Kari Logan
Co-Owner & Media Relations Specialist
Nexstar® Network
Two-hundred plumbing, HVAC and electrical contractors have left New Jersey, headed for a new land of leadership. On the banks of the Hudson, presenters within Nexstar Network®’s Owners’ Spotlight Series connected Wall Street to Main Street.
Twenty-five year Wall Street business reporter Betsy Stark kicked things off by reminding all in attendance that small business owners have the power to prevail, come what may. She said, “It is in your DNA as entrepreneurs – and Americans – to find a way. Our government is setting economic policy by triage, so it’s the entrepreneurial warriors who will get people back to work and figure out how to find money even when it’s tight – how to find opportunity among the ashes.”
According to Dr. Dileep Rao, that opportunity for improved business growth lies in identifying what people need, finding a way to deliver it conveniently, and doing it with your cash flow in control. Dr. Rao is author of Bootstraps to Billions – Proven Rules From Entrepreneurs Who Built Great Companies From Scratch. In the shadow of Wall Street, he resized the leadership of corporate giants like Best Buy, Rapid Oil Change and Tastefully Simple. Rao made their business growth strategies relevant for small business owners who are members of Nexstar® Network, a business-development and best practices organization delivering comprehensive business training, systems and support to independent home service plumbing, heating and air conditioning professionals across the continent.
Rao revealed that Dick Schulze started Best Buy with only $9,000 and built the electronics icon by managing cash flow. He said, “Twenty-two out of twenty-eight of the billion dollar businesses that I researched never secured venture capital to succeed.” Rao explained that the these giants went on to dominate by excelling in three dimensions:
•Market Dimension: Made Customers Happier with fewer Resources
-Find the Right Opportunity
-Develop Your Unique Advantage
-Implement for Customer Happiness without Resources
•Finance Dimension: Financed to Create Wealth and Keep It
-Become Capital-Efficient: Increase cash flow and growth rate simultaneously
-Design the Optimal Financing Structure
-Find the Right Sources
•Leadership Dimension: Became Better Leaders to Dominate their Industry
-Recruit the Right Talent without Resources
-Build a Great Organization: Strengthen the links for dominance
-Become a Better Leader than your Competitors and Stay that Way
Joe Huck, owner of Williams Comfort Air and Metzler’s Mr. Plumber in Carmel, Indiana called Rao’s strategies brilliant. “I’m walking away from this event with tangibles to help reach my goal of doubling revenues over the next five years.”
Boaz Rauchwerger believes the root of success is a positive attitude and a focus on the basics, so repeatedly asked the question, “How’s business?” to which he encouraged all to positively reply, “Unbelievable!” whether they believed it at that moment or not. The speaker, trainer and author focused his small business training around this series of questions and answers that he says when used with customers and employees, will positively build business by getting to the heart of the matter inside and outside the shop:
Five Questions of Engagement
1. Where are you from originally?
2. Have you lived here all your life? If not, what brought you here?
3. Do you have a family?
4. What do you do?
5. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
The Four Rules of Answers – Sales team and technicians should watch for these signals:
1. An instant and strong answer = means “yes”
2. An instant answer with weak words = means “no”
3. A pause usually = means “no”
4. Eyes darted away = means “no”
Rauchwerger also encouraged contractors to go back to the basics. Sam Nantz, CFO and Call Center Manager at F.H. Furr Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning in Manassas, Virginia zeroed in on Rauchwerger’s suggestion of hand-written notes from owners and high-level management. “Boaz reinforced our company’s focus on customer and employee appreciation in 2011 and 2012. We’ve focused on growth for several years and we now need to focus on individuals. I’m going to buy a stack of thank-you notes and start thanking my customers for hiring us and employees for their service.”
Boaz told contractors, “You have a doctorate in the people business. Create a ‘chart’ for the important people in your business – write notes on what’s important to them. Doctors, get your charts and talk to your people.”
Nexstar® Network is a business-development and best practices organization delivering comprehensive business training, systems and support to independent home service plumbing, heating and air conditioning professionals across the continent. For more information, call Lisa Schardt or Bryan Martin at 888.240.STAR or email at info@nexstarnetwork.com.