Guest Commentary

  • An itemized estimate helps you convey value and deliver customer satisfaction

    The following sentences precede all our estimates: "This estimate has been itemized for easier comparison."At our company, a computerized estimate for an average 5-by-8-foot bathroom remodel is about nine pages long. The project costs around $10,800.

     

  • Enjoy the Trip

    At Brothers Strong, we think of the term "takeoff" not as an estimate but rather as that point in time when a project is passed from sales to production and a job takes flight. On large-scale remodeling jobs -- whether large-scale to you is $20,000 or $200,000 -- the systems you develop are the...

     

  • Effective interviewing and hiring methods

    How many times have you hired someone because that person happened to be in the right place at the right time, only to find out later that he or she wasn't really qualified?

     

  • The negative effects of the do-not-call registry

    In addition to being highly productive, our marketing department features what I feel are some of the best aspects of American business.

     

  • Finding, training, and retaining good employees

    As a company, we believe that in order to produce a high-quality job, our own staff of craftsmen and apprentices should complete the carpentry work, rather than subs. --Jim Benoit, CR, is co-owner of Benoit & Czarnecki Design/Construction, a full-service remodeling firm in Newtown Square, Pa.

     

  • Company trip/cruise to treat December symptoms

    Ideas about what we could do to make everyone's days less frustrating and more productive.

     

  • Reducing cost of goods sold

    When business owners want to increase the bottom line, they usually try to increase sales. Will you increase your bottom line faster by selling 10% more or by reducing your CGS (cost of goods sold -- labor, materials, and subcontractor services) by 4%?

     

  • Declining difficult/red flag clients

    Some people are just not good to work for. How do you know? Here are a few hints.After the job's done, make sure you determine if future clients were referred to you by these difficult clients.

     

  • Bidding misconceptions

    The public is endlessly encouraged to seek out competitive bids, supposedly to compare "apples with apples."

     

  • Market position: sell items at higher markups

    Take Sears, a company that's been successful selling remodeling services at 200% to 300% of their cost (for a 67% to 75% gross profit margin). For many years, Sears has been selling windows, siding, and cabinet refacing in most of your markets.

     
 
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