Basement waterproofing and crawl space repair in

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Fri, 18 May 2012 14:03:09 -0400

So we are off again, and the wheels keep turning, with more of this beautiful wide-open country to see. We see many natural and unnatural things along the way.

It’s about a three and a half hour haul from Kansas to Stillwater, Oklahoma. We meet up with Jack Erickson from Bedlam concrete, who is a new Foundation Supportworks Dealer. He has been doing mud jacking for a few years and is excited to be joining the network.He is probably one of the youngest dealers in the network, and he is full of enthusiasm and has a great background. He is ready and excited for the challenge of growing his company.

Many more miles to go before we sleep. The trip down to Texas was about 6 hours of drive time and rest stops along the way. We drove until early in the morning and tried to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Our Thursday and Friday got changed around at the last minute. Darrin Saffell, owner of Olympic Restoration, was unable to meet with us on Friday due to a family crisis, but his wife Susie was able to meet with us. Olympic Restoration is a micro business and they are looking for their first salesperson as they look to grow their CleanSpace business. Susie, Larry Dunnigan and Mike Delmolino conducted an interview with a potential salesperson. Rick Cleri and Susie covered some grassroots marketing ideas and they are all in at Olympic Restoration.

The RV’s final stop was with Shane Hobbs at Dalworth Restoration. Shane runs a family business with his brother in law, two sons and daughter. This company is a well-oiled machine. This twenty million dollar business is in the heart of Texas and they have disaster restoration, carpet cleaning, hard surface cleaning, a retail store, a flooring store, and a rug-cleaning factory.

Many moving parts and a fantastic facility, great dedicated staff, and a real keen sense of the market. We cover marketing, My Lead Tracking program, and really focused on lead generation. Shane has dedicated the resources to having this new add on business really flourish. Shane has a new general manager Mark who is really focused on CleanSpace success. It’s a really exciting time for Dalworth and we are confident they will grow very quickly.

Washing the RV at the end of the trip, getting it ready for the next team!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:41:38 -0400

There are a lot of farms across the Midwest, a lot of wide-open spaces, here is another farm, but a wind turbine farm harnessing some wind power.

One thing is for sure, there is a lot of drive time between dealers in the Midwest.

Our next stop is at Thrasher Basement Systems, and Foundation Support Works. We were warmly greeted by Greg, Dan, and David Thrasher. It was Larry Dunnigan’s first visit to Thrasher and FSI and there is an obvious WOW factor when you see their facility. They had Shotcrete training going on and were hosting a BBQ later that night. It was great to see so many friends like Amanda Harrington, Jesse Waltz, Tiffany, Jeremy, Keith Johnson, Perry Keeler, TC Hafford, Don Clark, and countless other FSI staffers, Thrasher team, and dealers.

Things sure are busy at Thrasher and they have a process for everything. Larry and Nick spent some time together reviewing sales and training the top salesperson started in service and now has an ADL of 4908! Rick and Jenny reviewed marketing and their 92% lead to appoint ratio, and are looking to expand the number of campaigns running through my lead tracking. Greg, Mike, Dan and David reviewed some operating numbers and areas of potential growth. TBF is growing and they had their best month yet in March. They have a fantastic TBF showroom, check out these pictures!

We finished the day with dinner at the famous Mahogany steakhouse in Omaha, what a treat!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Wed, 16 May 2012 11:11:01 -0400

Monday begins with us leaving the campground at 6:15am after a quick sleep and an early wake up call by Iowa train system at 4:30am!

By 8am we met with Steve and Nancy Brown at Bix Services and were greeted by the whole company. They have a great facility and really want grow their business. We covered some marketing initiatives and the need for more sales people. Fish On and Ready Aim Hire were dusted off! We are excited for them and look forward to seeing them put their plan into motion.

Day one continues with a 2 hour drive (by RV) from Bix Services in Madison, Iowa to Mid America Basement Systems in Davenport, Iowa. There, we were met by Howard Tatge, owner, his son Eric, the sales manager, and their staff. They have a great building about 24,000 sq. ft. with a big shop, warehouse, training room and plenty of room for growth. Increasing lead flow and conversion rates will help them reach their goals. The future looks bright for Mid America under Howard’s tutelage.

Our trip continues to our third stop of the day to Midwest Basement Systems in Des Moines, Iowa where we met owner Tim Heady, sales manager Rod Fox, and marketing manager Tom Henderson. We toured their 30,000 sq. ft. facility, which had a lot of steel and plastic products in the warehouse. They are having a great year and are busting at the seams! Tim is looking for a larger building to host the growth he is anticipating over the coming years. They have a disciplined organized focus and everyone in the organization lives and breathes Midwest Basement Systems. Tim’s wife, Kim, joined us for dinner and they took us to the Iowa Steakhouse where you can cook your own steak if you want to. We went for it and it was fantastic!

Day two was an early 5:30 wake up by Tim and his three dogs. We spent the night plugged into Tim’s barn, which neighbored a huge soy bean and corn farm.

We started the day with an early breakfast with Craig Beveridge and tour of his Dr. Energy Saver franchise and Des Moines Heating and Cooling. Craig has a clean comfortable shop with a great location. We talked a lot about lead generation and employing some grass roots efforts now because it was neither hot nor cold for his heating and cooling company and with low consumer demand the phone is not ringing as much as he would like. We met with Craig and Brad the operation manager and they have the systems in place, they just need more lead activity in their lead funnel. Coming into the cooling season and all that the Dr. Energy Saver franchise can offer we are excited for them to really get their flywheel in motion.

Ok so it’s now time to go back to Tim Heady’s Midwest Basement Systems and join Rod and Tim as guests on their radio show, Iowa Around the House. We went to the studio and Mike Delmolino and Larry Dunnigan joined Rod and Tim in an unscripted, talk about basement finishing and Sanidrys. We recorded the 3 11 minute segments in 35 minutes, yes the 3 segments and a one minute break in between each one, it was a lot of fun, interactive and very educational! Thanks guys for including us in the recording.

Please donate now! This is our last chance!

Tue, 15 May 2012 15:11:01 -0400

THIS SATURDAY!

Any amount you can donate will make a big difference!

$100, $50, $20, just please send something!

Thank you to the following companies for your support, please join them:

DryZone Basement Systems- $500
  Thrasher Basement Systems - $1000
  Foundation Supportworks – Jersey’s for $900
  TC Hafford Basement Systems- $525
  Adirondack Basement Systems - $500
  Healthy Basement Systems - $200
  Basement Systems of NH - $2500
  Basement Systems - $1500 plus jersey’s for $900

In the Basement Systems Challenge, BSNH is not eligible.

Also, for any owner that donates over $1000, Jim and Julie Berube would like to invite them for a weekend getaway to tour the New England coast on their boat.

It's easy to donate:
The easiest way to donate is online by credit card. Go to http://www.claddaghfund.org/hockey, once on the page scroll to the bottom of the page, click “become a sponsor/buy tickets”, click on the yellow “Donate” button and scroll down to “Donation Optional” button and you can enter any dollar amount you are able to donate. Once you fill out the credit card information and submit order, you will receive your tax deductible receipt immediately.

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:45:31 -0400

After staying overnight in a closed RV park, Greg, Curtis and I made our way up to Eldon, in central Missouri. What beautiful country in May. Here in the Ozarks is the home of PEP Waterproofing.

This company is owned by Glenn and Lisa Luebbering.

Tragically, Glenn was killed in a tractor accident less than two weeks before our visit.

The staff at PEP handled the affairs of the business in the days after the accident without missing a beat, as Lisa and her 14 year old son, Phillip, and 10 year old daughter, Brindsey, said goodbye their husband and father.

So, here we roll up in the RV.

What we saw before us was Lisa Luebbering, who had mustered the strength and focus to give us a tour of the business her and Glenn had built for these years. She was the leader now - and she was leading. She declared to us in front of her team "We are going to achieve Glens goals this year".

We had a meeting with her key people and talked about a lot of things. Glens name came up a lot - and there was Lisa - pushing through.

It was truly heroic. I'm a huge Lisa Luebbering fan. Lisa, you have many many well wishers in the TEAM Basement Systems family who support you, your family, and the PEP Team.

RIP Glen.

The PEP TEAM, and their leader, Lisa, third from the left.

On Thursday afternoon the White Rocket rolled into the little town of Moberly Missouri (pop 14,800) to see Jeff and Glenn Martin and family, and team at Foundation Recovery Systems. The company has been in business many years in central MO, with most of their focus over that time on structural repair.

They have recently taken over Kansas City for BSI and FSI - which changes everything for them. Jeff and Kim Martin want to grow much much bigger. Gary Hook is a key manager who will help them do that.

They have an office building, which is super clean and professional and full, and a clean organized production building just one block away. Jeff has an office full of Doe heads that he glued antlers from WalMart onto! (well, some of them he got at tag sales).

The Martins took us up to a little town of 400 people 40 minutes north to go to a famous restaurant called The Pear Tree. We had fried lobster tail and Filet that was out of this world!

We stayed overnight in the office parking lot and slept like logs. We got up for the last day of our week at 5:30 am for a 7 am sales meeting. FRS has a goal of 5 million for this year, and they are building the team and resources necessary to conquer Kansas City. In the future, 5 million will look like chump change!

The final stop for Greg, Curtis and I was Woods Basement Systems in Collinsville Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis. Rick Woods started in the basement waterproofing business a year before I did in 1986. Today his son Wayne runs the business and they want to grow their 10 million dollar company even larger.

Woods is a family business. Wayne's wife Suzanne, sister Susan, and brother-in-law Tim are all immersed in it. Patriarch and Matriarch Rick and Anna Lee have a daycare room inside the office where they care for the big group of grandchildren.

In the old days the office and production were in the same place. But they've long outgrown that set up and bought 20 acres of flat ground on the edge of town. They fenced it in and have plenty of room for all their trucks, inventory, mechanic, and materials.

Woods is a Dr Energy Saver dealer, and as such carries all five of the TEAM brands. Woods has room to grow by expanding their ADL, and they are working hard on it.

We wish we could have spent more time there but we have a deal with the airlines - if we're not there in time, they are to leave without us.

After locking the RV in the airport parking lot for the next crew, we flew home to catch up on sleep.

Greg, Curtis and I agreed that it was great to see everyone and we wish we could see each and every dealer this way. Thanks to everyone for your hospitality, friendship and business!

The Week 8 crew-

Greg Thrasher, Curtis Kammerer, and Larry Janesky.

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:08:05 -0400

Our Wednesday was a big day. We had three dealers to visit and 7 1/2 hours to drive before we could sleep again. On Tuesday, Curtis drove in a thunderstorm that blew a wiper blade off. We made him fix the damage he had done while Greg and I endulged the luxury of another truck stop shower at 6 am.

Our first stop was The Bug Man in Little Rock, Arkansas at 7 am. Obviously a pest control firm, the two million dollar, 36-year-old company has been installing CleanSpace for several years now.

They fixed us a wonderful breakfast including Becky's superb banana bread. Becky Cranford is the General Manager and daughter of Bill McCauley, the founder.

We talked about how they can effectively sell CleanSpace to their 4,000 existing customers. "Tell every homeowner with a crawl space that you found a serious problem with their home and they have to have the specialist come out to talk to them about it," I said. They should be swimming in appointments.

We went over all the training and sales resources we had developed that they had to master, including the Closing Trail.

After a lesson in all of the Internet widgets they weren't using, it was off to Conway, Arkansas. Curtis is doing most of the driving while I work at the table in the back, which vibrates while we are in motion so much it makes me dizzy!

Onward!

We rolled into Conway, Arkansas at 11 am to see John Cossey and his team at Crawlspace Solutions of Arkansas. John picked up the pieces of a defunct Pest Control company he used to work for that was a CleanSpace dealer three years ago.

John has a micro business. He does all the sales and his Mom runs the little office. His Dad, at age 72, runs the one crew and his step dad is the "financier". What a great bunch of people. We were only with them a short time but we had a great time.

John is a big fan of TEAM Basement Systems and loves our support. We're going to get him to Omaha to check out structural work. Adding SmartJacks is something he can do right away.

Working the Closing Trail and getting better at developing and using an Accomplish List are other opportunities that will yield big improvements. We think John can double his business in the next 12 months.

From there we fired up the big rig for a 3 hour drive north to see our third dealer of the day.

The third of these was Foundation Specialties in Springdale, Arkansas. Springdale is in the far northwest corner of the state. Foundation Specialties has been loosely installing a bit of CleanSpace and a bit of WaterGuard for a long time. They don't have a lot of basements or even a ton of crawl spaces there - most homes are slabs.

It's an interesting company for a number of reasons. First, Accountant Glen Carte and president Paul Gintonio explained that they are an employee owned company. That is, the previous owner left the company to the employees and said "pay me for it over the years". So the employees own it and are responsible for it.

What's fascinating though is that these guys have a name that fits perfectly - Foundation Specialties. They do foundation repair sure, but they do some stuff in the earth that's really cutting edge and unique. They've done stuff that not a lot of companies know how to do. It's commercial and institutional and infrastructure kind of work. They have highly specialized equipment That many of us wouldn't even be able to identify.

Still, we know that with a closer relationship with FSI, they'll be able to grow their business with marketing and sales know how to go with all that technical know how.

Greg Thrasher will be hosting Foundation Specialties soon in Omaha to get our companies working together.

From there it was off north again into Missouri. We followed our GPS to our first RV park after three nights of trucks stops (had to dump the tank of you know what I mean!)

Well we pull in and there are no lights at all. Pitch black, not a soul around. But it was midnight and we were beat. So we pull into a site and plug in - and there was electricity on and water running. We figured we could pay in the morning. Sun rose for us to see that the park was closed and abandoned!

It was right on the Lake of the Ozarks. A quick walk on an algae covered dock almost found Greg in the Lake!

We went up to the old house and a nice old lady explained that they closed a year ago and she thought her husband had cut the power back then! We were glad he didn't!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:39:55 -0400

After a 4-hour nighttime drive from Birmingham, AL, to Jackson, MS, it was another truck stop overnight refuge for us. We arrived at CleanSpace of Central Mississippi owned by Rixon and Demi Simmons. They have been an insulation contractor for 15 years and started doing CleanSpace about 7 years ago. They wish they could get a lot more CleanSpace because it's their favorite part of their business.

It's always good for a business owner to get a look and opinion from a trusted outside set of eyes. We enjoyed talking with Rixon and Demi and feel they are part of our family.

A common theme at the first three dealers we've seen, and I suspect nearly every other, is that they are not using the widgets we have on the Internet nearly as well as they should.

Here's the deal- the "widgets" are simply content input tools. The more content you have on your site the more traffic you get and the greater percentage of that traffic will ask you to come to their house (that's called "conversion"). Each testimonial, review, picture, coupon, review, award, video and blog you put up is another reason why Google wants to send people to you. The more, the better.

We have created the widgets so anyone with no experience in building complex websites that rank can publish content to their site like a hero. When you input things into a widget and press the done button - it goes up on your site in the right spot and is indexed for the right people from the right places to be presented with it. It's there forever and content you put in today will help you far, far into the future.

We are working on more widgets now.

So get on it! Try each one. Click 'em. If you don't understand or get stuck, call your account manager in the Treehouse and ask a question.

We have given you powerful and valuable tools on the most powerful advertising medium ever developed by mankind. There's a reason we did this. Get on it!

After Jackson, Mississippi, we traveled due north for three hours to visit memphis Tennessee and Redeemers Group, owned by Clint Cooper. The company started out years ago with Clint's father-in-law doing roof cleaning. He called it Roof Redeemers. The don't do roofs anymore, but love CleanSpace since they started it 5 years ago. They have grown each year and did $1.1 million last year on 450 leads, 230 of which came from the TreeHouse. Their goal for this year is $1.6! I believe they will do it. We met Clint, two salespeople, Michael, and Wyatt. They are eager and keen to make it happen. Michael sold $30,000 last week!

They have one of the smallest, or perhaps the smallest building in the network: 1,200 sq ft with sales, call center, production -- the whole works. It was bought and paid for years ago. Low overhead!

Clint has something that's driving his young company forward: energy, optimism, and momentum. Talk to him and it rubs off on you. A great leadership quality!

We went out to dinner a few blocks from Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley. We ate Memphis barbecue ribs -- and let me tell you they were the best smoked ribs I've ever eaten. The place was famous for them and had been on tv a lot.

Mmmmmm....

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:59:31 -0400

Week 8 of the Great North American TEAM Basement Systems RV tour began with me, Larry Janesky, flying in to pick up the RV in the airport parking lot in Nashville where the previous crew had left it. And there it was, just where they said.

I was to meet Greg Thrasher and Curtis Kammerer from FSI and we had it timed perfectly - we were all supposed to arrive with 30 minutes of each other. However, Delta airlines had Greg and Curtis getting on and off their plane in Atlanta (a connection) three times with different mechanical problems before finally getting a new plane. A 6 hour delay! I watched this beautiful Nashville sunset and got some work done while waiting. Finally, we were rolling for a two hour drive to Huntsville, AL, where we rolled into a truckstop at 2am.

Behind on sleep already! We woke at 6:30 to experience truck stop showers and headed over to see Ben Bayless at AFS (Alabama Foundation Service). Bens partner, Craig Williams, runs their southern office in Birmingham, Alabama.

Here's the AFS deal: 2 offices, $14.2 million in sales, with only 54 employees! Wow! One of the highest income per employee businesses I have ever seen! The Huntsville office is in a brand new 15,000 sq ft building that they just moved into. They do a lot of crawl spaces and structural work there. The southern office has no call center. It's all in Huntsville. The southern (Birmingham) office and the northern (Huntsville) office do almost exactly the same amount of sales: $7 million each. But the Birmingham office has more basements, so they do more waterproofing and even some Total Basement Finishing.

These guys are professional, and have a positive attitude of forward momentum. They cover the Chattanooga, TN area from Huntsville.

After a nice visit and tour, we headed south for the two hour drive with Ben to visit their Birmingham office and meet Craig there.

Stop #2 Monday. We pulled into see Craig and brought with us a gift - about 1" of rain in 30 minutes! They had just moved into their new facility which was a rough old factory building of about 15,000 sq. ft. that they had stolen for $160,000. They built some really nice offices inside adding class to the place. The facility is perfect for their operation and the price was right!

The sales staff of 8 reports in here, but most of the office operations are in the northern office. AFS identified southern Alabama and even parts of southwestern Georgia where there are no basements, but lots of structural and crawl space issues with no competition. So now they go as far south as Mobile, AL!

I think in a couple years, they will be well north of $14 million!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:52:12 -0400

Scott Walter is a FSI dealer just south of Nashville. Scott, who has been with other dealer networks, said “nothing is comparable to this network” in regards to products and support. Scott has a philosophy on life and business and believes people who run their business should run it like they run their personal life. Scott has been in business 13 years and an FSI dealer for 3 years. Vintage has a 6-week backlog and uses BizWiz to help manage his business. Scott strikes us as a businessman who believes in networking and building strong relationships with other companies; we share that same sentiment.

AmeriCare
We arrived at the offices of Tom Swett of Ameri Care. After a tour of the offices and a meet and greet with his staff we settled down with a few employees to talk about the business. AmeriCare has seen a steady 20% growth in sales every year for the last 10 years and contributes that to a repeat customer base of his pest control business. He is a master of marketing to his existing customer base. Tom raved about all of the conventions he’s been to, and is appreciative of the support he receives from the team at Basement Systems. AmeriCare is always looking for opportunities and new ventures to expand their business.

Frontier Basement Systems
Nestled on 24 acres at Apple Hollow sits the home and office of Layne and Judy Gebers. We arrived just in time for a role playing session with the salesman. Layne wears many hats and at that moment he was training his team on “Options for Repair” for FSI and CleanSpace. Layne has one manager, Jennifer Lee, who is Production/Service Manager. Frontier is well known in the central Tennessee market. Frontier is a full-service Basement Systems dealer offering basement waterproofing, crawl space repair, foundation structural repair, and basement finishing. Frontier uses BizWiz to make better business decisions. Judy Gebers is co-owner and business manager who handles the accounting and marketing for Frontier. The sales team set a realistic team goal for their ADL and can achieve it with continued efforts by staying the course of the 10 Steps to a Sale and the Closing Trail.

To conclude our day, we were treated to a BBQ dinner on the back porch of Layne and Judy’s home. We had the pleasure of sharing good food and great stories with the Layne and Judy and their salesmen and office team. After a quick tour of the RV, we parted ways.

May Newsletter (Correction)

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:22:54 -0400

It seems there was a slight inaccuracy in this morning's newsletter: Foundation Recovery Systems was accidentally left off of our Top 100 Basement Systems Dealers list.

Below is a corrected list. Our sincere apologies to everyone at Foundation Recovery Systems, and congrats on making the Top 100!

1	Connecticut Basement Systems. Inc.
2	Quality 1ST Basement Systems
3	JES Basement Systems
4	Thrasher Basement
5	Woods Basement Systems
6	B.Q. Basement Systems, Inc.
7	Alabama Foundation Specialist
8	Adirondack Basement Systems
9	Midwest Basement Systems, Inc.
10	Innovative Basement Systems
11	Foundation Systems of Michigan
12	Master Dry, LLC
13	T.C. Hafford Waterproofing Inc.
14	Ayers Basement Systems
15	ITG
16	Perma-Seal Basement Systems
17	DryZone Basement Systems
18	Blackburn Basement Repair
19	DryZone LLC
20	AquaGuard Basement Systems
21	Basement Systems of New Hampshire
22	Bakers Waterproofing Co. Inc.
23	Healthy Basement Systems
24	Basement Systems USA
25	Basement Systems of WV
26	John's Waterproofing
27	Omni Basement Systems
28	Dry Pro Basement Systems
29	Clarke Basement Systems
30	Leader Basement Systems
31	MidAmerica Basement Systems
32	Basement Systems Calgary
33	Evergreen Basement Systems
34	Badger Basement Systems
35	Frontier Basement Systems
36	J&D Basement Systems of Cincinnati
37	CO-Complete Basement Systems
38	Tar Heel Basement Systems LLC
39	Dry Guys LLC
40	American Waterworks
41	Indiana Foundation Service
42	Advanced Basement Systems
43	Sure Dry Basement Systems
44	Terra Firma Foundation Repair
45	Complete Basement Systems of LI
46	Ohio Basement Systems
47	Healthy Spaces
48	Basement Systems Quebec Inc.
49	Northern Basement Systems
50	Century Masonry & Waterproofing,LLC
51	Basement Systems Vancouver, Inc
52	Aqueous Basement Systems
53	Bay Area Moisture Control
54	All Dry of the Carolinas
55	Complete Basement Systems
56	Pep Waterproofing
57	Basement Systems of NY
58	Basement Systems Edmonton, Inc
59	Enviro Pro
60	ABS Foundation Services
61	Regional Waterproofing Co.
62	Foundation Recovery Systems
63	Kansas Basement & Foundation
64	Wilcox Basement Systems
65	Frank's Basement Systems
66	Redeemers Group, LLC
67	Basement and Drainage Systems Ltd.
68	Nova Foundation Repair Services
69	J&D Basement Systems Northwest, LLC
70	Island Basement Systems
71	Klein Basement Systems
72	Utah Basement Systems
73	Waterproofing Specialties Inc.
74	SST Basement Systems
75	Bix Service
76	Rainy Day Basement Systems
77	Peak Basement Systems
78	McInroy Maintenance
79	Atlantic Basement Systems
80	Superior Basement Systems, Inc.
81	ACCA Basement Systems
82	Kenmar Basement Systems
83	A&R Waterproofing
84	J.L. Waterproofing
85	Northern States Basement Systems
86	High Tech Basement Systems
87	Low Country Basement Systems
88	Basement Systems Winnipeg
89	Basement Systems Saskatchewan Inc.
90	Carolina Basement Systems
91	Southern Tier Basement Systems
92	J.L. Basement Water Control
93	Don Murray
94	North American Basement Systems
95	Davenport Foundation Repair
96	Foundation Specialties, Inc
97	Hi-Line Flood Solutions
98	Bowman Masonry
99	Nelson Waterproofing
100	Dan Burandt Waterproofing

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Thu, 03 May 2012 13:27:22 -0400

All Dry of the Carolinas
John Mitchell of All Dry of the Carolinas awaited our arrival as we pulled into the parking area just past 8:00am on Monday. After a quick tour of the office we headed out to John’s favorite breakfast nook. We started our conversations on his overall business climate. John is down a little from last year, but not by much. John knows the crawl space season is here and has a positive outlook that things will be back to normal and even better than last year.

John’s office team Lee, Jesse and Brooke are "all in.” These ladies know what to do and when to do it. They believe there is a big market for SilverGlo and other products. Chuck is John’s “do it all guy” who has been with John for many years. Our recommendation to John is to focus on improving his sales numbers. He realizes everything starts with sales and marketing, and knows his strength is production. John has taken advantage of the online trainings and will continue to do so; he says the role playing in those trainings was very beneficial, and it's something they need to continue to do. All Dry of the Carolinas can excel with the right sales champion.

Steamatic of South Carolina
Clint Aycock is an owner-operator and small businessman. Clint has seen much success with marketing CleanSpace to new customers and is working on marketing to his existing customers from his Steamatic side of the business using email and direct mail. Clint is looking to refocus his efforts on CleanSpace and is exicited about attending his first convention.

Air and Moisture Testing
Our last stop of the first day was with John Salmon and his team. John has been a dealer since 2006 but is experiencing a rebirth in his company. After some restructuring John is confident in his team: Doug, Tiffany and Robert. John doesn’t compete on price and is often higher than his competitors because his approach is to educate the homeowner and show the benefits of CleanSpace. Air and Moisture Testing needs to focus on marketing. Richard talked to Doug and Tiffany about the internet and lead tracking. John will turn 80 in September and on his birthday he wants a picture of himself in a 2’ crawl space with a birthday cake and a candle as his team stands outside and sings happy birthday.

Carolina Basement Systems
Day two started bright and early with Sam Edny of Carolina Basement Systems. Sam has been a dealer since 1992. Sam has loyal employees who have been with him for many years. Carolina Basement Systems has experienced the negative effects of a declining housing market but continues to stay the course and Sam says internet and referrals are his biggest lead source.

Dry Crawl Spaces
Bill Barber was excited about growing his CleanSpace business. Bill is in an area where his customers are primarily second home owners. His challenge is to capitalize on grassroots marketing strategies. Bill has a great reputation and is looking to use his name in future branding of Dry Crawlspaces. Bill will be planning a trip to Connecticut to spend time in the Eye Star Station to start branding his name.

Dayton’s Pest Control
We arrived in Knoxville just before the office team left for the day so we quickly got a team photo. Dayton and Sheila are the owners of Dayton’s Pest Control and they have grown their business every year and are transitioning from working in their business to working on their business. They look forward to the growth opportunity recently adding National Radon Defense and marketing to their existing customers.

MasterDry
Our day started with the sweet smell of honeysuckle as the fruit of the flowers are in bloom. Josh Smith and Jonathon Babcock of MasterDry are owners on the move. MasterDry is a fast growing company who has been with the network for 6 years. They started with under 12 employees and now employ 40. They expanded their space and added a new training center. Josh opens the new training center to home inspectors to hold their Continuing Education meetings. Josh is a networker and loves to grab valuable nuggets of advice from other successful dealers. MasterDry is in a transitional phase of business where for the first time will have a sales manager, production manager and a marketing director. Josh and Jonathon have worked in the business and are ready to start really working on the business. MasterDry has doubled their sales this year to date over last year to date for the same time period. MasterDry has implemented pay by the job, weekly leadership meetings, cost savings by the way they order and buying truck loads, BizWiz. Josh is always thinking smarter and how to be an even more efficient company. MasterDry has a dedicated staff and are excited by the growth opportunities that lie ahead of them. Determination and a laser-like focus on continued growth will keep MasterDry on the road to success. Good things happen to those who go and get it!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Tue, 01 May 2012 20:01:39 -0400

Thursday night we decided that the RV had become more of a splattered bug collection than a vehicle and took it to a truck wash. Definitely different from your regular car wash!

On Friday, the RV crew stopped at Aquaguard in Marietta, GA, just outside Atlanta. Aquaguard has been working in the area since 1995 and is one of a select few companies in the whole area to not have a single BBB complaint in more than 10 years -- even with more than 16,000 homes serviced. The Aquaguard crew is working to take advantage of everything Team Basement Systems offers, and we talked about where they're at and where they're aiming to go right through lunch.

After saying goodbye, we headed to the Atlanta airport and parked the RV for the next crew to pick up right there. It would be easy to find -- you could see the RV clear across the whole parking lot!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:33:34 -0400

The RV crew arrived at LRE Ground Services mid-afternoon on Wednesday and toured their great (and growing) facility. LRE is one of the largest foundation and sinkhole contractors in all of Florida. Their professionalism shows everywhere, but their fun side shows in their offices -- decorated with sports, margaritaville, and multicolored themes! They even have their own '50s cola-themed cafe.

After grabbing dinner with the LRE guys, we headed North -- spending the night in Perry -- a little town on FL Route 19. Rt. 19 is quiet at night and we saw over 50 deer along the highway.

First thing Thursday, the RV trekked the last hour into Tallahassee to see Indoor Environmental Management. John has been running Indoor Environmental for 30 years and is excited to leverage the Basement Systems network to keep growing.

Next stop for the RV on Thursday was Alpha Foundation Specialists, a lean, mean, foundation fixing-machine. The owner, Matt, couldn't be there -- but Mason and Steve sat down with us for a while so that we could get a feel for their business.

2012 CleanSpace Catalog Changes

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:33:19 -0400

To all CleanSpace Dealers:

We've made some changes to our 2012 CleanSpace Catalog. The following link will allow you to download a new, updated version:

2012 CleanSpace Catalog

We've also sent you replacement pages for your catalog, which you should be receiving within the next few days. Once you get them, simply switch out these new pages for the corresponding pages in your existing catalogs.

As always, please contact us with any questions.

Thank you,

CleanSpace Dealer Support

2012 Basement Systems Catalog Changes

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:48:41 -0400

To all Basement Systems Dealers:

We've made some changes to our 2012 Basement Systems Catalog. The following links will allow you to download a new, updated version:

2012 Basement Systems Catalog

As always, please contact us with any questions.

Thank you,

Basement Systems Dealer Support
(800) 640-1500

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 17:02:36 -0400

Getting There

Mark and Josh almost didn't make it. The landing gear on the plane wouldn't go up and the plane was forced to turn around and land right back where they started. Thankfully the fire and rescue trucks were unnecessary, but the delay put a 4-hour dent in their departure time. Needless to say, the connecting flight didn't wait!

The final plan was to fly into Atlanta and then rent a car to meet up with the RV in Columbia, South Carolina the next morning – picking up Ray Brown of Foundation Supportworks along the way. A little less sleep than they'd hoped, but it worked!

Mount Valley

Fixing foundations in South Carolina for over 25 years, Mount Valley knows the area – and its challenges – like few others. The soil in the Carolinas is mostly thick clay, which can be as hard as concrete, so normal-seeming jobs are often much tougher. Edwin showed us around Mount Valley's shop and revealed their secret weapon: the Mount Valley Tigers baseball team.

Low Country

The RV arrived in Rincon, GA on Monday afternoon to visit Low Country Basement Systems. Rob and Nancy Videon run Low Country out of their home and we discussed business over their kitchen table. Rob introduced us to his crew leaders, Russel and Josh, both of whom are invested in the company and excited for the future. After shop talk, the Videons treated us to delicious, home-made vegan lasagna, and before we left their 7-year-old daughter put on an amazing hula-hoop show to send us on our way.

Basement Systems May Newsletter

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:07:17 -0400

Welcome to the all new, revamped Basement Systems Newsletter. It's been a few months since our last edition, but we're back! We'll be putting out a new edition at the beginning of each month, every month. If you have any cool stories or photos, we'd love to feature them! Send everything you've got to newsletter@basementsystems.com.

Thanks!

TEAM Basement Systems
Dealer Support

[SALES]
Everlast Wall Restoration On the Rise!
- Mike Delmolino

How can you improve ADL and sales overall? Sell more stuff to your existing customers! That sounds easy enough, right? When you maximize the appointment by including all the products the homeowner needs to accomplish their goals, you end up with a happier customer and sell bigger jobs. We know that the customers that buy the most protection are the happiest, and those that buy partial systems, well they are only partially happy. So far so good.

It's been a little dry in Connecticut this year, but that’s not holding the team back. Last week we went out to see a customer that wanted to have an UltraSump battery back-up system installed on a SuperSump we had sold her several years ago. Upon inspection, the salesperson asked, "Why now?" Her home had lost power last year and was out for over ten days, and her finished basement flooded. She was not happy with the discolored walls, and the moldy, peeling drywall. So how do you take a $1,100 sale and turn it into a $7,000+ sale? Yeah, Everlast Wall Restoration system, that’s right! The homeowner wanted it, and was excited to get the work done and start using her finished basement again!

This is one of the best value-added services we offer. Sure, we keep basements dry all of the time, but once you are in the home, help the homeowner, and they decide to have the work done, restoring their finished space with Everlast Wall Restoration is a smart idea. It’s a great upsell, and you can restore their basement in just a matter of a few days, instead of a week or two with drywall: taping, mudding, sanding, taping, mudding, sanding, priming and painting two coats. You get the idea. Oh, and our Wall Restoration comes with a 50-year warranty, and it's totally washable, too. It is the best product for restoring finished basements for the long haul. Last year, Connecticut sold over $800,000 in Wall Restoration. This year is off to a great start, with sales of over $400,000 YTD for 2012.

[MARKETING]
Fish On! Part 1
- Dan Fitzgerald

Your company “Brand” and visual identity must be analyzed, evaluated and re-designed to present an accurate representation of who you are and what you do to the “right” demographic. Your demographic is homeowners, swaying a little older, and a little bit more female than male. However, what you do will vary greatly from one geographic area to another, and based on which divisions and product lines you represent. Are there more basements or crawl spaces in your market? Do you finish basements and do structural repair? The answers to these and several other questions will determine what your “Brand” will look like, and what your advertising headline will say.

If you are like most dealers in our Team Basement Systems network, you have more basements than crawl spaces in your market area, and you provide more than one or two services in the basement. Lucky you! This qualifies you to incorporate the powerful headline...”All Things Basementy!”, into your company brand. 35+ dealers have re-designed their identities since the 2011 Convention and have incorporated this memorable headline and an “umbrellaman” photo shoot to redefine their brand with immediate results.

An additional benefit to taking on this brand is the fact that we are quickly establishing an International Brand that will have a positive effect on every market in North America. As the masses travel to other locales, and see another dealer with the same “look”, they immediately understand that you are part of a much bigger network, and you have an instant credibility boost. You are now able to benefit from the national advertising we are doing with the “umbrellaman” brand, and that your fellow dealers are doing in their markets using a similar look.

If you have questions about whether this brand is “right” for you in your market, please give me a call today...don’t wait! I am presently consulting with most dealers, evaluating their markets, together, brainstorming the appropriate message, and designing the right brand so they will be...”Ready” to confidently move onto the “Aim” portion of Fish On!

[MARKETING]
Fish On! Part 2: Action Plan
- Wendy Vandersluis

Media Shoot. Have your picture taken with the umbrella, as a metaphor for what you do for them. People (customers) relate to people. You put your face on your company, people are going to believe you have integrity, and back your company 100% which we know we all do. You gain trust and accountability by becoming the “face” of your company.

That said, having your picture taken and having a video/media shoot with the EyeStar station is imperative. This starts you off with a professional image, and powerful brand. Contact Chris Kiley in the EyeStar station to set up your media/photoshoot at ckiley@basementsystems.com.

My Lead Tracking. For every new advertising campaign you are initiating, contact Karen Heusser (karen@basementsystems.com) to set up My Lead Tracking for each PI program (or any campaign) that you have, so you can successfully track your campaigns with each advertiser. This way they will know what's working and you'll know what's working.

Graphics. Contact your Graphix Zone representative/designer to design your ads and customize your logo: Wendy Vandersluis (wendy@basementsystems.com), Katherine Ceddia (katherine@basementsystems.com), or Elise McIntyre (emcintyre@basementsystems.com). We can customize your letterhead, envelopes, business cards or any print materials the media requires. We can also do anything from yard signs to vehicle decals!

Order Home Show Materials. You don't have to order everything on the list all at once you can use some of what you already have and integrate new materials as you go. If you have multiple shows on one weekend you'll need to brand each show geared toward the new brand, and campaign that you're running. Please speak with Dan prior to ordering your new displays, to ensure you are maximizing your new brand.

Suggested materials to order:

8x8 Basementy Fabric Display (We suggest ordering 2.)
Tent with back drop (outside shows & fairs) most indoor shows you can’t go over a certain height, per code violation. Check with your show venues for specifics.
Large Wind Dancer (outside shows only)
Table Cloth, Table Runner
Banner Stands for any other divisions you're involved with (if you are a CleanSpace Installer)
We'll design an “All Things Basementy!” flyer for your home shows, personalized just for you!
Home Show sign up sheet (Ballots)
House Shaped Magnets as hand-outs for the fridge, and friends.
Pens with your brand, phone number & website.

This is how to successfully jump on board the "All Things Basementy!" ad campaign. If you're ready follow these simple steps, we'll walk you through the rest.

[MANAGEMENT]
Advice From The Middle
- Lauren LeComte

With most main-stream career advice or training being geared towards either upper management or entry-level college grads, we sometimes feel lost somewhere in the middle. We can sometimes feel invisible, underappreciated, overworked… well, if you’re in the middle… this list could probably go on and on.

The trick? Take all of that energy you waste on complaining and funnel it into your career. Take stock, make a plan, and move it forward. These 7 tips will help you get a jump start on that:

1. Manage up. Managing others, or “managing down” can consume your time, energy, and sometimes, your patience, but there is something to be said for making an additional effort to “manage up.” (For the purposes of this conversation, “managing down” can simply mean managing your own workflow, too.) The additional time and effort you put into YOUR relationship with YOUR boss can yield big returns in your own productivity and overall happiness at work. Even if you’re relatively happy, there’s always room for improvement here, and this improvement can - and should - come from both ends.

2. Help You to Help Me. Most of us have felt overwhelmed at one time or another. This may come as a shock, but this is not totally your boss’s fault. If you don’t speak up or ask for help, you need to assume some of the blame here. If you’re lucky enough to have a boss who isn’t a micromanager, they might not realize what’s going on. Say something! By biting your tongue, you (yes, you!) are allowing yourself to become more & more frustrated, thereby allowing your productivity and happiness to be compromised. The only thing worse than keeping your mouth shut is blindly saying “yes”! Overpromising on any given project tends to create a domino effect that works against you, your department, and your company.

3. It All Starts at the Top. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses; your boss is no exception. It’s been said that trying to improve weaknesses is a heck of a lot harder than improving your strengths, and to that end, you need to play into theirs. Make their “good” attributes “great.” Your job is to support them, right?

4. Manage Your Strengths. Right along the same lines as above, YOU need to focus on developing your own strengths, too. What are you great at?? Do you give great WOW Service? Do you know Fish On! like the back of your hand? Decide what your strongest attributes are and work on becoming the expert in those areas. It’s the best way to make a splash within your company and really carve out a niche for yourself.

5. Toot Your Own Horn. Everyone wants a boss that will promote, improve, and go to bat for them. Not everyone is lucky enough to have one. Make sure he/she knows about your accomplishments and how hard you’ve worked. As long as you’ve truly earned it, you’ll be more likely to get the rewards you deserve.

6. (Don’t) Fight The Power. It’s tempting to try and change the way that your boss does things, especially if you think you know better. However, it’s difficult to change someone’s preferences, habits, styles, and personal agendas. Nearly impossible, actually, and not time well spent. If all is right within your company, there is a reason that your boss is your boss. Isn’t it easier to go with the flow?

7. Make Goals. Don’t just daydream about where you’d like to be eventually, write down a concrete plan with a timeline that’s reasonable, yet challenging – and stick to it. Don’t tuck this thing away in the back of some random drawer or file, either. Revisit it often. Share it with friends and mentors that can help keep you on track and give you advice. Most importantly, share it with you boss so that they not only have an idea where your head is at, they can help support your goals, too.

[INTERNET MARKETING]
Three New Widgets For Your Website
- Samantha Walton, Website Account Manager

The team in the Treehouse has been brewing up new and innovative tools (widgets) to activate a stream of content to further localize your website.

The new widgets were first discussed at the Owners Meeting and a following webinar. Use them to boost your online presence and local authority. You can access these widgets in www.teambasementsystems.com - all you have to do is log in and go!

Your Very Own Photo Gallery

The Photo Gallery lets you upload photos of jobs you've done or are currently doing and give a description of the photo. Be sure to describe what's in the photo, so you draw the viewer's eye to what you want them to see. For example, most customers will look at a basement photo and just see a basement. Be sure to describe the wet floor, efflorescence, etc. that's in the photo that they might not otherwise notice. Be sure to also fill in the town, state and zip code fields where the photo was taken to help the Treehouse optimize it.

The Photo Gallery can be organized into Photo Albums and when you upload a photo it will appear in the content area you tagged it for. For example, if you tag the photo with a Foundation Repair tag, it will appear on a Photo Gallery page in the Foundation Repair section of the website.

Emergency Broadcast Announcement!

The Emergency Broadcast Announcement is a customized message banner you can put on your site. When there's a big rain, power outage, or other major event you can let your customers know the best way to reach you. Dealers are using it to advertise that they're hiring, they're running a sale, or that the bad weather is on its way this week. The Emergency Announcement even has a time duration function so it automatically comes off your site when you want it to!

PromoCents Coupon Tool

The PromoCents Coupon Tool lets you create your very own coupon for your website. All you have to do is click on that button in teambasementsystems.com and follow the coupon wizard through the steps. When you're done, a coupon page will appear on your website under the "About Us" section. It's that easy!

[PRODUCTS]
New FlexiCaulk Nozzle
- Mark Domogala

Ever had the problem of not being able to apply caulk into hard to reach areas? Areas where you just can’t get the right angle to apply caulk properly or something is in the way. Often the answer to this question is, "Yes." In most difficult-to-caulk cases some innovative add on to the caulk tip is fashioned on site on an as needed basis. This takes time and often leads to wasted caulk. Well…there is a change coming to the standard FlexiCaulk nozzle tip. A new flexible caulk tip will be phased in on every tube of FlexiCaulk. The new FlexiCaulk nozzle tip can rotate 360 degrees allowing access to even the hardest to caulk areas. Keep your eyes open for this change!

[PRODUCTS]
Basement Windows & Window Wells

These great before and after photos were sent in by Howard Tatge from MidAmerica Basement Systems. Basement windows and wells continue to be a niche we are in that everyone else ignores.

[NOVA BASEMENT SYSTEMS]
Giving Back

Jim and Kathy Nova of Nova Basement Systems in La Porte, Indiana, are no strangers to community service and charitable work. For years, they have been involved with local Humane Societies, community schools, and the Red Cross in northern Indiana, but recently they've expanded their efforts internationally.

The Novas own a condo in Puerto Adventuras, Mexico, a small town located about 60 miles south of Cancun. While there, they have made donations to the local library and volunteered at school and town events. Recently, they have become involved in an innovative program which utilizes horse-back riding as a form of therapy. There are many of these new programs (Reins of Life, for example) which treat clients from 4 to 20 years of age who suffer from difficulties such as Cerebral Palsy, Autism, or even different levels of paralysis. The goal is to train each rider to become as skilled on horseback as possible, which helps with balance -- a major issue for most of these clients. In addition, the therapists create games to improve motor and sensory skills along with socialization. Volunteers, such as the Novas, lead the horses and help balance and support the riders.

Aside from the active learning the therapists impart, there is a powerful passive benefit that cannot be quantified; the connection formed over time between the clients and horses is one that any pet lover will understand. The motion and warmth of the animals has a noted effect. The Novas have seen firsthand an astonishing improvement in balance, healing, and social skills of the riders.

The stable in Mexico is located in a remote area south of the town of Playa del Carmen. There is no electricity. They are deep in the jungle, dealing with temperatures in excess of 100 degrees, no breeze to speak of, high humidity, mosquitoes, flies, and even bats. But Jim and Kathy Nova will tell you that the joy on the faces of those clients makes it all worthwhile. Says Jim, "You walk away from a session and realize you really don't have any real problems of your own."

Therapeutic horseback riding is a growing way people in many communities are helping those with disabilities and improving their connections with society. Check out www.reinsoflife.org for more information and to find out about their programs near you.

[DRY ZONE BASEMENT SYSTEMS]
DryZone's Insane Interior Discharge Job

Todd Lutinski's foreman, Steve daSilva, and his crew did this job earlier this year at a furniture store in Avon, MA. Check out these pictures!!!

The crew installed 250 feet of WaterGuard and 250 feet of CleanSpace Wall with 2 TripleSafes. They used about 1400 feet of pipe, at least twenty 45s, thirty-six 90s, and over a full box of couplings. The pipes went above the drop ceiling in over 10 rooms, into the warehouse, and then outside. When all was said and done, it took about 13 hours!

[BSI CALENDAR]
Upcoming Trainings & Events

May 2-3	Marketing Training Seymour, CT
May 21-22	Basement Systems Sales Training Nashville, TN
June 6-7	Accounting Training Omaha, NE
June 13-15	Sales Managers Only Omaha, NE
June 27-28	Basement Systems Sales Training Washington, DC
June 27-28	Marketing Training Washington, DC
June 27-28	SaniDry Training Washington, DC
August 14-18	TEAM CONVENTION Seymour/Hartford, CT

[PRODUCTS]
Truckloads: April 2012

4/2 Thrasher Basement Systems
4/3 Adirondack Basement Systems
4/6 JES (Chester)
4/9 MidAmerica + Midwest
4/9 JES (Manassas)
4/12 Thrasher Basement Systems
4/17 PermaSeal
4/23 Thrasher Basement Systems
4/24 Woods Basement Systems
4/30 Thrasher Basement Systems

[NETWORK RANKINGS]
Top 100 Basement Systems Dealers

Based on sales from July 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012.

1 Connecticut Basement Systems
2 Quality 1st Basement Systems
3 JES Basement Systems
4 Thrasher Basement
5 Woods Basement Systems
6 B.Q. Basement Systems, Inc.
7 Alabama Foundation Specialist
8 Adirondack Basement Systems
9 Midwest Basement Systems, Inc.
10 Innovative Basement Systems
11 Foundation Systems of Michigan
12 Master Dry, LLC
13 T.C. Hafford Waterproofing Inc.
14 Ayers Basement Systems
15 ITG
16 Perma-Seal Basement Systems
17 DryZone Basement Systems
18 Blackburn Basement Repair
19 DryZone LLC
20 AquaGuard Basement Systems
21 Basement Systems of New Hampshire
22 Bakers Waterproofing Co. Inc.
23 Healthy Basement Systems
24 Basement Systems USA
25 Basement Systems of WV
26 John's Waterproofing
27 Omni Basement Systems
28 Dry Pro Basement Systems
29 Clarke Basement Systems
30 Leader Basement Systems
31 MidAmerica Basement Systems
32 Basement Systems Calgary
33 Evergreen Basement Systems
34 Badger Basement Systems
35 Frontier Basement Systems
36 J&D Basement Systems of Cincinnati
37 CO-Complete Basement Systems
38 Tar Heel Basement Systems LLC
39 Dry Guys LLC
40 American Waterworks
41 Indiana Foundation Service
42 Advanced Basement Systems
43 Sure Dry Basement Systems
44 Terra Firma Foundation Repair
45 Complete Basement Systems of LI
46 Ohio Basement Systems
47 Swat Pest - Health Spaces
48 Basement Systems Quebec Inc.
49 Northern Basement Systems
50 Century Masonry & Waterproofing,LLC
51 Basement Systems Vancouver, Inc
52 Aqueous Basement Systems
53 Bay Area Moisture Control
54 All Dry of the Carolinas
55 MN-Complete Basement Systems
56 Pep Waterproofing
57 Basement Systems of NY
58 Basement Systems Edmonton, Inc
59 Enviro Pro
60 ABS Foundation Services
61 Regional Waterproofing Co.
62 Kansas Basement & Foundation
63 Wilcox Basement Systems
64 Frank's Basement Systems
65 Redeemers Group, LLC
66 Basement and Drainage Systems Ltd.
67 Nova Foundation Repair Services
68 J&D Basement Systems Northwest, LLC
69 Island Basement Systems
70 Klein Basement Systems
71 Utah Basement Systems
72 Waterproofing Specialties Inc.
73 SST Basement Systems
74 Bix Service
75 Rainy Day Basement Systems
76 Peak Basement Systems
77 McInroy Maintenance
78 Atlantic Basement Systems
79 Superior Basement Systems, Inc.
80 ACCA Basement Systems
81 Kenmar Basement Systems
82 A&R Waterproofing
83 J.L. Waterproofing
84 Northern States Basement Systems
85 High Tech Basement Systems
86 Low Country Basement Systems
87 Basement Systems Winnipeg
88 Basement Systems Saskatchewan Inc.
89 Carolina Basement Systems
90 Southern Tier Basement Systems
91 J.L. Basement Water Control
92 Don Murray
93 North American Basement Systems
94 Davenport Foundation Repair
95 Foundation Specialties, Inc
96 Hi-Line Flood Solutions
97 Bowman Masonry
98 Nelson Waterproofing
99 Dan Burandt Waterproofing
100 Crawford Basement Systems

Foundation Nation for Design Professionals Direct Mailing Program Now Available

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:21:33 -0400

To help dealers focus on higher value activities within their commercial divisions, we are now offering a direct mailing program for the quarterly Foundation Nation for Design Professionals newsletter.

Currently, the newsletters are being shipped to your offices, and your staff must print or hand-write labels, affix postage, and then mail to your commercial contacts. We realize this is not a good use of time for your commercial representative or their assistant, so we wanted to remove that task from their plates and allow them to focus on finding new projects and building relationships. Also, there may be dealers that would like to mail the newsletters out, but choose not to because of the hassle.

To make the process simple and easy, FSI has partnered with a printing company that will custom print each newsletter on demand.Even further, the printing company will presort and mail the newsletters at a less expensive mailing rate! So… moving forward, any dealers that want to participate can have the newsletter printed with their logo and return address, as well as have them addressed to each of the contacts on your distribution list. They will then be presorted and mailed directly to everyone on your contact list. This will not only save you a lot of time and effort, but also will save on postage cost.

Here is how the program will work:

Send us your commercial mailing list in a Microsoft Excel file
The mailing list must have a minimum of 200 contacts to participate
Provide us with the information you would like to include in the return address
The newsletters will be printed with your company information and will be addressed to each contact on your mailing list.
The printing company will presort and mail the newsletters out at a lower bulk rate cost
We will mail the newsletter to your contacts every quarter and bill you for the cost, which will be 65¢ per newsletter (35¢ for printing and 30¢ for postage)
You will also receive an e-mail confirming shipment of the newsletters so you will know when your contacts will receive them

As you continue to market and build your commercial contact list, you can simply e-mail updates to your list to admin@foundationsupportworks.com and we will add them to your distribution list for the next issue.

Please fill out the return address information below exactly as you want it printed on the newsletters, attach your company logo you would like printed on the newsletter, attach your list of contacts (in a Microsoft Excel file), and e-mail to admin@foundationsupportworks.com. We will take care of the rest. If you have any questions, please call Josh Kaiser at 402-933-6526 or 800-281-8545.

Company Name: ________________________________________________________

Address: _______________________________________________________________

City: ________________________ State: ___________________

Celebrity Hockey Game - Dealer Fundraising Packet

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:50:39 -0400

The Basement Systems vs. Foundation Supportworks Hockey Game is less than a month away! Fundraising is in full swing at Basement Systems New Hampshire, as well as here at headquarters. BUT, IN ORDER FOR THIS EVENT TO BE A SUCCESS, WE NEED YOUR HELP! Not only will it be a lot of fun and raise money for a great cause, but it's great exposure for all of TEAM Basement Systems. There's an even greater Public Relations opportunity for the dealer who raises the most money.

You'll be given 15% of the total amount raised to donate to a charity in your area, which is great press for your business!! I'll personally write and distribute the release to the media on your behalf.

To help jump-start fundraising, Julie Berube of Basement Systems New Hampshire has provided a few tools to help keep us all organized and support our efforts. The following files can be downloaded and printed directly from this email. (They're the same materials that are being used here and at BSNH, with great success!)

Poster (to hang around your office)

Sponsorship Levels

Donation Log (to keep track of all who give)

Sponsorship Donation Form (for credit card donations)

Please don’t let the sponsorship levels startle you; our hope is to have our fellow dealers donate at the $500 or $1500 level, or whatever you are able to raise.

Thank you in advance for all of your support,

Lauren LeComte, on behalf of Julie Berube and the team at Basement Systems New Hampshire

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:58:55 -0400

Munn Air

After spending Monday night at the Coastal Georgia RV Resort, we drove the rest of the way to Fruitland Park, FL to see Munn Air, the first Dr. Energy Saver franchise on this leg of the trip. Though they're in their first year with Dr. Energy Saver, Munn's has been doing HVAC work since they opened in 1964 and their knowledge of both business and the area show their experience. They're in a great looking facility (inside and out), and are professionals through and through.

NSquare

The RV arrived in Naples, FL just in time to grab dinner with all three owners from NSquare -- Scott, Matt, and Dave. The restaurant turned out to have a fantastic view of the sunset!

We met with Scott again at NSquare's office this morning to discuss specifics and talk more in depth on some of the things we'd touched on over dinner. NSquare's been working in the area for over 20 years, first as a remodeling and renovation contractor, but more and more they saw the need for real foundation repair solutions. They are picking up momentum and all of us were excited for the possibilities as we headed out on the next leg of the trip.

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:35:51 -0400

We got an early start to our third day. We met Scott Gales, owner of Crawl Space Concepts, at 6:30am for breakfast at the Waffle House. Scott has an 80% referral-based business. He feels that by educating the customer and providing impeccable service, his customers recommend him over and over again. Scott is considered a "micro dealer," being that it’s just him and Pablo, his production guy. Scott is the business. He has a firm handle on building science and delivers top-quality products and services to the marketplace. Crawl Space Concepts covers the Wilmington and the greater Cape Fear area.

We pulled into Clean Space of the Carolinas late morning. Beverly Griggs, the owner, gave us a tour of the facility. They are realigning their efforts and focus. Their lead flow is fine but they are looking to increase their sales and want to take advantage of the online training. They’re excited to be coming to the Nashville Sales Camp. Clean Space of the Carolinas is poised to have a better year than last year.

We arrived at Disaster Plus late in the afternoon. Fred Norris greeted us and introduced us to his staff. Mike and Rick sat with Fred to discuss lead generation, My Lead Tracking, and the TreeHouse's widgets. I stressed the imporance of using the Star Power Pro review system when I met with Brad, Lance and Johnny to discuss sales strategies.

When we were done for the day, Fred treated us to dinner on Sullivan’s Island and we continued our conversations about how to help Fred grow his business. Mike discussed Ready Aim Hire! and gave Fred an Mp3 and RAH manual. We see tremendous growth opportunity for him in the Charleston area.

Our day began at 6:30am with Crawl Space Concepts and ended at 12:30am by the time we found a place to bed down! As of yesterday, we've logged over 1,000 miles, and we’re only half way!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:50:02 -0400

We arrived at Regional Waterproofing mid morning on Tuesday and were greeted by Von Bullock, Jr. Junior gave us a tour of the office, which is also the same house he grew up in, but has been completely converted to officespace. We were introduced to Brendan, the office manager, Tim in the call center, Jeannette Bullock, and salesman John Mitchel.

We met for about an hour and a half to discuss sales and marketing before we headed over to Von Bullock's home for lunch. Von Sr. is a gracious host and treated us to a catered country-style BBQ. Von Sr. and Mike had a good conversation on many topics while Rick and I talked to Junior about football and basketball. When lunch ended we headed back to the office to discuss possible plans to grow the company. We recommended Fish On, Online Trainings, and BizWiz. Regional Waterproofing has been a dealer since 1993 and we really appreciate their business. Like Larry, Von Sr. believes a man’s word is everything. Business is done on a handshake.

We arrived at “Superman” Chris Hunter’s office late Tuesday afternoon, but still in time to meet with Chris’s staff. Chris has fully engaged employees who want the company to grow and succeed in the coming years. Rick met with Shannon and Shannon while Mike sat with Chris, and I met with the salesmen in the RV for a brief sales meeting. Southeast is cranking with FSI and CleanSpace. We went to dinner in downtown Willmington, a city rich in history. It seems that our best conversations occur over a great meal. At dinner, we laid out a specific plan with Fish On and Online Trainings. Mike’s words of wisdom rang true: Chris needs to “get comfortable being uncomfortable”. Superman is a super man and another gracious host. We sure are glad he’s on our team.

Basement Systems vs. Foundation Supportworks Charity Hockey Game is ON!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:14:06 -0400

SIGN UP TO DONATE, SPONSOR, OR PLAY TODAY!

Please see below for a letter from Jim & Julie Berube, Owners of Basement Systems New Hampshire.

Hello Fellow Dealers,

We are proud to announce that we are sponsoring a celebrity hockey game on Saturday, May 19th to benefit the Claddagh Fund, the charitable foundation of the Dropkick Murphys. We wanted to let you know how you could be involved with this special event. Check out our invitation and sponsorship opportunities attached to this email or visit www.claddaghfund.org/hockey.

This hockey game began as the brainchild of one of our key sales reps, Beth Murch. It all started last August at Convention when Beth and our sales team were discussing hockey with fellow attendees. Coming from the city that just won the Stanley Cup, they were tossing around an idea to get together for a friendly competitive game. That is when Beth came up with the idea to play the game for charity. She has volunteered with the Claddagh Fund for several years and they have a close relationship with NHL alumni. Last fall she volunteered at the Bobby Orr Charity Golf Tournament in September.

Founded by the Dropkick Murphys in 2009, the mission of the Claddagh Fund is to raise money and awareness for the most underfunded non-profits all over the country. Honoring the attributes of the Claddagh Ring, Friendship, Love and Loyalty, and utilizing a grassroots approach to fundraising, the Claddagh Fund focuses their efforts on supporting children and veterans organizations and alcohol and drug recovery programs.

The game will be at the Breakaway Ice Center located in Tewksbury, MA, just 20 minutes north of Boston. Celebrity coaches, players and guests will be joining us, including Ken Casey, lead singer and bassist, and other members of the Dropkick Murphys, Bruins legends Rick Middleton and Bob Sweeney, WAAF radio personality and former Bruins’ player, Lyndon Byers, TV personality, NECN meteorologist, Nelly Carreno. And we are adding more celebrities and surprise guests on a daily basis! Local press will also be in attendance to cover this great event.

There are many ways that your dealership could help out. If anyone at your company would like to play on either the Basement Systems or the Foundation SupportWorks team please contact Beth at Bethbsnh@live.com. We ask that each company raise a minimum of $500 in order to send players.

In addition to selling tickets and fundraising locally, we have set up a fundraising challenge for all dealers. For the dealer that raises the most amount of money, you will receive 20% of the total amount raised at the event for a charity in your local area. So let's talk numbers. For example, if the event raises $175,000 then the dealer who gives the most would receive $35,000 for a charity in your local area. Each dealer can set up their own fundraising page HERE by “becoming a supporter”. It’s a fast and easy way to compete and you don’t have to lace up the skates! There are also many sponsorship opportunities outlined in this document, which offer benefits for local and national dealers. You can also get all of the information at www.claddaghfund.org/hockey.

We appreciate your support and hope to see you on May 19^th!

Julie and Jim Berube
Owners
Basement Systems of NH, Inc
Foundation Supportworks of NH, LLC

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:03:57 -0400

The RV is out for Week 5 of their tour, with Mike Delmolino, Ron Canelli, and Rick Cleri on board.

We arrived in Norfolk VA at 10:15pm on Sunday night to begin our 6.5 hour drive to Boone, NC. We met with Pete Burgess and his staff at Tarheel Basement Systems bright and early after driving all night. Pete is in the high country of North Carolina where the scenery is breathtaking. With rolling hills, beautiful mountain ranges, and quaint towns, it's a really nice place to visit!

Pete experienced growth in 2011 and is off to a great start for 2012, ahead of projections. Pete reinvested in his company last year with equipment and personnel and, like most business owners, when they expand they feel the cuts in the immediate profits. No worries here, though, he has some great, enthusiastic people on his staff. Pete is looking to hire 3 new salespeople to sell basement waterproofing and crawl space and foundation repair. The employees are excited and see the growth potential for Tarheel. Pete is looking for an over 50% increase in sales in 2012, and we think he’s on the mark with his new reinvestments and hires. Will Blake, his most experienced salesman, is at a $2,600 ADL and Pete is looking to jump in on the online trainings to increase the numbers for his entire sales force.

After our breakfast meeting at Tarheel, we headed south to Gastonia to see our up-and-coming Dr. Energy Saver stars. We were greeted by Shawn Messer, the Sales Manager, since Owner Steven Long was away on training, but his business in good hands with his team. We toured the facility and met their staff. This is a family-owned business 3 generations strong. They operate out of 2 facilities: one for production and fabrication, and the other for operations. These guys are so excited about Dr. Energy Saver and see the potential and the opportunities that the franchise offers. The sales people are maximizing every HVAC lead and converting them into DES opportunities.

Gastonia Sheet Metal Works Dr. Energy Saver has partnered up with Dry Pro Basement Systems, and they have a great working relationship. We encourage all neighboring dealerships to do exactly this. Spread the love -- there’s plenty to go around for everyone! Shawn and Wayne, the production manager, treated us to Hillbilly’s BBQ and Steaks -- a real treat!

We arrived at Dry Pro late Monday afternoon and were greeted by Ron Weatherly. We toured the facility and quickly took note of how Dry Pro has optimized their space. Ron is excited for the new year and will eventually have to move into a new facility. Ron has a great enthusiastic team who share his vision. Dry Pro is on track with leads, and boast a 94% conversion rate: one of the highest conversion rates we've seen anywhere in the network! Kevin, the service manager, is anxious to get Service Vision for his guys. Dry Pro has a new sales manager with a strong back ground in sales, and is looking to increase their ADL. With a little encouragement on our part, we think a 25% increase is very conservative. Ron's dad, also named Ron, works in production and his wife, Holly, works in the office. They are expecting their 5th child in June. Not only is his business growing, but so is his family!

Updates from the TEAM Basement Systems Caravan!

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:48:19 -0400

We were greeted by Al Rose, Ron Williams, and Mike Horton who run A&R Waterproofing, a commercial and residential waterproofing outfit running out of Richmond, Virginia. They continue to work on their family-run business in it's 6th decade. Al's a big Virginia Tech fan and fisherman.

Traveling through a rainy Richmond on the way to JES's Chester, Virginia office.

JES in Chester is "busting loose." Due to the growth they are experiencing, much of their staff is less than two years with the company – and a bunch even less than a year – and yet they had a record March, a testament to the consistent and ongoing training that Todd, Brian, and the team have committed to.

We then traveled to a KOA RV park in Williamsburg, to be within striking distance of Dr. Energy Saver in Yorktown, VA in the morning. While checking email, uploading photos, and such, we enjoyed a baguette that Bob Parsons baked for us and a box of Tasty Kakes that Dianna Gallen at BQ Basement Systems snuck into our RV. We've had great visits with each team so far, and expect our last day to be the same.