Why Your Best Customers Only Call You Once
A one-time customer is worth one ticket. Kept five to ten years, that same customer is worth thousands, plus the referrals they send.
Field NotesWhat Windshield Time Is Costing You Every Week
Drive time between jobs is paid labor that never lands on an invoice, and it runs $3,000 to $6,000 a year per truck. Here is where the hours hide.
Field NotesWhat a Comeback Costs You Every Time You Send a Truck Back
Returning to fix your own work costs $150 to $800 each time. At 3 to 5 percent of jobs, that is $18,000 to $36,000 a year walking back out.
Field NotesWhy Your Invoices Come In Lower Than Your Price List
Your invoices average less than your price list, and the gap runs $30,000 to $75,000 a year. A discount comes off margin, not revenue.
Field NotesWhat a Lapsed Maintenance Plan Costs You
A lapsed maintenance plan quietly costs $300 to $1,200 a year per member in fees and repeat work. Here is how to see the leak and count it.
Field NotesHow Much Are Your Unpaid Invoices Costing You?
Unpaid and slow-paying invoices quietly cost a home services business $5,000 to $30,000 a year. Here is where the money goes and how to see it.
Field NotesWhat a Technician Leaves on the Table Every Visit
A tech who spots a problem and never quotes it can walk away from $200 to $900 in work per visit. Here is how that money leaves, and how to see it.
Field NotesWhy “More Leads” Is Usually the Wrong Answer
Most contractors asking for more leads are losing $3,000 to $10,000 a month from the leads they already paid for. Here is where it goes.
Field NotesHow Fast Do You Have to Call a Lead Back?
The honest answer is five minutes. Wait an hour and you have likely lost the job to whoever picked up first. Here is the math.
Field NotesThe Quote That Vanished: Why Follow-Up Is Where Contractors Lose the Most Money
The average contractor sends a quote, hears nothing, and moves on. That silence is worth $2,000 to $8,000 a month in jobs that were nearly yours.
Field NotesWhere Home Services Businesses Leak Money: 5 Places to Check First
Most home services businesses lose $3,000 to $10,000 a month, and it hides in the same five places. Here is where to look first.
Field NotesYour Dormant Customer List Is Cash You Already Earned
The names sitting in your phone are worth $2,000 to $9,000 a month in rebooked work. Reaching them costs less than one new lead.
Field NotesUnconfirmed Appointments Cost More Than No-Shows
An unconfirmed appointment is a coin flip. No-shows run near a quarter of bookings, and a confirmation the day before cuts that by a third or more.
Field NotesThe Hidden Cost of the Owner Doing $15 Work
Every hour the owner spends on $15 admin is an hour off the $200 work only he can do. For most owners that is $2,000 to $7,000 a month.
Field NotesBilling Errors and Overpaid Labor: Leaks You Can’t See on the P&L
Money already earned leaks out through unbilled work and overpaid hours. Industry figures put it at a few percent of profit, and the P&L never flags it.
Field NotesHow to Tell if Your Business Has a Revenue Leak: a 3-Question Self-Check
Three questions tell you whether your business is leaking money. Most owners cannot answer them, and that is the first sign of a leak worth thousands.
Field NotesWhat Answering Every Call Is Actually Worth
Answering every call, including nights and weekends, is worth $3,000 to $12,000 a month for home services shops. Here is the math on the ones you keep.
Field NotesSpeed-to-Lead vs. Buying More Ads: Where a Dollar Goes Further
A dollar spent answering leads faster beats a dollar spent buying more of them. Here is why speed usually returns more than ad spend for home services.