Be Intentional When it Comes to Choosing Third-Party Integrations

From marketing in the trades to blazing a trail of software consulting, Jenny Benbrook and the team at Powerhouse Consulting Group are intimately familiar with a contractor’s side of the business, as well as the struggles they may face in choosing software and technology. The growth of technology in the home services industry is rapid, and contractors can easily become overwhelmed or confused, even rushed into purchasing tech that sounds great on the surface, but may not be a good fit for their business. 

Powerhouse co-founder and CEO Jenny Benbrook spoke recently with David Brooks on the Blueprint Boost for Contractors Podcast to discuss building a tech stack that works for your home services business. Listen to the full episode here!

With the full workload of owning and operating a business, managing and creating workflows for new tech can be a second (or third!) full-time job. Powerhouse Consulting Group exists to assist with this portion of your business, and to help choose technology that will help your business run more efficiently.

When you adopt technology, you likely have goals in mind.

• How can I streamline my processes?
• How can I lean more on tools or automation, allowing my people to produce revenue?

Seldom do contractors have an intentional plan as to what technology they need, how they will implement or use it, how it will fit in their budget, and whether or not it makes sense for the stage of business they’re in. These key questions are what PCG helps shed light on.

Fully Understand Your FSM Before Turning to External Solutions

To remain competitive today, contractors need a Field Service Management Software (FSM.) Luckily, there’s an FSM for everyone. However, there are all sorts of other tools to integrate into your FSM and enhance your business. 

“Start with your foundation,” says Benbrook. “Understand what your FSM can do for you. Does it meet your current business needs? Are you aware of all applications or configurations the software offers?”  

Before looking externally, understand what you’re paying for. 

“Fill the gaps from there,” Benbrook says. “Have a thoughtful, intentional plan.”

Think about how you’ll implement and manage the external solution. Powerhouse can help provide that level of education. Once you have a tool in place, train your team how to use it. 

That’s just the beginning. Now, what do you do with the data? When you have a new FSM in place, you’re likely tracking your calls within the platform, you have a dispatch board set up, and memberships set up. While wonderful, are you managing and understanding data? 

Get Your Team’s Buy-In on New Tech Solutions

Benbrook says it’s one thing to implement tech, but the next hurdle is understanding how to use it at the management or admin level. 

Best practice: get your team’s buy-in. 

Benbrook says there’s nothing worse than an owner-operator coming back to the office after an event, having signed up for all these tools and services, and saying to the team “here, implement this,” without first getting their team’s buy-in. Your team may not fully understand the value the tool provides, or what’s in it for them. [Check out this FREE doc: So You Went to a Conference – a PCG Guide for a step-by-step plan!] You need your users, who will be utilizing these tools daily, on board in order to make implementation successful. Have a plan!

Trust Your Data, Measure Your Results

Measure your ROI by understanding and trusting your data. Software adoption commonly fails if you do not have thoughtful training plans or documented processes and workflows. 

“That is the importance of fractional tech support services,” says Benbrook. “The niche industry we’ve carved out and built is understanding a contractor’s limitations and offering expert-level guidance, so they can make decisions based on data being fed to them that they can trust.”

When thinking about implementing and making sure the full team is brought in, create checks and balances, understand the metrics you want to focus on. Build reports to procure data. The data from within your platform will show you what’s happening, and reveal areas in need of more training. Know your markers, watch for variances, and understand where to get that data via custom reports, dashboards, and other tools.

With so many tech stacks out there, the need is understanding what combo of tools is appropriate for a contractor’s business. According to Benbrook, the wild increase in tech solutions is very new to our industry. FSMs have been around for quite some time, but in the last 2-3 years we have seen an explosion in third party tech integration solutions. 

“We see contractors get overwhelmed, confused, and frustrated with all options,” says Benbrook. “Every day, there’s another message on social media saying ‘hey, sign up and 10x your revenue,’ or information from your peers, or even your competitors. Contractors being bombarded with solutions sign up without having a plan, and without understanding what they already have access to in their primary FSM.”

Turn to External Professionals When the Time is Right

Powerhouse Consulting Group has developed a service that vets and audits a contractor’s tech stack, and determines what’s needed/not needed according to their current business and goals. We can then recommend a more appropriate tech stack to optimize the company and its investments by cutting redundancies, wasted spend, and overall confusion of what they’re using, how they’re using it, and why. 

“Perceived efficiency” commonly happens in our industry, says Benbrook. The thought is, “when I sign up for this tool, it’s going to fix something.”

“Not to say it won’t, because the technology that’s entering the space is phenomenal and impressive,” says Benbrook. “But, the solutions that’re available to contractors require an intentional plan, hard work, and management to get the most out of the tools. They’re not plug and play. Assuming they are is leading us to a state of overwhelm.” 

To gradually build an effective tech stack – start with your FSM. For the most part, they provide all-in-one solutions. Some of the software doesn’t have ALL the bells and whistles. Start with an FSM that makes sense for your business, and grow with it. Understand the resources available to you. Be intentional about meeting with support that your FSM provides. Once you grow, consider outsourcing your tech management to a professional services company, like Powerhouse Consulting Group, who has the full expertise and visibility into the tech that’s available in the market, how to implement it into your business, grow with it, and leverage the data. 

Powerhouse Consulting Group Can Help

Ready to really leverage your tech? Powerhouse Consulting Group has built a Contractor Resource Planning™️initiative to guide you through your tech-selection process. Want to learn more? Schedule a free Discovery Call today!