Contractor Evolution

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PC167    If you’re getting fewer leads than ever, you’re not alone.   A shifting economy is changing the sales and marketing game for contractors. Gone are the days of accepting a 25% ratio as par for the course. Frankly, you can’t afford it.   According to today’s guest, Kevin Donnelly from Webrunner, it's time to become obsessive about sales efficiency.   Kevin walks us through four ways to increase your lead-to-sale ratio—basically, how you can sell more with less.   Webrunner is a full-service digital marketing agency that only works with contractors. We’ve had them on the show before and, seriously, they know their stuff.   Let’s dive in with Kevin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP166  To download our FREE Strategic Planning Tool, click here: https://trybta.com/DLEP166  Private equity buying up contracting companies is a popular subject lately. You may have seen Instagram posts and articles about entrepreneurs who’ve struck it rich by selling their businesses to mysterious private equity investors. But, what does that actually mean? Today, we’re going to learn what it's ACTUALLY like to sell to private equity investors, from someone who's done it. Over the course of 30 years, Steve Wheatcroft grew his humble landscaping business called Urban Life Solutions into a 30MM behemoth that - no surprise - caught the eye of private equity.  After the deal was done in late 2019, Steve remained the CEO for another three years and helped the new ownership scale through more acquisitions to 100 MM. And in today’s episode, he shares the unfiltered truth about what selling to private equity is really like.  The good.  The bad.  And the ugly.  And there is plenty of all three.  Enjoy.        See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP165  A changing market can mean fewer leads, slower decision-making, and lower average job size. While punchy Facebook ads, a decent website, and a Google Business profile may have been enough to get the phones ringing in the past, passive marketing is just not cutting it for contractors in 2024. According to today’s guest Sam Taggart, now is the time to try one of the most tried and tested methods of “getting in front of your customer” — meeting them where they live.  Literally. As the founder and CEO of The D2D Experts, Sam helps hundreds of companies build successful and cost-efficient Door-to-Door Sales teams every year, and today, he’s going to teach us how to:  Hire enthusiastic door knockers Build your own script using a proven framework Design a compensation plan for your D2D team …and more. If you’re door-to-door curious or looking for a more active marketing channel to add this year, this episode is a must-listen. To learn more about Sam and his door-to-door sales coaching, check out The D2D Experts: https://thed2dexperts.com/     See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP164  To access Ken’s path to a successful life course click here: https://courses.kenrusk.com/a/2147833006/FaqKwmD9 For the past few decades, we’ve been steering kids towards university and away from the trades, but why? The average North American college grad is underskilled and in debt, especially compared to their blue-collar friends who skipped the college experience and got on the job site.  Today, I’m talking with Ken Rusk, a lifelong contractor and author of Blue-Collar Cash: Love Your Work, Secure Your Future, and Find Happiness for Life. He’s got some insights on the benefits of choosing a blue-collar career and shares some fascinating statistics that kids are definitely not learning in school. Learn from Ken how to paint a bright picture of a future in trades and construction and use that narrative to recruit the young talent you need. So…is blue-collar work making a comeback? Tune in to find out.    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP163   Download our Ideal Candidate Profile + Job Posting Tool for FREE here: https://trybta.com/DLEP163  Over the last year, the tone has changed with salespeople. The deals aren’t closing the way they were, and entrepreneurs are (understandably) frustrated. You need rockstar closers, but instead, you’re stuck with a bunch of order-takers. A decade of low interest rates, strong economies, plus MEGA improvements in digital marketing has created a whole cohort of (frankly) average sales professionals who are not exactly thriving in this tighter, more competitive environment. Adam Bensman is the author of the Roofing Sales Survival Guide, the creator of the Roof Strategist Sales System, and the founder of the Roofing and Solar Reform Alliance (that’s a lotta stuff!). His sales education videos have a massive following on YouTube, and if you go check it out, you’ll see why. This guy’s legit. Today’s conversation has everything you need to fix a lethargic salesperson or sales team and get them firing on all cylinders as we head into a new economy. As Adam says: A “feeling” economy. To learn more about Adam Bensman, check out his YouTube channel, The Roofing Strategist: https://www.youtube.com/ @TheRoofStrategist  To learn more about the Roofing & Solar Reform Alliance click here: https://www.rsra.org/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To download your accountability resources and to book a call with Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP162 How does your team function when you’re not watching? Do they get stuff done on time, as good as if you did it yourself? Or do they miss deadlines, point fingers and leave clients underwhelmed? If you’re feeling less like an owner and more like a babysitter, you may have an accountability problem. Your team’s performance is inconsistent, their focus is all over the map, and no one really knows who’s supposed to do what, when. Back in April, we co-hosted a webinar on staff accountability with the one and only Tommy Mello. His staff accountability secrets were so good, we decided to replay the session on Contractor Evolution. In this episode, he gives away his tried and tested methods of holding people accountable without micromanaging or pointing fingers. Listen in to learn how you can steal Tommy’s accountability system to create a solid performance culture for your team. To learn more about Tommy Mello, check out https://homeserviceexpert.com/       See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP161 Small Average Job-size businesses (or small AJS for short) have a unique set of obstacles to growth that most other contractors never have to confront. If you’re a junk removal business, do landscape maintenance, window cleaning, pressure washing, gutter cleaning, Christmas lights, or are a service plumber or electrician, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Scaling to a million a year, $500 a time, is no small feat.  Basic napkin math reveals a lot of jobs for a lot of clients. Barry Hartman is the co-founder of 505 Junk, a pay-by-weight junk removal business here in Vancouver. Since 2011, he’s worked relentlessly to crack the code on small AJS growth.  In the last few years, he has. This year, they’ll do 6 million dollars with an AJS of about $866.  Do the math on that. If you’re a Small Average Job Size contractor or home service business, there are 4 things you need to master in order to scale. Listen to this week's episode to learn them all. To learn more about Barry and 505-Junk, check them out here: https://505junk.com/  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP160 Growing your construction, trades, or home services business is no easy task. You’ve got: Tricky customers Shrinking labor market Cash flow crunches Fly-by nighters who constantly underbid you …It's brutal. So it helps to know which stage of growth you are at, which comes next, and how to get there faster. This is why, after working with over 1,500 businesses, we’ve studied and developed the 4 Contractor Growth Phases. Curious about which phase you’re in? Listen to the full episode to find out!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP159 We spend a lot of time on this show on systems, best practices, and tactics. But Today’s conversation is a human one.  Our very own BTA Member, Brady Williams of Ox Glass, went through one of the most terrifying and harrowing experiences you will ever hear about.  On June 8th, 2023, while Brady was at a business retreat thousands of miles away, his son James (back home in Utah) fell backward off a third-story balcony straight onto his head.  Shattering his skull, puncturing his lung, and damaging a number of other vital organs. He was given minimal chances of survival. Even if that did happen, James's normal life was completely off the table. If you want systems or tactics, come back next week.  Today’s conversation is about James' miraculous battle for survival, Brady’s experience as a father, and how the OX Glass Team rallied around to support a family in their time of need.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP158 Do you ever feel misunderstood by employees, partners, vendors, and stakeholders when discussing the future—the vision, the strategy? That “mental image,” to you at least, feels unbelievably clear, precise, detailed, and exciting.  How could anyone NOT get this?  How could you NOT be fired up about this? Cameron Herold is back on the show to lay out the solution to your visionary woes. His 2018 book, Vivid Vision, became an instant classic in the small business community because it completely transforms how you approach strategy and visioning in your business through the painted-picture exercise. And today, I get to pick his brain. Expect to learn:  What most of the traditional planning tools like mission statements and one-page plans get wrong How to create a painted picture step by step - a super fun and rewarding exercise How to roll out your painted picture with your team, turn it into your rallying cry, and reverse engineer the steps to execution.   Cameron’s a great podcast guest; that’s why we had him back; you’re gonna love this one. To know more about Cameron visit: https://cooalliance.com/ And get 10% off on the Invest in your Leaders course https://investinyourleaders.com/ using the promo code cameronh10  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.