This blog will be a bit of everything, as I have been trying to keep up with demands. It is so wonderful to have jobs in line!
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This blog will be a bit of everything, as I have been trying to keep up with demands. It is so wonderful to have jobs in line!
The last two jobs went with Monocoat finish and we were able to sell two more with the same look. I bid one Saturday that will go with it also; let's hope they give us the okay. It is something we are doing here to set us apart-trying new ideas and getting great floors. I like the wood filler we just started with-Precision Liquid Woodfiller. It is the same tone/color and takes stain or finish great. The nail holes from the carpet removal hide great; in fact, it filled some bigger holes in the flooring when it splits from the nails. We have had the blessing to be awarded the last 12 bids...12 for 12 right now.
During my last years working as a rep, one of the best sales training classes that I can recall over 24 years was from Bill Munn. He made it easy and right to the point; his teaching is off-the-wall but so dead-nuts on. Something we do-that he made real clear to me during the training-is to look at your competition, see what they do, and then do something totally different. We look at the finish they all use and use something different; we look at the fillers, sanders, how they sand, and on and on. One tool we added to our jobs is the multi-disc sander; this gives us the flat look we can sell over others.
It is easy to review not only others but your style, your past jobs and the look that brings home the something extra to the bid. One thing we did at a big risk? Not lower our price. With gas going up, we are going to add more to the price. The key? Make sure you can bring the goods with that price.
On to more of the potluck… Recall when I said we have to deal with a common pole for juice? Well, here is what we have to hook up to at times:
Looks good, but the only fear is having enough cord to get into the home, plus-and this is real important-make sure your cords outside do not have twist-lock plugs. If the water, mud or whatever gets in it, you will have trouble. Be safe when it comes to the juice, that cord has 20 amps of knock-you-down or worse. So be a jerk if you see others messing with the cords, and if they do not understand, show them the danger it can be if they screw it up. The power box is great for jobs like this, because you have the four-wire hook up. At that point you're bringing in your 220 along with the 110 power you will need. We have two of them and have hooked both of them up many times. We also have twist lock plugs on our cords once we get it inside; this way no one can unplug us and use the cords we have run.
The other pain is getting HVAC working for us. The GC understands we need it to get the home done, but the inspector thinks we need to have a final before the house gets total hookup. They make life hard at times, but do not make them mad, because they have a way of making the job come to a stop. Is the phrase "big-head power-nut" too harsh?
(Part 2 of the Potluck to come soon…)