CEO
Gideon W. Smith
SENIOR
Katherine Nolan
ADVERTISING
Tracy Rodean CREATIVE
Phoenix Global Media Inc.
P.O. Box 235, Stockton New Jersey 08559
866-418-4400 phone 973-532-0319 fax sales@nasweeper.com
North
Copyright
Heidi Karpinich CIRCULATION
Noah Aiden
SUBSCRIPTIONS
• Non-CDL version available
• Mechanical sweeping to handle heavy applications like millings
• Independent broom control for in-the-cut precision
• Single engine for fuel economy and less maintenance
• Simple start-up procedure with easy-to-operate controls
Over the past six years, since July 2018, Craig Diebert has not had much time to think about growth strategy for his Fresno, California pavement sweeping business. Why?
Because he’s been too busy trying to keep up with the existing book of work he bought from a former area operator along with the natural growth by word of mouth from servicing those original accounts he picked up.
As Select Sweeping has gradually exited its startup phase, Diebert has been thinking less about long-term strategic planning and more about focusing the team as strongly as possible on ideally serving his current customers’ interests. What’s that like for everyone around the business, inside and out?
Well, a friendly business owner answers the phone himself, is very open, and diligently striving to keep coming up with more and more ways to provide better and better outcomes for his customers and workers. He recognizes the worth of investing a little of his very limited time in a casual talk about his operation and business philosophy with NAS magazine.
ORGANIC GROWTH
I was a Construction Project Manager for about 15 years, and I went to school and got my MBA. The kind of heavy construction I managed was road building. I knew there was a need for sweeping services, so over the years I kind of penciled the idea that maybe I could start a business doing that at some point. My wife is a pharmacist. She’s been very supportive of my goals. I couldn’t have gotten started and succeeded in the business without her through these years.
In 2018, I started from scratch. I bought a truck, a Broom Bear. I saw that there was a one-man operation owned by someone who was retiring, and I bought his book from him. I didn’t buy his business name or his system or anything else. I just bought the book and an old sweeper truck as a backup. He had a few HOAs and a homebuilder account he was servicing. One location was
serviced once weekly and maybe 8 to 10 were serviced between once per quarter and twice a month.
The kinds of sweeping we do are heavy commercial construction site and highway construction cleanup, as well as HOA, commercial,
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and industrial site maintenance sweeping. We use industrial mid-sized air sweepers and mechanical broom sweepers. We thought about getting into pressure washing, but the amount of growth between our regular heavy commercial construction site sweeping, a lot of construction cleanup work for homebuilders, and our regularly scheduled HOA street maintenance sweeping service, and industrial customers keeps us pushing to keep up.
In the beginning, I did the knocking on doors at HOA management offices and road construction projects. But soon, I found that it was less important than trying to keep up with what I already had to do. Through the past six years, I’ve been trying to pace myself and just serve the clients well.
My thinking about how to run the business is pretty basic — just keep it simple. When people call you, pick up the phone, show up on time, make sure customers know they’re your focus, and do the job right. Treat your people right, and pay them well.
When I first got into the industry, I thought of it as working with heavy-construction civil contractors that do paving and clean up the mess from it. That seemed to be the right fit for me. But, in addition to that kind of cleanup, I got into a much broader range of pavement sweeping services, including the HOA sweeping market and commercial construction site sweeping. We’ve been able to carve
out that niche for our services here in the area and fully serve the road construction industry too. In the beginning, I did the street sweeping, accounting, invoicing, phone calling, etc., all of it. Then, we brought on a part-time administrator to help with invoicing, Accounts Receivable, Collections, Payroll, correspondence with employees, the Certified Payroll, etc., while I continued to do the basic accounting, Balance Sheet, etc. Then, our crew grew from there.
We asked Craig if he would consider more growth by acquisition any time soon: If the opportunity came about, it would have to be the right thing. We’re just a little regional shop, and we like what we’re doing. We’re very proud of being a part of the Fresno market.
We asked Craig about branding: I wouldn’t say we’ve done much in branding. We do participate in the local builders’ exchange and local construction management training program run by the Fresno State College. We try to stay involved with the college’s Industry Advisory Committee through its local industry advisory board. We go to meetings, and I’ve tried to be supportive where I can in that way.
We have a Tymco 435, and we’ve got another one on order, coming in later this summer. We have an XBroom. We also have 2 ODRA (M4MHs). One is an older Broom Badger (a.k.a. Challenger) mechanical broom. When I started, I bought an old Athey as a backup sweeper. Now, the truck we have on order is another Tymco 435. It’s a little shorter model than the one we have.
Two competitors make that same truck. What we look for is a practical solution for our clients’ needs.
What we look for is a practical solution for our clients’ needs.
When we choose a sweeper truck make and model, it’s because we think it’s a good tool, the size is right, the performance is right, and we know it. Each equipment type has its particular niche in the market that it’s best for servicing, so the best approach, we find, is just growing the fleet with multiples of each type we need to grow in each type of service we provide.
We have regenerative air sweeping technology and mechanical broom sweeper trucks to meet our customers’ particular needs. We examine each worksite to determine which type of technology will deliver the optimum sweeping performance for a customer’s location.
To buy it from a manufacturer we’re familiar with, instead of others, means we benefit from knowing what to expect. Buying the same makes and models we’re already using means we can capitalize on having two of everything. Like the ODRAs we have. When you’re doing all the same types of work with the same types of vehicles, there’s an efficiency level you can reach by using that kind of equipment that translates into significant savings of money and time.
Another thing that goes along with sweepers is that the whole system in each one has to be over-maintained, making sure it doesn’t break
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down. Having a sweeper truck means always being between water pump breaks, auxiliary power issues, hydraulics problems. Adding up all the $100 parts can add up to a large total expense in a year. Having multiples of each model leads to a much better understanding of the equipment, which is extremely helpful in maintaining it effectively and repairing it as efficiently as possible and carrying parts for all the trucks.
Our team currently consists of me, a part-time business office administrator who works 100% remotely, 3 full-time sweeper truck drivers, 1 parttime driver, and an HR/Safety Consultant, and our outside accountant. It’s been great with the
team. We’ve had very little turnover. Our part-time guy started in our first year. A friend of the family maintained and ran equipment for us for 3½ years until he moved out of state. Another guy has been with us for 2½ years. In the last 3 to 4 months, we’ve brought on 2 new hires who are both doing awesome.
I don’t know how I got so lucky with personnel and hiring. The hardest role to fill has been the admin bookkeeping job. Maybe it’s harder to fill that kind of spot in a company with super low overhead. But, it‘s been the toughest one. Our admin is doing a great job. We had a student intern at one point. And, our accountant has been very helpful.
Day to day, we all just drive and maintain the trucks.
It’s simply to provide people with good jobs. I appreciate them, and I say it a lot. I thank people for coming to work, always showing up, taking good care of the equipment, treating customers and everyone right...
We inspect in the morning and fix stuff all the way through the day, as needed. The part-time admin is fully remote. My office is at my house. We have an office at the shop where we store the trucks, parts, and tools. Through the day, I may be at my house on my couch taking calls, or at the shop, or driving a sweeper truck, or going to see customers.
Our company culture is that we do quality work and we do on-the-job training. New drivers get to be on maintenance jobs. We try to provide more opportunities for everyone to grow and do more. Asked about rewards for exceptional performance, Craig said that he tries to show appreciation for people who go extra distance to help others. He said he thinks a time bonus is a good way to reward people for hard work. For example, he likes to give people paid hours or days off, among other occasional perks, to thank them for their efforts. Select also holds an annual Christmas party with bonuses.
The company pays its employees well. That’s more to the point that Craig emphasizes in this regard. It’s
simply to provide people with good jobs. I appreciate them, and I say it a lot. I thank people for coming to work, always showing up, taking good care of the equipment, treating customers and everyone right, etc.
SELECT
Select Sweeping is a paperless company. Further, everything possible at Select is cloud-based. The accounting is in Xero (Quickbooks competitor). All
continued on page 14
systems are cloud. We try not to keep any paper. We scan and upload everything on paper into the system, then shred it.
We use comprehensive Nektyd software to manage receipts, timesheets, and everything else in the field. Our dispatching is cloud-based, including scanned paper driving logs, dispatching system logs, payroll hours, which are GPS-tracked, geofenced project information, any auto-clocked information, etc. We do submit bids. We’ve got some county contracts, all also managed in the cloud as much as possible.
Tymco has an awesome training program. We sent two of our guys to their 2-day program, and they learned a lot from that. Our company has NAPSA
Our company has NAPSA Certification.
We believe in NAPSA. I’ve done the Manager Certification Course. One of our drivers has done it too, and our other drivers have either received their certification or are working on it.
Certification. We believe in NAPSA. I’ve done the Manager Certification Course. One of our drivers has done it too, and our other drivers have either received their certification or are working on it.
We get a few leads here and there through 1-800-SWEEPER, but the best thing I have found about being a part of that trade group is having peers available. We’ve been members since April of last year. I’ve just come back from one of the biannual events in Huntsville, Alabama.
Coming from the heavy construction industry, I had assumed I could figure it all out, though I didn’t know a thing about it. So, it’s been a challenge to figure things out as I go along. Having people to ask questions and discuss things has been great.
There are a lot of pieces of advice to offer. It’s all around managing a customer-centric business with efficient, uncomplicated systems. It’s hard work. It’s
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way more work, and harder, than having a regular job. I think it’s natural during the startup years to question yourself about whether you’ve really made the right life choice. It’s got its own kind of struggles.
I’ve definitely had more stress than on regular management jobs. But, it’s not the same kind of stress though. I’ve never had that feeling I had gotten on regular jobs from wondering whether I just didn’t want to do the work anymore. The stress of ownership, for me, in this industry, is more to do with finding solutions to recurring issues, whether they involve creating systems for invoicing, collections, etc.
It’s “us,” “we.” The business, after these past six years, would be nothing without the employees. The thing for us is that we’re really proud to be local. We’re
proud of our employees. One of our guys just bought his first house, because he’s got a good job. We’re trying to make careers out of these jobs. We’re proud of our company and our community, just being a part of Fresno.
For Craig Diebert and the unique service-focused team he’s built, it’s about the one-on-one impression made for every HOA decision-maker and every road construction project manager adding one more successful service delivery to the track record.
Select’s success has been linked directly to its owner’s ability to recognize that that is what his local market requires and his throwing his team’s and his own energies so fully into repeating the application
...it really is about simply running a reliable, top-quality local service, providing good jobs for employees, and nurturing the organic growth of his highly-efficient heavy-equipment-based business.
of that utterly basic formula. Never has anyone said, “Keep it simple,” and appeared to mean it more.
As we started the interview, Craig’s wife was leaving the house and he needed to take care of their baby so we decided, upfront, just to see how things would go. Within the next hour, father and baby traversed the gamut of possibilities. The baby cried, the father changed the diaper, fed the baby a variety of things, the two played, and so on. The baby gave way to giggling and ultimately sounded amenable to napping. All the while, the patient father, local employer, and owner of a successful California heavy-equipment business steadily and thoughtfully answered questions for the feature article in his industry’s magazine.
When asked again about strategic plans for the future, he emphasized again that, for now, the idea is to stay the course and continue to grow organically through word of mouth. Why not? He already has what he loves. He is very much enjoying being a part of his community and the local economy.
He offers, for example, a reflection on the employee experience his company provides for its workers. A guy who works here is proud of the work he does, the quality of his workmanship. It’s his name, it’s his company’s name on the job. That sort of timeless performance pride and sense of community is what’s most meaningful about one’s career in Craig’s vision of the American dream.
So, for Craig Diebert, at this time, it really is about simply running a reliable, top-quality local service, providing good jobs for employees, and nurturing the organic growth of his highly-efficient heavyequipment-based business. Beyond that, it’s about enjoying his family and the life they’ve chosen in the charming California community they love.
ADVERTORIAL
While the US and Canadian chassis shortage has eased somewhat, there are still long lead times for chassis, especially compared to pre-pandemic availability. Municipalities and contractors are still searching for street sweepers, and chassis when they need to replace a sweeper or add to the street sweeping program. The bottleneck for most street sweeper manufacturers is the wait for the chassis.
WHAT’S
First off, preventative and ongoing maintenance using Bucher Municipal North America genuine OEM parts and service from our trusted dealer network can significantly prolong the life of your street sweeper. We are please that multiple Johnston and Bucher sweepers are in the 15-year plus club. Yes, our sweepers can last long last the industry average of 5-10 years with proper maintenance. Bucher also offers a free audit to evaluate the health of your street sweeper. The free audit allows you to get an actionable report of your sweeper’s health along with recommendations to prolong the life of your sweeper.
In some cases, sweepers reach the end of their life,
just like cars. In this case a new sweeper is the usual go to solution. Speaking with our customers and dealers, we realized some chassis still had a long life ahead of them. While the sweeper brushes, chassis, hopper, and sweep components may be at the end of their efficient usefulness, the chassis may still have many more hours of work ahead of them. We asked ourselves, “why get rid of a perfectly good chassis?”
The other eureka moment we had was during a conversation with a municipality that had a competitor’s sweeper. We noticed the competitor’s sweeper wasn’t ever in use and asked why. The
municipality explained the sweeper didn’t pick up the majority of the debris conditions of their curb miles, and the return of their sweeper investment was extremely low and was not an asset to their street sweeper program. We went back to our assembly and engineering teams, and discovered, after taking measurements, that our Bucher V65 pure vacuum street sweeping skid, or guts would work on their chassis. The elimination of the new chassis lead time saved the municipality over a year! Bucher Municipal North America has now used this rebody solution successfully several times, and saved our customers not only time but money.
The elimination of the new chassis lead time saved the municipality over a year!
Bucher Municipal North America has now used this rebody solution successfully several times, and saved our customers not only time but money.
continued on page 20
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE IF YOU CAN REBODY YOUR CHASSIS?
4 We examine your chassis’ condition.
4 Take truck chassis measurements.
4 Determine complexity of removing the sweeper components from your existing chassis and its condition.
4 Determine a realistic time frame for removing the sweep gear and rebody with your new Bucher sweeper components.
Rebody not the best solution for you at this time? Do you have questions on which sweeper or sweepers are best for your street sweeper program? Bucher has mid-size and compact purpose built non-CDL sweepers. We offer an industry report (educational,
Keystone Plastics has been manufacturing the industry’s leading replacement brooms for street sweeping and road construction since 1954. At Keystone we believe in reliable quality and strive to make the heaviest, longest lasting brooms in the industry. We also believe the only good broom is the one that arrives to you as promised. Contact us to find a distributor near you.
not a sales document) to help you make the bestinformed choice when purchasing a sweeper. The 5 Things You MUST Know BEFORE Buying a Street Sweeper. The report is available for free on our website: www.buchermunicipal.com/us/en
About Bucher Municipal North America, Inc.
Cities and contractors turn to Bucher Municipal when they feel frustrated and stuck being pigeonholed into cleaning their streets with no other options while failing to meet stormwater compliance. We free cities from this trap of one size fits all by supplying and supporting a full product line to fit every sweeping challenge better than any other manufacturer on Earth.
Bucher gets you unstuck with first pass sweeping = Endless Sweeping Solutions.
Bucher Municipal North America, Inc
105 Motorsports Road, Mooresville, NC 28115 704-658-1333
www.buchermunicipal.com/us/en
By Matt Starnes – Product Marketing Manager, Bucher Municipal North America, Inc.
When you think of road safety, factors such as speed limits, traffic signs and officers who enforce driving regulations come to mind. While these are important, one of the most critical yet overlooked elements in maintaining safe roads is the street sweeper. Street sweepers are employed to clear debris and pollutants from road surfaces, especially in urban settlements. They clean up pavements, parking lots, construction sites, regular streets and other roadways, ensuring that they are safe and navigable for all road users — not only for drivers but for pedestrians and motorcyclists as well.
In this piece, we’ll shed light on why street sweepers are crucial to improving road safety and the heroic role they play in reducing road accidents.
Street sweepers function by clearing debris off roadways. Road debris includes objects or materials not part of the highway architecture but may be found on roadways. These foreign objects pose a significant highway hazard and can lead to loss of vehicle control, causing serious damage when a driver encounters or tries to avoid them. Such mishaps include tire blowouts, vehicle rollovers, debris penetrating the windshield and head-on collisions, potentially resulting in injuries or fatalities. Common road debris cleared by street sweepers includes:
4 Loose gravel and rocks: These come from construction sites or erosion, which can cause vehicles to skid or lose traction.
4 Glass: This is caused by broken bottles or vehicle accidents and can puncture tires and cause accidents.
4 Organic matter: Leaves and tree branches from natural shedding or storms can become slippery when wet and obscure road markings
4 Automotive parts: Tires, mufflers and other vehicle components that fall off.
4 Parts of road infrastructure: Signs, guardrails and streetlights.
4 Construction materials: Nails, wood and equipment from construction sites.
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4 Household items: Furniture, appliances and other objects that fall from vehicles during transport.
4 Litter and trash: Commonly discarded items that accumulate on roadways.
PRACTICAL WAYS STREET
SWEEPERS ENSURE
SAFE ROADS
Better Visibility
road signs. By clearing these obstructions, road sweepers ensure that all road markings and signs are visible, helping drivers navigate safely and reducing the risk of accidents.
...road sweepers ensure that all road markings and signs are visible, helping drivers navigate safely and reducing the risk of accidents.
Maintenance of Road Infrastructure
One of the primary functions of road sweepers is to remove debris that can obscure road markings and signs. Loose gravel, leaves, litter and other materials can accumulate on the road surface, making it difficult for drivers to see lane markings, pedestrian crossings and other important
Debris can cause wear and tear on road surfaces, leading to potholes and other forms of damage. Regular street sweeping helps extend the lifespan of road infrastructure by preventing debris from causing deterioration. This not only enhances safety but also reduces maintenance costs for municipalities.
Litter and organic debris can block storm drains, leading to water accumulation on roads during heavy rains. This can create hazardous driving conditions and increase the risk of hydroplaning. Street sweepers prevent such blockages, ensuring efficient drainage and reducing the chances of water-related accidents.
Improving Driving Conditions
A clean road surface is essential for good visibility, particularly in challenging weather conditions. Dirt and debris on the road can create glare and reflections, especially when the road is wet. This glare can impair a driver’s vision, making it harder to see other vehicles, pedestrians, and obstacles. Road sweepers improve surface conditions by removing dirt and debris, reducing glare and ensuring a safer driving experience, even in adverse weather conditions.
STAY INFORMED AND ENGAGED BY SUBSCRIBING TO OUR NORTH AMERICAN SWEEPER MAGAZINE
To keep up with the latest in road safety, environmental health and urban infrastructure, subscribe to our North American Sweeper Magazine. Our expert insights and comprehensive coverage will ensure you stay informed about the issues that matter most. Click here to subscribe now and join our community of engaged and informed readers.
how-it-transforms-communities/#:~:text=Safety%20Benefits%20 of%20Street%20Sweeping&text=Removing%20loose%20 debris%2C%20gravel%2C%20and,clear%20road%20markings%20 and%20signs.
Sources https://nasweeper.com/#magazine https://www.sweepingcorp.com/learninglibrary/what-is-the-purposeof-street-sweeping/ https://www.colombolaw.com/west-virginia-blog/road-debris-andcar-accidents/ https://eastcoastsitework.com/street-sweeping-why-it-matters-and-
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Why not join us for the 2024 International Sweeper Summit & Equipment Expo at the JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Las Vegas from October 22nd to October 24th?
This exciting event brought to you by ODRA Sweepers, promises invaluable insights and connections tailored specifically to the power sweeping industry. Kicking-off with an exclusive event at Top Golf
on the Las Vegas strip on October 22nd, this is an opportunity not to be missed. All-Access Attendees and Exhibitors are invited to hit the tees, enjoy a BBQ buffet lunch and an open bar. If golf is not your game, simply come to network with other attendees and exhibitors. Reservations are required, so please check sweepersummit.com for details.
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Following the Top Golf event is the Exhibitor Welcome Reception, located in the Indoor Vendor area from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at the resort, offering a fantastic showcase of vendors and networking opportunities. Learn what’s trending in the industry and talk to vendors face-to-face.
Wednesday is packed with enriching educational sessions starting with our Keynote Speaker Joel
Goldberg and sponsored by United Rotary Brush. Joel will present how to build a championship team culture within your organization. We’ll then take it outside to engage in the Outdoor Manufacturers’ Roundtables followed by lunch. NAPSA Best Practice Roundtable discussions will cap the educational sessions inside for the day. A group dinner is planned for Wednesday evening for further networking and is sponsored by Keystone Plastics.
The Summit closes on October 24th with a workshop led by David Avrin from 9:00am to 12:00pm, which will focus on future-proofing your business. In this workshop you’ll learn how to better respond to a new generation of wants, needs and expectations.
The Sweeper Summit welcomes all power sweeping contractors, municipal sweeping departments, manufacturers, and suppliers. Don’t miss this opportunity! Learn more and register to attend at sweepersummit.com.
Leaving incoming business calls to be picked up by voicemail is a widespread problem in the pavement sweeping industry. Some small business operators offer a ready rationale for this practice. They reason that it’s worth it because they’re busy, and it serves to screen off calls that would waste their time. Their conception of the habit of letting the phone ring until voicemail answers does not appear to include a solution to the extreme short- and long-term implications of this ill-advised practice.
There’s age-old wisdom in answering business phone calls on the first or second ring, ideally by a person. Some good alternatives include:
1. Investing in having a dedicated human phone attendant processing calls is having everyone responsible for ensuring that the phone is answered before the third ring.
2. Or, a hierarchical order of responsibility is sometimes arranged among the whole group instead, so that, for example, the most junior employee picks up on the first ring. If the call is not answered by the second ring, that indicates that the junior employee is on another call, in a meeting, etc. At that point, everyone else shares responsibility for picking it up by the third ring.
3. A less preferable alternative is employing technology that performs group rollover functions to send calls to backup extensions, auto transfer to networked devices, and/or offer voicemail directory options.
4. If you have none of the technologies mentioned in #3 above, it’s time to look into an upgraded telecom system for small businesses that features, at minimum, automated reception and call routing functionality.
For any unconvinced operators who dismiss the problem and persist in not answering the phone as the top priority, consider common metrics that have for so long exposed the relationship between various methods of incoming call handling:
The entire purpose of voicemail is, of course, to ensure that, instead of receiving no answer at all, callers can at least leave a message. Then, callers can at least start anticipating that someone will return their calls within a reasonable amount of time. This alternative can be very helpful for small business owners who are struggling to fill multiple roles all at the same time. However, as you can see, this is far from an endorsement of replacing answering the phone in person with a machine full-time.
To a limited extent, people generally empathize with someone swamped by the above-described conditions. Further, as you know, it’s naturally a much better customer experience to hear an artificial voicemail attendant confirming that you’ve reached the right party and offering you the means to leave a message than for the phone just to keep ringing. Again, you can recognize this as an acknowledgment of voicemail as a substitute for a human that is preferable to nothing, but not as advice to make it a full-time practice instead of answering the phone. The alternative to voicemail, when you can’t
...letting the business phone ring with no answer at all is clearly the worst option.
answer the phone, is leaving the phone ringing until the caller either hangs up or the phone system rings the number of times for which it is preset to automatically disengage with the caller. Disengaging stops the ringing, which saves the system from ringing indefinitely and leaving the caller waiting excessively for it to stop ringing, thereby giving them their queue to stop hoping that their call will be answered.
That leads to frustration, dissatisfaction, and often lost sales, which means loss of potential long-term business relationships. So, letting the business phone ring with no answer at all is clearly the worst option. The somewhat less damaging alternative is allowing your calls to go to voicemail.
That solution, although weak, may help avoid the most serious consequences of not having a person answering the phone. But, letting all or most calls go to voicemail all the time causes its own range of problems for businesses attempting to grow and build a brand. For example:
• Missed Sales
In the pavement sweeping industry, a phone call may be from a prospective new customer who is shopping for a new service provider. Prospects for sweeping service contracts often collect 1, 2, or 3
continued on page 34
bids. Non-contract prospects typically call around for a few quick price quotes. When there’s no answer on a business phone, a prospect can be expected to move on to another vendor in the market who answers the phone prepared with information.
Even if the prospect leaves a voicemail message, possibly to cover as many contingencies as possible, when you respond, the prospect may have already chosen a more responsive company.
• Bad Customer Service
The number of chances you get to do it right is limited.
There is not an infinite number of opportunities in a given market — not even in a large market.
Word-of-mouth, whether positive or negative, is very powerful.
In terms of customer support, not answering the phone is a sure way to damage your all-important customer satisfaction and retention rates. Typically, when a customer is bothering to call you about their pavement sweeping service, they need a response promptly.
When you don’t answer that call, it demonstrates a lack of a sense of urgency in your outlook on helping them. When they don’t receive a return call quickly, that naturally causes a negative impression that adds to similar instances and/or any other issues they’ve experienced with your business and can lead to a perception that it’s not worth it for them to continue trying to work with your company.
• Diminished Phone Traffic
It’s better to offer voicemail than no answer at all, but that’s just not good enough in a competitive market. When people learn that they cannot get a bid readily by calling your business or that they can’t get customer service immediately by calling, that means you’ve taught them not to call your company.
To keep people feeling confident in your team’s preparedness and willingness to help immediately with information or urgent field services, you need
To build a strong brand requires interacting with every person that comes into contact with your company.
to have a human answering all calls possible. The voicemail alternative should be used minimally. So, coordinate team members to ensure that someone is responsible for answering the phone at all times possible.
• Brand Damage
You invest precious dollars in marketing to generate revenues for your company and promotion to make your brand respected and recognizable in your market. The last thing you expect to learn that you are unwittingly doing is extravagantly squandering that success by repeatedly failing to interact appropriately with people who reach out to your business. If you genuinely cannot answer the phone, that point is not meant for you.
The message is for operators who elect to let all or most calls go to voicemail as a) a screening method, b) a preference over having to deal with people on the phone, or c) who don’t understand the seriousness of the accruing loss of business advantages over time.
The number of chances you get to do it right is limited. There is not an infinite number of opportunities in a given market — not even in a large market. Word-of-mouth, whether positive or negative, is very powerful. To build a strong brand requires interacting with every person that comes into contact with your company. Relegating these critical contacts to an automated communications system is like forfeiting a portion of your investment.
This is especially true if you have a telecom system that offers insufficient options, or that does not make it easy to get the results people want when they call. They’re sure to perceive your brand as unresponsive to their best interests, which can negatively impact your branding.
Worrying about having enough human and financial resources to keep a small company running and functioning optimally for growth, and at the same time, just letting incoming calls be disregarded as the critical priorities they actually are, is a dichotomous way of doing business. Instead, business owners should look to elevate their personal service significantly at continued on page 36
this key point of contact, initiating the customer lifecycle with their company.
Of course, having someone answering the phone all day is not feasible for many operators, especially solo entrepreneurs in the early startup phase. But, there are very inexpensive answering services you can employ to answer for you 24 hours per day. Or, consider routing calls to your cell phone or asking a family member for help.
Sources https://www.continentalmessage.com/blog/is-it-bad-tosend-business-calls-to-voicemail/ https://business.comcast.com/community/browse-all/ details/7-things-on-the-minds-of-small-business-ownersright-now
Or, in the worst case scenario, at least offer a respectful explanation on your outgoing voicemail message explaining that you’re unable to answer the call and promising to call back as quickly as possible — and then do that.
Bensink
704-658-1333 / buchermunicipal.com Elgin Sweeper Company
909-713-1600 / globalsweeper.com
Gregory Highway
866-994-4929 / gregoryhighway.com
KeyStone Street Sweeping Brooms
800-635-5238 / kpbrush.com
800-448-9364 / nitehawksweepers.com
450-530-9873 / balaisnomad.com
320-844-8800 / oakmontfinance.com
844-888-6372 / odrasweeper.com
/ www.odbco.com
