It’s March. It’s Minnesota. It’s 75 degrees outside. Oh ***t.
That means the crazy is about to kick it up a notch. Our contractor’s phones are going to explode. All our seasonal service guys are strapping on their boots and getting ready for an intense spring.
When you barely have time to breathe, do these 5 things:
#1: Don’t forget about the cash
We know how crazy the spring can be for outdoor contractors, especially you lawn care and irrigation guys. More work than people or hours. But you must make time to do the invoicing. Hopefully you have a system that integrates field data collection with QuickBooks, but if not, block out part of a day each week just to “catch up”, as much as possible, on those invoices. They must get out the door in a timely fashion to keep your cash flow secure.
#2 Stick to the schedule
Your schedule is packed and it changes all the time, but take care to remember your appointments. Remember, branding is a meter, not a switch, so things like showing up on time – and not looking completely frazzled – are important. Keep your techs focused on their day, one job at a time, with an emphasis on giving the customer what they want: professional service in a timely manner.
#3 Keep on trackin’
If it’s a busy time of year, hopefully it’s also a profitable time of year. Make sure you are recording your key numbers so that you can come back and look at them later. You need to know more than “How much money did we make?”, though that’s always the bottom line (sorry, couldn’t resist). What was your margin compared to last year, how many contracts did you start up, what was your employee’s productivity like? And perhaps, most importantly, what properties will you be able to call on later to propose more work or upsell a system?
#4 Touch base
For the love, make sure you are communicating with your team. This sounds so basic, but is so important. Keep having that Monday meeting, keep checking in with your techs every couple of hours, keep taking those phone calls from your office manager. It will save your butt when a problem pops up, because you’ll be one step ahead of it.
#5 Sleep
Everybody gets cranky when they’re busy. Everybody gets cranky when they’re tired from a long day of hard work. You’re already going to be both. Don’t aggravate the whole company by not getting your much needed rest. The world, and your support team, will be thankful.