How to Double Your Conversion Rate on Jobs — Transcript

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1. 0:00Welcome to the Profitable Trading
2. 0:01Podcast, Tony Fraser Jones, your host
3. 0:02with my other host and good mate Phil
4. 0:04Smith.
5. 0:05>> Hey, hey. How are we doing?
6. 0:06>> Fantastic, man. Excited to drill into
7. 0:08this topic today because it's it's very
8. 0:09powerful. So, what are we getting into?
9. 0:11>> Well, basically, like sometimes you
10. 0:13might be battling to win enough of the
11. 0:14inquiries that you receive or the quotes
12. 0:16or bids that you put out or you can't
13. 0:18understand why your clients aren't
14. 0:19getting back to you or why your clients
15. 0:21end up using what seems like less
16. 0:23reputable contractors for their work.
17. 0:25And I think lots of businesses think
18. 0:26they have a leads problem when really
19. 0:28they have a response time problem.
20. 0:30>> Yeah, and and if they're just a bit
21. 0:33faster, they get a bunch more work. And
22. 0:35so, you know, slow quoting, slow process
23. 0:38to get your bids out, slow comms, slow
24. 0:40decisions, slow to follow up on the
25. 0:42quotes and bids you send out. That
26. 0:43actually bleeds profit out of your
27. 0:44business. And you're kind of thinking,
28. 0:47"Well, why am I not getting these jobs?
29. 0:48Maybe I'm priced too highly. Maybe they
30. 0:50don't like me. Whatever."
31. 0:52But actual factual is that you're just a
32. 0:54bit slow.
33. 0:55>> Actual factual, man.
34. 0:56>> Actual factual, yeah. So, it turns out
35. 0:57that being fast is actually a huge part
36. 1:00of the difference to winning work.
37. 1:01>> Who would have thunk it?
38. 1:02>> That's right. Thanks, mate.
39. 1:04>> Well, that's what we're here to do
40. 1:04today, right?
41. 1:05>> To thunk it.
42. 1:05>> To thunk it.
43. 1:06>> Um and and there's a lot of psychology
44. 1:08to this as well.
45. 1:09Uh so, you know, why it actually makes a
46. 1:12difference. And uh
47. 1:14there's a massive mistake that people
48. 1:15make here by just uh thinking that the
49. 1:17client will just say yes, you know, if
50. 1:20they're going to say yes. You know what
51. 1:21I mean?
52. 1:21>> Yeah.
53. 1:22>> Rather than the the way you deal with
54. 1:24the the the the inquiry or the price,
55. 1:26that makes a huge difference. And speed,
56. 1:28it turns out, is a huge part of how you
57. 1:29deal with it. So, that's what we want to
58. 1:30get into.
59. 1:31>> Yeah, absolutely, mate. Speed sells. And
60. 1:33uh you were telling me a story the other
61. 1:34day about that pizza shop. I think
62. 1:35that's pretty relevant.
63. 1:36>> Yeah, that that pizza shop, uh Dominics.
64. 1:39>> Dominics.
65. 1:39>> Not Dominics. It's called Dominos now,
66. 1:41but it started off as Dominics.
67. 1:42>> Now, I remember you telling me where it
68. 1:43was. And and I remember you said the
69. 1:45name. And I was like, "Oh, yeah, that's
70. 1:47cool." And then you wrote the name. And
71. 1:48I was like, "Oh, damn. I wouldn't have
72. 1:49picked that."
73. 1:50>> Yeah, yeah. So, Ypsilanti, Michigan.
74. 1:52>> Ypsilanti. It's about spell like
75. 1:54Ypsilanti. Yeah. That's it, yeah.
76. 1:55>> And uh 1960, Tom Monaghan. So, uh he um
77. 1:59he bought a tiny pizza shop. It was
78. 2:00called Dominic's, and he quickly
79. 2:02realized something about pizza. People
80. 2:04just didn't want pizza, they wanted
81. 2:05pizza fast, they wanted the convenience.
82. 2:07And at the time, most pizza shops, they
83. 2:09were focusing on, you know, dining in,
84. 2:11massive menus, you know, heaps of
85. 2:13choices. You know those shops you go to
86. 2:15the those restaurants, and there's so
87. 2:16many choices, like
88. 2:17>> Dude, we got pizza last night, and we
89. 2:19had this massive menu for my kids to
90. 2:21just end up being like, "Can we get
91. 2:22cheese?"
92. 2:23>> Yeah.
93. 2:23That's That's exactly right, yeah. Yeah,
94. 2:25yeah, yeah. Yeah, we're going to have a
95. 2:26margarita pizza every time, yeah.
96. 2:27>> Yeah, yeah, yeah.
97. 2:27>> Uh so, delivery was slow, was
98. 2:29inconsistent, and honestly, you know,
99. 2:31service was a bit of an afterthought. Uh
100. 2:33so, he built Domino's around one thing,
101. 2:35and that was speed. So, simple menu,
102. 2:37standardized processes, you know,
103. 2:38repeatable systems, and uh he launched
104. 2:41the guarantee, you know, fresh hot fresh
105. 2:42hot pizza delivered in 30 minutes or
106. 2:44less, or it's free. That completely
107. 2:45changed the world of pizza, you know,
108. 2:47like delivery pizza now is a massive
109. 2:49thing, and it's built off the back of of
110. 2:51speed.
111. 2:52>> Hot, fresh, and fast.
112. 2:53>> Yeah, so so the the customers
113. 2:55had the speed, they had the certainty,
114. 2:57knew what they were getting, and
115. 2:58obviously Domino's exploded. Uh and you
116. 3:01know, the interesting part is that
117. 3:01Domino's isn't necessarily the best
118. 3:03pizza.
119. 3:04Uh you know, there's places you can go
120. 3:05to get much better pizza.
121. 3:07>> Absolutely.
122. 3:07>> Uh but it's kind of like the industry
123. 3:09standard, you know, it's it's a rock
124. 3:12star in the industry, so speed really
125. 3:14counts.
126. 3:15>> Yeah, absolutely. And I suppose if we're
127. 3:16not, you know, fast in our work, if
128. 3:18we're not fast on where getting the
129. 3:19jobs, we run into some big problems.
130. 3:21>> Yeah, I mean,
131. 3:22frankly, you can lose work before you
132. 3:24even quote it.
133. 3:25>> Mhm.
134. 3:25>> Like other people
135. 3:27might have done the job before you even
136. 3:29get
137. 3:30to visit the client to give them a
138. 3:31price.
139. 3:32>> Yeah.
140. 3:32>> And that that happens a lot. Uh I can
141. 3:35remember an early client, Mike. Uh
142. 3:38now, he wasn't he he owned a reasonable
143. 3:40size plumbing business, but he actually
144. 3:41wasn't a plumber.
145. 3:42And uh he was telling me, like, "We've
146. 3:44often got paid for the job before other
147. 3:46people actually turn up. You know, and
148. 3:48we can get paid within three or four
149. 3:50days of do it's all done.
150. 3:51>> Yeah.
151. 3:52>> Other people turn up and they haven't
152. 3:54they haven't got a chance cuz the job's
153. 3:55done. So so speed really counts here. I
154. 3:57think customers assume that
155. 4:00if you're slow to do a price
156. 4:02that you're probably going to be slow to
157. 4:03do the job and it damages your
158. 4:04professionalism and their image of you.
159. 4:06>> Yeah, well, as we are in small things,
160. 4:08we are in everything, right?
161. 4:09>> That's right.
162. 4:09>> Everyone knows that even subconsciously.
163. 4:11>> And it's very subconscious, isn't it?
164. 4:13>> Yeah, and it's the vibe you're giving
165. 4:15off. Like if you're slow now, I don't
166. 4:17even like even people that walk slow,
167. 4:19I'm like, you're going to be slow to
168. 4:20work, too, aren't you?
169. 4:21>> You hate slow walkers, eh?
170. 4:22>> I hate slow walkers, man. It's an
171. 4:23absolute bugbear. But carry on.
172. 4:24>> Yeah, yeah. I mean, if you're doing a
173. 4:26job test, just get them to walk
174. 4:27somewhere and if they're slow, kill
175. 4:28them.
176. 4:29>> Yeah.
177. 4:29>> Uh it's super simple.
178. 4:31Uh you waste a lot of ad spend and
179. 4:33marketing spend because if you're not
180. 4:35quick to follow up, your return's going
181. 4:37to be less and that money is just just
182. 4:38wasted. So that's a big problem. You
183. 4:40waste time on pricing because you don't
184. 4:42have the best chance of winning it. You
185. 4:43know, you might eventually get to it 3
186. 4:45or 4 days later, but you're less likely
187. 4:46to win it, so you waste time.
188. 4:48>> Mhm.
189. 4:48>> Uh and obviously your workflow suffers.
190. 4:51And actually, what happens if you're not
191. 4:52fast, everything sort of backs up. Your
192. 4:54quotes, your bids back up. Site visits
193. 4:56go get delayed. Things fall through the
194. 4:57cracks. Your admin gets missed.
195. 4:59Follow-ups disappear. And so you've
196. 5:01almost by not being fast, you've got
197. 5:02more work, which makes you even less
198. 5:04fast.
199. 5:05>> Mhm.
200. 5:05>> And and people do crazy stuff. Like
201. 5:07instead of
202. 5:08you know, they might have a bunch of of
203. 5:09site visits or quotes they need to go
204. 5:11and do and they'll do the one that came
205. 5:12in first even though it was 5 days ago
206. 5:14rather than dealing with the one they
207. 5:15got today, which they're more likely to
208. 5:16to win.
209. 5:17>> Yeah.
210. 5:17>> And so it just gets worse the problem
211. 5:19compounds, I guess is is where we're
212. 5:21going with it.
213. 5:21>> Yeah, absolutely.
214. 5:22>> And then your cash flow suffers and
215. 5:24obviously growth stalls because a good
216. 5:26you know, marketing sales problem is
217. 5:28absolutely critical to your growth.
218. 5:30>> Yeah, definitely. Whereas on the other
219. 5:31hand, if we can get that speed in there,
220. 5:32if we can really expedite our pricing,
221. 5:35our service, everything, you know, big
222. 5:36upsides, right?
223. 5:37>> Yeah, I mean, you're going to win more
224. 5:38work without spending more on marketing.
225. 5:40Uh
226. 5:40so that's that's a win.
227. 5:42>> Yeah. Yeah. Sounds pretty good.
228. 5:44Dropped the mic, you know.
229. 5:45>> That's right. Yeah, customers going to
230. 5:46trust you faster. I think. Speed is
231. 5:48important. There's an implicit We're
232. 5:49really digging into this. There's an
233. 5:50implicit assumption around
234. 5:51professionalism
235. 5:53uh when you're quick. You get greater
236. 5:55ROI on your pricing time. So, the the
237. 5:57work that you do price, you're more
238. 5:58likely to win. And you know, pricing
239. 6:00work and not winning it is just dead
240. 6:02time. You never get that back. So, it's
241. 6:04very important. Your workflow becomes
242. 6:06smoother. Obviously, you win more jobs.
243. 6:07It's good for your cash flow and growth
244. 6:09becomes more scalable because you're
245. 6:10like, "Yeah, well, I've got a good
246. 6:11system to win this stuff."
247. 6:12>> Yeah.
248. 6:12>> Uh so, so it's very very powerful.
249. 6:14>> Yeah, well, let's think into where we
250. 6:15start with this cuz I mean, I think
251. 6:17people are like, "Yeah, cool. Be faster,
252. 6:19but how? And in what areas?"
253. 6:21>> Well, I I think the first thing is that
254. 6:24uh
255. 6:25being fast and sorry, being first and
256. 6:28showing up is actually often what it
257. 6:30takes to win. Like, just being there
258. 6:32first and showing up.
259. 6:34>> Mhm.
260. 6:34>> And lots of people will go with the
261. 6:35first option because it's convenient.
262. 6:38You know, like, if you've got to see two
263. 6:39or three service providers, and some
264. 6:40people will. Let's get Don't get me
265. 6:42wrong. There's some people who'd like to
266. 6:43see seven service providers and get 27
267. 6:45quotes and haggle on every part of the
268. 6:47detail. And they're probably not the
269. 6:48clients we want. But there's a lot of
270. 6:50people who are busy.
271. 6:51And if the price is kind of in the
272. 6:52ballpark and it seems fair enough and
273. 6:54they like and trust you, they're just
274. 6:55going to say, "Yeah, let's just crack on
275. 6:56and get it done."
276. 6:57>> Well, there's there's really two parts
277. 6:59of this or a few parts. Like, number one
278. 7:01is that people are busy. So, if I've got
279. 7:03to wait and get three or four quotes and
280. 7:04people are coming in and coming out and
281. 7:06I'm busy, then I've got to be there for
282. 7:07three or four quotes. Whereas, if the
283. 7:09first one comes in really quick and I
284. 7:10can just get on with it, then I don't
285. 7:11have to be there to meet another guy and
286. 7:13another guy and another guy. So, I'm not
287. 7:14wasting my time, which is
288. 7:16very valuable to to me and to everybody.
289. 7:18No one likes wasting their own time. But
290. 7:20if you think about different types of
291. 7:21work even, right? Like, something which
292. 7:23is an emergency, it's like, I I want it
293. 7:25done now. So, you know, the faster
294. 7:27someone can get here, the more valuable
295. 7:28that service is.
296. 7:29And if you want something which is like
297. 7:30a bigger project or something which is a
298. 7:32nice to have, then you're competing with
299. 7:34everything else they could do with their
300. 7:35money, which we'll dig into shortly. But
301. 7:37I I think either way, the slower you
302. 7:39are, the less likely you are to win,
303. 7:40right?
304. 7:41>> It's
305. 7:41>> 100% true. Like it's it's simple but
306. 7:43powerful.
307. 7:44And associated with the fact that just
308. 7:46being first and showing up can can make
309. 7:49you the winner is that people do equate
310. 7:51speed with competence.
311. 7:53>> Mhm.
312. 7:54>> Uh not everyone,
313. 7:55but if someone can show up really
314. 7:57promptly and they present a professional
315. 8:00image, then they're like, "Geez, this
316. 8:01person's got their stuff sorted out."
317. 8:03Uh and so they'll make assumptions about
318. 8:05your ability to provide the service
319. 8:07based on the fact that you can be quick.
320. 8:08And they're like, "Well, okay, these
321. 8:10These guys they're organized. They're
322. 8:12perhaps more experienced. They're more
323. 8:13trustworthy. They've got a better team.
324. 8:14It's just a better operation."
325. 8:16And and we know, you know, this is a big
326. 8:19bugbear for clients of of contracting
327. 8:22and trading businesses is response. Like
328. 8:24it's sometimes really hard to get people
329. 8:25to show up or for them to be organized
330. 8:27because frankly the owner's so busy that
331. 8:29they're just struggling to juggle all
332. 8:31the balls.
333. 8:32>> Yeah.
334. 8:32>> And
335. 8:33sometimes, well, actually not sometimes,
336. 8:35quite often the clients have to follow
337. 8:36up to actually get the work done.
338. 8:38>> Yeah.
339. 8:38>> There's nothing more frustrating than
340. 8:40for us. Like I'm trying to pay you, man.
341. 8:41I'm trying to I'm trying to actually use
342. 8:43your product, your service. I'm trying
343. 8:45to pay you. I'm trying to, you know, be
344. 8:46a customer of yours and you won't get
345. 8:49back to me. You know, it's extremely
346. 8:51frustrating situation. I honestly think
347. 8:53like there's been plenty of times when
348. 8:54the person that I've ended up going with
349. 8:56to get work done in different situations
350. 8:59has literally just been chosen because
351. 9:01they're the only person that actually
352. 9:02spoke to me. You know, I'm sure everyone
353. 9:04else was getting round to it, but
354. 9:06at the end of the day it's like you feel
355. 9:08pretty ignored as a customer and it's
356. 9:10it's it's not good. It doesn't make you
357. 9:11feel like you're very valued. And and
358. 9:14that that's really detrimental.
359. 9:15>> It is. It is. And so it turns out that
360. 9:17first impressions really do count. And
361. 9:20we all do judge a book by its cover. And
362. 9:22speed is a first impression and it's
363. 9:24kind of like the cover
364. 9:26uh of your books of of your book or your
365. 9:28business. Uh so so that's that's
366. 9:30massive.
367. 9:31>> Yeah, absolutely. And then I think you
368. 9:32know, when we get to the next thing for
369. 9:34me is is really that window of buying
370. 9:37behavior. It's just huge. And so like I
371. 9:39was mentioning earlier, like let's look
372. 9:40at different work types.
373. 9:42If I'm doing like emergency response,
374. 9:44you know, maintenance work, I'm coming
375. 9:45around to, you know, service a breakdown
376. 9:47or you know, fix something that's
377. 9:48broken, whatever.
378. 9:50Point is is like you have a very short
379. 9:52window because they're in pain right now
380. 9:53and they want that pain eased as fast as
381. 9:56possible. So my toilet is overflowing,
382. 9:58I'm like I want you here yesterday, like
383. 10:01as fast as you possibly can. If my
384. 10:02lights are out, I want you here as soon
385. 10:04as possible. Anything at all which is
386. 10:05some kind of breakdown or or service, I
387. 10:08want you here as fast as possible. So
388. 10:10if the quicker you can be to actually
389. 10:12respond to an inquiry, you know, to get
390. 10:14to site, to actually get onto, you know,
391. 10:16this job, the more likely I'm to go with
392. 10:19you. And I'm not going to stuff around
393. 10:20getting different prices or comparing
394. 10:22people because I just want it done now.
395. 10:24And you know, the longer I have actually
396. 10:25take to to take action,
397. 10:27um longer I live with my problem and I
398. 10:30don't want to do that. So the thing is
399. 10:31speed is absolutely critical there. But
400. 10:33then there'll be people who say, "Well,
401. 10:35you know what? Uh I I do a different
402. 10:36type of work. You know, maybe I install
403. 10:38solar or
404. 10:39>> More project type work.
405. 10:40>> Yeah, it's a project. So it's the kind
406. 10:41of thing it's a nice-to-have. They're
407. 10:43not in any kind of like emergency rush.
408. 10:45And I'm like, "Okay, cool, but you still
409. 10:46have a time issue because at the point
410. 10:48where they make an inquiry, that is the
411. 10:50keenest they will ever be to actually
412. 10:53action that project. And the hard part
413. 10:55is that a lot of the time, the longer
414. 10:57you take, you know, the the less likely
415. 10:59you are to close. And we'll tell
416. 11:00ourselves stories about like, "Well,
417. 11:02they probably found someone else in that
418. 11:04time." Or they probably went with a
419. 11:06different competitor or something. But
420. 11:07you have to understand is that what they
421. 11:08probably actually did was either nothing
422. 11:11or they spent that money on something
423. 11:13else entirely.
424. 11:15So if we think about, let's say I want
425. 11:16to get solar, uh you know, in my house
426. 11:18just as an example. This is obviously a
427. 11:20real nice-to-have. It's not a necessity.
428. 11:23And it's something that people can take
429. 11:24a long time, or at least we say they do,
430. 11:27um to make a decision on.
431. 11:29Now the thing is if I make an inquiry
432. 11:30about solar and you tell me hey cool,
433. 11:32that's going to be $40,000 or something.
434. 11:34I'm like, yeah, cool. That's great. But
435. 11:36the thing is is every day that goes by
436. 11:39that I'm either waiting for that price,
437. 11:41or that I'm waiting for more
438. 11:42information, I'm waiting for you to come
439. 11:43and do a site visit, I'm waiting for us
440. 11:45to get started, is a day that I can
441. 11:47reflect on the fact that I could spend
442. 11:48that $40,000 on something else, like a
443. 11:51family trip to Europe. And at that point
444. 11:53I'm like, well, if it's solar or a
445. 11:54family trip to Europe, maybe let's go to
446. 11:56Europe. So the the reality is the
447. 11:57quicker you are, the more likely you are
448. 11:59to act while that while that is what
449. 12:01they want to do with their money. The
450. 12:03longer it takes, the longer that is for
451. 12:05them to decide they want to do anything
452. 12:07else with that money. And so it doesn't
453. 12:09matter whether you're doing something
454. 12:10which is emergency response, and the
455. 12:12need is there right now, or whether it's
456. 12:14something which is a nice to have, more
457. 12:16of a project, and you think, well,
458. 12:17there's not really a need, is there? I'm
459. 12:18like, yeah, cool, but there is a want,
460. 12:20and the slower you are to act, the more
461. 12:22that want evaporates. So,
462. 12:25yeah, either way, you you got to be
463. 12:26fast.
464. 12:27>> This is this is very powerful, and and
465. 12:29you're right. And I think you alluded to
466. 12:30it that they might spend the money on
467. 12:32something else, but often often they do
468. 12:34nothing because the emotional impetus to
469. 12:37actually make change just sort of
470. 12:38fizzles out with life, yeah, with other
471. 12:40stresses and busyness, and
472. 12:43often they have great intentions, I'll
473. 12:44get back to this,
474. 12:45>> Mhm.
475. 12:46>> but they just keep kicking that can down
476. 12:48the road for another week, another week,
477. 12:49and then like something else comes up.
478. 12:51>> Oh dude, this really like reminds me of
479. 12:53my favorite line of a movie ever,
480. 12:55uh Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and uh the
481. 12:57rock star sitting there, and you know,
482. 12:58the the bus boy in the comes up, and
483. 13:00he's like, hey, did you listen to that
484. 13:01demo tape I gave you? He's like, I was
485. 13:03going to do that, but then I just
486. 13:04carried on living my life. And it's like
487. 13:07that that's what people do, right? I
488. 13:08mean, it was like, yeah, like I got I
489. 13:10got your quote, but you never followed
490. 13:11it up, and you know what, man? I carried
491. 13:13on living my life. And as much as that
492. 13:15was a joke in the movie, that is
493. 13:16reality. Like people have lives, there's
494. 13:18a lot going on every day.
495. 13:20You only have so much mental bandwidth,
496. 13:22and you know, at one point you might
497. 13:24have this job occupying my mental
498. 13:26bandwidth, but if too much time goes by
499. 13:28with no action, other things creep in,
500. 13:30that goes to the back of the line if the
501. 13:32it's in the line at all. And so you
502. 13:34really you miss your opportunity. You
503. 13:35got to strike while that iron's hot. You
504. 13:37know, I think that's really key.
505. 13:38>> It It's massive. And And the point here
506. 13:40is that uh
507. 13:41sometimes when we're when we are pricing
508. 13:43work and we're trying to get jobs across
509. 13:45the line, we think we're at the mercy of
510. 13:46the customer's buying process. But
511. 13:49actually, they should be at the mercy of
512. 13:51your selling process and speed and
513. 13:53helping them build up that emotional
514. 13:55momentum to make the sale as a key part
515. 13:57of you know, your uh your sales process.
516. 14:00And speed really helps here. So, I think
517. 14:02that's that's massively important.
518. 14:03>> Yeah.
519. 14:04>> There is one other thing here that
520. 14:06uh really strikes me. I don't think
521. 14:08people think about this is when you're
522. 14:09slow to respond, it actually makes
523. 14:11everything harder in the future to be
524. 14:13quick to respond.
525. 14:14>> Yeah.
526. 14:14>> Because you're actually jamming your
527. 14:15business up with inquiries, with quotes,
528. 14:18with bids, with site visits. And uh as I
529. 14:21said earlier, often what you do is you
530. 14:23tend to think, "Oh, well, this person's
531. 14:25been waiting 5 days for me to go and see
532. 14:27them. I should go and see them now." So,
533. 14:28you you kind of have a you know, uh you
534. 14:31you deal with the older stuff first.
535. 14:33>> Mhm.
536. 14:33>> Uh and then the new stuff coming in
537. 14:34which is your the stuff you're more
538. 14:36likely to get yes to if you're fast, you
539. 14:37push that down. And so, this this
540. 14:39problem, the cycle repeats. And the
541. 14:42business is getting jammed up with stuff
542. 14:43that you're getting, you know, you're
543. 14:44less and less likely to get a yes to
544. 14:46>> Mhm.
545. 14:47>> when you're probably better just to cut
546. 14:48your losses and say, "Hey, I'll just
547. 14:49start dealing with the ones that come in
548. 14:50today." And and just probably let the
549. 14:52ones down that have been there longer
550. 14:53cuz you're more likely to get a yes.
551. 14:55>> Dude, the one that the one that's been
552. 14:56waiting 2 weeks already, I'm like,
553. 14:58"That's already gone. Don't worry."
554. 14:59Like, just let it go. And you know, the
555. 15:01contact you should make with them when
556. 15:02you get a chance is, "Hey, I'm so sorry.
557. 15:04I'm sure you're going on with something
558. 15:05else. Like, in future we'll do better."
559. 15:07>> Yeah, yeah.
560. 15:08>> You know, what I mean? It's like you'd
561. 15:08lost it already. Like, but the point is
562. 15:10it's this is not like milk at the cafe
563. 15:14where it's first in, first out. You
564. 15:15know, this is like
565. 15:16>> exactly That's what I was looking for.
566. 15:17It's kind of yeah.
567. 15:18>> It's It's last in, first out because
568. 15:20that that's the one that you're going to
569. 15:21close. You know, there's no point
570. 15:23wasting time and effort. Otherwise, you
571. 15:24end up like the traffic jam thing,
572. 15:26right? Where it's like the 2-second
573. 15:28delay that it takes each person to react
574. 15:30to getting going actually is what
575. 15:31creates the traffic jam. If everybody,
576. 15:33you know, went on the green light at the
577. 15:34same time, there'd be no traffic jams.
578. 15:36Uh and so, the thing is is it's that
579. 15:38flow-on effect of
580. 15:40muck around or time, it actually
581. 15:42cascades down into everything you do
582. 15:44through your entire business. And then
583. 15:46you just end up actually dropping the
584. 15:47ball everywhere. And so, you got to let
585. 15:50>> Basically, your sales pipeline gets
586. 15:52constipated. It's stuck, you know.
587. 15:54>> Yeah.
588. 15:54>> Uh and that's that's what happens. And
589. 15:55and it's like a compounding effect uh in
590. 15:58the negative way. And uh
591. 16:00so, so, you know, compounding is
592. 16:02important here because if you are fast,
593. 16:06actually compound success. Because if
594. 16:08you're quick,
595. 16:09you win more work, you generate more
596. 16:11cash, you can hire better people, you
597. 16:13get more referrals, uh because you're
598. 16:16working with more clients, you've got
599. 16:17more money to improve your systems, and
600. 16:19so you create instead of a constipated
601. 16:20business, you create, you know, one
602. 16:21that's free-flowing. One that evacuates
603. 16:23easily, Phil.
604. 16:25Which is what you want in the morning,
605. 16:26right?
606. 16:27>> Sure, mate. Sure. And I think the thing
607. 16:29is is a lot of the time people say,
608. 16:30"Yeah, but I can't be fast because I
609. 16:31just don't have the time, the capacity,
610. 16:32whatever." And it's like, "If I could
611. 16:34just have this other person, maybe I
612. 16:35could take on a person and they could
613. 16:37help me be faster." I'm like, "The only
614. 16:38reason you can't take that person on is
615. 16:40cuz you're not winning enough work to
616. 16:41justify paying for that person." But the
617. 16:43reason you're not winning the work is
618. 16:44cuz you don't have the Do you know what
619. 16:45I mean? It's like it becomes a a
620. 16:46self-fulfilling prophecy as well where
621. 16:47it's like you actually can't be fast
622. 16:49because you're not fast. Uh which
623. 16:52which is a real issue. One thing I I
624. 16:53think before we get into some practical
625. 16:55ways to improve the speed, one thing I
626. 16:56just want to touch on really quick is
627. 16:58is a a
628. 17:00just a common FAQ we get when we're
629. 17:02talking with our clients about this.
630. 17:04Where people will often bring up, "Hey,
631. 17:06if I'm really fast, then client gets my
632. 17:09my price first, right? For example, if
633. 17:11with pricing."
634. 17:13And then I'm more easily compared
635. 17:15because now they've got my price, they
636. 17:17can compare it to everyone else.
637. 17:19If that's going through your head, I
638. 17:20just want to dispel that really quick.
639. 17:22Firstly, is if they get your price fast
640. 17:23enough,
641. 17:25they'll be comparing you to nothing.
642. 17:27It's you or nothing. Because everyone
643. 17:29else is going to be so slow. And so, the
644. 17:31thing is they're not going to sit around
645. 17:32for weeks waiting for comparison points.
646. 17:34They're they're going to have you and
647. 17:36nobody else. And so, you're the only At
648. 17:38that point, the only thing that's being
649. 17:39compared is that you're the only person
650. 17:41that's responsive. And so, actually it
651. 17:43looks really good. Not to mention, if
652. 17:45you if your price comes in last, dude,
653. 17:47you're still getting compared, right?
654. 17:48Because then you're just compared to
655. 17:50whoever got in before you. So, there is
656. 17:52nothing to be lost by being first.
657. 17:53There's only something to be gained by
658. 17:55being so far first that no one else is
659. 17:57actually in the running. So,
660. 17:59just just wanted to put that out there
661. 18:01cuz it does come up pretty often.
662. 18:03But let's get into some practical ways
663. 18:04to improve that speed.
664. 18:06>> Yeah. Well, it's
665. 18:07it's about systems and process and team.
666. 18:09So, the first thing is
667. 18:11you know, if you've got some dedicated
668. 18:12customer service reps to field
669. 18:15inquiries, that's massively powerful.
670. 18:17Because if you miss them or you're slow
671. 18:19or you've got to get back to them,
672. 18:20that's a massive opportunity lost. You
673. 18:22know, obviously for response work,
674. 18:24they've got someone else before you get
675. 18:26back to them 2 hours later, you know,
676. 18:27that
677. 18:28someone's already booking the job. And
678. 18:29so, I think that's massive.
679. 18:31Fixed pricing is a huge help here.
680. 18:33>> Oh, yeah.
681. 18:34>> So, so, you know, for the most part, if
682. 18:36you've got a price book for, you know,
683. 18:38all those common jobs, then you can
684. 18:40price it straight away. In fact, you can
685. 18:42just about price it over the phone.
686. 18:44>> Mhm.
687. 18:44>> Uh which is which is powerful. Another
688. 18:46thing that can really help us to create
689. 18:48space in your schedule for for urgent
690. 18:50jobs.
691. 18:51That's that's massive. So, you know, if
692. 18:53you're doing response work and that's
693. 18:54part of the niche you're you're focusing
694. 18:56on, you need to have time every day
695. 18:58which is dedicated to that so you can
696. 19:00slot them in and you're really super
697. 19:01quick.
698. 19:02>> Yeah.
699. 19:02>> So, so that helps. It's a scheduling
700. 19:04>> I want to expand on this a little bit
701. 19:06because I think there's a lot of fear
702. 19:07around this. Like we got a few clients
703. 19:09which do, you know, purely response
704. 19:11maintenance. And we you think about
705. 19:13that, you know, one thing if that's the
706. 19:15type of business you are is you live in
707. 19:16a constant fear of
708. 19:17of no work, right? Because the thing is
709. 19:19is like if you ever get you know, three
710. 19:22or four days work of work ahead of you,
711. 19:24you're actually letting people down. So,
712. 19:25like you can't have months of work
713. 19:27booked ahead. You can't because it's not
714. 19:28the nature of your work. Um and so, the
715. 19:31point is is that the worry a lot of a
716. 19:33lot of these businesses have is whether
717. 19:35I can keep my guys completely busy. Am I
718. 19:37fully scheduled for tomorrow? Am I fully
719. 19:39scheduled for the day after?
720. 19:41It's actually in your best advantage to
721. 19:44only ever be sort of 80, 90% scheduled
722. 19:47max a day in advance because it means
723. 19:49that when a phone call comes in on the
724. 19:51day, you can action it on the day. Which
725. 19:54actually builds a lot of a lot of
726. 19:56revenue cuz if you couldn't get there on
727. 19:57the day, you would have lost that job
728. 19:59anyway.
729. 20:00And and then that also, you know, has a
730. 20:01compounding thing where you build a
731. 20:03relation sorry, relation reputation
732. 20:05as someone who can do same-day service.
733. 20:08And you can sell that as a selling
734. 20:09point. And like this is huge. This is a
735. 20:10massive, massive thing. And so, you
736. 20:12actually start to, you know, get a lot
737. 20:13of momentum in future sales as well. And
738. 20:16I think the key is is that fear around
739. 20:18we're not fully booked. It's like you
740. 20:20actually can't be fully booked and still
741. 20:23be the best in town if that's your game.
742. 20:26And I think just it's it's a it's a
743. 20:28difficult one to get your head around,
744. 20:30but it's an important one.
745. 20:31>> It it's similar for um you know, if
746. 20:33you're doing project work, you need to
747. 20:35have some slots in your calendar that
748. 20:37are set aside for doing visits to these
749. 20:40clients, to price their jobs. Same sort
750. 20:42of concept.
751. 20:43>> Same concept.
752. 20:44>> so, you might have a couple of blocks
753. 20:45during the week, maybe Tuesday morning,
754. 20:47Thursday afternoon. And you can tell the
755. 20:48clients, "Hey, yep, awesome. We can see
756. 20:50you this week. Tuesday morning or
757. 20:51Thursday afternoon, what's better for
758. 20:52you?"
759. 20:53>> Mhm.
760. 20:53>> And uh so, you get the pricing done
761. 20:55really quickly. You get that, you know,
762. 20:56build that relationship straight away.
763. 20:58>> Yeah.
764. 20:58>> So, that that's very, very helpful. I
765. 21:00think it in a similar vein to price
766. 21:02books, if you've got good pricing
767. 21:03templates and as-builts for your larger
768. 21:05jobs, it means you can punch them out
769. 21:06really quickly.
770. 21:07>> Mhm. Let's Let's be honest, if you're
771. 21:09building if you are you know maybe
772. 21:10you're a plumber, an electrician or some
773. 21:12sort of sub trade, you're working for a
774. 21:14a builder or a general contractor who's
775. 21:15doing you know full full contract
776. 21:17builds, then if you can be fast with the
777. 21:19pricing to them it makes a huge
778. 21:21difference. And then variations as well,
779. 21:22like if they need changes to the plans
780. 21:24or whatever, you get that lickety-split,
781. 21:25that makes a huge difference. That's
782. 21:27huge. That's so valuable to to to
783. 21:29builders and contractors as well. So I
784. 21:31think that's helpful. Getting an
785. 21:32estimator again,
786. 21:34you know that that's just you can price
787. 21:35work quickly, that makes a huge
788. 21:37difference. Following up quotes and bids
789. 21:38on the same day, incredibly powerful.
790. 21:41>> Yeah, conversion rate go through the
791. 21:42roof.
792. 21:42>> Through the roof.
793. 21:43>> Through the roof. Like I think people
794. 21:45really underestimate just how much
795. 21:46difference that makes. Like honestly,
796. 21:49like follow up same day is is just like
797. 21:51it's like petrol on a fire, really. It's
798. 21:53it's going to go nuts.
799. 21:55>> Yeah, massive. And then
800. 21:57you know, sometimes you've got lots of
801. 21:58work and the reason you're not
802. 22:00responding or not getting to it or not
803. 22:01pricing is you just can't do the work
804. 22:04quickly enough. And so you need to hire
805. 22:05some more tradespeople or technicians to
806. 22:07increase the throughput, which lessens
807. 22:09the the lead time for people to get
808. 22:11their jobs done, priced and and
809. 22:13organized.
810. 22:14>> Yeah, yeah, which I think leads on to
811. 22:15the big mistake that people can make
812. 22:17with this.
813. 22:18>> Big mistake. So this is quite
814. 22:20psychological.
815. 22:21It's it's a mental
816. 22:23issue. And the big mistake is that
817. 22:25most owners trying to save money by
818. 22:28staying lean too long. And so they're in
819. 22:30a save money mindset, so they delay
820. 22:32hiring, they avoid investing in systems,
821. 22:35they keep pushing everything through
822. 22:36themselves because
823. 22:38frankly, they're scared.
824. 22:39>> Yeah.
825. 22:40>> They're afraid, you know, they're afraid
826. 22:42of wages, more wages, more overheads, or
827. 22:45they're afraid of the work slowing down
828. 22:46and they're getting you know caught with
829. 22:47their pants down and not being able to
830. 22:49provide enough work for their team.
831. 22:52Now the problem with that is the fear
832. 22:54creates the exact problems that they're
833. 22:56trying to avoid.
834. 22:57>> Self-fulfilling prophecy.
835. 22:58>> Yeah, because if you don't have the
836. 23:00enough resources, team and systems, you
837. 23:02become bottlenecked, you're slow getting
838. 23:04your quotes and bids done, you're
839. 23:06overwhelmed
840. 23:07uh in terms of the work getting done by
841. 23:09the team. You've And then you have poor
842. 23:11workflow because you're not able to get
843. 23:13to the jobs quickly enough, and you lose
844. 23:14jobs. So, the irony is that
845. 23:16under-investing in the capacity actually
846. 23:18becomes the biggest thing that stops the
847. 23:20business growing into profitability.
848. 23:21>> Absolutely. Which
849. 23:23>> Which is like
850. 23:23>> I think I think you should say that
851. 23:25again just so that everyone really,
852. 23:27really understands it.
853. 23:28>> The irony that under-investing in
854. 23:30capacity often is the biggest thing that
855. 23:32stops your business growing into
856. 23:34profitability.
857. 23:35>> 100%. Like, this reminds me that
858. 23:38I'll get this one. I actually adapted it
859. 23:39from Winston Churchill. It's not his
860. 23:40exact quote, but say saving your way to
861. 23:42profit is like standing in a bucket and
862. 23:44lifting it up by the handle. It's It's
863. 23:46not going to work. So,
864. 23:47>> It doesn't work. So, so it's a it's a
865. 23:48very mental thing.
866. 23:51And you've got to you've got to be brave
867. 23:53and put your big boy pants on and
868. 23:55actually invest so you can get the stuff
869. 23:57done quickly, and your business will
870. 23:59grow.
871. 23:59>> Yeah, absolutely. Well, we've We've
872. 24:01nailed some good points, man. Let's end
873. 24:02this plane.
874. 24:03>> The businesses that win the most work
875. 24:04aren't always the cheapest, the biggest,
876. 24:06or even the best at getting the work
877. 24:08done. They're often the fastest to
878. 24:09respond and the easiest to deal with.
879. 24:11Now, if you can build the systems, the
880. 24:12team, and the capacity to move quickly,
881. 24:14you'll win more jobs, you'll improve
882. 24:15your cash flow, you'll reduce chaos, and
883. 24:17you'll create serious momentum in your
884. 24:19business. So, stop letting slow
885. 24:21responses and fear hold you back from
886. 24:23the work that could already be yours.
887. 24:25Thanks, Heath, for listening. We'll
888. 24:26catch you all again next time. See you
889. 24:27later.
890. 24:28>> Congratulations on being part of a
891. 24:29select [music] group of savvy business
892. 24:31owners who are taking their businesses
893. 24:32to the next level. And to help you on
894. 24:34your journey, don't forget to check out
895. 24:36our show notes for a copy of our free
896. 24:38book, The Profitable Tradie, and other
897. 24:39valuable resources.
898. 24:42Thanks for being a part of this special
899. 24:43group, and we'll see you in the next
900. 24:44episode of The Profitable Tradie
901. 24:46Podcast.