Restoration Rewind

Delta Development Group Monthly Newsletter

July 2015

Crawford Contractor Connection Convention Nets Recognition

and Results By Michael Mastous

Crawford Contractor Connection continues to be one of the industry’s largest third-party administrators and they host the largest annual restoration contractor event in the country. This year's event was held in Orlando Florida. The event itself attracted over 3,000 individual contractors, vendors and suppliers. This year the Denver office was joined by the owners of our Northern Colorado, Southern Colorado and Western Colorado offices.

Delta Disaster Services as a whole, was a Gold Sponsor of this annual conference. We were recognized in numerous postings around the event as well as we placed the below advertisement in their annual conference publication.

The conference allows for much face-to-face time with other restoration companies and vendors. All four of our offices were fortunate enough to have a private meeting with the Western Region Vendor Manager for USAA Insurance Company. Delta Disaster Services of Northern Colorado as well as the Denver office are currently receiving assignments through CCC under the USAA program. As of this writing, our Southern Colorado office was added as a PDRP (Property Damage Repair Program) General Contractor for the Southern Colorado area. We were also told that they are very interested in the Western Colorado office and will continue to look for an opening in the western area of the state.

The theme at this year's event was “Be there when it counts”. CCC continued to stress over-all communication as the key to success in the insurance vendor consumer relationship. Many of

the benchmarks that CCC requires are also same benchmarks a quality restoration contractor should achieve.

Mitigation Services

Make verbal contact with the customer within 15 minutes of receiving a loss Be on-site within two hours of receiving the claim Requesting approval from the carrier for high-value items such as flooring, cabinets etc. Documenting the drying process through proper moisture reports and psychometrics Drying most properties within 3 to 5 days. Construction Services

Make verbal contact with the customer within one hour of receiving the loss Be on-site within 24 hours of the assignment Turn an estimate in to the insurance company within three days of assignment

Start the construction process no later than one week after receiving approval One thing that was made very clear at the conference was that Image and Branding mean a lot!

You get a good perspective of image when you're in a group of 3,000 competitors. Yes, there were some teams of restoration contractors that presented themselves well. But very few. Our Delta team of four definitely did stand out. Presentation does make a big difference!

In addition to the General Session presentations, there were also numerous breakouts sessions throughout the week. Classes such as industry best practices, customer service and business relations. In addition to that, there were classes for industry certifications in Xactimate, Haag Roofing and IICRC certifications. If you did attend this year you are more than likely going to continue to attend, as you saw the benefits. If you have not, please plan to attend next year's convention in Las Vegas. We will update you as the event gets closer.

In the Know With Insurance

ACE acquiring Chubb

(Bloomberg) -- Evan Greenberg just took deal making to the next level. The chief executive officer of property-and-casualty insurer Ace Ltd. on Wednesday announced a $28 billion deal for rival Chubb Corp.

Buyers Club AIG, Allstate Corp. and Travelers Cos. are among insurers that could look to also make a big purchase. Their smaller property-and-casualty peers surged on speculation they could be targets.

State Farm Insurance Cos. announced that Chief Operating Officer Michael Tipsord will

become its next chief executive, succeeding Ed Rust Jr., who has led the private

company since the mid-1980s.

The Bloomington-based insurance and financial company said in a news release that

Tipsord will take over in September from Rust, who has held the post since 1985. Rust,

64, will remain chairman of the company's board.

“Michael has a deep understanding of the opportunities and challenges emerging in our

rapidly changing marketplace,” Rust told

State Farm employees Thursday. “During

his 27-year career with our company, he

has been a key leader in driving our

continued growth and success.”

Tipsord joined the company in 1988. He

became a vice president in 2002 and chief financial officer in 2004 before taking his

current job in 2011.

“This great organization is blessed with a strong leadership team and State Farm

associates who are committed to helping our customers live confidently every day,”

Tipsord said.

State Farm has about 65,000 employees and is ranked No. 41 on the 2014 Fortune 500

list of largest companies. It is also Bloomington's biggest employer with about 15,000

workers in the city.

CASH IN THE DOOR!

Based on May Royalties…

Fireworks are in order, after all it is the 4th of July. WESTERN COLORADO with their one year anniversary in June was number one for Cash in the Door in May! This is all due to some great work, great marketing, great customer service, great collection efforts! Congratulations Bruce Tyler, Amy and the rest of the crew!

CELEBRATION A few of our offices are celebrating anniversaries this summer. Congratulations to Shane and Delta Disaster Services of Salt Lake South, celebrated 2 years in June.

Delta Disaster Services of Western Colorado and Bruce and Tyler Milyard celebrated their 1 year in business anniversary in June. And Delta Disaster Services of Northern Colorado will celebrate their 2

year anniversary in August. Congratulations to all of our offices!

In the Works at DDG

CCC Convention! While Mike was there representing Delta Disaster Services of Denver he was doing some major recon for Delta Development Group! He was assisted by his able spies, Tyler, Adam, and Emmis! We also had a nice ad in the CCC program – almost $4,000 worth! That ad was seen by adjusters and contractors throughout the country.

Nothing new with FranConnect at this time. If you do not have a log-in to FranConnect and the intranet, please let us know. We are always looking at the new modules that

they release. We will continue to add modules to the system when they are relevant to our usage.

Our new marketing program is in full swing. We have some great new marketing pieces for DDG that have gone out. New postcards, letters, and advertisements. We have an informational drip campaign running for prospective buyers. Please look for the link on our

website to join our email list for great Delta and industry information. We will also have a full page insert in the August Issue of Qualified Remodeler! Please look for it.

On Going Items! Wednesday Webinars in July will be all about marketing! Great for all franchisees and marketers.

2016 Convention

Constant other training and information gathering!

New From ITEL Gone are the days of waiting 72 hours or more for your ITEL sample results. In the Denver prototype office we are currently testing the brand new ITEL application. This new app, combined with a new sample toolkit, allows you to take your samples while on site at the job, submit the sample information and receive the results within 30 minutes to your email. If you have any questions, contact Ragan, she is running the testing in the field. Check out the snippet article from the website below. You can also check out the ITEL website for more information, tutorial videos and to get your own sample toolkit.

The experience gained from over 5 million tests at your fingertips

The ITEL Mobile Lab app uses the experience gained from 20 years of innovative analysis to bring you the ideal combination of speed, accuracy, and independent pricing and matching.

To make sure you receive the most accurate results possible, the app guides you through the photos and measurements needed so that you can collect and upload your info in 5 minutes or less. Once the data is uploaded to the ITEL lab, our analysts use scientific processes and our industry-leading product databases to quickly calculate an unbiased replacement flooring price from your photos and measurements. For roofing and siding, we find the best available matching products and identify local distributors. You'll receive your ITEL lab report by e-mail and in the app, with results available in just 30 minutes. Same-day service for roofing and siding is also available

New Toys!Check out the new toys that we found. These new air movers are pretty slick. They are easily stored and transported. We will be getting some of these in the Denver office to

put them through the Delta test of endurance. Check back with Mike Mastous in a couple of weeks to get an update on how they are holding up.

www.UsePhoenix.com DESIGN PERFORMANCEinnovative proven™

VALUEexceptionalMade in USA

Phoenix AirMaxRadial Air Mover

Xactimate Code: WTRDRY

At 925 CFM and 1.9 Amps - Best-in-Class The Phoenix AirMax is the new leader in performance, convenience, portability, and safety for low profile air movers.

Its compact 20 1/2” X 17” footprint and 8 7/8” height make the Phoenix AirMax the most compact and portable fan in its class. The rugged molded in handle gives you the solid control required when packing and unpacking lots of air movers. Its easy-winding cord wrap and multiple securement options makes it a snap to prep for transport. Because of its deeply-molded interlocking features, the Phoenix AirMax is rock solid when stacked for transport.

With its Patent Pending, motor support x-bracket and optimized outlet shape, the Phoenix AirMax delivers airflow of 925 CFM. This gives you high velocity air over a 25% larger area than other low profile air movers. In addition, the Phoenix AirMax is stable in all 4 drying positions to maximize flexibility.

The Phoenix AirMax is the safest fan in its class providing a quality GFCI convenience receptacle that protects not only connected loads, but onboard components as well. This is unlike competing fans that require external GFCI protection. In addition, where competitors position high voltage electrical connections low to the floor, the leading edge design of the Phoenix AirMax allows these connections to be located more than 4 times the minimum required height. The Phoenix AirMax is built to keep the contractor and their customers safe.

Features• 925 CFM

• 1.9 Amps

• Onboard circuit breaker and branch protection GFCI

• Daisy chain up to 6 fans on a single 15 Amp circuit

• Ultra secure stacking and cord wrap

• Heavy wall polypropylene housing

• Cord 16ft Power Cord

• ETL Tested to UL and CSA Standards

Patent Pending

Bookshelf Stacking

Tools in your Financial Tool Box! The year is half over and it is time to review all your benchmarks!

ARE YOU WHERE YOU WANT TO BE? WHY OR WHY NOT?

1. Sales and Production. Will you meet your annualized goal? Do you need to increase that goal? Do you need to reduce that goal? Are you working closely with marketing to make sure it happens?

2. Gross Profit Margins. Job GPM Targets – Construction 45%; Mitigation 70%. Look at each job individually. Make sure you are properly job costing the labor, sub costs, etc. If you are not meeting your margins, you need to know why. Things to review: estimate, (correct or did you miss something), labor, sub billing, supplement that needs to be turned in? You should never have a job below the target margin without knowing why it is below and how to prevent it in the future.

3. How is your mix of business? Too much construction? Too much mitigation? Averages are 33% mitigation, 66% construction. If you are falling outside those averages, try to determine why and step up your marketing efforts in those areas. Remember what Steve always says – “What you ask for is what you will get!”

4. Where is your overhead? As your business grows and sales increase your overhead should decline, with a goal of having it to below 25%. Yours may be higher than 25% but at least look at it and know why and if there is anything that can be done to reduce it.

5. People! Is it time to make changes? Do you need to advertise for any new positions or new people to fill positions?

Don’t forget we are always here to help you. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dixie for financial questions. She is also available for visits to your office for hands-on training. Don’t let another 6 months go by without you knowing your business.

And we will leave you with this…