized to your company. You can generate lists of contacts, accounts, and leads based on their tags.

A few examples of how I’ve seen tags being used for contacts: Designers, Architects, Design-Build Firm, Website, Google, Do Not Contact Again, A+ Client and so forth. 

Avoid the Bad Habit of Using Tags Too Much

It is easy to have fun tagging contacts. Yet don’t forget, the search functions in many CRM programs today are very powerful. I find it much more quick to use the search function and a keyword/phrase and find what I need. My CRM Base and Google Apps, for example, have keyword rich searches now. Therefore I’ve avoided spending too much time tagging contacts. I like the general rule for tags, “Less is Better.” So avoid too much tagging or you’ll then be hunting through tags to find what you need. I’ve seen this mistake made in a program I use called Evernote. A user will save an article, a note, a file etc. and then create a new tag. Pretty soon, a user has 100 tags with only a couple items in each tag (which is basically a category).

My Favorite Way of Using Tags Today

Keeping with my “less is better approach,” here are a few recommendations:

1. Create a short list of tags for your company to use and stick to this plan. Don’t keep making up new tags, or it will get out of hand. I did this last week for a client using Pipeline Deals. They got into the bad habit of having lots of tags that they did not need. Each person in the company had their idea of what they called a tag! We created a Google Document and shared it with their team of the Master Tags and Secondary Tags. Now everyone is on the same page and are not allowed to add to the list!
2. Use tags for very specific purposes: This might include a mailing campaign or email list. If you want to send a mailer to your commercial clients, have a tag called “Commercial Clients.” If you want to send an email blast to your residential clients only, create a tag called “Residential Clients.” If you don’t want to keep things even more simple, I have a few clients who have a general tag “Commercial” and “Residential.” Why? Because they don’t want to separate out leads and customers. They want everyone to be included in a mailing or email. It is up to you. 
3. Small or Temporary Projects: A manager of his sales team can use tags and assign them to an office or salesperson to follow up. So he can have a tag called, “Monday Follow Up List.” He can have a person click on that tag each monday morning and know which contacts to follow up on that day. When he or she is finished calling, he simply removes the tag from that contact. You get the idea.

Tagging, if used correctly, can be a very helpful tool to manage your organization.

Do You Find Tags Helpful or a Royal Pain? Let me know in the comments below how you use, avoid or plan on using tags moving forward.

As of April 2013 Base CRM, by Future Simple, still leads the way for the best mobile CRM for small business. They now have “native apps” for the iPhone, Android, Windows Phone, iPad & Android Tablets. They also have developed some key plugins, apps and extensions for those still using Microsoft Outlook, Gmail & Mac.

The reason I give Base first place is how quickly they were able to develop a clean and useful application for many of their users. In just a few short years, the majority of businesses owners and salespeople have ditched their Blackberry and now use either and iPhone or an Android phone. These were the first two apps that Base CRM developed. They were thinking ahead! There are always little bugs to squash in every app I’ve tried, but Future Simple has done a good job of releasing Apps where the main CRM features just work: contacts, deals & task. I am one of their testers, so I give them constant feedback of things I want to change, update and/or bugs to fix. But all in all, it is truly an awesome experience.

Those who want to experience their first CRM or don’t want to spend a lot can try Base CRM for free. The mobile features don’t cost anything. It is only when you get above 50 sales (deals) or need more “cool” features that you pay for the app. Companies who run a simple sales cycle and rely on Google or Outlook for their main tools, might get by with their basic paid version of $15 a month. I would recommend their main paid version for those who have a more complex sale and want to carefully track each stage of the cycle. This would cost $45 a user per month. This is still not bad for how much time you save, and it makes sure you don’t drop the ball with your sales process.

#2 & 3 Salesforce and Zoho

Zoho CRM is basically a copycat of Salesforce. The features are pretty similar. Salesforce was one of the first cloud-based CRMs on the market and is still considered the leader. Salesforce had one big problem that has hurt their foothold into the small business world. This is only my opinion form observing them over the years, by the way. First, I think their prices were too high early on for most small businesses to justify, and second, they had way too many features and apps. Almost all the companies I spoke to about what CRM was best for them had already explored Salesforce. They all said basically the same thing: “It is too expensive. It is complicated and it has more features than I need.”

Salesforce has since lowered their fees and has begun to cater more to the small business market. They seem to have a lot of funding, so I will assume they will maintain a strong presence.

I have tried their iPhone App several times the past couple of years and consider it functional and good. Though it is not my favorite nor as easy to use as Base CRM. I have a number of clients who use Salesforce and seem to like it. It does require a bit of training, and their tech support is fee-based. I will end with this, even though their tech support is fee based, they are good. They will help you do what you want with your CRM as Salesforce is VERY customizable.

Zoho CRM’s iPad and iPhone Apps are actually pretty slick and easy to use. I like the design (UI) and user experience. My number one problem of why I don’t recommend Zoho CRM all that much is their pricing structure is such a pain. Everything is an Add-on. i.e. You want more storage, add more per month. You want to use our mobile app, add more per month. You want to _______, add more per month. This is the standard complaint I’ve heard from folks who have tried Zoho. Sorry Zoho, love your product but the small business owners out there need a simple product with 1 price option (hint hint).

#4 Pipeline Deals for iPhone Only

This is sad that I have to put Pipeline Deals in 4th place. Why? Because they have one of the most stable, reliable and simple CRM products I’ve ever used (desktop / cloud). I rarely ever find a bug using their product. Many of my customers actually use CRM as well. This was because they were early adapters to integrating their product with Google Apps for Business. They also has a mobile version that you could (still can) access from your mobile browser. The mobile version does work ok for quick access, but overall it is very clunky.

The good news is that Pipeline Deals is finishing up their first native iPhone App. This will be released within the next couple of weeks of writing this post. I’ve been testing this App for a couple of months, and it is very good. Their goal is to make an App that replicates what you can do with their online version. Version 1 is not quite there, but the basic functions that one needs in the field work quite well. I think Pipeline Deal customers who have an iPhone will be thrilled with the first release. Also their price point is really the best on the market. You can’t go wrong. They recently increased their prices, but I think that was a good move. One price: $25 per user/per month: plain and simple.

My hats off to Pipeline Deals. They are slower in development, but I think it shows a lot of wisdom. My guess is they operate on very little debt and borrowed funds. They make sure they release quality updates and products. Their tech support is the best I’ve seen as well! They post their phone number on their home page!

So there you have it. I only named the top four mobile CRMs I’ve tested and like. There are probably another dozen that I did not list. Some of those are fine products as well. For those who like testing and trying out CRMs for fun, give Nutshell CRM a try.

Let me know what you decide on and why.

A more “personal” blog today*

One of my favorite modern day storytellers is a man named Bill Harley. As a kid I remember listening to his tapes over and over again and memorized many of his stories. He also wrote a lot of songs. The one that came to mind when preparing this post has these lyrics:

Sometimes I get so hungry
There’s a sandwich that I love to eat
It’s made of pickles and jelly, spaghetti,
and doughnuts
I tell you it’s a really good treat
But when I eat it sometime that day
Someone will come up to me to say

Oh Gross, what is the matter with you?
You know you eat the weirdest foods
I say
Thankyou kindly have a very nice day
I just like to be that way

We all have weird habits don’t we? We also have opinions about sports, politics, parenting, food, religion and so on. I’m surprised at how easy it is to be critical of others. It is easy to say or express to an employee, a vendor, salesperson or a cashier the words, “What is the matter with you?” In other words, we are basically saying, “You are stupid!” As a business owner, I’ve thought and expressed my disappointment to people who are not me many a times. I want what I want! I am a tough guy to please! I want the best service, the best food, less typos in a post, the fastest email response: basically no mistakes or I’m not happy. Why? Because I’m part of the Me Economy.

The Me Economy

What I’m calling the “Me Economy” is nothing new really. It has been around since the beginning of time. Generally speaking, people are more concerned about themselves first and then others. Jesus knew the problem of mankind well when He told His listeners these words in Matthew 7:12 ESV, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” From that verse came what is known today as the “Golden Rule.” Jesus was saying that it is natural to take care of our own needs, wants and desires. He wanted His followers to do something that was unheard of: love others…even your enemies (i.e. unreasonable customers).

Even though it has always been a problem, it has gotten worse in the world since the rise of quick communications and technology upgrades. My dad often misses the times when he used to be on the job painting and get a page to call someone back. This was not all that long ago. He would get to a good stopping point, put down his equipment and ask the owner of the home if he could use his or her telephone. It was not considered rude to ask to do such a thing. In just 20 to 25 years, we would not even think about asking a customer to use his phone. Many of us would stop what we are doing to pick up the phone or return a text message in seconds, not 15 minutes or an hour later. Why? Because we are living in a hyper “Me Economy.” We want instant answers and service. We have literally no tolerance or patience to wait! Technology has its place in business, but I’ve experienced some of the problems with it too. It is always readily available. Many times I’ve found myself using my device to administer more of “me-ness” instead of what it is really meant to be used for: organizing my life and serving my customers.

How to Make a Difference

As I have mentioned above, I’ve been one of the top contributors of the Me Economy, and I want to do something about it. One of the ways I plan on making a difference is by how I communicate with people that provide a service to me. The next time I’m at a restaurant and the server screws up my order…or the food isn’t just what I had in mind, I’m not going to make a big deal about it or write some nasty, 1 star review. When I’m at Home Depot, Walmart or Best Buy, I’ll make a point to say thanks to the cashier or salesperson for helping me out instead of critiquing their every action on how they treat me.

Your Takeaways

How do you treat your vendors, salespeople, employees and so on? Better yet, how do you respond when a customer criticizes your company? Do you take it personally and vow to get even? Or do you say, as Bill Harley said, “Thankyou kindly, have a very nice day!” Then go and make that customer’s day! How can you attack the me economy today in your personal or business life? Let’s purpose to slow life down just a little and enjoy this season of life. 

*This blog post was inspired after listening to a 2-3 minute devotional before a game of basketball this week. 2x a week I get together with some local guys, many who are Christian men and women. One of the older guys leads a short devotional and prayer time before we hit the court. 

Since I started my marketing business in 2009, I posted my general prices on my website. Four years later, I’ve not regretted that decision once.

1. It keeps the tire kickers away who are not serious. 
2. It might educate a few others looking to do the same thing I’m doing and how they should charge. Fine with me! 
3. A business owner may want to do some research on someone he is looking at hiring and see if the quote he/she received is reasonable. You never know if they’ll ask me for a quote too!
4. Or for those who are serious in working with me, they know I have nothing to hide. I talk about the cost with prospects right from the beginning. Those who know me know that I’m an open book. 

Pricing On Your Site

So should you post prices on your site? In most cases, I’d say yes: even if the prices are just ideas or approximate numbers. For example, I know it would be hard for a remodeler to say, “Remodeling a kitchen cost $50,000-60,000. When in reality, a kitchen could cost $100k or more for some homeowners and less than $50k for less features for other homeowners. Or one can go to Lowes and do the kitchen as a DIY project for less than $15k. However, to build trust and credibility, a remodeling contractor could give approximate cost for a renovation project based on certain types of projects using pictures and case studies. So if a homeowner sees a project a contractor completed and loves it, he or she would know it cost $90k+ range. You get the idea.

You really have nothing to lose by posting your prices on your website. Your competitors are not doing it, and who cares if they see your prices anyways. If you are the company that is not afraid to post your prices, you will be looked at as more trustworthy and honest. You also don’t need to be cheap to post the potential cost of services.

Take a look at this blog title from this well known pool company in Northern Virginia, River Pools: “How Much do Above Ground and Inground Swimming Pools Cost? This blog, among others, has worked very well for this company in generating leads and new business (over $1.7 million on just one post).

Ready to Get Started

The more open and honest you can be about your company, your service, your process, your pricing, your team etc the better chance you will have at closing jobs and avoid the competitive bloody ocean battle over prices.

I know some of you contractors out there have already done this. Let me know how it is working for you in the comments below.

Meet StartMeeting

Recently another online meeting tool surfaced in my inbox. I used a conference line company at times when I need it called Free Conference Call. That company is a sister company to the latest and greatest online meeting program called StartMeeting (affiliate link). I really had no reason to switch from GoToMeeting to StartMeeting but thought I’d contact the company and drill them about why their program was the same or better than GoToMeeting.

I scheduled a call with Greg Plum, VP of Channel Development. He walked me through all the features and benefits of StartMeeting and how it compared to GoToMeeting. I really had no problems using GoToMeeting, so I would not even consider switching unless it was easy to use for my clients, had screen sharing, was cheaper and featured mouse sharing. Greg did a great job convincing me about StartMeeting and the vision of his company too!

Selling Points That Are Making Me Switch

After close to an hour walking through the program, I was very impressed. StartMeeting was created to go to battle against GoToMeeting. That is their main competitor. That is why it intrigued me! I wanted the same product for less. I’m not being cheap. I just have a lot of small monthly cost programs, and I want to simplify my expenses! StartMeeting offered some key selling points for me:

• The price point for 50 users was half of what GoToMeeting offers: $19.95.
• It allows for the user to have a company branded “wall” which is where people can schedule a meeting or start a meeting. The background and logo are fully customizable.
• One Meeting ID and Phone Number. I didn’t like having to schedule a meeting with GoToMeeting…as sometimes I’d be on the wrong call waiting for my clients who received a different Meeting ID. So it keeps it simple
• Screen and Mouse Sharing: Most of my calls are to run marketing meetings. Yet I do get involved “fixing” or setting up certain programs and features on my client’s machines sometimes. Therefore it is nice to have the mouse sharing feature. If it did not have this feature, I would not even consider switching.
• Video Conference: This feature is a little weak, currently, but the presenter can show himself using his camera. This is good for a webinar. The weak part is it does not allow a two way video sharing like GoToMeeting’s HD Faces. This is a feature, StartMeeting said they will be working on. Again, for the price savings, I’m switching…as I don’t use HD faces all that much. If I want to do that, I just use Google Hangout which is free and simple to use as an alternative.
• Downloading and Upgrades: I’ve not used StartMeeting much just yet, but they assured me that my clients and I won’t have to be continually updating my computer with v1.3, v1.4, v1.5 etc. This sounds great!

So I’m making the transition from GoToMeeting to StartMeeting to keep the pricing and features simple. If you are interested in giving it a shot for your business, the first 30 days are free. Let me know what you think. My referral link is here: StartMeeting. (same cost as going directly through them.)

Remarketing Defined

When a visitor enters your site and then leaves to continue his (or her) browsing, will he ever return or remember your website? In most cases the visitor will forget he came across your website. Sorry to disappoint many of you, but people have a very short attention span these days. Take a look at your analytics. My guess is that most people searching for a service contractor are not spending more than a minute on your site. If your site is amazing, maybe some will stay on for 2 to 3 minutes, but don’t get your hopes up. Remarketing basically makes sure that when a person leaves your site, he doesn’t forget your brand! 

How Does It Work

Google will install a “cookie” (aka a tracking code) on his browser when he leaves your site and follow him around and post your brand on sites that allow for Google Adwords: Text or Image Ads. Let me give you an example of how this works.

Two days ago, I typed in my search engine the words, “Breville Espresso.” I was looking for a picture of my espresso machine I owned to send to a friend of mine. We were comparing coffee machines! I found the espresso machine image I wanted from Macy’s. Macy’s is using a remarketing ad campaign (with Google or someone…others do it to). I didn’t know that at the time…but two days later I went to a completely different site to download a custom FONT for my computer. Here is what I saw on the FONT page:

Check out the ads on the top and sidebar: Breville Espresso Machines and other modesl from MACY’S. That is remarketing. They knew that I did not order an espresso machine from their website, and they are sending me little hints to not forget about them or what I was looking for the other day. Pretty cool, eh?

Should Your Business Give Remarketing a Try?

I have spoken to a few paid search companies, and they’ve all told me that remarketing is still VERY cheap compared to most pay per click campaigns. As long as the pricing stays reasonable, I’d say it is a good idea to create and run a remarketing campaign for your service business. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on this, but to be able to stay in the minds of a consumer after he leaves your site is powerful. Maybe he is just doing some research on painters, remodelers, plumbers etc and not ready to buy just yet. In 2-3 weeks…he sees your ad pop up again, it should trigger his memory that he’s been to your site before!

Now there are other ways to stay in the mind of a consumer doing blogging etc. But for the price and ease…give remarketing a shot as part of your marketing plan.