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This is the Contractor Evolution Podcast. We unpack the systems, tactics, and skills you need to take your fast-growing contracting business to the next level. If you’re here to learn what it takes to scale up, work less, and increase profits, you’ve come to the right place.
Join 20,000+ contractors that learn from Contractor Evolution. New episodes drop every Wednesday.
Trending Episode
Accountability: Are Your People Doing What You Pay Them To Do?
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with… are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
Learn how Dave runs a tight ship of 24, and how he uses one on one Goal Setting and Review meetings (or GSR for short) to lead his 5 project managers.
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with…. Are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
I realize that might sound a little cynical. Or like we’re assuming the worst. But I’m sure most of you have had this thought cross your mind at least once or twice.
When your business was small and simple. This question was pretty easy to answer. If you hired a laborer to work alongside you, you could see with your own two eyes that they’re completely effing the D. There’s the door. Bye!
But as your company evolves, roles become more complex and nuanced, layers get added to the organizational chart, truly knowing how people are performing becomes less clear.
So the question becomes…. How do we, as leaders, manage at scale? How do we make sure our individual team members are executing on their individual goals, so that we as a company hit ours?
To answer this question we brought Dave Stephens on the show. Dave’s company, Lida Homes is an 8 figure custom home builder and high end renovation contractor. He runs a tight ship of 24, and specifically in this show we’re going to learn how he uses one on one Goal Setting and Review meetings (or GSR for short) to lead his 5 project managers to create award winning homes and customer experience.
Over the last 3 years, he’s won the Canadian Home Builders Association builder of the year award, and over the last two has received the highest level customer satisfaction award in his Vancouver Island region. Dave directly attributes this success and recognition to the way he leads his team through GSR.
His people do their jobs. Extremely well.
In today’s Episode:
- What a GSR is and why it is important to both quality and growth in your business
- How to use a point system in your GSRs to create black and white accountability
- What a contracting business looks like before implementing GSRs vs after implementing GSRs
- How you can expect your team (especially your PM’s) to respond when you introduce GSRs
- What a great GSR with a project manager specifically looks like
- How to have a hard conversation with an employee who is underperforming
To get your free GSR template (for a Project Manager) go to https://trybta.com/PCDLEP28
Accountability: Are Your People Doing What You Pay Them To Do? - with Dave Stephens
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with…. Are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
So if you listen to this show with any regularity, it’s pretty safe to say the organism that is your business is evolving. And while that’s an exciting feeling, it also brings about a feeling of uncertainty you’re probably familiar with…. Are my people doing what I hired them to do? Are they an ROI-generating asset for my business? Or are they just an expense? Are they executing at the level that I was back when I was doing their job (and a million others)? Or are they a costly piece of dead weight?
I realize that might sound a little cynical. Or like we’re assuming the worst. But I’m sure most of you have had this thought cross your mind at least once or twice.
When your business was small and simple. This question was pretty easy to answer. If you hired a laborer to work alongside you, you could see with your own two eyes that they’re completely effing the D. There’s the door. Bye!
But as your company evolves, roles become more complex and nuanced, layers get added to the organizational chart, truly knowing how people are performing becomes less clear.
So the question becomes…. How do we, as leaders, manage at scale? How do we make sure our individual team members are executing on their individual goals, so that we as a company hit ours?
To answer this question we brought Dave Stephens on the show. Dave’s company, Lida Homes is an 8 figure custom home builder and high end renovation contractor. He runs a tight ship of 24, and specifically in this show we’re going to learn how he uses one on one Goal Setting and Review meetings (or GSR for short) to lead his 5 project managers to create award winning homes and customer experience.
Over the last 3 years, he’s won the Canadian Home Builders Association builder of the year award, and over the last two has received the highest level customer satisfaction award in his Vancouver Island region. Dave directly attributes this success and recognition to the way he leads his team through GSR.
His people do their jobs. Extremely well.
In today’s Episode:
- What a GSR is and why it is important to both quality and growth in your business
- How to use a point system in your GSRs to create black and white accountability
- What a contracting business looks like before implementing GSRs vs after implementing GSRs
- How you can expect your team (especially your PM’s) to respond when you introduce GSRs
- What a great GSR with a project manager specifically looks like
- How to have a hard conversation with an employee who is underperforming
To get your free GSR template (for a Project Manager) go to https://trybta.com/PCDLEP28
Master Class: Ultimate Hiring Funnel Series
So look - it is no secret that hiring is hard. Like really hard. Especially in our construction and trade industries. Labor shortages are a real thing, and yes, perhaps Millennials and Gen Z’ers aren't as gritty as older Generations may have been. And also yes, the government has paid a bunch of people to stay at home for over a year-and-a-half leading to a super lethargic Workforce. We get it. But look, it is what it is and can’t do much about the above factors. What you can do though is build the best hiring funnel in your market. Over a 6-part series, we explain in plain English how you can think like a marketer and start building an Employer Brand that attracts top talent. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just starting your business if you want to build your dream team, this series is for you.
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10 Commandments Of Contractor Success: 100th Episode Special - Benji & Igor
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.
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.
Watch the full episode to fill in the blanks on these three and the remaining seven!
How To Not Get Screwed By SEO Agencies - Devon Hayes
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 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.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 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 immediately boost 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, watch this episode for a beginner’s guide to SEO with Devon Hayes.
Problem Solvers Are Better Than Problem Finders - Benji Carlson
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?”
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.
Watch this episode to find out why problem solvers are infinitely more valuable than problem finders.
Highlights from this episode:
- 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
Are Blue Collar Businesses Under-Appreciated? - Tom Reber
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 😱).
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
How to Get $6.6M Out Of One Salesperson - Brad Baker & Devon Crowell
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…
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, watch this episode.
Highlights from this episode:
- 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
IT’S TIME TO GET OUT OF THE DAY-TO-DAY
If you are a 7 figure contractor who has the vision to scale to 8 figures without adding more stress, then learn how to replace yourself with this proven management system. Take the 10-day ‘Evolved Contractor’ challenge and identify the methods that will scale your business.
MEET THE HOSTS
BENJI CARLSON
Benji gained insights into the trades as a 4-year franchisee with College Pro Painters, earning accolades for having the most productive staff in the franchise network. Since then, Benji has run in-depth business assessments with over 1000 contractors and now uses that information to represent the interests of contractors on the show 'Contractor Evolution’ whose goal is to arm smart contractors with the skills they need to grow.
IGOR TRNINIC
Igor has an impressive track record running trade businesses. He started by building up to a GM with College Pro Painters, running a $2.5MM business. He then co-started the franchise SHACK SHINE, which was acquired within 18 months. Igor is a co-founder of Breakthrough Academy, which coaches over 500 contractors (with a combined $1.6B in revenue) on how to systemize their businesses for growth.
HOW DOES A $20M CONTRACTING BUSINESS RUN? WOULD YOU LIKE TO FIND OUT?
Take the 10-day ‘Evolved Contractor’ challenge and identify the methods that will scale your business past 8-figures.
TAKE THE CHALLENGEGET FREE TOOLS & RESOURCES
You don’t need to create everything yourself. Use our FREE tools and templates to crush everything from your hiring process to budgeting.
RECLAIM 5 HOURS PER WEEK TOOL
- Use this tool to redistribute high-time/low-skill tasks that eat up your entire workday
- Reclaim time in your week to focus on the business, not in the business
- Understand where you make the company money so you can double down on what is best for the business (and usually what you’d rather be doing anyway)
- Potentially open up free time for things outside of work, like friends and family
STRATEGIC PLANNING TOOL
- This one-page strategic planning tool is quick to build with our pre-populated template
- Easy to understand and share so you can get your whole organization aligned and pulling in the same direction
- Makes you look like a strategic planning genius, and gives your team confidence that the company is heading in a positive direction
IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE + JOB POSTING
- Use this tool to stop hiring employees that street you out and cost you time, money and your sanity
- Figure out who you’re actually trying to recruit that will bring a solid ROI for the position (#IdealCandidate)
- Build sexy job posts that appeal to competent candidates and repel the rest
- Lay clear expectations so you won’t have to fight fires because of future confusion about responsibilities