Communication brings Energy Swing Windows success - bizjournals:

ycoguqi.wordpress.com
“We call it the said company President Steve Since everything Energy Swiny Windows offers isdone in-house sales, production, installation — communication between the various branches of the companyu is the key to its success, Rennekamp said. “It’s important to have the right people, who don’t have who do want to do the right job for the he said. “When most people see that you’re not gonnqa hang somebody (for a mistake), everybody gets more There are, on average, eightg to 10 jobs for the entire company to reviewa ateach meeting.
The point is to traco each project from the first call to the time the customers send back theirsatisfactionm surveys, which happens four out of five according to Rennekamp, perhaps becauswe the company offers clients $5 to do it. The surveysz ask customers if they feel they got the product they signe dup for, at the value they thoughtg they were getting, and, among other things, how they woulde improve the company if they were the Everything is documented and every documenft is discussed. “The palest ink is better than thefondestg memory,” said Don Darragh, who co-ownes Energy Swing with his father.
“The first meeting we have with people is we find out what they need and what they Then we analyze andwe prescribe.” It’s like going to the doctoe and coming back after the tests are done. The challengs of selling customized home improvement iscustomers can’t see what they’rse buying until after the money changesa hands, Rennekamp said. That makes synchronizing expectations a crucial part ofthe job. Many of the trick s he uses in the office come from the Certifie Contractors Networkin Ardmore, which serves as a resource for the home improvemengt industry.
Its owner, Gail said the network was founded to improvwe internal procedures so contractors can project a professionalism that woulrd go againstthe stereotype. Keeping the customer in the know is centrapl tothe mission, she especially during the pauses. There is a period of time between when the sale is made and when the windo arrives at thehoused — limbo time, McNeill calls it when a breakdown in communication betwee departments can send the customer into a panic.
Durin busy times, the limbo can span six and ifcustomers don’t understand the delay, they will turn to theirf company contact in But sales people, McNeill said, shouldn’t have to chases down production to ask for a time “We suggest transferring responsibility at that point from saleas to production. We have a whole paperwork flow processw and firewallsin place,” she said. For example, when the salespersomn files paperwork of apotential deal, an administrativew staffer should check the document for all requisitee forms and signatures. Then a sales manager should check that the appraisalis appropriate.
Then the documentf should make its wayto production, wherre the team will determine if the job can be performesd in the amount of time and for the dollars assigneed in sales. Energy Swing has its own procesesin place, which involves educating the staff and the consumeer about the schedule of As usual, the time line is spelled out in blacok and white. In its debriefing sessions, the company can referf to the documents to see where events swayedx from the norm and where the protocol could usea