One outcome of the coronavirus crisis is you are facing the greatest hiring environment in the last 50 years. Since your ability to grow is limited to your ability to put butts in trucks, your actions over the next 90 days could position your company to double in size in 2021!
Recruit Laid Off Plumbers
The two ways to grow your company are to recruit experienced plumbers and/or to grow your field service team from the ground up. Normally, the experienced plumber, without baggage and bad habits, who is open to joining your team is a unicorn—everyone knows what this person looks like, but no one has encountered one. Today, you just might be able to find a few unicorns.
The current environment is different because some plumbing company leaders got scared and turned turtle. They pulled back. They quit looking for business. They laid off or furloughed their work forces.
In some cases, this was a smart move. For example, a company that focused on commercial work in an area with a hard-line government that enforced (and continues to enforce) a strict lockdown may have had little choice, even with PPP money.
Regardless of the reason for a layoff, there are more good plumbers available for hire today than ever before. Recruit them with targeted advertising on social media, broadcast radio, cable TV, and word-of-mouth. Craft your ads well and your help wanted ad will also build your brand with the general public. You will grow as your competition retreats. Advertising, whether digital or broadcast, is also more affordable.
Buy Small Competitors
Some plumbing companies are going shopping this year. They are looking for and soliciting companies to purchase. Why now? With the news media spewing doom and gloom consistently, some business owners have embraced the negativity. They are jumping at a chance to get out. Thus, there are deals to be made.
One of the fastest ways to grow a company is through acquisition. In one fell swoop, you acquire customers and you add to your team.
You Are Essential
If you choose to grow your team from the ground up, you have a great opportunity for positioning the trade as an attractive career choice. Plumbing is an essential service. While many occupations that were unsuitable for working from home ceased to employ people, plumbers kept working.
No matter what happens to the economy, there will always be a demand for plumbers. True, some people might attempt DIY work in an uncertain economy, but an ever-shrinking number of people are handy enough for plumbing. And a significant element of those who try to make their own repairs botch the job. Even when people are handy, there are some repairs they simply will not attempt because they lack the skill or equipment. In short, demand for plumbing never really lets up.
Seek People Leaving Their Occupations
Two excellent areas to recruit from are the military and the police. The military has been going through a drawdown for years. Not only is it patriotic to hire our veterans, they make excellent members of your team. They are used to teamwork, accustomed to following orders, and process-driven. This makes veterans perfect for the plumbing profession.
Police have similar attributes with the addition of customer service training. Most cops have good people skills. They are trained to be polite and professional, even when dealing with angry people. Plus, in today’s ugly political environment, many police officers are choosing to leave their profession. This is bad for society, but might be good for you and your company.
Both the military and the police will likely more money in plumbing than they made in service to the nation and community. Recruit both through occupationally targeted social media and placed ads on military or police websites.
This is a disaster of a year, but it does not need to be disastrous for your business. If you seize the moment, 2020 will be a fantastic opportunity for you.
If you are interested in growing your business, you need to be a member of the Service Roundtable. Surround yourself with the English-speaking world’s best plumbing company owners. Benefit from the plumbing industry’s largest library of downloadable business tools and plumbing’s largest buying group. Try it for a month. If you don’t like it, quit. It’s only $50. Learn more at www.ServiceRoundtable.com or call 877/262-3341.