Category: <span>Productivity</span>

Category: Productivity

Improve your sales speed: 5 ways to sell more jobs with fewer site visits

Posted on

By Kate Foster, AccuLynx.

Software for aerial measurements, templates, automation. E-signatures and CRM produces more profits.

During the busy storm season, everyone in the field is looking for ways to improve their sales speed. Faster sales means you have time for more jobs, and having more jobs leads to more profits, and more profits benefit your company as a whole. However, increasing your sales speed can result in sloppy paperwork, lack of attention to critical details, and a lower quality experience for the homeowner – all of which can hurt your business reputation.

In an ideal environment, your sales staff would be able to make fewer site visits for a job, reduce the amount of time and resources spent on each project, and effectively speed up your sales.

But how do you sell more jobs while at the same time reducing the amount of site visits you take?

Use Aerial Measurements to Save Time During Estimation

One way you can improve your sales speed while making fewer job site visits is to use aerial measurements rather than manual ones.

By pre-ordering aerial measurement reports for areas with storm damage, your sales teams will already have access to accurate measurements that they can apply directly to their estimates, saving time up on the roof, and creating paperwork. CRM systems like AccuLynx work with trusted providers like EagleView and SkyMeasure to directly input data into your job file, so your teams come to their appointments prepared.

Accurate measurements helps sales teams avoid lost information or incorrectly entered data so your staff won’t have to make any trips back to the site to remeasure.

Use Templates to Save Time Filling Out the Details

Every roofing business has their own standard set of paperwork, and oftentimes that means your sales teams are working off of a template. Templates are a great way to make sure nothing is forgotten – but what if they skip a section in haste, or accidentally overwrite a previous document?

Using digital templates like the AccuLynx SmartDocs feature allows roofers to create custom, digital templates from the documents they use most on any project. Admins can set mandatory fields, like phone number or Insurance Company, so your field reps can’t submit the file without first filling out the important details.

Using templates means no information gets forgotten and no follow-up phone calls or excess trips to the field are needed.

Avoid Data Re-Entry with Automation

Using digital templates also means once you’ve entered the information once – you’re done! These templates also have the ability to be auto-populate. When you convert your estimate to a contract, you’re not wasting time filling out the same information over and over – they will automatically fill in the assigned data from your CRM for any job you use that template on. The ability to complete your projects faster means you can focus on the next sale.

eSign Your Legal Documents

Homeowners want to know they’re getting a good deal, so you can expect they’ll be getting several quotes for a job. You can take the stress off your sales teams schedules by implementing a legal eSignature component to your paperwork so once a decision is made, they don’t have to drive across town to get a simple scribble.

Sending your Estimate Packet to a customer via email is faster – customers know where to sign and initial, and once they’re done, it’s returned to your job file so your office team can start scheduling the material drop-off and crews.

And, if your sales staff is so great that the homeowner wants to sign on the spot? eSignatures signed on tablets or mobile devices are equally as effective and legally binding.

Have a Process in Place to Streamline Your Sales Pipeline

Having a sales process in place can also help you speed up your sales. A step by step system ensures your sales team knows exactly what to do after each milestone during a job, minimizing time spent figuring out what to do next and allowing them to work more efficiently.

A pre-set process also makes sure everyone is on the same page, facilitating communication and eliminating potential confusion. This allows your sales to proceed faster because everyone is clear on what needs to be done and you do not need to spend time clearing up miscommunications. CRMs can provide your company with a sales process through pipeline features, which guides a job through the various steps of a project from the time it is a lead to the time the job is closed and paid for.

There are many ways to cut out inefficiencies in your sales process without letting your quality and professionalism suffer. Finding the right balance for your company can help shave hours of redundancy off your sales team days, allowing them to visit more homes, make more sales and deliver more profit to your roofing business.

Note: This article was first published on AccuLynx’s blog and can be viewed here.

Study Finds Construction Industry Can Benefit From Artificial Intelligence Adoption

Posted on

A McKinsey & Co. study on artificial intelligence (AI) applications in the construction industry reports a combined use of machines and digital technology can enhance quality control, project scheduling, data analysis, and project cost savings, according to www.constructiondive.com.

The construction industry currently is the second-least digitized economic sector in the world, and the industry needs to lay the groundwork before AI can be widely adopted. The study identifies investment in data collection and processing tools like cloud infrastructure and advanced analytics as the first step.

There has been increased interest in sensors, cloud-based data sharing and mobile connectivity within the construction industry. Some employers already are using wearable sensory devices to monitor workers’ location and equipment at worksites. Data collected from the devices is transmitted to a cloud-based platform accessible from any compatible mobile device. AI algorithms advance the process one step further by deploying real-time solutions based on data analysis, helping employers ensure their workers stay safe on the job.

Industry employers may look to other industries that have successfully used AI to optimize processes, including the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The study notes an AI algorithm is used by the pharmaceutical industry to predict medical trial outcomes; a similar algorithm may be used by the construction industry to forecast project risks and constructability. And image recognition algorithms used by the healthcare industry to support diagnoses may enable drones to assess construction site images for signs of defects or structural failures.

Note: This article first published on the NRCA website and can be viewed here.

The Future of Construction Site Surveillance: Part 2

Posted on

By Cotney Construction Law.

There are many benefits to self-navigating rovers and drones that provide workplace surveillance. In this second part of our two-part series, we will outline some of the main reasons why, if functional, this technology should be embraced by the construction industry.

The Problem with Construction Interiors

When drone technology became highly sophisticated, the devices were seamlessly integrated into the construction industry process capturing data for exteriors. Of course, drones were enhanced with new advancements over the years. With that being said, the interiors of construction sites were never as easy to navigate for autonomous devices until this recent technology circumvented many of these problems. In the near future, rovers could be implemented much to the same effect as drones.

Conquering This Problem

Inspecting construction work that is in progress and in an interior can be very difficult for the inspector. Inspectors can make misjudgments or overlook a problem. These mistakes or oversights can lead to both small and catastrophic accidents.

The precision of a Doxel rover allows construction professionals to confirm that the building process is being performed precisely with all of the components aligned correctly. If the metric data analyzed by the “deep learning” process shows that the progress is off kilter, the contractor can be notified via smartphone of the necessary steps to alleviate this issue. This technology at the contractor’s fingertips is invaluable.

Productive Technology

The deep learning process of this technology doesn’t just stop with the inspection process. An up-to-the-minute metrical analysis allows construction projects to save time instead of going back weeks to fix an unexpected issue. This, of course, results in significant reductions to the budget when certain issues are corrected in a timely fashion. Having an inspection process in real time that evaluates a project, highlights areas that need correction, and keeps an entire scale of a project recorded in measurable data is vital to construction project management. From budgeting to schedule coordination to keeping records on the quality of the project, this technology can find problems before they escalate and keep everybody on the project “in the know” on all of the important data.

Technology That Streamlines the Building Process

As we discussed in the first part of this two-part series, Doxel has created autonomous devices called rovers that can self-navigate around the entire perimeter of the workplace scanning for important measurable data that relates to a construction project. As we discussed in the second section, this intel is then uploaded to a cloud-based system that allows it to be algorithmically measured and processed. In the third section, we educated you on how this “deep learning” data can be sent to a construction manager’s smartphone, so they can review it and be aware of any areas of the work that need to be addressed.

Case Study of LiDAR Technology

Although this rover scanning technology is only in the embryo stage, it has shown promising signs of improving the construction process. In San Diego, CA, Doxel implemented its rover technology into a project where a multistory medical building was being erected. The rover was able to scan the infrastructure in approximately four to five hours each day and productivity reportedly improved nearly 40 percent on the project and the work was completed well under the estimated budget.

Monthly Subscription Fee

Although Doxel’s advanced technology has just been unveiled, the plan is to implement the services via a monthly subscription fee like most cloud-based services. One day in the near future, this technology may be implemented into all large-scale projects. Being able to digitally transfer all the measurable data of a project is an indispensable resource in itself. Any innovation that promotes the production of quality work in a timely fashion should be embraced by the construction industry.

Note: This article first published on Cotney Construction Law’s website and can be viewed here.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.

The Future of Construction Site Surveillance: Part 1

Posted on

By Cotney Construction Law.

There’s an unfortunate stereotype about the work being done on construction sites. Well, perhaps we should say the work not being done. The cliché is that a construction site is a place where workers are standing around doing nothing. Although anyone in the construction industry knows that this is simply untrue, the fact remains that the vast majority of projects end up running past their deadline and over budget. Construction companies are always open to looking for ways to avoid this dilemma.

The Penalties That Stem from a Delay

When deadlines are missed, this can result in financial penalties for contractors. Delays can also compromise a contract, affect the bidding process on other jobs, and, in extreme cases, ruin a professional’s reputation.

This two-part article discusses the future of construction site surveillance and how technology may speed up and finely tune the building process. If new processes can lessen delays by closely monitoring the work being performed at construction sites, everyone in the construction industry will prosper.

Groundbreaking Invention

Future projects within the construction sector may be supervised by robotic devices like drones and rovers. As you probably already know, most construction sites already use various types of drones for aerial shots. This footage can provide valuable intel for the exterior of construction projects; however, the interior area of construction sites have lacked advanced autonomous technology that can record, analyze, or inspect the building process of a site. That is until emerging tech company Doxel unveiled its newest, groundbreaking invention.

LiDAR-Equipped Technology

After recently receiving $4.5 million in funding, Doxel’s artificial intelligent rovers can provide construction sites with measured data that is much more precise than your standard inspector with a tape measure. Although the rover looks like an adorable and more sophisticated version of the robotic vacuums homeowners invest in to aimlessly move around their living space, these Doxel rovers are capable of a much more advanced level of technology and can roam pre-coordinated paths that encompass an entire construction site.

These LiDAR-equipped robots can be let loose at the end of a workday and scan entire sites and determine the progress of the whole project.

Digitizing the Industry

The term LiDAR may not be a household name yet, but it will be in the next decade. LiDAR technology is the integral force behind autonomous vehicles’ vision. As digitaltrends.com explains it, LiDAR technology is a “laser-based surveying method” that creates a “depth-based image of the world by shining out laser lights and then measuring how long it takes for the reflected pulse to be bounced back to the sensor.” In non-techy talk, this means that the Doxel rovers possess a LiDAR scanner that allows them to digitize all of a construction site by scanning it. This initiates the process of sending this data to cloud technology and allows the information to be immediately analyzed.

The Deep-Learning Process

The surveying rover is the medium used on the construction site to collect the data via the high-tech laser scanning process known as LiDAR technology. However, once this information is collected it’s immediately uploaded to a deep-learning process that analyzes the measurable results that the surveying rover collected. Utilizing advanced 3D technology, the cloud system algorithmically analyzes the data and determines the overall quality and progress of the work being performed on location. This highly accurate information verifies that the construction work was completed correctly and remained on schedule.

Note: This article first published on Cotney Construction Law’s website and can be viewed here.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for general educational information only. This information does not constitute legal advice, is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as legal advice for your specific factual pattern or situation.

Digital Content Marketing Has Rapidly Changed the Way Companies Acquire Business

Posted on

By Ken Kelly, Kelly Roofing.

Forget everything you knew about marketing. There’s a new trend sweeping the world and shaking the foundation of what we all know works. It’s called content marketing, and it is for real.

Content marketing differs from traditional marketing in its customer communication approach. Traditional marketing relied on disruption and attention-grabbing tactics. Content marketing focuses on providing benefit to the consumer during his or her time of research and helping the customer make a good buying decision.

Companies that understand content marketing start by changing the structure of their business. They no longer have one department for sales and another department for marketing. In order to deliver excellent UX, or user experience, these departments and positions are being combined into a new trend called “smarketing.” Smarketing departments and smarketing managers ensure that the company’s message is unified through all channels at all customer contact points. Let’s look at specific ways smarketers are using content marketing to succeed.

Traditional vs. Content Marketing

Quantity of leads vs. quality of leads. It used to be all about the number of leads marketing was able to drive into the company. It was then up to the sales team to work its magic and pressure the customer into a decision. Well, not anymore. Today’s customers do 63 percent of their large-purchase research prior to engaging with a company. Content marketing provides customers the information they are looking for, thus focusing on only those who are about to buy.

Marketing budget increase vs. competition score. Considered fact, it is a wide-held view that increasing the amount of money spent in marketing directly increases the company’s sales. Not true. There are market limits. An easy example would be trying to increase sales in your service and repair department. If it’s not raining, roofs aren’t leaking. It doesn’t matter how much money you dump into marketing. If there isn’t a need, sales will not increase. Content marketing focuses on winning every one of those customers who do have a leak, when they have them. Save your money and increase your win rate by directly targeting those customers at a time of need with helpful information that the customer will find truly beneficial.

Volume vs. targeted user. Not a week goes by where we don’t receive a spam email from some SEO expert promising to increase our website’s performance. Given the opportunity, they really can make it look as though your site is better, bigger and generating more traffic. But, is traffic really leads? Or, better yet, does increased traffic directly equate to an increased number for jobs won? Not in this case, no. So, when you review your KPIs, or key performance indicators, with your marketing team, don’t get excited when you see traffic increasing. Content marketers would look at only one metric: did it help us win more jobs? The key isn’t to blindly rank higher or increase Web size. The key is to target specific customer types so that they find exactly what they are looking for.

Amount of content vs. quality of content. I used to think it was important to provide customers all the information they could possibly need on our website. The concept was simple; if they have everything they are looking for, the customers won’t need to go elsewhere. However, it didn’t take long for my own consumer behavior to change my opinion on this. We are all busy and time is an increasingly more valuable resource. Consumers don’t want to go looking for things. They want it served up in a way that is easily digestible and actionable. Essentially, less is more. Content marketing is all about being concise and giving customers exactly what they will find useful. This concept doesn’t stop at websites either. Make sure your entire marketing message is concise and easy for the customer to benefit from.

Social activity vs. social media demographics. If you’re like many people trying to use social media for promotion, there is an air of confusion where to invest resources. Mastering social media is all about knowing your client’s demographics. Women tend to enjoy Pinterest. Google+ has an active user base of 73 percent males. Business owners focus their time on LinkedIn. Each of these social media streams has a different style of communication. To create a content marketing strategy, target your potential customers by creating specific campaigns that speak directly to each of their needs in the area they spend time.

Specifications vs. A/B testing. A high-quality content marketing strategy ignores jargon, specifications and promotional brochures. Content marketing focuses on quality original content, good design, frequent updates, and concise, omni-channel, responsive and truly beneficial deliverables that customers use to educate themselves on the path to good decision making.

Contact us vs. strong call to action (CTA). Every site has a “contact us” page, and it should. This is reserved for more general communications. Smarketing managers are using content marketing principles and making it easy for the customer to do business with their companies. One simple way is by creating strong CTAs. Each piece of content should have a link to gain more information or to enlist help. There is an entire science behind consumer behavior that goes into creating great CTAs. Everything from color, font, typeset, wording, images, layout, placement and size should be studied and considered when creating CTAs.

Note: This article is a condensed version of the one first published in Roofing Contractor Magazine and the full article can be viewed here.

Report Says U.S. Not As Prepared As Other Countries for Automation

Posted on

A report from Swiss technology leader ABB says the U.S. is behind other countries regarding its readiness for an increasingly automated world, placing ninth on a ranking of 25 advanced economies, according to www.savannahnow.com.

Researchers graded the countries in three main categories: innovation environment, which included money spent on research and development; school policies, from early curriculums to lifelong learning programs; and public workforce development, such as government-led efforts to retrain workers.

The report showed South Korea, Singapore, Germany and Canada are better prepared for automation largely because of their education systems and labor policies. Although it was acknowledged no country is “genuinely ready” for the technological shift expected to happen during the next three decades, the U.S. was deemed especially underprepared.

Guido Jouret, ABB’s chief digital officer, specifically referenced the U.S. educational system, which pushes students toward two- or four-year degrees. Colleges can be slower to keep up with technological changes, and companies will want workers who can adapt to cutting-edge technological developments.

By contrast, Germany encourages technical training, with 60 percent of young adults in the country training as apprentices in manufacturing, IT, banking, construction and other fields compared with 5 percent of Americans.

The Chinese government is updating public education to prioritize creativity rather than acing standardized tests; economists say these efforts are meant to train children and young adults to value independent thinking over regurgitation, which is a trait robots can’t yet replicate.

“Take the Southwest Airlines pilot—she did a phenomenal job landing that plane,” Jouret said, referencing a recent engine explosion that grabbed international attention. “This is the thing we need people to be good at—how to cope with the unexpected.”

Although U.S. leaders have praised apprenticeships as a way to help prepare workers for an increasingly technological world, economists say the U.S. would benefit more from continuous learning.

In Singapore, citizens were given cash in “individual learning accounts” they can use to cover job training courses at any stage in their careers. In Germany, lawmakers have proposed “employment insurance,” which would help workers pay for upgrading their skills during their lives.

The U.S. scores higher on research-and-development spending, which involves the dollars that fund advancements, devoting 2.79 percent of gross domestic product to the effort, which places the country fourth behind South Korea (4.23 percent), Japan (3.28 percent) and Germany (2.88 percent).

Note: This article first appeared on the NRCA website and can be viewed here.

Extending the Life of your Drone

Posted on

By Malek Murison.

Drones are not like mobile phones. Ideally, you don’t want to be buying or upgrading to a new model every year. Instead, look at it as an investment in your aerial photography skills: the best way to reap the rewards is to keep your drone in great shape and performing to the max for as long as possible.

Think about coverage

The first thing you should do after buying a new drone is to organize some kind of cover. Things can (and probably will) go wrong at some point. The last thing you want is for your $1,000 gadget’s value to plummet down to $0.

Your best way to stop that from happening is to arrange insurance. Better still, most manufacturers offer coverage for the first year. For example, DJI’s Care Refresh package can be bought alongside a new drone to give you peace of mind and practical support in case you crash or damage your drone.

The company will attempt to get it working again or supply you with a new model.

Keeping on top of pre-flight checklists

Once that first year is through, most coverage policies will run out and regular insurance will be your best bet.

But besides that, you can extend the life of your drone by developing a flight routine based on care and accident prevention.

The best way to do that is to stick rigorously to a comprehensive pre-flight checklist. Keep on top of the status of your drone and avoid flying if there are any obvious problems or faults.

Keeping your drone safe when it’s not in use

As a drone pilot, one of the most frustrating things that can happen is your gear getting damaged when it’s not even in use.

Taking care when charging, installing updates and storing your drone is the best way t stop that from happening. Find as sturdy a case as possible to store your drone, and keep it out of the way of kids, pets and the elements.

Looking after drone batteries

A question plenty of pilots have is how to extends (or at least maintain) the life of drone batteries. Every second counts when you’re up in the air, so keeping your batteries performing to the max is essential.

Most drone manufacturers state that lithium polymer batteries should be stored at a temperature of between 5ºC and 27ºC. The lower the temperature the better, in fact. If they are being packed away for the long term, battery experts recommend making sure they have around 40% of charge.

When it comes to charging, the most common way to damage a LiPo battery is by overcharging it. So once your batteries hit 100%, unplug them. Experts also suggest that letting your battery drain to 0% on a regular basis will reduce its life in the long term.

 

Buying new batteries for your drone is usually an expensive process. Taking a few easy steps can help keep yours in good condition.

Practicing in something expendable

The majority of crashes and accidents happen when drone pilots are new on the scene or when complacency creeps in. So the best way to keep your valuable gear intact is to grow in confidence and gain more experience behind the controls.

For those in the former category, it’s a good idea to try your hand at flying something cheaper and relatively expendable. There are plenty of drones for beginners out there that won’t break the bank. You can also check out our post on the common mistakes drone pilots make to learn from the mishaps of others.

Interested in finding a drone that can extend your flight time, too? Check out this rundown of which drones stay in the air for longest.

Note: This blog first appeared on RT3 member Drone Base’s blog and can be viewed here.

What are contractors doing about the labor shortage?

Posted on

By Karen L. Edwards, RCS Editor.

Korellis Roofing and Reliant Roofing are two contractors leading the way in solving the labor shortage by taking matters into their own hands and training the next generation of workers.

Last fall, we wrote an article about Korellis Roofing after they opened a dedicated training center for continued development and supplementing their apprenticeship program. Nearly one year later, they have drawn the attention of Indiana state leaders and recently had a visit from Congressman Pete Visclosky and his Chief-of-Staff Mark Lopez.

The Korellis Training Center utilizes inclement weather days to deliver in-house training for continued development, in an effort to attract and retain tradesmen and women. The visiting officials were given a tour by Workforce Development Manager Dan Stella and watched some of the apprentice training.

Reliant Roofing of Jacksonville, Florida was invited to speak at the International Roofing Expo last month in New Orleans to teach other contractors how to build their own skilled labor force. After CEO Sean Shapiro and President Cameron Shouppe were having trouble finding enough skilled roofers to fill their workforce, they designed a program to train motivated people.

“We started to look for people with good soft skills and a strong work ethic, not necessarily experience in roofing,” Shapiro explains. This strategy has proven successful for them. They’ve even been showcased by the Mike Rowe Works Foundation, a public charity that rewards people who train for skilled labor jobs that are in demand.

The construction industry as a whole is struggling with labor and workforce development and some of the industry’s biggest players are stepping up to address the issue. The Home Depot Foundation recently committed $50 million to train 20,000 new tradespeople by 2028 to fill the labor gap.

Tradesmen International reports that there are 143,000 vacant construction positions available nationwide and says filling the gap is going to take a concentrated effort on all fronts.

With labor being the number one issue facing roofing contractors, as reported in both the RoofersCoffeeShop.com trends report and the Roofing Contractor State of the Industry Report, it’s time to start taking matters into our own hands and developing the next generation of roofing professionals.

Photo credit: Korellis Roofing

Note: This article first appeared on the RoofersCoffeeShop.com blog and can be viewed here.

4 Factors to Consider When Purchasing a Roofing CRM

Posted on

Use of the right roofing CRM saves you time and money.

It is important to employ the right roofing CRM for your construction work. This enables you to streamline your work in an organized way. Because of achieved efficiency, you can save on time, which counts a lot in any project work. At the end of it all, you will realize that your project will not only be successful but will be cost-effective as well.

The software can be effective over a wide range of construction projects ranging from installation of drainage systems to roof treatment projects. This makes it very favorable especially for a company dealing with a wide range of operations within the construction industry. Now, there are so many systems dealing with this; most of them are designed generically, meaning they may not specialized for the construction work. For this reason, it is important to consider some key factors whenever you are purchasing the software to ensure you do not go wrong.

Consider your specific business needs

To establish the best CRM roofing software that is suited for your business, it is very paramount to, first, define the specific business needs. This means you need to have a very clear vision of what it is that you want to achieve. Some businesses may be after a software that can give them very quick service and able to generate quick data that can be interpreted as useful information. Other companies may want a software that is able to automate operations hence reducing unnecessary paperwork. There are also some that will be after enhanced communication and streamlined operations. Whatever the reason, you should be in a position to define to ensure you acquire the right software.

Ability to keep records in an organized manner

For any contract work to be completed in perfection, it is important to plan and to know the resources you are going to use. This may sound easy but if done without a proper system, you may leave out some very crucial materials. With this in mind, then you can acquire the right CRM roofing software that can meet the needs.

Ability to ensure well-managed customer relations

In contractual work, it is very important to keep records of your clients, their feedbacks and even any important records pertaining to the business relations. This helps in future works since you already have a documented history of their likes and dislikes. This also creates a good image with the client since they feel their services are personalized. You, therefore, need a system that is able to manage all this and also to retrieve this information instantly.

A software that is able to generate reports

Reporting is inevitable in every organization. Reports help in showcasing the work done and also in accounting for resources utilized. It may be tricky if you must design reports from scratch whenever they are needed. You need a software that can generate accurate reports the instant they are required.

With above to consider, you can be assured of selecting a roofing CRM software that suits your organization and one that can give you value for money.

Editor’s note: This article was first published on FollowupCRM’s blog and can be viewed here.