"Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not simpler.” (Albert Einstein) When I think of all of the software and process tools that I have used over the last few decades, like a lot of green industry folks - I have just cobbled it all together, experimenting with one online tool and then another until something sticks. The fact is - if you do this right, you will likely be using a few separate online resources - each responding to a different need that you have. With that in mind, my goal here is to talk a bit about at few specialty tools that are economical and easy to use. You may not of course use every link or software tool that we talk about - but if you can get insight into one or more packages discussed here - it might make managing your business easier and help move your business a few steps forward. If you have researched this type of thing, you know there are all-in-one platforms that purport to do all types of office processes from a single source. I don't know that I subscribe to this kind of methodology - because I have always found it wanting in one way or another. Not the least of which - is the fact that much of these all-in-one process software packages are extremely expensive….some going so far as to actually take a portion of your annual revenue as payment.
Do look closely at the long term cost when you look at this type of solution - because you can definitely assemble an easy and inexpensive set of tools that you can build to flex and grow with your company over time. To make things easy to follow - lets start by splitting your office systems into five easy parts: 1. Communication & CRM, 2. Planning & presentation, 3. Estimating & proposals, 4. Scheduling & Project management, 5. Billing & accounting. I know that some sales pundits in the green trades will tell you that price is the key factor in successfully marketing to high end residential accounts. I don't necessarily believe that that is true. I think establishing a good rapport with your client is the basic key to success. This might mean that you are responding and communicating quickly, but it also means that you're providing good information - in detail and with clarity. In my view this center's around automating processes that you do on a repeated basis. We will talk more about that in this and other episodes, but the purpose here is to just go over some basic tools that you can use easily and economically. This is of course not a panacea for every office - I am just going to go over a number of things that I'm aware of and that I've used in the past...
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
