To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP174

 

Get your free budget tool here: https://trybta.com/DLEP174

 

We all know the standard KPIs we need to track the success of a business. Dollars sold. Dollars produced. Gross profit. Net profit. 

 

The only problem with these all-important metrics is that they are LAGGING indicators.

 

We find out about their performance AFTER the activity that drives them has already happened. They tell us whether we achieved the results we wanted, but say little about how to get those results in the future.

 

This is where LEADING indicators can be instrumental in helping you lead your team.

 

If you tell your project managers to raise gross profit next quarter, they won’t know how.

 

But if you tell them to keep their materials expenses below 15% by following a more efficient ordering and purchasing process. 

 

They actually stand a pretty good chance.

 

Today, Breakthrough Academy Coach Brayden Russell is on the show to break down how to turn your lagging indicators into leading indicators and orient your team towards success.

 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Get your free strategic planning tool here: https://trybta.com/DLEP173

 

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP173

 

Buying and selling contracting businesses is no easy feat.

 

Compared to buying or selling a home, the whole system is needlessly confusing and incredibly dated. It involves pen-and-paper processes, uninformed sellers, and brokerage-owned listing sites that look like they were built in 2004.

 

Our guest today, Morgan Tate, is on a mission to change this with a new platform called DealBuilder.co that centralizes and expedites the deal-making process for brokers, buyers and sellers. And he’s got a pretty interesting vantage point on how businesses change hands.

 

In this episode, we cover:

• The difference between saleability and valuation and  how to optimize for BOTH
• How to spot solid buying opportunities to help you grow through acquisition
• And lastly, the 3 most common deal killers - surprisingly obvious little mistakes that can squash a deal right before the finish line

 

If you’ve ever considered selling your business or acquiring another one, this is a must-listen.

 

Learn more about DealBuilder here: https://www.dealbuilder.co/

 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP172 

 

To learn more about the Think. Do. Say. framework and buy Ron's book, click here: https://thinkdosay.com/ 

 

Branding: everyone knows they need to do it, but very few know how to do it. Or at least, how to do it well.

 

I’m joined today by Ron Tite, bestselling author, speaker, producer and entrepreneur, to talk about his new book: Think. Do. Say. How to Seize Attention and Build Trust in a Busy, Busy World. 

 

According to Ron, branding doesn’t have to be so complicated. You can actually boil it down to three steps: think about what you’re promising as a brand, do things that align with those promises, and say things that communicate your promises in an interesting and relevant way.

 

Today, Ron walks us through how to use the framework to clarify your brand beliefs, align your team around them, and market yourself to your broader audience without losing authenticity. He even gives specific fill-in-the-blank prompts you can use to start thinking about your brand right now.

 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP171 

 

And don't forget to download your FREE Strategic Planning Tool here: https://trybta.com/DLEP171

 

To learn more about Matt's company, Five Points Roofing, click here: https://fivepointsroofing.com/

 

We talk a lot on the show about leadership. But today, we’re approaching it a bit differently.

 

Our guest today is Matt Parks, VP of Business Development at Five Points Roofing and the winner of Breakthrough Academy’s Leader of the Year Award in 2023. He knows a lot about leadership. Not because he wrote a book on it—but because he has worked tirelessly over the years to develop and adopt a holistic, human-centered leadership philosophy. And it paid off.

 

Matt is known in the Breakthrough Academy community as a strong implementer of systems and processes. In other words, he gets sh*t done. And he gets his team wanting to get sh*t done too.

 

Listen to the full episode to learn how you can use Matt’s approach to become a leader who is both more effective and more compassionate. You’ll hear about how this approach influenced Five Points’ unconventional sales and marketing strategy, created a united team, and helped Matt overcome personal tragedy. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP170

 

Download our FREE Interview Setup Call tool here: https://trybta.com/DLEP170

 

We’re back on the AI hype train again. Specifically, how can it help and/or hinder your hiring?

 

According to today’s guest Jonathan Whistman, AI is completely changing the recruitment game, and not just because ChatGPT can write job descriptions.

 

Jonathan is the author of The Sales Boss and the founder of WhoHire, a hiring solution for the service trades industry that uses AI prediction to help put the right people in the right roles.

 

Pretty cool.

 

But how does that impact the way you’re recruiting and hiring right now? What do you need to be aware of as AI becomes increasingly common in the HR landscape? Is there anything you can learn and apply from the data that’s been collected on job applicants today?

 

Today, we're covering all that and more.

 

Get in touch with Jonathan at [email protected] or connect with him on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanwhistman/ 

 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP169 

 

To learn more about Dave and WCP Building Renewal, click here: https://wcpbuildingrenewal.com/

 

We talk a lot on the show about residential marketing and sales systems, but the requests from commercial contractors for content they can use are beginning to pile up.

 

And that tracks. Landing commercial contracts comes with its own set of challenges. 

 

It’s a lot less catchy Facebook ads… 

 

And a lot more strategic relationship building 🤝

 

So today, we’re diving into business development and we’re lucky to have Dave Notte, Founder of WCP Building Renewal and Shack Shine, on the show today.

 

Using an incredibly dialed-in customer acquisition strategy, WCP has partnered with countless commercial property groups, residential property management companies, HOAs, and stratas over the past 20 years. 

 

If you want to learn how sophisticated commercial contractors court, land, retain, and build trust with huge clients that continue to work with them for years or even decades, this episode is a must-listen.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP168 

 

And be sure to download your FREE Ideal Candidate Profile & Job Posting Tool here: https://trybta.com/DL168 

 

To learn more about Logan and The Dream Clean Team, click here: https://www.thedreamcleanteam.net/ 

 

After wasting countless hours trying to hire good people the old fashioned way—vetting applications, interviewing, probing into skills—for cleaning positions with a shorter shelf life, Breakthrough Academy Member Logan Campbell redesigned his entire hiring and onboarding process using automation, thoughtful job descriptions and streamlined interview processes.

 

An owner of an AirBnB cleaning company, Logan knows the feeling all too well. His business, The Dream Clean Team, requires a HUGE number of people to get a lot done in a very short time window.

 

In this episode, he outlines how he set up his hiring process: attracting the right type of candidate, weeding out tire kickers, mass interview scheduling, onboarding, and even retaining A-players through gamification and performance pay.

 

If you hire positions with higher turnover or seasonal workers, this one’s for you.

 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PC167 

 

If you’re getting fewer leads than ever, you’re not alone.

 

A shifting economy is changing the sales and marketing game for contractors. Gone are the days of accepting a 25% ratio as par for the course. Frankly, you can’t afford it.

 

According to today’s guest, Kevin Donnelly from Webrunner, it's time to become obsessive about sales efficiency.

 

Kevin walks us through four ways to increase your lead-to-sale ratio—basically, how you can sell more with less.

 

Webrunner is a full-service digital marketing agency that only works with contractors. We’ve had them on the show before and, seriously, they know their stuff.

 

Let’s dive in with Kevin.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP166 

To download our FREE Strategic Planning Tool, click here: https://trybta.com/DLEP166 

Private equity buying up contracting companies is a popular subject lately.

You may have seen Instagram posts and articles about entrepreneurs who’ve struck it rich by selling their businesses to mysterious private equity investors.

But, what does that actually mean?

Today, we’re going to learn what it's ACTUALLY like to sell to private equity investors, from someone who's done it.

Over the course of 30 years, Steve Wheatcroft grew his humble landscaping business called Urban Life Solutions into a 30MM behemoth that - no surprise - caught the eye of private equity. 

After the deal was done in late 2019, Steve remained the CEO for another three years and helped the new ownership scale through more acquisitions to 100 MM.

And in today’s episode, he shares the unfiltered truth about what selling to private equity is really like. 

The good. 

The bad. 

And the ugly. 

And there is plenty of all three. 

Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To learn more about Breakthrough Academy, click here: https://trybta.com/PCEP165 

A changing market can mean fewer leads, slower decision-making, and lower average job size.

While punchy Facebook ads, a decent website, and a Google Business profile may have been enough to get the phones ringing in the past, passive marketing is just not cutting it for contractors in 2024.

According to today’s guest Sam Taggart, now is the time to try one of the most tried and tested methods of “getting in front of your customer” — meeting them where they live. 

Literally.

As the founder and CEO of The D2D Experts, Sam helps hundreds of companies build successful and cost-efficient Door-to-Door Sales teams every year, and today, he’s going to teach us how to: 

• Hire enthusiastic door knockers
• Build your own script using a proven framework
• Design a compensation plan for your D2D team
• …and more.

If you’re door-to-door curious or looking for a more active marketing channel to add this year, this episode is a must-listen.

To learn more about Sam and his door-to-door sales coaching, check out The D2D Experts: https://thed2dexperts.com/ 

 

 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.