How do we attract more clients and stand out against competitors’ businesses through effective marketing strategies and systems?   As today’s guest says, attracting qualified leads is hard, and landing bigger jobs can be tough. With all the advancement going on, there’s a lot more competition and challenges on the sides. But that’s exactly why he’s here today – to share golden nuggets you can easily implement. Join us as we learn from Matt Thibeau today.   Matt Thibeau is the Owner and Founder of Savant Marketing Agency, helping contractors systemize their marketing and sales process. He is one of the top digital marketing experts in the home improvement industry, an Author of Dude 2.0, and a Client Acquisition Expert for top construction companies across North America.   Through Matt and Savant Marketing Agency, you can get new ideas, new concepts, and new strategies, giving you results that make your phone ring, projects that make you more profit, and systems that save you time. So what are you waiting for? Have your note-taking tools ready, for we are about to drop mind-bombs on today’s episode of Untrapped!

    “In the beginning, the best things that you can be doing are gathering what I call proof assets, and that would be pictures; just snapping quick pictures of your work and really showing before and after pictures of the best thing you can show so someone actually has a level of comparison. Because when you just show an after picture, then people have nothing to compare it to. So, it is important to be able to show, like, ‘Hey, here’s what it looked like before—crappy, ugly lawn or backyard—and then here’s what it looks like now.”   – Matt Thibeau

    Topics Covered   00:00 – “In the beginning, the best things that you can be doing are gathering what I call proof assets, and that would be pictures.”   Welcoming today’s awesome guest, Matt Thibeau   03:51 – “I’ve always been interested in marketing, but I kind of just fell into the contracting niche. And so, I just kind of ran with it from there.”   Who is Matt Thibeau? Why is he doing the work that he does? How is he able to understand all the subtle nuances of what contractors actually go through?   06:37 – “If you’re going to be out and doing jobs, you might as well start building a portfolio. Start capturing those jobs that you’re actually doing. Just take a moment, snap before and after pictures, because what I call that is building out what’s called proof assets.”   Why is a portfolio a must-have when you’re aiming to get a lot more leads and position yourself as a credible business that stands out against the competition? How do you create before and after pictures for that?   10:04 – “What I like to tell our clients is get into the habit of some kind of system or protocol and how you go about doing a job or onboarding a client, so then you literally can have a checklist and be like, cool.”   Matt shares tips on the importance of getting into the habit of having a system or protocol that’s built right into every job. He also talks about getting into the habit of getting reviews and using that to attract more clients, highlighting why you should only ask for a testimonial when your clients are happy and excited.   16:19 – “A golden nugget that you can start implementing that I guarantee you not a lot of landscapers are doing is you can start looking for ways to get people’s attention by adding value into your service with something free that you throw in instead of discounting something.”   On giving out freebies, discounts, and warranties: Which is more effective if you want to get people’s attention and stand out against competitors?   18:46 – Want a FREE copy of Matt’s book, “Digital Marketing Secrets for Contractors”? Find out how and where to get yours now!   20:24 – “Google ads are going to be more expensive and more competitive. Just because it’s been around longer, there’s a lot more competition on there. But the thing is that Google ads is going to be a more qualified lead that you get from there.”   What is the best route to get into advertising? Comparing Google ads to Facebooks ads for beginners and close clients   26:35 – “What I see a lot of is people going way too wide with their services way too soon. If you’re a newer landscaping business, then stick to one or two things that you can really rock, and you’re the go-to guy for that.”   “Niche down, a scale that, become the go-to guy, and then start going wider”: The importance of niching down and focusing on one niche before going wide on your services   29:59 – Connect with Matt Thibeau     Key Takeaways   “If you’re going to be out and doing jobs, you might as well start building a portfolio. Start capturing those jobs that you’re actually doing. Just take a moment, snap before and after pictures, because what I call that is building out what’s called proof assets.”   “If you wait like a week later, and then you say, ‘Hey, can you give us a review?’ then you’re risking that maybe he got in a fight with his wife when you send that email, or maybe something happened in his family that’s just bad, or maybe he got fired from his job or whatever. Obviously, now, your review isn’t going to be the top priority, or maybe you’re risking that his emotional state isn’t going to be in the right state to catch him. So when he’s in that moment or she, and they’re saying like, ‘Wow, you’re so amazing,’ you want to catch it right there. You want to catch them in that peak state of excitement because that’s a window of time that’s limited.”   “A golden nugget that you can start implementing that I guarantee you not a lot of landscapers are doing is you can start looking for ways to get people’s attention by adding value into your service with something free that you throw in instead of discounting something.”   “In your first couple of years, Google ads might be something that might be a little bit further down the line for you. So then that means that Facebook ads would be a really good option to start with. Definitely, you’re going to have to have fewer quality leads that come through that, but you’re going to be able to get into the advertising game less expensively and be able to start generating your own leads and not just rely on referrals.”   “Niche down, and then really, really scale that and become the go-to guy for that, and then start going wider.”     Connect with Matt Thibeau   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/matt.thibeau/ Facebook Group: Renovation Contractor Success YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mattthibeau   Website: https://savantmarketingagency.com/   Connect with Keith    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thelandscapingemployeetrap Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithkalfas/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@keith-kalfas Website: https://www.keithkalfas.com/     Resources/People Mentioned:   My Website: Official Site Keith Kalfas Matt’s book: Digital Marketing Secrets for Contractors FREE mp3 download of Matt’s book: https://contractormarketingbook.com/ Savant Marketing Agency: https://savantmarketingagency.com/   Jobber: www.getjobber.com/keith Ballard Products: www.ballard-inc.com/ Jill’s Office: www.jillsoffice.com/