Business Advantage – Owners up to $1.5 Million – 2026-08-20
Meeting notes:
Discussed Topics
1. Scorecard / Market Trends Review
Morgan shared the updated scorecard for the up-to-$1.5M group. Vincent Nigara initially referenced the wrong group (1.5–4M) before being corrected. The group had approximately 19 participants reporting data.
- Details
- Vincent Nigara: Emphasized the value of submitting KPI data for cross-member benchmarking across North America.
- Vincent Nigara: Benchmark average sale is $6,250; NSLI benchmark is $2,300–$2,500. Members with $11,000 average sale and $8,100 NSLI were highlighted as exceptional performers.
- Vincent Nigara: Low close ratios may indicate issues with marketing messaging (e.g., discount-focused ads attracting the wrong market segment) or a need for sales training via the seven-step program.
- Vincent Nigara: Referenced James Crossway and Jen as examples of members who improved numbers dramatically after changing their marketing messaging.
- Lisa Brock: Asked about the meaning of red vs. green color coding in the scorecard.
- Morgan: Explained that green indicates month-over-month increase and red indicates a decrease; no color means no prior month data was submitted. Workrooms are italicized.
- Vincent Nigara: Reminded members to review six-to-seven months of data for a more accurate picture rather than relying on a single month.
- Jessica: Suggested members share in the chat how they track and compile their KPI data to help others report more consistently.
- Conclusion
- Members should track KPIs over at least six to seven months for meaningful trend analysis.
- Low close ratios or average sales should prompt a review of marketing messaging and/or sales training.
- Members are encouraged to submit data consistently to maximize the benefit of the benchmarking tool.
2. Installer Training for New Hires
Peggy raised a question about how to train a first in-house installer, given that her business has relied on subcontractors for 25 years and those subs would not be willing to train their own replacement.
- Details
- Peggy: Business is 60% soft treatments, 40% hard treatments. Has materials on-site for soft treatment practice. Needs guidance on training for hard treatments.
- Jessica: Suggested allowing the new hire to accompany a subcontractor on large multi-day jobs as a helper/observer, without framing it as replacement training. Also recommended cross-training with another Exciting Windows member in the region.
- Vincent Nigara: Recommended sending the new hire to spend a week riding the truck with another member (e.g., Window Works). Also noted the availability of online training videos, which did not exist decades ago.
- LuAnn Nigara: Confirmed that Window Works trained all 26 New Jersey showrooms this way — new hires spent two weeks on the truck with Billy and then called in with questions. Noted the trainee does not need to be local; they can travel.
- Jessica: Noted there are additional ideas shared in the chat from other members.
- Conclusion
- Recommended approach: Use online training videos and arrange for the new hire to spend a week with another Exciting Windows member on their installation truck.
- The Exciting Windows member network is a key resource for cross-training new installers.
3. Reporting: Should Phone-Qualified-Out Leads Count as Appointments?
Amy raised a question about whether leads that are screened out during a pre-appointment phone call (before an in-home visit occurs) should be counted as appointments or opportunities in reporting.
- Details
- Amy: Explained that a design consultant calls leads before scheduling in-home visits to discuss budget and project scope. Some leads self-select out during this call.
- LuAnn Nigara: Initially questioned why appointments were being cancelled, then clarified her concern after Amy explained the process.
- Vincent Nigara: Stated he would not count phone-screened-out leads as appointments.
- Peggy, Rae, and other members: Agreed they would not count them as appointments either.
- Rae: Described a similar pre-appointment call process at her company; only leads that result in an in-home visit are counted as appointments.
- LuAnn Nigara: Noted that if many leads are being screened out, it may indicate a marketing problem (e.g., Facebook ads attracting the wrong audience).
- Amy: Confirmed Facebook advertising has not been producing quality leads for her business.
- Vincent Nigara: Concluded that screened-out leads should be counted as leads but not as appointments, and should not negatively affect close rate calculations.
- Conclusion
- Phone-screened-out leads should be recorded as leads, not as appointments.
- They should not count against close rate metrics.
- Consistently poor lead quality from a specific channel (e.g., Facebook) should prompt a review of marketing strategy.
4. Follow-Up Strategies for Unsold Quotes (Suggestion Box Item)
Wilma Kulyk SS submitted this topic via the suggestion box, noting that her team is strong on pre-appointment and in-appointment processes but struggles with consistent follow-up on unsold quotes.
- Details
- Wilma Kulyk SS: Described the challenge of managing follow-up on unsold quotes while also managing the active pipeline in a small team.
- Jessica: Emphasized that the follow-up process begins at the appointment — securing a next-step commitment before leaving is critical to avoid being ghosted.
- Vincent Nigara: Shared his 3×3 follow-up system: contact the prospect every three days for nine days (three contacts total), starting with a phone call to establish a voice connection, followed by text or email. After nine days, unsold quotes move to a CRM (e.g., Market Sharp) for monthly follow-up emails.
- LuAnn Nigara: Stressed that the key is making follow-up a system, not a decision. Described her own physical tray system (hot tray for urgent follow-ups, Friday tray for weekly follow-ups). Emphasized that delivering quotes in person or via Zoom — rather than by email alone — reduces ghosting by allowing real-time objection handling.
- LuAnn Nigara: Noted there is no expiration date on follow-up; even months-old quotes can be revisited respectfully.
- Stacy Hernandez: Shared a tip from a Luann podcast: replace “just following up” with a direct question such as “Are you going to move forward with this project?” — this has resulted in concrete responses from prospects.
- Vincent Nigara: Referenced Mark Richardson’s research: 64% of people who don’t buy initially will purchase that product within a year; religious follow-up can increase close rates by 8–10%.
- Vincent Nigara: Recommended attaching company credibility documents (e.g., “Why Window Works,” “33 Ways Window Works Can Help You”) to all follow-up communications.
- Jessica: Described using a CRM with status tracking and notes for each follow-up attempt, enabling sales management oversight.
- LuAnn Nigara: Addressed delegating follow-up to a showroom coordinator — appropriate only for cold/long-dormant quotes; active quotes should remain with the original salesperson who has full context of the appointment.
- Agata: Shared that her team reviews unsold quotes in weekly sales meetings, which creates accountability and prompts salespeople to follow up more consistently.
- Vincent Nigara: Confirmed he used a similar weekly review process with his sales team for two years.
- Brad MacBrair: Acknowledged his company is currently working to define a clearer follow-up process after experiencing too many ghosted quotes.
- Mark Perel: Referenced in chat for his creative video follow-up approach (e.g., Jim Carrey-themed video), described as effective for re-engaging long-dormant prospects.
- Conclusion
- Follow-up must be a defined system, not an ad hoc decision.
- The 3×3 system (contact every three days for nine days, starting with a phone call) is a proven framework.
- Quotes should ideally be presented in person or via Zoom to allow real-time objection handling and reduce ghosting.
- CRM tools (e.g., Market Sharp) should be used to automate long-term follow-up after the initial nine-day window.
- Weekly sales team reviews of open quotes create accountability and improve follow-up consistency.
- Showroom coordinators should only handle cold/dormant quotes; active follow-up should remain with the original salesperson.
5. AI Implementation in Business (Suggestion Box Item)
A member submitted a suggestion to dedicate a team meeting to discussing how members are using AI in their businesses, with specific use cases.
- Details
- Vincent Nigara: Acknowledged the suggestion and agreed it warrants a dedicated, organized meeting rather than an impromptu discussion.
- LuAnn Nigara: Recommended pre-organizing the session — identifying members actively using AI, gathering specific strategies in advance, and structuring the presentation of use cases.
- Vincent Nigara: Noted Advisory Council President Mark Perel has been active in this area and will be involved in organizing the session.
- Conclusion
- A dedicated, structured team meeting on AI use cases will be organized.
- Mark Perel and other active AI users will be engaged in advance to prepare specific strategies and examples.