Restoration Rewind September 2015

Restoration Rewind Delta Development Group Monthly Newsletter

September 2015

2016 National Convention Announcement!!

A theme has been chosen and serious planning has begun for the 2016 Delta Disaster Services Franchise National Convention. The theme for the convention will be Commercial Restoration!! This year will mark the fourth year for the convention and in true Delta Development Group fashion it will be bigger and better than the years before.

In this two, possibly three day, event we will be covering all the aspects of a commercial loss. Many of our offices have found out by trial and error, that these types of losses require an entirely different approach.

Conversations are already in the works with some of the biggest commercial equipment vendors in the nation with plans to have equipment pieces on site for hands-on demonstrations and discussions.

A FULL DAY of marketing is on the books directly addressing commercial marketing and how the approach to those referral sources is completely different from the agent level marketing that we are all accustomed to.

Once nailed down the speakers will be announced, but if you thought last year’s presenters were fantastic, this year will take it up a notch!

We are very excited to continue to bring you these informative and stimulating events.

Please remember that all owners/general managers are required to attend the convention. You are only hurting yourself and your employees by not taking advantage of these great occasions together.

A few final details still need to be ironed out before we have confirmed dates and a location, but you can plan to be here sometime in March with the event to be hosted in or around the Denver area.

Of course, more exciting details will be released in the coming months. Stay tuned to your newsletter for the latest information. See you all in March!

A Letter of Appreciation We always love to know what your customers are saying about working with you through the difficult times in their lives. This letter, which came directly from a customer of Delta Disaster Services in Western Colorado, sums up the experience we all try to provide our homeowners; “Peace of Mind‌During Uncertain Timesâ€?. Make sure you are sharing these great letters with your entire staff and be sure to keep sending them over to us to share in the newsletter with the entire network. (please excuse any grammar and spelling errors, this came directly from the homeowner)

Dear Mr. Milyard, I wanted to write something to express my gratitude to you and your team members. I would call them your employees but it seems to me everyone there works together as a team when putting my house back together.

When my house flooded I panicked. I wasn't sure what to expect when strangers we're going to come in and tear my house up even more to fix the problem. I thought I would have to deal with the typical stereotype construction crew who would be crude, unprofessional and have the "it's our way or the highway" attitude. When Tim stepped into house, I was proven wrong. His professionalism and understanding was so much more than I could of expected. He answered every question I had and made me feel everything would be ok by telling me who I would be working with and how this whole process would pan out. I wish I could remember the other two men that were with him as they too were polite and professional. They cleaned up my house faster then I have ever seen. They provided boxes, moving blankets and wrapped all our belongings carefully and with respect. They even wrapped each and every one of my daughters barbies individually. Which at first we thought was a joke but now looking at the situation, it showed how they cared even for silly little items like a kids toy. They were kind, and worked as a team the whole time.

When Lance showed up to the house I also was greeted with the same respect and professionalism as Tim had showed me. He explained everything he would be doing with detail and also answered all my questions. He was in and out of my house quite a bit. When I expressed my concerns of what needed to be fixed, he fixed them. No questions asked. He too came with a couple different guys throughout the whole process and they too were very kind and respectful. Lance did great work on my house. He did his work in a timely manner and was very thorough. I am very pleased with how my house turned out.

I dealt with Landon the most through this whole process. I must say, I don't think I could have asked for someone more patient, kind and professional as Landon. I would bug him all though out the day asking questions about everything! And he never once showed that he was annoyed, frustrated, or upset. He answered my questions in a timely manner and made sure everything was done correctly. He was always understanding and addressed my concerns in a quick and kind manner. He went above and beyond to make sure everything was handled correctly. He made me feel comfortable though this whole process. Those are characteristics of a true leader. I can not express how grateful I am that Landon was in charge of my house.

The professionalism that your team showed me was me was above and beyond what I expected.

Everyone that stepped into my house was kind, courteous, knowledgable and caring. Never once did I feel like I was just another customer they were working for and that is what a great company should be.

My husband and I thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Sincerely, Amber Gale

Be careful holding insurance / restoration business conversations in public places For all the concern about privacy many people are comfortable conducting conversations about the most personal topics in public. How many times have you overheard a discussion on the subway or in an airport lounge that made you cringe?

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, young adults generally seem more forgiving of cell phone usage in public places than those who didn’t grow up with a lot of technology. Although 90% of 18- to 29-year-olds think it’s ok to use a phone on public transportation, just 54% of adults aged 65 and older agree.

It's more than an issue of too much information (or TMI) for insurance professionals or anyone who works in a business that depends on confidentiality. There's a saying among lawyers that more cases are lost in the elevator than in the courtroom. Remind your employees of all ages that business conversations should not be held in a public place, and no one should discuss proprietary information in an open environment. You never know who is listening.

Here are the results of the Pew survey.

CASH IN THE DOOR! Based on July royalties…

Delta Disaster Services of Southern Colorado does it again with over $225,000 cash in the door!! Congratulations to Emmis and the rest of his team. Also a hats off goes to Delta Disaster Services of Western Colorado, sneaking in at second place!

State Farm to Pay $5B to Cover Weather Damages State Farm Insurance has paid $5 billion to its customers for weather-related catastrophes — damage to cars, homes and other property so far this year — the largest U.S. insurer of homes and cars said Sunday.

That payout has been increased by wildfires, tropical storms and hurricanes during the summer, which came after last spring’s spate of tornadoes and hail storms.

2016 Business Planning – say what?

Do those words come as a shock to any of you? In just one more month we will be entering the fourth quarter of 2015. At Delta Disaster Services of Denver, we typically begin our business planning the first part of October. This year will be no different. Our managers have been given an outline to use to start planning for 2016. We are all very busy and it takes time to sit back and not only reflect upon where we are at, but what our objectives are for 2016. Planning starts at the top, it gets emphasized and accounted for in the middle, but more often it gets done at the field level. What is meant by this is owners and operators need to have the vision of where the organization is going. Supervisors and managers, if you have them, need to grasp the vision and build upon it by influencing their team through communication and recognition. We will be having a Wednesday webinar in a few weeks to discuss your 2016 business planning. And always, we are here if you have any questions or specific items that you would like to address for 2016.

What type of organization do you want to have on December 31, 2016? What do you have to do between now and then to get you there? If you do not plan for it, it is anyone’s guess where you will be. Amazingly, if you plan for it and manage it throughout the year, that vision will become a reality!

Delta Disaster Services Does it Again Once again Delta Disaster Services has been recognized in Qualified Remodelers Magazine Top 500 Remodelers. This year we ranked 317 in the nation’s largest remodelers. We also placed a full-page color ad in the August issue, attracting new potential franchise owners. Check out the link for the electronic version of the magazine. http://qualifiedremodeler.epubxp.com/i/563357-aug-2015/36

Remember DSO? You have all heard us talk about “DSO”. You have seen “DSO” on your monthly dashboard. You have seen “DSO” in previous newsletters. So, if you think this is deja vu, you might be right…

We basically “finance” all of our jobs in advance and then try to collect the money on the back end just as soon as we can. This is very true, especially in mitigation, because we have payroll and supplies that must be paid long before we get paid for the work we did.

In Order to continue to finance jobs, you MUST keep the cash flowing in the door. You can have sales in the millions of dollars, but without the cash coming in to pay your bills, you will be bankrupt. Cash is what keeps any business running and operating smoothly. Getting cash in the door just as soon as we can does and will continue to keep your business running and profitable.

The standard for measuring cash and how quickly we turn our receivables is called “DSO” or Days Sales Outstanding. Below is the definition of DSO and how it is calculated.

'Days Sales Outstanding - DSO' DSO is something you need to be measuring on a regular basis. The “Dashboard” that is included with the royalty report shows you how to calculate the DSO. Please use it and measure your DSO. DSO is a measure of the average number of days that a company takes to collect revenue after a sale has been made (or in our case the work is completed). A low DSO number means that it takes a company fewer days to collect its accounts receivable. A high DSO number shows that a company is selling its product to customers on credit and taking longer to collect money.

Days sales outstanding is calculated as:

And… To simplify it:

1. Run a Company P&L for the past 12 months. Make note of the Total Sales or Total Income.

2. Divide the total income by 365 (=Average per day) 3. Make note of your current open invoices (Accounts Receivable) 4. Divide Item #3 (Current Open Receivables) by Item #2 (Average per day) The resulting number is your DSO.

This all sounds great but what is the real relevance of DSO in running our Delta Disaster Services business? The average DSO in a “Service Business” is 55 days.

The average DSO for a restoration company is 45 days. The Goal DSO for Delta Disaster Services of Denver is less than 30 days!

DSO is something you need to be measuring on a regular basis. The “Dashboard” that is included with the royalty report shows you how to calculate your DSO. Please use it and measure your DSO at least once per month. Please contact Dixie if you have any questions about calculating your DSO or ways to lower your DSO.

Here is a little light hearted humor from Delta Disaster Services of Palm Beach and their recent hurricane!

And we will leave you with this‌