Here’s the fastest way to know if you’re making money or just staying busy: know your three numbers. 50% gross profit. 35% overhead. 15% profit. If you can’t say where you stand on each right now, that’s the first problem to fix.
Here's the fastest way to know that you're making money and not just staying busy. First off, this comes down to knowing your numbers. Gross profi...
If I could only track five numbers in my HVAC sales department, it would be: revenue per lead, close rate, average install revenue, discount rate, and revenue to budget. Most owners track none of them daily and then wonder why the month got away from them. Measure every day and the numbers stop surprising you.
If I could only track five numbers in my HVAC sales department, here's what they would be. First off, revenue per lead. So of all the leads that w...
If your tech left for $2 more an hour, money wasn't the problem. The problem is there was nothing else keeping them. Techs spend most days working on their own. If the money's right, it's the one-on-ones, the organizational support, the daily encouragement that keeps them here. A small raise can't outbid a place people actually want to work and feel supported.
If you've had a technician leave for two dollars more an hour at another company, money wasn't the problem. Let me explain. Technicians can go dow...
This is where we build technicians from scratch. Zero experience walks in, and electricians, plumbers, and HVAC pros walk out. Everything in this lab is functional. They can tear it apart, we can plant faults, and they can fail safely here instead of in a customer’s home.
But we are in the Peterman Top Tech Academy lab. This is where we can train technicians from the ground up. So no experience coming into the trade...
Everyone thinks adding a trade is a growth hack. Here’s what it looked like for us: YouTubing plumbing repairs from the truck because our only plumber quit three days before the new one started. We figured it out, but I’d never do it that way again. Master the trade you’re in before you buy yourself a second set of problems.
When you're trying to figure out how to actually operate a residential business, probably one of the best things you could do is add another trade...
Your membership program might be the most valuable asset your company owns. Most shops treat it like an afterthought. Two fixes: offer it in the contact center before the truck ever rolls, and have techs plant seeds all call long instead of dumping a benefits list at the end. Memberships fuel the repeat business and the slow-season calls. Sell them like it.
Your service agreement program could be the most valuable asset in your company. Let me explain. Most people view service agreements, most field p...
The residential vs. commercial debate misses the real question: what kind of business do you actually want to run? I wanted to create a customer interaction unlike anything else, and residential is where that lives. It demands double the training, technical and human. That’s the cost of the more meaningful lane.
Residential or commercial, that's the big question. For me, being in residential for almost 14 years now, residential would be the one that I woul...
Most owners dream too small because small feels realistic. But realistic never pulled anyone anywhere. The goals that feel slightly ridiculous when you write them down are the ones doing the real work. They set the direction, they raise your standard, and years later you look up and realize you grew into them.
We get to the summer of 2020. I'm thumbing through a next star book and it happens to be that boot camp book. I dig in there and this piece of pap...
Success isn't about access anymore. It's about who is willing to do the necessary work
If you want to be successful, the resources are there. It's a matter of you making a decision to do the boring monotonous work day in and day out....
The trades aren't going anywhere. It's on us to build companies so great that people can't wait to be part of them.
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Winning in business isn't entirely about what you gain. It's about what you gain without giving anything up.
Number one thing I always look at is how am I spending my time and am I spending the time on two things. One, things that are gonna drive the busi...
Before you chase another million, fix your booking rate, your conversion rate, and your average ticket. That's where the profit actually lives.
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