Communication is the key to a successful, long-lasting business. The link between your sales and production teams can mean the difference between profit and loss per job. Even if your business is a two-man show or consists of several teams, use these tips to deliver on your customers’ wishes.
Takeaways
- Effective techniques for open communication between teams
- How to use customer feedback
- Using technology for your production process
Project turnover meeting
A project turnover meeting is used to hand over a project from the sales and estimation teams to the production team. It’s something company’s can do to get all of the parts of their company to discuss and agree on next steps for a project. These meetings will consist of the sales person, the estimator, the project lead, the production manager, and/or the office manager. The purpose of the meeting is to go over budget, job specs, plans, and schedules. Everyone who attends the meeting should walk away with a clear understanding of expectations and action items. There should be a clear path for the project to be completed to avoid any confusion.
Weekly internal and customer meetings
As your projects move along, you should have consistent meetings. Some choose once or twice a week for their production meetings. In these meetings, people should walk away with an understanding of what is needed for their projects that week.
Also, keeping your customers engaged throughout the production process will help prevent any surprises on their end and decrease the need for change orders or costly interruptions. Lead consistent meetings with your customers to discuss their feelings and show them progress.
Customer surveys and debriefs
Every job should finish with a customer survey. Gather information on how they felt about the production process and how they feel about the completed job. If they are happy with your work, ask for a referral. Share your custom Hearth financing link so they can send it to their friends.
Use the information you collected to inform your project debrief meeting. Get everyone involved again (sales, production, and admin), and discuss the survey results. Also, open the floor to honest feedback and conversations about how the project went and how the company can improve.
Production software
The best way to stay connected on projects in real time is cloud-based production software. This software helps you add sketches, picture, and notes about your project throughout your day. People across the company can see how the project is coming along and add feedback if needed.
The key to long term success and building the company culture that gets things done relies on communication and collaboration. Get your teams on board with big ideas and tough projects by showing them that they will be heard and that they will feel like they’re part of the process.
