The one thing I’ve heard on repeat lately from my coaching clients? “Steve, finding good, OK, actually ANY employees out there is a total nightmare!”

You too? 😦 If so, I’ve felt the exact same knots in my stomach that you’re feeling! I really do feel for you. 🥹

And even more so if you’re facing that terrifying jump 🫣 from working alone to taking on your first full-time employee.

OR are you tempted to stay small as a solo “Lone Wolf” owner-operator? I went down this road. But I found the alternative of growing old alone, chained to my truck wasn’t very appealing either! 😦

NOTE: IF you decide to try staying small (or even downsize) puhleeeeease 🙏read my “Five Start-up Moves for a Lone Wolf” NOW! And then reflect carefully on this KickStart…

But I get it. With your first full-timer you are virtually doubling your overhead and financial liability overnight!

And yes, I really feel for you larger home service business owners. No matter what your size, adding even one more full-time position is a huge, long-term commitment.

It’s incredibly tough to justify the crushing overhead—and the heavy moral responsibility—of taking on yet another employee. 🥹

“Moral responsibility, Steve?” Sure. Unless you’re a heartless jerk you’re making an ethical and moral long-term commitment to provide for your new F/T employee’s family too! 😯

YIKES! Talk about being “between a rock and a hard place”! As a residential services entrepreneur are you doomed? Wait for the answer as I slowly let the suspense build… 😯

Allow me to share a perfect “in-between” hiring solution! Strongly consider my lower-stress, yet highly profitable alternative to full-time hires:

🗝️ Hire part-time and/or on-call techs instead of ONLY hunting for full-time employees.

Doubt me? Let me count the massive advantages to breaking out of the F/T employee hiring rut! With part-time workers:

• You Tap into a Better Talent Pool: Many fantastic, reliable people already have a solid F/T day job. But they want extra income to pay off debt, save for a house or heck, a fun happy hour on Fridays!
  Seriously? Most of the time the guys walking in off the street begging for 40 hours a week are “unemployed for a very good reason”! 🤷

• Zero “Moral Pressure”: Because part-time workers usually have F/T job, you don’t feel the soul-crushing pressure of being their sole provider. Think about it…
  Steve’s, “Let’s be brutally honest” time: For those of you with full-time crews, how often have you desperately invented “busy work”—like sweeping an already spotless shop floor—just to justify handing them a 40-hour paycheck on Friday? With part time…

• You Only Pay for Profitable Hours: When the shoulder season hits and the phone stops ringing, you don’t have to invent that busy work. You simply tell your part-timers not to come in tomorrow… or even next week!
  BONUS! 🎉🎊🪅😁🎈 Because your part-time staff is only doing revenue-producing work when they’re on the clock, you can pay them 💲a very desirable hourly rate. (Heck, I may apply!)

• The Ultimate Proving Ground: Part-time employment is a brilliant, no-risk way for you to “audition” potential full-time help. If a part-timer crushes it on the job then you can confidently offer them a full-time position on your time-table. 💖
  WARNING: Please just 🚫 STOP “Desperation Hiring” ! Instead, break out of this toxic cycle by testing out part-time people over time.

• The “Hunger” Factor: When my home services company was absolutely slammed, my P/T workers were always eager to pick up extra hours. They wanted cash! Our F/T folks who were already burnt out after 40 long hours? Not so much.

• You Spread the Risk: If your one and only full-time tech walks out on a Tuesday, your business is instantly crippled. With a roster of three or four solid part-timers, you aren’t keeping all your employees’ eggs in one fragile basket.

Steve’s ProTIP for the Weekend Warriors: Full-time techs that put in late-night or weekend emergency hours usually burn out, get resentful, and quit without notice.🥹 Even worse…

Who gets to fill that gap when a F/T emergency services tech suddenly quits? YOU DO! As in working day and night! But well-paid, P/T and/or on-call employees (working one or two 6-hour shifts a week) absolutely love their supplementary income.

NOTE: Those high-profit weekend emergency calls in HVAC, plumbing, water damage, or pest control are perfect for a hungry part-timer who wants to make great money.

Steve’s Takeaway: Stop losing sleep over the “inflexible overhead” baggage full-time employees bring. Start small, hire smart, use part-time (or on-call) workers when possible and watch your profits explode!💲💲💲

KickStart: NEVER reply with the phrase “no problem” to a client’s “thank you”. Instead, keep your response positive (and appreciative) with “It has been my privilege”!

Let’s set the scene. Your tech just wrapped up a two-hour job. Everything is working perfectly. The homeowner is thrilled, and says, “Thank you so much, Joe!”

Your tech, Joe, smiles, wipes his hands, and replies...

“No problem!”

Eeeek! 🫣 Cue the screeching record sound!

I know what you’re thinking. “What’s wrong with his ‘no problem’ reply, Steve? Joe was just being polite!”

I used to think the same thing… back when I was a home services rookie. But after years of studying the Emotional Dynamics of the residential environment, I realized something crucial:

🚫The word “problem” is a bummer of a word, laden with negativity and guilt.

Let’s put on our “Customer’s Eyeglasses” and feel the pain of your homeowner client:

When you reply, “No problem,” you are subtly implying that your client’s home, their broken equipment, and/or their mere existence could have been (or even is) a… PROBLEM! 😯

Plus, if a client assumes their job actually has “problems,” they may immediately start fretting that you’re going to charge them more!

Remember, the homeowner feels they are simply thanking the tech for the good job they hired your company to do.

The Simple, Profitable Fix

Instead of making our customers think they’re an inconvenience, we want to help them feel valued. Sooooo…

When a client thanks you or one of your techs, here is a much better response:

🗝️ “It was my (or our) pleasure!”

I stol... I mean “learned” this years ago from my tire dealer. When I thanked Bob for a fast turn-around on one of my trucks, he’d gently correct me:

“No, Steve, it is we who must thank you for your business!” 👍👍

What a brilliant way to remind your customer that their loyalty (AND their referrals) are much appreciated! 💖 (Read on for how to supercharge your online reviews.)

Now folks, I realize swapping out a two-word phrase might seem like small potatoes. But the old saying is still true: “Success is in the DETAILS!”

Building a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reputation isn’t about one genius marketing gimmick; it’s about a thousand tiny, intentional interactions. (I call them “Moments of Truth”!)

This is exactly why you need rock-solid, intuitive customer “Service Scripts” for technicians.

SORRY but you can’t just cross your fingers and hope your guys say the right thing when they’re standing in a stranger’s living room. Instead…

You must arm all your employees (especially your front-line techs) with the exact words that build homeowners’ trust and elevate your clients’ experience.

Here’s How to Turn Your “My Pleasure” Response into Pure Gold!

Once your team masters this simple, two-word “My pleasure” shift, take their polite response and turn it into an incredible lead-generation machine with…

• Steve’s “Residential Review Ask”: When the homeowner says, “Thank you,” your tech replies with a warm smile:

  “It’s been my pleasure. 😁 Now, if you REALLY want to thank me, Mrs. Jones, a quick online review would be wonderful. I’ll include a link in your receipt email. Thanks in advance!”
  

• My Commercial/Property Manager Ask: Working a B2B service call? Have your tech reply to the manager’s “thank you”:

  “My pleasure. It really is our privilege! Now, Sam, if you would refer us to your neighbors here in the complex, I’d really appreciate it! Here’s a few of my business cards and thanks in advance!”

🗝️ ProTIP: When you call someone by their name, they will hear and take action on the next five words. (Notice the above underlined words after calling the client by name.)

Once again, small, intentional improvements help to create a superb Critical Mass Business. Ban the word “problem” from your company’s vocabulary today and start making it “my pleasure”! 😎

KickStart: As your tech starts their work explain to the homeowner WHAT they are doing and WHY this step is important. Read on to discover how to implement W/W…

Look, I’ve built (and sold) enough residential service businesses to know one absolute truth: the average homeowner has no clue what constitutes a “good job.” Seriously.

Whether you’re unclogging a drain, balancing airflow, cleaning their carpet or spraying for ants, you can take the next paragraph to the bank…

🗝️80% of how a homeowner judges your work quality (and their online reviews of your company) will be based on how they FEEL about the tech(s) doing the job!

IF the above is true, why do techs act like secret agents in customers’ homes? They sneak in, do their work in dead silence, and sneak out. And yes, this sad scenario is happening far too often now in your company! 😯

If so, you are blowing a massive opportunity! When your techs (or you) get face-to-face with a first-time residential client, there is a golden opportunity to give them my “what/ why”. (W/W) Think about it…

A nervous, unsure homeowner will be on “high alert” at the very beginning of the job. So, if your tech does a friendly, quick in-home demonstration while they work it pays off big time because…

1) The tech is displaying personal interest in the client while establishing a professional relationship plus…

2) They can define and educate the homeowner on exactly what a “good job” looks like. Yep, YOU get to establish the rules of the game! This is HUGE! 👍👍 And yet…

Here’s the crazy part: Most technicians are terrified of talking to the customer so they basically ignore/ avoid them! The is very sad because…

Your quality, hardworking but clueless tech is leaving money, client trust, and many five-star reviews sitting on the table! 🥹

Therefore, your mission is to orient and train your crew to 1) build relationships, 2) educate the client which will 3) transform homeowners into raving Cheerleaders for your home services business! (That was a real mouthful of a 31-word run-on sentence!) 😁

🗝️ How do you get started? Simply give your techs a few simple, practical “opening lines” to use when they begin working.

Let’s look at a few in-home “opening lines” and demos for some home service trades…

• Plumbing: “Mrs. Jones, do you see how I’m using this video inspection camera? This lets me look deep into your main line to get the exact location of the blockage. It’s important we clear it completely because...”

• HVAC: “Mr. Smith, notice I’m using this dual-port manometer to check the static pressure in your ductwork. We need to make sure the airflow is perfectly balanced so that...”

• Pest Control: “I’m applying this specific granular bait around the foundation right now. Notice how it targets the nesting areas? We use this approach because...”

• Carpet Cleaning: “Mrs. Green, you’ll see I’m gently agitating this pre-treatment to work it into the carpet fibers where it will loosen the soil. This extra dwell time means we’ll have much better results when we rinse…”

Got it? Give your team their very own “What and Why” as in WHAT they are doing and WHY it will make for a better job with simple, intuitive opening W/W lines.

BONUS: Once you implement W/W in your home services business, your employee retention rate will dramatically increase. (Techs secretly love feeling like an ultimate expert!) 💖

Even better? W/W will completely transform your customers’ experience AND your ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews, which means more profits for all concerned! 💲💲💲

KickStart: Develop and implement an “Enforced Accountability System” to stop missing tools AND increase your 5-star reviews! Here’s how to do it…

Humans use tools. Or maybe better said, we do when we can actually find them! 😯

Back when I was running my residential services company, I dreaded this phone call from a technician in the field:

“Hey Steve, now don’t scream at me... but I can’t finish this repair because my pipe wrench isn’t in the van. I think one of the other guys took it…”

GRRRR! 😠 I absolutely despised inefficiency! Not only did it kill our daily schedule, but rummaging around an empty van made us look completely unprofessional in front of the homeowner.

Steve’s True Story: Even worse was when my shamefaced tech had to ask the homeowner: “Uhhhh, I guess I don’t have a (you fill in the missing item) on this van. Do you happen to have one I can borrow?” AARGH! 😡

The root cause of this madness? My workers simply weren’t being held accountable. My team had no “enforced accountability” system.

Therefore, my loose-cannon (or worse) employees could lose, leave behind, “borrow,” and/or sadly—sometimes even steal— our company tools with total impunity. 😦

This steady drain of “lost” equipment and tools was hurting our reputation with clients, eating into our profit margins and destroying my sanity! It had to STOP! 🚫

Here is exactly how I solved the missing tool epidemic in my business:

Assign each technician their very own basic hand tools in an organized toolbox that follows them between trucks. Then, “hold their feet to the fire”!

First, buy a comprehensive set of high-quality, pro-grade tools for every production employee, along with a heavy-duty plastic, numbered toolbox. (I spent a bit more than $6,000.00 for eight techs.)

ProTIP: Always go with a plastic or composite box. Metal toolboxes rust, and the last thing you want is a rusty box leaving a permanent ring on a customer’s pristine kitchen floor!

Every individual tool was etched with our company name and the specific toolbox number it belonged to.

Next, the technician put their name and their own personal combination lock on “their” new toolbox.* (The office kept a master record of the combinations for emergencies, of course).

Each morning, the tech retrieved their personal toolbox from their locker, and it traveled with them to every single job site.*

* NOTE: To add accountability only the tech should be able to access their toolbox!

This setup was great, but where did the actual “Enforced Employee Accountability” come in?

Upon receiving their shiny new toolkit, the employee signed a detailed Inventory List. Then, we instituted a monthly tool inventory by management.

If any tools were missing, they were of course immediately replaced to ensure the tech could do their job.

But wait! Remember my “Enforced Accountability” system? Philosophically, I strongly believed (and I still do) that a worker should pay for the replacement cost of a tool they control and/or have agreed to be accountable for.

But then, my lawyer got involved.😦 “Steve, in this state you cannot legally deduct funds from an employee’s salary even for damages or loss that they are responsible for.” (This is still true for most states and yes, it drives me nuts!) 😠

Here’s the deal: It almost always is illegal to withhold an employee’s base wages for breakage or loss—no matter how much you feel they deserve to have their pay docked!

HOWEVER, you generally can deduct the costs of lost tools (and other acts of pure carelessness and stupidity) from their Worker Efficiency BONUS! (WEB) 👍👍

On the positive side, your employees can add funds to their WEB for superb performance and a perfectly maintained toolkit and van! 🪅🎊🎉

🗝️ Remember, your ultimate goal should always be to reward your team, not punish them and here’s why: When a WEB is properly set up, when your employee makes more WEB money, you make more money too! 😁

Never underestimate the value of public rewards and recognition when a tech takes pride in their work and their gear. Your Very Best People will LOVE this stuff!

Yep, at the end of the day, we all need accountability to thrive and excel… including the owner. (We need to talk about this “Owner Accountability” very soon!) 😎

KickStart: At time of booking confirm how your client wants to be reminded of their appointment. Then include a simple “reply mechanism” to confirm they will be there.

Let me guess… you want to make more money. I mean, who doesn’t? And yes, you should be charging more… lot’s more! 💲💲💲

NOTE: We’ve talked before about why and how to raise your prices. Plus, I share HERE how to charge more without losing your previous clients. (Trust me, I’ll keep beating this drum!) 🙄

But even BEFORE you hike your prices, let’s focus today on “plugging the holes” in your business bucket first.

Yep, your residential services company needs to become relentlessly efficient!

One of the biggest efficiency killers in the home services game? Scattered and/or just plain rude “No-Show” Clients forgetting and/or blowing off appointments!

There was absolutely nothing that boiled my blood faster than paying a tech to drive all the way out to a house… only to return to the shop empty-handed. Talk about a profit killer! GRRRRR! 😡

You too? If so, how can you fix this bleeding sore in your home services business? Simple…

Implement an effective home Appointment Reminder System. (ARS)

🗝️ When you’re booking the job, don’t just tell them when you’ll be there. Ask the customer how they prefer their 48-hour to arrive:

1. A quick phone call?

2. An email?

3. A text message two days before the service? (Most clients will choose texting.)

Once they pick their favorite, grab a backup method just in case your first ARS try ends up going nowhere. And here is your ARS confirmation Golden Rule…

When you send a text or email reminder, always ask for a confirming reply. Nudge your clients to commit! (With texting just include, “Please reply with a Y if you will be there or N to reschedule.”)

Why does this ARS work so well? Because you’re A) holding the homeowner accountable and B) giving them choices.

In my Service Engineering training, I call these choices “giving the ‘Illusion of Control’!” The more options you give a homeowner, the more comfortable and invested they feel in the process.

NOTE: And of course, send an ARS confirming email immediately after you finish booking the job.

Now, what if your spidey senses are tingling? You know the type—the customer giving off serious disorganized “flake” vibes?

If we were worried the homeowner would ghost us, we invented a “pre-contact excuse” for the day of the job.

For example, our CSR would call the client an hour or two before arrival just to ask, “Hey, Mrs. Jones, am I calling at a good time? We’re making great time—is it okay if we show up five minutes early?” (Or late, if that fits the schedule).

This pre-contact excuse” call forced contact, subtly helped them remember and pretty guaranteed they would be home waiting for us.

Commercial Work Bonus: If you do any regular, contract commercial service agreements, meeting a client just to get let into the building is a massive, frustrating time-waster! (Including your client’s employee!) Soooo…

👍 ProTIP: With regular contract work include a substantially lower “Open Access Price” in your proposals.

If the prospect balks at giving you a key or entry code, just hit them with a cheeky, “Ouch! This super low price I quoted relies on ‘Open Access.’ If we have to coordinate meeting someone to let us in, it slows us down and bumps up your price.”

Guess what? You will be stunned by how fast they miraculously find a spare key for you! 😁

Now, don’t you have some residential (or commercial) jobs to book AND remind? 😎

KickStart: Conquer your normal Fear of Rejection by laughingly replying with Steve’s “Hail Mary Question”!

I know. You are a Home Service Pro and proud of it. Me too! I’ve always LOVED the profits (and joys) of working with homeowners! 💖

And yet… for most of us the residential services we provide also fit perfectly into the commercial sector. Heck, I’ll take a business owner’s money all day long! In fact…

Let’s talk about the holy grail for a minute: regular, contract commercial accounts. Every home service pro tells me they fit perfectly into their residential focused business. They did for me too!

Why? Those two magic words: 1) regular and 2) contract! Magically, with commercial service agreements you will now have 1) predictable cash flow, and 2) routine work you can actually pre-schedule without tearing your hair out.

NOTE #1: I’m not suggesting you change your company’s residential focus. Instead, consider adding regular, commercial service agreements to smooth out the peaks and valleys of a home services business.

Looking back, in my residential services company commercial service agreements accounted for almost 30% of our total volume. But they let me sleep at night (and kept our techs busy) when homeowners’ calls slowed down.

In fact, while I would consider servicing a commercial establishment on a one-time basis that wasn’t our focus. What we wanted was the regular cash flow and predictable scheduling of a service agreement.

NOTE #2: Service agreements can work great with homeowners. And in future KickStarts I’ll do a deep dive on residential service agreements. But I’m feeling quirky today 😁 so let’s detour into commercial!

ProTIP #1: For both commercial and residential did you notice how I earlier sneakily changed the word “contract” into “service agreement”? Same thing legally but “service agreement” (SA) is a less threatening phrase and makes it easier to get a signature!

ProTIP #2: Instead of forcing the client into a set time period leave the SA “open ended” and continuing to run unless either party wants to change the terms. Numerous studies say your retention rate will be much higher!

All good? Nooooo! Here’s your challenge: Most residential work is initiated by the homeowner calling you. And yes, I’ve made a science of converting this lead into a booked job! 😁

However, with commercial you’ll likely have to git out there and actually walk through the intimidating door of a business. 😦

Sadly, I see so many talented residential entrepreneurs failing big time in landing these golden regular commercial SA’s. The culprit? Our old, pesky fear of rejection!

Steve’s Secret Sauce? Face up to this very normal rejection fear by expecting to be rejected! Seriously, ASSUME your prospect will say “no”!

There, that wasn’t so bad, was it? Once you take the sting out of the “no,” you can stay upbeat and keep pitching.

My favorite tactic? Keep a lighthearted sense of humor during those sales calls. 😃Let me give you a real-world example.

Often, you’ll hit a classic smokescreen objection. (These are common in residential too.) You know the drill—most facility managers can hire whoever they want, but if just don’t feel like chatting, they’ll blow you off with this old chestnut:

Manager: “Sorry, you have to be on our Preferred Vendor List.”

❔ Steve’s “Hail Mary Question”: Instead of slinking away with your tail between your legs, try adding a little cheeky humor with this You-Got-Nothing-To-Lose Question...

You: “I totally understand. Let me ask you though—do I have to be on your ‘Preferred List’ if I’m not actually a ‘vendor’?”

Manager (usually looking bewildered): “Huh?”

You (with a joking grin): “Well, last time I checked, a ‘vendor’ is someone who charges you for a product or service. Right? (Shrugging with outstretched hands.) 🤷

Manager (slowly): “Well, I guess that’s true…”

You: So, how about this? You pick out your biggest, most annoying maintenance headache, and we’ll tackle it for FREE!

And since we’re not charging you you’ll have a no-obligation chance to see if we deserve to be a Preferred Vendor. All I ask is that you come check out the results while we’re working.”

Manager: “Well, hey... what have I got to lose? Our back loading area does have some issues. Let me show you…” 👍👍

BINGO! You just broke through the smokescreen barrier! Congratulations! 🎈🎉🎊🪅 (Asking this “Hail Mary Question” landed me so many commercial S/A’s!)

Or when a property manager hits you with the “You gotta be in our network” routine, try this pivot:

“I completely understand. But I also know sometimes your preferred guys just can’t get out to you quickly enough. Or maybe you have a tricky property way out on the fringes of your territory. Just keep us in mind. Let me write my personal 24-7 cell number on the back of this card...”

Now, is this “funny stuff” going to work 100% of the time? Of course not. But it will break through the smoke screen some of the time.

And honestly, what have you got to lose? You’ve already invested the time, money, and effort to get in front of this prospect. Throw your Hail Mary!

And hey… don’t forget to have some FUN out there too!😎

KickStart: Every employee in your company should receive their very own personal business cards… immediately after hiring! Read on for why!

As a home services entrepreneur, you face a multitude of challenges every day. Your biggest problem? Unmotivated employees! I could go on and on, but I won’t and here’s why!

I’m getting PTSD flashbacks just reflecting back on my years down in the residential services trenches! And this industry has gotten infinitely tougher since I sold my business!

However, Steve Toburen doesn’t throw Pity Parties. Heck, I’ve even rejected the old “it is what it is” saying as a negative downer condemning me with no way out.

Instead, my favorite motto now is, “Well, here we are” 🤷 as in recognizing the current situation while using good, old entrepreneurial creativity to go forward! Sound good? 👍 Then LET’S GO!

What if I told you that your lethargic, unmotivated employee challenge could be dramatically helped with a little piece of cardboard that measures 2” high by 3.5” wide?

YEP, properly implemented the venerable business card will help rescue you from your employee problems!

NOTE: I’ve dissed before on why business cards are so great and how they can transform your residential services company. Click HERE to review these tips and then today let’s focus on your…

Challenge? Unmotivated employees- Absolutely! After all, this same lack of motivation and self-esteem is why they came to you for a (forgive me) “low-prestige job” as a home services technician!

Lots of applicants is GREAT… until you hire one. 🥹 Because now you must transform this poor, low-self-image, young person into an alert, dynamic and positive “take-charge” technician! 🫣

SOLUTION: It’s complicated. “Well, DUH, Steve! I know this. Give me some practical ideas!” Fair enough. Write this down…

“Begin with the end in mind” and “stage manage” a new employee’s onboarding path into your business.

NOTE: It starts with your “curb appeal” as in does your home services business look, speak, perform and yes, even smell like a Very Best Company? (VBC) It certainly should since homeowners will only leave ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ reviews for VBC’s!

🤔 Steve’s Introspective Question: Be honest with the two questions below…

Does your residential services business even remotely resemble a company that as a young person you would have wanted to work for… long term? If not, why would you expect a Very Best Person to stick with you? But I digress since our focus here is on business cards so…

Remember, every single employee in your company should have and carry (more on why below) their very own personal business cards.

WARNING: My coaching clients often tell me, “My new workers don’t get their own cards till after six months with me!” But read on for a different take…

MotivationTIP #1: IMMEDIATELY after hiring a new employee do a rush order of their new personal company business cards (with their photo) to their home address.

Remember, your new hire likely has NEVER had their very own business cards so now they’ll be pumped about their first day with you!

I can hear the nay-sayers as I type this. “Steve, what if I spend $XX.00 on their business cards and then they quit in two weeks?” Yeah, this may sadly happen. 🥹

But wait! What will someone with their first ever business cards do? Hand them out to everyone they know! So even if my new employee quickly quits, I’m more than ahead thanks to all my business cards they handed out… for free!

🗝️ Meanwhile, reflect on the positive impact of being surprised with their very own business cards will have on ALL your new hires! 😁

ProTIP: Choose field technician photo ID badges that come with a handy pocket for their business cards on the back.

Now your techs will always have clean, dry business cards available. Way better than a soggy, crumpled card pulled from a sweat-drenched wallet! Talk about a negative Moment of Truth! 😦

MarketingTIP: Print two different business cards. One design will be a standard, high-class card, employee photo, company logo, etc. (Don’t cheap out. This is an investment that will pay off for years!)

Your other card design? It looks the same except it includes a special “Gift Card” offer for new clients on the reverse side. (This can be 15% off their first service, on optional item included free or an actual dollar discount.) Under the offer put a signature line with the sentence below: “Confirming signature”

MotivationTIP #2: Now when an employee finds a new prospect, they show the homeowner the offer and then say, “Here, let me sign off on your special gift.” But wait- it gets better!

When this business gift card is redeemed at your new staff meeting surprise the employee with huge applause and a gift card bonus! (I suggest at least 50.00 CASH to my coaching clients. After all, what’s a new client worth!) Wow, even more motivation for all your staff! 💲💲💲

Cards on the table time? I’m not suggesting the above tips will solve all your employee issues. But hey, an employee Recognition and Rewards program will go a loooooong way in motivating your staff.

NOTE: Going forward I’ll share other business cards tips. But meanwhile let me know your results on the above ideas! Let’s “git ‘er done”… together! 😎

KickStart: Increase your techs’ self-image, reduce homeowners’ fears and gain their respect when your workers wear photo ID badges.

What emotions is a new residential client feeling as they wait for your technician to (hopefully on time) ring their doorbell? 🤔 Hmmmm…

Folks, your first-time home service customer is (Drumroll, please!) ... nervous, skeptical, a bit suspicious and mostly… SCARED! 😲 Yes, you heard it right!

Homeowners are quaking in their designer shoes! (Honestly, can you blame them with the nightmare tales you hear about rogue techs?)

Now, here’s a little secret for you: This is precisely why those big-shot national franchises heavily promote stuff like, “Hey, we don’t use sub-contractors” or “We do background checks on all our techs.” Yeah, right…🙄

But, guess what? The “big boys” are smart because they are proactively responding to their 1st time customers fears. You can do the same without breaking the bank! Here’s the deal…

Have all your employees wear a photo ID badge at all times! NOTE: This includes you as the owner or manager and yes, that includes you, Mr. Owner/Operator too!

When a new customer sees a tech with a photo ID badge it is a soothing balm on their jittery homeowner nerves. 💖 (Can I wax poetic or what?) 😁

Wondering where to find photo ID badges? Just Google “Photo ID badge” to find a plethora of online options. Prices range from $5.00 to $8.00 per badge. (This is the investment ever!)

ProTIP #1: Always order two (or three!) ID badges per tech. Remember, losing their ID badges and/or forgetting them is pretty much guaranteed! 😠

But wait, lets go deeper on photo ID badges…

ID badge Bonus #1: It isn’t just your 1st-time clients that are intimidated. Your usually young on-site production staff are nervous too!

After all, your tech is standing in front of a huge home where they will be interacting with a client who is three times their age, make ten times their income and let’s not even think about the net worth difference between the two of them! 😫

But when you give a tech their very own logoed ID badge with THEIR name on it? Wow, they have instant credibility in the client’s eyes and more importantly, your tech now feels “credible” too! 👍👍

NOTE: Obviously your workers’ technical skills also need to up to par too- you can’t make it on smoke and mirrors indefinitely! (Don’t ask me how I learned this!)

ProTIP #2: Always put the employee’s first name in large, easy-to-read BLOCK letters. This way when the homeowner forgets your worker’s name (after your tech hopefully introduces themself 🙄) the client can easily refresh their memory from their badge.

ID badge Bonus #2: ID badges are an incredibly cost-effective marketing tool! Heck, I had homeowners see my techs’ ID badges and ask them for a business card at Burger King!

So DUH, here’s a hot tip: EVERY single one of your employees should be armed with their very own personalized business cards! In fact, let’s do a deep dive on employee business cards real soon!

KickStart: Even a “simple” one-person business is not “problem-free”. Read on for 5 proactive steps to beat your inevitable owner-operator challenges…

I get it. You are sick of the daily “employee drama” and long for the simple life you had as a solo “Lone Wolf”. Trust me, I’ve been there- felt this way!

True, I eventually built a large, Critical Mass Business. But before I found my way, I also “fired ‘em all” (it felt so good!) and down-sized back to an owner-operator.

HOMEWORK: Before you even think about “getting small”, you MUST re-read and meditate on my “The 5 moves to make BEFORE you decide to go solo!”

Done? No, you skipped the above link! I know this because you’re an impatient, cut-to-the-chase residential service entrepreneur… just like me! 🙄

And like me, you’re part of the infamous “ready-FIRE-aim” business club soooo… I give up! 😦

Read on (for now) but PLEASE 🙏 come back to this “Starting Out Right” Playbook for Solo “Lone Wolves” later.

But meanwhile, here are five Lone Wolf tips any owner-operator. Oddly enough, they all start with the word “build”!

NOTE: I still used these strategies even after growing into a large, multi-truck home services company!

1. Build A Roster of Reliable Part-Timers

I loved using regular, part-time helpers. Why? Because I no longer had the pressure of keeping someone busy 40 hours a week. 😁

Instead, you call on your part-timers only when you need them. This means you can pay better per hour, which attracts better people, and you’re not carrying fixed overhead.

Plus, helpers on big jobs mean you save wear and tear on your body while increasing your production rate. Even better, you can still have a life after 5pm! 👍👍

2. Build Predictable, Routine Cash Flow

The feast-or-famine cycle is brutal in home services for even the big guys. But it can quickly destroy an owner-operator. The fix? Get clients on a regular service schedule so you know what’s coming in every month.

Develop and sell recurring residential maintenance contracts, seasonal service plans — whatever fits your trade. Reliable, predictable cash flow is your Lone Wolf foundation. 🚫 STOP chasing one-off jobs and focus on building a routine, predictable base.

3. Build a Personal Disaster Plan (PDP)

Nobody ever plans to get hurt, wreck their van and/or lose their biggest account, etc. Stuff happens — and when it does, you need a cushion. So, do you have AT LEAST six months of living expenses in liquid investments? 🤔

If not, don’t feel like the Lone Ranger! But right now, as in TODAY- start automatically sweeping 3–5% of your gross income into an “untouchable” investment account!

If not, you’re constantly one moment away from disaster for your loved ones! 🥹 I beg my clients, build your PDP safety net before you need it. 🙏

4. Build Your Strategic Partners

Find two or three other quality home service pros you trust — quality people who work at your level and share your standards. Cover for each other without stealing clients. Refer overflow work to each other. Here’s why…

These relationships protect your clients when you can’t be there and protect your income when life gets in the way.

The bonus? These fellow entrepreneurs will likely become some of your best friends. Don’t try to build your Lone Wolf business in isolation.

5. Build the Courage to Simply Say “No”!

This one matters more than you think. If you’re the only full-time person in your business, your time is your most limited (and precious) resource. (Actually, true for all of us!) 🫣

So, firmly block off time for your faith, your family, your health, and yes — your FUN! 💖 Then suck it up and tell urgent clients, “Sorry, Mrs. Jones, but I’m already committed for that date. However, I could fit you in on…”

NOTE: If this frantic homeowner simply can’t wait? Call in your Strategic Partners profiled in Point #4! 👆

A business that pays you well but costs you everything else isn’t a win. Know your limits, set your boundaries, and protect them like the very valuable assets they are.

Steve’s TAKEAWAY: The beautiful irony? Every single one of these five strategies will also make you more profitable if you ever do decide to scale up. Like me, you may eventually decide to build a Critical Mass Business (CMB) that can run smoothly with you… or without you.

Personal NOTE: In my early years the solo Lone Wolf model worked well for me. However, eventually (not without frustrations) I eventually scaled up. I’m so thankful I did because my CMB gave me true wealth- the Personal Freedom to live my life as I chose!

But meanwhile, remember- you’re not choosing between staying small and being successful — you’re choosing to build a business that works for your life, right now.

That’s not settling. That’s being smart… on your terms! CONGRATULATIONS! 😎

KickStart: Use photos of your local jobs to gain credibility and to make your service(s) real in your prospects’ minds.

We’ve all heard this almost-100-year-old saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words”. (Attributed to marketing executive Fred R. Barnard,1927.)

I’m sure by now Fred would have updated his dictum to, “A PHOTO is worth a thousand words”.

Why are photos even better than pictures? 🤔 True, pictures 1) attract attention and 2) help prospects visualize your product. However, photos do this too plus they also 3) build credibility and 4) increase prospects’ trust in your company!

NOTE: Obviously SHORT (less than two minute) videos can be huge in your online marketing. So, in this KickStart just automatically add the word “videos” every time I use the word “photos”.

Remember, in the fractured world of online marketing you desperately need to differentiate yourself! So, set yourself apart and build trust with “local photos” of your company working in your clients’ homes!

NOTE: Please click HERE to review how to use these photos in face-to-face selling in your customers’ homes and for after-job follow-ups.

But now let’s go deeper to see how you can double dip with the vast photo library you’ll be building up of onsite work on your clients’ homes. For example…

When someone texts, emails, or pings you on Facebook Messenger asking for pricing, don’t just reply with your price. And please- no blah-blah-blah about how great you are! This verbal fluff doesn’t cut it anymore!

Instead, always attach a few photos of similar jobs. (Bonus points for before-and-after shots!) Photos have so many advantages during this initial contact…

1. They instantly elevate the conversation and help your prospect see the VALUE behind the price.

2. Photos will also position you as a credible, local pro instead of just another random contractor throwing out a quote. This “differentiation” will be huge in your all-important Lead Conversion.

And here’s the bonus move we perfected in my company…

My techs and I would carry a small camera on every single job. (Today I’d just use our cell phones.) We would take quick before-and-after shots, photos of our clean work vehicles, my techs looking sharp, and even action shots of our crew working commercial accounts.

NOTE: If you’ve got a shop, plant, or office, grab a few photos there too. All of this becomes proof—real world proof—that your team is real, credible and they know what they’re doing.

ProTIP: When clients see these “local photos” of your crew working on many different area jobs it sends a subtle message that just maybe your (hopefully much higher) prices are evidently worth it! 💲💲💲

Double-dip these photos

Your first step? Dump the same, worn out “clip art” photos all your competitors are using. Remember, you need to be perceived as different, including in your marketing.

Once your photos start stacking up upload these real, local project photos to your website, social media, and online quote forms. They’ll build trust before the customer even meets you! SCORE! 👍👍

Steve’s bottom line? If you’re not building your own visual proof, you’re leaving money—and trust—on the table.

Start photographing your work today and then bank away a photo archive that woven throughout your marketing will sell for you 24-7!

What? You’re still hanging out here with me? Git out there and start taking photos! 😎

KickStart: Clarity In Your Intentions Makes Everything More Pleasant

Fear really is the world’s ugliest emotion. 🫣

True, our fear(s) as residential service providers can’t possibly compete with an orphaned child’s terror, a homeless family’s fear or even worse, the loss of a child. 🥹

However, this message is directed to you folks- entrepreneurs who work in and on their clients’ homes. And yes, from a business standpoint, the all-too-common, paralyzing ‘Fear Of Rejection’ has a devastating impact on us and our families’ futures!

As I recently mentioned in my ‘Dump Your Fear Of Rejection to Supercharge Your Business’ article we KNOW what we need to do as in, “1) Git our butt out there, 2) knock on doors, network, etc. and 3) land some new customers.” And yet…

We don’t! Yes, the “we” is there on purpose. True confessions time? I was the King of Displacement Activities, which allowed me to shirk the essential ownership task of reaching out to new sources of business. 🫣

But I’m not here to beat you up! 🙄 Instead, here are the five main tips that I developed to conquer (most of the time) my Fear Of Rejection forever!

1. Lighten up and laugh a little.

Is your family going to actually go hungry if your next prospect says “no”? Of course not. So, stop treating every sales call or residential pre-inspection like it’s a life-or-death situation. Instead…

a) Walk in relaxed, b) with a bounce in your step, and c) a self-deprecating sense of humor about the whole thing. People respond to energy. “Easygoing confidence” beats “tense and desperate” every single time.

2. Lock down your opening 20 seconds.

The Fear Of Rejection hits hardest right at the start — those first 20 to 30 seconds when you’re introducing yourself and explaining why you’re there. After that? It’s just a conversation, and your friends tell me you’re good at “shooting the bull”! 😦

So, practice your opening lines until they are automatic. Say them to your spouse, your mirror, your dog — whoever will listen. When those first words come out naturally and confidently, the rest flows on its own.

💡 ProTIP #1: SMILE! 😁 I get it. You’re nervous which means your face gets contorted into a ghastly frozen expression. UGH! So, take a deep breath, reflect on point #1 and smile at people!

💡 ProTIP #2: Look people in the eye. I get it. You’re STILL nervous? This means you’ll look everywhere except straight into the eyes of your prospect. Fight this tendency. When you don’t confidently meet the gaze of a new potential client you telegraph that you’re unsure or worse, untrustworthy! 👎👎

3. Understand that selling is a process, not an event.

Every “no” you get is not a failure. It’s just a data point. It has become a cliché but never forget, every “no” means you are one step closer to a “yes!”

I call it the Law of Large Numbers — the more doors you walk through consistently, the more accounts you will land. It’s math, not luck. Commit to making a minimum number of new potential client contacts each week. (A daily goal is better.) Then… hold yourself accountable.

👍 Never forget: Consistent, Massive Action is what separates the home service businesses that grow from the ones that go out of business or (even worse in my opinion) really should hang it up but endure 30 or 40 years stuck in a rut! 😥

4. Make every visit count, even the short ones.

Didn’t get to speak to the decision-maker? Got the brush-off at the front desk or in the client’s home? That’s fine — smile, leave your card, grab a name, find out the best way to follow up.

Every visit should produce something useful. A contact name. An email address. A better sense of who makes the buying decisions. Nothing is wasted if you’re intentional about it.

ProTIP #3: Always make a ‘Last Ditch Request’. Precede it with, “Before I go, (quizzical expression appears on your face) let me ask you…”

🗝 My Favorite Commercial ‘Last Ditch Request’: “Before I go, let me ask you, “Could you put me down on your Vendor List for upcoming projects or RFB’s (Requests For Bids)?”

5. Above all else, just walk through the door.

Somebody once told me, “The hardest door to get through is your own.” This is so true. The hardest part of any sales call happens before you ever leave your home or get out of your truck.

Once you’re standing in front of someone, your Fear Of Rejection shrinks fast. So. make a personal commitment to get out there on a regular, consistent, DAILY basis. (Not just when business is slow or when you’re feeling brave.) Make it a habit. Build it into your schedule like any other task.

The business you want is already out there waiting. The only thing standing between you and a growing, dynamic exciting home service business?

😡It is that nasty, negative subliminal “FOR” voice whispering that you should 1) wait, 2) avoid, and/or 3) postpone! Now you know what it is, where this FOR voice comes from, and exactly how to shut it down!

Remember, my mom transformed my life with her simple, “Steven, it costs nothing to ask!” So, ummm… WHY are you hanging out here with me? Git yerself out there and start… ASKING! 👍👍

KickStart: STOP your fearful fretting about rejection. Your prospect simply may not be focused on and/or ready for the service(s) you are selling. Instead…

Let’s be real. You already know what you need to do as in…

1) Git yer butt out there, 2) knock on doors, network, etc. and 3) land some new customers.

You know this. Your bank account knows it. Your family definitely knows it as in, “DUH, Dad! Why are you still hanging around the house?” But they don’t say it and neither do you…

So, what IS stopping you? 😦

It’s that little voice that pipes up the second you even think about knocking on a door. Yep, the dreaded whisper, “Don’t bother. They’re going to laugh at you. You’re going to feel like an idiot.”

Who said that? It’s your Fear Of Rejection (FOR) talking — and if you’ve been in business for more than five minutes, you’ve heard it many times- loud and clear.

I’ve heard it too. More times than I can count. 😥

Why Your “FOR” Is Costing You Serious Money

Here’s what this little subliminal FOR voice actually does to you in practice. You postpone sales calls by inventing reasons to do them tomorrow, next week or, in reality… never? instead…

You suddenly find a dozen other so-called “urgent” tasks that need your attention — paperwork, equipment checks, anything to avoid walking through a prospect’s door.

NOTE: I call this deadly procrastination Displacement Activities, and it is lethal to your business growth.

Days turn into weeks that turn into months. And all that time you wasted not making sales calls? It is a HUGE “Opportunity Cost”. Why? Because it represents…

Business you could have had. Revenue you left on the table. All because of a stupid voice in your head that was lying to you the whole time! 😫

What My Mom Got Right About Selling

My mom used to tell me something I didn’t fully appreciate until I was years into building my own business. She’d say, “Steven, it costs you nothing to ask.”

Mom was right! (And it only took me 20 years to learn this!)

Think about it. What is the absolute WORST thing that can happen when you introduce yourself to a new prospect? They say “no”. That’s it. Here’s what they won’t do to you. (Hopefully!) 🙄

1) They’re not going to chase you out of their home. 2) They’re not going to post your picture on social media. 3) They’re not going to call the police on you!

They are just going to more-or-less nicely say “no”. *

* Actually, most people are too timid to even give you a straight out “NO”! Instead, they’ll disguise it with a “Let me think about it…” Trust me, folks, this is a hard “no” and we should talk about this soon!

But however your prospect couches it — and this is a key point — it’s not meant to be personal. YOU are the one making it “personal” by getting your panties all in a wad which leads to even more FOR!

So, let’s analyze how to beat your totally irrational FOR by asking my mom about them! When I was a grade schooler I woke up every day panicked so I’d blurt out to mom, “The other kids are all going to be looking at me!”

Good old mom replied, “Steven, nobody really cares!” Kind of hurtful, Mom! Now mom didn’t know it, but she was setting me up for a very successful career as a residential services entrepreneur! Thanks, Mom!

Once I put Mom’s “nobody really cares” principle to work I realized an essential truth. The two biggest forces working against me in any sales situation weren’t hostility or judgment.

My (and your) sales-killers are apathy and inertia! As in, most prospects aren’t thinking about you (or the service you are selling) at all. They’ve got their own problems, their own priorities, and their own fires to put out.

So, when you get brushed off, it’s almost never about you. It’s just “business friction”. They’re not focused on you and/or on what solutions you are offering AT THIS TIME. This means you must…

Stop taking your prospect’s lack of interest personally, suck it up, and git yer butt out your door… NOW! (And step away from those silly and very destructive Displacement Activities.)

BUT WAIT! I know what you’re thinking as in, “Steve, STOP it! Yer doing one of your patented ‘rah-rah, motivational closes’ and all I want from you is one thing! Tell me HOW to beat my Fear Of Rejection… NOW!”

Fair enough! How about in our very next KickStart I give you not “ONE thing” but FIVE tips that allowed me to ban “Fear Of Rejection” forever! Happy???

KickSTART: “Staying small” can be a valid business (and lifestyle) model… IF you structure it correctly from the git-go. Intrigued? Then read on…

Honestly? I get so very tired of this endless debate in our residential services industry: “Should an owner go solo as a ‘Lone Wolf’ operator or ‘go big’ and hire employees?”

Why my frustration? Because BOTH of these totally opposite philosophies work well… IF you do it right! (Most don’t!) The one business model that does NOT work?

Getting stuck in the middle! 🫣 I call this the “Road In-Between” (RIB) as in you are “too big” to enjoy the (supposedly) carefree life of an owner-operator BUT “too small” to hire mid-level management to give you the ever-elusive Personal Freedom! (Was that a run-on sentence or what?)😦

Steve’s cut to the chase? The Road In-Between is where entrepreneurial dreams go to die! The RIB will bleed you and your family dry… financially, emotionally and spiritually.

Now, I’ve been accused of being a “get big or go home” guy. Not true. You don’t have to go big to win. You just have to be smart about it. Actually, this “being smart” applies to residential service providers of any size!

The smartest shift all of us can make right now? 🛑STOP your obsessive flexing about gross business income! Listen carefully here…

💡Gross revenue is vanity. Net profit is sanity.

Got it? If so, let’s focus on how to build an owner-operated residential services business that creates absurd net profits while giving you, the owner, a balanced, fulfilling and happy lifestyle… long-term!

A 5-Point “Starting Out Right” Playbook for Solo “Lone Wolves”!

1. Count the Cost BEFORE You Commit

Don’t make the decision to “go it alone” after a bad week when a problem employee has driven you crazy. Staying small is a legitimate business model — but only if you go in with both eyes wide open.

Look at the real numbers, the lifestyle tradeoffs, the ceiling on your growth. If you’ve done that and you’re still saying “Steve, I want to stay small”… GREAT! Let’s start out right building your new life!

2. Own Your Decision — and Own Your Identity

Please 🙏 STOP apologizing for not running a fleet of vans. I’ve worked with residential service providers that are slaves to their 20-truck business and yet… they take home less than a sharp one-person operation.😫 Even worse, these poor saps dread waking up every morning! Life is too short to live like this!

Once you understand that income vs profit is the real game, you stop comparing your gross revenue to the guy bragging online and start comparing your take-home. That’s what pays your mortgage. Or even better…

💡 STOP “comparing”- we’ll talk about this!

3. Position Yourself as the “Boutique” Pro, Not the Budget Option

STOP trying to out-advertise the big franchises. (Or your low-ball, bait-and-switch competitor down the street.) Instead, morph yourself into the fussy, slightly OCD craftsperson. The local expert. An individual that clients trust with their home to actually care about the work.

Lean into this reputation hard. Be the service pro with the reputation so good that clients refer you to their neighbors… without you offering them a kickback. When you build this kind of loyalty, you won’t compete on price — you’ll compete on trust and win every time!

4. Raise Your Prices — Seriously, Do It Now!

Puhleeeease, don’t tell me, “Steve, I’m already the most expensive in town.” I don’t care and neither will your clients. (See #3 above.) Raise your prices anyway.

Steve’s “little known fact”: Small, regular price increases will go unnoticed by most clients. (Homeowners usually can’t remember how much they paid last time!)

Even a small price adjustment can increase your net profit by 20 or 30%... without adding a single job. Work less- make more! This is the fastest lever you have. Pull it... NOW!

NOTE: Make raising your prices a habit — a quiet annual price adjustment keeps you ahead of rising costs and increases profits without anyone flinching… or even noticing. (Thanks to our current “inflationary psychology” customers expect to pay more when they call you again!)

ProTIP: Always make a price adjustment an “odd percentage” instead of a “round number”. This adds credibility when you can explain to the (very few) previous clients who complain about an increase, “Yes, Mrs. Jones, on January 1^st we were FORCED (key word here!) to raise our prices by 13.4%.”

5. Sell More on Every Single Job

You’re already there. You’re already trusted. The client just needs to know what else you offer. Don’t assume they know your full list of services — walk them through it BEFORE you even arrive.

Pre-orient every client about what they can add on. They can’t buy what they don’t know exists, and every Additional Service Option you miss is money left on the table in a job you’ve already driven to! (Windshield time is a killer for Lone Wolves.)

Feeling better about your (reasonably) stress-free future as a solo owner-operator? Going forward, I’ll share more tips on how to structure and run your “Lone Wolf” operation!

KickStart: Obsess over hiring ONLY the Very Best People by recruiting them BEFORE you are desperate! Intrigued? Then read on…

I hired (and fired some!) more than 100 employees in my years running residential services companies. After waaaaay too much agony I finally learned the biggest hiring lesson for any business with techs working in clients’ homes…

Never (and I do mean NEVER) engage in ‘Desperation Hiring’. Grabbing the first warm body simply because you’re slammed with service calls will absolutely come back to bite you- BIG TIME! 😦 (Don’t ask me how I learned this!)🙄

💡 Instead, I realized we needed to treat recruiting the same way we marketed to homeowners—as an ongoing, never-ending process. 👍 This mindset transformed my business and honestly, my life!

If you want to build a real, dependable, scalable operation—what I call a Critical Mass Business—you must constantly be scouting, recruiting, pre-interviewing, and pre-testing solid Very Best People (VBP) “career candidates”. Then…

You keep them “on the hook” (warm and interested) while they stay at their current job… until you’re ready to bring them onboard.

But here’s the catch: if you want these A-players to hang out waiting on the bench, you must give them a reason to stick around. Ya gotta offer a better career, not just another job.

Here’s 8 strategies I used to successfully compete for new hires against giants like Walmart, UPS, Starbucks, and even my local plumbing outfit— because every business out there is my and your competition for these VBP! 😦

1. Build a strong LOCAL image

The Very Best People usually have roots in your town. They don’t want to move away. However, they do want to work somewhere they’re proud of.

So, ask yourself:

• Is my company active and visible in our community?

• Do we have great online reviews?

• Does our daily business presence (online too*) make us look like a company people will brag about working for?

* NOTE: A-players will absolutely look you up online even before they agree to an interview—they don’t want to join a business with a negative reputation.

2. Upgrade your “curb appeal”

Your brand and business should feel top-tier from the moment someone sees it.

• Clean, sharp trucks

• Organized shop

• Easy-to-spot, memorable signage

• Professional uniforms and photo ID badges

• And yes… your team (and YOU too)🫣 all need to look like pros too!

Top VBP talent wants to join a team that looks like they’re winning. The bonus here for you? Potential clients love seeing these bullet points too!

3. Create a real “Career Ladder”

The VBP don’t want to stay stuck at the same level forever. I mean, do you? 🙄 So, can you offer your VBP hires:

• Certifications?

• Specialized training?

• Leadership opportunities?

VBP want to at least have the opportunity grow and advance—help them climb!

4. Prove to them they’ll be more than a number

The big corporations can’t offer true security and an emotional connection. But you can!

Prove to your VBP candidates:

• “Here you’ll ‘create your own job security’ just by being awesome.”

• “We build and expect loyalty… both ways.”

• “We invest in our people who invest in us.”

This matters to today’s workers WAY more than most owners realize. 💖

5. Share a big picture vision they’ll want to belong to. (And buy in to!)

People don’t just work for a paycheck—they work for meaning in their life.

In my company, our rallying cry was: “We Make Customer Cheerleaders!”
My team was believed in and was trained to WOW their client. Your vision doesn’t have to be fancy—just clear, energizing, and bigger than “just show up and bang out the work.”😥

6. Allow your Very Best People to actually earn more

I know… we all think we can’t compete with the big boys.

But focus on this: Mail order maven L.L. Bean once said, “When I pay 20% more, I get 40% better employees.”

Paying more to the right people makes you more money—not less. When you systemize, market well, fill your schedule, AND raise your prices you CAN afford top-tier talent. 💲💲💲

7. Build a stress-free Business Infrastructure

The VBP hate chaos. And let’s be real… at best many residential service companies run on controlled chaos. (And some days the “controlled” part is optional!)

Written systems, procedures, checklists, scripts—these give the Very Best People confidence. Clearly explain how your business measures success so they can knock it out of the park! 😁

8. Add true accountability (the positive kind)

A-players LOVE being held to high standards. Why? Because it separates them from the slackers plus they get recognized and rewarded when they excel.

Your mission:

• Set expectations

• Track performance

• Celebrate high achievers

• Coach the ones who can (and want to) improve

• Terminate the ones who won’t!

Positive Accountability isn’t punishment—it’s rocket fuel for the right people! 🚀

Steve’s Final Thoughts

Sure, it’s tough competing with other businesses for talent… but you CAN do it when you offer something better: A career, a purpose, a team culture, and a future!

This is how you can consistently compete for new hires against the big guys and still win over the Very Best People.😎

KickStart: It’s true: A picture really is worth 1,000 words! Photos of your company and completed jobs will “kick start” (sorry) your in-home sales! Read on for the why and how…

When it comes to face-to-face selling our residential services to homeowners, my (and your) biggest challenge is simple… and yet so complex. Here’s the deal…🫣

Unlike buying a new pair of jeans, a new car, or even a new puppy🐶, homeowners can’t see, touch, “try on” and/or test our service(s) before they give us the go-ahead to work on their home.😦

Sure, my sales reps could talk all day about how great the client’s home would look or how fresh it would feel, but all the prospect would hear was, “blah-blah-blah”! 🙄

💡 Folks, when selling your residential services, “talk really is cheap” and a serious turn-off for most homeowners. So how did I not only survive but create a thriving residential services business that let me retire at age 38?

What would actually build my credibility and, more importantly, win a suspicious homeowner’s trust? After a lot of internal agony and mental brainstorming, I had an epiphany! 🌄

We started showing our prospect photos and/or videos of local, real jobs that we had successfully completed! BRILLIANT! 👍👍

ProTIP: “Before and after” photos of the property and/or job are powerful!

These photos of our work built homeowner confidence in us —a simple, visual strategy that worked BEFORE we would quote a price or try to close the sale.

Here’s the step-by-step system I built—and yes, you can stea… I mean, “borrow” this stuff from me TODAY:

1. Pre-orient the client. During the initial booking call, our CSR’s would explain that our techs document the job with periodic “progress photos” or even short videos. We told the homeowner that we’ll email them copies at the end of the job. (A great excuse to get their email!)
   
   ProTIP: If the client won’t be home during the work, ask if they would like us to send these photos to them in “real time” so they can see our progress on the job. (Clients LOVE being involved like this.)

2. Take “progress photos”. All techs carried company cell phones with quality cameras. We suggested a photo or two of set-up and then periodic “before and after contrast” shots during the work. (Bonus points for including our logo in the photo!)
   
   NOTE: Avoid “customer identifying items” such as mailboxes, house numbers, or even clients’ license plates in your photos.

3. Crew chief takes a quick selfie video at the end of the job. This is even better if you get the entire crew yelling out, “Thanks, Mrs. Smith! We appreciate your business!” Best practice is to take the video in front of the completed work. Keep it short and sweet.

   ProTIP: If the client isn’t home during the job, the crew chief should send it to the customer.

4. Send photos to the office at the end of each job. (Multi-day work gets sent daily.) Most CRM’s offer an easy way to attach work photos.

5. Office staff reviews photos. Review for quality and delete ones that don’t make the grade. Make sure there are no “customer identifying marks” (See NOTE in #2) and crop/ edit if needed.

6. Office attaches the photos to the emailed Job Quality Survey. Include a brief statement explaining that their job came out so well, we’d like to show other clients the results. If they agree, please check the box! (Most do!)

   NOTE: To sweeten the pot, some of my clients offer a $25.00 gift card to clients that give permission that they can use on the next service or give to a friend.

These on-the-job photos give you and your salespeople a HUGE “closing the sale” resource. Here’s how to use it!

ProTIP: These visual aids were even more effective if they were in the homeowner’s neighborhood! So, give your sales team a library of photos geo-tagged to search nearby clients before the pre-inspection.

A. Each salesperson has a dedicated client tablet. (Cleaned and sealed in a bag between homes.) Your salesperson should have already made up a “mini-album” for the homeowner with photos of the same work being done for other clients.

B. Turn it on and hand it to the prospect. We would usually wait till we needed to measure the job or when working up the quote. “Mrs. Jones, while I’m finishing up you might want to review other nearby homes that we’ve done the same work that you just showed me. Just swipe the screen to the left…”

C. Homeowners flip through real-life examples. Remember, these photos are of local people just like them. Some of them are probably their neighbors! Guess what? Your prospects’ guard will drop. They’ll ask better questions. They’ll trust you! And they will say “YES” a whole lot more!😁

NOTE: In a future KickStart, I’ll share how to “double dip” from all these wonderful photos you are banking away!

Now, don’t you have some techs to train on taking photos? Let’s “git ‘er done”!

KickStart: Convert your desperation hiring into an ongoing, routine system. The result? You’ll always have pre-vetted, pre-tested “Employees in Waiting” ready to jump in.

I’ll be honest—nothing ruined my Monday mornings faster than those dreaded “quitting without notice” texts from techs who bailed when we were booked solid three weeks out. 😡

One Monday, I finally called my tech Bill, because he was already late for his first residential job.
Me: “Uhhhh, Bill, where are you?”
Bill: “Uh… yeah, Steve… I got another job over the weekend. Just mail me my last check.” CLICK! 😲

There I was, staring at the phone like it had personally betrayed me. Then I turned to my office staff and screamed, “Find me a warm body—NOW!”

SPOILER ALERT: Every single time I hired in a panic, it blew up in my face. If you’ve ever done “Desperation Hiring,” you already know—it leads to headaches, callbacks, lost clients, and lots of lost sleep! 😥

Finally, I learned that if I wanted better employees, I needed a better system. And it had to become part of my everyday business routine—not something I dusted off when I was already drowning in work pulling the shifts of two techs who quit with no notice!.

Here’s the 30,000 foot overview of how I fixed my hiring issues…

My 7 Steps to Stop Desperation Hiring (and Start Attracting Better Employees)

1. We treated recruiting as a daily habit—not an emergency switch.

Once I accepted that consistent recruiting had to be an ongoing, routine system- everything changed. I wasn’t scrambling anymore. Instead, I was simply preparing for the inevitable. Negative? Maybe. Or was I realistic? Either way, as part of this process…

2. We routinely pre-screened and pre-interviewed long before we actually needed a new employee.

When I wasn’t desperate, I could spot the Very Best Prospects (what I call VBP’s) a mile away. It’s amazing how clear your instincts are when you’re not panicking and well… desperate!

NOTE: Words are important. So instead of the common “applicants” (or worse, “victims”!😁) we started calling these folks “Career Candidates”. Sure, even a Career Candidate might work three months and then quit- but at least we treated each person as if they were embarking on an exciting, long-term career!

3. I stopped “proposing marriage on the first date.” 😦

Instead of desperately rushing people immediately into full-time roles, after carefully vetting a Career Candidate, we then:

a) Did a paid “Working Interview”. This “Trial Hire” is great for everyone. (Some folks interview great but simply won’t like the daily physical work. Better to find out before you hire them full-time!) Loved the work? Then…

b) We normally started our Career Candidates part-time or on-call. This gave all parties concerned time to see if we both fit—without pressure. NOTE: This practice worked great if the Career Candidate was still at their original job, which leads me to…

4. We encouraged our VBP Career Candidates to keep their current jobs while waiting for a full-time spot with us. (I called them “Employees in Waiting”.)

No guilt. No games. Just honesty. And you know what? The great ones appreciated the flexibility. If an applicant was desperate to be hired, that was a red flag for me.

5. I made the waiting worth it by offering a real career—not just a job.

A “real career”? Yep, as in better pay, clearer growth paths, better training, better culture. If we wanted better employees, we had to BE a better workplace worth waiting for. (See point #4.)

6. I kept my VBP’s “warm” with a simple monthly update email.

Just a short note about what was happening inside the company. It reminded them we cared—and that there was a great career waiting for them. NOTE: Be sure to send this newsletter :bcc or using a simple mailing list service.

7. Always be planning ahead for staffing needs.🤔

I stopped pretending “everything will work out” with employee issues. When I saw work volume rising or someone looking shaky, I already had my Employees in Waiting ready—and since they were VBP’s they needed time to give notice to their current employer

Want to get those new hires trained fast? (Don’t we all need this?) 🙄
We used a simple “Fast Track” training system that helped us get new techs up to speed without babysitting. It saved me hundreds of hours—and a whole lot of lost sleep!

Now, don’t you have some Career Candidates to recruit?

KickStart: Base techs’ pay on both individual performance AND teams’ exceeding their production/ efficiency/ cheerleader targets.

I learned early on that the biggest challenge in building a residential services business that ran smoothly without me wasn’t marketing, equipment, or even customers… it was my employees.

Even worse, it wasn’t just one problem with employees—it was all of the staffing issues rolled up into one slimy, stinking mess! Yep, I’m getting PTSD just reflecting on my years down in the Home Front trenches…

Constantly recruiting, endlessly interviewing, fearfully hiring, frustrating onboarding, interminable training sessions, stressful evaluations, never-ending motivating, the list goes on and on.

And after all of the above? I was forced to fire people which of course was agonizing but then so was the rejection when an employee quit on me! This brutal parade just never stopped! 🫣

NOTE: I’ll cough politely here and mention that the “Hiring the Very Best” systems I developed as I grew into a Critical Mass Business saved me from a lot of headaches. 🗝️ 🗝️When you hire great people, 90% of your problems will miraculously vanish!

But the one area that always comes up on employee retention is compensation—specifically, how to use money to develop loyal, motivated people. Fair enough. However, remember that…

ProTIP: My Very Best People stayed with me long-term because of their emotional connection to our company (and me too, I guess) 🙄 along with their pride in being part of “something bigger than themselves”! But even these quality folks responded to smart, fair, transparent pay systems.

After a lot of introspective reflection, I came up with a totally new compensation system. We called it the Employee Efficiency Bonus (EEB). Basically, each employee earned a fair hourly base compensation. Then to increase their pay (and get more praise) they would get rewarded—and occasionally penalized—based on their performance.

If a worker rocked it, they got public recognition and a solid bonus. If they slacked off, well… the “consequences”🫣 came at them fast. (Heck, that kind of sounds like… LIFE!)

As I told one technician, “You want a raise? Perfect. With our EEB, you control your raise every pay period.” The result?

My Very Best People absolutely loved the EEB.

But then my EEB hit a snag. When compensation was based on totally on individual performance, it quickly turned into whispering, bickering, and lots of “the office is giving you all the great jobs and I get garbage” drama! 😡

All this posturing, suspicion and envy threatened to kill the culture I was trying to grow. I didn’t want a bunch of selfish, me-focused techs working for me—I wanted a crew that was a team focused on common goals!

So, I shifted gears and added another system: a shared Employee Efficiency Bonus Pool (EEBP) for each team. The EEBP introduced team incentives that created what I call “Positive Peer Pressure.” (PPP)

Now, when one guy kept losing tools, it wasn’t just his problem—it was money coming out of the whole team’s EEB pool. So, his teammates stepped in: “Bill, you’re killing our bonus. Suck it up, man.” 😈 And let me tell you—this PPP was way more effective than me screaming at my workers!

Even more importantly, the EEBP wasn’t only about penalties. It also rewarded crews for working together efficiently. 😁For example…

As part of our internal pricing process, we would normally set a reasonable target time for a big job—say a large residential project or a restoration loss—and beforehand we would post the projected workers’ target production hours.

Now if the team coordinated well and beat the target, (while keeping the client happy) everyone shared the extra profit.💲💲💲 Those were good days. That’s when I saw real teamwork, not the forced kind.

To make it stick, we shared EEBP updates constantly. Weekly team meetings were perfect for this. Transparency kept the momentum rolling. However…

THREE WARNINGS when it comes to employee compensation changes:

1) Legal. Be sure to have a labor attorney review your compensation adjustments. Even when you’re convinced your payroll modifications are a) logical, b) legal and c) better for your employees… better safe than sorry.

2) Avoid impulsivity. ALWAYS be positive your changes will work for your workers AND your company. It is extremely frustrating for your staff to have a new compensation structure announced with great fanfare and then two weeks later- you’re tweaking it again! 😡

3) Prepare yourself for initial rejection. Speaking of frustration, be prepared for employee suspicion and pushback initially. (This happens even if you sincerely are trying to be “Mr. Nice Guy” with your pay changes.) 😥 We all instinctively resist change- even if said changes will benefit us! 🙄

However, once we dialed in our EEBP team incentives and let Positive Peer Pressure do its thing, our whole operation changed. Teammates corrected each other, encouraged each other, and pushed for better results—without me stirring the pot!

NOTE: I’ll delve deeper into the nuts and bolts of the EEBP in a future KickStart.

That’s when I realized I wasn’t just paying people… I was building a culture that transformed my residential services company into a smoothly running Critical Mass Business that let me achieve the ever-elusive Personal Freedom!

KickStart: Sort your prospects. Then text a personal message to every contact the evening after you talked. Then call your “Hot Prospects” within 48 hours. Don’t give up!

WOW! I can’t believe it! Finally, we’ve arrived at my Part 5 (and last) missive on “Successful Home Expos for a Residential Services Provider”!

If you’ve read and implemented the four previous sections (check out the links at the bottom of this message) … CONGRATULATIONS! 🪇🎊🎉💐🎈 You’re well on the way to developing tons of qualified, pre-sold homeowner leads! WOO-HOO! 👍👍

But WAIT! What’s the key word above? “LEADS”! And here’s the shocking truth:

Most contractors will generate between 100 to 400 solid leads at a home expo, then let them rot away from poor to zero follow-up! Sad but true! 🫣😥

💡Listen carefully, folks: Your follow-up strategy will determine if your Home Expo efforts provide a great ROI 💲or just be a costly and exhausting bust! 😫

Sure, the gold standard is to book an eager homeowner right there at the home expo! Yeah right! 🙄 Seriously? Most of the time, attendees can’t focus (or even hear) with all the hoopla going on!

ProTIP: When having an in-depth conversation, ask your prospect if you can take notes while pulling out a small 3” x 4” leather-bound pocket notebook. (Small is less intimidating, and you won’t be tempted to set it down.)

You’re taking notes for two reasons: 1) It is extremely flattering for you to take notes on what a homeowner is saying. (But don’t overdo it.) 2) Detailed notes on the prospect will help you keep the details straight on each one so you can…

At end of day: (Or during the day while your thoughts are fresh.) Text out a copy and paste verification to your contacts after the expo closes for the day. The two bolded words are the only copy that you add to personalize this note…

Hi Bill!
Thanks for stopping by our Town and Country Restoration booth today! Your landscaping project sounds fascinating. I’ll reach out to you on Monday morning. Meanwhile, have a great Sunday! Steve

Your follow-up must start within 48 hours after the initial contact. (24 hours or less is even better.) Any longer and prospects start forgetting who you are and/or book with someone else.

NOTE: Sure, you’ve bought yourself a bit of time with the End of Day system above. But sooner is always better than later! Here’s the follow-up system that worked for us:

1. Immediately after each day of the expo: Sort your leads into three piles: Hot (requested pre-inspection), warm (general interest), and contest entries only.

2. Monday morning: Start calling hot prospects. Your goal is to at least schedule appointments within the next 3-4 days.

3. Monday afternoon through Wednesday: Call warm prospects. Offer a special ‘Home Expo Attendee Discount’ that’s good for the next 30 days. (To have the impact you want, a discount should be at least 15%.)

4. Thursday: Announce contest winners via phone (not email—you want that personal connection). Schedule their home services prize and use it as an opportunity to offer ASO’s. (Additional Service Options.)

Don’t get down! Don’t expect everyone to answer. You’ll reach maybe 30-40% on the first call. Leave friendly, professional voicemails, follow up with a text that includes a link to your website and your special expo offer.

NOTE: In both the VM and the text, it mentions you’ll reach out again. Then do so.

💲Employee bonus idea: Track which employees generated the most leads that converted to jobs. Three months after the show, give the employee with the most conversions a $200.00 cash bonus. This creates competition and accountability!

Is a Home Expo Worth It? The Bottom Line

Let’s be honest about the investment. A typical home expo will cost you:

• Booth space: $500-$2,000

• Materials and giveaways: $300-$800

• Labor costs: $1,000-$2,000 (depending on your setup)

• Your time and energy: Priceless (and exhausting!)

• After-show BBQ for all who helped out, along with their families! (This is important!) 🍺🍻🍷🍖🧺

Total investment: $3,000-$6,000 for a weekend.

The payoff? When done right, you should generate enough home expo revenue from past clients alone to cover your costs. Everything else—the 150-250 new prospects, the 20-30 commercial leads, the 200+ jobs booked over the following months—that’s pure profit!

Your long-term return on repeat clients? PURE GOLD!💖

Our average home expo (in a very small market base) generated over $70,000 in immediate bookings, plus residual calls for years afterwards. (Remember those check-style coupons? Some were redeemed a decade later!)

🗝️But here’s the key: That return only happens if you follow the system. 1) Home show analysis, 2) preparation, 3) booth action, 4) lead qualification, and 5) the fast follow-up I preach here!

Skip any one of the five elements above, and you’ll join the ranks of weeping contractors who bitterly complain that ‘home expos don’t work.’ What a bunch of whiners! 👎👎

Steve’s TAKEAWAY: Home expos work. The question is: Will you? 🤔 If so, aren’t there some local home expos you need to get signed up for? 😎

KickStart: How is your team going to greet, sell and sign up the throngs of attendees to your home expo booth? You need a system to “high-grade” people…

WOW! When I did a rough outline for a “why and how” series on Home Expos for a residential services contractor I never dreamed it would drag on for 5 articles! You neither, huh?🙄

But hey, we’ve covered a lot! Everything from doing a Part 1 reality check (on yourself and then the home expo) to the essential Part 2 Pre-Home Show Preparation. Plus in Part 3 we did a deep dive on Drawing Attendees to Your Home Expo Booth.

NOTE: My next Part 5 will wrap things up with The Follow-Up: Where Most Contractors Fail.But first…

You’ve worked so hard to get ready for this home expo. And hopefully attendees will be fighting to be a part of the in-crowd hanging out at your booth! But wait!

You’ll need oriented, motivated, sharp people to engage with and sell the attendees mobbing your booth! After all, you’ve invested a lot- now let’s get you a great ROI!

Here’s my home show staffing formula: Recruit enough people to always have “aisle staff” working in front of your booth (more on this in a moment) while passing on prospects that have more immediate interest to a closer. For a typical 12x12 booth, plan on 3-5 people minimum. Now for…

Steve’s controversial rule: Ban all chairs from your booth! People, I’m dead serious. Employees sitting around listlessly surfing their phones sends the wrong message. Here’s why…

Prospects want to see energy and ACTION! Keep everyone standing UP and engaging with attendees. (And no texting!)

How can you make this work without burning everyone out? Schedule short shifts and then a break. Rotating two-hour shifts ‘on’ followed by a 30-minute break ‘off’ works well. And yes, pay for these breaks, you cheap skate! 🙄 Your people are giving up their weekend for you!

Don’t have enough employees? Recruit friends or family members. Brief them on your key talking points, dress them professionally, and put them to work. They don’t have to be experts—they just need to be enthusiastic and know when to bring qualified prospects to you which leads me to...

Strategically Qualifying Prospects: The System That Separates Home Expo Winners from Losers

ProTIP: Not every person walking by is worth your key sales staffs’ time. Home expo attendees come in three categories. You need to treat each differently:

Tire-Kickers

These folks are just browsing, killing time, and/or collecting free stuff. They’re not “bad people”- just not in your target demographic (wrong zip code, renters, whatever).

For Tire-Kickers: Aisle staff should be polite, hand them a brochure and give them a $50.00 gift check or card (see #2 below), wish them a good day, and let them move on. Don’t waste time trying to convert someone who isn’t a prospect.

ProTIP #1: Don’t know where they live? Ask them… strategically! One way is you go first as in, “I live over in the Crestview area. What part of town do you live in?” The Principle of Reciprocity means since you trusted them first, they must now trust you! 👌

ProTIP #2: Approach attendees as they walk by (but definitely NOT while they’re in someone else’s booth!), smile, rech out with a check and ask, “Can I write you a check for 50.00?”

Once they have stopped (and they w,ill!) initial the gift check that states “Good for 50.00 in goods and services” and as you hand it to them mention, “If you don’t need our services feel free to pass it on to a friend.”💖

HINT: Always run a drawing. When creating your (short) drawing entry form include a line for their “zip code”. A zip code is anonymous enough that almost every attendee will give it up.

ProTIP #3: In your entry form include a box to check if they want a free pre-inspection. (And don’t forget lots of small clipboards and pens to fill out the entry forms.)

Warm Prospects

These are homeowners in your service area who show genuine interest. They slow down, ask a question, or engage with your display. This is your bread and butter—the majority of your leads will come from this group.

For Warm Prospects: Hand them a clipboard with your contest entry form. While they fill it out (it should take 30 seconds), start a friendly conversation. Ask about their home, their neighborhood, their current service provider. Build rapport.

If they check the box for a free pre-inspection, circle their name so you remember to prioritize them in your follow-up. NOTE:Either way, give the prospect an approved 50.00 gift check, initialed by the booth worker.

Critical point: Train your staff in your ‘desired demographics.’ If you primarily serve homes valued over $400,000 in specific zip codes, make sure everyone knows this. Your aisle people need to do subtle qualifying before wasting everyone’s time.

Hot Prospects

These are the gold nuggets—people who are ready to buy now. They’re asking serious questions, mentioning specific problems, or expressing frustration with their current provider. Don’t let these people slip away!

For Hot Prospects: Once identified, your aisle staff should walk them over to you (or another senior person) at the back of your booth. Here’s how to do it…

ProTIP: One great way to make a smooth hand off? Simply reply, “That’s a great question. Let me introduce you to (gesture and start walking) our senior engineer Chris Gripp. Chris, (gesturing) this is…” (pause here and they’ll interject) “Hi Chris, my name is Steve…”

Have a genuine conversation. Ask questions. Understand their needs. Create a great Moment of Truth by asking them if you may take notes. If possible, schedule the appointment right there on the spot. If you can, GREAT! 🪇🎊🎉💐🎈

After all, you have your prospect face-to-face! But at other times, a home show just isn’t a good closing environment. Too noisy, your prospect is distracted and/or has to go pee, their kids are yelling, they don’t have all their data, etc.

So in our final, part 5 of our Home Expo series lets focus on “The Follow-Up: Where Most Contractors Fail”… so you won’t fall into this trap! 😎 Oh, and one final reminder: Bring lots of business cards to your Home Expo… and use them! We’ll talk soon…

KickStart: How to get the best home expo ROI? A steady stream of attendees to your booth! HINT: More is better! (A crowd attracts others.)

NOTE: This is Part III in my 5-part series on Home Expos.

Welcome back!

This third article may be the most important in my series on “Home Expos for Residential Service Contractors”!

True confessions? I feel this way about every article I write!🙄 Doubt me? My Part I on a reality check on your company AND the home show was even better! No, wait- Part II on Pre-Home Show Prep was the best! Or this Part III even better? Read on and decide…😁

You’ll note the word “Strategically” in the title which means: “relating to a general plan to achieve a goal, usually with limited resources.”

Your home show goal(s)? To a) profitably book jobs and/or pre-inspections that lead to more work plus b) develop contacts for future work or referrals and finally c) to position your company as a reliable, caring and professional service provider.

Your challenge? To do all of the above since even the best home expo has “limited resources” of attendees. Time for you to plan “strategically”…

Creating ‘Action’ That Attracts Crowds

Never forget: In any home expo you are “competing” with all the other other exhibitors. Sure, you’ll be friendly with them. (Heck, some of your exhibitors may make great strategic partners!) However…

You need to sneakily stea… err, I mean “attract” THEIR attendees over to YOUR booth!

Your challenge? Boring, static, badly lit displays will attract… NOBODY! Instead, you need movement, ENERGY, noise, transformation- something, actually anything, that breaks through the glazed-over stares of overwhelmed attendees.🫣

So, time to get creative! For example, in my first home expo I instinctively knew our sad, forlorn, and very lonely booth desperately needed ACTION to increase our traffic!

ProTIP: Even better if this action is related to the residential services you are promoting! For example. in this home show I wanted to promote our carpet and rug cleaning services.) Then it hit me!

“Why don’t we demonstrate our superb cleaning services in ACTION? Guys, let’s clean rugs at this home show!” 👍👍

My team responded: “Great idea, Steve! BUT where can we get so many dirty “demo” carpets?” (It was a two-day show.) Then inspiration struck!

We promoted expo attendees bringing their area rugs (not Orientals or expensive rugs—nothing too complicated!) to the show and we’d clean them for FREE! Yep, we set up two truck mounted carpet cleaning plants in our outdoor booth space and cleaned continuously for two days.

The results? INCREDIBLE! Over 400 rugs cleaned in one weekend, with huge crowds of awe-struck homeowners watching the entire time! (Along with hundreds of grateful clean rug owners!) Why did this promotion work? 🤔

🗝️Key Principle: Residential services are “invisible” to most homeowners. Your prospects simply can’t visualize what you will do in their home.

But at this home show they saw the transformation happen with their own eyes right in front of them—in this case a nasty, dirty rug went in and… a sparklingly clean rug came out—they suddenly ‘got it’! 👍👍

The result? Our little residential services business booked over $70,000.00 in work during and immediately after this first home expo! 💲💲💲 It was a HUGE KickStart for us! 🎈💐🎉🎊🪇💖

Get creative!

You don’t offer cleaning services? No worries! Simply brainstorm what “action demos” your company can perform that will 1) attract attendees and 2) help them visualize your process and results!

💡 ProTIP: Involve their kids. With a parent’s permission put hard hats (with your logo) on the children, give them a (safe) tool to hold and then print out a color photo for mom or dad! Or have a ring toss or small corn hole game with prizes.

Steve’s Takeaway: Have fun! SHOW how you will transform their home as in “from problem to solution.” Before to after action. That’s what sells residential services! And of course, people attract people so obsess over attracting a (hopefully enthusiastic) crowd at your booth!

Of course, you’ll also need motivated booth workers to attract, qualify and sell your pumped-up home expo prospects. Let’s talk about this in our next chat on “Strategically Staffing your Home Show Booth”…