S E R V P R O O F P E N N - D E L , S E R V P R O O F T H E C A R O L I N A S , S E R V P R O O F S O U T H E R N N E W J E R S E Y

The Goal Digger

Volume 3 2009

We are pleased to announce that Dave Ramsey is

offering a one day leadership, management and

entrepreneurship class, called Entreleadership, on

Tuesday, September 22nd, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Chuck attended this class last year and it was one of the

best management courses he has taken in years. It will

open your eyes to management style, how to motivate

your people, how to communicate, but the best part of it

is spending a day with Dave Ramsey in a small setting

with a couple hundred people.

We are putting together a group to attend, which as of

now includes Kristi Wyatt, John Wisniewski,

Chip Nunan, Christopher Nunan and Craig Nunan.

If you were ever to invest in a one day course, this

would be the one. It will be fun, motivational and you

will come away with great ideas.

The Directorship Management Team will be flying in on

Monday night and flying back on Tuesday night.

Nashville is an easy drive for those of you in the

Carolinas and for Penn-Del and Southern New Jersey it

is a Southwest city, which makes it cost effective.

If you want more information and to reserve your seat

please contact Kristi Wyatt at

kwyatt@servpropenndel.com or 610-268-2124.

“If you wish to achieve

worthwhile things

in your personal and

career life,

you must become a

worthwhile person

in your own

self-development.”

-Brian Tracy:

Personal and business training

author, speaker and consultant

Territorial Policy; Solicitation Section 4,

SERVPRO INDUSTRIES, INC. TERRITORIAL POLICY By: Kathy Harris

I am happy to hear how many of you are adding a full time SMR’s to your TEAM, congratulations!

During your training process with your reps please make sure they understand where they can

market and where they cannot market. This is where TERRITORIAL POLICY would be a good

training resource to use with them. Section 4 outlines all of the guidelines of where and who to

market to. It is highly suggested to have a county map of which your territory is located and out-

line your territory boundaries as well as your neighboring SERVPRO franchises, which we can

provide.

With regards to solicitation of direct work, you may not solicit direct work in another Operator’s

Operating Territory. You may solicit direct work in Open Territory but with no permanent ad-

vertising such as yellow page ads. The clients that are being solicited in the Open Territory must

have a physical location within that territory as well. Once the Open Territory becomes sold,

and then upon notification of the Director’s office, all solicitation must stop.

For insurance work, i.e., Adjusters, Agents and Property Managers, these contacts may be solic-

ited for insurance work which is performed in your operating territory. You may solicit any Ad-

juster, regardless of his location for the insurance work within your territory. You may only so-

licit Agents who are physically located within your territory. However, if an Agent or Agent’s

settlement authority is similar to that of an Adjuster based on the volume of work controlled by

such Agent, the Agent may be approved that such Agent could be treated as an Adjuster. Also,

Operators may solicit Agents of Select National Account clients in open territory and that of an-

other operator if such operator does not qualify to receive Select National Account work for a

period of thirty days or longer. SERVPRO INDUSTRIES notifies all franchisee’s as well as the Di-

rector’s office if and when this happens. To market in another’s territory must be approved in

writing by your trainers. And upon any given notice from either trainer or SERVPRO INDUS-

TRIES, solicitation must cease. The marketing materials approved for this approved circum-

stance must be that of generic SERVPRO material with 1-800-SERVPRO, no local numbers may

be used.

Many property management companies manage properties (two or more) within your territory

but have a physical address outside of your territory. You may solicit these companies for work

that will be performed within your operating territory only.

Franchise owners can join any Chamber of Commerce or other similar organizations that are

within their physical territory boundary lines. As a member of such organization, you may be

listed in any directory of that said organization’s members, but no advertisements may be

placed in that directory unless that publication includes the majority of the Operating Territory.

For further detailed information on TERRITORIAL POLICY, please read it in its entirety. This Pol-

icy can be read or printed off ServproNET, Field Ops section.

Share this with your TEAM, let’s all be GREEN!

PENNSYLVANIA CONTRACTORS LISCENSE

By: Dave Lyman

On March 23, 2009 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania began registering contractors that

provide home improvements. The law was put into place to have the desired effect of

eliminating the untrustworthy contractors working in Pennsylvania. Any office doing any type of

repairs or alterations of personal property must be registered. This is a two phase law passed in

October 2008. The Act is known as the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.

The first phase of the law relates to the registration process for all home improvement

contractors. The second key phase relates to the significant changes in all home improvement

contracts that must be in place for every home improvement after July 1.

Every contractor doing work to improve, repair or modify an existing residence must register

with the Attorney General’s Office. A six page registration form must be submitted prior to July

1, 2009 along with a $50 fee. The form calls for business and personal information for each

owner, including certain criminal records, certain judgments as well as bankruptcies. A

contractor can register on-line or by mail and upon receipt of the application a registration

number will be provided.

These new contract provisions constitute the key second phase of the new law. The contract

changes will be very extensive since the new law provides for disclosure of numerous items

that, in the past, did not appear in most contracts. This includes evidence of property and

liability insurance, disclosure of all subcontractors, new controls on change orders, limits on

deposits, recession provisions, etc.

The new law adds several new criminal offenses for those contractors who do not comply with

the certain portions of the Act. A new crime of home improvement fraud is created and will be

enforced by the District Attorneys’ offices. Criminal penalties are increased for victims over the

age of 60. Secondly, the new law prohibits the practice of some local townships and

municipalities that currently register and collect fees from contractors. Some localities are

already protesting this loss of local control and revenue inherent in this new provision.

We have only a short time to comply and complete the registration process. I suggest all offices

that provide these types of services to be proactive and register as soon as possible.

“Successful people make money.

It’s not that people who make money become successful,

but that successful people attract money.

They bring success to what they do.”

Dr. Wayne Dyer: Self-development author and speaker

Google Profiles and How They Help Your Franchise

Rob Wilkerson, Field Training Manager

SERVPRO of South Georgia, Northeast Georgia, & Western South Carolina

Google released its Profile feature a few weeks ago. According to its service’s home page: "A Google Profile is simply how you represent yourself on Google products — it lets you tell others a bit more about who you are and what you're all about. You control what goes into your Google Profile, sharing as much (or as little) as you'd like." To use it, you must create your own Google account by going to www.gmail.com and following the directions. Google gives you access to some of the most amazing applications that can transform your franchise. In this article, however, I want to focus briefly on this newest profiling tool. I’m going to give you three easy directions to follow on setting one up for your business, and then I’ll give two major uses for it.

1. Go to www.google.com/profiles and click on “Create My Profile” if you do NOT already have a Google or gmail account. If you do, click on the appropriate link for that just under the large “Create” button.

2. www.youtube.com. Search for “How to Claim a Google Profile with a Vanity URL”. This is what you’ll use to setup your franchise with a Google Profile. (Be sure to go through the legal process on this…it shouldn’t take too long…I hope.)

3. www.youtube.com. Search for “Google Profile SEO: How to Optimize Your Google Profile”. This shows you how to maximize your franchise Google Profile for branding and marketing. More on this below.

Two Major Uses

1. Screening Applicants and Monitoring Employees. This will be a huge feature as this thing grows. You can already do quite a bit

of self-screening, if you will, simply by getting an applicant or employee’s name and searching for it in quotes with Google, or finding them on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, or the dozens of other social networking sites. What’s weird, oddly enough, is that people don’t seem to think that potential and existing employers can look into their personal lives “off the clock.” The ethics of this is a different subject, but let’s just suffice it to say that Google Profiles will be a huge resource in your pocket to help you determine if an employee, potential or existing, is right for you and your company. A helpful online resource available on YouTube can be accessed by going to www.youtube.com and searching the following video title: “Find People on Google with Google Profiles”.

2. Better Rankings in Google searches for your franchise. Google is built on key words and tags. Any company, person,

organization, blog, home page, or entity out there is “tagged” with key words that make it recognizable to internet language. Google’s massive computers “crawl” the web 24/7, at amazing speeds, with unfathomable algorithms, looking at tags, key words, data, pictures, music, videos, and any other content on an web page. Using its mathematical equations, it analyzes each page, and compares it with all the other pages it has previously analyzed. It finds things that are comparable, different, exact, etc. and forms this huge, enormous file database known as the Google search engine. However, it also analyzes every keystroke you enter into its search bar. When it delivers your results, it measures how much time you spend looking at the results, how much time you spend looking at each individual result, what you typed in next to try to refine your search, and on and on it goes. It’s a smart system designed to help your surfing go easier, delivering faster results, more in line with what it thinks you want or will ask for next. It’s truly fascinating.

When it comes to your franchise, you want to be at the top of the search listings when a customer “Googles” water damage, or kitchen flood, or puff back, etc. This is where the Google Profile will be huge for a SERVPRO franchise. YOU can now be the one who determines the key words and tags that are associated with your business through your Google Profile. Give it time. It doesn’t work over night. But it does work quickly because it belongs to Google and where you associate your business with their resources, you climb the search results ladder and get the calls you’re looking for.

Give it a whirl and give it a while. Then see what you think and how it works for you. Talk to other franchise owners who are using it and swap tips and tricks and results stories. This thing is gonna be huge and eventually inevitable.

Sunbelt Makes Managing Your Business Online, Simple

Sunbelt Rentals designed an intuitive, multi-purpose site aimed to improve your online experience.

The new www.sunbeltrentals.com will assist you in efficiently managing your equipment rentals with our specialized tools.

Our account dashboard provides a quick view to easily access all the online tools available, including a map displaying

information on current job sites (even the weather, too!)

The account management tools are designed to help you manage your equipment needs through one simple site. A few of our

account management tools available are:

Placing/Reviewing Reservations – displays current pending reservations

Return Equipment – select from job site and/or contract specific equipment ready for pick-up

Make an Online Payment – select from current invoices and pay online

Request Service Call – make request by selecting from current job sites and/or equipment on-rent

Manage your Job Sites – update purchase order numbers, contact information, address information, and provide delivery

instructions and comments

Sunbelt provides a report manager which allows you to create, view, save and schedule customized reports to meet your

needs. Some of the standard reports available include:

Equipment On-Rent

Invoice History

Payment History

Rental History

The report scheduler automates the delivery of your reports. Just pick the report, who you want it to be delivered to, and how

often you want it.

Alert set-up and management allows you to add a daily, weekly or monthly email or text message alerts. These alerts are

specific to your account and are based on equipment on rent, invoice aging, number of billings on a purchase order, or when

delivery/pick-up has occurred at your job site.

If you’re ready to access your Sunbelt Rentals account through www.sunbeltrentals.com please contact your area Strategic

Account Manager.

We greatly appreciate our strong relationship with ServPro. Please let your area Strategic Account Manager know of any

suggestions or comments on the web site or Sunbelt Rentals in general.

Looking for more employees??? By: Brad Catalano

I want to pass along a bit of information that could make your life easier when you are searching

for that perfect employee. Many of our franchise owners have discovered a great website that

has been yielding some overwhelming results for them. I’m talking about the Craigslist Online

Community.

Craigslist is a local classifieds and forum site that services 570 cities in 50 countries

worldwide. If you’re wondering how much traffic the Craigslist website gets they claim that

their volume is over 20 billion page views per month. Their website also mentions the fact that

more than 40 million people use Craigslist each month in the United States alone so your ad will

get a lot of exposure. Many people looking for employment have learned that the site is a great

place to look for a job since they post over a million new job listings each month.

The cost to run an ad on the Craigslist website is relatively inexpensive. They claim that the

price to list a job ad on their site is $25.00 in most cities in the United States. So, the next time

you find yourself looking to fill a position consider using Craigslist.

New Team Member...make sure to call and welcome him!

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to the team at SERVPRO. My name is

Dave Brady and I was recently hired to serve in the role of Field Trainer. I have been training

for the past few weeks and will attend NFTP from June 5th to June 19th, 2009. After completion of

my training at NFTP I will also be attending the DTP and FMC courses along with attending the

SERVPRO national convention in Washington, DC.

You may be curious as to my background and experience in the franchising industry. My most

directly related experience comes from working at the nation’s largest franchisor of both variety

and dollar stores in the United States. The company which went by the trade name of Dollar

Discount Stores of America was headquartered in Boothwyn, Pennsylvania and grew from a base

of twenty five stores in 1991 to one hundred and fifty stores in 2003. I was privileged to be part

of that growth as the company’s Operations and Training Director. My main responsibilities

included the corporate training of all new franchisees along with supporting each franchisee

with technical questions or concerns as they related to Intuit QuickBooks or Microsoft software.

In addition to my franchising experience, I was also employed by both Eckerd Drug Company

and Burlington Coat Factory in the role of Store Manager in which I managed multi-million dollar

businesses and supervised up to ninety associates. I should also mention that as a young man I

also proudly served in the United States Army which took me overseas to Bamberg, Germany

and then to El Paso, Texas where I served in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. I must say it

was one of the most rewarding experiences of my lifetime and something that has served me

well throughout the years.

Last but not least, my hobbies and interests include spending time with my family which

includes my wife Tracey and children Heather and James along with our pet dog Cody, all of

who reside in Bear, Delaware. As time permits, I also

enjoy swimming and boating on the Chesapeake Bay

along with working on the various projects around the

house that my wife never hesitates to remind me

about. I also enjoy working with all types of

technology which at one point led me to own and

operate my own computer consulting business after

being laid off from my position at Dollar Discount

Stores of America.

In closing, I am very excited about working with the

team here at SERVPRO. From everything that I have

seen over the past few weeks, everyone has shown

their true commitment to being the best of the best

and I look forward to working with you in the very

near future.

STORM Team and Large Loss

By: Chris Scallan

I would like to first start this article off by thanking Dave Hughes for his time and commitment

to STORM and Large Loss, especially over the last couple of months with the meetings he has

put on. I would also like to thank everyone that has been taking the time to come to the

meetings and offer their support and suggestions to continue to make this an opportunity for

everyone to impact their businesses.

Since this is my first article on this topic, I thought I would add some insight into what we are

trying to do in the Trainership to support this area. I am going to be helping coordinate

resources for Dave when a Storm event occurs, as well as ensure SERVPRO Standards are

being met at all times. To help coordinate, I have begun gathering the inventory of equipment

and people that will be available to travel on STORM. This list will be made available to your

trainers in an effort to help them utilize all the resources they have in each of their Trainerships

before calling outside their groups for help. Remember that it is important to follow the call

tree if you have an event occur in your territory or would like to travel to where an event has

occurred. All calls should be directed to your Trainers who will in turn call me to coordinate

what is needed. It will also be your Trainers who call you when a Storm event is outside of

your region and Dave is coordinating STORM team members.

I am also trying to follow up with Don Turner on franchises that have submitted applications

to be Large Loss Team Members. The goal is to speed up the approval process to begin to

build our list of available franchises. I will also communicate to your Trainers any applications

that do not get approved and what areas need to be addressed so that they can work with you

in getting the requirements met.

The most important part of all of this is that I am committed to helping Dave and all of you

make this a success. I would like to hear from anyone that has participated on STORM or been

a part of Large Losses to share what they feel works well and any suggestions for

improvement. You are the ones helping Dave and I write the book on how a STORM or Large

Loss event is handled for the country. You are the leaders in this arena for SERVPRO and you

alone can help guide the way to our $5 Billion 2020 Vision!!

Welcome to the Team Please join in welcoming to our team

four new franchises.

Servpro of University City/Cobbs Creek # 9688

Michael Blake

Jason and Teresa Ahlstrand

PO Box 31831

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Phone #: 267-684-6280 FAX #: 267-684-6288

Zip Codes: 19104 19139 19143

Servpro of Rock Hill & York County # 9689

Jeffrey & Peggy Lindsey

Jason & Heather De Jute

2655 Eden Terrace

Rock Hill, SC 29730

Phone #: 803-324-5780 FAX #: 803-324-5299

Zip Codes: 29014 29031 29055 29321 29340

29341 29353 29364 29379 29395

29702 29703 29704 29706 29708

29710 29712 29714 29715 29716

29717 29724 29726 29729 29730

29731 29732 29733 29734 29742

29743 29745

Servpro of Northwest Charlotte # 9697

Greg and Tracy Rouse

6148 Brookshire Blvd

Charlotte, NC 28216

Phone #: 704-393-7890 FAX #: 704-393-7891

Zip Codes: 28031 28078 28214 28216

Servpro of South Cabarrus County # 9700

John Fisher

Kathryn Curran

40 Odell School Road, Unit 2

Concord, NC 28027

Phone #: 704-793-1488 FAX #: 704-793-1499

Zip Codes: 28025 28027 28075 28107 28124

When The Economy Gets Tough, The Tough Get Selling!

By: John Wisniewski

I have been hearing this a lot lately, “Due to the economy my franchise’s volume is down”. How many of you have made this comment? While everyone in our industry understands that in tough times homeowners in need of cash, will take the money and run. Clients will cut back on services like carpet cleaning, duct cleaning and yes, even mitigation and fire clean-up services. The issues that we face, must be dealt with quickly and with uncertain resolve.

When fear and uncertainty are in the air, leadership is key to leading your organization through the storm (no pun intended). As in everything else, however, there’s a right way and a wrong way to tackle difficult times. Here’s how to avoid some common mistakes made by SERVPRO franchises for dealing with a down-turn in the economy, as well as some opportunities to watch out for.

Do not cut back on your sales resources: Big mistake! Analysis shows that top sales organizations increase their sales resources in tough times. Income is the lifeblood of your business, so the strength of your sales team is more vital than ever. Not only does cutting your sales resources starve your company for income, it also makes you vulnerable to your competition when the inevitable upswing occurs.

Get everyone on board: Confidence comes from working a plan based on the situation as it truly exists. Let your staff know you are all in this together, tell them what your plan is and get everyone selling. Get them out from behind the desk and in front of the customers. When the sale is made, transition swiftly to implementation so your sales team can get back on the street to close the next job.

Prioritize: Take care of your existing customers first. Not only are they among your most valuable resources in tough times, but your competition may be offering them panic-laden discounts or even lavish gifts and kickbacks. Show these clients the attention and care they need to not be swayed. Next, revisit the accounts that got away. Your competition is likely committing the same mistakes too many companies make in tough times, such as laying off sales staff, reducing their levels of service and putting their attention on acquiring new accounts. Take advantage of this and revisit these accounts. You may find a customer that didn’t have time for you before is now eager to explore their options.

The Value of a Good Team

By Britt Holcomb

We’ve all heard Chuck talk about it. We’ve read and heard John Maxwell talk about it. Servpro

Corporate talks about it. Teamwork. Surely you’ve heard the mantra “You build the team, the

team builds the company”. Recently I have spent quite a bit of time with a franchise who is

having problems in their business. This franchise has been in business for over 9 years and is

well established. Recently he has been having more and more problems that have actually

made him consider whether or not to continue in Servpro. The more time I spend analyzing the

business to help him come up with ways to get the problems under control, the more I realize

what the underlying issue really is, his team. His team is non-existent. He has employees,

obviously, but there is no real sense of teamwork. Teamwork is more than just finding people

who are willing to work together. It’s more than finding people who work well together. It’s

about finding people who perform at their best, care about the company, are loyal, are

dedicated, and work well with each other. There has to be a synergy present. It’s also

important to recognize people’s strengths and weaknesses and eliminate the weakest links

while playing to the strengths of the team. The people on the team have to have the same core

values and be willing to strive for a unified goal. Obviously it’s not easy to build a team like

this. It takes time, practice, patience and heartache. But, the end payoff is enormous. As I

looked at this business that is struggling, I recognized a familiar site; an owner who is

constantly over stressed and over worked, and an owner that feels that he has to do everything

in order to ensure that it’s done right. That familiar site was my business up until a few years

ago. Until I built my core team, it felt like I was constantly swimming up stream. At some point,

I just resigned myself to believe that this was the way it was supposed to be when you are the

owner of a business. But now that I’ve built my team and I have people in place that care about

the company and strive to do the job right, the calming effect of that is huge. I can do things

I’ve never been able to do without worrying whether or not my business will stay on track. So I

urge you to realize that you need a good team. You should put as much effort into building a

good team as you do anything else in your business. Sometimes we hear this and think, “Yeah,

that sounds great.”, but we come in every day to a stressful situation and assume that it has to

be that way. It doesn’t. Take it from someone who has lived it.

If you build the team, the team really will build your company and with a lot less stress!

May 1—Dave and Sandra Hughes, SERVPRO of Kennett Square/Oxford

May 6—Ray and Leslie Boyle, SERVPRO of Berlin/Clementon

May 12—Tony and Charlene Turner, SERVPRO of Lenoir, Duplin and Jones Counties and Wayne County

May 12—Jason and Teresa Ahlstrand, SERVPRO of University City/Cobbs Creek

May 13—Moses and Mattie Vincent, Winston Salem North

May 16—Ed and Joan Rementer, SERVPRO of Manayunk

May 19—Kristi and Danny Wyatt, SERVPRO of Penn Del, Southern New Jersey and The Carolinas

May 24—Dave and Pat Lyman, SERVPRO of Central Chester County and The Main Line

June 3—Ray and JoAnn Hopkins, SERVPRO of Sussex County

June 4—Glenn and Amy Herrmann, SERVPRO of Newtown/Yardley and Blue Bell

June 19—Ralph and Holly Grimm, SERVPRO of Fayette County

June 23—John and Anne Bogden, SERVPRO of West York/Hanover

New Member to the

SERVPRO of Richland

County family!

Ivy Ann Hinson

Daughter of Brian and Lisa

Hinson

Born: February 10, 2009

Weight: 7 pounds 10 ounces

Length: 20.5 inches

Reminder It is your responsibility to check your NAPA status 3 times per day!

May 1—Pat deBlois, SERVPRO of Hickory and Newton/Conover

May 2—Ray Redd, SERVPRO of Rocky Mount

May 5—Charlotte Redd, SERVPRO of Rocky Mount

May 5—Lynn Katofsky, SERVPRO of South Hills, Metro Pittsburgh and Monroeville

May 5—Tina Burton, SERVPRO of Anderson County

May 8—Randy West, SERVPRO of Northeast Greenville County

May 11—Chip Nunan, SERVPRO of Dover/Middletown

May 11—Dana West, SERVPRO of Northeast Greenville County

May 13—Barbara Jackson, SERVPRO of Penn Del

May 14—Andre DiPrinzio, SERVPRO of Whitemarsh/Cheltenham and Doylestown

May 19—Charlene Turner, SERVPRO of Lenoir, Duplin & Jones and Wayne County

May 24—Reggie Smith, SERVPRO of Summerville

June 2—Colleen Lucas, SERVPRO of Aiken

June 7—Dorothy Hess, SERVPRO of Columbia, Montour & Sullivan and Hazelton/Harvey’s Lake

June 8—John Bogden, SERVPRO of West York/Hanover

June 11—Janice Swilley, SERVPRO of Western South Carolina

June 14—Wanda McGarity, SERVPRO of North/South Spartenburg and Greenville East/West & SE

June 15—Jeanette Herring, SERVPRO of Fayetteville

June 15—Vicki Morris, SERVPRO of Lincoln/N. Gaston

June 15—David Burton, SERVPRO of Anderson

June 15—Gary Bash, SERVPRO of South Park/West Mifflin

June 15—Stephen Martin, SERVPRO of Henderson

June 19—Sandra Hughes, SERVPRO of Kennett Square/Oxford

June 19—Joe Barrett, SERVPRO of Southern Lancaster County

June 24—Barron Burch, SERVPRO of Greenwood/Abbeville/McCormick Counties

June 24—Rick Sferro, SERVPRO of Somerset and Westmont

June 25—Chris Nunan, SERVPRO of Penn Del, Southern New Jersey and The Carolina

June 28—LouAnn Roehl, SERVPRO of Horry and Georgetown Counties

June 28—Regina Bash, SERVPRO of South Park/West Mifflin

June 30—Dave Lyman, SERVPRO of Central Chester County and The Main Line

Mission

To develop a team of quality people who focus on

excellent service, fairness and mutual respect

Vision

To be the premier cleaning and restoration company in

Pennsylvania, Delaware, Southern New Jersey and North

and South Carolina.

Purpose

To help entrepreneurs succeed by building fully

managed, debt free businesses.

Core Values

Provide Excellent Service to Our Franchises

Take Care of Our People

Provide An Environment for People to Grow

Give Back to Our Community

Teamwork Equals Success

Ongoing Growth and Profitability

Be Financially Frugal and Debt Free

Please Contact

Kristi Wyatt

Or

Chuck Nunan

For more information

610-268-2124

kwyatt@servpropenndel.com

Servpro of Penn-Del

Servpro of The Carolinas

Servpro of Southern New Jersey

P.O , Box 482

101 Willow Street

Toughkenamon, Pa 19374

610-268-2124