Ellen Rohr

Hi Team Inspectors! Intuit has a card swiper that fits on your smart phone. Love it when you can connect invoicing and payment with your dispatch program. Check out Kickserv, FieldService by Corrigo, Service Titan. May be more than you want right now, however...worth looking into! xo$ Ellen

Greetings! What you think about comes about so watch your thoughts and words. Ixnay on the dead slow. You just need more calls! Here are LOTS of ideas! [] Download Attachment: bbb_gs_special_report_phone_ringing_060417.doc 1041.36 KB

Yeah! I believe everyone is better off knowing biz basics...and everyone is welcome. So, bring your questions and I am here to help! [8D] xo$ Ellen

Welcome Cathy! I teach business basics...to anyone who is willing and wanting to learn! xo$, Elen

Greetings! I love love love the book Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson. Low cost, logo based, high impact marketing. And, I LOVE acquisitions. Some guys are ready to throw in the towel. You could help a brother out. xo$, Ellen www.barebonesbiz.com

Greetings! I really like the punch card idea posted by Richard Moore! Some people like to shop around and that way they have options. Well done. BTW...just a reminder. Dust off your Budget. Increase your salary. Raise your prices. There is no logic in giving discounts in hard times to get work. Get less, better work. Dust off your Marketing Plan, too, and get creative! xo$, Ellen

Greetings! Your long term goals make a difference. If your goal is to build a rockin' business...to grow, add employees, make money and build assets...I would definitely recommend an LLC or a Sub S Corp. (They are pretty similar in structure. Visit with your CPA about the differences and what's good for you.) One good thing about a corporation is the "corporate veil." You can keep your personal assets away from the company. Good in case of a lawsuit. Again, visit with your CPA about what it takes to maintain that veil. [:-thumbu] xo$, Ellen - www.barebonesbiz.com

Greetings! Great question and terrific responses! Seems to me like you saved your clients LOTS of money and headache. They should be delighted to pay full price. So, hold your head up...and incorporate some of the great suggestions your compatriots have made here. It's all about adding VALUE and communicating the value of your services. Keep after it! You know, I wouldn't be surprised if the seller came back with a counter offer... [^] Love, peace, $$, freedom, Ellen - www.barebonesbiz.com

Greetings, Sad as it is...sometimes stuff happens. Build into your Budget a little Bad Debt. When someone refuses to pay, call them mail them...then visit in person. If they don't pay still...let it go. If you are charging enough and making money, you can handle the hiccup easier. Be careful not to spend too much time and energy on it. Focus on the hundreds of customers who love what you do and will pay. Moving forward, do you take credit cards? For new customers, you might require a credit card number on file...if they don't pay at time of service you can charge their card. Love, peace, $$$, freedom, Ellen Rohr www.barebonesbiz.com

Hi Team Inspectors! Good thread on building a better pricing structure. Crunch the numbers, aim for efficiency...and then charge what you must to make the $$ you want. Then, improve your sales and communication skills. It's hard enough to communicate well with the folks we know and love...much less a stranger in a sales situation! And, be willing to fail as well as succeed. One of my favorite sales trainers is Tom Hopkins, author of How to Master the Art of Selling. Tom has a laid back, non-threatening approach that doesn’t feel pushy or overbearing. And he has a nice way of looking at the word “noâ€

Greetings! Consider doing things differently from anyone else. If other inspectors are paddling up river, let your boat flow easily downstream. Go through what you do now, and look at it from the customer's perspective. How can you add value in each step? Then, charge what you need to and figure out who would be interested in what you do. The insanity is trying to make more money doing things the same way. I like the high tech approach suggested above. Pics, report, all delivered via your Treo or Palm Pilot or iPhone? Love, peace, $$, Ellen www.barebonesbiz.com

Hi Randy...here are.... 100+ Ways to Get the Phone to RING NOW! www.barebonesbiz.com It’s 8:15 am. Your experienced, professional, sales oriented, customer service focused, technically masterful sales team is still at the shop. Ready to go…with nowhere to go. Maybe that sales team consists of just lil’ ol’ you. All dressed up and no where to go. Sigh. Now what? It’s up to you. Put on your Marketing Hat, and CREATE some action. I have ideas…most of these great ideas I got from YOU. Thanks…and thanks for sharing! Recently, on the TV show Dateline, there was a segment on an out-of-the-ordinary sailboat race. Fortunately, this adventure is captured in its entirety on film because a camera crew was tagging along on the favored-to-win boat. As the crew worked to increase their lead over the other boats, one of them spotted a ‘water spout’, a tornado over the open sea. The rest of the crew turned to look at the phenomenon, and the waterspout turned…and headed straight for them. They zigged and zagged to avoid the tornado, but to no avail. The tornado stayed with them, like stink on a working dog. The sailors pulled the sails and lowered the mast. They filled the boat half full of water so that it wouldn’t get sucked up into sky by the force of the massive funnel cloud. The tornado actually settled right on top of them. In fact, the crew PULLED it right on top of them by the power of their focus. Do you get this? Do you understand that you are so powerful that your every thought, every action is a force of CREATION? The nature of reality is that we are crafting it. If there are no calls on the board at 8:15 am it is because you have neglected to create them. Your focus has been elsewhere. We are powerful beings. Watch your words. Words impact reality. Forbid the use of these words at your shop: 1. Dead. (No one’s dying. You just need a few more calls.) 2. Estimate. (Estimate means, “No one is buying. Just go over there and give them a price for work that someone else will do.â€

So sorry! I suggest you move on. Don't throw good time after bad money. Kharma is the ultimate accounting system. Next time...can you get the Realtors credit card number as back up? That may encourage him to pay more attention at closing. []

Hi Chris, Oh, good for you for NOT just charging what others charge. How do you know that they are making any money? You don't want to blindly follow anyone's lead. Figure out what YOU need to charge based on what YOU want to MAKE $. [^] It’s easy to make money. All you need to do is charge more than it costs. Sales minus expenses equals profits. Simply put, the formula for creating your selling price is this: Put a Budget together with sales greater than expenses. Divide your sales Goal by the number of widgets you can sell. That’s your selling price per widget. For service work, divide your sales Goal by the number of hours, or days, you can sell. That’s your selling price per hour, or per day, of service time. Find ways to differentiate your products. Sometimes I pay more for convenience. I KNOW milk costs more at the Gas Station but I am right there…so I justify it. People will pay more for service, for additional information, for human contact. If you are selling the EXACT same product that someone else is selling, ask yourself… Can I differentiate this service by adding more value? If not, ask… Why am I doing this? The tough question is always…how do I create enough value that my customers are delighted to buy from me at prices that allow me to make a living? Until the value is established the price is always too high. First, crunch the numbers and break through your denial. Then, become a MARKETER! Even on-line, you can create a BUZZZ about your site. Be unique in a way that adds value for your customers. Keep me posted of your successes! Love, peace and $$$, Ellen