Tommy Mello is the “home services expert,” owner of A1 Garage Door Services, author of “Home Service Millionaire,” and host of The Home Service Expert podcast. He shares why branding matters during the crisis, the system for consistent recruiting, and his secret to growing a multi-million dollar home services business.

Branding During a Crisis

First, Tommy emphasizes the importance of zeroing in on your message. What sets your business apart? Focus all of your mailers, websites, social platforms, ads, and vehicle wraps on having the same cohesive messaging. Now is the time to double down on your marketing, like increasing reviews on your Google My Business page and pay per click ads. 

“You know, I’m a big fan of direct response so I say do everything in your power. Get on Groupon, get on Living Social. Google My Business page is awesome, invest in link building (white hat preferably), and max out your digital footprint.”

Checks and Balances

Tommy says “inspect what you expect” meaning: you have to create checks and balances that keep you and your team accountable to the details that matter. You have to decide to be the best quality and that requires paying attention to detail. It’s not going to just happen. 

Recruiting and Retaining

Tommy is adamant that recruiting and hiring needs to be a constant priority, not just an emergency measure to fill a need. His process has several important steps that he highlights: 

1. He actually prefers no experience.
2. Post on Facebook and job forums.
3. Provide an eligibility form.
4. Have candidates take a Predictive Index Test (personality profile).
5. Complete a background and drug test.
6. Go on ride-alongs.
7. Pass four interviews.

Only one out of every five candidates will make it through this interview process, but that’s why Tommy is passionate about consistently looking for excellent talent. 

But just hiring the right people isn’t enough. You need to provide them with training and a game plan to win. For Tommy’s team, this includes detailed training manuals that are utilized daily, health insurance, vehicles, tablets, and financial incentives. He also talks with them regularly about the goals that are important to them and how they can stay motivated to make them happen, the big wins, and what’s working well. 

Teaching Great Customer Experience

1. Ask questions. Get to know the customer and do the job you came to do.
2. Have a strong follow-up process. This can be made very easy with the right technology. Take advantage of it!

When you train your team to make the customer experience great, your revenue will increase. Going the extra mile always pays off.

Looking to the Future

Tommy’s advice is to set your goals and then reverse engineer them to figure out how to get there. Act like who you want to be, bring in great talent to bring your goals to life, and never stop learning. 

“I found companies that I want to be like, and I flew out and I literally asked them a million questions. And I fly out all the time. I find these hundred and fifty million, two hundred million dollar companies and I go ask the owner a million questions and tell them how much I appreciate them. I send them gifts through Amazon. And then I listen to books, I listen to podcasts, and I’m always learning. Find out the company you want to be like and ask them questions and trust me, successful people will answer all of the questions you have.”

For more resources from Tommy, visit:

1. Book: “Home Service Millionaire”
2. Podcast: The Home Service Expert
3. Email: [email protected]