So, it’s the end of the year and you are trying to get a handle on the overall value, monetary worth, of your overhead door company.  The struggle lies in the fact that you have huge swings in revenue because your door installs come at random times throughout the year.  It makes it incredibly hard for you to predict the amount of money that you will bring in year over year. So, how do you convert your business into one that has a steadier and even larger stream of revenue?

Realize the Power of Repeatable Revenues

When you are selling overhead doors to industrial companies you are probably working with a facility manager who needs to buy a door or even multiple doors to replace existing ones.  It is a one-time sizeable investment for them.   But, if you aren’t setting up a service contract with this facility manager you are really cheating your company out of that steadier revenue stream. 

Become More Than a Project Company

Companies that only focus on the initial install and don’t have a repeatable, service based revenue are referred to as a “project company”.  It is hard to value project companies because of the big, unpredictable swings in revenue that they have throughout the year.  Though the amount of money that comes in from these initial investments can be sizeable, you can’t count on that revenue because you can’t accurately predict when it is coming in.

Being the company that is called for the constant maintenance, service, repairs and testing of the doors that you installed lets you take advantage of the more consistent money.  And, besides providing a steadier stream of revenue you will also find that these repeatable occurrences will actually prove to be a more profitable plan for your overhead door company in the long run. 

You know better than anyone, overhead door installs can be an incredibly competitive landscape. In many cases your company is only making 6-7% on that project when landing a bid for an overhead door install project so that you can get the work.  Plus, as you know, the install is a risky ordeal where people can get hurt, etc.

Service maintenance, on the other hand - when a forklift driver drives into a door and you are called in to come and repair the door - you are walking away with a much, much larger percentage of that investment.  If the entire repair cost $1,000 you will probably walk away with something around $500 – much better than the 6-7% you got from the initial install.  That constant maintenance, especially when set up through multiple facility managers at multiple companies and locations, allows you to show repeatable, more predictable revenue.  This makes it easier to value your overhead door company and predict the amount of money your company will bring in each year.

Moral of the story – start focusing on repeatable revenue.  Maybe this includes working these services into the marketing strategies for your overhead door company.  But, you need to at least make sure that your sales team is setting up service contracts with the companies you work with after the initial installs.  It is the best way to make your company more profitable and increase its valuation.