Page 27 - Flathead Beacon // 6.11.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM BUSINESS JUNE 11, 2014 | 27

BUSINESS IS PERSONAL Mark Rifey

Pricing Custom Work Well
how does a
Is A Strategic Advantage
real estate
H
agent stay
OW GOOD IS YOUR BUSINESS ofsyncanhouratatime,adayatatime,
at pricing custom work?
aweekatatimeandsoonuntilweind
competitive?
If you don’t have a way of that our internal systems look like they
Great Northern Real Estate
pricing custom work that consistently were designed to run some other busi-
Brokers implemented an
accounts for your costs and labor, how ness (or none at all).
do you know if you’re making any proit At some point, things will have
innovative real estate venture
on these deals? How would it feel to ind crept so far out of line that you’ll have
in January of 2007. he busi-
that you’re losing money on half your no choice (like Downs) but to address
ness was formed to satisfy
custom work?
them. Not only has the job you face be-
the lifestyle requirements of
come massive, your strategic advantage
discerning clientele. Lee Gray
Do you have a spreadsheet or soft-
established the company with
ware program to help? If not, do you of having accurate, formula-driven cus-
the intention of creating a small real estate irm that would
have some other formulaic means of tom pricing will have become the exact
grow to meet the demands of the market, yet never outgrow a founding philosophy pricing work?
opposite.
for meeting the uniquely individual concerns of each cli-
If you read the May 12 New York
ent. Lee brings a dynamic and diverse range of resources
“You’ve done a terriic Times “You’re The Boss” piece by the WHY DOES IT MATTER?
to the Whiteish and Flathead Valley Communities.
job for us, as a Realtor & advisor, thanks for owner of Paul Downs Cabinetmakers, The trouble with getting your busi-
Great Northern Real Estate Brokers Specializes in: going the extra mile!” you’ll learn that these guys are fortu- ness into this situation is that it severely
Residential, Commercial, Lake & Mountain, Ranch & - L.T & R.B
Estate, and Bank Owned Property in Northwest Montana.
nate enough to have a formulaic method damages your ability to see trends, know
to determine the price of a custom item.
if you have enough (or too much) raw
102 Second Street East, Suite 4 That they have this formula puts
material or labor to deliver upon your
work commitments.
Whiteish, Montana 59937
If you’re already stuck,
406-862-4673 Oice
you have to consider the cost
866-398-4673 Toll Free
of continuing with a broken “HOW WOULD IT FEEL TO FIND

www.GNREB.com pricing model, assuming you THAT YOU’RE LOSING MONEY ON
www.MontanaBankOwned.com
have one.
If you aren’t sure you’re HALF YOUR CUSTOM WORK?”
turning a proit on custom
work – the showpiece work
of your business – this merits
them ahead of most businesses that immediateattention.
do custom work. However, the trouble This is your best work. It’s the work

starts when they discuss what’s going on that generates the reputation that earns 79
behind the scenes as there are a number your bread and butter work. It’s the work $
of things going on that conspire to cause that you use to get your best, most proit- Green Fee
problems when reality and the pricing able clients.
formula meet on the shop loor.
And yet you aren’t sure exactly how
much proit you make on it?
THE FAILURE POINTS
If a close friend was in that situation,
Downs mentions that the spread- you know how you’d react. You’d go out Monday - Wednesday

sheet’s material prices haven’t been up- of your way to make the situation clear
dated in over six years, that material use to them, helping them if possible.
Includes cart and range balls
and overages are not tracked, that tool Why not do the same for yourself?
use and labor methods have changed Must present one coupon per foursome. Good thru June 30th.
and that the info in the spreadsheet is SHOULD THIS TAKE SIX
sometimes entered wrong and fails to MONTHS?
match the reality of the work actually No, it shouldn’t. While Downs says

being done.
his expert worked on this for six months,
As you read about all the possible I suspect what he really means is that it
failure points of this spreadsheet and took six months from start to inish – not
how they’ve allowed it to become out- that his expert worked on it eight hours a
dated and stale compared to their busi- day, ive days a week for six months.
ness reality, you can’t help but wonder The important thing to remember is
how they got to that point.
that this doesn’t have to be perfect the
Here’s the thing: this type of situa- irst time.

tion is pretty common.
Start with the highest impact item
Our tendency to think we’re too busy you can wrap your head around. And
to address these critical, but tiny (at the implement it. Tweak and add pricing
time) maintenance issues has a way of components one at a time to improve ac-
giving us permission to postpone giving curacy.
them attention. We think we’ll take care This allows you to see results and
of them someday since some other thing adjust for accuracy and additional in-
Pro Shop: 406.889.6501
seems more important right now.
formation without allowing any single
It doesn’t seem to work that way, de- change to be so complex that you have 1885 Sophie Lake Rd.
spite the best of intentions.
no way to assess its worth, much less its Eureka, Montana
What usually happens is that the accuracy.
business lets these little things get out
Get to work!
Wilderness Grill

Open daily from 7am - 8pm • Reservations recommended by calling (406) 889-6510 Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or
All guests must adhere to the Wilderness Club dress code at all times
marketing problem? See Mark’s site, rescuemarketing.com, or contact him via email
at [email protected].