Dec. 9, 2024

The Automation Advantage: Working Smarter Not Harder

This episode challenges conventional wisdom about automation and systematization in small businesses. Most owners think automation is either too expensive or too complex, but there are accessible ways to automate that can transform their operations....

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This episode challenges conventional wisdom about automation and systematization in small businesses. Most owners think automation is either too expensive or too complex, but there are accessible ways to automate that can transform their operations.

Powerful Business Strategies is broadcast live Mondays at 12 Noon ET Music on W4CY Radio (www.w4cy.com) part of Talk 4 Radio (www.talk4radio.com) on the Talk 4 Media Network (www.talk4media.com January Jones Sharing Senior Success is viewed on Talk 4 TV (www.talk4tv.com).

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WEBVTT

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The topics and opinions expressed in the following show are

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solely those of the hosts and their guests and not

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those of W FOURCY Radio. It's employees are affiliates. We

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make no recommendations or endorsements for radio show programs, services,

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or products mentioned on air or on our web. No

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CY Radio or it's employees are affiliates. Any questions or

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comments should be directed to those show hosts. Thank you

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for choosing W FOURCY Radio.

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Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies, where you will find out

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that everything you have ever learned about growing your business

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is wrong. Finally, a show where you'll learn the right

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way to grow your business by learning business and financial

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strategies that your competition isn't doing. And now here's your host.

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President of NeXTSTEP CFO Michael Barbarita, and joining Michael for

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today's show as an executive moderator is Chooky Obia.

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Welcome to Powerful Business Strategies. My name is Michael Baberda,

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President of Next Step CFO, and next Step CFO is

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a fractional CFO and strategic implementation firm and our vision

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is to ensure overwhelmed business owners achieve the time, freedom,

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and consistent profits to build a legacy and the life

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they desire. Our mission is dedicated to guiding small business

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owners to leveraging their time, exploding their profits and building

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a meaningful legacy, and to show powerful business strategies, and

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our book of the same name is a step toward

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accomplishing that vision and mission. And just to also point

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out that Chucky and I are both affiliated with a

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number of different organizations. Chuckie currently serves as the managing

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director of business development for Better Price, a global business

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focused law firm. In addition to that, Chucky and I

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collaborate to moderate business roundtables around the country and around

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the world and document those insights as out of our book,

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Powerful Business Strategies. But please note that the views expressed

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on this show are personal views based on our own

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successful experiences and our moderator for the show today, Chucky Obio,

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will be joining us a little later on. But you

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know what amazes me is that every morning, thousands of

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entrepreneurs like you wake up, step into their businesses and

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make magic happen. You are the dreamers and the risk takers,

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the ones who saw something missing in the world and said,

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you know what I can fix that. Maybe today wasn't perfect,

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maybe you hit some roadblocks, maybe you're wondering if it's

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all worth it. Well, I'm here to tell you that

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you're not just running a business. You're building a legacy.

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Every challenge you overcome, every problem you solve, every customer

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you help, that's your mark on the world. So get

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ready because in the next forty minutes, I'm going to

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share concepts on how to go about automating systems in

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your business and so let's make some magic happen. But

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before I do, also, I think I already mentioned it

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that Chucky will be joining us a little later on.

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But did you know that most businesses waste forty percent

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of their productive time on tasks that could be automated.

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Think about that. Nearly half of your workday is spent

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doing things that a simple system, an automated system could handle.

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But here's what's fascinating. The most successful companies aren't the

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ones with the biggest technology budgets to be able to

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put these systems in place. They're the ones who understand

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the science of practical automation and over the next forty minutes.

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I'm going to share some specific strategies that have helped

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businesses reduce their workload by fifty percent or more using

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what I call smart automation system I'm sorry, SMOT systems automation,

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and I'll show you exactly how one business went from

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working seventy hours a week, actually one business owner to

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a forty hour week while increasing their profits by eighty

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five percent using automation tools that cost less than one

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hundred dollars a month. And I'm going to reveal what

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I call the automation Advantage formula, a systematic way to

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identify and automate the right processes without getting overwhelmed by technology.

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By the way, and the best part, once you understand

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this formula, you can apply it to any part of

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your business. So grab a pen and paper, because I'm

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about to share with you some strategies that will completely

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change how you think about running your business. And if

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you're driving, don't worry about it. You can catch the

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episode again on our podcast located at Powerful Business Strategies

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dot com. So if you're just joining us, we're talking

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about practical automation and I promise to show you exactly

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how to do it. And you know, a couple of

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shows ago, we talked about something we have been talking

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about actually a few few times, and the pneumonic is

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called aid CO AI D c O And when you

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need something done, think of a CO. Think of AI

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d c O, and the A stands for automate, look

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to automate the task. And that's what we're going to

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talk about today. For example, I for innovate, find a

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way to create the task, to complete the task, and

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a creative way to complete the task. D for delegate,

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delegate the task to an employee or C for cancel

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or eliminate the task if it's unimportant. And finally, oh

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to outsource the task to a subcontractor. You know, if

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you combine focusing on the seven step Pathway to Profit

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formula then we talked about in an earlier show, and

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you go back to listen to it in conjunction with

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aid CO, you will finally get your time back. But

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in the meantime, let me tell you about Bob, who

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runs a successful contracting business, and like most contractors, he

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was drowning in estimates. He was drowning in follow ups

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that he had to make and scheduling he was working

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seventy hours a week just to keep up. And then

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he implemented this thing he called the essential Automation Stack.

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And the first thing he did, and by the way,

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this is so critical. This is if you don't do this,

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a lot of your automation attempts will fail. He first

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did what he called a time drain audit, and for

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one week, Bob locklogged every single task that he did

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in a Google spreadsheet. And here's what he does discovered.

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And if you miss this critical step, you're in real

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trouble in terms of implementing any of these strategies related

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to automation. But what Bob discovered is that he was

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spending fifteen hours writing estimates, spending twelve hours on follow

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up calls, spending eight hours on scheduling, spending ten hours

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on invoice processing, and six hours on basic customer questions.

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Now here's how he went about actually automating this this process. First,

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for estimates and scheduling, he set up what is called

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jot form. It's an automation process for estimates and for

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estimate requests. He integrated calidly for appointments, and he connected

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both of those to active campaigns. Now when someone requested

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an estimate form, collected all the project details, automatically calendly

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showed only available time slots, and active campaigns sent in

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confirmation emails and reminders. Now for customer communication, he implemented

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active campaigns. For email automation, he set up a service

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called mini Chat for Facebook messages and he used Zapier

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to connect to everything. The system automatically set estimate follow ups,

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provided project updates, requested reviews after completion, and handled basic

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customer questions. And for project management, he implemented Trello for

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job tracking and it's my understanding that's a free service,

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by the way, at least what he needed it for.

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He connected it to Slack for team communication, and he

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added the mobile punch app for time tracking and when

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a job is booked, Trello automatically creates a project board

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as signs task to team members, then's notifications through Slack

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and tracks time and materials. And for financial processing, he

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obviously set up quick books online. He added Square for

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payments and he connected them all through zaper and when

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a job is complete, the invoice generates automatically, the payment

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link goes to the customer. The books update in real

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time and follow ups happen automatically. So with just a

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few inexpensive systems, Bob was able to take administrative time

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from fifty hours to twelve per week and total cost

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of the automation was one hundred sixty eight dollars a month.

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His return on investment was over five hundred percent when

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you consider the value of his time. And let me

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show you another example that proves that this works in

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any industry. So Sarah runs a real estate agency and

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she implemented this exact automation stack. So for lead capturing

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and nurturing, she used Mailchimp for email excuse me, she

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used mailchim for email marketing, Facebook lead ads connected to Zapier,

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and active campaigns for follow up sequences. For property management,

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she used a tool called property base for listings, showing

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time for scheduling and DocuSign for contracts. And for client

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communication she used a tool called bomb Bomb video emails,

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text expander for quick responses and Calendly for appointments. Her

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time spent on routine tasks dropped from thirty hours to

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eight hours a week, and her conversion rate increased by

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forty percent because nothing fell through the cracks. Now, let

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me show you something even more powerful about automation tools

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that most business owners completely miss. So a medical practice

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that was struggling with patients, scheduling and follow ups. Here's

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exactly what they implemented. So for scheduling they use a

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tool called next Health. This is for patient bookings. And

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what next Health did is it was on online scheduling portal,

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a text message reminders, two way text confirmation, insurance verification,

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and wait list management. But here's the key. They integrated

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it with Mailchimp for email communications, Rings Central for phone systems,

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and Zapier to connect to everything. And so the system

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now automatically sends appointment reminders via text three days before,

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email prep instructions, two days before, requests confirmations, twenty four

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hours before, alert staff of cancelations and contacts witless patients

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when slots open up. And for patient records and communication,

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they use doctor a tool called doctor Chrono, and that

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provided them a way to automate digital intake forms, lab

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result discovery, prescription management, patient portal access, and automated billing.

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And the results is they were able to reduce no

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shows by eighty percent and they saved twenty five hours

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per week in staff time. But here's what's really interesting.

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Patient satisfaction scores increased because communication was consistent and professional

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and they didn't miss anything. The total monthly technology cost

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that I went through there was about five hundred dollars

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a month, but they saved there were three thousand in

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staff time and increased revenue by fifteen thousand a month

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through better scheduling efficiency versus when a human was do

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it would do it. So before we continue the rest

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of this discussion on automation, we're going to take a

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ninety second break. Hey, their business owners, let me ask

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you something. Are you tied of blending in with your competitors?

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Frustrated with slow growth and slim margins? Well, I've got

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news for you. Everything you've ever learned about growing your

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business is wrong. But don't worry. I'm here to let

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you in on a secret weapon. Your position of market mines.

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It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable, and has

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customers lining up at your door. My name is Michael

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Babarrita from Next Step CFO. I know what you're thinking.

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Sounds great, Michael, But how do I find my position

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of market dominance? Well? That's exactly why we've created our

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game changing impleitation program called Next Step to Market Dominance.

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In just ninety days, we'll guide you step by step

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to a position of market dominance by uncovering your unique

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strengths that competitors can't touch. By crafting a message that

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resonates deeply with your ideal customer, by building a strategy

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that turns you into the go to expert in your field.

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Now this isn't theory.

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These are battle tests strategies that have helped businesses like

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you as double, triple and quadruple their revenue. Don't let

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another quarter go by struggling to standout. It's time to

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dominate your market. Period. Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward

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slash contact. Fill out the form and the message section.

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Put the word dominate or call us at seven eight

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one three two six three A two two. That's next

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step CFO dot net forward slash contact or call us

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at seven eight one three two six three A two two. Michael,

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how are you, jokie? How are you? How you doing

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every wall?

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It's really energizing to join you for the second segment.

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Excellent, excellent, Well, thank you for coming and uh Welcome

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back everyone. If you're just joining us, we're talking about

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practical automation tools, and I'm gonna show you exactly how

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to automate your customer experience. So let me introduce to

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you the Customer Experience Automation stack. This is the exact

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set of tools used by an HVAC company that automated

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their customer service while reducing their workload by sixty percent.

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And here's through Yeah, and here's what they implemented.

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Michael likes. So let's get Yeah, we're gonna we're gonna leave.

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The audience in suspense a little bit on that, yeah,

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because they're really excited to get into the detail of

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that insight.

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But a quick question for you. So we are getting

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some nice.

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Comments from listeners, business owners really coast to coast that

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are listening.

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So here's a.

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Question specific to automation, Michael, how do you advise business

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owners to first map out their process? So there's some

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folks that are saying, well, how do I automate when

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I don't know or at least I don't have the

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best appreciation of my process.

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So what do you say to that? Yeah, Well, step

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one is to write out the existing process. Nice if

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you It's just like earlier in the show, I talked

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about how a business owner themselves have to log their

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activity for one week. Same thing here, except this time.

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What we're doing is we're logging the actual process as

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it is today and see where some of these tools

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that we're talking about to they can fit in and

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automate that process. And so it some of these tools

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that we're talking about, I'm repeating like calendly and utilizing

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that or Zapier, uh utilizing that, Active Campaigns utilizing that.

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So a lot of a lot of these tools are

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some of these tools are industry specific, Like I think

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I mentioned that there was a tool for the real

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estate industry, but uh, and and you can look at

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your individual industry and see what tools are available. But

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you'll be shocked at the minimum cost that it is

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to automate something that just saves an inordinate leverages time

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tremendously and saves an inordinate amount of time exactly.

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And Michael, just to pick up on that point, right,

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So you mentioned the a code technique, right, which they

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so if that if that's the season, right, so automation

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is a season, would you say the preseason is mapping out.

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Your process before you get to the automation.

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Yeah, you have, Oh, you have to do that, because

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what will happen is if you don't map out the

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existing process, you'll pick the wrong tools for automation and

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you'll be and you'll complicate the process instead of enhancing it.

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Great point, Michael, you out, very helpful. Thank you.

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Okay, So back to this HVAC company that automated their

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customer service while reducing their workload by sixty percent, and

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what they implemented, first of all, for customer communications, they

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implemented a tool called Service Titan. And what Service Titan

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did is an automated dispatch. It provided GPS tracking, digital invoicing,

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customer notifications and photo documentation. And those customer notifications was

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when they could when they were going to arrive. And

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then they use a tool called Podium for text message

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updates for reviewing requests from customers, payment processing, customer chatting,

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and team messaging. And then he connected these with active

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campaigns so they would be automated follow up sequences of email,

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maintenance reminders, seasonal promotions, customer surveys, and birthday greetings. So

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he was able to utilize active campaigns on an automated

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basis send happy birthday greetings. And here's exactly how the

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automation worked. When a customer called ring Central would root

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them to the right person, Service Titan would create the

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service ticket, the technician gets dispatched automatically. Customer receives texts

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text with the text photo and estimated time of arrival,

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and then a GPS tracking sends arrival alerts. So the

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GPS tracking gets sent to the customers so that they

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can track when when the tech will be there. Interesting

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during yeah, during service, actually during the actual mechanics of

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the work, the tech uses certain type Service Titan mobile

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app to document the problem with photos, create digital estimates,

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get approval signatures, process payments and schedule the follow up maintenance.

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And then after the service, the Podium app automatically requests

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reviews from customers. Active campaign sends out of satisfaction survey.

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Service Titan schedules the maintenance reminders and QuickBooks updates automatically

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through integration of all these tools. So the results was

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that the customer satisfaction jump from seventy two percent to

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ninety four percent and the team saved twenty five hours

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a week with a total technology cost of just under

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five hundred dollars per month, but revenue also increased by

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four thousand monthly because of the better efficiency. And just

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think about this too, the scheduling efficiency. When you're scheduling

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more officially, you're able to take on more jobs in

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the case of HRAC company. So now let me share

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an example using the same tools as time in a

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different industry. Trying to I'm trying to show and demonstrate

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how all these different industries there are tools available for

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them to use to be able to automate. So this

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is a dental practice and what they did they for

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front office automation. They used a tool called Curve Dental.

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And what Curve Dental did is it did patient scheduling,

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insurance verification, treatment planning, digital charting, and billing management. Then

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they use a tool called weave w eave where they

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were able to utilize two way texting, miss call texts, AP,

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pointer reminders, review management, and team chatting. Then they used

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a tool called local med. This was for online scheduling,

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insurance integration, treatment matching, and availability management along with a

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patient portal. Their patient retention increased by forty five percent

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and their staff said, twenty hours a week on administrative task. Yeah.

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And what ended up happening is their referrals doubled because

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the automation made patients feel more cared for. Got left.

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You might think the automation would be something that would

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make the patients feel less cared for, but in fact

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it turned out to be that they were more cared for,

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or at least they felt that way. Mhm. And let

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me show you what a restaurant did UH to improve

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the customer experience and how they automated it. And they

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used They transformed their entire operation using what they call

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the smart service stack. And here's what they implemented. For

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reservations and seating. They used open table, which is a

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common app included online reservations, table management, guest profiles, waitless

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control SMS notifications. They integrated that with a tool called

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Devin Rooms, which enhanced customer relationship management, automated the marketing,

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automated general marketing for the of the of the of

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the of the of the restaurant, and then special Occasion

334
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tracking v i P guest alerts so you could sign

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up for VP. You know, you'd have to pay a

336
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little bit more, but you have to you can sign

337
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up for VIP guest alerts and then preference logging and

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for order management, they used a tool called toast pos

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and in that tool was digital ordering, kitchen displays, a

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kitchen display system, inventory tracking, labor management, and real time reporting,

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and it was all connected to a tool called margin

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Edge which had recipe costing. This was kind of a

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back office tool had recipe costing, inventory control, vendor price tracking,

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purchase ordering, and waste management. And the system automatically sends

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reservation confirmations, alert staff about allergies and preferences, so customer

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allergies like glactose intolerance and differences you know they might

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want to add, had certain sides to their to their

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order and attract tracks table turnover, managed the pension timing

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and monitors food costs and this was all automated and

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the results were that the table turnover improved by thirty percent,

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food costs decreased by four percent, and labor costs dropped

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by eight percent because everything was more efficient, and their

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reviews improved because service became more consistent, and the perception

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was it was more personalized even though it was automated

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then and their total technology cost was about eight hundred

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a month, but they increased profit by five thousand a

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month through betterficient efficiency and increased table turns. So before

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we continue to the next segment and continue our discussion,

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we'd like to take this ninety second break. Business owners,

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00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:03.400
let me ask you something. Are you tied of blending

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00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:08.119
in with your competitors, frustrated with slow growth and slim margins. Well,

362
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I've got news for you. Everything you've ever learned about

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growing your business is wrong. But don't worry. I'm here

364
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to let you in on a secret weapon, your position

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00:26:18.839 --> 00:26:22.920
of market dominance. It's what sets you apart, makes you irreplaceable,

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00:26:23.319 --> 00:26:26.759
and has customers lining up at your door. My name

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00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:30.400
is Michael Babarrita from Next Step CFO. I know what

368
00:26:30.440 --> 00:26:33.759
you're thinking. Sounds great, Michael, But how do I find

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00:26:33.759 --> 00:26:37.400
my position of market dominance? Well, that's exactly why we've

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00:26:37.440 --> 00:26:41.279
created our game changing implementation program called Next Step to

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Market Dominance. In just ninety days, we'll guide you step

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by step to a position of market dominance by uncovering

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your unique strengths that competitors can't touch. By crafting a

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message that resonates deeply with your ideal customer by building

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00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:57.880
a strategy that turns you into the go to expert

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00:26:57.880 --> 00:27:01.680
in your field. Now this isn't their These are battle

377
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tests and strategies that have helped businesses like you as double,

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triple and quadruple their revenue. Don't let another quarter go

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by struggling to standout. It's time to dominate your market. Period.

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Go to NEXTSTEPCFO dot net forward slash contact. Fill out

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00:27:18.720 --> 00:27:21.720
the form and in the message section put the word

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dominate or call us at seven eight one three two

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00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:29.759
six three A two two. That's next STEPCFO dot net

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00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:33.400
forward slash contact or call us at seven eight one

385
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:39.440
three two six three A two two. So welcome back

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00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:42.240
to powerful business strategies. And if you're just joining us,

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we're talking about practical automation tools. And now I want

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00:27:47.359 --> 00:27:49.960
to show you what I call the profit automation stack.

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This is the exact tools that directly increases your bottom line.

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And so let me tell you about a guy named

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00:27:55.960 --> 00:28:01.240
Mike who runs a successful manufacturing company and he implemented

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this specific automation suite brilliant.

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00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:07.559
So yeah, yeah, we're to keep them in suspense before

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00:28:07.599 --> 00:28:11.640
we jump into that. It's interesting that you save all

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the best examples for people named Mike and Michael.

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00:28:14.079 --> 00:28:15.759
How about that? I know, how do you like that

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00:28:16.799 --> 00:28:19.400
the smartest people in the world and named Mike? I

398
00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:19.720
love it?

399
00:28:20.480 --> 00:28:23.160
Well, I don't know that.

400
00:28:23.759 --> 00:28:27.759
You go to some great insights here on these automation principles.

401
00:28:27.799 --> 00:28:31.279
You know, we've talked about mapping your existing process. We've

402
00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:35.359
talked about looking for technology solutions within your industry and

403
00:28:35.400 --> 00:28:39.400
making sure that they could sort of drive efficiencies that way.

404
00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:43.400
One of the questions, and this is from listeners, really

405
00:28:43.640 --> 00:28:47.400
coast to coast, this idea of cross industry applications.

406
00:28:47.400 --> 00:28:50.400
So you've touched on a number of different types of industries.

407
00:28:50.440 --> 00:28:54.759
Now here's a question. These automation principles would apply both

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00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:57.240
to products as well as the services.

409
00:28:57.279 --> 00:29:02.480
Correct, Yes, yes, Like you know, I'm about to talk

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00:29:02.480 --> 00:29:07.759
about a manufacturing company who manufactures products. So it definitely applies,

411
00:29:08.160 --> 00:29:10.960
no question. It applies to both, you know, it applies

412
00:29:11.000 --> 00:29:15.359
to anything to It applies to distribution. Uh, it applies

413
00:29:15.480 --> 00:29:23.359
to retail manufacturing service organizations. And at the near the

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00:29:23.440 --> 00:29:25.480
end of this segment or at the end of this

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00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:29.440
particular segment, I am going to try to summarize for

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00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:34.279
everyone what steps they should take if they're looking to automate.

417
00:29:34.920 --> 00:29:40.079
So yeah, we'll definitely get to that. But as I said,

418
00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:46.400
Mike runs a successful manufacturing company and he implemented this

419
00:29:46.440 --> 00:29:52.079
specific auto automation suite. So for the production management he

420
00:29:52.279 --> 00:29:56.319
did what he used a tool called fish Bowl Manufacturing,

421
00:29:56.440 --> 00:30:00.960
and what that did is it tracked inventory, It provided

422
00:30:01.000 --> 00:30:07.799
production scheduling, it provided material requirements planning sometimes called MRP,

423
00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:14.279
order management, and quality control. And he connected that system

424
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to a tool called sensor Tracks. And what sensor Tracks

425
00:30:22.519 --> 00:30:26.400
did is it did real time machine monitoring of the

426
00:30:26.599 --> 00:30:33.599
of the machine's use of production, production analysis, quality tracking,

427
00:30:34.519 --> 00:30:40.559
downtime analysis, and maintenance alerts. And for the supply chain

428
00:30:41.240 --> 00:30:45.240
component of his business, he used a tool called Trade GetUp.

429
00:30:46.359 --> 00:30:51.160
And what that did is it automated the purchasing, the

430
00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:55.680
supplier management. This is more of an inventory receipt type

431
00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:03.400
of program, reorder points, price track and multi warehouse management.

432
00:31:03.440 --> 00:31:07.720
And this was all integrated with QuickBooks for automated invoicing,

433
00:31:07.839 --> 00:31:12.680
cost tracking, financial reporting, payroll processing, and vendor payments. And

434
00:31:12.880 --> 00:31:17.720
here's how the automation worked in practice. So when inventory

435
00:31:18.279 --> 00:31:23.279
hits a reorder point, the trade Gecko app automatically generates

436
00:31:23.279 --> 00:31:29.759
a purchase order, compares supplier prices, sends orders to approved vendors,

437
00:31:30.480 --> 00:31:35.799
updates accounting in QuickBooks, and tracks shipping status. For production,

438
00:31:36.480 --> 00:31:42.480
that sensor tracks app monitors machines in real time, alerts

439
00:31:42.559 --> 00:31:47.039
maintenance before breakdowns, so when things are starting to go slower,

440
00:31:47.359 --> 00:31:52.119
it alerts maintenance, tracts production speeds. That's how it knows

441
00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:55.759
to notify maintenance if those production speeds start to reduce.

442
00:31:56.759 --> 00:32:03.559
Monitor quality metrics, reports efficiency data and predicts maintenance needs.

443
00:32:04.799 --> 00:32:12.000
And then fish Fowl automatically schedules production runs, allocates materials,

444
00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:17.480
updates the inventory, tracks labor costs, and calculates actual versus

445
00:32:17.559 --> 00:32:24.039
standard cost for variance reporting. And the results were that

446
00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:28.759
inventory costs dropped by forty percent, production efficiency increased by

447
00:32:28.759 --> 00:32:32.000
thirty five percent, and profit margins gruba twenty five percent.

448
00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:36.279
And the total technology investment was about twelve hundred dollars

449
00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:39.519
per month, but they saved over fifteen grand monthly in

450
00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:46.920
reduced waste and improved efficiency. So once again that A

451
00:32:47.079 --> 00:32:50.680
and A co. This is what this show is about.

452
00:32:51.079 --> 00:32:56.839
It's automating your processes and understand naming some tools that

453
00:32:56.880 --> 00:32:59.200
are out there for some of the business owners. Obviously

454
00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:02.200
not everybody, but I mean, and some of the tools

455
00:33:02.200 --> 00:33:05.039
are as generic as quick books. Some of the tools

456
00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:07.960
are as generic as Zapier. Some of the tools are

457
00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:09.960
as generic as active campaigns.

458
00:33:10.559 --> 00:33:11.519
It's really interesting.

459
00:33:11.720 --> 00:33:14.079
And Michael, let's pause, gonna say just a couple of

460
00:33:14.279 --> 00:33:16.720
questions exactly to your point.

461
00:33:16.519 --> 00:33:18.200
About the different tools that you're naming.

462
00:33:18.279 --> 00:33:21.839
So one of the questions that's come up is should

463
00:33:21.920 --> 00:33:25.960
the business owner demo the solution the tool before they

464
00:33:26.039 --> 00:33:28.559
implement it, and if so, how would you advise a

465
00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:31.480
business owner to approach that sort of demo exercise.

466
00:33:33.039 --> 00:33:38.680
Well, I one thing I wouldn't do is buy all

467
00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:39.799
the tools at once.

468
00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:40.640
Ah.

469
00:33:41.039 --> 00:33:42.880
Interesting, Yeah, I would.

470
00:33:42.920 --> 00:33:47.119
I would buy them one at a time to test them. Uh.

471
00:33:47.160 --> 00:33:50.720
That way, Uh, you know, you've got one process automated

472
00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:55.799
before you integrate the second process. It's very proctical. Now

473
00:33:55.839 --> 00:33:59.039
the sale, the salespeople will tell yourself the different of course,

474
00:33:59.319 --> 00:34:04.279
you know. Yeah, but but because you know, if you

475
00:34:04.319 --> 00:34:10.159
can negotiate demos of which uh you know, the trial periods,

476
00:34:10.159 --> 00:34:14.519
it's really cool, then you'll be in better stead. And

477
00:34:14.599 --> 00:34:17.880
then i'd be I would recommend to you know, to

478
00:34:17.920 --> 00:34:19.960
get them all at once. You're able to at that

479
00:34:20.039 --> 00:34:25.679
point because you know, you're you're demoing everything and you're

480
00:34:25.719 --> 00:34:28.159
you're not paying for it, or at least you're not

481
00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:31.320
committed to pay for it exactly. That would be a

482
00:34:31.360 --> 00:34:35.119
great that would be a great negotiation tool. But if

483
00:34:35.320 --> 00:34:38.400
barring that, because some of them don't do that, barring that,

484
00:34:38.559 --> 00:34:42.000
I would try one tool at a time, get that working,

485
00:34:42.239 --> 00:34:44.400
then go work on the next.

486
00:34:43.440 --> 00:34:46.480
And the next one, and then last question just uh,

487
00:34:46.599 --> 00:34:48.519
you know, in this sort of phase of the show,

488
00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:53.519
again based on feedback from business owners, this idea of

489
00:34:53.800 --> 00:34:55.119
calculating ROY.

490
00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:57.960
So, in all the examples that you've discussed, Michael, you've

491
00:34:58.000 --> 00:35:02.280
had an ROY calculate. Does the business owner as part

492
00:35:02.280 --> 00:35:05.440
of the trial period maybe or maybe as they sort

493
00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:09.920
of onboard their team on a new solution, how should

494
00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:13.360
they think of approaching the ROI return and investment calculation?

495
00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:18.440
Well, number one, they should understand what their standard labor

496
00:35:18.480 --> 00:35:20.719
cost is, you know, in other words, to average labor costs.

497
00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:24.400
I shouldn't say good, but average labor costs. So if

498
00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:29.000
they know what that is and they're able, they should

499
00:35:29.039 --> 00:35:31.440
be able to track and their employees can give them

500
00:35:31.440 --> 00:35:35.079
feedback of how much time savings that they've had as

501
00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:39.679
a result of this. Now some of that and the

502
00:35:39.719 --> 00:35:43.639
efficiency savings. You know, what happens is is that once

503
00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:46.519
these systems are implemented, you need to kind of have

504
00:35:47.239 --> 00:35:50.199
you know, weekly meet staff meetings to be able to

505
00:35:50.320 --> 00:35:53.639
understand what are the problems with the implementation, to understand

506
00:35:53.639 --> 00:35:57.679
where the benefits do you see the benefits are the

507
00:35:57.800 --> 00:36:01.079
what are Sometimes there's downside. You know, there's certain employees

508
00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:03.639
that will say, you know this, this pot is taking

509
00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:06.920
me longer. Well, that has to be that has to

510
00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:11.880
be straightened out obviously. So, Uh, it's it's it's never

511
00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:15.280
any I'll say this, it's never. I don't care what

512
00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:19.760
systems you're implementing, what automation you're implementing. It's never fun

513
00:36:20.199 --> 00:36:24.840
the first couple of weeks. Never, yeah, never, it's it's

514
00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:31.079
it's really hard on the business to implement these things.

515
00:36:31.119 --> 00:36:35.800
You know. Uh, sometimes it pays to come in a

516
00:36:35.800 --> 00:36:39.960
little earlier when on these implement days and have the

517
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:42.400
staff come in and pay the overtime and all that,

518
00:36:42.480 --> 00:36:46.599
because uh, it will get them. Uh they'll look they'll

519
00:36:46.639 --> 00:36:49.000
be slower the first the first couple of weeks, there's

520
00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:50.760
no question about it, because they're getting used to the

521
00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:58.039
systematic pot of the automation. But over time, there's nothing

522
00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:01.599
like it, and you're going to bite the bullet. And

523
00:37:02.760 --> 00:37:06.440
you know, anytime I have recommended systems like this to clients,

524
00:37:07.039 --> 00:37:12.960
I definitely get cursed on the first three or four weeks,

525
00:37:13.840 --> 00:37:17.039
There's no question about it. When after that they see

526
00:37:17.039 --> 00:37:21.679
the benefit. And in curms of taculating calculating ROI, you

527
00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:25.559
have to consider all the time savings. You have to

528
00:37:25.559 --> 00:37:30.679
consider the opportunity cost the opportunity benefits. Actually, because what

529
00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:32.800
did you do with that extra time? Did you turn

530
00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:35.639
over more volume In the case of the restaurant, the

531
00:37:35.679 --> 00:37:38.840
case of the restaurant, that's exactly what happened, they turned

532
00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:41.920
over more volume. In the case of the manufacturing company,

533
00:37:42.239 --> 00:37:46.280
they ended up producing more in a shorter period of time.

534
00:37:47.519 --> 00:37:53.960
So these all these benefits have to be calculated in

535
00:37:54.079 --> 00:37:59.039
terms of determining return on investment. I wish that formula

536
00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:01.760
was simple, but this things like opportunity costs. That makes

537
00:38:01.800 --> 00:38:03.039
it a little bit more subjective.

538
00:38:03.559 --> 00:38:06.440
Correct. Yeah, I very helpful context Michael, thank you.

539
00:38:07.800 --> 00:38:11.119
So let me show you another example using simpler tools

540
00:38:11.199 --> 00:38:13.719
for a smaller business. So here's what a retail store

541
00:38:13.719 --> 00:38:19.360
did so. For inventory, they used shopify pos It had

542
00:38:19.440 --> 00:38:25.760
sales tracking, inventory management, customer profiles, staff performance and that

543
00:38:25.920 --> 00:38:30.679
sales staff performance and multilocation control. And it connected to

544
00:38:30.800 --> 00:38:37.559
a tool called switch Labs which was automated reordering, demand forecasting,

545
00:38:38.280 --> 00:38:42.840
channel management, purchase order verification, or i should say automation,

546
00:38:43.440 --> 00:38:48.360
purchase order automation, and vendor management. For marketing, they plugged

547
00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:53.920
in a tool called Klavio. I've never been able to

548
00:38:53.920 --> 00:38:56.079
pronounce that. My couple of my clients have their tool,

549
00:38:56.079 --> 00:38:58.320
and of course I can't pronounce it right, but it's

550
00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:04.880
klav I yo. And it automated the email campaigns customers.

551
00:39:05.199 --> 00:39:11.039
It provided customer segmentation between different groups of customers. It

552
00:39:11.280 --> 00:39:20.000
also identified where there was abandoned carts, product recommendations and

553
00:39:20.119 --> 00:39:26.800
purchase analysis. And so let me show you something also

554
00:39:26.880 --> 00:39:31.239
about some more profit automation tools. For a landscaping company

555
00:39:31.239 --> 00:39:36.280
that completely automated their operation using the Field Service Office

556
00:39:36.480 --> 00:39:40.639
Automation stack. And here's exactly what they implemented. So for

557
00:39:40.800 --> 00:39:45.000
job management, they used a tool called jobber. By the way,

558
00:39:45.280 --> 00:39:52.079
Klientoman just started using loves it. He integrated with company Cam,

559
00:39:52.480 --> 00:39:57.679
another tool that was integrated into jobber and Company Camp

560
00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:02.480
was able to by the way job job Tracker a

561
00:40:02.599 --> 00:40:09.559
jobber o't sorry. Jober provided root optimization, GPS tracking, digital quotes, scheduling,

562
00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:13.800
and time tracking. It also doestimates, also does estinates, by

563
00:40:13.800 --> 00:40:16.079
the way, I know that from personal experience, and it

564
00:40:16.119 --> 00:40:20.360
was integrated with company cam, which was before and after

565
00:40:20.440 --> 00:40:23.199
photos of the of the UH of the job, which

566
00:40:23.199 --> 00:40:29.519
is unbelievable, project documentation, team communication and client updates along

567
00:40:29.519 --> 00:40:32.800
with quality control. And for equipment management, they use a

568
00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:38.079
tool called manager Plus which was maintenance scheduling, equipment tracking,

569
00:40:38.519 --> 00:40:43.679
cost monitoring, service history, and parts inventory. And then that

570
00:40:43.840 --> 00:40:48.440
was all connected to a tool called fleet Shop, which

571
00:40:48.480 --> 00:40:52.559
is a GPS system for real time vehicle tracking, fuel monitoring,

572
00:40:52.679 --> 00:40:59.920
driver behavior, route optimization, and service verification. Once again he

573
00:41:00.159 --> 00:41:05.039
had the total technology cost was about five hundred dollars,

574
00:41:05.079 --> 00:41:08.440
but they saved about three thousand dollars in operational costs

575
00:41:08.800 --> 00:41:13.480
and increased revenue by eight thousand dollars through better efficiency.

576
00:41:14.639 --> 00:41:17.639
And most importantly, all these tools paid for themselves in

577
00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:23.239
the first month through fuel savings alone. And so let

578
00:41:23.239 --> 00:41:25.400
me so let me explain exactly. At the beginning of

579
00:41:25.400 --> 00:41:29.119
the show, I talked about smart automation systems and Automation

580
00:41:29.320 --> 00:41:33.519
Advance and the Automation Advantage formula. And these are frameworks,

581
00:41:34.760 --> 00:41:36.519
like I said I talked about at the top of

582
00:41:36.519 --> 00:41:40.159
the show that make all these tools work together effectively.

583
00:41:41.280 --> 00:41:45.920
So what I mean by SMOT system automation that has

584
00:41:46.119 --> 00:41:50.920
four key components. The components are trigger points and I'll

585
00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:58.519
go through those action sequences, checkpoints, and completion loops. So

586
00:41:58.559 --> 00:42:03.519
the trigger points AREFIC events that's stock and an automated process.

587
00:42:03.559 --> 00:42:06.679
For example, this is what I was talking about earlier

588
00:42:06.719 --> 00:42:11.440
and identifying your current system. You know, a new leads fill,

589
00:42:11.719 --> 00:42:14.679
a new lead fills out a form, a customer books

590
00:42:14.679 --> 00:42:20.519
and appointment, inventory hits reorder levels, a project miles, reaches

591
00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:23.719
a milestone, and a payment becomes due. These are all

592
00:42:23.760 --> 00:42:29.920
trigger points and specific events. That's STOT an automation process.

593
00:42:29.960 --> 00:42:33.960
So can get your thinking right. You know, the somebody

594
00:42:34.000 --> 00:42:37.599
has to fill out the lead form, the customer, the

595
00:42:37.639 --> 00:42:40.519
customer books and a point that all can get automated.

596
00:42:40.559 --> 00:42:44.719
But those are these are the trigger points action sequences.

597
00:42:44.760 --> 00:42:50.280
So each trigger initiates a series of automated actions using

598
00:42:50.360 --> 00:42:54.920
specific tools. Calendly schedules, the appointment active campaign sends the

599
00:42:54.920 --> 00:42:59.599
confirmation's APR, updates the CRM, quick books, generates an invoice,

600
00:42:59.599 --> 00:43:04.119
slack motifies the team. So there's the trigger points and

601
00:43:04.159 --> 00:43:07.199
then the action sequences for each of the trigger points.

602
00:43:08.440 --> 00:43:12.880
Then there's the checkpoint. These add verification points where the

603
00:43:12.920 --> 00:43:18.639
system either continues the automation flags for human review, triggers

604
00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:26.519
alternate sequences, updates relevant databases, and generates status reports. And

605
00:43:26.559 --> 00:43:31.679
then these completion loops. This is the fourth phase. These

606
00:43:31.800 --> 00:43:34.639
ensuring nothing falls through the cracks by confirming all these

607
00:43:34.639 --> 00:43:40.159
steps are completed, updating all connected systems, notifying relevant team members,

608
00:43:40.599 --> 00:43:46.599
documenting the process, and starting follow up sequences. So that

609
00:43:47.039 --> 00:43:52.840
system right. This helps the business owner understand how to

610
00:43:52.920 --> 00:43:58.199
go about the automation. It's called smart systems automation. Then

611
00:43:58.199 --> 00:44:04.000
there's this other tool called automation, the automation advantage formula,

612
00:44:05.039 --> 00:44:08.360
and this is how you decide how to automate. From

613
00:44:08.360 --> 00:44:16.239
the first place, the time impact multiplied times frequency times

614
00:44:16.400 --> 00:44:20.159
an error rate gives you an automation priority score. So

615
00:44:20.239 --> 00:44:23.239
for each task, you rate on a scale of one

616
00:44:23.239 --> 00:44:27.239
to five. Time impact how long did the process take

617
00:44:28.159 --> 00:44:34.760
on a manual basis two frequency how often does it happen, three,

618
00:44:35.400 --> 00:44:39.880
error rate, how often mistakes occur, and the highest score

619
00:44:40.400 --> 00:44:47.239
indicates your first automation target. So, for example, your appointment scheduling,

620
00:44:48.920 --> 00:44:51.960
your time impact was four on a scale of one

621
00:44:51.960 --> 00:44:57.719
to five, your frequency was five, and your error rate

622
00:44:57.880 --> 00:45:03.039
was three. That equals six state, So appointment scheduling, that's

623
00:45:03.079 --> 00:45:06.760
pretty high score. So appointment scheduling would be one of

624
00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:10.679
the first things that you automate, and so this formula

625
00:45:10.840 --> 00:45:14.800
helped you identify where automation will have the biggest immediate

626
00:45:14.880 --> 00:45:20.920
impact on your business. Schookey, I think it's time for compliments.

627
00:45:20.960 --> 00:45:27.519
Great really energized by the business complements segment today. So

628
00:45:27.559 --> 00:45:30.760
we have four business owners coast to coast that we

629
00:45:30.800 --> 00:45:31.599
want to spotlight.

630
00:45:31.679 --> 00:45:35.039
The first is Zach Ping with Icon Roofing.

631
00:45:35.960 --> 00:45:40.639
Zachpin created Icon Roofing after working for other roofing contractors

632
00:45:40.840 --> 00:45:44.800
in the Metro Phoenix area for ten years, so a

633
00:45:44.840 --> 00:45:48.039
decade of experience, and then he leveraged that and realized

634
00:45:48.079 --> 00:45:52.280
that there's just a better way to serve customers looking

635
00:45:52.320 --> 00:45:57.559
for roofing company services, particularly to have those services be professional.

636
00:45:57.599 --> 00:46:00.440
So he developed the Icon Way, which is a customer

637
00:46:00.559 --> 00:46:04.840
centric way to repair and replace roofs and it ensures

638
00:46:05.440 --> 00:46:14.480
every project includes four principles competitive pricing, quality materials, a

639
00:46:14.599 --> 00:46:20.159
satisfaction guarantee and warranties on materials and craftsmanship. So you

640
00:46:20.199 --> 00:46:25.480
can check out more at icon roofing az dot com.

641
00:46:26.000 --> 00:46:26.800
Please note that.

642
00:46:26.719 --> 00:46:32.119
They are a g AF Master Elite Certified roof and contractor.

643
00:46:32.159 --> 00:46:36.639
The next business owners Spotlight is Mark Rodgers with Frame Destination.

644
00:46:36.840 --> 00:46:43.480
They are a leading online custom picture frame supply an

645
00:46:43.480 --> 00:46:49.800
accessories retail manufacturer, so it's an end to end commitment

646
00:46:49.960 --> 00:46:53.320
to your picture frame.

647
00:46:53.440 --> 00:46:56.000
Needs and part of what they do, it's kind of

648
00:46:56.000 --> 00:46:57.719
interested in Michael Market Team.

649
00:46:58.679 --> 00:47:02.719
They help photographers, painters and graphic designers get their printed

650
00:47:02.800 --> 00:47:07.440
images framed to really showcase their talents. You can check

651
00:47:07.440 --> 00:47:11.599
out more at frame Destination dot com. The next business

652
00:47:11.599 --> 00:47:15.599
owner is Alena Zerpa. She's a founder and CEO of

653
00:47:15.840 --> 00:47:19.639
a t Z social agency and Michael. They are in

654
00:47:19.719 --> 00:47:22.679
a mission right they aren't a mission to weave together

655
00:47:22.800 --> 00:47:27.719
compelling narratives for businesses and brands and then establish not

656
00:47:28.159 --> 00:47:34.760
just customers, but to establish customers for life with an

657
00:47:34.800 --> 00:47:40.079
authentic online experience. So you sort of create this online

658
00:47:40.119 --> 00:47:43.199
family as it relates to your customers and your clients

659
00:47:43.320 --> 00:47:44.559
and Alena and team can.

660
00:47:44.480 --> 00:47:44.880
Help with that.

661
00:47:44.960 --> 00:47:47.719
And then the last business owners of Spotlight in today's

662
00:47:47.719 --> 00:47:53.400
segment is Eric Zapata with HTx Junkoholics. They are a

663
00:47:53.440 --> 00:47:57.400
small business junk yard removal company based in Texas. And

664
00:47:57.440 --> 00:48:01.000
here's what customers love about Eric and team that they

665
00:48:01.039 --> 00:48:06.079
can reach out to Erican team for safety and efficiency

666
00:48:06.679 --> 00:48:12.039
in completing projects in a fast paced way. And again, look,

667
00:48:12.119 --> 00:48:15.000
junk removal is hard work, right and Eric and team

668
00:48:15.239 --> 00:48:18.199
approach that work with a service mindset and they are

669
00:48:18.239 --> 00:48:22.280
locally owned and fully insured. Those are the compliments for

670
00:48:22.320 --> 00:48:23.519
this weeek Michael back to you.

671
00:48:24.199 --> 00:48:28.159
Excellent, Thank you, Chicky, appreciate that. Just want to review

672
00:48:28.199 --> 00:48:33.440
again that automated advantage formula before we leave. Yes, once again,

673
00:48:33.519 --> 00:48:36.559
it's how you decide what to automate first. So you

674
00:48:36.599 --> 00:48:40.960
have time impact, times frequency times error rate and that

675
00:48:41.039 --> 00:48:45.199
equals your automation priority score. So this is the determination

676
00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:48.159
of what you automate first. And so for each task

677
00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:54.079
for time impact, frequency and error rate, it's a one

678
00:48:54.119 --> 00:48:59.320
to five scale where for example, on time impact one

679
00:48:59.719 --> 00:49:04.320
means you do it very fast, where five means it's exceeding.

680
00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:10.639
It's it's exceedingly slow. So that and then frequency how

681
00:49:10.679 --> 00:49:13.320
often it happens. If it doesn't happen that very often,

682
00:49:13.360 --> 00:49:17.360
it's a one. But if it happens a lot, then

683
00:49:17.400 --> 00:49:20.400
you give it a five. So once again, when you

684
00:49:20.480 --> 00:49:25.199
multiply out those three scores, the higher score represents whay

685
00:49:25.280 --> 00:49:30.679
you automate first. And so to get a copy of

686
00:49:30.719 --> 00:49:34.280
the book Powerful Business Strategies, simply go to our website

687
00:49:34.320 --> 00:49:40.000
www dot NeXTSTEP CFO dot net. It's totally complementary and

688
00:49:40.119 --> 00:49:43.480
until next Monday at noon Eastern time for Chicky Obio.

689
00:49:43.679 --> 00:49:47.039
My name is Michael Barbarita, and remember, don't keep doing

690
00:49:47.519 --> 00:49:49.679
what your competition is doing.

691
00:49:51.519 --> 00:49:54.599
You have been listening to Powerful Business Strategies finding out

692
00:49:54.639 --> 00:49:58.280
that everything you ever learned about growing your business is wrong.

693
00:49:58.599 --> 00:50:01.800
Tune in next week and every week at noon Eastern

694
00:50:01.840 --> 00:50:04.760
time on W four c Y Radio with your host,

695
00:50:04.960 --> 00:50:09.960
Michael Barbarita of Next Step CFO and moderator Chugy Obio