Working in the restoration business requires you to build and maintain many relationships, not only with your customer but with their insurance agents as well. Communication is an essential part of this relationship, and it’s par for the course to oversee the progress of multiple jobs simultaneously that all...
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In the restoration business, you know what to do when the water rises and flooding occurs. Are you just as comfortable handling the rise of data flooding your networks? This data deluge requires a specialized approach to understand its full potential—and that’s where business intelligence tools can help.
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The sheer volume of disaster restoration work available after a catastrophic loss event is an enticing prospect, but it's not an easy undertaking—roughly half of the contractors who participated in CAT events say they wish they never had.
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Insurance carriers need your services as much as you need their referrals, so learning how best to work with insurance carriers is vital.
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No matter whether water damage has affected walls, flooring, or other structural assets, there’s a powerful mitigation method that delivers rapid results: drying chambers.
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Hurricanes and other natural disasters are intensifying every year. How can restoration companies make sure their CAT planning is up to the challenge?
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Standalone equipment tracking software is one more complication in an already complicated industry. DASH has a built-in equipment tracking solution that keeps tabs on your entire inventory.
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There are many moving pieces for all disaster restoration projects, which means people can drop the ball, and communication can suffer at every turn. When communication falters, it causes unnecessary problems and stress for you, your staff, and partners, and most importantly, your customers. One of the best ways...
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Here's why a restoration business code of conduct is essential for keeping your customers satisfied and keeping you on point with your long-term goals.
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To our Next Gear Solutions customers, Today, we’re excited to share that we’re joining forces with CoreLogic. Read the press release here. Since day one, Next Gear Solutions has been committed to transforming the way property insurers and contractors collaborate to drive better outcomes for those experiencing a property...
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Whether you're taking notes or entering information into an Excel spreadsheet, there's always room for errors that could cost your restoration business time and money.
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It’s almost cliché to say that a good business should be transparent with its customers, but what does that mean? What good is transparency? And what transparency is good?
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Every industry has a constriction point where one unfortunate event is all it takes to grind everything to a halt. What’s your bottleneck?
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When Adobe Flash went dark after years of warning, many organizations were caught off guard; it's a cautionary tale for any company that relies on an interdependent tech stack.
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Let’s look at four common challenges that nearly every company in the restoration industry faces, and what business owners like you can do about them.
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It was a little more than four months ago that I first wrote about Next Gear’s response to what was then an emerging COVID-19 pandemic. While much of it is every bit as true today, we’ve refined many of our policies and made further improvements to our operations.
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We live in an age where we can track our pizza deliveries with an app, get notified the moment a package arrives on our doorstep, and know at the glance of a smartphone whether each door and window in our home is secure. Is it any wonder that our...
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The key to successfully using restoration KPIs is developing a clear workflow and process that your team can easily follow, the same way, every time.
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“Are you a disaster restoration contractor?” – Check. “Do you want to deliver more jobs on time, on budget?” – Check. Check. “Do you want to improve your bottom line?” – Check. As a restoration contractor, you have a lot on your plate, and some days it seems impossible...
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After a long day of sales calls, solving customers’ problems, and supporting the field, it’s not surprising that your sales team adopts some bad habits. It’s not just your restoration business—as a whole, the restoration industry has instilled some bad habits into its salespeople. However, that doesn’t mean you...
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Do you want more sales? Who doesn’t?! Whether you’re a restoration contractor building your business through Third-Party Administrators (TPAs), direct referral business from adjusters, strong agency relationships, or by attacking the commercial market, you need the right tools to drive sales to maximize growth and success. Often overlooked when...
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Why Employee Accountability Matters Employee accountability can be a difficult subject to talk about, even though it’s the key to employee engagement. In fact, some studies show that employee engagement levels have sunk to thirteen percent, apathy is prevalent, and job-hopping is increasingly the norm. We’ve all been there...
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In the restoration business, it’s easy to get stuck in your ways and continue to do what you do because that’s how you’ve always done it. This leads to complacency, which can be the mark of death for all business owners and entrepreneurs. Complacent leadership affects your ability to...
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If you are like most business owners, you are interested in growing your business and increasing revenues. But scaling your business can be a daunting task, and many business owners try and fail simply because they don’t have a clear vision or the proper tools in place to make...
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You work hard. You have to. That’s the restoration industry. People are counting on you. You’re in business to keep other people in business. But you’re also in business to increase your bottom line. It’s the profit that keeps the lights on, food on the table, and enables you...
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It’s the beginning of a new year, and for many people that means setting resolutions, making goals and expecting change. As a small business owner, you may already have a few ideas of where you’d like to see improvement in your business. Whatever your goals and desired changes, if...
Read moreAs a new year approaches, some business owners and their teams will come together to forecast, strategize and map out their company’s plan for growth. Done properly, this planning can be highly effective in setting the course toward increased sales and stronger returns. However, planning meetings conducted incorrectly will...
Read moreAdopting technology or introducing technological change into your restoration company presents a set of challenges that can’t be ignored. It’s easy to get excited about all of the ways innovations in technology can streamline productivity and organize information, not to mention save time and money. However, getting everybody on...
Read moreAs more and more businesses embrace digital solutions to promote productivity and mobility, data security is a growing concern. News of major data breaches are unfortunately all too common today, and making sure your business has the right protocols and protections in place will help protect your sensitive customer...
Read moreAs a restoration company, providing unparalleled customer service is a crucial component of restoring your client’s lives after the loss and destruction of their home or business. In order to provide that level of customer service to your customer, the job management software you use should come with an...
Read moreWe all want to bring more business through the proverbial “front” door and see our profits grow from one year to the next. But the truth remains that most business owners and managers execute on half-baked sales strategies based on their own marketing experience, their own tolerance to risk...
Read moreWhat can you be doing to improve efficiency?
Read moreThe heightened need for insurance compliance has pushed restoration contractors to become more transparent than ever before. In this hyper connected society, consumers are ever more discerning and skeptical about companies. This expectation for transparency has gone beyond the social realm and is embedded in businesses across all industries....
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When a disaster strikes, Restoration Contractors need to be ready. While others run from disaster zones, Restoration Contractors run toward the devastation. Being prepared for a disaster separates the Contractors who are able to profit from the event and those who won’t. Here are some ideas Restoration Contractors can...
Read moreWith all of the different forums for social media today it can be hard to focus on your group of clients and get the most out of your message. Social media sites offer a free way of communicating with large groups of people, but what good does all that...
Read moreLet’s take some time today to talk about how to improve aspects of your restoration business (as well as your bottom line) through spending more of your time and money on training. In the mitigation and restoration industry, there are so many moving parts to completing a job successfully...
Read moreLet’s talk about a task that usually ranks as one of everyone’s least favorite parts of a restoration job – any job, for that matter — sometimes even worse than dealing with a sewage back-up or mold. The seeming enemy of progress: the documentation of a job. Let’s face...
Read moreMost Restoration Companies focus their staff’s training on the technical side of the business—Water Mitigation classes, Fire Cleaning classes, and so on. Technical job skill training is important, but don’t stop there. Your staff needs training in customer service, sales, and technology. A company with excellent customer service is...
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