Setting Goals for Your Plumbing Company

I’ve talked with plumbers all over the country, and those conversations often begin something like this:

Plumber: Ryan, I need you to help me grow my business!
Ryan: What do you mean by “grow your business”?
Plumber: What do you mean, “What do you mean?” I mean grow my business.
Ryan: Sure. But what do you mean by grow?
Plumber: Ummm… I want to make my business bigger?
Ryan: How so?
Plumber: OK, I’ll say it: I want to make more money.
Ryan: Now we’re getting somewhere. But how much more money?
Plumber: Just more.
Ryan: Like, a dollar more?
Plumber: That’s a joke, right?

I’m not trying to be a jerk in these conversations. After all, I’m in the business of helping plumbers and HVAC shops grow. But I am trying to make a point: If you don’t define your target, you’ll never hit it.

“Growing your business” can mean a gazillion different things, and I’m guessing earning one more dollar than you did last year isn’t your idea of growth. So what is? And what objectives—mini-goals that support your overarching goals—will help you get there? Also, what do you need to do to accomplish those objectives and goals? Hire another tech? Adjust your marketing budget? Buy another service truck?

In short, “growth” is really more like a wish than a true business goal—until you define it. So let’s talk about how to do that.

If you’ve ever attended a Chamber of Commerce meeting, you’ve likely heard someone talk about SMART goals. Since 1981, all sorts of business have followed the SMART system to create actionable, effective goals.

• Specific. What does “growth” actually mean? Is it a dollar amount? Is it a number of customers? Is that the number of new customers? Or is it more about keeping current ones?
  
• Measurable. Put some numbers to each of your goals. Your goals will probably all contain the word more, so clearly define what more looks like—using specific numbers, dollars, or percentages.
  
• Attainable. We’d all love to grow by 200% next quarter, but is that attainable? Make sure you’re writing goals you can actually achieve. They don’t have to be easy, but they have to be possible.
  
• Relevant. Make sure your goals actually matter to you or to your business. Think about the “why” behind each one.
  
• Timely. Be sure to include a timeframe for each goal to create a sense of urgency and so you know when to assess your progress. Not every goal has to have the same timeline.
  

Brainstorm some sales and service goals. Following is a list to get you started. (Notice I’m not suggesting specific amounts or timeframes here. Without having a conversation with you, which I’m happy to do , I can’t know what’s realistic and reasonable for your shop.)

• Earn [number/percentage] new customers by [date].
  
• Do repeat business with [number/percentage] existing customers by [date].
  
• Increase revenue by [amount/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase average sale by [amount/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase sales of [particular service] by [amount/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase number of daily stops per tech by [amount/percentage] by [date].
  
• Decrease number of job call backs by [amount/percentage] by [date].
  
• Win [number/percentage] new preventive maintenance contracts by [date].
  
• Hire [number/percentage] new technicians by [date].
  
• Write and implement new customer onboarding process by [date].
  
• Write and implement customer service talk tracks by [date].
  
• Hold [number] customer service training sessions by [date].
  
• Develop and implement performance incentive program for techs by [date].
  

Many of your sales and service goals will be directly influenced by how effective your internet marketing for plumbersplan is. For example, getting new customers will be much easier if you’re able to get more customers to give you online reviews. So, now that you’ve determined your sales and service goals, brainstorm some related marketing goals. I can recommend a whole bunch of these, and here’s a list to jumpstart your thinking:

• Decrease Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) by [amount/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase referrals from existing customers by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase Google reviews by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Solicit testimonials from [number/percentage] existing customers by [date].
  
• Increase website traffic by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Improve website conversion rate by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase website-generated leads by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Increase backlinks by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Improve social reach on [social network] by [number/percentage] by [date].
  
• Improve social engagement on [social network] by [number/percentage] by [date].
  

Setting your goals is only one-third of the battle. The second third is, well, working toward those goals. And the last third is assessment and adjustment.

Once you’ve established your goals and you’ve assigned metrics so you can tell if/when you’ve reached them, you’ll need to track your progress periodically. I recommend looking at your data at least once per month.

As you’re assessing your progress, do not—I repeat, do not—adjust your goals prematurely. Since you’re using SMART goals, you’ve established a time reference for each of them. If your progress toward a particular goal is slower than you’d hoped, the right move is to adjust your tactic, not your goal.

Many plumbers feel stuck when it comes to goal-setting. They start seeing phrases like Key Performance Indicators and they shut down a bit. Their expertise is in plumbing, after all, not necessarily business management and marketing. I get it. I’ve helped loads of plumbing businesses just like yours dramatically improve their bottom line by making adjustments to their business strategy and marketing. Don’t waste any more time and money trying to figure this out on your own. Give me a call today. The first session’s on me.