Developing A Service Business
By Giovanni Marcell, Accubid Systems

There are two questions you should ask yourself when attempting to develop a service business:
  (1)  Can I afford NOT to be in the service business? And,
  (2)  How do I develop a successful service business?

There are many valid reasons for wanting to develop a service business. These include the following:

  •  High margins.
  •  Low risk.
  •  A lot of recurring sales.
  •  More predictable sales.
  •  Less susceptibility to economic downturns.
  •  Increases the company’s value.
  •  Makes a company much more marketable.
  •  Can generate positive cash flow.
  •  Future trends indicate a growing demand for service and even greater margins.
  •  Will work directly for the owners.
  •  Great opportunity to cement your relationship with clients and get more profitable work.

It sounds so compelling that, in my opinion, every contractor should develop a service division.

However, the service business is not a simple business. This type of business requires the right people and needs to be founded on the right principles and the right culture.

Service firms and service technicians are, in most instances, fundamentally different from new construction business and construction craftsmen.

Working directly for the client and often in owner-occupied premises, requires us to be more aware of the client’s expectations with regards to value and performance. Customers expect excellent quality, timely service, no surprises and reasonable costs.

To fulfil the clients’ expectations, we must have well-trained technicians that can make positive impressions and gain the client’s trust time after time.

Well-trained service technicians are not readily available because, in the past, our industry has not invested in this type of training. Lack of well-trained service technicians is one of the biggest constraints that a contractor will encounter in developing a service business. We need to train more craftspeople and impart the necessary people skills that will make them quality service technicians.

Unfortunately, only a small percentage of craftspeople have the ability and desire to work in service. We all know that using the wrong individual in a service call can damage a relationship with the client.

The wise business owner will select potentially willing and capable craftsmen and train them well. This includes people skills, leadership, dealing with difficult clients, effective communication, salesmanship, presenting a positive company image and producing accurate and detailed work orders.

Fortunately for you, MCA Toronto has had the foresight to offer service technicians training that addresses all of these needs.

Service is not for everyone. Service is for those individuals who are committed to taking great care of the clients’ problems and are willing to invest in the ongoing training of quality service technicians.

Those that do it right, quickly discover their little gold mine and see their service business outperform all other divisions.