Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads

"Family owned since 1987. Award-winning technicians. Call now for your free estimate." That ad has cost the trades more money than any recession ever did.

Because the customer in a 94-degree house at midnight doesn't care about your award. She cares about one thing: the AC doesn't cool.

In the finale of this 4-part series, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Charlie Moger break down the single most expensive mistake in contractor advertising, talking about yourself, and exactly what to say instead.

Charlie introduces category entry points: the precise moment a customer goes from regular homeowner to "I need help right now."

Roy reveals the only two ways to differentiate in any market: be the cheapest or be the easiest. And he tells the story of an auto body shop that quietly owned its entire market for 40 years by doing one thing nobody else had the guts to do.

You'll learn:

• Why "family owned since 1987" is the most expensive ad you can run
• What a category entry point is and why it's the only language your customer hears
• Roy's two ways to differentiate: cheapest or easiest, there is no third option
• How one business owned its market for 40 years by removing all friction
• How to draft behind a belief your customer already has

Show notes and resources: https://www.toddliles.com/wizard

Listen and subscribe: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8pYaJ0HCm6cMXvxxJOi1

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/todd-liles-and-the-wizard-of-ads/id1803746748

All episodes: https://www.toddliles.com/wizard

Part 4 of 4 with Charlie Moger. Hosted by Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams.

A cow eating grass beat half the ads in the world.

That's not a joke. It's the research. And it means most ads (including yours) are paying a tax for being forgettable.

Charlie Moger calls it the attention tax. $12 million more to match the result a creative ad delivers for free. Roy breaks down why 80% of ads barely register and why nobody takes the risk. They unpack Gallery Furniture's $200M built on one promise, Apollo Plumbing's fluent device, and the VIBE checklist that filters every creative decision.

You'll learn:

• What the attention tax really costs you
• Why safe is the most expensive choice
• How fame is built at the contractor level
• Why fluent devices outperform ordinary ads
• The VIBE checklist: vibrant, interesting, bold, energetic

Show notes: toddliles.com/wizard

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8pYaJ0HCm6cMXvxxJOi1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/todd-liles-and-the-wizard-of-ads/id1803746748

Part 3 of 4. Hosted by Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams.

Every brand has a soul that should never move — and a story that should never stop moving. Most owners either change everything or change nothing. Both kill the brand.

Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Charlie Moger go deep on long-term brand evolution. Roy opens at the North Star — the thing about your brand that never moves. Charlie names the rule: principles don't change, tactics do. Roy tells the story of the most dangerous transition (from scrappy underdog to dominant king) and why most brands don't survive it.

They break down what every message needs to last: a big idea, nuts and bolts, entertainment, and hope. And Todd closes with the line that ties it all together: your brand is not a bumper sticker. It's a story. And stories that stop moving die.

You'll learn:

• The North Star principle: what never changes about your brand
• Why the diamond stays fixed but the story must keep evolving
• How to navigate the transition from underdog to king
• Why vulnerability is the only currency that purchases trust
• The four things every message needs — and why hope is the one most people miss

Show notes: toddliles.com/wizard

Subscribe & listen:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8pYaJ0HCm6cMXvxxJOi1?si=4d1d59a64a314905

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/todd-liles-and-the-wizard-of-ads/id1803746748

All episodes: toddliles.com/wizard

Part 2 of 4. Hosted by Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams. Ask your marketing team: what's the next scene in our story?

Your radio sounds like one company. Your Facebook ads sound like another. Your PPC team is off the rails. Everyone claims victory. You wonder why the phone isn't ringing. The problem isn't tactics. Nobody is conducting the orchestra.

Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Charlie Moger (a Wizard of Ads partner with 120+ trophies) break down what Charlie calls funnel coherence. Each channel has its own job and its own language, but they all have to say the same thing. When Charlie aligns the funnel for his clients, he sees a 20–30% lift without spending a dollar more.

Roy explains how he holds coherence by knowing a client's heartbeat — what matters most, what never changes, what to protect.

Charlie shares a puppet campaign that became an entire brand and explains why you could never copy it. And he names what separates big brands from small contractors: belief, discipline, and trusting the instruments.

This is Part 1 of a new 4-part miniseries.

You'll learn:

• What funnel coherence means and how it works top to bottom
• How alignment drives a 20–30% lift without more spend
• Why total alignment is the wrong goal — coherence is different
• What separates big brands from small contractors
• The one question to ask everyone who touches your advertising: Are we coherent?

Show notes: toddliles.com/wizard

Subscribe & listen:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8pYaJ0HCm6cMXvxxJOi1?si=4d1d59a64a314905

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/todd-liles-and-the-wizard-of-ads/id1803746748

All episodes: toddliles.com/wizard

Your marketing company is reporting blended data. It looks fine. But when you separate branded search from unbranded search, the numbers tell a very different story.

Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Jake Williams close out this 4-part miniseries by pulling apart the data most marketing companies don't want you to see. One real company, three cities, same week — branded keywords generated $49,400 in profit while unbranded lost $8,299. Jake walks through three independent data sets that all confirm the same pattern. Roy explains why unbranded keywords are an addiction most companies can't quit. And Todd closes with a direct challenge: if you're questioning your data, trust that instinct.

This episode includes charts and data visualizations — check the YouTube channel to see them.

You'll learn:

• Why blended search reports hide the weakness of your unbranded spend
• What happened when branded and unbranded were finally separated — same company, same week
• Why unbranded costs $792 per customer while branded costs as low as $23
• How AI and zero-click search will change who gets recommended
• The one question to ask your marketing company that reveals whether they're telling you the truth

Show notes and data sources: toddliles.com/wizard

Subscribe & listen: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1j8pYaJ0HCm6cMXvxxJOi1?si=4d1d59a64a314905 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/todd-liles-and-the-wizard-of-ads/id1803746748 All episodes: toddliles.com/Wizard

Many businesses believe their marketing success depends on targeting the right audience.

But the real driver of results is something far more controllable...and far more powerful.

Creative quality.

In this episode, Roy H. Williams, Todd Liles, and Jake Williams break down why emotional, consistent, and fluent creative has a dramatically greater impact on advertising performance than targeting ever will.

They explain why most campaigns fail not because they're reaching the wrong people—but because they're forgettable.

You'll learn why emotion drives response, how consistency builds recognition over time, and what it actually takes to create advertising that people notice, remember, and act on.

If your marketing feels like it should be working but isn't, this episode will challenge where you're focusing—and show you where the real leverage is.

If this episode hit home, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a business owner who's tired of blaming platforms and ready to fix the message.

Because the brands that win aren't the ones who target better…

They're the ones people remember.

If your marketing feels inconsistent, unpredictable, or fragile…

It may not be a media problem.

It may be an alignment problem.

In this episode, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Jake Williams explore why branding fails when media, technician training, and daily operations are not marshaled toward the same reputation.

This episode breaks down:

• Brand priming as gravity • The Chickening Out Period • Why most owners panic before memory forms • The 60/40 balance between brand and activation • Why performance marketing collapses without brand momentum • The Disconnect that destroys ROI

Branding does not fail because it doesn't work.

Branding fails because most companies quit before it compounds.

And because many promise "remarkable" but deliver average.

Reputation is not what you say. It is what the market experiences repeatedly.

If this episode sharpened your thinking, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a business owner building for the long term.

Connect with Todd Liles:

Website: https://www.toddliles.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/servextra/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trainertoddliles/

Full show notes and resources: https://www.toddliles.com/wizard

A lot of business owners think they have three marketing problems:

• Too few leads • Too expensive leads • Low-quality leads

But that's not the real issue. In this episode, Todd Liles, Roy H. Williams, and Jake Williams uncover the hidden fourth problem most contractors never consider:

You don't own the relationship.

If your business depends entirely on pay-per-click and performance marketing, you are renting attention — not building mental real estate.

Inside this episode:

• Why cost per lead in home services has risen nearly 88% in four years

• How Google's "Zero Moment of Truth" reshaped marketing strategy

• Why performance marketing feels measurable but isn't sustainable

• The difference between high-attention media and low-attention media

• Why brand equity lowers long-term acquisition costs

• The war chest principle and why discipline funds freedom

• Why short-term urgency keeps companies stuck

This episode is about ownership vs dependence. Because when customers search your name, you win. When they search the category, you compete.

If this episode challenged how you think about marketing, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with a business owner who wants to build something that lasts.

Connect with Todd Liles: Website: https://www.toddliles.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growbiggerfaster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trainertoddliles/

Full show notes and resources: https://www.toddliles.com/wizard

"Remarkable" is one of the most misunderstood words in business.

It does not mean flashy. It does not mean viral. It does not mean loud.

It means worth remarking about.

In this episode, Roy H. Williams unpacks how brands are formed in the mind — not in the marketplace — and why familiarity, consistency, and memory are the true engines of long-term growth.

You'll hear:

• Why people trust what feels familiar

• How repetition builds belief

• Why novelty fades faster than reputation compounds

• Why attention is temporary but memory is durable

• How enduring businesses quietly build credibility over time

This isn't a tactics episode. It's a shift in how you see marketing. And once you see it, it's hard to unsee.

If this episode sharpened your thinking, follow the show and leave a review.

Then send it to someone who's chasing attention when they should be building reputation.

Because businesses aren't built on clever moments.

They're built on remembered patterns.

📌 Connect with Todd Liles: Website: https://www.toddliles.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growbiggerfaster/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trainertoddliles/

🔗 Full show notes and resources: https://www.toddliles.com/wizard

Most advertising decisions aren't made consciously. They're shaped by how success is measured.

In this episode of Todd Liles and the Wizard of Ads, Todd Liles and Roy H. Williams focus on a single principle that explains why so many smart businesses make bad advertising decisions:

How you measure success quietly shapes every decision that follows.

Short-term metrics reward urgency. They push businesses toward fast activity, shallow wins, and tactics that feel productive.

Long-term thinking builds reputation. It changes what you buy, how you communicate, and what customers remember.

This episode explains why easily measured results replace what actually works, and how advertising drifts the moment metrics become the goal instead of the outcome.

Once you see this clearly, it becomes very hard to unsee.

If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe, review, and share the show with a business owner who refuses to be ordinary. Because in business, the bold win—and the remarkable reign.

📌 Connect with Todd Liles: Website | Instagram | Linkedin

🔗 Full show notes and resources: www.toddliles.com/wizard