Think you’re a plumbing company? Think again. In this episode of Potty Talk, Richard reveals the real businesses you’re in. Perform well in these three, and you’ll have a successful, self-sufficient, and profitable plumbing company.
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Resources
3 Golden Nuggets
- You’re a marketing company
- You’re a recruiting company
- You’re an events company
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Show Notes
You’re a marketing company
Plumbing companies have two major assets, and your first asset is your customers. And how do you get customers? You’ve got to make them aware of you!
Every business is a marketing company, and that includes yours. You’ve got to make the phone ring. How do you attract customers? How do you stand out against your competitors? You don’t have to be an expert at marketing, although you’ll get better at it over time (or you can hire an expert). But marketing has to be at the forefront of your mind.
Even big brands like Coca-Cola and Nike are still advertising, even though they’re well-known. Why? Because they’re marketing companies. They’re keeping their name in front of their customers and creating emotions in them. You’ve got to run your business the same way.
You’re a recruiting company
If customers are one asset, your plumbers are the other. You have to be constantly recruiting, no matter how great your team is because they could be gone tomorrow. Your techs are your assets. Take care of them, of course: treat them with respect, create a good working environment, and offer them great pay and benefits. But they’re your assets, and you’ve got to be constantly looking to build better assets.
Don’t feel bad about poaching good techs from other businesses. All professional businesses operate like this. Sports teams want the best players, and they take them from other teams. Offer a great working environment and let the techs decide who they want to work for.
If someone calls and asks if you’re hiring, the answer is yes. This mindset shouldn’t be a threat to your current technicians. It shows you’re growing and that your company is a desirable place to work.
Again, you don’t have to be an expert at this. You just need to be doing it. You can hire the experts in recruiting; check out our PowerTools page of services we recommend.
You’re an events company
You’re not just doing plumbing; you’re selling an experience. Simply fixing someone’s plumbing means you’re simply selling a commodity. No one wants to spend money on plumbing, so if you’re just a commodity, people want to see how cheap it can get. That’s a race to the bottom, and it’s not a race you want to win.
The best way to repair a toilet, the best way to run lines, the best digging systems: these things are important, but they’re all secondary. Your main concern is, how are you engaging with Mrs. Jones? What is she experiencing every step of the way? Is your website updated? Was the phone call with her friendly and helpful? (Was the phone call with you while you were stressed under a crawl space, or are you using a service like PlumbLine or a CSR?)
You’re putting on a show for Mrs. Jones, from the way you park your truck in her yard, to how you walk into her house with shoe covers on, to how you take payment. All of it is an event, an experience, and you want her to feel comfortable at every point. Don’t just be a transactional commodity, because there is no value to that. When Mrs. Jones’s neighbor needs a plumber recommendation, Mrs. Jones is not going to tell her neighbor about how well you dug up her yard. She’ll talk about how well you took care of her every step of the way.
Create an experience for your customers, and watch your business thrive.
Richard’s Call to Action
If you want to learn more about numbers that matter and how to best run your plumbing business, why not schedule a free 30-min strategy call with us? Let’s talk about your goals and where you want to be this time next year, and we’ll help you create a path to make that happen. Schedule your free strategy call here today!
