On the surface, it seems like it would be a really great idea to have repeat business. And it sure feels good knowing that you’re staying busy and have consistent work coming in, especially in this economy. Unfortunately, you may be getting a false sense of security if you aren’t paying attention to your numbers. Believe me, it’s easy to do, especially if you aren’t using Chronicle effectively.

How many people do you know like working without getting paid? Anyone? No. Do you? I’m guessing not.

Working on a bunch of projects that merely keep you busy, not only wastes your time, your energy and your focus. It also takes time away from you getting new projects that will make you money! You are in business after all, to make money right? You want to provide for your family, send your kids to good schools, etc. So why are you working for free?

Chronicle allows you to easily and quickly dive deep into your numbers so you can find out what the profitability is on your jobs with certain organizations. Chronicle clearly and easily answers the all important question…  “Am I working for free with this client?” and “Are they worth keeping?”

Chronicle’s ‘Profitability Snapshot Report’ allows you to review a completed job list by month, or a specific date range. This report shows you

• how many jobs you’ve done for a specific client
• how much money has been invoiced
• how much has been collected
• the profitability of all the jobs in a specific time period

Take a few minutes to run this report for the last 6 months. The numbers may surprise you and may even cause you to reconsider where you put your time, energy and efforts.

You’ll want to review and maybe even rethink your working relationship with some of your clients. Profit and cash flow makes your business go. But if you’re working for free, it may be time to cut bait and start making more money with profitable projects. Go run the Chronicle Profitability Snapshot Report right now! You’ll be glad you did.

How to free yourself from the reality of the work, worry and shackles of running a business? Take a look at these three key reports in Chronicle. They’ll help you get to that tropical beach sooner than later.

First and foremost… the overarching theme we keep drilling down to, is the importance of having the data (and I mean ALL the data) entered into Chronicle on a regular basis. You absolutely must hold yourself, your managers and your employees accountable to entering your business data into Chronicle. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it.

You’ll want to run the following three reports on a weekly basis. And here’s what to look for in each report.

1. The Trend Report – tells you where your work is coming from – ie sales person, insurance company, agent, etc. It also tells you how much each of these relationships are producing dollar-wise. You’ll want to use this information to determine if the time, effort and expense you are putting into these relationships are worth your investment.

2. The Marketing Manager Report – tells you how the people marketing and selling for you are doing. It logs the number of contacts made which can then be further broken down to groups of clients, prospects or customers. This shows you how many jobs are produced and how much revenue is generated through a specific marketing channel. Stop guessing if your marketing efforts are working.

3. The Job Manager Report. Do you know the status of your jobs? When was the last update provided? Who was working on the job? Who are your most effective employees and subs? This report provides the information you’ll need to understand -

• which employees are the most productive starting from your Sales department all the way through to Production.
• which Sales Rep produces the most profitable jobs.
• which Production personnel works on the most profitable jobs.

It’s easy to get frustrated by those we think aren’t very productive. But what you need are hard and fast numbers. You can then take well informed action – whether it’s more training, more accountability or movement away from the current position.

By using these reports on a regular basis you’ll be able to make the necessary adjustments in your business that lowers overhead, increases productivity and improves your bottom line. Remember… people are your greatest expense. Helping them do a better job for you, gives you the means, the confidence and the reassurance you need so you can spend more time away from your business. That tropical beach is calling… and it’s within your reach with Chronicle.

Get more information about this amazing opportunity! Call 866-247-6684 today or leave a comment below. We’d like to know your thoughts…

Did you know you can develop money generating relationships with adjusters, agents and property managers that will produce more contracts and stronger contacts?! Below I’ve listed a few quick tips on how to do just that -

1. Go where they gather – There are places where adjusters go,  gather, network and mingle. If you don’t know, become a detective and do some fact finding. In your area, think about where they might go – tradeshows, associations, alliances, conventions, etc.

2. Get their attention - You absolutely must have a quick, 30 second intro on what you do and how you can help them. If you can’t say why you’re different, in a compelling way, in LESS than 20 seconds, then ultimately you’re letting potential contracts slip through your fingers.

3. Apply the secret formula – Relationships = trust. Trust = influence. Influence = more jobs. It never fails. Build and invest your time and efforts into relationships and you will get more contracts. If the adjusters, agents and property managers don’t know you, they won’t trust you – if they don’t trust you… they won’t hire you. It’s as simple as that.

Now get out there and start building your contact list and fill your database with connections. Invest in relationships and watch your business grow!

Have you used Networking to successfully grow your business and make connections? How did it go? I’d be interested to hear about your experience. Let me know below…

1. It was a great show. Although a bit small, there were a lot of great vendors providing fabulous products to help your business run smoother, provide new services and increase your efficiency.

2. A lot of buzz. The economy is picking up. A general consensus of the people I spoke with were getting busier and busier in the last few months, much more so as a matter of fact than last year at this same time.

3. Personal touch. A representative of the conference went around to each and every booth asking how the show was going, was everything ok, how we were doing, and much more. Personal attention from the owner was impressive and appreciated.

4. No time to rest. There were so much interest in Chronicle, our sales guys didn’t get to sit much. Business owners are taking the time to research, attend trade shows, and invest back in their businesses. They’re investing in their future by improving their processes, providing a better experience for their customers and growing their businesses despite the naysayers in the news. They’re banking on recovery and creating their own!

How are you creating your own recovery in your neck of the woods?

An especially great way to keep in touch and generate new business is through an email newsletter. You’ve heard it said before… it’s much easier to sell to a client that has already purchased from you, than it is to acquire a new one.

One of my favorite ways of stimulating new business is an email newsletter showing before and after photos of projects. In doing so, you are -
1. Planting seeds for new projects with previous customers
2. Spotlighting your skills (your expertise)
3. Showing happy customers (inferred referral)
4. Making it easy for prospects to contact you (you stay top of mind)

For example – Let’s say you completed a beautiful room addition with Mrs. Smith and you showcased it in your email newsletter. Mrs. Jones has been thinking of expanding her Master Bedroom. Your newsletter arrives filled with beautiful pictures, a summary, and a happy smiling customer. Mrs. Jones wants what Mrs. Smith has and decides to call you! You were there at the right time and the right place!

Chronicle’s customer database makes it easy to upload new and previous customers to an email newsletter program like Constant Contact. Be sure to fully utilize your Chronicle database in every aspect of your business – from project management to marketing.

Are you using an email newsletter to promote your business? How are you using Chronicle to market your business? Let us know below…

We heard you! Thanks for all your questions about Chronicle Mobile. We hear your eagerness to start implementing and increasing your efficiency away from the office!

We are quickly approaching a targeted release date for Chronicle Mobile for the Windows 7 phone. We’re also talking about how soon we can get the app for the Android Phone and the iPhone rolled out for you as well. It’s been great to hear so many wanting to take Chronicle with you where ever you go!

Below I’ve listed a few of the most frequently asked questions we’ve gotten lately. And as a special treat… I’ve included an audio response from Jesse Hoobler, our Manager of  Customer Support and Product Implementation with all the answers you need!

1. What’s happening with Chronicle Mobile?
2. What about an app for the Android?
3. I have an iPhone. Will Chronicle make an app for the iPhone?
4. Is there a work around so I can take Chronicle with me right now, until the apps are ready?
5. When will Chronicle Mobile be available?

Faqs with Jesse – 1

FAQs with Jesse – 2

If you can think of any more questions, please post them in the comment section below and we’ll get to them! Keep ‘em coming… we enjoy hearing from you!

We are excited to announce the introduction of our new campaign to help you learn and use Chronicle Software to add more profit to your bottom line. If you have any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.

Chronicle software is a content management program providing email, faxing, reminders, document, job, activity/task, sales/marketing, and collection management. Scalable in excess of 1000 users and the ability to handle Terabytes of data, although we consider this to be a very good achievement, it is not enough for us. We are listening to our customers. Below I’ve listed what we have on the development side, by the end of 2011:

1) Chronicle for Windows Phone 7. It will have access to all the functions is our prior phone version but in a much more user friendly format due to the advancements in Windows phone 7.

2) Chronicle Web Mobile for Employees – that is accessible on major web browsers on the following phones -iPhone, Android, Windows 7 and Blackberry. It will have access and update/send ability for an employee’s email, jobs, people, organizations and calendar in its first release.

3) Chronicle’s Internal Email – will be upgraded to allow forwarding to any email.

4) RSS feed – will be added to Chronicle to alert you to new opportunities to enhance Chronicle’s usability in your office.

5) Training Videos – that not only tell you how to use certain pieces of the software but also explaining what the results to you as a manager or owner so that change and progress in the business can happen.

6) Estimate/Work Order - Chronicle will have an estimating system for simple jobs such as carpet cleaning. These estimates will be related to the customer and can be turned into a work order, for your crew, if the customer hires you.

7) Word/Excel Template Integration – into Chronicle. This will allow more robust templates that created and shared.

8) Critical path – for large projects that allow robust views that allow you to change time frames  for activities that reflect those timeframe effects on other scheduled activities.