This time of year is when business owners are looking at three quarters of performance, and making decisions about the last three months of the year with an eye toward meeting sales and revenue goals. I’m not an exception, and any business owner feels a little extra stress in October.

Numbers Tell the Story

No matter how well you run your business, the numbers tell the story. In October, we’re adjusting our forecasts, setting new sales and service goals, and preparing for our 2018 planning sessions.

What does this mean to you, the Roofing & More customer? Well, even though we are blessed to have a successful business (for more than 24 years), I never rest on our past success. Every day we wake up ready to prove ourselves again to new and existing customers, and deliver “wow” service. Something people may not realize is that while the numbers tell the story of revenue and expenses, they also tell me how well we’re serving our customers.

For example, if expenses increase, I dig to find out why – are we making mistakes that require additional materials to fix? Did we miss something in planning a job and ended up taking more time than we told the homeowner? Or did we miss something crucial in the initial review and proposal? None of those are acceptable to me, or to our customers, and looking at how we’re doing each month helps me get the full picture.

We also track new customer sources, so the numbers help let me know if our referrals are increasing or declining, a clear measure of customer satisfaction. Reviewing our product and service areas also lets me make predictions about future work, which can give me advance notice that we need to hire additional installers, or stock up on materials so customers don’t have to wait for their new roofing, siding, etc.

Here’s to the Future

Finally, the end of the third quarter is another reminder of the amazing team of skilled employees we’ve developed at Roofing & More. Because while I’m ultimately responsible for the success of Roofing & More, it’s our team that makes it happen and continues to “wow” our customers. Here’s to a great fourth quarter, for all of us.