How Coaching Can Help Rebuild Trust in Your Inventory | Podcast Ep. 148 | Toolbox for the Trades

Jeremy Wickenhouser, welcome to Toolbox for the Trades which we are recording here live at Pantheon.

Thanks, Jackie.

I'm really excited for you to be here. Can you tell me a little bit about what you do at GoTime Success Group?

Sure. I'm a certified coach with GoTime, so we've been certified through Service Titan to prove that we know the product inside and out and we help customers with either onboarding, inventory implementations, accounting, integrations, pos. So basically anything within Service Titan that you feel that is a pain point or you want to get a little bit of guidance or maybe you just don't have time to do it, we're there to help you as much or as little as you need. So if we want us to do everything, just package deal and then train you afterwards, or if you want us to do a step by step, you follow along, do the work yourself and we just provide the steps for you and the guidance. You know, we can kind of cater to each contractor what they, what their goals are.

Oh, interesting. So you've got like a total, you have almost like a self serve model and also like a hand holding model, it sounds like.

Exactly.

Very, very cool. All right, so I'm going to get into your specialty and the kind of stuff that you're really good at. But before we even get there, I want to know how did you get into the trades?

Actually it was just kind of on a whim. I.

I love when career decisions happen on a lot.

Yeah, you know, I was looking for a job and I knew some people in my area and they're like, yeah, you should come see work for this trades company. I think you'd be very work really. Well, they were looking for software implementer at that time and when I went and talked to them, yes, this is exactly what we're looking for, Jeremy. And then we started actually implementing Service Titan.

Oh, interesting. Okay. And did you have a software tech background before that?

Not really. I was always just kind of interested in software and every kind of job that I've had, I've always wanted to test the limit of software to see, you know, what can it do, what can it do, what do I do to break it? And that's kind of what's kind of drove me all the time. It's can I break this? If so, then can it be fixed? And started realizing, you know, most of the stuff you can't break and if it does break, then there is usually an answer on how to fix it. It might not be the best, but, you know, so Going into any kind of software, it's like, what can I do? What can't I do? And what have I tried? And now it's broken.

I just want to say to everyone listening, don't try and break Surface Titan, but I do encourage you, I guess, to explore just like you. Just like you did, Jeremy.

Right.

So what was the first company that you worked for? Did you. Were you there for a while? You implemented Service Titan?

Yeah, it was Sterling Plumbing and Heating. They're based out of Regina, Canada, and I was there for eight years.

Oh, wow, Nice. And what brought you to Go Time success group?

I actually heard about them through my success manager at ServiceTitan. I had a pretty good relationship with. With him, and he said, you know, you do know quite a lot about Service Titan. And he said that there was some talks within their group about the. About Go Time, and he thought that, you know, he's like, oh, I think that you would be a good fit with them. And so he got in touch with Danielle, who's running the program at the time, and then she reached out to Joe and Robin at Go Time, and then, you know, one thing led to another and.

And you were like, bye, I'm a coach now. Yeah, that's really cool. So I would love to know, from the perspective of a customer who's implemented ServiceTitan and now a coach that has worked with, I'm assuming, at this point now, dozens of different contractors all across the country, when it comes to ServiceTitan, what are some things that you. That are what. What's different about those two roles? A customer implementing versus a coach?

Well, when we first onboarded with ServiceTitan, it was. We had a lot of support with our onboarder, but there was things where we'd be starting to do set them up and we weren't getting the expected results. And it would have been just nice to have a little bit more hand holding. And now, as on the other side of the fence, it's nice because you know that there's a need for the hand holding with a lot of places, and we were pretty sophisticated. It's not like we didn't know what we were doing, but a lot of stuff is really difficult. The steps. There's a lot of steps, and if you set something up wrong, it'll affect something down the line. So it's nice now that I can be the one that's holding the hand. I felt the pain of setting these things up, and now from my experiences, I can say, oh, you know what? You don't have to feel my pain. I can help you get to a better place.

I'm so happy I asked this question because the reason I have you on today is we are talking about the Service Titan preferred provider program. I will make sure in the show notes of this episode that I have the right term for it because the name keeps changing all the time. But essentially, Go Time Success Group is one of several providers that are Service Titan certified, which means you've taken tests that say, we know what the heck we're doing when it comes to Service Titan with all of these elements and when customers need that little extra help, that extra handholding, we vouch for you and we say Go Time is a great resource to use and that's why you're here today. So I know one of the things that you are. So you're an expert on, so to speak, is inventory. So tell me a little bit about that.

Sure. So back with my experience with Sterling, we decided that we wanted to implement inventory. It was at this point. So this was back in 2017 and there was a lot of pushback from a lot of people saying, no, you're going to be spending a whole lot of 800 hours, I think is what they told us is what it was going to take to implement. And you know, that kind of was like, oh, my goodness, 800 hours. And it was scary. And like, you know what, this is a challenge where we're really going to take and they, you know, typical fashion, it was, you know, we don't need a warehouse manager. We've got enough capacity going on with everything we've got, you know, we've got this. So we set it up and everything was working really well. We ended up getting one of the top inventory specialists within service site to help us and we started rolling with it. And within the first about two to three weeks, we started realizing that you do need a warehouse manager because you don't have the capacity to do everything that you need to and keep everything functional and accurate. So after about three weeks, it was okay. We definitely need a warehouse manager. So we brought somebody else in. We ended up going and almost re implementing inventory because we were already at a point where things started. It's just the processes weren't being followed properly because there wasn't time for everybody to do what they needed to do. So it was a sham, shambles. Everything was just kind of like.

The pain. Yeah, the pain of having to do that and then tear it all down. I can only imagine.

So then we basically reset everything. We basically we depleted everything out of our inventory. We did a recount, we brought everything back in, serialized everything. We had our manager in place. We decided on making the workflows for that position before we hired for them. And then from there now we had a fresh person. They really didn't know a lot about our company, but they were willing to do the new processes that we had out and we started out smaller. We're gonna just do equipment for now and once we feel comfortable with the equipment, then we'll start rolling out to other high value products. And then from there, if we still feel comfortable, then we'll start getting more granular to, you know, the fittings and air filters and you know, the low dollar values stuff that we wanted to track at the beginning, but it was just not. We just, we weren't able to because we didn't know what we were getting into.

That's incredible. So you had this really kind of clunky, not clunky, but you had this really intense experience at Sterling and then. So how does that translate now to the work that you do with clients at GoTime?

Well, so now that I've had that experience of going through it basically twice with the same company, it's definitely, it helps me outline a lot more of the steps that are needed.

Right.

And a lot of it is like, it seems kind of silly that we didn't think of it before. But it's like naming conventions for your materials.

Right.

To make sure that we're not having like we can buy the same widget from multiple different companies, but it's still the same widget. So if you have these set up as separate pieces then like how do you manage that? Well, you really can't.

Right.

So getting a naming convention for your materials. We reach out to our vendors to get our last two years of purchasing. So we would find out, you know, what are the most commonly purchased things? Because then that'll let us know. Okay, well we're buying this a lot. This is the stuff that we want to inventory.

Right.

And we have different courses of actions for different companies because some companies are, yeah, we want a baby step. You know, we would like to just do equipment first and then high value and then get granular once we have the processes in place and other companies, you know what, outline the whole map for us. We'll start training, we'll get you to start training our guys get the workflows together and you know, we'll have a 60 day implementation. Get everything ready, load it all up and we're Ready to go. And then of course, the ongoing support because, you know, know it's. Everything is scary when it's new.

Of course. Right.

Nobody wants to be the one that has to push that button because they don't want to be the one that pushes the wrong button.

Right.

So just. And again, it's kind of like the hand holding.

Right?

We're here, we're here to help you. If you have an issue, we're approachable, you can, we can get onto a call with you right away or we can chat by emails, whatever it needs to make sure. Like, we don't want to see anybody fail. That's not why we're here. We want to make sure that anything that we implement or anything that we set up is going to be successful going forward. So we outline the plans, the steps, depending on what their needs are and what their workflows are, and we get it together. Everybody knows what's happening and, you know, it comes together quite nicely and it's really exciting to see, you know, once you actually flip that switch. We're going live today with inventory. It's almost as exciting as going live with Service Titan.

Wow, them Spiken words.

Right?

Okay, so inventory is something that I don't always talk about on the show because it's, you know, it's behind the scenes. Maybe not as sexy as dispatching. Right. There's not. I mean, I don't think, correct me if I'm wrong, right. There's not as much ROI when it comes to inventory management or immediate roi, perhaps. So what would you say to folks who maybe have been on Service Sign for a while but haven't even touched inventory or even thinking about it? Or folks who aren't even on Service Titan yet and like their inventory is like, yep, just go to the back and grab what you need. Like, what are some things that you would encourage people to consider if that's their current process or like they're not really tracking it?

Well, inventory is a big part of your business.

Right.

And I see this in a lot of different contractors. Just like you said. Oh, we've got the stuff in the back, but you don't know what you have, right? Especially like service partners parts you'll have. You'll go into a warehouse and there'll be blower motors that you probably can't even install anymore because the equipment sold.

Yes, that's what I've heard. I've heard that people like just have stuff that isn't even relevant anymore and it's taking up space. I'M sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. Continue.

But it's, it's. It's a common frustration that a lot of places have. And it's, well, if you know what you have, right, then we're not going to a supplier and buying it because we know that it's on the shelf. We can get a parts runner to bring it out to you or however their workflows are set up. But it gives everybody a visibility. And now with the new inventory app, it allows more visibility for the techs to see what's happening. The office side can see more into what the techs have on their trucks. So they're not doing supply house runs for, you know, oh, I need one copper elbow to finish my job. So I'm going to issue a PO for, you know, three. Three bucks. You know, that doesn't help anybody out.

And then also you don't want your techs going to the supply house. That's what I've heard generally. Right?

Right.

Yeah. You want them to be doing their repairs and then off to the next job. So getting that visibility, once they're using items up, using replenishment. So they come to work the next morning, they're at the warehouse, you've got a package ready for them to replenish their truck stock. It just helps everybody out. The technicians like knowing that they have a floor stock truck and they don't have to fill out forms to make sure that, oh, I used all these items and then the office gets a form, maybe it gets lost. They don't get their package till the next day.

So it's takes stress off their day. Sounds like it, right?

It does. It helps the technicians manage their trucks and it gives visibility for the office on what the items that the techs are actually using.

Yeah, totally. Are there any clients that you've worked with so far that have seen a tremendous, tremendous, like just gain from really buckling down and following this process?

Well, we worked with one group, Expert Heating and Cooling. They're out of Detroit and they implemented inventory right out of the gates. So right from go live, they were going with inventory. And usually we don't recommend something like that just because it. There's a whole bunch of new workflows. Plus inventory is really finicky.

Right.

Times are really important. And when you're entering data is really important because not only are you matching stuff up to your service titan software, but you also have to make sure that your accounting software is accurate too. Right. So timing is really key. So they approached us, they had inventory issues, they were having export errors. They didn't quite understand how the inventory tables worked. So go time it was myself and Kirsten. We came in, we developed a plan for them, we got their inventory squared away, that it was accurate again, and then we trained their staff on the proper workflows, how that they should be doing things, how they can monitor things, and not only how to kind of manage it, but if there was a problem, how do you solve that problem?

Sure.

Right.

Because no matter how hard you work or how hard you implement something, there's always going to be something that either doesn't go proper or something will get missed. But then how do you.

Wait, are you saying that people can't be perfect?

Well, exactly, yeah. It's hard to be right. But knowing how to fix these mistakes, that's key in making sure that your inventory system is accurate. Because the, the worst feeling is, and I felt this. Once your inventory system isn't accurate, people start truck stop trusting it. And once they stop trusting that the inventory is going to be accurate, you can do as much as possible to get that back to being accurate. But they'll still be going back. They'll say, oh, I have 10 in stock, and they'll go back to the warehouse, count all 10, because they don't trust it even though everything's back. So the big thing is making sure that if there is a mistake, we know how to fix it, we have the tools available to us, and that people maintain their trust in and in the accuracy of your inventory system.

That's actually a really good point. I didn't even think about that. Like, if fool me once, shame on, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. So I can see how you, you have that break of trust that could really get people worked up and concerned that what they're seeing isn't accurate. So be mindful to not let things go, get so out of hand that your inventory becomes a mess and you have to do this thing all over again.

Right.

And that's why it's key to have the inventory manager in there. Because a lot of the times if you don't have somebody managing it, you may not know for a month, two months down the line that you have some issues. And by that time, now what do you do?

Right?

You're. Now you're trying to recoup two months of your time and depending on like, the, the items that you're. If it's a large ticket item like a furnace, or if it's a small ticket item like an air filter, right? You're, you know, a $50 air filter. You're spending four hours trying to figure out what went wrong. And it's, you know, cost efficiency tells us, you know, like, that's not a good, good time of use of your, you know, for sure. Yeah.

So how long have you been with GoTime now?

It's just over a year and a half.

Okay. Do you have any favorite client stories besides the one that you already told?

I guess every. Every client I have, I have different stories, different ways that we've come to different resolutions for, you know, how do I get this to work? How do I get this to work? So it's. I don't really, off the top of my head, I can't think of any really great ones, but it's, it's just really rewarding to meet because you're seeing people from all over the country and up in Canada too. We're seeing a lot of new contractors coming out and getting some help. And it's, it's rewarding, I think, on both sides because they're getting, you know, the guidance, they're getting to where they want to be, and we feel the reward because we're helping them get there.

I love that. What advice would you give folks who are interested in engaging with a service titan preferred provider like Go Time Success Group? What should they get ready? What should they be thinking about when they're, you know, investing in a group like yours?

Really, it's, you know, what it comes down to the vision. What is your vision? What do you want to see? Where do you want to see yourself in three months, six months?

Right.

And you might not know how to get there.

Right.

That's how. What will kind of cater to you to make sure that you can get there. But if you have a. If you're in a spot where you're, you know, you want to do better, you know, you can make it to this next step, but you're not really sure how to. That's when, you know, reach out to the STCPs because they can, you know, within an hour, interview. We can find out, you know, how your workflows are. We can, after the call, we can go through your settings, find out, you know, because service time, everything touches everything, right? So it's not just, oh, well, we want inventory. It's like, okay, well, you want inventory, but we still need your accounting set up. We still need your purchasing set up, your materials, your price book. So there's so many different things. So we'll lay out that road map for you, and here's the steps. And like I said, we can do it in multiple different ways. Either we can do it all and say, here's what we're gonna do. These are the timelines we're gonna do it. Or we can walk you through it and say, here's what you need to do. You know, we'll meet again in a couple days once you have this task, and then we'll let you know what's. What's going on. And we're always, like I said, send us emails or phone calls and we're quick to respond back. So that. Because again, we've been there, we know that waiting for something, that it might be a small thing, but it's important to you because you need to do it in order to get to that next step. So really, like, the. The speed in which we need to get back to people at is really important to us because like I said, it's. It's kind of like a stop. They come to a halt because they don't know what to do, and they can't get to the next step until they've overcome this hurdle. So the longer that we make them wait, the longer it takes for them to get their implementation.

So your goal is basically not to be a bottleneck. Basically, yeah. You know, it's so tempting for me when I have folks like you on who, like, literally touch all areas of business. Let's, like, ask you everything, but, like, given your year and a half at go time, given what you learned at Sterling, what are some things that you see contractors doing that you think they could be doing better as a whole? Like, what are some common things that you feel people should be aware about and should be mindful of as they're working on their own business?

Technician workflows is big. Making sure that, and this is the hardest one, too, is to get them to make sure that they're clocking in, clocking out, dispatching, adding the materials that they're using in the proper tasks, creating their estimates. That's a big one. And we do a lot of training for the technicians to get them feeling more comfortable, comfortable and confident in the software. And that was. In my experience, that was the biggest thing, is that they just don't feel confident. You know, like you put them in front of a furnace, sure. Like, they'll tell you what's going on right away, but in front of it's. It's intimidating because it's something they may not know or they might not just have. Have the understanding of how mobile devices work that well.

Right, sure.

So making sure they feel confident and do. Doing maybe even some role playing and you know, I'm the customer. Here's my issue. How do you do this in service titan? Just to build up that confidence. And purchasing workflows is one of the biggest ones because purchasing workflows, that's how you get your job costing.

Right.

If your purchasing is out of whack or out of line, then you know everything else is going to fall behind too.

So, yeah, I mean, if you're not pricing your services according to like how much it's charging you to run the job, like, I mean, what are you doing?

Right, right. You don't know what your profitability is now because you just don't have that visibility into it.

So can I just say I've enjoyed talking to you so much today and I think part of it is like your Canadian warmth as like a new, as like a New Yorker. I'm just like, you're very you. I love the way you speak, I love the way you think about things. And I think anyone honestly who would choose to work with you would be very happy with that. So thank you for taking time out of a day where I know you want to meet with a lot of people, tell them about what you're doing. I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to talk with me. I have one more question for you. What would you say to someone who is considering a career in the trades?

Do it. It is so fulfilling. I've seen a lot of people go through the trades and you know, it's. It sounds weird but, you know, back when I was in high school, there wasn't a lot of awareness for trades.

No, totally.

It was, you have to go to university or technical school to get your business diploma or accounting diploma or marketing or be a scientist. We never had somebody come in and say, hey, you know what? You could be a carpenter, you could be a plumber, you could be an H Vac. I didn't know what an H Vac technician was. Same same until I worked here, until I started working with the trades. And I was like, you know, if I would have known this before, that might have impacted the whole course of my life because I am a pretty handy person. I'm really mechanical. I probably could have been a trade, you know, H Vac technician or a plumber, but it just, it didn't, it.

Wasn'T available to you.

It just didn't strike me as something that you could do as a job.

I know. And literally.

Farming or business?

Farming or business. You know the two pillars of society. I mean technically, yeah, kind of. But also the trades. There's many pillars of society.

Right.

So I 100% agree with you. Jeremy, thank you so much for coming and talk with me again. It was a pleasure. I hope you had fun we threw you into this and look forward to hearing more about you and go time success group.

Great, thanks.