Contractor Evolution Breakthrough Academy

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP100

To download Benji & Igor's 10 Commandments of Contractor Success, click here: https://trybta.com/PCDLEP100

We want to hear your feedback after 100 episodes, click this link to complete the survey (3 min): https://trybta.com/100

Yeehaw! That’s 100 episodes down (and goodness knows how many more to go!)

We’re blessed and humbled to have spoken to some incredibly smart people over the past two years and have noticed some fundamental commonalities among them. Belief systems, habits, and tactics the best of the best all seem to share.  

Today’s episode is an amalgamation of the 10 things we’ve observed about success in the contracting and home service space after 100 episodes of Contractor Evolution. Huge thanks to both our guests and you listeners. We couldn’t do it without you!

Tune in to find out why:


No one at the top of their game is a ___________.
The labor market is a challenge, but___________.
___________ matters more than working hard.

Listen to this episode to fill in the blanks on these three and the remaining seven!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP99

To download Devon's 7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Marketing Agency, click here: https://trybta.com/PCDLEP99

Search Engine Optimization for your business can be a thorny rat’s nest full of technical jargon, disappointing results, and shifty marketers who’ll not only underdeliver but hold your website hostage if you ever try to leave.  This is why going into a relationship with a 3rd party without at least a baseline understanding of how it works and what questions to ask is a recipe for disaster.  

We’re super lucky to have Devon Hayes of Elevation Marketing on the show today. Her Denver-based digital marketing agency is niched to serve contractors almost exclusively.  Over 80% of their client base are businesses like yours, and they do phenomenal work.  

I learned a tonne from her, but my highlights were:


The seven questions you need to ask your SEO person or agency before engaging.  No joke, these could save you thousands of dollars and dozens of headaches.
Easy “SEO Layups” - simple things you can do for little to no money time that provide an immediate boost to your findability online.
And lastly, Devon drops a truth bomb about the risks of overusing Chat GPT for your website’s content; listen right until the end for that nugget!

Whether you're a total SEO newb or already know a thing or two, listen to this episode for a beginner’s guide to SEO with Devon Hayes. 
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP98

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but employees tend to be much better at pointing out problems than fixing them.  “Hey Boss, just wanted to let you know that [insert business issue you’re already abundantly aware of here].  We should really do something about that, hey?”

Staff drop problems in your lap as consistently as a golden retriever drops a tennis ball at your feet. 

But what if you could instill a culture of problem-solving within your team?  How much easier would your life be if, instead of you being the single source of critical thinking, your entire team was encouraged and even rewarded for making problems go away on their own?

In today’s episode of Contractor Evolution, I talk about why problem-solving is one of the most critical traits to look for in new hires and even how you can develop it with the team you already have.

Listen to this episode to find out why problem solvers are infinitely more valuable than problem finders.

Highlights:


Why finding problems is easy
How to interview to find problem solvers
How to spot Problem Solvers
How to instill a culture of problem solving into your current team
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP97

To learn more about Tom and The Contractor Fight, click here: https://thecontractorfight.com/

My guest on the show today is Tom Reber. You may have heard of him. He hosts the Contractor Fight Podcast, speaks at many conferences, and has become a pretty well known guy in our space.  

Tom runs a program not unlike our beloved Breakthrough Academy, but for slightly smaller businesses.  In fact, you could even call him our competitor (Ahh, the horror 😱).  

Here’s the thing though.  We tell our contractors to collaborate with the competition and raise the entire industry on a daily basis, and the same rule applies to us.  Practice what you preach.  

Tom is a phenomenal guy with a message you all should hear loud and clear, and we were lucky to have him.  You can expect to learn the following from my conversation with Tom:


Why trades and construction play one of the most essential roles in a functioning western society but get almost no credit for it
How we overestimate how much we can accomplish in a year but underestimate what's possible in a decade
And how to make trades cool again in the eyes of our young people, our clients, and ourselves
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP96

To Download A Visual Representation Of Artisan’s Sales Process, click here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lkfp3NXG6r0QjFNu_5ts6qY_B8pUYatM/view?usp=share_link

To get in touch with Brad & Devon you can email: marketing@artisanroofing.ca

One facet of our businesses' that will undoubtedly look wildly different in 10 years is in-home selling.  

How we sell leads into closed deals hasn’t changed much and is ripe for major disruption.  Think about it…  

Get lead > Call lead > Call lead again cuz they didn’t pick up > Qualify lead over the phone > Schedule appointment > Do appointment > Close deal ~40% of the time > Follow up with the rest until you’re blue in the face.

This way of going about it leaves a few things to be desired.  For one, there’s very little time spent actually selling.  The drive there.  The drive back.  The time spent measuring or building a scope.  Oh, and don’t forget about the four outbound calls you had to make to reach them in the first place.  Rising costs in fuel make this format increasingly burdensome too.  

And then there are changing buyer preferences to consider:  Baby boomers may welcome us for a cup of coffee and a two-hour chit-chat in the backyard, but are millennials looking for that level of personal touch when they need work done?  Doubt it.

My personal take?  In-home selling is ripe for disruption and is about to evolve in ways that will blow your mind.

Brad Baker and Devon Crowell of Artisan Roofing are at the forefront of this progression.  

Using marketing automations, clever email nurtures, EagleView reports, and a VA in the Philippines, they drove 6.6 Million in sales out of one salesperson in one of the worst markets (economically speaking) in the country. 

BTW, they did this all in a city of only 116,000 where the average income is 38K. Oh, and the kicker….zero time lost in the car driving from appointment to appointment.

This conversation highlights the story of a roofing company. But the overall thought process and implementation will have parallels and learnings for any contractor. The lingo might be different, and the tools might vary, but mark my words, this is the way it’s going, no matter your industry niche.

To hear how these two are pioneering a brand new way of selling, listen to this episode.

Highlights:


How Artisan roofing hit 6.6 M in sales with 1 salesperson selling small residential jobs
Where Artisan roofing borrowed from other industries to design their sales system to be hyper efficient
How it’s possible to provide a very personal experience in an 'automated' sales process
The changing landscape of sales in 2023 and what it means for contractors in the next 10 years
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP95

To connect with Storyhook click the links below: 

Website: https://www.storyhook.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearestoryhook/

You can find Erik Miller on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spelledwithak

There are many competing philosophies around how to build a brand customers feel a connection with.  

Erik Miller might have my favorite angle, and he is my guest on the show in this episode of Contractor Evolution. 

Erik believes instead of bending over backward to fit the mold you believe your ideal client avatar wants, it's way less work to look inward and display what's already there.  

In other words, finding out who you really are by paying attention to what your clients already love about you and highlighting THAT, is faster and more authentic than trying to be something you're not.

Erik founded StoryHook in 2015, a branding agency obsessed with the power of stories.  

He’s also the Director of Brand for Company Cam and has been instrumental in making them the household name they are today.

Today’s conversation is about:


How and where contractors can find the “hooky” parts of their story and put them on display
Why your sales team is the ultimate testing ground for new brand ideas and how you can use them to reality test new concepts.  Because believe it or not, not everything you come up with is pure gold ;).
And lastly we talk about the best LOW BUDGET brand upgrades that any contractor can do without engaging an expensive agency.

To learn more about how to accentuate the amazing elements of your brand, listen to this episode.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.