Paying a Salesperson: Commission on Sales, not Profit
By Michael StoneIf you employ a salesperson to help you sell something, you need to pay them for their services. I am a firm believer in paying sales people by commission
Owners Supplying Their Own Materials
By Michael StoneShould you let a client furnish their own materials?
The Downside of Commission Sales
By Michael StoneI’ve long been an advocate for paying salespeople on straight commission. Not everyone agrees, not even all the experts, but in my experience straight commission is the best way to go.
Pay Salespeople Fairly: Commission Sales
By Michael StoneThere are lots of opinions on how to pay a salesperson. Your salespeople have to be able to make a good living and provide for their family.
Where Do You Get Your Leads?
By Michael StoneA new business wants to market your construction business and provide leads. It'll also give homeowners ammunition making it harder to sell jobs. There’s an alternative.
How Much Should a Contractor Charge?
By Michael StoneMany of our website visitors aren’t contractors, they’re clients looking for help with a Cost Plus project gone wrong, or wondering if their contractor is overcharging.
State by State Guide to General Contractor Bond Amounts
By Devon StoneGeneral contractor licensing and surety bond requirements by state to help prepare for running a sound business.
Markup and Margin Calculations
By Devon StoneOur newest six-hour class, based on the book “Markup & Profit, A Contractor’s Guide Revisited”, second hour, on markup and margin calculations.
Paying Owner’s Salary
By Devon StoneOur newest six-hour class, based on the book “Markup & Profit, A Contractor’s Guide Revisited”, is now available. This clip is from the first part on financial requirements.
Hire Your Own Subs
By Michael StoneFrom time to time, you will go out to see a potential client about doing work for them and they’ll ask if they can choose their own subs for their job.
Cleaning the Jobsite
By Michael StoneIf you're an employer, these are things you should watch for and be prepared to deal with. If you're an employee, check to see how you're doing.
Employees Can Generate Sales Leads
By Michael StoneEmployees, properly motivated, can generate a lot of new business for you.
Close Out Package
By Michael StoneAs you’re walking out the door on a finished project, you want your clients to remember you as the company that went the extra step for them.
Contract Cancellations
By Michael StoneCancellations happen, even with the best of salespeople. Clients have all kinds of reasons to cancel an agreement, and you need to be prepared.
Overhead Creep
By Michael StoneOverhead creep is one of those subtle things that business owners often don’t notice. It leads to cash flow problems real quick.
Watermelons and Sales Leads
By Michael StoneYou might not think of watermelons, but one of our clever coaching clients shared a method he’s used to attract new leads for his business.
Payment Schedules for Cash Flow
By Michael StoneA good payment schedule keeps you paid for the work you are doing. If you're using a 1/3, 1/3 and 1/3 schedule, you are financing most of the job out of your pocket.
Rounding Up, not Down
By Michael StoneWhen we talk about making money, it's rarely about big chunks of change. One overlooked item that costs money is rounding numbers. For instance, your markup.
Employees to Volume Ratio
By Michael StoneIn our book we talk about the ratio of employees to dollar volume of business. Many contractors ignore this ratio and get caught up in the urgency of building a job.
Cost-Plus – A Homeowner’s View
By Michael StoneA very nice gentleman called me last Friday. He related a story about his home remodeling project. It was done a Cost Plus job, the "plus" was negotiated at 18%.
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