Help Your Team Earn More While You Profit More Too!

A smart bonus structure motivates your techs, sales team, and office staff to perform at a higher level—so they earn more while your residential service business profits more.

KickStart: Focus on A) what produces more profit and/or delights your clients plus B) which of these items a given employee can affect. Then bonus these things!

Wouldn’t it be GREAT if we lived in a world where every employee bounced out of bed fired up to work purely for the joy of being productive? But let’s be real—this isn’t that world. 😒

People are motivated by MONEY. And honestly? I’ve always preferred “money-motivated” employees over “emotionally draining” workers who need constant stroking and/or shameless flattery. 🙄

So instead of fruitlessly begging people to “care more,” (they hear “blah-blah-blah”!) I encouraged my team to make more money—BUT with a smart bonus structure that allowed me PROFIT more when they EARNED more.

Notice something here: I didn’t say give employees more. In my residential services businesses, I avoided flat-out raises whenever possible. Why?

Because raises are permanent.👎 They’re “set in concrete,” even when your business slows down or the employee starts coasting. That’s a terrible way to run a home services company.

A better way? Build reward mechanisms that let your Very Best People make more when they perform better—while also putting more profit in your pocket. Win-win! 👍👍

Here’s exactly how I structured it:

1. For On-Site Technicians

Your techs are face-to-face with the customer. They’re perfectly positioned to identify additional needs and gently offer Additional Service Options (ASO’s). (I’m not a fan of the word “upsell!”)

These ASO suggestions should come across as helpful and natural. How to focus your techs?

• Raise your prices so you’ve got room to reward performance.

• Pay at least a 20% bonus on ASO’s sold and completed.

• Train techs to gently build the job ticket—never pushy, always helpful. (We need to talk about this.)

💡 Important: Pre-orient your customers on ASO’s a) during their initial booking call and b) with your emailed “Getting Ready for Us” checklist. Do all this before the tech arrives. Your techs will thank you, your customers will feel prepared, and your average ticket will skyrocket.

2. For Salespeople

Sales pros should be paid on profitability, NOT gross sales. Otherwise, they’ll chase big ticket jobs that make no money. (Or worse!) NOTE: Don’t ask me how I learned this! 🙄

I recommend keeping it simple:

• Commission based on net job profitability

• Higher commission for signing a regular Service Agreement

• A small extra bonus when they secure Open Access for your techs. (This allows your crew to work without the homeowner babysitting them.)

This approach keeps everyone aligned with your company’s profitable success—not just their own numbers.

3. For Office Staff

Your office team has more influence on revenue than most owners realize.

For example, I bonused dispatchers for Additional Service Options booked during that first phone call. Their gentle ASO pitch can be as simple as:

“By the way, Mrs. Jones, while Charlie and Bill are there Tuesday, have you thought about ___?”

Even a small 5% spiff on extra work booked 👌 gets your office staff listening, recommending, and helping build bigger, more profitable jobs.

4. For Your Whole Team

I’m a huge fan of our HFS Worker Efficiency Bonus. This program does two powerful things:

A) Rewards the team for working efficiently together.
B) Holds everyone accountable when sloppiness or screw-ups start costing YOU money! 😡

1) Teamwork, 2) Efficiency, 3) accountability, 4) Reward—it checks every box. And hey! Totally by accident, Steve Toburen, the King of the Acronym (KOTA) just invented a new one- “TEAR”! I’m on 🔥🔥🔥! 😁

Yes, Your Best People Want More Than Money

A solid bonus structure keeps the right people motivated, hungry, and focused. But the best employees (the ones you want to keep forever) need more than cash.

1) Leadership. 2) Respect. 3) Growth. 4) Clear expectations. 5) Appreciation. Along with a stable, organized work environment. We’ll work on these soon! (Sorry, no acronyms.)😥

For now, start meditating on a bonus structure that rewards excellence instead of entitlement. Your team will love earning more—and you’ll love the extra profits and HUGE increase in morale! 💖