At PPM, we have a passion for numbers. Our entire business is based on numbers, in the form of the hundreds or even thousands of measurements that we take every day in the field for our various As-Built projects. Then, there are completely different numbers that are generated by the business itself every day. Leads, sales, expenses, turn-around time, productivity… – these are all numbers that we keep track of on a monthly, weekly, and sometimes daily basis.
But often in the routine of collecting all those numbers, we forget to stop to take a look at them and see what they are telling us. Recently, I was glad to have them available to me when I noticed something change in the business. After a long stretch of being very busy, I noticed that we weren’t getting as many calls for new projects over the last few weeks. After a week of speculating what the causes could be (and wondering if it was happening to everyone or just to PPM) I finally remembered to look at our numbers – and I was encouraged by what I saw.
I opened up a spreadsheet that we keep which shows the dollar amount of proposals that we write every month. I found that for the years 2010 and 2011, the single slowest month for new proposals, in both cases, was the month of May. Now, I can’t tell you why May is consistently a slow month, (my current theory is that families are trying to get through the school year), but it was comforting to see that this same pattern has played out the last 2 years – and June has historically seen a big jump in activity. Our numbers are telling us to get ready!
For more information about PPM, visit us online at www.ppmco.net or call 1-855-ASBUILT today!
I’ve found that patterns are a great way to make sense of Life. In Building Surveys, patterns are crucial. They give you clues to how a building is laid out and what to expect. It’s comforting to know, for instance, that a doorway is 3′-0″ just by looking at it. A consistent bldg. with many familiar elements makes the job just a bit easier. I’ve come to find that there is quite a bit to be revealed by looking the numbers and stats. Certain things stand out and that can help in planning for the future.