| "Be personal, provide service, and work
at developing meaningful relationships with those you serve." |
Becker regularly looks at his expenses to
decide what they really need and what they don't need. So
workers no longer take company trucks home and many company
cell phones have been turned in (reimbursing employees for
using their personal cell phones). The company also has a
flawless safety record resulting in a $9000 drop in its insurance
bill last year and it pays for materials upfront now (including
ready-mix), getting preferential rates in response. As a
result of all these efforts, sales increased 15% last year
while profits rose 60%. By concentrating on decorative precast
concrete sales, revenues for the winter months will match
the summer months this year.
Mike Clements
Roy Clements Concrete, Palatine, III.
>>Working as
a nonunion contractor in the Chicago area, Clements says
their focus since the company started in 1948 has been foundations
and flatwork for custom homes. He adds that they started
a decorative concrete division a few years ago to do stamped
concrete and chemical
stain work on driveways, patios, and basement floors. Until
recently, decorative sales accounted for little of the company's
gross sale. Lately, however, decorative work has become more
important. However, sales last year were down 2S% from the
year before. Like many companies, they are reducing expenses,
cutting back on their workforce, and cost accounting every
job to understand how they are winning and losing. They devote
more time to learn about upcoming projects and make contact
with architects, builders, and building departments-things
they have never had to do before.
A penny's worth of advice
The best advice for managing your
company during a challenging time is to take a hard look
at what you need and dispose of the rest. Marketing shouldn't
be an item on your short list though. Decide what products
your service area wants and market to that. Be personal,
provide service, and work at developing meaningful relationships
with those you serve.
Tom Ralston can be
reached at Tom Ralston Concrete:
241 Fern Street, Santa Cruz CA. Tel: (831) 426-0342 or
by visiting www.tomralstonconcrete.com.
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