Putting the group together
Knight was able to put this new way of
thinking to a legitimate test during the
planning week in Pittsburgh. After the first
few days comprised of line-item-by-lineitem education and an open forum to ask
questions, Knight got an opportunity to
not only see some established contractors
present their financial plans, but to present
his own to the group as well.
"It helps you think about and better
understand the process when you have to
explain it to a larger group," said Knight.
"And it was very encouraging to have veteran guys sit down with you and go
through your data.You gain a comfort
level with the projections you're making.
Likewise, it's helpful to watch other companies present their plans and see their data
and how they use it.You recognize that
other contractors share similar struggles in
certain areas, and that LandOpt has provided a structure that allows them to work
through those and achieve success."
Arnold concurred with that feeling.
"Getting the perspective from the sea-
www.landscapeirrigation.com
soned contractors was very beneficial," he
said. "They're able to confirm what the
coaches are teaching, and they're living
proof that success will come from following the process."
Henry added that he sees value in simply knowing he's in the right ballpark with
where his numbers stand. "Not everything
works as a direct comparison, when you
factor in varying cost structures and scopes
of service, but it provides benchmarks to
see what others are doing," he said. "Hearing certain questions come up reminds
you that you need to give careful thought
to some of these issues, and it also helps us
recognize how far we've come along …
not only with planning, but with the execution of the plan."
Getting the numbers right
Having a well thought out financial
plan — and the best intentions to execute
it — doesn't mean it will come perfectly
to fruition. Corrigan readily admits he's
been aggressive with his company's goals
for project work the last couple years, but
he also recognizes some of the reasons
why actuals didn't meet projections and
how to adjust to the results.
"There's more accurate historical numbers going forward because of the way
we're tracking things," said Corrigan.
"Having that history and knowledge helps
us drill down to figuring out what our average account size is, how many proposals
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