sonny Lykos

[Eieio]

Sonny Lykos

[WarriorWithWood]

Are you going to throw the posts from the other thread in here?

[Eieio]

Are you going to throw the posts from the other thread in here?


No that thread is gone this is all about Sonny

[WarriorWithWood]

oh crap, I was hoping you would have moved them before wiping...oh well.:disappointed:

[JasonW]

oh crap, I was hoping you would have moved them before wiping...oh well.:disappointed:
Me to, I just bumped about 6 very old threads at JLC and gave the link to get to them.

That link from CT was cool too. I never saw that one before.

[WarriorWithWood]

Me to, I just bumped about 6 very old threads at JLC and gave the link to get to them.

That link from CT was cool too. I never saw that one before.

Found it again...

http://www.contractortalk.com/f11/sonny-lycos-wold-like-high-quality-contractors-create-contractor-association-18853/


Actually 8, but I got your back Jason, a little light reading for everyone.:2thumbsup:

Ethics (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41315)

Project Completion System (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41095)

Estimating System (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41118)

Customer Service + (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41183)

Systematized Processes of a Business (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41164)

People Problem Solving (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41185)

Human Resources System (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41096)

Advertising/Marketing System (http://forums.jlconline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41093)

[JasonW]

BTW, these links were never sponsored by JLC or anything. Sonny took it upon himself to do this. At the time, JLC was his preferred hang out (his own words), but he was well known throughout the Construction Forum communities and well admired.

[sparkydave]

excellent thread, had a lengthy response typed in, forgot to copy 1st and lost it. would welcome opp. to part. in discussion of each subject. wonder how that could be done best?
enjoying this, great legacy for any tradesman. peer respect is the best kind, no strings attached.

dave

[WarriorWithWood]

Fixed the links.

[fez-head]

From The Sales Success Audio Series For Professional Builders, Remodelers & Renovators ...

“One Remodeler's Secret To Building Three 'By-Referral-Only' Businesses ... Each In Less Than 6 Months!



To say Sonny Lykos has had an illustrious career is an understatement. Sonny, now a semi-retired remodeler in Florida, has re-invented himself three times over his business career.
He has been responsible for creating, from scratch, three different remodeling businesses in three different states, and growing each of them to 'by-referral-only' status in less than six months!
Sonny did it all by running one simple ad in each region for six months, then continued without advertising, solely on the strength of referrals and repeat customers alone.

The Secret To Becoming 'Referral-Only' In Less Than 6 Months

"I really want people to say when they refer me, 'He's not cheap but he's really great.' or 'He really does what he says he's going to do,'" starts Sonny. "Generally people are willing to pay more to get what they want - that's the approach that I take."

"However, I think a majority of the problem [others face] is because of the way we sell. "We force the customer to look at us like we're another good - like we're nuts or bolts, and all they have to do is find the cheapest manufacturer for the nuts or bolts that they want."

Foundational to his 'referral-only business', Sonny avoids this by focusing on branding. "My definition of branding," says Sonny, "is the potential customer's perception of my company or my name, is desirable to them. Everything that I represent [and] what they perceive I represent, is what they want.

"So, instead of having to try and sell a job, or sell a customer on me, I want them to call me because they're pre-sold on me - they've heard of my reputation and they call me up because they want me to do the job. "This has worked out fine for me," says Sonny.

... And How Sonny Gets Higher Margins From Projects He Actually Enjoys

"It has allowed me to get higher margins, and to eliminate the type of people I don't want to work for and it takes price and pushes it lower down the list so it becomes less of an issue. To me, that's the only way to go," he says.

Sonny does this by entering every sale with three things on his mind. "I have to:

Give them a reason why they should trust me.
Develop the perception that I know what I'm talking about.
and

Show why my price is more than somebody else."
To accomplish this, Sonny uses what he calls "sales tools." He keeps a sample of both finger-jointed and clear-fir trim in his truck so he can show the homeowner what happens with finger-jointed trim over time versus using seamless trim. "Instead of just talking, I show them why," says Sonny. "In other words I'm saying to them, 'I'm not the cheapest guy in town and here's why.'"

BONUS TOPIC: How Sonny Wins Projects In Multiple-Bid Situations

Another method Sonny uses to win projects involves competing against multiple bids. "I like to go on an estimate when I'm the second or third contractor bidding," Sonny says, "because the first thing I do is change the scope of work, and I do it to the benefit of the homeowner.

"For example, I might say to the homeowner, 'I have to ask you some minor things about your lifestyle.' "I might say to the wife or husband, 'In the morning when you make coffee do you like to watch the news.' and they may say, 'Well yeah, we do!'" Sonny will then answer, "'I'm glad you mentioned that, because I'll run a cable line [and] I can either put in a wall mounted bracket or a small turntable [to] hook-up a twelve or fifteen-inch TV.' And they think that's a great idea!"

By "changing the scope", Sonny provides more ideas, and more value, than his competition. "What happens is [the homeowner] can no longer compare apples, to apples, to apples," explains Sonny. "I'm now taking the other two proposals of 'apples', and making them into an orange." By implementing this philosophy with his first company in Illinois, and then duplicating it in Michigan, then Florida, Sonny was able to capture more jobs at higher profits.

This also created such a desirable name, or 'brand', for each company, that he could stop advertising in just six months, and continue on referrals alone. Sonny understands what it takes to win projects profitably, and for long-term gain. "Generally people are willing to pay more to get what they want," says Sonny ... and what they want is someone they can trust to do the job right.

Follow Sonny's three-step formula for building trust, showing knowledge of the job, and showing why your price is more than the average contractor, and you'll win more projects at higher profits every time!

[fez-head]

Posted by: Sonny Lykos (http://www.marketingprofs.com/ea/profile.asp?userID=182282) Member Response 1/17/2004 10:27 PM (EST)…..

Here’s another perspective. I’m a semi-retired remodeler. As we all know, my industry does not have the best “image” in the public’s eye. And what remodelers do in effect is to build prototypes, in teh customers home. That's about the opposite one can get compared to an indeal "manufacturing" environment. Yet I was able to command double to triple my industry’s average margins due to what our “brand” (my name) represented to our local public. I currently have three separate businesses, all related to construction, and my margins and demand for my services can be attributed to exactly what my name represents to our customers. I’ve been amazed at even how the cleanliness and organization of the tools in our trucks impact the public’s “perception” of our companies.

The creation and “feeding” of one’s brand must be done consciously, not haphazardly or when ever it comes to mind. Your brand is both the foundation of your business and it’s life’s blood. Your “positive” brand is also 1) How you obtain and maintain loyal customers, 2) Customers who forgive small mistakes, and 3) Creates unpaid sales people of your customers.

Capital, all the advertising in the world, very competent staff, and an exceptional product or service are all moot without an exceptional brand name in your industry. As I mentioned, the creation and feeding of your brand should be your #1 priority. In all of the businesses I’ve started, I was able to stop all advertising within 4 months. The snowball of word of mouth took over and in one case, so successfully that we became the largest remodeler in three counties.

Concentrate on your brand, marketing and PR. Remember, we all want consistency in our lives, whether it’s in a spouse, partner, car, family restaurant, or software for that matter. That consistency of products you sell or services rendered must exist and it must represent one positive “experience” after another. Succeed in doing that and the sky’s the limit.

[fez-head]

Updated: 2005-03-01
Running a Business After its Principal Dies
By Patrick O'Toole

Peter Lykos was a vibrant and engaged remodeling professional on the cusp of taking his business (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?id=23&siteSection=23), Cutting Edge Building Corp., Naples, Fla., to a higher level when a brain aneurysm suddenly and shockingly took his life last October. He was 38 years old.Lykos was not new to the business. His father Sonny Lykos launched The Lykos Group Inc. 14 years ago. His brother Tom and he worked alongside each other at the business after Sonny retired until Peter decided to strike out on his own a few years ago. At the time of his death, his company was doing 40 to 50 jobs per year and had four full-time employees.

The following is a story about how Peter’s brother Tom took the reins of Cutting Edge in order to honor his brother’s commitment to complete 13 projects and to tie up his affairs with employees and vendors. Qualified Remodeler wishes to thank Tom Lykos and the Lykos family for sharing this story in order to help other remodelers plan contingencies for their businesses (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?id=23&siteSection=23).

QR: What steps were taken with Peter’s business after he passed away?

Tom Lykos: He had five employees (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?id=23&siteSection=23) that — for all intents and purposes — no longer had a job. And he had, at the time, 13 clients that no longer had a contractor. My brother’s subcontractors and material vendors had no direction anymore. They did not know how they were going to get paid for the work that had been done. So the first steps that I took was to contact the state licensing department to take over my brother’s business.

Next, I had my brother’s office manager contact all of his clients to let them know what happened. She also told them I would be stepping in with three options. The first was to finish their job in my brother’s company’s name. Another was to transition them to another contractor. And the third was that I would finish their job under my company’s name.

QR: How did his clients react?

Lykos: The reactions ran the gamut. My brother was the type of person who — and this might sound corny — really touched everybody that he came into contact with. In dealing with his clients and vendors, some were so upset by his death that I had to wait a couple of weeks to talk about their job. There were other people who could not care less that my brother had died; all they cared about was getting their job done. It did not matter who was going to do it or how it was going to get done. So I had to kind of make my way through that minefield.

My brother’s employees had a really good handle on a few jobs and we were able to get those cleaned up pretty quickly. About a third of those jobs fell into that category. Another third of his clients were very cooperative. Whether we finished the job (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=2), or somebody else did, they were very understanding about the effect on our family. They were appreciative of my attention to help them get their job done. I helped them track down a new contractor. I helped special order new material. We transferred permits over. Whatever we needed to do, about a third of them, we worked through a process to get them finished out.

Then there was a third of his clients that took advantage of my brother’s passing. Right now there is one client that I have a lean filed against. It is a drawn-out mess. They don’t want to pay their bill. Because he died, he did not finish the job. So they are suing for breach of contract.
Then there was another of his clients who, the day that we called to let her know — this is two days after he died — she sent me a fax with all the work that should be done on the contract, plus a list of all the extra work that she wanted done. When we gave her a bill three weeks later when we finished her job, she told me to call her attorney and that we were not going to get paid.

I helped another gentleman find a new contractor to get his job done. I personally chased down all the special-ordered materials that my brother had ordered, got them all to my office, met his new contractor at my office and gave him all the materials. And take into consideration that this is the end of the year, and the holidays are coming up. My parents are still grieving over their son. I’ve got my own children grieving over the loss of their uncle. I am trying to deal with all of that. Then this gentleman, who I helped get his job done, was upset because he felt that the deposit he gave my brother was more money than the actual work that got done on the job, so he sued me for all the money that he gave my brother. So this last third of his clients took advantage of my brother’s passing. They saw it as an opportunity to get work done for free.

QR: Looking back, are there things that you would have done differently?

Lykos: I would have taken the advice of my brother’s attorney and that was to notify everyone that no work would be done until I was able to ascertain the financial condition of each job. I tried to keep the jobs (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=3) going and this created problems for me. So the first thing I should have done is stop all the jobs.

In hindsight, I should have never gotten involved. It sounds horrible. But I should have never been involved in his business (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=3) and his personal affairs. I should have let the attorneys take over and handle everything. The best thing I could have done was not get involved, because my employees suffered, my vendors suffered and the people who I was trying to help had no appreciation whatsoever.
There were clients that were scheduled to come down [to vacation in Naples] for Thanksgiving, so there was pressure to get their jobs completed or to get to a certain stage. Under those kinds of pressures, I made decisions based on my brother’s original production schedule. I did not know who his vendors were. I had no relationship with them. So I was trying to keep promises my brother made and I did not even know who the parties were. So not only would I have gotten a better understanding of the financials of the job (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=3) before I proceeded, but I would have gotten a better understanding of the clients and the vendors involved.

QR: Were any of his clients appreciative?

Lykos: Of the 13, there were two or three that actually said it. And I think there were others that there was more relief than appreciation. They probably had no idea of what was going to happen. Because of their limited knowledge of what to do in a situation like that, I think the fact that it got done, however it got done, made it more of a relief than gratitude.

QR: Did you make changes at your company as a result of this experience?

Lykos: My production manager has been with me for 10 years. Informally, I consider him to be my partner. We made allowances for him to be able to run the business (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=4) in the event of my death; my attorney has been counseled to immediately appoint him the qualifier for the business. Qualifier is a legal name for a person who is responsible for the business.

When my brother passed away, he still had payroll to meet. He still had vendors to pay. And I had to fund his business for about two or three weeks until I was able to get a handle on his finances. We have set up some life insurance policies so that if something happens to me, the company owns a policy that will create some capital and there won’t be a financial strain on the business. They can make the payroll, meet with clients and there won’t be the pressure of production and finance (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=4) along with the personal strain.

QR: Why did you step in?

Lykos: My goal from the beginning was to make sure that Peter’s customers jobs (http://www.qualifiedremodeler.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=23&id=23&pageNum=4) got done and to make sure that all of his vendors got paid. I know that he would want people to say that he ran his business honorably. Everybody got paid who was owed money. Everybody got their jobs done. He honored all of his promises. And that was my intention.

[Publisher1]

Sheesh! 1/3 of the clients played dirty after the owner of a reputable business dies and the brother steps in to ensure all is well.

I don't know what that says about humanity, but it doesn't feel right to me.

[JasonW]

.Sticky?:)

[sparkydave]

Sobering, and instructive in a way none those thick glossy and expensive business text books can be. Wisdom, experience and honesty no C.E.O. for hire can provide. Invaluable.

[fez-head]

bump.......................................

[DavidC]

Nice bump. Sonny remains as my favorite mentor and I would have missed thread otherwise. Thank you.

Good Luck
Dave

[fez-head]

I think of him almost every time I give advice to someone. He changed my entire perception of what "could be".

WWSD

[Silvertree]

Never knew of him until recently, but I think he would have liked this place.

[Bodger]

I recall there was a guy on CT whose sig line was:

"What would Sonny do?"

[DavidC]

I recall there was a guy on CT whose sig line was:

"What would Sonny do?"

You got to watch them guys. They travel in gangs of 1 or less.

Good Luck
Dave

[fez-head]

Never knew of him until recently, but I think he would have liked this place.

If you haven't already - do a Google search for "Sonny Lykos" (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4DKUS_enUS269US269&q=%22sonny+Lykos%22) and read everything you can. He rarely made small talk so most posts had at least some nuggets of useful information and are worth the effort to find. Along with all his other advice, Sonny showed us how to take the lowly job of Handymen to the next level - back before the recession when attitudes where a lot different.

In the true spirit of Brotherhood he took the time and made the effort to share what he knew purely to help others evolve without any expectation of reward for himself. He deserved every bit of the sincere respect and gratitude we all gave him.

Damn.

[J F]

I realize this is an "oldy"...and I haven't read any of it :smash:...but I had the opportunity to read and interact with sonny for a few years...also talked to him a few times via telephone...a very gracious man, who's goal in life was to help others...god bless sonny:builder2:

[DavidC]

Bump

Good Luck
Dave

[WarriorWithWood]

Ok, Sonny was the driving force behind TCC and he has a legacy section there. Enjoy.

http://thecontractorsclub.com/sonny-lykos-legacy-f16.html

Hopefully the powers that be will leave the link in honor of Sonny.

[scctrim]

never heard of him till now, thanks for posting this info.

[geogymn]

Kind of makes one wonder how Sonny would address this lead fiasco!