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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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Turn Your Field Staff Into Customer Service Pros - Mark Matteson
Do your technicians, laborers, and field staff excel at customer service? Do they know how to build rapport? De-escalate an angry customer? Can they upsell and bring in more revenue for the company?The fact is, whether you like it or not, your reputation, and the success of your business, depends on the people you have out on the front lines.
Here’s a question you’ve probably pondered before.
Do your technicians, laborers, and field staff excel at customer service?
Do they know how to build rapport? De-escalate an angry customer? Can they upsell and bring in more revenue for the company?
The fact is, whether you like it or not, your reputation, and the success of your business, depends on the people you have out on the front lines.
Our guest on the show today is Mark Matteson. He’s a personal development speaker and author of 6 books, including his best-seller Freedom From Fear.
Before the big stages, though, Mark spent the first half of his career in the field as an HVAC tech and salesperson. He translated those formative years into a customer service excellence curriculum he teaches to many of the biggest HVAC companies on the continent.
And today he’s going to teach us how to get our whole team aligned around providing exceptional customer service at every stage of the buyer journey.
Matt Risinger’s Secrets to Team Building - Matt Risinger
Matt Risinger has built exceptional teams for both RisingerBuild and The Build Show. Today, he’s back on the show to teach you how to do it too.
Ever wonder how an industry titan recruits and retains top talent?
Before creating his 1.1 million subscriber YouTube channel dedicated to building science, Matt Risinger worked as a recruiter for a national builder, where he learned the tactics and skills he would use to assemble his incredible teams at both Risingerbuild and The Build Show.
And today, he’s back on the show to teach you how to do it, too.
We talk about how to get great applicants in the door, tips for behavioral interviewing, the right questions to ask (and which ones to NOT), how to retain talent for the long haul, and how to know when and why to let someone go.
This is a Masterclass in human resources for construction and trades with one of the most trusted names in the industry.
Marketing Through a Downturn - John Jantsch
If you’ve ever cut your marketing budget when times were tough, this one’s for you. When you find yourself in the middle of a downturn, leadflow turning to a trickle, customer decision-making slowing to a crawl…something’s gotta give. And if your marketing budget is just an expense you pay because you think you should, it’s a pretty easy decision. Cut the deadweight.
If you’ve ever cut your marketing budget when times were tough, this one’s for you.
When you find yourself in the middle of a downturn, leadflow turning to a trickle, customer decision-making slowing to a crawl…something’s gotta give.
And if your marketing budget is just an expense you pay because you think you should, it’s a pretty easy decision. Cut the deadweight.
But according to today’s guest John Jantsch, that might be the wrong approach.
John is the author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Ultimate Marketing Machine, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur, and more.
And today, we’re talking about how to adapt your marketing strategy for economic headwinds. The market around you may be slowing down, but that doesn’t mean your business—or your marketing—has to.
Avoid These 10 QuickBooks Mistakes - Nate Flake
Have you ever wanted to better understand how to use QuickBooks effectively but haven’t had the time to really dive into it? Most contractors are probably in the same boat. So… we thought it would be cool to have someone from QuickBooks come on and teach us how to get the most out of it.
Have you ever wanted to better understand how to use QuickBooks effectively but haven’t had the time to really dive into it?
Most contractors are probably in the same boat.
Our anecdotal guess is that north of 85% of our Members use QuickBooks as their bookkeeping software. But there is so much the platform can do, it’s hard to know if you’re using it “right.” Or to its full potential.
So… we thought it would be cool to have someone from QuickBooks come on and teach us how to get the most out of it.
Nate Flake is the Senior Partner Development Manager at Intuit (the makers of Quickbooks) and he also hosts their Constructing Growth Podcast. Today, we’re going to unpack 10 crucial QuickBooks mistakes contractors often make and how to avoid them moving forward.
Negotiation Tactics for Contractors - Chris Voss
The one and only Chris Voss, world-renowned FBI negotiator and author of Never Split the Difference, is on the show to talk all things negotiation. We cover the mindset, the skills, and the systems you need to be a better negotiator in your contracting business.
Today’s episode frickin’ rocks.
The one and only Chris Voss, world-renowned FBI negotiator and author of Never Split the Difference, is on the show to talk all things negotiation.
We cover the mindset, the skills, and the systems you need to be a better negotiator in your contracting business.
Whether you’re defending your price to a haggling client, driving a hard bargain with a supplier, or negotiating a comp package with a key employee, implementing the tips in this episode will help you get better results.
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