It reminds me of the fisherman, who rows his boat to the far end of the lake, passing by scores of potential catches because he believes that's what he has to do to be successful that day. Rowing and not fishing consume most of his day. By the end of the day, he has expended a great deal of energy for his quarry. I would rather be the fisherman who fishes from the pier and learns all of the methods and techniques that give me a greater yield from a single location. By the end of the day, I will harvest more fish (profits) with less rowing (time and costs).

As your shop's territory grows, expenses such as fuel, truck maintenance and driving time increase. You are less efficient. Customers inevitably wait longer for service. If you pay your people on commission, it is frustrating for them to dedicate the extra driving time for the same money — they become less efficient and less enthusiastic. Hourly personnel become more costly overall and those additional costs get reflected back into your pricing schedule — making you less competitive. Longer hours for the same income becomes the rule and not the exception.

There are those who say, " I live in a rural area, my customers are all spread out. We don't have any choice!" My reply is, "How many potential customers do you drive by to get to the customer who called you?"

Let me tell you a little secret. Before I worked for the big boys, I was a very small shop for fifteen years. Yes, I ran yellow page ads in numerous areas at great expense, only to find myself driving long distances to reap a few measly bottom-line dollars. I had to overload my trucks with supplies to save time chasing parts in unfamiliar areas. I was spending $500 per truck for monthly fuel. My mechanic loved me. I was always replacing brakes, tires, suspensions, oil, transmissions — you name it. I would burn a new truck in three years or less. I was always dragging myself and my home life was terrible. It just wasn't working for me, I didn't want to do it then, let alone submit to the idea that this was my future as well. It was time to make a few critical decisions.

I decided to put all of my advertising and marketing efforts into a small geographical area — a five-mile radius around my shop —, which translates into about eighty square miles of coverage. The idea was to make my office centrally located in my service area — never being more than a short drive to my shop. Need a jackhammer or a trailer from the stockroom? — no problem. My main supply house was within easy reach. Since everything and everyone was nearby I could hit more stops per day, while spending more time with each client in the same amount of time. My customers never had to wait too long. Estimates were easier to get to than before.