Al Levi, business consultant, teacher, author, and former contractor for 25 years was making money but he was stressed out. This inspired him to found the 7-Power Contractor, dedicated to helping other contractors have less stress and more success.

This requires a strong foundation and plan, which he outlines as the 7-Power Contractor system.

1. Planning Power: you have to have a plan for accomplishing your goals.
2. Operating Power: you need to have policies and procedures of how you will accomplish your plan.
3. Staffing Power: you need to be always recruiting, hiring, orienting, training, and retaining.
4. Sales Power: sales needs to be asking great questions, listening, and affirming to your customer that you can hear their wants and needs.
5. Sales Coaching: you need to coach customers on good, bad, or indifferent results.
6. Marketing: you need the right amount of calls from the right customer at the right time.
7. Financial: you can’t ignore this. You need real-world accounting to make good financial decisions today.

Planning Power

There is no shortage of great ideas, so you have to create a master project list. Using the filter of “biggest problem, biggest challenge, greatest chance of becoming profitable,” to prioritize and create a list of the top 30 things you need to work on. Then, narrow those 30 down to the top five.

Then, work on those top 5 every week.

Spend your time, energy, and money wisely by focusing on your plan instead of multitasking.

“To me, it’s akin to driving your car without GPS. What is leadership? What is planning? Setting a destination and trusting your GPS to get you where you need to go.”

Operating Power

The operating power requires you to create a model system that keeps everything from how you answer the phone, dispatch, pay taxes and payroll, clean your trucks, organize your tools, etc. in one place. It’s systematizing and creating manuals for every job description so that your employees are prepared to do exceptionally well in their position.

Advice: get over being the rescuer, fireman, and guru. This will undermine your ability to reach your goals.

Financial Power

The stuff your bookkeeper, accountant, and adviser do impact your business immensely, so they should be operating off of reality rather than prediction. Real-world accounting is not driving based off of your rearview mirror - it’s looking out your front window while you’re driving.

Operating with “Known Financial Position” will determine how much you’re charging and paying employees and which jobs you take.

Sales Power

”Customers will take you to what they see as the problem, but good contractors know that the problem that they’re showing you isn’t necessarily where the problem exists. It’s somewhere else.”

Al’s five-step sales process:

1. Ask good questions.
2. Listen.
3. Affirm that you’re doing it.
4. Provide the best solutions for them.
5. Move forward.

The essence: great communication.

Al’s Sales secret: “If you’re talking, you’re selling. If they’re talking, they’re buying.”

Marketing Power

Having the right amount of calls at the right time from the right customer is the result of good marketing. Not everyone should be your customer. Focus on exactly who you should talk to.

Good marketing should include:

1. Unique Selling Position.
2. Specific Target Audience(s).
3. Progress Measuring.
4. Marketing Plan.
5. Marketing Allocation.
6. Marketing Calendar - year-round and proactively driven.

Your service should back up exactly what your marketing promises. Your customers value being able to trust that your services are guaranteed and consistent.

Staffing Power

Al says that he doesn’t just like Millennials, he loves them. He encourages other business owners to take the time to understand them and how to work with them so they can elevate your business.

Here’s what you need to understand about Millennials, according to Al:

1. They have great energy.
2. They want to know the why.
3. They want to have clear directions.
4. They are well-prepared for interviews.

As a contractor you should focus on:

1. Making more calls than you can usually do.
2. Staffing more techs. The more techs in the field, the more profitable your company will be.

If you can provide willing employees with skills, then that will create a good culture and empowered employees. Let them know that you have a career for them, not just a job.

The Future of Home Services

Leadership is important to your business’s future and it requires reflection and sacrifice.

“I created 10 golden rules for my personal life and 10 golden rules for my business life, and if they don’t mesh, there’s always friction.”

Al emphasizes the importance of writing these goals down so you can hold yourself accountable. You also need to give yourself a deadline for achieving these goals, otherwise, they’ll never happen.

In addition, make sure your techs and your company are staying ahead of the competition with technology. Leverage technology in every way you can, including for your own growth and education.

“I only got smarter by listening and hearing to other people along the way. Well, that’s what podcasting is… Turn off the radio and plug into podcasts.”

Visit the 7-Power Contractor for more information.