Sometimes, you just need to show up

As many of you know by now, Blue Collar Back Office was born out of our construction company. We have been operating a successful construction company since 2008. Are we the biggest builders in NJ? Far from it. We run a successful business that turns a profit and has had steady growth year after year for almost 15 years now.

How do we do it? Mostly, we show up. We answer our phones. We reply to emails. We send out estimates that are clear and easy to understand and we do it in a timely manner. We communicate with our clients. We send out our invoices on time, and we keep detailed notes. None of it is rocket science. However, you might be surprised to hear just how hard it is to get someone to show up in our industry. And even if they do the chances of receiving an estimate is not nearly as high as you would expect.

That is today’s topic – showing up. It is such a simple concept. In today’s economy it is not as difficult as you think to set yourself apart from the competition and create a company that is stable and profitable. A lot of the competition is either unorganized or simply doesn’t have the discipline and drive to follow through on their commitments.

Want to really set yourself apart from the competition? Not only show up, but show up ON TIME. When you make an appointment, keep it. If you can’t, communicate it the people involved immediately. People understand when an emergency happens and you email or call to say you need to reschedule the appointment you had booked for Tuesday at 2pm. What they don’t understand, but will certainly remember is when it is 2:10 on Tuesday and when they contact you to find out why you aren’t there (or on the Zoom or haven’t called, etc.) and you provide some vague excuse.

Want to rise above the competition that does show up and shows up on time? Show up on time WITH A POSITIVE ATTITUDE AND A PLAN. Come prepared and with knowledge that will help the client. Don’t act like you have someplace better to be and you are doing them a favor by showing up. Don’t immediately go into a sales pitch without finding out what the clients needs truly are.

You would be shocked to hear how many jobs we have done over the years simply because we followed those three simple steps. We have landed jobs where we know we were nowhere close to being the most cost effective or had the best scheduling availability. However, we showed up on with a positive attitude and a plan and was able to develop a trust with the client that not only would the job get done when we said it would get done, but it would be done correctly because we had demonstrated a commitment to our clients and our business through our responsible actions.

Once you have landed the work, it is time to implement all of those same strategies in to how you run the job. Send out estimates and invoices in a timely manner. The amount of lost income we have captured for clients over the years is staggering. If invoices don’t get sent out you don’t have a very good chance of getting paid. Schedule jobs realistically and communicate with your clients. It is much better to tell your client up front that you probably can’t get to their job for three weeks and then have the opportunity to call them after two weeks to see if they would be available to start sooner if something changed in your schedule then to tell them you will be there next week and then delay them.

These simple steps are sometimes all it takes to rise to top of your industry. Simply not sitting back and waiting for it to come to you but instead going out and getting it is all it takes. This is not a magic trick. This is about making a commitment and putting in the work. Show up and I promise you will see the positive results.