Blog Archives - Symphosize Software

The “Spring Release” is STILL coming…

“Don’t bite off more than you can chew, because nobody looks attractive spitting it back out.”
-Carroll Bryant

Sometimes running a software company feels a little bit like conducting an orchestra where every note that comes out is debatable in real-time. I should know because I’ve been doing it for over 5 years and it seems that just when my symphony is perfectly rehearsed, we find ourselves changing our tune.

Last March I announced an update that was coming out in the spring. It was at our very first user conference and the emotions were high. We were so far into development that I decided to break my number 1 rule: “Never tell users about a feature that is not in beta… and NEVER utter the words of a date that the said feature will be available to all users.”

But I broke that rule so hard.

I said that “This spring we’ll be rolling all of this out.” Which at the time felt like a totally conservative and reasonable thing to announce at ResponsiCon 2019. Why would I break my own rule? Well here’s a list of reasons:

I truly believed that the furthest we were away from launching the features at that time was 1.5 months… but I really believed 30 days was more realistic.
The features we have been working on are truly a dream that our users and I had been dreaming of for years.
We had previously announced that there would be no new features in 2019 as we re-built the system from the ground up… We were excited that we had discovered how to do an “incremental roll-out” and that the 1st roll out would be so neat.
It was our first user conference and I wanted to really treat everyone to the “Behind-the-Scenes” look at our laboratory.

For those that are wondering… here’s a video of the announcement at ResponsiCon 2019: https://www.facebook.com/responsibid/videos/431728174237359

A high overview of the announcement of features coming was:

A new customer profile that allows for infinite bids and jobs related to a customer (all new architecture)
A new integrated “Call Screen” where searching happens, but lots more power and a “draft” mode for incomplete bids
New “sales rep-specific follow-up” as well as lots of other controls for follow-up
New action-list researching and reporting tool
New custom items for robust selling automation

So… now for the question I wanted to answer with this blog post: “Where’s the update? Spring has come and gone.”

The short answer: I bit off more than I could chew and we are going to have to revert back to my #1 rule: “Never tell users about a feature that is not in beta… and NEVER utter the words of a date that the said feature will be available to all users.”

It feels dirty, and slimy, and gross. I hate to do it. But I CAN tell you this:

The update is going to have much more in it than we originally thought… It necessarily grew in scope as we enhanced it.
The connections are a big part of the announcement. They have way more moving parts than we gave credit and they will all have to be rebuilt from them ground up, but it’s taking much more time than we had thought.
We refuse to corrupt your data. It has been tempting to roll out the update with missing parts, but each time we have found that it could result in messing up not just your ResponsiBid data, but also any software connected to the new version… and that would be devastating. We just can’t risk that.
We are working as hard and fast as we can. We are just as motivated now as we were at ResponsiCon, maybe even more… just because you can’t see our work, doesn’t mean we aren’t full-on sprinting.
We love ResponsiBidders. Everything we do is motivated by love for you all and while we recognize that perfection is the enemy to great, we also believe that broken is unacceptable. We will not launch broken software.

We are sorry. Integrity is what we built this business on, and while it does feel like we have lost trust through this whole thing, it has really come down to dealing with the reality of dates changing and how we are to best keep our integrity in tact with the facts of reality seemingly moving around each day.

We hope you’ll understand and bear with us as we continue to work on this update and retract a date for the time being. We will complete the project, and you will get the update plus lots more… but playing with dates at this point can only bring disappointment and we don’t want to do that.

We’ll keep working hard for you, that much we promise!

Happy ResponsiBidding,

Curt

date: Jul 03, 2019 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog, Updates Read More

3 Reasons Your Service Company Needs a Social Media Strategy Now

We’ve all heard about how social media is here to stay – and that it can be a great way to advertise your business. But here’s the part most people forget to mention: your business needs a social media strategy in order for it to work. That’s why we recently talked to Stacy Harris, a social media strategist that comes highly recommended. Here’s some of her advice.

1. A social media strategy guides your efforts

Within your business, anything you do has a purpose. You spend advertising dollars to find new jobs. While you’re on a job, you’re adding extra value and offering additional services to your customers – at the very least, educating them so that they’ll know what to look for.

Being on social media is no different. Because once you’ve got a purpose, a plan, and a strategy in place, social media goes from an annoying, pointless time sink to a goldmine.

Now, a social media strategy is more than just, “hey, I’ll post a few times each week on social media.” It’s knowing what to post, when to post, and how that ties into your overall marketing campaign. It’s knowing how that relates to your customers – and how to post things that will help them.

So if you’ve got a social media manager, you’re doing great. You’re ahead of most other businesses! Now all you need to add is a strategy – or hire a social media strategy consultant to put that into place for you.

2. Having a strategy saves you time, money, and effort

While hiring a consultant will cost you money up front, it’s going to save you so much time, money, and effort down the road. Why? Because you’re going to know what to do, when to do it, and you won’t be wondering why the ads you run aren’t seeing a great return.

Hint from expert Stacy Harris: most ads stumble when they’re too broad and they aren’t targeting the right people. If you run a car wash, for example, target people who live in a 1-2 mile radius of your business location. Ads targeted to friends of people who like your page are too broad – and most of them may not live close to your business!

Plus, when you’ve got a strategy in place, you won’t be posting random, not-useful memes while trying to grow your following. Having a million followers isn’t your goal – while getting more jobs on the schedule is.

3. The only way you’ll see results is with a strategy

Now that you know why the strategy is so important, you can see why the only way you’ll see consistent, regular success (and more jobs on the schedule) is by having it – and using it. Because by having a strategy, you’re actually reaching your existing and potential customers. You’re being noticed – and you’re getting hired more often.

And remember – you’re posting for your audience, not yourself. Stacy gave a lot more great advice, and if you want to hear it all, be sure to watch our Facebook Live video where we talked about all of this in even more detail.

Now, we did want to share one final, fantastic example of how to make your social media work for you: use live video. Consider it a bonus, because it’s an awesome tip.

Bonus: how to use video to promote your service company

It doesn’t have to be super fancy or even very long – a couple of minutes can be plenty! Oh, and Stacy pointed out that using an ear bud and microphone can help improve audio quality, which will ensure more people watch!

Here are some quick, awesome ideas for your next videos:

- From the back of your truck, show what tools you’ll be taking in to do your next job.
- Introduce your team, so that people are more comfortable when you show up for a bid or a job.
- Show your community pride – talk about the issues in your area: maybe it’s how to treat carpet stains from dirt from a local park.
- Educate your community. Teach them what to look for so they can recognize quality work when they see it – or when they see inferior work.
- Tell funny on-the-job stories.
- When clients are okay with it, show before and after pictures – or videos.

While we may not always want to watch those kinds of videos on social media, you better believe our clients are. So go make them some videos as part of your social media strategy – and watch your schedule fill up.

Want to work with the social media strategist we use? Follow Stacy Harris on Facebook. Then be sure to follow us for more great info on how to ResponsiBid your way to a packed work schedule.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

date: Aug 14, 2018 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

How to Expand Your Business with this Answering Service and ResponsiBid

What if there were a way to book more jobs – without pulling you away from the job you were working on right now? You’d be able to earn more money and expand your business. And, with ResponsiBid and Jill’s Office answering service on your team, you can do just that: expand your business with ease.

The answering service that works for you

When you’re at a job, your ability to answer the phone can be limited. So when a call comes in, you may risk losing a future job. Sure, your voice mail service can catch those leads for you. But that’s only if the caller leaves a message – and you still have to follow up as soon as you can.

Instead, kick chance to the curb. You can do that one of three ways.

Option 1: hope they leave a voice mail – or that your caller ID catches their number. Call back as soon as you can. This option relies an awful lot on hope – and perfect timing. It can work, but it takes an awful lot of effort.
Option 2: set up your ResponsiBid account to handle an automated follow-up. Then, you’ll have time to follow-up in person. You’re already working hard – you’re adding smarts to have happier customers, more jobs, and a better business reputation.
Option 3: keep working and trust your ResponsiBid and Jill’s Office team to handle it. You know your Jill’s Office rep has probably turned that lead into a booked appointment anyway – oh, look. There’s the ResponsiBid notification. They’ve done it again.

Okay, so that may not happen every phone call. But when you let a live, US-based Jill’s Office specialist answer your calls, it frees up your time and mental load to focus on your business.

Get all of the benefits and results with no extra effort

But your Jill’s Office rep can do more than just answer phone calls. They’re there when you need them.

Have you ever had to take an unexpected sick day? Rescheduling all of those appointments can be exhausting – especially when you’re trying to heal. One ResponsiBidder was in a car wreck – he let his Jill’s Office rep know and they handled the rescheduling calls and customer service for him.

Need to do some follow up or outbound calls? It can be a great way to fill up your schedule.

There’s been multiple ResponsiBidders who let their Jill’s Office rep handle outbound calls to follow up with past customers. Sure, it costs a few dollars in order to have those calls made. But guess what? The return on that investment is usually in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. Your schedule is filling up – by days, weeks, or even months at a time.

Oh – and since you aren’t making the calls, you don’t have to spend the time stressing, making the calls, or handling the booking. Instead, you’re out working – or perhaps even taking the day off.

Go above and beyond for your customers – and watch the lean times disappear

It’s totally normal to have an ebb and flow in your business. When jobs are booked several weeks out, it can be easy to let the swagger get to you – and to let jobs fall through the cracks. However, once things slow down, you’re left scrambling to follow up with those lost leads.

But there’s a better way to handle those peaks and valleys. And it’s got a few added side benefits.

First of all, it ends up boosting your customer satisfaction because each caller feels heard – and their needs are met.
Second, your schedule fills up beyond your usual expectations.
And third, you’re making more money, watching the peaks rise, and seeing fewer lean times.

These three perks? They’re the way to expand your business successfully.

And the way to getting all three in one fell swoop is easy. It’s having a team you can rely on: ResponsiBid and Jill’s Office. It’s having an automated system to rely on. And it’s having someone there to answer the phones – someone reliable who can help your customers live, in person, when you aren’t available. Someone who can help them feel heard, valued, and in custom situations, get you the information you need to call back with a detailed, custom bid right from the get go.

Join ResponsiBid and Jill’s Office and other service industry leaders at the Service Software Summit.

date: Jul 17, 2018 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

3 Ways Using Online Retail Services Is No Deal – for Your Business

When people want to do something for you, generally it’s a wonderful thing, right? So when an online retailer wants to sell your services for you, would you be crazy not to jump at the opportunity? After all, they offer some crazy awesome prices and deals to their customers.

However, let’s take a step back, look at how their business model works, read the fine print, and see 3 ways that using that online retail service is no deal for your business.

How do these online retailers make money? By offering the public a deal – and you expensive leads.

Online retailers are trying to be the go-between for companies like yours and the public. In other words, they’re trying to get in on the transaction.

When you think about it, this is actually a pretty savvy business model. Here’s how it works:

Find a prospective customer of some professional service
Attract those customers to give their information by offering an incentive of some sort (deal of the day, multiple quotes, vetting services on your behalf, etc)
Take that information and sell it (in whole or in part) to several competing companies.
Collect money from the companies and let them try to win the customer’s business
Never leave the office or worry about delivering on any promises to the customer – other than what happened in an automated way from the online retailer’s website

It’s a great gig for the online retailer! They get to do what they’re good at (selling products) without actually having to become a service company.

Do you see the problem, though? Selling a product isn’t the same as selling a service. And when someone sells a service as a product, at some point, it’s just asking for trouble.

Here’s 3 ways that trouble could hit your business.

1. Your valuable service becomes a cheap commodity.

Because the retailers are in the business of pushing products, they have zero incentive to educate the customers about key differences between you and your competitors. In fact, if they did, it could cause friction between their clients – you and your competitors.

Plus, doing so would make it harder for them to sell a simple product to the general public.

It’s much easier for them to sell “Carpet cleaning services,” than it is for them to add in extra value and services like pet odor neutralization, sanitization, unique company selling propositions, and any other differentiators.

Their business model requires turning your service into a commodity. And that means that the price is the natural differentiator.

But what do they care? They need to sell you as many leads as possible to make money. They got you a lead – now you get to navigate the hurdles they so thoughtfully put between you and a product-minded (rather than value and service-minded) customer.

Is that kind of extra work worth the steep price tag for a lead that might not even choose your company?

2. Your company cannot control the buying experience.

Because marketing starts with the first interaction, you’re already playing a losing hand. Why? Because the online retailer got to have that first interaction.

You’re second or third or even sixth down the line. Instead of presenting a professional first impression, odds are you’re going to be cleaning up after someone else’s mess before you can even make an appropriate service bid.

Finally, you aren’t in control of that customer’s data. The online retailer has it. You won’t be able to follow up, schedule future service calls, or ask for referrals.

Is the expensive half-lead worth that kind of headache?

3. Customer loyalty is gone.

Have you ever run a deal through a company like Groupon? How was your customer retention?

Unless you ran a secondary deal, you probably didn’t see those customers again, did you? Or if you did, there weren’t very many of them.

Why is that? It’s because the customer gave their loyalty to the online service retailer’s pricing. Not you.

And because they’re now loyal to the price, they’re loyal to that process that the retailer provided during that shopping experience.

In other words, to keep getting customers through that bargain website or retailer, you have to keep offering those prices that will attract attention and loyalty. And, a good sized cut of each sale goes to the retailer, because that’s how they stay in business.

Is competing with pricing for temporary loyalty something that you want to do?

You don’t have to play their games.

Look… if you answered no to any of the questions above, then it’s time to stop playing their games, because an online retailer just isn’t for you.

It’s time to start educating the public about the valuable services you offer; time to add more value to their lives instead of trying to cut corners to save them money they’d happily spend; and it’s time to take control of those interactions so that your business can grow.

If you’re ready for a better, more sustainable way to do business, it’s time to take responsibility with help from someone who isn’t getting in the way – or in the middle of the transaction. It’s time to take charge with ResponsiBid – the company that helps you position your business as a service leader, helps you guide a customer through the buying experience, and helps you build customer loyalty – even when you’re busy.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

date: Jun 12, 2018 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

Beta Modules You Can Ask For

You know how some restaurants have a “Hidden Menu”?

Well, ResponsiBid has 70 modules (and growing) that are in “beta status” right now. They aren’t available by default, but if you want to ask for any of our beta modules to be added to your account, just hit us up in the chat area of your ResponsiBid account and we’ll be happy to deliver it to you!

Here’s a list of what we have in Beta as of now!

Air Duct Cleaning
Arborist Consultation
Area Rug Cleaning
Auto Tint
Budget Exterior Cleaning
Bulk Trash Removal
Cabinet Refinishing
Carpet Patching
Carpet Replacement
Carpet Seam Repair
Carpet Stretching
Concrete Patio Cleaning
Consultation (In-Home)
Contagious Control
Deck Cleaning (Painted/Composite)
Deck Staining
Driveway Cleaning
Driveway Sealcoating
Entertainment Lighting
Fence Cleaning (just went live)
Fleet Washing
Floor Polishing
Granite Counter Services
Gutter drain cleaning
Gutter Guard Installation
HVAC Repair
HVAC Tune-Up
High Dusting
Ice Dam Removal
Irrigation
Janitorial
Kitchen Hood Cleaning
Locksmith (many modules available)
Moving
Our “Other” Services
Parting Interior/Exterior (new)
Paver Cleaning & Restoration
Paver Sealing
Pest – Bed Bugs
Pest – Bees
Pest – Birds
Pest – Termite
Pest – General
Plumbing – Garbage Disposal
Plumbing – Toilet Replacement
Plumbing – Valve Replacement
Plumbing – Hot Water Heater
Pool Enclosure Cleaning
Pool Service
Poop Patrol
Post Construction Cleaning
Roof Cleaning – Green Moss
Roof Repair
Roof Replacement
Screen Repair
Screen Replacement
Shower Wall Repair
Snow Removal
Stone Floor Refinishing
Travertine Cleaning
Tree – Disease & Pest Control
Tree – Removal
Tree – Stump Removal
Tree – Trimming
Wallpaper Installation
Weed Control
Window Cleaning – Screen Cleaning
Window Glass Replacement
Window Full Replacement
Wood Floor Cleaning

Let us know if you need any of these!

date: May 18, 2018 comments: 1
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

5 Ways to Make Doing a Follow-Up Successful and Enjoyable

To some degree, it seems like everyone struggles with doing a follow-up – especially many small businesses. In fact, follow ups are generally seen as:

too time consuming
too repetitive
a boring or depressing way to spend time you could have used doing something more productive
too involved with all of the many channels available – email, SMS, snail mail, voice mail, etc.
easy to get ignored, even by those who know better!

But here at ResponsiBid, we’ve seen how many ways there are to both automate and personalize the follow-up after a job… and we’ve also seen the huge success that comes to the companies who make the time to do it.

And once you’ve seen these 5 ways to make doing a follow-up both fun and successful, you’ll experience a mindset shift – and become a true believer in the power of the follow up.

1. Follow-Up with people who decline to do business with you

Once a prospective client tells you, “No,” you’re actually in a pretty sweet spot. After all… what’s the worst that happens when you follow up? They tell you no again.

After a month or two, follow-up with these folks who’ve already told you to hit the road. You can keep it classy by saying something like: “I’m sure you made an excellent decision with whomever you trusted for your project, but on the off-chance that you weren’t completely satisfied, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to be of help.”

You can do this via email, text, or phone. If you don’t hear back from them within the next 30 days, send a postcard.

If the experience that the company they went with left them feeling a little bit empty inside, your communicative nature and refreshing kindness will be just what the doctor ordered.

In fact, our ResponsiBidders report that this is the most powerful follow-up tool they’ve got in their arsenal. Shocked?

Maybe. But for those who are looking for that something extra, you’ve just proven your company to have the class, kindness, and professionalism they were looking for.

2. Ask for a review, then ask for a referral

Word of mouth referrals are the most powerful. That’s why you need to ask for reviews.

Then, once you know that someone is willing to publicly say nice things about you, ask them to share their experience on social media. That way, you can ask them if they’ve got any friends who would like a similar experience.

Here’s one classy way you could ask that: “I really appreciate your kind words! If you decide to end up sharing that experience on social media, could you please tag us? I’m sure you’ll get a lot of comments, as most people tend to have frustrating experiences with their ________ provider.”

And just like that, your customers become your sales people. No matter how you look at it, that’s a win.

3. If your customer needs time, follow-up using a “3 person conversation”

If you’ve ever worried that you’re sending too many emails (or texts) to a person who’s still on the fence about doing business with you, then this is the perfect way to follow up. Just be aware that getting the rhythm right is very difficult.

But, here’s a classy way to catch the rhythm by email:

Email 1: “Hi, I’m Johnny. I just wanted to get you a copy of your proposal and would love to serve you. Let me know if you have any questions.”

Then, if you get the typical response of …no response…

Email 2: “Hi, I’m Sally! I work with Johnny. He said that he reached out to you a couple days
ago with a copy of the proposal, but I wanted to introduce myself, as I’m the company scheduler. If
you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them. I look forward to talking to you. Johnny told me about your project – and it sounds really great!”

If you still don’t get a response, here’s what comes next.

Email 3: “Hi there! Johnny again. I’m not sure if Sally reached out to you yet, but she seemed really excited when I told her about your project. So I thought I would send over her phone number (as she does the scheduling), but feel free to let me know if you have any questions about our proposal.”

See how that works? Just because someone doesn’t respond doesn’t mean that the conversation has to awkwardly end. Simply add another person into the conversation to keep it going!

4. Use texting to initiate conversation sparingly.

Spam is everywhere. And email is no refuge from the spam storm. In fact, everyone knows that their inbox is going to be full of sales pitches, business stuff, and long lists of exhaustion.

So getting someone’s phone number – and being able to text them – is sacred. Keep any text communication short, non-spammy, personal, and don’t get yourself blocked.

On a smartphone, it only takes 1 telemarketing call to get a number blocked these days. In other words, once you’ve gotten blocked once, your odds of being marked a spam telemarketer just skyrocketed. So don’t get yourself blocked.

Only send texts only when someone has opted in. Oh, and if your text message response is automated, don’t let it look automated. Keep it short and to the point. That means no paragraphs, no signatures, and nothing like an email.

Here’s a classy way to do this: “Hi James! I know you’re busy so I thought I’d text you real quick to see if you had time to talk later today. I look forward to chatting!”

See? Simple. And then you can chat it up later.

5. Always have a contingency, or a backup follow-up plan.

As you’re setting up your system for following up with customers, make sure that you do so in a way that makes sense to your customers.

In other words, during the pre-purchase process, your follow-up should focus on education and the unique benefits your company can offer.

Then, it should constantly be focused on helping those prospective clients to take the next steps to being a paying customer. One way to do this is by asking questions about how you can assist them with their initial pain points.

Once the project or experience is completed, the first follow-up should be focused on getting reviews (like on NiceJob!), referrals, and social media shares.

Then, once you know that the service went well, you should start using timely, appropriate follow-up to get the repeat business process going. Because if your customer forgets about you, they can’t be loyal to you. So be there for them. And keep helping them (and yourself) by following up.

It’s time to build out a solid, systematized follow-up plan. That way, you can help more people – and capture the maximum lifetime value of each customer!

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

date: May 08, 2018 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

5 Ways to Increase Bids, Leads & Sales without Lowering Prices

A few days back, a customer sent me the following message:

Our close rate is dismal compared to the ResponsiBid national average. Do you think our prices are too high? What is the main knob to increase that number so we bag more jobs?

Now, my response to this client is involved, and I’ll get into it. But first, I need to give you some background.

I spend a lot of time working with customers to refine their bidding process and increase bids (because that’s what we do at ResponsiBid – we handle proposals, close rates, sale psychology and more. It’s just our way of life).

But this question belies a very interesting thought. It implies that there’s some control or knob that you just turn to make people choose your proposal. It’s a commonly held misconception, especially among early business owners.

But this misconception needs to be cleared up, because it leaves out the 5 most obvious and important things that you can do to add value to your company’s uniqueness, thus allowing you to keep your prices where they need to be.

5 Ways to Increase Bids, Leads, & Sales – without lowering prices

So in my response to my customer, I gave him 5 ways to increase his bids, leads, and sales – all without lowering his prices. In fact, it could actually allow him to raise them, as he’s adding extra value to his packages.

I also recommended that this client start talking to the people who don’t hire him. This can seem like a hard or daunting task if you aren’t doing it already, but ultimately it’s people who don’t hire you who can give you the best insights into how you can better position your business. And it’s by talking to these people who choose your competitors, that you’ll be able to take these 5 ways, and really make positive changes to your business’s presentation.

So let’s dive into those five things, shall we?

1. Package Presentation

When people look at your packages, are they stuck on the price or are they able to recognize the value they’ll be getting from you? After all, maybe you’re offering something above and beyond what your competitors do – and that’s why there’s a price difference. You need to make sure that potential clients are able to recognize your increased value and service levels.

Tip: A great place to bring these up is in your follow-up emails, because it’s reminding people of all the extra value they could be seeing.

2. Define Your “Unique Selling Proposition”

Why is your business special? And why do potential clients care? Within that vein is something known as your “Unique Selling Proposition”, or USP. If a customer can’t see your USP, they’re going to keep shopping. But if there is something that only your company offers, and your audience can immediately see and recognize that, well, they’re going to stop shopping. And they’re going to hire you.

Take away: Make sure your Unique Selling Proposition is readily, easily, and completely identifiable.

3. Make a Personal Connection

Are you using walls of text? Or are you using short but sweet videos to give your company a relatable, recognizable face? Videos are an under-used key to instantly building a “personal, emotional connection” that can be very powerful. It’s that connection that will help your business reach through all of the competition – and let your business be the one welcomed into each client’s home.

Tip: In your video, show some humor, some of your endearing personal quirkiness, and serious professionalism. Mix generously with your USP to win more jobs.

4. Be Prepared to Strike While the Iron is Hot

When a bid comes in, there’s two things that need to happen.

First and most importantly, there’s the human response. Your client needs to be called or reached out to. Plus, when you call someone, you’re catching them while things are fresh. You can guide them through the buying process. Your potential client is going to feel invested in the proposal, well cared for, and now obligated to buy from you. In other words, you need to strike while the iron is hot.

Secondly, you need to have an automated safety net in place for those instances where an immediate contact isn’t possible. Maybe you’re working another job or on the other line with another bid. And in those cases, ResponsiBid’s automation system is your perfect safety net.

Tip: Using personal interaction with an automated backup system is the key to catching those jobs that used to fall through the cracks.

5. Use Options to Drive More Business

Finally, make sure that you’ve got several options pre-mapped out for your potential clients. By offering several levels of packages (like “Good,” “Better,” and “Best” packages), you’re going to be able to offer consistent, reliable quotes. And that way, you’ll be able to land more jobs, because the value becomes more readily visible.

Tip: Turn those negatives into positives: by offering packages, you’ll be able to avoid ultimatum pricing, which generally backfires as those potential clients call your competitors for a second opinion.

You’ll also be able to quit asking, “So… will that work for you?” (because they always answer, “Well, let me think about it.”) and start asking, “Which package is the one is right for you – good, better, or best?”

By using these 5 actionable steps, you’re going to give your clients more ways to do business with you. You’re going to increase bids, land more jobs, make more sales, get ahead of the competition, and rock your industry.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

date: Apr 10, 2018 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

3 Things you need to do to Set Up ResponsiBid & See Success

Would you like to know the one key difference between businesses who land awesomely ridiculous amounts of jobs on ResponsiBid – and those that see an average amount of success? The difference is this: it’s all in how you set up ResponsiBid.

And the most important part of setting up your ResponsiBid account is in the first 3 steps:

Defining and setting up ResponsiBid Packages
Determing Standardized Pricing Points
Setting up the Automated Follow-Up Process

As much as we’d love to cover each step in every detail right here, the simple fact is that it would take hours of video to cover a complete setup sufficiently. That’s why we strongly recommend you work with our certified ResponsiBid account trainers and coaches. Their expertise will save you hours of effort – and get you up and running in next to no time.

Even with an account trainer in your corner, though, let’s make sure we’ve got the basics covered.

#1 Most Important Task: Define and Set up ResponsiBid Packages

The very first thing you need to do is define and set up ResponsiBid packages.

If you’re using different systems (or offering different packages) on different websites, people are going to get confused. And, when it’s your employees who are confused, that reflects poorly on your company. So make sure that whatever packages you’re going to offer, they’re consistent across the board.

Taking the time to create the systemized packages – and then training your team on what each option includes – means it’s easier for your potential clients. In other words, it’ll be easier for you to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs.

Pro tip #1: Offer 3 packages. That way, everyone’s on the same page. Your team, your clients, and anyone who’s thinking about hiring you will know exactly what’s on the table.

As you’re deciding which packages you want to offer, here’s a few more pro pointers to keep in mind.

Everything in the ResponsiBid system is customizable. So make it fit your company!
You can have up to 5 packages, but we recommend having 3.
People scan. So keep package names and descriptions short and simple.
Use line items to differentiate and upsell your packages by focusing on benefits.
Order your line items so that it’s easy to read (or scan).
Don’t use jargon or focus on fancy features. Keep it simple.

Ready for one more Pro tip for your packages?

Pro tip #2: Having 3 packages makes it easier for customers to decide what services they need. A “most popular” package should be the one you’re trying to sell. A lower-tiered package with fewer services can be made to compete with competitors running sales. And your last package should be the upsell. Doing this will land you more sales – and more upsells.

Now that your packages are ready, it’s time to determine and set your pricing.

Task #2: Determine (and Standardize) Your Pricing

Making sure that your pricing is set, stable, and standardized is just as important as it is for your packages. Why?

Because a standardized approach means you can give automated quotes immediately.

Those automated quotes mean landing you more jobs – without extra effort or even having to be there.

In your ResponsiBid account, there’s two ways to set your pricing.

- The first is by choosing an hourly rate for each package. Then, you assign a predetermined amount of time to each service in the package. And then ResponsiBid will take input from your client, calculate using your numbers, and give an accurate bid every time.
- The second way to set your pricing is by assigning every service in your package a dollar amount. Then, ResponsiBid will use those numbers in combination with a client’s data to calculate your accurate, immediate quotes.

Within either of those pricing methods, there’s room for customization, discounts, and setting specific parameters to trigger an in-person bid.

Then, once you’ve got all of that set up to your liking, be sure to run a test bid of your automated pricing system. You’ll be able to see, in real time, how the system calculates your bids. You’ll be able to make any adjustments that may be needed so that the system gets your bids right every single time.

Pro Tip #3: Testing is an important step! Because if the wrong numbers or settings are used, the system will give the wrong bid – every time. But with testing, you can guarantee that the numbers are all right – and so are all of your bids.

Once that’s all done, it’s time to set up your automated follow-ups. That way, you’re following up – and landing – those jobs that used to fall through the cracks.

3rd Task: Set and Enable your Automated Follow-Up

Once you’re giving out great bids, you want to make sure you’re setting up a great follow-up, too. And you can do this via the ResponsiBid follow-up builder.

As soon as a potential client gets a bid, they’re in your follow-up system. They’ll be assigned a single status, depending on which part of the buying cycle they’re in. Each status can be fully customized to your liking, branding, and personal preference. And there’s even room for adding additional status options, so that your follow-up can be exactly like you need it to be.

Within the follow-up system, you’ll be able to use email, text messages, and even voice mail to keep in touch with your clients. Your automated follow-up system will allow you to:

- - close jobs with people who got distracted and forgot to book the job;
  - get valuable feedback from those who opted to go with your competitors;
  - snag lucrative jobs that used to get lost in the cracks.

Pro Tip #4: The better, more thorough, and more natural your follow-ups are, the less business will fall between the cracks.

Now, as far as writing the emails in your follow-up sequence… if you’ve already got an email sequence, just copy and paste that into the ResponsiBid follow-up status that makes the most sense. If not, be sure to check out the default status and emails for inspiration. Then, write your follow-up. And here’s another Pro tip on how to do that…

Pro Tip #5: Write and schedule your follow-up as if you were dealing with your most lucrative client. That way, everyone gets the same, awesome A+ treatment – and your company’s reputation for professionalism, courtesy, and follow-through only grows.

Still here? That’s impressive, because this was a lot of valuable information! But your investment will pay off when those jobs start coming in on their own.

Because now you’ve got a solid foundation in the 3 most important parts of setting up your ResponsiBid account: getting your packages set up right; setting your pricing; and implementing your automated follow-up system.

Which means that, with an account coach, you’re going to breeze right through these parts of your account set up. And that means you’re this much closer to ResponiBidding lots more jobs.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

date: Mar 12, 2018 comments: 0
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

Please Help! I need your questions!

I will be doing a webinar wth Lisa Macqueen and I could really use your help coming up with questions. I made a video about it. Could you submit your questions in the comments section down below? After you leave a comment with any questions you’d like to ask down below, you can register for the […]

date: Jan 13, 2017 comments: 12
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

Webinar With Lisa Macqueen 1/31/17 1pm pacific, 4pm eastern time

If you follow her, you know what an amazing opportunity this is, but if you don’t… then you should find out. Lisa is a best-selling author, Infusionsoft Ultimate Marketer and Small Business ICON Award Winner, Winner of “Innovation Through People”, and Cleaning Company of the Year Award Winner, Lisa Macqueen knows how to use smart marketing strategies, systems and automation to grow a business.

Lisa took an ‘average’ office cleaning company and turned it into a multi-million dollar international empire in a litle over 2 years and is now in hot demand as a speaker, consultant and mentor

Lisa was recently named as one of “America’s Premier Experts” and appeared on the Brian Tracy Show on CBS and NBC & FOX Affiliates in the US, and also co- authored a book with Brian Tracy, Power Principles for Success which reached best-seller status in two Amazon.com categories.

Lisa’s unique approach to business and her dogged determination to the ideal that no business owner or entrepreneur wants their company to be just ‘average’ they often just don’t know how to be amazing.

Her business, Cleaning Marketer, coaches and mentors cleaning business owners on, not only how to be amazing, but how to stand out and play in a field of 1 and succeed in the area they often struggle with the most, their sales, marketing, and having a cleaning business with systems that S.Y.S.T.E.M (save you some time, energy and money)…

Lisa lives with her husband Hamish and 3 teenage daughters in Sydney, Australia and you can contact her on Facebook at Cleaning Marketer, Twitter @cleaningmktr or at lisa@cleaningmarketer.com .

Please be our guest and register for our interactive webinar with Lisa Macqueen on Tuesday Jan 31st at 1pm pacific (4pm eastern). availability is limited so you must register.

Registration is Full

We will try to record it and share that with everyone. Thanks for all the excitement!

date: Jan 13, 2017 comments: 2
by: Curt Kempton category: Blog Read More

1. A social media strategy guides your efforts

2. Having a strategy saves you time, money, and effort

3. The only way you’ll see results is with a strategy

Bonus: how to use video to promote your service company

Want to work with the social media strategist we use? Follow Stacy Harris on Facebook. Then be sure to follow us for more great info on how to ResponsiBid your way to a packed work schedule.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

The answering service that works for you

Get all of the benefits and results with no extra effort

Go above and beyond for your customers – and watch the lean times disappear

Join ResponsiBid and Jill’s Office and other service industry leaders at the Service Software Summit.

How do these online retailers make money? By offering the public a deal – and you expensive leads.

1. Your valuable service becomes a cheap commodity.

2. Your company cannot control the buying experience.

3. Customer loyalty is gone.

You don’t have to play their games.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

5 Ways to Make Doing a Follow-Up Successful and Enjoyable

1. Follow-Up with people who decline to do business with you

2. Ask for a review, then ask for a referral

3. If your customer needs time, follow-up using a “3 person conversation”

4. Use texting to initiate conversation sparingly.

5. Always have a contingency, or a backup follow-up plan.

It’s time to build out a solid, systematized follow-up plan. That way, you can help more people – and capture the maximum lifetime value of each customer!

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

5 Ways to Increase Bids, Leads & Sales without Lowering Prices

5 Ways to Increase Bids, Leads, & Sales – without lowering prices

1. Package Presentation

2. Define Your “Unique Selling Proposition”

3. Make a Personal Connection

4. Be Prepared to Strike While the Iron is Hot

5. Use Options to Drive More Business

By using these 5 actionable steps, you’re going to give your clients more ways to do business with you. You’re going to increase bids, land more jobs, make more sales, get ahead of the competition, and rock your industry.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

3 Things you need to do to Set Up ResponsiBid & See Success

#1 Most Important Task: Define and Set up ResponsiBid Packages

Task #2: Determine (and Standardize) Your Pricing

3rd Task: Set and Enable your Automated Follow-Up

Which means that, with an account coach, you’re going to breeze right through these parts of your account set up. And that means you’re **this much closer** to ResponiBidding lots more jobs.

Ready to ResponsiBid your way to more jobs? With our 2-to-1 ROI guarantee, signing up for our FREE trial almost isn’t fair – to us.

Registration is Full

Which means that, with an account coach, you’re going to breeze right through these parts of your account set up. And that means you’re this much closer to ResponiBidding lots more jobs.