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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 40,000+ 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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Categories
Can AI Make Better Hiring Decisions Than You? - Jonathan Whistman
What if we told you that an AI prediction model can actually make better hiring decisions than most business owners? According to today’s guest Jonathan Whistman, that’s the world we’re living in.
We’re back on the AI hype train again. Specifically, how can it help and/or hinder your hiring?
According to today’s guest Jonathan Whistman, AI is completely changing the recruitment game, and not just because ChatGPT can write job descriptions.
Jonathan is the author of The Sales Boss and the founder of WhoHire, a hiring solution for the service trades industry that uses AI prediction to help put the right people in the right roles.
Pretty cool.
But how does that impact the way you’re recruiting and hiring right now? What do you need to be aware of as AI becomes increasingly common in the HR landscape? Is there anything you can learn and apply from the data that’s been collected on job applicants today?
Today, we’re covering all that and more.
Land More Commercial Contracts – Business Development 101 - Dave Notte
We talk a lot on the show about residential marketing and sales systems, but the requests from commercial contractors for content they can use are beginning to pile up. And that tracks. Landing commercial contracts comes with its own set of challenges.
We talk a lot on the show about residential marketing and sales systems, but the requests from commercial contractors for content they can use are beginning to pile up.
And that tracks. Landing commercial contracts comes with its own set of challenges.
It’s a lot less catchy Facebook ads…
And a lot more strategic relationship building 🤝
So today, we’re diving into business development and we’re lucky to have Dave Notte, Founder of WCP Building Renewal and Shack Shine, on the show today.
Using an incredibly dialed-in customer acquisition strategy, WCP has partnered with countless commercial property groups, residential property management companies, HOAs, and stratas over the past 20 years.
If you want to learn how sophisticated commercial contractors court, land, retain, and build trust with huge clients that continue to work with them for years or even decades, this episode is a must-listen.
Can Mass Hiring Systems Work For Contractors? - Logan Campbell
After wasting countless hours trying to hire good people the old fashioned way—vetting applications, interviewing, probing into skills—for cleaning positions with a shorter shelf life, Breakthrough Academy Member Logan Campbell redesigned his entire hiring and onboarding process using automation, thoughtful job descriptions and streamlined interview processes.
After wasting countless hours trying to hire good people the old fashioned way—vetting applications, interviewing, probing into skills—for cleaning positions with a shorter shelf life, Breakthrough Academy Member Logan Campbell redesigned his entire hiring and onboarding process using automation, thoughtful job descriptions and streamlined interview processes.
An owner of an AirBnB cleaning company, Logan knows the feeling all too well. His business, The Dream Clean Team, requires a HUGE number of people to get a lot done in a very short time window.
In this episode, he outlines how he set up his hiring process: attracting the right type of candidate, weeding out tire kickers, mass interview scheduling, onboarding, and even retaining A-players through gamification and performance pay.
If you hire positions with higher turnover or seasonal workers, this one’s for you.
4 Tactics To Boost Your Lead-to-Sale Ratio - Kevin Donnelly
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.
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.
What is it ACTUALLY Like To Sell To Private Equity? - Steve Wheatcroft
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?
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.
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