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Can I Just Have Ai Create My SOPs? You Can, but Here’s What You Need to Know!

By Al Levi |

You’re probably asking, “Can I use Ai to create my SOPs?” In short, yes, you can. But, there’s a catch that you need to be aware of.

Ever since artificial intelligence (Ai) ChatGPT burst onto the scene in November 2022, I’ve been fielding questions about whether it can be used to create SOPs and operating manuals.

“Generative” Ai models (like ChatGPT) base their responses on what its large language model has learned from a huge repository of information. The better questions you ask, the better output you will get—though sometimes it takes a few rounds.

That said, with the right prompts, absolutely Ai can generate a list of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). An SOP is a list of to-dos or a checklist—very useful!

However, if your goal is to establish uniform operating procedures, keep them in the culture, integrate them, etc., achieving this takes more time effort and money than you might think—which is why I created a program with 90% done for you operating manuals you just have to tweak.

Here are just 7 reasons why you should buy proven, integrated operating manual templates and tweak them instead of using an Ai model like ChatGPT.

You Have to See It First

By Al Levi |

I was doing an onsite meeting with Mike, the owner of a family run 100-year-old plumbing, heating, and cooling business on the East Coast. Around 3 PM I insisted we stop and take a coffee break.

At the coffee shop, Mike expressed to me how relieved he was that what we were doing was working so well, and that things were finally starting to turn around for the better.

I sipped some coffee and then looked up at him and asked, “So, what do you want this business to look like when you’re done building it?”

Mike replied, “I have to admit, I’m not sure what you mean.”

I said, “What do you want this company to be when you’re all done? What is your vision for what happens next?”

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Creating a Business Someone Else Will Want to Buy

By Al Levi |

One of my very first 1-to-1 consulting clients was with a contractor in his late 50s, and his business was a small plumbing company in the Midwest. 

I sat with him in his office and the very first question I asked him was, “So how well does this business run today on a scale of 1 to 10?”

He growled, “I’d be generous by saying it’s a 1. And I say that because I hate this business and I can’t wait to sell it!” There was a lot of legit reasons he hated it! I could sympathize. 

Hey, I too had hated my business once upon a time. That is until I got systems and processes in place. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

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Buy-Sell and the 5D’s

By Al Levi |

My dad, Irving, called my two brothers and I into a private meeting one day centered on him telling us that we each needed to get an estate plan done. He also instructed us to put together buy-sell agreements for our family business.

At the time, I, as the last full-time member having joined the business, had worked five full years even though I was just 25. Marty was 29, and Richie was 28, and we thought, “We’re young… so… why do we need to do this?”

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Should You Add Another Trade?

By Al Levi |

Should you add another trade?

Well, that’s the second question you should be asking yourself.

The first question you need to ask (and answer) is, “Are we paying attention to changing market conditions and monitoring how well our company is functioning with the trade or trades we already do?”

Before making any decision, I recommended doing the “Daily Business Meditation.”

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Operating Manuals: Ai (ChatGPT) or AL (Al Levi)?

By Al Levi |

Ever since artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT hit the mainstream in the spring of 2023, I’ve been fielding questions about whether it can be used to create operating manuals (aka Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)).

The short answer is absolutely. It can generate text that tells you how to do a toilet reset or replace an electrical box.

There are, however, some issues you should be aware of. To understand these issues, you need to know a little bit about what is behind ChatGPT and other “generative” Ai models.

If you’re thinking that it can be used to generate all your procedures from scratch with zero human intervention, let me explain why you might want to think that through.

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Not a Giant Company Yet?… You Can Still Do Smart Acquisition!

By Al Levi |

If you’re trying to grow your company primarily through marketing (or, what I call organic marketing), you’ll be pleased to learn there’s another tried and true way to accelerate the growth process, especially if you have the right stuff in place.

That way is to acquire other companies. In other words, you buy your way to growth.

Why acquisition? Acquisition is about instantly acquiring a lot of customers who are already trained to buy from that company where organic marketing is just a wish and hope that they’ll see it and respond to it.

You could also acquire the company’s good will and sometimes their assets like trucks and inventory or even their building and key talented people many times.

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Hit the Reset on Your Business

By Al Levi |

The business you’re running today isn’t necessarily the one you need to achieve your goals. I know this is a hard pill to swallow. In fact, most people in this situation will defend the status quo even though their business may be like a “boat”… full of holes and rapidly sinking.

If this is you, you probably need a way to release your emotional attachment to the situation. Here’s an exercise I recommended to my 1-1 clients and really to every contractor to do periodically so they can more objectively evaluate what is going on—and what needs to change.

Imagine for a moment you’ve closed the doors at your existing company and are going to reopen it down the street as a brand-new company.

The goal is that you end up with a business that works right this time and that requires you do a real self-assessment of your business today:

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Building Credibility and Visibility in Your Community

By Al Levi |

I once asked a great client about what he was doing to build credibility and increase his visibility in the community his company served.

He said, “We’ve sponsored a giant community carnival. One of our many giveaways was free ice cream and along with that we gave folks discount coupons for our services. It was great! It was a big hit for the community who loved our supporting them and it benefited us as well, by generating trackable lead source quality calls that increased our revenues. A great Win-Win-Win.”

“How’s it working today?” I asked.

He started to laugh and replied, “Well, I hate to admit this but we don’t do it anymore.”

Moral of the story: If you are doing or have done things that you know already work to get you known, give someone ownership of it and check in with them at a weekly meeting to make sure progress is being made consistently.

There are four main ways to do this.

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Creating Trucks that Work

By Al Levi |

The last thing you need to be doing in these uncertain times is to stock your trucks too heavily. You don’t need to be paying for excess inventory, for things that get damaged, or go out of warranty sitting on a shelf.

Just as bad, however, are trucks that aren’t stocked well enough to give your Techs a good chance to make an immediate sale and do the work. Always needing to chase parts is a waste of time which damages billable hour efficiency and can lead to lost sales.

My Service Manager at my company told me, “You can’t sell from an empty wagon.”

I replied, “What?”

He said, “If you don’t have it onboard, you’re unlikely to stop and go hunting for it.”

The goal should be for your Techs to pull up to 80% of the homes you serve with a truck that has the stock that will give them an 80% chance that they’ll have what they need to get the job done today.

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