Instead of allowing his business to manage him, Terry Bradwell has made the decision to manage his business.  Terry and Casey Bradwell are new customers of ours, and are the owners of Gaston Heating & Air in Gaston, SC.  Located just outside of Columbia, Gaston Heating & Air provides HVAC repair services on all systems, and provides new equipment sales for Whirlpool and Tappan products.

The reasons Terry and Casey purchased GPS:

• Ability to see where vehicles are during the day
• Cut fuel costs
• Manage employees better
• Cut down on non-productive time
• Reduce unjustified expenses

Even though times are tough, Terry and Casey decided that the money invested in GPS was worth it.  They realize how quick the ROI is when installing GPS, and they will soon have the proof.

If you have these concerns with your employees or business, give us a call.  We can show you how to gain a business advantage by using GPS, and save a TON of money doing it.

Until next time,

T

To start this post, I wanted to share a real-world experience with you.  I recently had a dispute with a local exterminating company over my invoice.  The problem was that the company was supposed to come out on the weekends and spray our house.  They did not.  They came during the week.  Not once, but several times.  So, I began to wonder what exactly I was getting from this company.  Are they spraying around my house?  Are they staying long enough to check for termites and all of the other things that I am paying for?  I was not sure.

I picked up the phone and called them.  How do I know that you guys were here doing what you were supposed to do?  They had no answer. I really began to question them now.  What about an arrival and departure time?  Nope, can't tell you that either.

Are you starting to see the problem?

If you own or manage a service based company, how do you account for your time onsite with a customer?  What system do you have in place to show them that you were there for the amount of time necessary?

It's funny, because I get these calls all the time from current GPS customers.  They tell me how one of their customers called and complained about being billed for an excessive amount of labor hours.  "The service technician was not here that long" they say.  So, my GPS customer goes into their GPS system, runs a report, and accounts for the time that the technician billed the customer for.

Problem solved.

If you do not have a system in place that can do this, or if you are constantly deleting invoices due to customer complaints, I can help.  But, you have to call me.

Our number: 1-877-212-4828

Until next time,

T

You remember that part right?  If you do not, watch the movie "A Few Good Men" and you will know what I am talking about.  The truth was something that no one wanted to hear, and it cost a young Marine his life.

This post is about the truth, but no one is going to or has lost their life.  But, I do want to address some false information that is being spread around regarding Nextel Push to Talk services.  It seems that there are those out there who want to spread rumors about information that is not true, or they have not done their research before speaking. 

Over the week or so, I have answered several calls and emails about an announcement that Sprint recently made regarding their Push to Talk service on Nextel.  In the announcement, Sprint told the world that they would be phasing out the Push to Talk service on the Nextel network beginning in 2013.

That's right........2013. 

Also stated in the announcement was the fact that Sprint is realizing that customers who are still on the Nextel network needed access to faster data speeds and better smartphones.  These customers were moving over to the Sprint network or were moving to another carrier to gain these services.

Last, Sprint stated that they are currently working and testing the Push to Talk service on the Sprint network.  This would allow those users that wanted Push to Talk coupled with faster data and better smartphones the opportunity to have it all on one network.

Now, to address what I am hearing. 

1. Sprint is not cancelling Push to Talk next year, nor are they shutting down the network next year.
2. Push to Talk is not going away.  It is moving from one network to another.
3. Push to Talk is not going away.  It is moving from one network to another.
4. Push to Talk is not going away........you get the picture, right?

There you have it.  If there are any questions about what you have read, or if you would like to see the announcement for yourself, you can click here.

Until next time,
T

As we all know, Verizon Wireless made the announcement earlier this week regarding the launch of the iPhone 4.  Guess we can finally put that rumor to bed, right?  Coupled with their most reliable network in the nation, the phone should do fairly well. 

Yesterday, Verizon announced that they were doing away with all early upgrades and discounts for existing customers. The move forces people to upgrade before January 16th to get their discounts or be forced to pay full price when upgrading their phone.

Facebook, Twitter and many other social media sites are booming with people who are upset that this is happening.  So, why did they do it?

Business, nothing more.

Verizon knows that millions of customers are getting ready to jump ship and move over when the iPhone launches.  Instead of depleting iPhone inventory with upgrades from existing customers, Verizon is saving that inventory for new customers.  New customers will pay $199 for the iPhone, and Verizon will cut its losses down by forcing existing customers to pay full retail for their new phone.

Don't be surprised when Verizon Wireless stores ask you if you are an existing customer when purchasing the iPhone in a few weeks.  Just as they did when the Blackberry Storm launched, stores will more than likely hold their inventory for new activations instead of upgrades.  New activations are worth twice the money that an upgrade is.

Now, if you want my opinion on the iPhone coming to Verizon, see my blog post titled, "Is the Verizon iPhone too late?"

Until next time,

T

Recent rumors surrounding the Apple iPhone launch for Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile are everywhere.  Search any engine and you will find tons of articles, comments, and posts regarding the what, when, and how the new iPhone will launch and on what network.

But, is Apple too late?  Did they wait too long to launch their phone on a carrier better than AT&T?

In my opinion, YES.

Market gains from Google based Android phones are the only phone gaining any market share right now.  While every other manufacturer lost market share through July of 2010, Android gained 5%!

Don't believe me, check this out:

Personally, I think that Verizon, Sprint, or whomever launches the iPhone will benefit from people moving to a better carrier than AT&T.  But, all indications are that market share will continue to grow towards the Android platform and further away from RIM, Apple, Microsoft, and Palm.

What are your thoughts?

Just a quick note.............

It is with great pride that I report this morning that OneBridge Communications was involved in an operation that utilized our GPS solutions to apprehend two men that were involved in several violent late night break-ins.

I am currently working on a research project for a marketing piece that my company is working on.  As I dive into the mound of paperwork that I have on my desk that I have compiled, I began to glance at some of the statistics that relate to fatal vehicle crashes.

What I am finding is amazing!

The National Center for Statistics and Analysis posted a study on this very subject (fatal crashes), and their statistics are very eye-opening. 

Did you know that more than 60% of all fatal crashes happen between the hours of 12:00AM and 06:00AM?  Also, of those fatal crashes, over 70% were speeding?  And, more than 55% of those crashes did not involve a driver that was impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Now, that sounds unbelievable.  I did not believe it either.  Maybe for one year, right?  No.  These statistics are over the course of 15 years.  The last 15 years to be exact.

So, what does this have to do with my job?  Well..........everything.

See, the use of GPS tracking on your fleet of vehicles can help stop this.  Now, do I know how many of these accidents involved employees that were driving their companies vehicle after hours?  No.  But, do I know that after hours and unauthorized movement of your vehicle is going on at night?  Yes.  Especially if you are allowing employees to take them home, and you are not currently using a tracking system.

GPS tracking systems allow a user to set automated alerts for several key areas of information.  Those range from speeding, after hours movement, geofence violations, excessive idling, and non movement alerting.  The alerts can be sent to any email address, or text messaged to any phone number.

Imagine being able to know when your employees are using your vehicles on the weekends or after hours. 

It could save your company tons of money!  It could save someone's life!

Sad to say, but I really liked that song.  However, this post has nothing to do with that song, other than I thought the title would fit.

I attended a business meeting last Wednesday morning.  The speaker was a well-known sales trainer named Jeffrey Gitomer.  If you do not know who he is, Google it.  He is one of the best speakers that I have seen, and I was extremely motivated after attending this meeting.

Anyway, during his presentation, Gitomer spoke about what you are doing for your customers?  What are you doing for them?  Sure, you are trying to sell them something.  But, is that the only time that you call?  How often do you drop in just to say hello?  How often do you do something for them "just because"?

And the final one that really got me thinking:

When was the last time you gave your customer something they wanted instead of something you wanted to give them?? Think about that one for a minute.  If it doesn't immediately make sense, it will.

Fast forward to today.  I am at my local muffler shop having them look at some crazy noise that is coming from my truck.  I recently took my truck to them to put on a new muffler on my truck, cost me $450.

This is the second time that I have been there since they installed my muffler.  The first time I was there, they fixed something that had nothing to do with the muffler they installed.  But, this time it was the muffler.  It was making a horrible noise that sounded like the truck was going to fall apart.

After they examined the problem, they told me that a clamp on one of the pipes had been turned around backwards causing the awful noise.  What I forgot to mention was that my mechanic had the truck for a few weeks replacing some things, and he was the one that turned the clamp around.

So, they fixed it..........again.

Now, could they have charged me for the two times I took my truck over there. 

Did they?

No.

What muffler company will I refer every single person I know to from this point forward in my life?  That one.  To prove my point, here you go:

APS Muffler
3033 Cherry Rd. Suite #C
Rock Hill, SC  29730
803-366-8636

Call them.  They go above and beyond their call of duty.

Back to the first question.

What have you done for your customers lately?

Until next time,

T

I have to admit that lately I have been consuming a lot of self-motivation, self-help, success books.  I have read stuff from Tony Robbins, Darren Hardy, and many more in that arena.  As I read, I have noticed that although the title is different, the wording inside is almost always the same.

Do this.  Don't do that.  A,B,C and X,Y,Z.  The plans are laid out for you in the manuals. 

But, is it that easy?  Is it as simple as picking up a book on success, reading through it, studying it, and then implementing the practices?  Is it really that easy?

I am not sure. 

So, I started thinking about the 20% rule.  Of the one million people that have purchased books from the above authors, the rule of 20% would basically state the following:

- 1,000,000 people actually bought the book
- 200,000 people actually read the book
- 40,000 people actually took the time to implement a few things in the book.
- 8,000 people will actually implement everything in the book.
- 1,600 people will actually be successful

Now, this is not an exact science, but I believe that various studies have shown that this is typically what happens.

So, the question is, if success is measured in numbers, just like above, does that mean that if you go and buy the manual, and really implement the ideas, that you will become successful?

I have created a poll question for you to weigh your opinion.  Please leave a comment as to why you made the decision that you made!

Until next time,

T

Take the poll here!!!

As I was watching, no, enjoying the first preseason games last week, I began to think about football in detail.  Ever notice how obsessed teams, owners, and fans are about stats of players?  We have fantasy football, we have websites dedicated to stats, and we have video games that make players better than others..............all based on football stats.

I then began to think about how football relates to my business.  I am also in the business of stats, well, numbers.  I want to look at a companies telecom bills and see the numbers.  How are you spending, what are you spending, where is the waste, how can we spend less. 

The same can be said about a football team.  How are they using the clock?  How often are they scoring in the redzone?  How many dropped passes?  The list goes on and on.

As a head football coach, stats are analyzed and then re-analyzed.  Players are placed in order in which they play, and those that are not up to par are sent to other teams or given their release.

As a business owner, or a head coach (you are the same), you should be doing the same thing.  How are we doing?  How can we get better?  How can we spend less?

The tough part is the round of cuts.  But, to get better, cuts have to happen.  Does that include people?  Maybe.  Does it include spending cuts? Sure.

Whatever it is, crunching numbers and looking over stats may not be your thing.  If it is not, hire someone like me to help you collect, organize, and review the numbers.  The cuts you make will, in the end, make you a better team.

Until next time,

T