As any small business owner will tell you. Having your own shingle means having to wear a lot of hats. Even if you enjoy benefits such as avoiding the office routine, you have to know how to manage a team to make the best out of profit margins that can sometimes be on the thin side. Aside from the financial hacks you can use, many of your costs are going to be related to how you use the most valuable asset at your disposal: your team. Here, we’re going to look at how to use them more efficiently and more effectively to get the best return on investment.
Train your team in sales, too
Of course, training is a must-have for your team – plumbing or otherwise. You want them to stay on top of the latest and greatest methods of performing their services while sharpening their skills and making sure they don’t forget anything. However, you can also train them in a few plumbing sales techniques, as well. This way, your team members will be better equipped to identify additional needs that your clients might have. As well ashighlight the benefits of contracting your services to take care of them together. You want to train them to not be too aggressive or annoying in upselling. But to identify and make use of opportunities when they arise.
Automate so your team doesn’t have to take care of everything
The more duties that you pile onto your workers, the less time, effort, and energy that they’re going to be able to spend on actually completing jobs. As such, you should do what you can to ensure they’re not piling more onto their plate. Using software to automate certain processes, like InvoiceOwl Plumbing Estimate Software, can free up that time and energy. It also streamlines the process of winning over new clients, which can lead to additional profits.
Manage dispatch and scheduling centrally
Similarly, if you allow every member of your team to manage their own schedules, it can allow for a greater sense of freedom, but it can also waste a lot of time. People can end up working without a direction or a plan on how to most effectively use their time. Tools like BuildOps Field Service Management allow you to plan centrally. With a good view of what every team member is doing, it’s easier to dispatch them in a way that helps them work as efficiently as possible. Resulting in reduced travel time and using each member of the team in the work they’re best suited to.
Make communication easier
You should streamline and standardize communication to make sure that not only your team can reach you and the central office whenever they need, but you can make sure that your messages are heard, loud, and clear, as well. Determine your main means of communication, whether it’s through text messaging, mobile communications apps, or otherwise, and ensure that every member of the team is on the same channels, rather than using a mess of a whole host of different communication methods.
With the tips above, hopefully, you should be managing your team whether it’s plumbers, carpenters or general sales folks – to their very best ability, increasing profits for you and providing better services for your customers as a result.
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