Restoration Rewind Delta Development Group Monthly Newsletter
November 2013
East Meets West Another franchise training is in the books. For the last 13 days we were happy to have the franchisees from Southeastern Pennsylvania in Denver for franchise training. Owners Erik and Faith Bones were joined by their Production Manager to-be, Bruce Musselman in a training class full of surprises. The class started out just like any other, and everyone was learning and coming along nicely. Then we lost one student. With 3 young children at home, Faith had to head back to the East Coast to take care of her family. With only 5 days of training under her belt, she was packed full of information, but she will need some additional training before their grand opening in January. And then there were two. Erik and Bruce then became the focus of all class materials and instruction. The two were also able to get into the field with our mitigation supervisors and get some real hands-on experience.
We followed a very big fire job through the training as well as a large mold remediation job that came in during the floods. We will make sure the group is kept in the loop on all estimates, photos and completions of these jobs so that they can see the job process come full circle. The group also got to experience the first ever training room theft! After a long Friday in the field we locked up the room and headed home for the night. Upon our return to the classroom Saturday morning, we found that basically all of our electronics had been stolen. Laptops, projectors, ipods, speakers, all GONE! While discouraging, our team spent most of that Saturday arranging for rental equipment and other materials needed to complete the last week of class.
We feel and we think the PA group would agree that this class was a success. We will be looking forward to starting off the year with this new franchise!
4 Mistakes Sales People Make They offer too much information. In an effort to make an impression, sales people often overload their pitches with too many details. They say, “My company does 20 things, and I'm going to tell you all 20 and, hopefully, one of them you’ll love.” No one has time for laundry lists. Be selective. Provide a general overview (verbally and in print) and then provide more detail about one topic per visit. Example would be to only address the details on a fire restoration project that you/we did.
They don’t show deference. "I can help you." Sales people believe they always need to inform their prospects. How presumptuous is that? Prospects may be founders of successful businesses or corporate executives; they are experts in their industry. To them sales people are just merely sales people. Take this into consideration and Instead of saying, 'I can help you,' try saying, 'That's very interesting what you just said. A lot of our clients say the same thing. Let me tell you how we’ve helped them.’ This is especially critical when selling to a property management or plumbing company. The life of a small business owner is that everybody and their mother wants to sell them stuff. You want to make it really clear that you have respect for the fact that the prospect has a great deal of knowledge, and that the prospect has been generous enough to give you 15 minutes of their time.
They immerse themselves in the wrong information. Some salespeople spend all of their time studying up on their products. Knowing the details of what you are selling is obviously crucial, but don't forget to do some basic research about the prospect, too. Being able to draw on specific information about a sales call is the most effective way to get his or her attention. A sales person should have something to refer to that the prospect has actually said or done. Try reading anything the prospect has posted online, and even citing snippets of things they've said or written in blogs or trade publications. Examples are a plumber with continued growth over the past 10 years. An agent that won an award etc. Most people are primarily interested in themselves. So talk about the topic they care about, which is themselves and how good of a job they are doing.
They lose sight of the goal.
Inexperienced sales people often walk into a sales visit without having a clear goal in mind. Sometimes the goal will be asking for a referral, but more often it will be the opportunity to speak with the agent or company owner. Before a meeting, know exactly what you want to accomplish on that particular visit. During the meeting, ask for it, and don't leave the meeting without it. Mediocre sales reps are happy with, thanks for your time, and I'll be in touch. If you don’t ask for anything, you won’t get anything.
Website changes, they are coming! Both Dave and Ragan have been working on addressing a new look and utilization for all websites related to Delta Disaster Services and Delta Development Group. You may not realize this, but Delta Disaster Services as a whole does not have a general landing page, but WE WILL NOW! The new company-wide landing page will provide potential customers, or anyone wanting more information about who we are and what we do, a general yet thorough landing page to outline all of our services. This landing page will also allow any potential customer or referral prospect the opportunity to easily locate their local Delta Disaster Services franchise website. The highly recognized URL of www.trydelta.com will now be used for the company wide landing page and Delta Disaster Services of Denver’s location website. We will also be implementing a new standardized template to all of the websites. This will give a uniform look and feel to the entire network. All franchise websites will now have a template that we will build out using the information from your current websites. The new templates will also give the franchises the ability address these additions:
•
You will have the ability to build out your website with as much content per category as you choose. There will be new tabs and pages that will allow you to expand and add more information on your website.
•
For those franchises that want to add more specific content to address your search engine optimization, this can also be more easily managed with the new templates and hosting provider.
•
The new template will also be utilizing new and current webpage technology. So there will be a consistent look and transition form desktops to tablets to smart phones.
We will have more details to come very soon. We have narrowed down the choices of our template and are nearly ready to submit it to our web designer for building and customization. This should give us some live demonstration templates to show off to everyone. We will keep you posted.
Giving Back to Employees Delta Disaster Services of Denver – Management makes breakfast! It’s not always about how much an employee makes financially that makes them stay with an organization. Industry experts will tell you, that many reasons influence why an employee will stay with an organization.
A recent ranking had them in this order: •
Opportunity to advance within an organization
•
The culture of the organization
•
The recognition that the organization gives to its employees
Many of you are just starting your businesses. You have a great opportunity to create a culture to build around. What is your culture at your company? How are people treated? How are you recognizing work that is well done? This goes to your subcontractors and vendors as well.
Delta Disaster Services of Denver is always looking for creative ways to recognize its employees. We are constantly striving to make our work environment one that people want to embrace and be part of. Recently, at our monthly, All Company Meeting, our Managers decided to cook breakfast for our entire staff. We do this a few times a year, and it just goes to show our employees how much our manager’s care about them. It is not expensive, and is not time-consuming, but it does provide a benefit to all employees in the company.
Understanding Your Competitors When a new franchisee comes on board, we instruct them to do an initial competitive analysis of their marketplace. However, the competitive analysis does not stop when your business doors open. Your competitive analysis needs to continue and become a weekly if not a daily ritual. Just as your business will continue to grow and change, so does your competitors. The landscape of your market area will change as well. New firms will enter your marketplace, just as existing firms will go out of business or shut down. We recently worked with our franchise in Southern Colorado to do their one year business review. Their key personnel knew EVERY competitor in their marketplace. They knew the type of operation they ran, including the number of personnel, what accounts they have and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Do you know the current landscape in your market area? If you don’t, you should!
Update on D.D.S of Denver’s Fire Loss
Day 60 to 90 At this point in the job process, the house has been completely gutted. About 15 days ago we received the adjuster’s final estimate. The estimate is now being reviewed by our construction supervisor and our sub-contractors. We believe there will be many trade groups that will have to come back and address supplemental issues to the insurance company. Two items that stand out immediately, are the framing and electrical items that the adjuster allowed. We believe the actual numbers that come back from the electrician and framing sub-contractors will be higher. The customer also has many items that they want to address as upgrades and changes, and we are in the process of getting this information from the customer. Once we have agreed to the estimate with the adjuster we will then need to sit down with the customer and address all changes and change orders. At that point we will pull a permit, and begin working with our initial subcontractors.
Year End Planning It is time to make sure your business is “in order” and ready for 2014. Things to do and check before tax time:
Plan to attend the November 6, 2014 Planning Go-To-Meeting, 7:00 a.m. mountain time. Subcontractors: See article in this newsletter for what is needed in your Subcontractor Files. Make sure you have a current Insurance Certificate or Independent Contractor Release: W-9’s for 1099’s 1099’s will need to be mailed by January 31
QuickBooks: Call your accountant if needed. Once taxes are filed, you will not be able to make changes to your QuickBooks. Now is the time to make sure everything is categorized correctly. • •
•
Have assets been correctly coded? Equipment, Start Up costs, Tennant Finish – all are coded as such and not coded as expenses. You need to address your start-up costs, tenant finish and equipment charges with your accountant and how he/she wants them coded. Is everything properly job charged? Now is the time to make sure.
A Short Story About a Van Delta Disaster Services of Southern Colorado recently became the first franchise system to purchase a service van.
Congratulations Emmis and team! Heres to building your fleet and keeping everything in line with Delta’s branding guidelines!
Industry Information A bit of Flood Insurance History and updates‌.. In 1968, when private insurers began refusing to cover flood damage because claims were becoming increasingly costly, US congress created The National Flood Insurance Program to help subsidize the costs of damages due to floods; however a string of
natural disasters across the US in recent years has left the Program heavily indebted-facing an approximate $20 billion deficit. To keep the program as a reliable and financially sound resource, Congress passed the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act in 201,2 which applies risk-based rates to provide actuarial soundness. On October 1st of this year, new rates were applied and homeowners in high-risk flood zones saw their premiums jump ~$7,000 a year or higher (in some instances $20,000$30,000/yr).
C.E Class – Salt Lake South Being viewed as an expert at what you do will not only build your credibility in the marketplace, but it will drive business to your franchise. There are many ways to do this, but one that stands out as successful, is being able to teach and present a professional continuing education class to your referral sources. Mike recently worked with our office in Salt Lake City to do just this.
We had approximately 10 students in our class. They ranged from seasoned adjusters to prominent agents. The students all walked away feeling that they had benefited from the class and that Delta Disaster Services of Salt Lake South had a very high level of expertise within the restoration industry. We will help you, and coach you, to teach these classes on your own. We highly suggest that you take us up on this opportunity. If you want to be perceived as a market leader, and an expert in your field. There is no better way to do this than to professionally educate your referral sources.
Estimates Bring Business Free estimates. Providing a free estimation service is a door opener to build many relationships within the restoration industry. Free estimates can be offered to agents, adjusters, property managers, homeowners etc. really any referral source that has a damaged property that first wants to know the proposed cost before moving forward. First let’s start off by recognizing that the free estimate is a door opener to build future relationships. Delta Disaster Services of Denver has a number of good stories about how doing free estimates turned into getting very large referral projects, and also ongoing referral relationships. State Farm is a good example of how at the agency level free estimates can benefit both parties. State Farm recently raised all of their property deductibles on residential homes to $1000. Also when a customer files a claim there is now stronger potential that they may not get renewed as a customer. This poses a dilemma for both the customer and the agent. There are many cases where the property owner may not know the true extent of their damage, however once they file a claim, it is too late. It goes against them and they can be dropped. This problem arises most when the actual damages sustained are under $1000. In our market and in many other markets we have built working relationships with State Farm agents by being their eyes and ears to do an evaluation or estimate of the policyholders damage to support whether a claim should be filed or not. i.e., is it above $1000? Another good example of doing free estimates is when you have young adjusters that need our expertise in writing estimates. In Denver we were able to build an account with a very large insurance company at the adjuster level, by going out and helping them write complex estimates. We essentially did their adjuster training on our dime. This account has turned into a sizable account for Denver over the years. We are now their go to company when this particular adjusting division has new adjusters come on board and they need training assistance. Okay, so those are some examples of when it does work. When does it not work? Real estate agents often need to have appraisals for work after an inspection has been made
and deficiencies have been found. In many cases the work never gets done, and is simply a negotiating tool for closing purposes. If you get caught into the situation, use your judgment. Another scenario that we have run into is in foreclosed properties. We have found properties that have either been fire damaged or vandalized where the owner was upside down and literally walked away. In some of those cases the homeowner has taken the insurance payment and disappeared. This puts the house on the bidding block for flippers via a bank offering. We have one property in Colorado in particular with this situation, we then were called on by three different speculators or investors to estimate the cost of restoration so they could determine whether it was worth an investment. When we come across these types of situations, we will typically tell them that there is an estimation fee of $500, which will be taken off of the invoice should we get the contract. In conclusion, doing free estimates in most cases is an excellent way to open doors and build relationships. Just use your best judgment.
1 Year Celebration!! Delta Disaster Services of Southern Colorado, Franchisee Emmis Chellman, celebrated his One-Y ear Anniversary on September 12, 2013. Most of you have had the opportunity to start your business in your “home town” where you know people and have contacts with potential referral sources. Emmis was different and he actually moved to Colorado Springs to start his Delta Disaster Services franchise. He moved his family (actually Owen joined the family six months after opening), joined the local community, and immediately went to work to “Know his Market and Competitors.” And know his market and competitors he does! Emmis and Rosey, his marketer, know every plumber they refer to and what they refer. Every agent who they refer to and what they refer and why they refer! They are not shy about finding out this information either. They know their competition, how they get business, and from whom. What kind of work they do, who likes them and who does not and what they need to do to get business away from them. Emmis has developed some excellent relationships with a few adjusters – something pretty much unheard of in the first year of business in a small community environment. The adjusters are now referring to him. Emmis also has had three national disasters in his area during this first year. Something typically not planned! First the Black Forest fires, where he was able to develop adjuster relationships as a result of how he handled the business. He then experienced mud slides
and flooding – all uninsured. Then the Colorado floods hit. Again, the majority of which were uninsured. At one point, he has had over ten jobs open at one time! As you know that is a lot for one person with one tech and one marketer. He and Rosey have worked very hard to keep “it” together and make “it” happen. They have learned that the answer is always YES and then you figure out how to get it done later! CONGRATULATIONS, EMMIS. JOB WELL DONE!
We will leave you with this‌
Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. Bill Gates