Finding your contractor community makes all the difference!

By Certified Contractors Network. 

How one company increased their revenue by 170% by finding a supportive network in a competitive industry.  

Randy Hann has been the CEO of Contract Exteriors in South Carolina since its 2009 founding. The first four years of the company’s existence were lonely for Randy. His construction and remodeling business was doing well, but he was looking for more. He wanted to find pathways to grow and ensure a strong future for Contract Exteriors in a very competitive market.  

As the only person handling the company’s growth and day-to-day operations, Randy felt overwhelmed. There was no balance for him between the time spent on sales and running the larger business, but he didn’t know who to turn to for advice about how to find that balance.  

But then Contract Exteriors joined Certified Contractors Network (CCN) in the fall of 2013. CCN’s contractor training helped Randy and his team find a better balance between new construction jobs and remodeling jobs. They’re constantly learning and streamlining every business process. They’ve increased revenue. And, just as importantly, Hann now has someone to talk to. He has an entire network of contractors at his disposal. 

Since joining CCN, Contract Exteriors has experienced remodeling jobs increased by 20% and an overall 170% increase in revenue 

Challenges 

Randy was a construction industry veteran even before he founded Contract Exteriors. He has a degree in Construction Systems Management from Ohio State University, and he’s been working in the South Carolina construction industry since 2000. He isn’t new to the game, to say the least. 

Randy believes success comes from hard work and customer satisfaction. In his own website bio, he writes: “No matter what type of construction, I believe that when you do the right thing and put the customer first, success follows.” 

Randy had the mindset, the skill, the knowledge and the desire for success. He was working hard and getting results. Still, there was room for improvement. When he started Contract Exteriors in 2009, Randy felt frustration in at least four areas of his business: 

• He needed his business to grow. He didn’t want to stagnate or get left behind. 
• He needed to spend less time being involved with every little day-to-day aspect of his business. He didn’t want to handle every sale himself. Instead, he wanted to run his business. He wanted to put his management skills and construction knowledge to work – he wanted to build a better company. 
• He needed his business to make more money. A business can’t grow, thrive and sustain if it’s not profitable. 
• He needed a network. He wanted to share ideas with and learn from other contractors. He didn’t want to operate in a bubble. 

“If we wanted to grow our business, I couldn’t be the sole purpose for the sales and growth of the company. We needed to hire a sales staff,” Randy says of his desire for business growth. 

He needed to generate more leads, and he needed a sales staff to close those leads. Even if he worked himself to death, Randy couldn’t do everything by himself and run a successful business. He was thinking of the bigger picture. “The other [concern we had] was running a business at a financially healthy level. So that you’re running a business for the long term and not the short term,” says Randy. 

Randy couldn’t solve his problems by pulling a magic trick out of his hat. He had the education and the skill, he just needed to see how other contractors overcame the same obstacles he was facing– but that was easier said than done. “As an owner, most times, whatever city you’re in, you’re by yourself, because you can’t talk to a competitor… you really can’t talk to your competition about what you’re going through,” Randy notes. 

“The way I look at it is this: you’re either getting better or getting worse; you’re never staying the same,” he says. The only solution for Randy was to get better. 

The solution 

In his own words, Randy is a “system-oriented person.” He needed a support network for his contractor business, but he also needed a better system if he wanted to grow, make more money and focus on running his business. When Randy saw CCN’s President, Scott Siegal, speak at a conference, he knew he’d found the gateway to that system.  

Hann, on his first experience with CCN: “I went to a GAF expo where Scott Siegal was the guest speaker. Listening to him talk, he mentioned a lot of the things I was going through as an owner. I realized that an organization like that would be beneficial to me… to have a network of people you could talk to would be a great environment to be in. 

When Scott spoke, he talked about some of the things I was going through, like being involved in the business too much instead of running the business. So I went to [CCN’s Fall Conference] as a guest with CCN, and it really felt like what I needed. The aha moment happened when Scott was talking. Then going to the CCN conference later on and talking to all the members felt like, at that time, an organization I definitely wanted to belong to. “ 

After that CCN Fall Conference, Randy found someone to talk to. At that conference, and after joining CCN, he gained access to an entire network of successful contractors, most of whom were overcoming the same problems he was struggling with. “Joining an organization like CCN allows you to talk to other people in companies like yours and learn from their mistakes, and develop new ideas; with other members that you build relationships with,” says Randy. 

CCN also helped Randy construct a sales process. He hired a sales staff, took CCN’s training seriously, and started growing Contract Exteriors. As a system-oriented person, that was valuable to his business growth, “We didn’t have any of that before CCN,” Randy says. 

For Randy, continuing education is important for a successful contractor business. CCN’s contractor training allowed him to incorporate new systems, refine his old systems and change what just wasn’t working. 

CCN’s training programs helped Contract Exteriors to focus more on remodeling jobs instead of just new construction projects, which has helped Randy secure more time to run his business. It’s helped Contract Exteriors grow, too. 

Randy, on his learning experience: “When it first started, we were a new construction-dominated business. There were a lot of parts I maybe didn’t know to that business. I was very excited about the new parts. Whether it’s sales, how to track the jobs, lead generation… when you’re new construction-dominated, what the builder sells is what you do. In the remodeling industry, it’s how you develop your leads. That’s how you get your sales… it’s a whole process. Being a system-oriented person, it just fit my mindset so I could take what I’m learning and lead the company in that direction. 

I knew I couldn’t put one foot in the water and expect results. So, we dove in the deep end and embraced what’s talked about at conferences, and the training sessions, and the boot camps. We’ve really taken it to heart for the core culture of our business.” 

Taking the training to heart, implementing new systems, building a sales team and finding a network of like-minded contractors through CCN was Contract Exteriors’ solution. That solution produced results. 

The results 

“When I joined CCN in the Fall of 2013, we were a $5 mil business that year. This year, we’re estimated to do about $13.5mil,” says Randy. Since joining CCN, contract exteriors has experienced a 170% increase in revenue. They’re also taking on more remodeling work and less new construction work. Those changes have helped Contract Exteriors achieve a better balance. 

From Randy: “When we joined CCN, our business was 92% new construction. Today we’re at 72% new construction, which has helped us get our books a little more healthy. We’re at a better balance, and we’re getting toward an even better balance between new construction and remodeling. With that, we’ve seen substantial growth in our business.” 

Contract Exteriors now does 20% more remodeling jobs than it did before joining CCN. Though they still do a good amount of new construction, Randy says CCN’s processes and training has helped them improve both parts of their business. He explains that “CCN is geared toward remodeling, but the systems and the processes they teach are good for new construction as well. I know that we wouldn’t be talking about doing $13.5mil or even more if we didn’t join CCN. Not to say that we wouldn’t have ever done it, but we wouldn’t have done it as quickly or as efficiently.” 

CCN’s systems and education work for Randy. He says you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, you “just have to figure out which wheel is right for your company. Every time I go to a CCN event, I learn how to add a new piece to the wheel and it makes us more efficient.”  

Randy’s affinity toward processes and systems makes CCN’s methodology work for Contract Exteriors. He does note, however, achieving his business goals didn’t come to him without some amount of adaptability and self-reflection: “CCN is not for everyone, I will say that. If you’re not willing to change, or look in the mirror, and admit where you need to improve or what you need to change, it’s not for you. But for those who are willing to change and make their business better… the networking you get out of CCN, the training you get out of CCN… you [get access to] a lot of companies that have been successful for many years. You don’t have to try to do this on your own.” 

Before joining CCN, Randy was already an educated and skill construction professional with a desire to provide next-level service. CCN helped Randy network with other successful contractors, grow Contract Exteriors, make more money and spend more time running the business. “It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done, as far as an owner. Since I’ve started the company. I would recommend it to anyone who is a system-based company that is willing to change, learn and improve. CCN’s for them,” Randy concludes. 

Original article source: Certified Contractors Network