For any electrician, the true test of success is not only in reaching the job site but also in how you use the time you have before arriving. Taking those 15-45 minutes to prepare yourself mentally can make all the difference between getting the job or not.
Undeniably, we often spend these times in the van listening to blasted music, binging out at a gas station, lighting a cigarette, or even calling a friend to complain about work. These activities subconsciously take you away from the goal of landing the project. As a result, you arrive at the job looking disorganized and unfocused. The smell of smoke, grease, and fast food can leave a lasting impression and one that's not good. Customers will take one look at you and rightly assume that you're a slack, unprofessional contractor. This leads to you not getting the job, missing out on sales, and possibly damaging your reputation.
Using your time effectively allows you to prime yourself for success, even if you're not at the job site yet. Downloading training videos and listening to podcasts or ebooks that offer valuable insight on improving your strategy and becoming a better contractor are all great ways to make the most out of your travel time. Setting this as a routine can help you make the most out of every journey and ensure you're always prepared for the job ahead.
Taking the time to prepare yourself. mentally and emotionally, will give you the best chance of success and help you avoid any pitfalls that could potentially damage your reputation. You'll land more jobs, make more connections, and have the confidence to succeed.
@1:54 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Okay. Hello, electropreneurs. Welcome back to another episode of electric. of Entrepreneur Secrets Radio. I'm here with Joseph Lucani, my co-host and partner, of course, and we're here to help you master your sales, simplify your pricing, and deliver consistent premium level service.
Joseph, what are we talking about today?
@2:15 - Joseph Lucanie
We actually got a fun one. And what it is is the concept of, are you using your time driving to the job you're going to effectively?
Now, what I mean by that is, when you're on the road going to that call, are you setting yourself up for success?
Are you doing steps that are likely to get you the job? Or are you doing activities that are subconsciously taking you away from closing it?
And we're gonna go into the secrets and subconscious of that.
@2:45 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Great one. I'm particularly passionate about this as I've made use of that time a lot. So looking forward to chatting through this.
How did you make the best use of it?
@2:56 - Joseph Lucanie
So realistically, what I found was that every single one of us. as anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes from one call to the next, right?
Now, what were we doing during those calls? I mean, before I got into this process, it was powering out a cigarette or wolfing down gas station food or blasting loud music or calling a friend to complain about how bad the last call was.
Any of those activities sound like they're moving the needle further?
@3:27 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
No, ultimately showing up smelling like smoke, some Subway sauce on your face, and a poor attitude because your friend said something you didn't like maybe.
@3:36 - Joseph Lucanie
Exactly, right? So instead of going in looking like a 10, we're already doing things that make us look worse.
The thing is that we have to always be mindful of is that when we show up, and that's actually why we have the pre-arrival process in place, when we show up into the customer's driveway, that is when the presentation actually starts.
It doesn't start when you're ringing the bell. It starts the... The moment you step out of your van onto their driveway, assume that they're watching you from the window.
Assume they're watching you from the camera. Are you positioning yourself and preparing yourself mentally to succeed on this call?
And if you did the things I said previously, you're not. So what I did was I chose that every trip time, didn't matter where I was going, didn't matter if I was driving across the street, trip time is training time.
What I did was I would download any kind of training videos I had, the many mentors I was working with, any type of sales classes, any books, any podcasts, anything that I could put onto an MP3 player, I put onto an MP3 player and I would just play in my van.
I automatically had the aux cord connected to it so that the moment the van would start, the iPad would turn on or the iPod, dating myself, would turn on.
And then from there, it would just start automatically. going into training material. So the question I have for you to play is, if every single minute you were in the van driving from one job to the other, you were listening to training material that helped you close jobs or helped you learn how to better do the jobs, would that help you or hurt you between the calls?
@5:19 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Wait, do you mean training like this, like this podcast? They were putting out there five days a week to help electricians do exactly that?
Big surprise, right? I think it's a game changer personally, and that's why we're here, because I think both of us have this in common.
I was always listening to a podcast. If I didn't have anything fresh on deck, honestly, I would re-listen to my favorite books, presentations, podcasts to further drive those points home, but also, as they say, when the student's ready, the teacher appears.
And what that means to me is that I can read the same book four times and get different things every time because.
of where I'm at with my level of expertise at that time, where I'm at as a student in life at that time.
I know that was a bigger answer than you asked for, but man, like I said, I'm pretty passionate about this stuff.
@6:13 - Joseph Lucanie
I know, and you're right. It's one of those reasons why we're here. Now, in addition to that, especially with podcasts like this, we're going to be doing role-play and whatnot on our own.
Would you think it'd be helpful if the people listening to this got to hear what an effective presentation was supposed to sound like before they went every single call?
Of course. So what I would do was I would actually record myself doing presentations, whether it was dry runs or actual really recorded presentations.
And the ones that went well, I would listen to over and over and over and over again. Because if you can make something happen by accident, you can make something happen on purpose.
That's the ultimate goal. But if you have a process, you know what you did right. So you can replicate it for the future.
I love that. Mm-hmm.
@7:06 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
If something can happen by accident, it can happen on purpose.
@7:10 - Joseph Lucanie
Correct. It's just figuring out what part of the process went right. So that's, I don't know if you could tell, I'm gonna keep saying the word process over and over and over again.
It's just, your autism to me is just saying, it's the way to work. It's the way to, if you have something that tells you, the moment I show up to the door, this is what I'm supposed to do.
And then ringing the bell and then walking to the panel. And like wherever you are, I know step by step by step where I'm supposed to be.
That rehearsal will help you. Because if you take every single call that you're going to and you're driven by the basis, do you feel like you would take less time to make it autopilot than if you didn't?
Absolutely.
@7:53 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Yeah.
@7:54 - Joseph Lucanie
It'll become second nature. And that's the thing. That's what we're trying to push for guys. Because if we can.
make this process second nature. You don't have to work so hard. You can just show up to the job and slip into autopilot, slip into sales mode if you would, and you're good to go.
But the only way you'll get good enough to go into autopilot is the constant exposure. It needs to always be in your ear, dripping at some point.
If it's not, the well dries up, and it's always important to dig the well before you're thirsty. So for anyone who's listening to this, it might be your busy season, it might be your slow season, but I'm insisting that you always train as if it's slow season.
I don't care if it's, you got five calls from people who are trying to book with you today. November is gonna come, December is gonna come, Christmas is gonna come, tax season's gonna come, recessions are gonna come, it doesn't matter.
Something's going to happen, and you're gonna have to be divided between, I was prepared and did everything I could to close this.
And you know what? I just really wanted to listen to Adele on repeat. And so which one are you trying to do, man?
Are you trying to succeed or are you trying to relax?
@9:11 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
For sure. I love that. I love that.
@9:13 - Joseph Lucanie
Is it fair to say then you're not actually a robot? I mean, like I technically haven't opened myself up.
So I'm gonna say that there is a more biology than circuitry.
@9:24 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
All right. All right. So most of this is repetition. What you've come to master is from practice.
@9:35 - Joseph Lucanie
There's nothing special about me per se. I'm not some biological superhero or anything like that. I have the same abilities that every one of you guys have.
But my why forced me to get better at the process. I could not proceed otherwise without it. I didn't have the ability of leaning into charisma.
or social skills or I had to get good at this or I would not survive. And through that constant repetition, I got really good.
And my goal is to teach you guys the exact same stuff that made me better. So if anything, I'm the floor.
I want everyone that I train to be better than me. So yeah, I wasn't always good.
@10:27 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Yeah, I appreciate that. And we're gonna get deeper into your story and cover a lot of those tracks as well.
But on this one, guys, definitely hear what Joseph's saying. It's a big difference maker. And I think that a lot of people get this one a little sideways.
@10:40 - Joseph Lucanie
So I wanna throw this in there as well.
@10:43 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
You're not listening to take everything. Some people get frustrated by audio recordings, podcasts, books, et cetera. Likely not you if you're listening to this, but maybe it's your first time and maybe you're feeling that way.
Don't focus on trying to get everything. Just like when you read a book, you only have the time.
@11:00 - Joseph Lucanie
and the attention span that you have.
@11:02 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Go with the flow. Take what stands out and just know that you can always circle back and come get some more.
Just having that little memory implanted to say, wow, I know there was an episode that could help me with this.
I know there was something I heard before that resonated truly with today and I can go back and grab that one again.
And what's that one thing I'm going to take from today?
@11:26 - Joseph Lucanie
And sometimes you get two or three.
@11:28 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Sometimes it's just connecting that well. But look for the one thing. In fact, in every interaction, isn't that a great, really a rule for life in being a student, being open-minded and in every interaction looking for the one thing.
What am I taking from this engagement? What does this person have to teach me? What does this situation have to teach me?
@11:53 - Joseph Lucanie
You're either learning or living, right? You're winning or learning. Those are the two other options. came to mind that I wanted to kind of add to because you said you know you can listen to this two, three, four, five times and take something different.
I heard an expression from somebody named Benoah Ben-Shia years and years ago and he said a man never puts his foot in the same river twice for it's not the same river and it's not the same man.
So you could listen to a training once like today and be the person you are and take something away from it.
@12:30 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
So what's the action someone can take on this to start making a difference, having bigger results, having an impact on their future?
@12:57 - Joseph Lucanie
So if they were going to say like there's two actions, there's like the minimum action and there's the all.
@13:00 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
and also their actions.
@13:01 - Joseph Lucanie
But I would say, what are the minimum level action if you're saying, I want to do this is, do you even have material loaded, right?
Doesn't mean that you're even doing it, but do you at least have material that you could listen to? Is there a podcast that you follow?
Is there a training documents that you can download? Is there someone you're willing to listen to for 20 to 30 minutes that would make your life better as a result of it?
The bare minimum action is at least gather that stuff, put it on a flash drive, throw it in your van.
Even if you never used it, it's at least ready for you for when you decide you want to step up.
The all-star action, if you're really trying to take results and see something successful today, you've not only had that action taken care of, but you're going to commit to yourself that every training or every travel that takes more than 10 minutes is going to be training time.
I literally made my van so that... The moment it would turn on, the playlist would automatically come on. It had to happen.
Didn't matter whether I was driving my personal car or my work van. Travel is training time. Commit to that and you will be successful.
@14:16 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
I agree, 100%. Going even a notch above would be the next time you're pulled over, when you stop, take the note.
Write down that nugget. Take action with that. Learn, do, teach. Learn, do, teach. But I agree. 100% and wholeheartedly.
And I've got to say, just to cap this off, many times when I'm not quite feeling 100%, 110%, listening to that content, listening to some of my favorites that I've bookmarked can pull me back out of that and put me back in the races.
And I can succeed the rest of the day at a high level where confidence was dwindling before about that even being an opportunity.
@14:56 - Joseph Lucanie
Exactly. I mean, you're in a situation that a lot of us have been in where... or you can take something away that's a little bit different from it, because maybe the first call got flipped.
Maybe it was a great call, right? I mean, it can happen one way or the other. Have you ever had that morning call that didn't go well and threw you off for the rest of the day?
Some people have the opposite effect, where you'll have a great call the first one, and you think, I already made my numbers.
I don't have to do so well on next. So whether you're the first or the second person, always remember that this process is something you can consistently measure yourself against.
So either listen to yourself doing your presentations, listen to someone better than you doing presentations, or listen to constant material that's making you better, and you will be better as a result.
@15:45 - Clay Neumeyer (serviceloopelectrical.com)
Love that, love that. Okay, guys, so you've got the action items. Take action if you wanna see those results.
That's the way this works. We're gonna continue to show up for you five days a week, Monday through Friday, always at the same time as some great nuggets for you to take away.
from this, hopefully one or two or more, and those actions to take. So thank you for joining us. We're here to help you master sales, simplify pricing, and deliver consistent premium level service.
See you again.