Utilization is one of the key factors in profitability.  When you use your time efficiently, you have more time available for the activities that generate profit.  

A key time drain is administrative work.  The more time you spend on these tasks the lower your utilization rate will be.  We have found that by creating a boilerplate for common administrative and customer service tasks, we have increased our utilization significantly.

Top 2 Utilization Tips For Boilerplates

  • Create a boilerplate for your email signature.  

This way you can include your website address and a short sales message with each email.  By not having to type this information over and over again, you save lots of time, which has a large impact on overall utilization.  Plus, if you don’t use a boilerplate you will be tempted to leave out this information and miss a valuable marketing opportunity.

  • Create boilerplate email responses.

Time is money and automation of anything will make a huge difference in your utilization rate.  Here are some common customer and contractor points of contact you can create boilerplates for in order to improve your utilization:

  • Prospect profile form
  • Qualification tool
  • Credit application
  • Product purchase authorization
  • Order confirmation
  • Client scheduling form or letter
  • Contractor scheduling form or letter
  • Schedule confirmation
  • Change order
  • Request for proposal
  • Request for quote
  • Work order
Creating a boilerplate doesn’t mean you should just blast these letters or forms out without reading them.  You will need to do some customization to each.  You get significant increases in utilization from the fact that 90 to 95 percent of the work is done already.  

If you find yourself typing the same email more than once or twice to a prospect, client or a subcontractor, go back and strip out any of their specific information and create a boilerplate with the letter and email signature.  Then start reusing this form over and over again to improve your utilization.

Bottom Line on Utilization
Boilerplates allow you to complete 90 to 95 percent of the work before hand.  This leaves you with only needing a few minutes to add in custom touches to your most common customer service communications.  Take some time to create boilerplates and watch your utilization improve.  

In this article, you’ve been introduced to Utilization. To learn more about how you can improve your knowledge about Utilization, just click here now to get access to a free one-hour audio training program on 5 Easy Ways to Grow Your Computer Consulting Business.