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How Changing One Word Will Make Your Business Explode

by | Sep 4, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

How Changing One Word Will Make Your Business Explode

By Eric Petersen, CIC

A few years ago, I was attending the Wisconsin Arborist Association’s Annual Conference when I was awe struck during the keynote session. Jim Skiera, former International Society of Arboriculture’s Executive Director, was speaking on the state of the tree care industry.

He asked everyone in attendance to stand up. All three hundred of us, slowly got out of our seats and waited uncomfortably for him to ask us to do something. His direction was straightforward; if you removed more trees last year than you planted, please sit down. I looked around the room and was shocked to see only a handful of people remain standing.

He then asked the rhetorical question; if the vast majority of us in this room are removing more trees than we are planting, what does the future of our industry look like? He then challenged everyone in the room to change one word within their list of services. He said to eliminate the word “removal” and use “replacement” instead.

While the concept was very simple it had a huge impact on me. Imagine if you started doing tree replacements instead of just tree removals. First off, you would definitely stand out from the other tree services that your potential customer has talked to and you immediately open the door for future revenue.  There are many other benefits to this customer experience approach, but three obvious ones that you would realize are:

  • Instantly boost your revenue from the tree plantings.
  • Become the valued professional who is looking to take care of their property long term, not just do a one-time job.
  • Create an easy future revenue stream by offering to prune the young tree and others on their property.

So just like Mr. Skiera did to the WAA crowd years ago, I challenge you to change merely one word within your operation and watch your business grow.

If you need assistance helping your business become extraordinary, reach out to an ArboRisk team member about our Thrive Risk Management Sales & Marketing Package! We can help you address any marketing concerns and take your business to new heights!

Personality Testing for Employers

by | Aug 27, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

Personality Testing For Employers

How many times have you heard someone say, “I hire for personality not skills”? It’s a common theme amongst many owners and managers even in skilled labor industries like tree care world. So what does that mean and why are they doing it?

 

The simple response that you will hear is that skills can be taught, personality cannot. I agree with this thought process and want to give you an article devoted to figuring out what personalities you have currently and what type you’d like to build your team around.

 

Find the Right Tool – Just like using the proper sized saw for a removal job, the first step is to commit to using a tool to help identify key characteristics that you want to see in your team members. There are many personality tests on the market today, however, my favorite one is True Colors. True Colors is a simple personality test that helps highlight how individuals communicate and what they value most which in turn helps create a better team atmosphere within your organization.

 

I first was introduced to the True Colors system while attending a Leadership Workshop for the ISA a few years ago. All of the participants at the workshop took the short test and were split up into groups based on our colors. It was incredible to see how accurate the simple test was at identifying our core personalities. Throughout the workshop, we wore nametags that had our primary color listed. It helped all of us communicate much better and understand where the other party was coming from when discussing certain topics. Because I found it so powerful, I brought it back to the Wisconsin Arborist Association to do with our Board Members and internally for my team at my agency. Knowing how others communicate has been a tremendous help to accomplishing any of our goals.

 

Test Your Current Staff – Once you choose which tool you will use, have your current employees take the profile and discuss the results with each of them individually. What did you learn about your top performers? Are there common traits amongst the best within your team? What skills does your team lack as a whole? Learning from these tests will help you identify what type of person you want to hire next. It also can help you recognize if you have someone in the wrong role. Perhaps, one of your production climbers would be better suited as a sales person because of their personality. Or maybe the opposite, a person on the sales team would be better fit for technical work like consulting or plant health care. Understanding who you have on your team and how they interact with others is an enormous benefit to you as the leader of the organization.

 

Use with Interviewees – Lastly, when you are looking to bring in someone to your team, have them take the same test that the rest of the team has. Make sure that their personality will fit the position that they are applying for. Too often in the tree care industry, owner’s hire anybody with a pulse and a driver’s license. This will only do one thing; set up the business and new employee for future pain and trouble when personalities clash and internal issues arise that would have been prevented if they were never hired.

 

Getting the right person on your team is difficult to do, however, using personality tests can be a great tool for you. And because there always seems to be a shortage of potential employees, check out our article on the 5 Hiring Hotspots to get some ideas on how to start recruiting top notch talent.

 

Written by: Eric Petersen

How Do I Get to The Next Level?

by | Aug 27, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

How Do I Get To The Next Level?

Written By Eric Petersen, CIC

 So you’ve done what everyone has told you to do to get your business to this point. You’re proud of what you’ve accomplished but you still find yourself looking for more. What’s the next step? How can I really take my business to the next level? Well, unfortunately, there isn’t a magic wand to help you elevate your business. Getting over the edge takes more discipline and team work than what you relied on to get to this point.

Below are my eight tips for taking your business to the next level!

1. Clarify Your Vision – Where do you want to be? What is the vision for the business? By now you know what is possible within the tree care industry. You’ve met successful owners and you know what works for your company, so now is the time to create the specific vision of your company. Be detailed in your description of what your company will look like in 3, 5 and 10 years. Write it down so you can look back on it at least every six months to check your progress. The next level will look different for every company, the fun part is you get to decide what it means for your organization.

2. Create the Plan with Stretch Goals – Once you know where you are heading, figure out the goals that will get you there. Make sure the majority of your goals are attainable yet push you to make them happen. For our agency, our primary goal for 2022 is to grow by 22% (22% in ’22 – get it?). It is a number that we have never hit before but since we’ve laid the foundation in the previous years it is attainable while making us stretch for it. Again, being specific on how you will achieve each goal is critical.

3. The Customer Experience is King – If you haven’t looked at what kind of customer experience you and your team are providing for your customers you must commit to fully engage in that process. Your current customers are the best source of referrals and repeat business so ensuring that they have the best possible experience with your team is a must. Check out our article on “Reviving the Customer Experience” for help on how to transform your customer service.

4. Commit to Continuous Learning – You probably already do this, but never stop learning. I’m not talking about just the formal seminars and continuing education classes required to keep up your credentials. Those are important, but more so are the conversations that you have with other business owners that have made it through the challenges that you are facing. Attending the TCIA’s Winter Management Conference and Executive Arborist Workshop will get you in the same room as those who you can learn from. When attending these events, make sure to ask direct questions to others so you can walk away with ideas for your business.

5. Teamwork – You must share your vision with your team and create a team first culture where everyone wants to win together. Proper delegation of responsibilities is key to allowing everyone to feel part of something larger than their job. When everyone knows their role in achieving greatness for the whole organization, the entire company will take off.

6. Evaluate and Adjust – Let’s face it, you won’t get everything right the first time. Expect to need to make adjustments to your process and slight variances from your goals. I suggest to at a minimum review your annual goals at the halfway point each year so there is still time to make changes so you can achieve the goals you set out at the start of the year.

7. Embrace and Live the Plan – This is probably the most challenging one on the list because it takes a lot of self discipline, but live each day with purpose to accomplish what you need to that day. Life happens and interruptions are part of it, but when you continually refocus yourself on the overall vision you will be amazed at what you can accomplish for your company.

8. Believe in Yourself and Your Team – All great leaders believe in themselves and their team. They are confident that together the right answer will pop up and solutions to challenges will be overcome. You have to provide that strength from the top as the owner so that everyone feels proud and excited to be part of a thriving company. If you are struggling with this, just look back over the past year and jot down all of the hurdles your organization has overcame. Share this with the team and everyone will quickly be reminded of how far your organization has come in a short bit of time. This should reinvigorate you and your team to push to that next level.

Of course, make sure you are applying your ‘Why’ to each of these steps. When you have a purpose deeply engrained within an organization, your need for the magic wand disappears and your company will take off to the next level.

Need more help taking your business and team to the next level? Contact ArboRisk to learn more about our Thrive New Heights Package! This package will give you one-on-one consulting to improve company culture and beliefs, role responsibilities and job descriptions, safety and training program creation or updates, and sales and marketing. 

Mid Year Check Up

by | Aug 27, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

Mid Year Check Up

Too often in the tree care industry during the middle of the year, business owners feel entrapped by their business. The work is booked out for a month or two, yet they are playing catchup from storm damage work, employees are about to leave to go back to school and many more challenges put the business owner on pins and needles. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Below are 7 questions to ask yourself at the halfway point in your year so you can make some corrections if necessary.

 

Are your repeat customers still loving your service? Obviously if your customers are not receiving the level of service that they deserve and expect, you need to make adjustments right now. New sales are great, but if your repeat customers are not happy with you, the amount of work you will need to put in to replacing that customer with a new one comes at too high of a cost. If your customer experience needs a refresh check out our article on that topic for ideas.

 

Is your company culture where you want it to be? There is never a good time within a business year to reevaluate your staff, but it is one of the most critical areas a business owner must pay attention to. Are there concerns that have popped up with any of your team members? Has turnover been an issue? Take a look at the pay and benefits that you offer. Do they support the desired culture you are trying to promote?

 

Has anything major happened in your local market? Sometimes business plans need to be altered due to something that happened outside of your organization. Keeping a pulse on what is going on in your community is an important part of assessing your business at the midpoint in the year. Have there been any large factory closings, did a new tree service come into town or was one of your competitors bought out by a national company? Any of these will have an impact on your business. Don’t be too focused just on your company and make sure you take time to know what is happening around you.

Are you meeting your revenue goals? At the halfway point in the year, there is still plenty time to reach your yearend goals, however, you need to know where you stand. Is one aspect of your business underperforming? What can you do to get back on track? Do you need to invest in additional marketing to stir up some more new business?

 

Does your company’s brand match your services? Many times a company’s brand (primarily the logo and website) does not match what the business actually does. Contrary to popular belief, during the year is a great time to begin exploring a rebrand of your logo and website. Most of this work will be done in the off-season, but getting it right takes time and now is the time to set the foundation for that process. Think about what your customer or prospect feels about your organization as well as how you want them to feel.

 

How is your equipment? Knowing what equipment you have and the condition of each piece is vital to every tree service. Obviously, making sure proper maintenance is being performed on the equipment is the most important part, however, ask yourself if there is a missing piece of equipment that can make your team safer and more efficient? Have there been jobs that your team members wished they had an additional piece of equipment? A mini-loader or spider lift? What would your first half numbers look like if you didn’t have equipment breakdowns or injuries that could have been prevented with different equipment?

 

How do your numbers look? Take time to review your company’s finances. You probably already do this every month, however take a deep dive in the middle of the year. How does the Profit & Loss statement look? What financial pressures have come up on your business? Talk to your accountant to determine if you should consider buying more equipment to lower your tax burden.

 

With the answers to these questions, you’ll be able to craft a second half plan for your business that will ensure you end up meeting or surpassing your overall annual goals for the company.

Written by: Eric Petersen

What is Your Why?

by | Aug 27, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

What Is Your Why?

One of my favorite movie quotes of all time comes from Uncle Ben to a young impressionable Peter Parker (Spiderman) “With great power comes great responsibility”. It resonates with me because we all have something that can help make the world a little better. A special skill or certain knowledge, to Uncle Ben that was power, however, most of the time we don’t share that with others. I believe that when we realize our gift and how that can help others, we then have a responsibility to help improve the world around us. And when we begin to do this, the return in our own lives is staggering.

 Obviously as an arborist you are not catching bad guys and throwing them in prison, or taking drugs off the street or saving the world from a tragic ending, but you are helping the world improve. In fact another one of my favorite quotes is from Jim Skiera, former ISA Executive Director, “make the world a better place one tree at a time”. I know your company does that every day in various ways. Whether that is by proper pruning or chemical applications or through consulting with your customers on their trees, your team is making improvements in the landscape, but do they know why? For me, our insurance agency has the ability to help save lives, prevent injuries and protect businesses from financial hardship. Our why is simply to make sure we do whatever we can to ensure each employee gets home safe every night and has a job waiting for them to come back to the next day.

 So what is your why? Why do you do what you do?

 If you haven’t defined the why for yourself, use the questions below to jumpstart your thought process. Begin thinking about your personal life, then answer each question from your organization’s viewpoint. Lastly, challenge your team to find their own personal whys and how they fit into the company’s purpose.

 What gets you excited to wake up in the morning?

 What are your innate strengths?

 Where can you add the greatest value?

 How do you measure success in your life?

 Unfortunately, the why so often gets lost in the how. How are we going to grow our business? How are we going to get all of the work done? How will I find my next great employee? If you are able to focus on the why, the answers about the how come along naturally.

 You will attract better employees and customers, people that believe in the same values that you and your company believe in. It will elevate all aspects of your organization and set you apart from your competition. You will see greater results and subsequently you will be much more fulfilled along the way.

Just like Uncle Ben said, you, as the owner, have the power and responsibility to lead your business to great things, positively influencing many people along the way.

 

Written by: Eric Petersen

Handling High Phone Call Volume

by | Aug 27, 2018 | Business Strategy | 0 comments

Handling High Phone Call Volume

The telephone is one of the most important pieces of equipment to a tree service, yet, many struggle with the challenges associated with it. This is especially true during periods of high call volume. A lot of times, the difference between winning a job and/or keeping a customer is a matter of which tree service answers the phone. This article is meant to give you a few tips on how to shine as an organization when the phone is ringing off the hook.

 

Find out when your phones ring the most. It sounds simple, but ask yourself, when do we get the most calls and why? Perhaps you get a lot of calls after a large storm or the first nice Spring day when people get out of their house and look at their property. Every business will have a little different answer depending on the services you focus on and your clientele, but typically you should be able to identify a handful of high call volume times.

 

Figure out how many people need to answer the phones so that the majority of calls get to talk to a live person within a few rings. If your phone system isn’t set up to handle multiple lines at one time, invest into a new system so that you can ensure that your customers and prospects do not get trapped in the voicemail game of tag.

 

Staff the phones during these times with knowledgable team members, preferably from your sales team. They should be the most well versed in the operation of the company and will be able to give verbal estimates of what may need to be done on the call thereby mitigating the threat of them calling another company. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that they diagnose the customer’s problem without seeing the tree or give an actual proposal, but a quick idea of what your company can do for the customer can go a long way in helping them make their decision about which tree service to use.

 

Train on the most frequently asked questions. What are the common questions that customer’s and prospects ask? Train your team on these so that they can help answer the call in the most efficient way possible.

 

Change your voicemail to indicate high call volume due to whatever your company is experiencing and give the caller an expectation of when they will hear back from you. It’s extremely important to actually call the person back within the time frame that you had given them. These callbacks should also be done by the sales team to speed up the process of getting the customer’s problem addressed as quickly as possible.

 

Investigate hiring a call center. The last tip I have for you is to hire a call center so that every phone call gets answered by a live person. The call center will not be able to provide much for actual support to the caller, however, there is something comforting with talking to a real person, not a voicemail. During your research on this make sure you choose a company that is in your general region and will have employees that naturally have the same accent as you do.

 

Managing the peak phone call times in your business is a challenging task, however, following these simple tips can help turn this stressor into a profit center for your business. Done correctly, you can turn the phone from an important piece of equipment into your most valuable one.

 

Written by: Eric Petersen