Installing roofing, siding, or windows with your own crews can be a key competitive advantage, if you know how to manage them profitably. More
Weather events can push a lot of business your way, but it's not necessarily going to be profitable unless your company's prepared to handle it. More
Keeping salespeople motivated in a tough economy is no easy job. More
Energy tax credits can help bring new business if you market and sell them in a way that fits who you are and what you do. More
Dale Brenke rattles off the numbers. In a market with 44,000 households and 208,000 people, SchmidtSiding & Window Co. manages to get the lion's shareof the business in several of the five product lines it sells and installs. Forinstance, in 2004 and 2005, the company had the highest market shareof any Gutter Helmet dealer in the network. More
It's only recently that a distinction has been made between replacement contractors ópurveyors of replacement windows, siding, and roofing; gutters and gutter protection systems; and decks and sunrooms ó and full-service remodelers. More
Last fall, Dale Brenke (Big50 2004) ran a series of television advertisements featuring his company's employees. The series of five commercials showed different employees ó a production manager, a salesperson, and installers ó at work. In the commercials, each employee looks at the camera and states their name and the year they started working at Schmidt Siding & Window. More
Where weather gets cold -- really cold -- contractors have ways to get a siding job up. Because materials -- like a piece of metal -- can sometimes fall and disappear into the snow, Schmidt Siding and Windows waits until spring to dispatch a service crew to do raking and maintenance of jobs installed during the coldest weather. More