WEBVTT 00:00:37.450 --> 00:00:41.350 Welcome back hustlers. This is the podcast that 00:00:41.350 --> 00:00:44.929 helps you not only build your life, but build 00:00:44.929 --> 00:00:49.530 your business. Today we have a special guest 00:00:49.530 --> 00:00:52.570 coach Carol. We appreciate you taking time to 00:00:52.570 --> 00:00:56.890 be on our show. Welcome to the lawn hustle. Thanks, 00:00:56.990 --> 00:01:00.710 man. Appreciate you having me. Let's jump right 00:01:00.710 --> 00:01:04.790 in. What is the biggest mistake that you see? 00:01:06.189 --> 00:01:10.430 Small business owners making when it comes to 00:01:10.430 --> 00:01:15.430 sales and marketing Gosh, it's a loaded question, 00:01:15.450 --> 00:01:19.870 man I Don't know that there's one mistake that 00:01:19.870 --> 00:01:22.790 they make if they're if you're just starting 00:01:22.790 --> 00:01:29.189 out oftentimes Taking an employee mindset into 00:01:29.189 --> 00:01:32.909 an entrepreneurial setting means that you'll 00:01:32.909 --> 00:01:38.709 typically take your Your your cheap mindset meaning 00:01:38.709 --> 00:01:41.150 that oftentimes I see business owners step over 00:01:41.150 --> 00:01:44.549 $100 bills to pick up $10 bills They run their 00:01:44.549 --> 00:01:47.370 business just purely on a what's it cost basis. 00:01:47.370 --> 00:01:50.650 Not what's it get me? You know ultimately at 00:01:50.650 --> 00:01:54.689 the end of the day I See a lot of small business 00:01:54.689 --> 00:01:56.730 owners when they start out they stay small for 00:01:56.730 --> 00:02:00.870 far too long either because they play small or 00:02:01.209 --> 00:02:03.069 They don't truly believe in themselves. Right. 00:02:03.209 --> 00:02:05.209 And that was one of the like the first lessons 00:02:05.209 --> 00:02:06.769 I had to learn is that you have to believe in 00:02:06.769 --> 00:02:10.229 yourself, especially when nobody else does, because 00:02:10.229 --> 00:02:14.050 the world will give you endless reasons why you 00:02:14.050 --> 00:02:17.150 shouldn't go out there and make a million dollars 00:02:17.150 --> 00:02:19.710 with your little lawn care business. Like my 00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:21.409 guidance counselor, my chemistry teacher told 00:02:21.409 --> 00:02:23.229 me my senior year of high school when I started 00:02:23.229 --> 00:02:27.189 my lawn care business. But, you know, you only 00:02:27.189 --> 00:02:30.090 need to believe in yourself because You're the 00:02:30.090 --> 00:02:32.330 only one that needs to be right. And oftentimes 00:02:32.330 --> 00:02:35.129 what I find in business is that most businesses 00:02:35.129 --> 00:02:39.250 don't fail. It's actually the entrepreneur just 00:02:39.250 --> 00:02:43.449 gives up. Right. Very, very seldom do businesses 00:02:43.449 --> 00:02:47.289 fail because they like run out of money or, you 00:02:47.289 --> 00:02:49.370 know, they close up shop. It's just it's the 00:02:49.370 --> 00:02:51.389 it's the entrepreneur throwing the towel in at 00:02:51.389 --> 00:02:53.710 the end of the day. And so, you know, those are 00:02:53.710 --> 00:02:55.629 those are probably I know that's not just one, 00:02:55.810 --> 00:02:58.050 but that was a tough question to start off with. 00:03:00.009 --> 00:03:05.150 Well at what point should a business owner stop 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:10.710 winging it and Build a real -cell system in their 00:03:10.710 --> 00:03:14.650 organization. Oh fuck day one man winging it 00:03:14.650 --> 00:03:17.289 doesn't help you in business, you know, there's 00:03:17.289 --> 00:03:21.039 a There's this little technology you guys may 00:03:21.039 --> 00:03:23.080 have heard of called artificial intelligence 00:03:23.080 --> 00:03:26.900 that's come along here recently that has really 00:03:26.900 --> 00:03:30.740 allowed small businesses to compete with big 00:03:30.740 --> 00:03:33.780 businesses. I talk about this in my book, The 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:37.539 Hunterhead Game. I call it the the access attention 00:03:37.539 --> 00:03:41.520 AI framework. And so in small businesses, there's 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:43.759 really been three technological waves that have 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.759 hit them. The first one was access, which was 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:48.969 the Internet. you know, it allowed the free flowing 00:03:48.969 --> 00:03:50.629 of information. You know, if you wanted to start 00:03:50.629 --> 00:03:52.810 a lawn care company 40 years ago, you had to 00:03:52.810 --> 00:03:54.669 go to the library and check out a book about 00:03:54.669 --> 00:03:56.990 it, or you had to find a mentor to study under, 00:03:57.110 --> 00:04:00.669 right, be a mentee. That still works today. But 00:04:00.669 --> 00:04:02.150 with the internet, you can do a thing called 00:04:02.150 --> 00:04:04.289 a Google search or Ask Jeeves. If you guys remember 00:04:04.289 --> 00:04:06.849 ask .com, you can go in there and ask questions, 00:04:06.889 --> 00:04:08.469 you would find information. So it allowed you 00:04:08.469 --> 00:04:10.750 to have information at your fingertips and it 00:04:10.750 --> 00:04:14.550 removed the gatekeepers to keep people from getting 00:04:14.550 --> 00:04:16.980 access to the information. The next wave that 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:19.600 came along was the attention wave and that's 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:21.980 social media. And for the first time ever, small 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:25.699 business owners could talk directly to their 00:04:25.699 --> 00:04:28.120 prospects and customers. You didn't have to pay 00:04:28.120 --> 00:04:30.519 the newspaper, the radio station, the television 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:33.139 station any longer. You can make content, do 00:04:33.139 --> 00:04:35.740 a podcast like we're doing here and talk directly 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:38.980 to your customers. And I thought, I think that 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.660 was like the biggest thing to happen until AI 00:04:41.660 --> 00:04:45.290 came along. The difference between AI and like 00:04:45.290 --> 00:04:47.410 software or automation, right? Creating, talking 00:04:47.410 --> 00:04:49.290 about winging it, right? Like the first thing 00:04:49.290 --> 00:04:50.910 you'll do is you'll go to a conference, you'll 00:04:50.910 --> 00:04:52.850 listen to a podcast and some business guy will 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:56.069 tell you, you need systems, you need SOPs, standard 00:04:56.069 --> 00:04:59.529 operating procedures or playbooks. And you're 00:04:59.529 --> 00:05:01.589 like, cool, man. And then you go back and you 00:05:01.589 --> 00:05:03.910 like, document it. You write it all out. You 00:05:03.910 --> 00:05:06.110 have a playbook and teach the human. It's like, 00:05:06.129 --> 00:05:09.089 hey, on Friday, we clean out the truck. We clean 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:11.410 out the trailer. We fill up all the gas cans. 00:05:11.430 --> 00:05:13.829 We're ready to roll on Monday. And then what 00:05:13.829 --> 00:05:16.970 happens? Human nature. You show up on Monday. 00:05:17.310 --> 00:05:18.910 The truck's not cleaned out. The trailer's still 00:05:18.910 --> 00:05:21.730 a mess. The gas cans are empty. And so what happens 00:05:21.730 --> 00:05:24.149 is, you know, software came along and it said, 00:05:24.209 --> 00:05:26.329 well, we'll put an app on your phone for all 00:05:26.329 --> 00:05:28.610 your guys to use and they'll check off the checklist. 00:05:28.629 --> 00:05:31.550 And then Friday afternoon, you'll know if they 00:05:31.550 --> 00:05:34.850 did the SOP. And so software came in and kind 00:05:34.850 --> 00:05:38.790 of like really created efficiency and lift inside 00:05:38.790 --> 00:05:42.230 of processes that are already in place. But artificial 00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:45.430 intelligence is creating efficiency and lift 00:05:45.430 --> 00:05:48.319 behind the labor. right like so it's this is 00:05:48.319 --> 00:05:50.779 where we are going to see massive impacts for 00:05:50.779 --> 00:05:53.660 small businesses um but you know if you're listening 00:05:53.660 --> 00:05:55.899 to this and you want to grow your business guys 00:05:55.899 --> 00:05:58.620 i remember like i started my first business my 00:05:58.620 --> 00:06:00.939 senior high school turned on eight football scholarships 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:03.360 started on grass right now walmart weed eater 00:06:03.709 --> 00:06:06.329 and a Walmart push mower, right? I'm knocking 00:06:06.329 --> 00:06:09.370 doors. Dude, I couldn't even afford a backpack 00:06:09.370 --> 00:06:11.389 blower or a handheld blower. So I used a push 00:06:11.389 --> 00:06:12.889 broom to like sweep off sidewalks when I was 00:06:12.889 --> 00:06:15.509 done. OK, like the real hustle. Like I was so 00:06:15.509 --> 00:06:17.069 excited when I saw this come across my calendar. 00:06:17.129 --> 00:06:18.910 I was like, all right, man, that's my mantra 00:06:18.910 --> 00:06:21.569 is hustle. It's worth it. Right. So for the longest 00:06:21.569 --> 00:06:23.689 time, what felt like the longest time is really 00:06:23.689 --> 00:06:25.810 only like two seasons. I kept everything in a 00:06:25.810 --> 00:06:28.639 notebook, like a composition notebook. That's 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:31.100 not a system. That's not a process. It's better 00:06:31.100 --> 00:06:34.439 than just like hoping that your memory can get 00:06:34.439 --> 00:06:36.959 you by, but you've got to have systems. You got 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:39.160 to have processes. And I'll tell you where it 00:06:39.160 --> 00:06:42.199 really makes the impact is when you go to recruit 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:45.379 people. If people show up to work for you, right? 00:06:45.379 --> 00:06:48.120 Even if it's just like low man on the totem pole, 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:49.899 that's going to we need the ditches for you. 00:06:50.480 --> 00:06:52.180 He's only going to stick around for so long. 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:54.439 If you're a scrambled fucking mess, right? It's 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.519 one of those things where you have to have them 00:06:57.519 --> 00:07:00.399 if you ever expect to be outside of a solarpreneur 00:07:00.399 --> 00:07:02.740 from a recruiting standpoint and if you just 00:07:02.740 --> 00:07:04.560 like want to have a good quality of life so you're 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:06.240 not a frazzled mess running around trying to 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:09.379 remember everything all the time. You mentioned 00:07:09.379 --> 00:07:13.000 your book. Yeah. Tell us again the name of your 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.240 book and where can our listeners find it? Yeah, 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.300 yeah, so it's called the hunter head game So 00:07:18.300 --> 00:07:19.920 I got a copy back here behind me, but it's this 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:22.500 a little closer So you can go to the hunter head 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:25.759 game calm and the byline on it is the old world 00:07:25.759 --> 00:07:28.439 rewarded obedience The new world demands killer 00:07:28.439 --> 00:07:31.240 instincts Honestly here you probably agree with 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:32.720 me on this. I feel like in the past decade man 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:36.519 We've just gotten soft as a country as a whole 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:40.399 and it's became Acceptable right there's like 00:07:40.399 --> 00:07:42.600 one part of the equation is we become soft as 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:44.439 a country the other side of the equation is it 00:07:44.439 --> 00:07:47.000 becomes acceptable to become soft, right? Meaning 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.899 like, here's a pill for that, here's a shot for 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:51.519 that, here's a couch you can lay on and tell 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:54.060 me about, you know, why it's not fair that you 00:07:54.060 --> 00:07:57.339 won that contract that you bid on. But ultimately, 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:00.339 there are only two positions to be in. You're 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:03.339 either the hunter... or the hunted. And so that's 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:05.680 why I wrote this book. It is a wake up call. 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:09.579 It's a battle cry for the hunter that lives, 00:08:09.819 --> 00:08:11.620 I think, inside of each and every single one 00:08:11.620 --> 00:08:14.079 of us. It's just a matter of if we ever want 00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:16.899 to wake that up and dare to live that life of 00:08:16.899 --> 00:08:20.379 adventure. That is awesome. I'm going to be ordering 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:24.720 a book. Can't wait to read it. I have one coming 00:08:24.720 --> 00:08:29.180 out after Christmas. It's called Rooted for the 00:08:29.180 --> 00:08:33.210 Long Haul. how to retain customers in the green 00:08:33.210 --> 00:08:37.649 industry. Love it. So we have been working on 00:08:37.649 --> 00:08:40.269 that book is after you buy it, there's a link 00:08:40.269 --> 00:08:42.669 on the inside that you get the audio book for 00:08:42.669 --> 00:08:46.330 free. And then we also created a custom AI model 00:08:46.330 --> 00:08:48.409 that's trained on the book. So like after you 00:08:48.409 --> 00:08:50.830 read it, if you're like, ah, what did coach say 00:08:50.830 --> 00:08:53.309 about that apex framework? You just go and ask 00:08:53.309 --> 00:08:55.250 it and it pops it right up for you. So it's very 00:08:55.250 --> 00:08:57.629 makes it makes the book very interactive. Awesome. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:01.779 What is the most effective way a service -based 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:08.639 business Can generate consistent leads in today's 00:09:08.639 --> 00:09:11.960 world? Yeah, man, so I'll give you guys a couple 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:14.519 of ways that you can generate consistent leads 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:17.440 The first is like you just got to get more attention 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:19.899 around your business most small business owners 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:23.039 that I know They think they have a million problems 00:09:23.039 --> 00:09:25.100 in their business, but really the main one is 00:09:25.100 --> 00:09:27.500 just getting more attention Meaning that you 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:29.899 need more people to know who you are and what 00:09:29.899 --> 00:09:33.039 you sell, right? You can do this through old 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:36.139 school tactics, right? Radio, TV, billboard, 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:39.580 all of that stuff still works. It's just wildly 00:09:39.580 --> 00:09:42.580 expensive. The cheaper version of that is social 00:09:42.580 --> 00:09:45.980 media, making your presence known locally. I'll 00:09:45.980 --> 00:09:48.179 give you guys some free hacks. You should be 00:09:48.179 --> 00:09:51.080 spending five to 10 minutes every morning while 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:53.460 you're having your coffee instead of doom scrolling. 00:09:53.980 --> 00:09:57.309 Switch into your business profile. and go follow 00:09:57.309 --> 00:09:59.289 all the businesses that are in your community. 00:09:59.809 --> 00:10:01.509 And then what you're going to do is like now, 00:10:01.710 --> 00:10:04.129 instead of doom scrolling your home feed, you 00:10:04.129 --> 00:10:06.029 go switch into your business profile in the morning 00:10:06.029 --> 00:10:08.529 and scroll that feed now that you followed all 00:10:08.529 --> 00:10:10.330 of the pages in your local community and then 00:10:10.330 --> 00:10:12.210 just engage and interact with them. Right. Like 00:10:12.210 --> 00:10:14.690 this is one of the things we actually have an 00:10:14.690 --> 00:10:16.950 AI platform called Ali. We were going to build 00:10:16.950 --> 00:10:19.110 this into Ali. But what we figured out during 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:22.509 research and development was that the API, which 00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:25.009 is like the. the technical term to be able to 00:10:25.009 --> 00:10:28.570 plug into meta to do this, they do not let bots 00:10:28.570 --> 00:10:31.649 do this. And so it's actually one of those like 00:10:31.649 --> 00:10:34.149 cool little like nooks and crannies inside of 00:10:34.149 --> 00:10:37.429 social media that you can't really automate with 00:10:37.429 --> 00:10:40.149 bots. And so getting on there and creating engagement, 00:10:40.269 --> 00:10:42.809 I call it social media cold calling, right? So 00:10:42.809 --> 00:10:44.309 instead of calling the business and saying, hey, 00:10:44.389 --> 00:10:46.570 I sold lawn and landscaping services. Like if 00:10:46.570 --> 00:10:50.169 your Facebook page says Austin's lawn and landscaping, 00:10:50.250 --> 00:10:52.470 right? And you leave a comment on the local bakery. 00:10:52.789 --> 00:10:54.830 that just said, hey, this week we got blueberry 00:10:54.830 --> 00:10:57.049 donuts. It's a one -time thing for only this 00:10:57.049 --> 00:10:58.789 week. And you leave a comment. It's like, man, 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:01.230 those things look delicious. That's it. That's 00:11:01.230 --> 00:11:03.710 all you got to do. Now guess what? Now all the 00:11:03.710 --> 00:11:05.029 people that follow that page are going to see 00:11:05.029 --> 00:11:07.169 that comment. And you're going to get free brand 00:11:07.169 --> 00:11:09.669 awareness out of it. Took you 20 seconds, if 00:11:09.669 --> 00:11:11.450 that, right? So you've got to get more attention 00:11:11.450 --> 00:11:13.230 around it. And then the other piece of it, too, 00:11:13.549 --> 00:11:19.269 is there are probably places that once you get 00:11:19.269 --> 00:11:21.590 the attention and you start driving the awareness 00:11:21.590 --> 00:11:25.710 to your business, there's probably holes in the 00:11:25.710 --> 00:11:27.769 buckets that you already have. Okay. And what 00:11:27.769 --> 00:11:29.850 do I mean by that? There's probably phone calls 00:11:29.850 --> 00:11:32.429 that you're missing and there's probably website 00:11:32.429 --> 00:11:34.850 visitors that you're not converting. Okay. And 00:11:34.850 --> 00:11:37.350 so that's why I built Alley. Being a blue collar 00:11:37.350 --> 00:11:40.149 guy's background, right? Like my dad grew up 00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:42.649 with a frigging outhouse, right? It's like, you 00:11:42.649 --> 00:11:44.549 know, I come from very humble beginnings and 00:11:44.549 --> 00:11:48.190 I've had to work my way up. But, you know, my 00:11:48.190 --> 00:11:49.850 whole mission now is like to go back and build 00:11:49.850 --> 00:11:52.549 technology that helps small businesses, especially 00:11:52.549 --> 00:11:54.389 blue collar businesses, guys in lawn care industry, 00:11:54.490 --> 00:11:57.009 which is where I started, leverage the power 00:11:57.009 --> 00:11:59.429 of this technology so that they can do more with 00:11:59.429 --> 00:12:02.710 less. Right. And so Ali, our AI platform, she'll 00:12:02.710 --> 00:12:04.610 detect leads through your phone system. So you 00:12:04.610 --> 00:12:06.549 never miss a phone call again. And then she also 00:12:06.549 --> 00:12:09.129 lives on your website and she can identify up 00:12:09.129 --> 00:12:12.409 to a third. of the anonymous website traffic. 00:12:13.149 --> 00:12:15.289 So Harvard Business says that most websites only 00:12:15.289 --> 00:12:18.490 convert at about a 2 % to 5 % ratio. So that 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:21.690 means 95 out of every 100 visitors that come 00:12:21.690 --> 00:12:24.309 to your website, they're gone, man. They don't 00:12:24.309 --> 00:12:26.090 call you. They don't message you. They don't 00:12:26.090 --> 00:12:29.029 leave a comment. And they're gone forever. And 00:12:29.029 --> 00:12:32.190 so Ali allows you to get a subset of those people, 00:12:32.330 --> 00:12:34.129 about a third of them, so one out of every three. 00:12:34.399 --> 00:12:36.639 And we give you real personal level information, 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:39.299 so name, phone number, email address, home address, 00:12:39.620 --> 00:12:41.940 and then the URL they came from. So you know 00:12:41.940 --> 00:12:43.700 if they came from your Google ad or whatnot. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.279 So that you can actually reach out proactively 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:49.000 via email and try to start that conversation 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:51.799 while they're still searching for other law and 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.200 landscape providers. So, you know, that's my 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:55.980 thing is like send more traffic through the top 00:12:55.980 --> 00:12:58.100 of the funnel. But then also let's like look 00:12:58.100 --> 00:12:59.779 at the funnel and make sure that we've got all 00:12:59.779 --> 00:13:02.059 the holes plugged up so nothing's leaking out 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:07.289 the side of them. So let me ask you this Let's 00:13:07.289 --> 00:13:11.110 talk about converting leads into paying customers 00:13:11.110 --> 00:13:15.110 or clients I think there's a difference between 00:13:15.110 --> 00:13:19.009 a customer and a client customer is more of that 00:13:19.009 --> 00:13:24.730 one -time mulch job or that one -time head -streaming 00:13:24.730 --> 00:13:29.990 a client is something where you have Revenue 00:13:29.990 --> 00:13:33.610 coming in weekly from that person They become 00:13:33.610 --> 00:13:39.309 a client instead of a customer. But why do many 00:13:39.309 --> 00:13:43.590 leads fail to convert from a customer to client? 00:13:44.549 --> 00:13:47.029 Number one reason is speed to lead. Most people 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:48.929 wait too long to follow up with the lead. There's 00:13:48.929 --> 00:13:50.889 an MIT study that says that if you can follow 00:13:50.889 --> 00:13:53.129 up with the lead within the first five minutes 00:13:53.129 --> 00:13:57.629 that that lead comes in, you have a 400x chance 00:13:57.629 --> 00:14:00.360 on closing that lead, right? I love the saying 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:02.700 that oftentimes people buy from the last sales 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:05.019 person they talk to, right? And so if you can 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:07.659 hop on that lead first and close them, you're 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:09.659 the last sales person they talk to, right? And 00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:12.659 so I think that's the first one really is like, 00:14:12.679 --> 00:14:14.399 they're just slow to follow up, right? A lead 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:17.889 comes in on a Thursday. you're busy Friday stacked 00:14:17.889 --> 00:14:19.850 you take the weekend off and then Friday morning 00:14:19.850 --> 00:14:21.850 you try to follow up shit dude they've already 00:14:21.850 --> 00:14:23.950 found somebody right they found they found five 00:14:23.950 --> 00:14:26.049 other people right they got them quotes back 00:14:26.049 --> 00:14:29.250 and this is where I say like AI is super powerful 00:14:29.250 --> 00:14:31.330 same thing with like phone calls right again 00:14:31.330 --> 00:14:34.889 I think using AI to answer your phones and there's 00:14:34.889 --> 00:14:37.389 there's a dozen products out there to do it I 00:14:37.389 --> 00:14:38.789 think we have the best just because of the way 00:14:38.789 --> 00:14:40.870 that we train the model it's our own custom model 00:14:40.870 --> 00:14:43.330 that we built so she actually feels like a human 00:14:43.330 --> 00:14:46.250 but like being able to capture every single lead 00:14:46.250 --> 00:14:49.509 that calls your phone is ridiculously important, 00:14:49.509 --> 00:14:51.529 right? Because that mowers, dude, I remember 00:14:51.529 --> 00:14:53.690 that mowers humming. I don't care if your phone's 00:14:53.690 --> 00:14:55.169 in your pocket. You don't hear it. You don't 00:14:55.169 --> 00:14:57.450 feel it, right? And so you're going to miss those 00:14:57.450 --> 00:15:00.129 calls. And oftentimes, especially in the green 00:15:00.129 --> 00:15:03.279 industry. your customers on Google and they're 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:05.600 just going down calling people right and the 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:07.080 first person that answers it says yeah I can 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:09.259 give them your quote no problem that's probably 00:15:09.259 --> 00:15:11.700 who they're going to do business with so the 00:15:11.700 --> 00:15:13.840 thing I love about lawn care and landscaping 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:18.200 is that it is not a demand shortage industry 00:15:18.200 --> 00:15:20.240 meaning there is not a shortage of people that 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:22.639 need the service typically the constraint is 00:15:22.639 --> 00:15:24.379 on the supply side which means you just don't 00:15:24.379 --> 00:15:27.139 have enough labor to get all the work done for 00:15:27.139 --> 00:15:29.409 the customers that are needing the projects, 00:15:29.690 --> 00:15:31.289 the mulching, the lawn care, the landscaping. 00:15:32.149 --> 00:15:34.269 The beauty of that is like, that means there's 00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:36.490 room to raise prices, right? Until you get to 00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:39.230 a point where like 60 to 70 % of the people are 00:15:39.230 --> 00:15:41.090 like, whoa, that's astronomically high, no way, 00:15:41.230 --> 00:15:45.429 right? Like if you're not losing one out of every 00:15:45.429 --> 00:15:47.629 four jobs to somebody saying your price is too 00:15:47.629 --> 00:15:49.690 high, like you need to raise your prices. Like 00:15:49.690 --> 00:15:52.950 I was way under price for way too long. I actually 00:15:52.950 --> 00:15:54.490 had a mentor tell me one time. It's a funny story. 00:15:54.509 --> 00:15:56.710 I'll tell it real quick. I had a mentor named 00:15:56.710 --> 00:15:58.889 Ken Finner. He was out of out of Philadelphia. 00:15:58.929 --> 00:16:00.629 I met him back in the days of the Internet when 00:16:00.629 --> 00:16:03.029 there was online forums. This is before Facebook 00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:05.649 groups became a thing. And Ken told me he's the 00:16:05.649 --> 00:16:07.710 DJ. How much do you charge to go on? I'm like, 00:16:07.710 --> 00:16:10.789 at that time, my minimum was $20. He was like, 00:16:10.789 --> 00:16:12.809 how many people do you got at $20 a cut? I was 00:16:12.809 --> 00:16:14.570 like, oh, man, you know, I don't know, probably 00:16:14.570 --> 00:16:16.730 over half of my book of business. He was like, 00:16:16.830 --> 00:16:19.559 cool, double your prices. Like what? He's like, 00:16:19.559 --> 00:16:21.639 yeah, go to 40. I'm like, you're crazy, dude. 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:23.480 I'm going to lose all my people. He's like, check 00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:25.480 this out. This is how economics work. You could 00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:28.379 lose half of your customers. You're still making 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:30.559 the same amount of money, and now you do half 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:33.600 the work. And I was like, no way, dude. I'm going 00:16:33.600 --> 00:16:34.659 to lose everybody. He was like, well, here's 00:16:34.659 --> 00:16:37.639 the great thing. If they all cancel, you can 00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:40.279 then just call them all back and say, hey, sorry, 00:16:40.539 --> 00:16:43.259 we actually, that was a typo. You know, you're 00:16:43.259 --> 00:16:44.799 not, we're not raising your prices. Everything's 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:47.659 saying the same. So I did it, dude. I lost like 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:49.879 two customers and I was like, holy smokes, right? 00:16:50.039 --> 00:16:52.419 That's called price elasticity, meaning like 00:16:52.419 --> 00:16:54.500 how far can you stretch your customers on raising 00:16:54.500 --> 00:16:56.320 your prices? It's a way that you can just make 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:58.159 more money tomorrow without changing anything 00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:00.899 in your business. Super valuable lesson that 00:17:00.899 --> 00:17:02.519 I had to learn early on in the years. Now I know 00:17:02.519 --> 00:17:04.359 before you guys hop in my DMs and my comments. 00:17:04.380 --> 00:17:07.420 Okay. This was back in 2007 when I was driving 00:17:07.420 --> 00:17:09.690 the the ugliest truck in Kentucky and had a Walmart 00:17:09.690 --> 00:17:11.829 push mow and a Walmart weed eater, okay? Like, 00:17:11.829 --> 00:17:14.910 give me a little grace. Like, $20, you low baller! 00:17:16.470 --> 00:17:19.769 Yeah, when you said $20, that got my attention 00:17:19.769 --> 00:17:26.369 real quick. But that is so good. I think our 00:17:26.369 --> 00:17:30.329 industry and the service industry in general 00:17:30.329 --> 00:17:34.869 needs to start charging according to their value. 00:17:37.220 --> 00:17:41.759 And what they're worth if a customer If the first 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:43.579 thing that comes out of their mouth is how much 00:17:43.579 --> 00:17:46.220 how much is it going to cost? That's probably 00:17:46.220 --> 00:17:49.859 not my ideal customer Because they're more concerned 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:54.779 about the dollar sign Then they are the quality 00:17:54.779 --> 00:17:58.880 and the value that they're going to receive Yes, 00:17:58.920 --> 00:18:00.740 and no you have to be careful because there are 00:18:00.740 --> 00:18:05.059 four there are four profiles to to every buyer. 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.660 Right. And so if you have a high driver, right, 00:18:07.660 --> 00:18:10.180 like you if I have my like I have a guy that 00:18:10.180 --> 00:18:12.660 cuts our lawn out here at our farm that we live 00:18:12.660 --> 00:18:16.660 on, he was like really took a long time to get 00:18:16.660 --> 00:18:18.339 me to the price. Like I literally had to say, 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:20.200 like, well, how much is going to be man? Right. 00:18:20.240 --> 00:18:22.259 Like it was it was one of those things where 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:25.400 if you have a very dominant buyer, a high charger 00:18:25.400 --> 00:18:27.759 or someone that values their time, oftentimes 00:18:27.759 --> 00:18:30.069 you they're just like, hey, What are you doing? 00:18:30.250 --> 00:18:32.029 When can you do it? What's the price? Like that 00:18:32.029 --> 00:18:34.769 may be all you need, right? You know, it may 00:18:34.769 --> 00:18:37.029 be one of those things where and again, this 00:18:37.029 --> 00:18:39.230 is where you become better at sales is a great 00:18:39.230 --> 00:18:41.329 way to grow your business is just being better 00:18:41.329 --> 00:18:44.009 at selling people is identifying and understanding 00:18:44.009 --> 00:18:46.940 who that is now, you know. uh, Miss Margaret 00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:49.279 that lives down the road that's 72 years old, 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:51.660 probably gonna have to spend some time, build 00:18:51.660 --> 00:18:53.559 some rapport, build a relationship with that 00:18:53.559 --> 00:18:56.440 person, right? But the dude that is five minutes 00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:58.519 late getting home to meet with you to look at 00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:00.640 everything, pulls up in the Mercedes and shows 00:19:00.640 --> 00:19:02.819 up in a suit and is like, yeah, yeah, man, how 00:19:02.819 --> 00:19:05.140 much is it? He just values his time. So like, 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:06.660 don't be afraid of that guy, right? Cause like 00:19:06.660 --> 00:19:10.059 the, you don't, you don't always, uh, the customer 00:19:10.059 --> 00:19:12.500 doesn't have to match your pace, but you always 00:19:12.500 --> 00:19:15.240 have to match the customer's pace in a presentation. 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:17.440 And don't be afraid to ask for the cell. I see 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:19.420 that happen all the freaking time, man, where 00:19:19.420 --> 00:19:21.579 people just don't ask for the cell, right? Like, 00:19:21.779 --> 00:19:23.759 hey, he was going to be 45 bucks a week, man. 00:19:23.819 --> 00:19:25.339 Does that sound good? We can start next week. 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:27.619 That's all you have to do that. Does that sound 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:31.039 good? Or here's I like this or that close. Do 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:32.359 you want us to get started this week or next 00:19:32.359 --> 00:19:34.900 week? It's this or that. Would you rather be 00:19:34.900 --> 00:19:36.519 cut on Monday or Thursday? Those are two openings 00:19:36.519 --> 00:19:38.359 I got right now, right? You can use that. And 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:40.059 then now you're not even about the price, right? 00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:44.240 I say, Hey, you and if you really want to break 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:47.299 it down, like you can start annually, like as 00:19:47.299 --> 00:19:49.119 you're doing your presentation, right? So here's 00:19:49.119 --> 00:19:51.400 what this would look like. If it's a 30 week 00:19:51.400 --> 00:19:53.279 season, right? You're going to mow for 30 weeks. 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:54.819 That's why I love being a lawn care podcast. 00:19:54.920 --> 00:19:56.140 Cause I know the business I was in it, right? 00:19:56.140 --> 00:19:57.819 So I can give you guys some stuff. So if you're, 00:19:57.920 --> 00:19:59.779 if you know, it's going to be a 30 week season 00:19:59.779 --> 00:20:03.140 and it's going to cost 50 bucks, right? to cut 00:20:03.140 --> 00:20:05.400 the grass. So it's going to be 200 bucks a month 00:20:05.400 --> 00:20:07.220 for 30 weeks. That's fifteen hundred dollars. 00:20:07.339 --> 00:20:11.079 OK, what you can do is see if your buyer will 00:20:11.079 --> 00:20:13.599 bite on that. Some of you guys are doing weekly 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:15.740 pricing, weekly billing, monthly billing like 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:18.779 maybe you should just ask them to pay for the 00:20:18.779 --> 00:20:22.200 season if it's a smaller yard. Right. But you 00:20:22.200 --> 00:20:25.259 don't. Because you sell with your own wallet 00:20:25.259 --> 00:20:27.220 and you go, well, I would never pay somebody 00:20:27.220 --> 00:20:29.359 fifteen hundred dollars in advance for the season. 00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:32.859 Right. But here's what you do. You say, Hey, 00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:36.660 Mr. Prospect, on a property like this with our 00:20:36.660 --> 00:20:38.839 annual discount, you're looking probably about 00:20:38.839 --> 00:20:41.000 $1 ,500 for the season. Does that sound fair? 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:44.220 They go, oh, no, I can't do that. It's like, 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:45.980 OK, well, it's $60 a week then. We can put you 00:20:45.980 --> 00:20:48.240 on monthly billing if that's better. Right? Now 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.079 you're like, you baked in a discount. And now 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:51.960 if they have the coin in their pocket, they have 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:54.579 the $1 ,500 to spend, they'll go, shit, that's 00:20:54.579 --> 00:20:56.839 like $300. OK, yeah, I'll just pay the $1 ,500. 00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:59.259 Now, look what you just did. You accelerated 00:20:59.259 --> 00:21:01.759 your growth rate because you collected all the 00:21:01.759 --> 00:21:06.079 cash for the season now. So now that $500 in 00:21:06.079 --> 00:21:07.779 Facebook ads that you needed to run, but you 00:21:07.779 --> 00:21:09.940 didn't have the money to do, magically, you got 00:21:09.940 --> 00:21:11.980 three times that money that you can go get your 00:21:11.980 --> 00:21:14.420 next five or six customers. It's called pulling 00:21:14.420 --> 00:21:17.559 cash forward. And it's one of the easiest ways 00:21:17.559 --> 00:21:20.079 to get the cash flow that you need inside of 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:22.599 a seasonal business so that you can watch it 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:26.160 really, really quickly in the early days. I started 00:21:26.160 --> 00:21:29.880 doing that about three years ago, and I'm up 00:21:29.880 --> 00:21:34.259 to about 15 of my customers that pay annually. 00:21:34.740 --> 00:21:38.339 Yeah. And they pay the second week of December. 00:21:39.539 --> 00:21:42.640 That way it gives me a little cash flow in December, 00:21:42.640 --> 00:21:46.440 January and February. If we're not getting a 00:21:46.440 --> 00:21:50.700 bunch of snow, I still have some cash. So and 00:21:50.700 --> 00:21:53.000 another thing I'm wanting to get your opinion 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:57.259 on what about. 12 month building, where if you 00:21:57.259 --> 00:22:01.359 charge someone, you know, 1500, you just divide 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:04.019 that by 12 and charge them that every month. 00:22:04.299 --> 00:22:05.579 What do you think about that? Yeah, you just 00:22:05.579 --> 00:22:07.339 have to be. Yeah, you have to be careful. You 00:22:07.339 --> 00:22:09.900 have to make sure one that your contracts airtight 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:11.779 with cancellation fees and things like that. 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:13.140 Right. So you got to make sure your contracts 00:22:13.140 --> 00:22:16.880 airtight. You also have to make sure that you 00:22:16.880 --> 00:22:20.500 aren't so tight on your margins. that you'll 00:22:20.500 --> 00:22:23.539 actually run upside down right like on that because 00:22:23.539 --> 00:22:26.680 like you're now incurring a lot of cost especially 00:22:26.680 --> 00:22:28.720 if you're selling them an annualized package 00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:30.960 which means hey we're going to do a lot of landscaping 00:22:30.960 --> 00:22:33.460 plus trim the bushes twice a year plus do your 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:37.859 mulch in the spring etc etc The challenge now 00:22:37.859 --> 00:22:39.960 is like you could have a month that cost you 00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:42.980 like $3 ,800 and you only build them $2 ,750, 00:22:42.980 --> 00:22:45.660 right? Like that could put you upside down on 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:49.420 a cash flow problem. If I'm gonna do the 12 month 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:52.980 billing, I'd rather bill it quarterly so that 00:22:52.980 --> 00:22:55.099 I now have three months in on the front side. 00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:56.819 I know I got three months worth of revenue for 00:22:56.819 --> 00:22:58.819 that. Right. And then like you build it out quarterly. 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:00.960 We've played around with this because I still 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:03.200 own a power washing business. Like it's my lab 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.980 rat. We do some of the biggest apartment complexes 00:23:05.980 --> 00:23:08.200 all across the Midwest and Southeast. And we've 00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:10.119 watched stadiums and all kinds of stuff. We still 00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:12.859 have a residential division. And I tried like 00:23:12.859 --> 00:23:15.259 the ninety seven dollar a month. Right. A ninety 00:23:15.259 --> 00:23:17.539 seven bucks a month. We'll do two trips a year 00:23:17.539 --> 00:23:19.420 in the spring. We'll do X, Y and Z in the fall. 00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:22.190 We'll do X, Y and Z. And what I think has happened 00:23:22.190 --> 00:23:24.970 is because everything has went to subscriptions. 00:23:26.430 --> 00:23:28.450 The customers are like subscription now. They're 00:23:28.450 --> 00:23:30.329 like, dude, my plumber charges me a subscription. 00:23:30.509 --> 00:23:33.130 My HVAC guy charged me. My lawn care is the OG 00:23:33.130 --> 00:23:34.829 subscription. That's always been monthly, right? 00:23:35.269 --> 00:23:37.329 And so trying to add another one on top of that 00:23:37.329 --> 00:23:41.250 is a little difficult. It's also the reason why, 00:23:41.250 --> 00:23:43.150 if you guys don't know this, I'll tell your listenership 00:23:43.150 --> 00:23:45.569 real quick. If you don't know, you get a higher 00:23:45.569 --> 00:23:47.569 multiple on your business, meaning what's it 00:23:47.569 --> 00:23:51.750 worth if you have annualized recurring revenue. 00:23:52.450 --> 00:23:54.170 And it's the same reason why, like, if you go 00:23:54.170 --> 00:23:56.809 to Verizon, you know, I recently upgraded to 00:23:56.809 --> 00:23:59.990 the newest iPhone. I'm like, hey, man, how much 00:23:59.990 --> 00:24:01.789 have I just paid cash? Like, it's the same price. 00:24:01.849 --> 00:24:04.009 I'm like, what? It's the same price. It's the 00:24:04.009 --> 00:24:06.890 same price if I pay you for the next 36 months 00:24:06.890 --> 00:24:08.630 of payments or if you just like give me interest 00:24:08.630 --> 00:24:10.849 repayments. And the reason is, is because that 00:24:10.849 --> 00:24:14.109 revenue is looked at differently. If it's a one 00:24:14.109 --> 00:24:17.109 -time cash exchange versus if they book it for 00:24:17.109 --> 00:24:20.150 36 months as recurring revenue, it's more predictable. 00:24:20.630 --> 00:24:25.950 So a little side note there. What is the right 00:24:25.950 --> 00:24:30.049 way to handle the you're too expensive objection? 00:24:32.750 --> 00:24:36.190 Thank you. I hear that a lot, but it's also followed 00:24:36.190 --> 00:24:38.789 up with, but man, does my property look amazing. 00:24:40.550 --> 00:24:43.069 So did next Monday work better for you or is 00:24:43.069 --> 00:24:46.150 Thursday a better day? Roll through them, man. 00:24:46.849 --> 00:24:49.309 You guys get so hung up on objections. You know, 00:24:49.410 --> 00:24:50.450 I'm talking to you. I'm just talking to listeners. 00:24:50.650 --> 00:24:52.890 It's like you guys get so hung up on objections 00:24:52.890 --> 00:24:57.309 that you take everything personally, right? It's 00:24:57.309 --> 00:24:59.289 like that one friend that like when you go out 00:24:59.289 --> 00:25:00.509 and you have a couple of drinks with them, they 00:25:00.509 --> 00:25:02.210 get a little argumentative. It doesn't mean they're 00:25:02.210 --> 00:25:04.069 a bad friend or that they hate you. It's just 00:25:04.069 --> 00:25:05.509 a little argument. It's not nothing personally. 00:25:05.650 --> 00:25:07.289 It's the same thing with the customers, man. 00:25:07.430 --> 00:25:09.769 If they tell you that like know how to handle 00:25:09.769 --> 00:25:12.230 it and that's the difference in being a pro closer 00:25:12.230 --> 00:25:15.150 and then just being an order taker right order 00:25:15.150 --> 00:25:16.750 takers are like here's the price do you want 00:25:16.750 --> 00:25:20.170 it or not a closer knows how to overcome objections 00:25:20.170 --> 00:25:24.730 and if you're really good you'll go get a testimonial 00:25:24.730 --> 00:25:27.950 from a customer that talks about how they spend 00:25:27.950 --> 00:25:30.970 a little more with you than they were anticipating 00:25:30.970 --> 00:25:33.029 but man are they happy because your customer 00:25:33.029 --> 00:25:35.769 service is over the top and then what you do 00:25:35.769 --> 00:25:39.109 is you put that testimonial inside of whatever 00:25:39.109 --> 00:25:42.529 paperwork you take, right? Like your three panel 00:25:42.529 --> 00:25:45.430 brochure or your sales flyer, whatever, right? 00:25:45.769 --> 00:25:48.250 And you make that part of the presentation, right? 00:25:49.049 --> 00:25:51.690 You show that there are customers that have said, 00:25:51.750 --> 00:25:53.490 man, yeah, they weren't the cheapest bid that 00:25:53.490 --> 00:25:55.049 we got, but boy, are we happy that we went with 00:25:55.049 --> 00:25:58.549 them, right? And so the highest level salesmen 00:25:58.549 --> 00:26:00.670 in the world, they make sure that they take all 00:26:00.670 --> 00:26:02.609 of the objections that they would possibly get 00:26:02.609 --> 00:26:04.769 and they bake them into the sales presentation. 00:26:05.310 --> 00:26:07.670 Another tactic is to get the nose out of the 00:26:07.670 --> 00:26:10.569 way, meaning that I will give them artificial 00:26:10.569 --> 00:26:12.289 nose, right? So like when I used to look at a 00:26:12.289 --> 00:26:13.970 property, like I clearly could tell where the 00:26:13.970 --> 00:26:15.910 property line would stop. But then I would be 00:26:15.910 --> 00:26:18.230 like, so do we mow all the way to their driveway? 00:26:18.549 --> 00:26:19.809 And they're like, no, no, no, no, no. That's 00:26:19.809 --> 00:26:21.569 not where my property is over here, right? It's 00:26:21.569 --> 00:26:24.250 like, I'm letting them say no for other things 00:26:24.250 --> 00:26:27.250 so that when I get them to say yes, it's not 00:26:27.250 --> 00:26:29.150 the first time they've said no. And so it's a 00:26:29.150 --> 00:26:30.990 lot easier. It's a little psychological trick 00:26:30.990 --> 00:26:33.450 that you can use on there. It's like, you know, 00:26:33.650 --> 00:26:37.990 do you guys want us to weeded, you know, only 00:26:37.990 --> 00:26:40.609 once a month or, you know, it's like, no, no, 00:26:40.609 --> 00:26:42.190 no, I want you to weed it every time. OK, cool. 00:26:42.269 --> 00:26:43.829 No problem. Right. It's like you get those nos 00:26:43.829 --> 00:26:46.190 out of the way. so that then when you ask for 00:26:46.190 --> 00:26:49.970 the business, they've said no already and then 00:26:49.970 --> 00:26:51.670 hopefully it's a yes, right? And if it's not, 00:26:51.670 --> 00:26:53.849 they say, well, it's too expensive. If you don't 00:26:53.849 --> 00:26:55.789 want to be like, well, I'm passing, say I hear 00:26:55.789 --> 00:26:58.549 that often times. Here's my second follow up. 00:26:58.809 --> 00:27:02.009 Compared to what? And then just shut up and let 00:27:02.009 --> 00:27:04.950 them talk, you know, hey, wow, man, you know, 00:27:04.950 --> 00:27:07.390 I don't know this thing, this quote, 200 bucks 00:27:07.390 --> 00:27:10.609 a week, that seems expensive compared to what? 00:27:11.940 --> 00:27:15.200 Oh, just compared to what I was thinking. And 00:27:15.200 --> 00:27:18.539 what did you compare that to? Because I know 00:27:18.539 --> 00:27:20.140 I went to dinner with the wifey last weekend 00:27:20.140 --> 00:27:22.660 and it was $200. So what are we talking about 00:27:22.660 --> 00:27:25.440 here? It's like, don't be afraid to be combative. 00:27:25.660 --> 00:27:26.920 Because here's the other thing. If I'm going 00:27:26.920 --> 00:27:28.400 to lose the customer, I'm at least going to have 00:27:28.400 --> 00:27:30.460 fun. I'm going to have a fun story to tell when 00:27:30.460 --> 00:27:33.720 I'm walking back to the truck. You can't be afraid. 00:27:33.880 --> 00:27:35.380 Because if they're not going to be your customer, 00:27:35.579 --> 00:27:36.960 they're not going to be your customer. What do 00:27:36.960 --> 00:27:40.480 you care? Well, let's take a short break and 00:27:40.480 --> 00:27:43.140 hear a word from my show sponsor, Eartha Pro. 00:27:44.400 --> 00:27:46.400 Tired of chasing payments and losing track of 00:27:46.400 --> 00:27:50.079 jobs? Eartha Pro back office software makes it 00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:53.000 simple for solo guys and small lawn care and 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:56.720 landscaping crews. Schedule, invoice and organize 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:59.380 all in the same place. We also have a mobile 00:27:59.380 --> 00:28:02.279 app and integrate into QuickBooks. Sign up at 00:28:02.279 --> 00:28:04.900 Earth a pro com with promo code the lawn hustle 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:09.779 11 for a $50 Amazon gift card 10 % off and personalized 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:12.700 onboarding Earth a pro you run the outside work 00:28:12.700 --> 00:28:16.279 we run the office. All right, we're back with 00:28:16.279 --> 00:28:20.400 coach Carol. And he has really given us some 00:28:20.400 --> 00:28:25.779 great information and strategies to help our 00:28:25.779 --> 00:28:29.279 businesses and help us as business owners to 00:28:29.279 --> 00:28:35.170 grow. our service business. Let's talk about 00:28:35.170 --> 00:28:39.890 some mind shifts. What is the biggest mind shift 00:28:39.890 --> 00:28:43.970 that had the greatest impact on your business 00:28:43.970 --> 00:28:46.930 when you started? Yeah, it was the very first 00:28:46.930 --> 00:28:49.329 lesson that I learned, man. It was, uh, you got 00:28:49.329 --> 00:28:51.309 to believe in yourself when no one else does. 00:28:51.549 --> 00:28:54.009 Um, you know, when I was looking at eight football 00:28:54.009 --> 00:28:56.029 scholarships, my senior high school and I'd started 00:28:56.029 --> 00:28:57.940 mowing grass and I was like, man, I'm making 00:28:57.940 --> 00:29:00.420 like four grand a month as a high school senior, 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:02.880 right? Signing myself out, working for myself, 00:29:03.339 --> 00:29:05.319 you know, co -oping as everyone else went to 00:29:05.319 --> 00:29:07.380 the factories and the offices in the area. Like 00:29:07.380 --> 00:29:11.500 I was co -oping for my own business. The guidance 00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:13.180 counselor and the chemistry teacher was like, 00:29:13.200 --> 00:29:15.200 you know, what are you doing? Right. They act 00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:17.779 like I was like throwing my life away. But I 00:29:17.779 --> 00:29:20.859 knew that If it didn't work out, I could still 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:23.960 go back to college, right? Oftentimes, the worst 00:29:23.960 --> 00:29:28.019 case scenario is really not that bad, right? 00:29:28.880 --> 00:29:31.500 Oftentimes, the decision that you make is not 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:35.660 like 100 % irreversible, right? Like most of 00:29:35.660 --> 00:29:38.140 the time you can reverse whatever you did. You 00:29:38.140 --> 00:29:39.759 can change course, might cost you some money, 00:29:40.339 --> 00:29:42.619 might cost you some time, but that's okay. That 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:45.859 is... that is business right there is not the 00:29:45.859 --> 00:29:49.440 sooner that you detach yourself from this like 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:51.839 expectation that there is a perfect way to run 00:29:51.839 --> 00:29:54.420 a business and it's done this way and then like 00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:56.380 we got a little bit of time and a long way to 00:29:56.380 --> 00:29:59.500 get somewhere when you can detach from that and 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:03.500 realize that this journey of business is endless 00:30:03.500 --> 00:30:09.339 iterations or changes to how you operate in the 00:30:09.339 --> 00:30:16.740 never ending quest for volume growth and max 00:30:16.740 --> 00:30:18.960 profitability, right? Because you don't like, 00:30:19.259 --> 00:30:21.440 you don't just like surprise, we ended up into 00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:24.420 profitability. That doesn't happen. By nature, 00:30:24.500 --> 00:30:28.200 most small businesses are not geared towards 00:30:28.200 --> 00:30:29.759 profitability because the more money you make, 00:30:29.779 --> 00:30:32.400 the more money you have to spend, right? So then 00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:34.619 what happens is eventually either that spending 00:30:34.619 --> 00:30:38.900 outpaces the earnings or you have a rollback 00:30:38.900 --> 00:30:40.960 in earnings, right? So like, uh -oh, we had a 00:30:40.960 --> 00:30:43.789 bad month. but the expenses were still high right 00:30:43.789 --> 00:30:45.569 so like you have to be careful with that but 00:30:45.569 --> 00:30:47.809 it's the it's that mindset of believing in yourself 00:30:47.809 --> 00:30:50.650 man like knowing that you can achieve anything 00:30:50.650 --> 00:30:54.150 like guys i'm telling you i was i was dyslexic 00:30:54.150 --> 00:30:56.970 right i tried to go to community college i dropped 00:30:56.970 --> 00:30:59.650 out after three semesters i was arrested twice 00:30:59.650 --> 00:31:03.240 by the age of 25 right? Like, and I'm from Kentucky. 00:31:03.380 --> 00:31:06.039 Like, if you say where are businessmen from Kentucky 00:31:06.039 --> 00:31:08.500 is nowhere on the fucking list. Okay. And so 00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:12.680 I promise you that if a dyslexic, twice arrested 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:15.440 college dropout kid from Kentucky can build a 00:31:15.440 --> 00:31:17.920 business and become a millionaire, so can you. 00:31:18.059 --> 00:31:21.440 It's possible. It's all in your mindset. And 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:23.819 that first shift is believing it. You have to 00:31:23.819 --> 00:31:26.420 be crazy. You have like, you have to think that 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:30.049 it's nuts, right? Like, you like, We've lost. 00:31:30.269 --> 00:31:33.750 I think I think we've lost touch with how crazy 00:31:33.750 --> 00:31:36.170 it is to have a million dollar a year business, 00:31:36.170 --> 00:31:38.970 right? Like we see all the sports cars on Instagram, 00:31:39.150 --> 00:31:41.710 the penthouses in Brickle, Miami, and like the 00:31:41.710 --> 00:31:43.730 kids saying, come join my life insurance team. 00:31:43.730 --> 00:31:47.789 And like it's so far out of touch that you need 00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:50.289 to understand that, like I think it's like less 00:31:50.289 --> 00:31:52.730 than 10 percent, like 11 percent of small businesses 00:31:52.730 --> 00:31:54.410 ever hit a million dollars in revenue, right? 00:31:54.410 --> 00:31:56.809 Like, OK, like if you ever get there, like you've 00:31:56.809 --> 00:31:59.119 done a really good job. But I'll also say it 00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:01.880 on the other side, that if you just want to have 00:32:01.880 --> 00:32:05.160 your lawn care business, because you want to 00:32:05.160 --> 00:32:09.420 make 150 grand a year in your pocket, work 10 00:32:09.420 --> 00:32:11.099 months out of the year, nine months out of the 00:32:11.099 --> 00:32:14.839 year, never miss a ball game for your son. Never 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:17.220 miss a dance recital with your daughter. Take 00:32:17.220 --> 00:32:20.460 a couple of vacations a year that you wrap around 00:32:20.460 --> 00:32:22.940 conferences so you can 100 % write the whole 00:32:22.940 --> 00:32:26.539 thing off of your active income. Like, dude. 00:32:26.750 --> 00:32:29.369 Good for you, too, because there's not enough 00:32:29.369 --> 00:32:31.430 people like in my position that call these podcasts 00:32:31.430 --> 00:32:33.750 and talk. They all want to like twist their mustaches, 00:32:33.890 --> 00:32:35.509 smoke their cigars and be like, you need to make 00:32:35.509 --> 00:32:38.069 a gazillion dollars a year. It's like, fuck for 00:32:38.069 --> 00:32:40.690 what? Like, what makes you happy, man? Like, 00:32:40.690 --> 00:32:43.009 if being happy is like taking care of your family, 00:32:43.089 --> 00:32:45.170 not being stressed about the bills, going to 00:32:45.170 --> 00:32:47.289 Disney World and like your kids want for, you 00:32:47.289 --> 00:32:49.849 know, nothing like within reason, like, dude, 00:32:49.970 --> 00:32:52.980 that's super fricking achievable. You just have 00:32:52.980 --> 00:32:56.339 to show up every day, right? I have this mantra, 00:32:56.440 --> 00:33:00.279 if you will show up with a positive mental attitude, 00:33:00.740 --> 00:33:03.839 you'll beat 90 % of the rest of the world. It's 00:33:03.839 --> 00:33:10.500 that easy. Well, how do you push through self 00:33:10.500 --> 00:33:13.960 -doubt when the results aren't showing up yet? 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:22.380 Yeah. So... I'll share a story with you guys 00:33:22.380 --> 00:33:24.299 because it's not all rainbows and butterflies. 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:29.440 I had a fitness center that I bought back in 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:33.819 the end of 2015. Over 18 months, I grew this 00:33:33.819 --> 00:33:37.720 thing 300%. It was on fire, man. We completely 00:33:37.720 --> 00:33:40.799 rebranded it. We were crushing it. And I had 00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:43.440 a real estate agent that I did a deal with. I 00:33:43.440 --> 00:33:46.720 was going to sell the facility. Long story short, 00:33:46.740 --> 00:33:48.099 I can't talk about too many of the details because 00:33:48.099 --> 00:33:50.750 there was a lawsuit that happened with it. At 00:33:50.750 --> 00:33:53.430 27 years old, I ended up losing a half a million 00:33:53.430 --> 00:33:55.329 dollars worth of real estate and a six figure 00:33:55.329 --> 00:33:58.190 business. That business is what put my net worth 00:33:58.190 --> 00:34:00.309 over a million dollars. I had a goal that I was 00:34:00.309 --> 00:34:03.609 going to be a millionaire by age 30. I had it 00:34:03.609 --> 00:34:10.750 by 26. I lost it by 27. And so for me, that was 00:34:10.750 --> 00:34:13.449 a very tough time. It challenged me mentally, 00:34:13.449 --> 00:34:17.409 but I also realized during all of that, that 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:22.800 If you don't give up, you don't lose. That's 00:34:22.800 --> 00:34:25.679 the beauty of business. You can play this game 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:30.260 for till you're 80, right? Like go watch CNBC 00:34:30.260 --> 00:34:32.840 in the mornings. They have like the Barry Dillards 00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:34.500 on these dudes that are in their 80s, right? 00:34:34.539 --> 00:34:36.539 They've just played this game for their whole 00:34:36.539 --> 00:34:39.739 life. it's not like pro sports like you know 00:34:39.739 --> 00:34:42.480 me like I'm an Indianapolis Colts fans like we 00:34:42.480 --> 00:34:44.840 got Philip Rivers again he's 44 years old so 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:46.940 I guess you could play till you're 40 in the 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:50.000 NFL now but you know it's like and then you're 00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:53.820 done right the beauty about business I think 00:34:53.820 --> 00:34:57.139 is that it has such a long time horizon and you 00:34:57.139 --> 00:35:00.150 guys have all heard that quote like we uh, underestimate 00:35:00.150 --> 00:35:03.110 what we can do in 10 years, but we overestimate 00:35:03.110 --> 00:35:05.050 what we can do in a year. It's the same thing 00:35:05.050 --> 00:35:07.250 on this man. Um, and that's why when I started 00:35:07.250 --> 00:35:09.849 building my personal brand online, I just completely 00:35:09.849 --> 00:35:12.409 detached from the numbers, right? Like I, I said, 00:35:12.550 --> 00:35:15.269 Hey, I know that coaches and speakers really 00:35:15.269 --> 00:35:16.969 don't pop off until they're in their like mid 00:35:16.969 --> 00:35:20.360 to late forties. So like, I was 25 at the time, 00:35:20.559 --> 00:35:23.239 like I got all the time in the world. And so 00:35:23.239 --> 00:35:25.659 when I didn't see the results fast, it just stuck 00:35:25.659 --> 00:35:28.340 to the plan. And I'll also tell you, man, like 00:35:28.340 --> 00:35:30.880 I'm a man of faith. And so like trusting that 00:35:30.880 --> 00:35:34.539 God has a plan for me and what's been beautiful 00:35:34.539 --> 00:35:37.780 is like the closer I get to God, like. the better 00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:40.039 the outcome becomes right it's like whoa i did 00:35:40.039 --> 00:35:42.380 not plan for any of this stuff over here right 00:35:42.380 --> 00:35:44.920 it's like this was my plan like this over here 00:35:44.920 --> 00:35:47.159 was god's plan for me which is pretty cool and 00:35:47.159 --> 00:35:49.239 i'm no theologian by any stretch of the imagination 00:35:49.239 --> 00:35:54.659 but um i i think when things are tough oftentimes 00:35:54.659 --> 00:35:56.699 you got to look at yourself and make sure that 00:35:56.699 --> 00:36:01.039 you're putting out maximum output, maximum effort. 00:36:01.059 --> 00:36:02.699 Like you're doing what you're supposed to be 00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:05.199 doing. Right. My basketball coach back in high 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:07.159 school used to always say it's physical fitness 00:36:07.159 --> 00:36:09.099 and mental toughness is what wins championships. 00:36:09.099 --> 00:36:11.079 Right. So like are you taking care of yourself 00:36:11.079 --> 00:36:12.960 and are you put in and putting in the work if 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:16.320 you are then, you know, maybe take a different 00:36:16.320 --> 00:36:18.280 approach. There might be some iterations. That's 00:36:18.280 --> 00:36:20.400 why I say, man, it's like business is not one 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:22.739 way to the promised land. Like there are multiple 00:36:22.739 --> 00:36:24.300 ways to get to the top of the mountains and you're 00:36:24.300 --> 00:36:29.420 always trying to change and tweak that. But I 00:36:29.420 --> 00:36:31.739 also think that this is this question here is 00:36:31.739 --> 00:36:35.099 one of the absolute pinnacle reasons of why you 00:36:35.099 --> 00:36:37.980 need a tribe. Like you got to have other entrepreneurs 00:36:37.980 --> 00:36:40.119 in your life, because if not, if you're trying 00:36:40.119 --> 00:36:42.860 to build a business and the five people you hang 00:36:42.860 --> 00:36:46.199 around are like people that are, you know, still 00:36:46.199 --> 00:36:48.179 working at the factory or still working in the 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:51.539 plant or in the warehouse or wherever like. They're 00:36:51.539 --> 00:36:53.800 going to be like, yeah, dude, why? Why? Just 00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:57.119 come back, right? Dude, just give that up. Or 00:36:57.119 --> 00:36:58.559 how's that little business thing doing, man? 00:36:58.579 --> 00:37:00.500 You're stressed out, dude. You're losing your 00:37:00.500 --> 00:37:03.940 hair, DJ. It's like you just have to understand 00:37:03.940 --> 00:37:07.039 that anything worth having is going to take sacrifice, 00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:08.820 right? That's why oftentimes when I coach people, 00:37:08.980 --> 00:37:11.059 I ask them, I'm like, hey, what makes you happy? 00:37:11.179 --> 00:37:13.420 What's the end goal? What is the game we're actually 00:37:13.420 --> 00:37:15.809 playing here? Because In entrepreneurship, we 00:37:15.809 --> 00:37:18.190 do not index for happiness enough. That's not 00:37:18.190 --> 00:37:19.610 talked about. It's all about money, and it's 00:37:19.610 --> 00:37:22.010 up and to the right. And so you want to make 00:37:22.010 --> 00:37:25.150 the chart go up and to the right. I think oftentimes 00:37:25.150 --> 00:37:26.630 in entrepreneurship, we have to say, hey, what's 00:37:26.630 --> 00:37:29.550 the game we're playing? What makes us happy? 00:37:30.349 --> 00:37:33.250 And then what are you willing to sacrifice? Because 00:37:33.250 --> 00:37:37.849 everything in life is a trade. What are their 00:37:37.849 --> 00:37:43.559 limiting beliefs? you can talk about that are 00:37:43.559 --> 00:37:46.860 holding people back in the green industry or 00:37:46.860 --> 00:37:50.039 service business. You know, it's funny. Keith 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:52.000 Calpas is a good buddy of mine. And there's a 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:55.019 video we have on YouTube where he's in my like 00:37:55.019 --> 00:37:58.159 penthouse high rise. And I'm like on there like 00:37:58.159 --> 00:38:00.480 bragging about a forty thousand dollar month. 00:38:00.920 --> 00:38:02.599 And like I look back at that now and I'm like, 00:38:02.599 --> 00:38:05.519 Jesus, forty grand broke. What the hell is that? 00:38:05.619 --> 00:38:09.190 Right. It's like it's so like. you know my new 00:38:09.190 --> 00:38:11.070 my newest business partner Dan Martell he talks 00:38:11.070 --> 00:38:13.650 about the the the old high has to be the new 00:38:13.650 --> 00:38:16.190 low right the old high has to be the new minimum 00:38:16.190 --> 00:38:19.110 so like I still remember the first time I looked 00:38:19.110 --> 00:38:20.889 at my bank account and there was a hundred grand 00:38:20.889 --> 00:38:23.289 cash in there I was like holy shit right like 00:38:23.289 --> 00:38:26.230 that was crazy that's been a goal for years well 00:38:26.230 --> 00:38:29.409 that had to now become the new low right where 00:38:29.409 --> 00:38:31.760 it's like hey we don't dip below 100. Now we're 00:38:31.760 --> 00:38:34.059 trying to get to 250. And then you get to 250 00:38:34.059 --> 00:38:35.500 and you're like, OK, we don't dip below 250. 00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:39.079 Now we got to go to five. Right. I think the 00:38:39.079 --> 00:38:40.760 the self -limiting beliefs we talked about this 00:38:40.760 --> 00:38:43.099 earlier about selling with your own wallet is 00:38:43.099 --> 00:38:45.960 like that is that is like I see that happen all 00:38:45.960 --> 00:38:48.760 the time. Penny pinching. I call it pardon the 00:38:48.760 --> 00:38:50.679 language. I call it broke bitch mentality. It's 00:38:50.679 --> 00:38:52.599 where like you just operate like you're broke 00:38:52.599 --> 00:38:54.860 all the time. And like, guess what? That's a 00:38:54.860 --> 00:38:56.380 self -fulfilling prophecy. Like you're going 00:38:56.380 --> 00:38:58.579 to be broke all the time. Like have a little 00:38:58.579 --> 00:39:03.510 swagger. I used to sell so many apartment complex 00:39:03.510 --> 00:39:06.710 managers on lawn care when I used to do the sales 00:39:06.710 --> 00:39:09.250 inside the business because I would wear a jacket 00:39:09.250 --> 00:39:11.730 and a button -up shirt and some slacks. Like 00:39:11.730 --> 00:39:13.130 I would walk in, I'd be like, is the property 00:39:13.130 --> 00:39:15.789 manager here? And they're like, yeah, let me 00:39:15.789 --> 00:39:17.210 get her for you. They're like, I don't know. 00:39:17.250 --> 00:39:18.570 There's like an attorney or something here for 00:39:18.570 --> 00:39:19.989 you, right? Like the property manager comes out. 00:39:20.130 --> 00:39:21.670 I'm like, hi, I'd like to give you a quote for 00:39:21.670 --> 00:39:24.639 your 2026 lawn care and landscaping budget. They're 00:39:24.639 --> 00:39:27.940 like, just like that, right? But it's perspective 00:39:27.940 --> 00:39:30.880 and perception, right, of that customer. And, 00:39:30.940 --> 00:39:33.079 you know, there will all be, go ahead, I'll have 00:39:33.079 --> 00:39:35.320 a DM or a comment, like, no, no, no, man, I rub 00:39:35.320 --> 00:39:37.179 a little dirt on my jeans. They know I'm a hard 00:39:37.179 --> 00:39:39.340 worker. I come in. I'm like, yeah. And you also 00:39:39.340 --> 00:39:40.860 smell like ass, and nobody wants to give you 00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:42.860 time of the day. So it's like, take a shower, 00:39:43.260 --> 00:39:45.260 put a collared shirt on, and go handle yourself 00:39:45.260 --> 00:39:47.900 like a true professional. Because if you do that, 00:39:48.360 --> 00:39:51.199 then you get to charge professional prices, right? 00:39:51.659 --> 00:39:54.489 You have different conversations. back to like 00:39:54.489 --> 00:39:56.809 what you were saying, customers versus clients. 00:39:57.869 --> 00:40:00.210 I look at everyone as clients. I don't have customers 00:40:00.210 --> 00:40:02.250 because the level of service that I deliver, 00:40:02.949 --> 00:40:07.449 I only have clients, right? It is very much a 00:40:07.449 --> 00:40:12.130 VIP level status service. But what happens is... 00:40:11.900 --> 00:40:15.480 in small businesses oftentimes because the rents 00:40:15.480 --> 00:40:17.639 due and the phone bill pay it needs to the phone 00:40:17.639 --> 00:40:20.239 bill needs to be paid is like you just take anybody 00:40:20.239 --> 00:40:22.340 and everybody into your business and that's okay 00:40:22.340 --> 00:40:25.320 i'm not hating on that um but the faster you 00:40:25.320 --> 00:40:28.340 can figure out who your ideal customer profile 00:40:28.340 --> 00:40:31.019 is write that down icp the faster you can figure 00:40:31.019 --> 00:40:34.199 that out and only index to that person the better 00:40:34.199 --> 00:40:37.219 off you'll be like jordan Jordan Yocum, my best 00:40:37.219 --> 00:40:38.699 friend since high school that does, he's the 00:40:38.699 --> 00:40:41.360 top sales guy for Tom James who does custom tailored 00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:44.880 suits. He does my suits for me. Like he's got 00:40:44.880 --> 00:40:47.000 clients that will buy $25 ,000 worth of clothes 00:40:47.000 --> 00:40:49.719 from him in one setting. I still this day, I 00:40:49.719 --> 00:40:51.840 still buy $2 ,000 suits from him, but I think 00:40:51.840 --> 00:40:54.000 that's fucking crazy, right? That's a self -limiting 00:40:54.000 --> 00:40:56.739 belief. And so oftentimes I try to catch myself 00:40:56.739 --> 00:40:59.900 anytime I say that's crazy, right? If I ever, 00:41:00.019 --> 00:41:02.059 if that, if those words come out of my mouth, 00:41:02.400 --> 00:41:06.269 do it, is it really crazy? Or am I just not holding 00:41:06.269 --> 00:41:08.750 myself to that standard, right? Or am I not playing 00:41:08.750 --> 00:41:11.610 it at that level? It's just crazy for me today, 00:41:11.769 --> 00:41:14.050 right? Because there was a point in time where 00:41:14.050 --> 00:41:16.510 I never flew first class. And I was like, that's 00:41:16.510 --> 00:41:18.889 crazy to spend $1 ,000 on an airline ticket. 00:41:19.369 --> 00:41:23.150 Now I only fly first class, right? I used to 00:41:23.150 --> 00:41:25.730 think it's crazy for somebody to have a billionaire 00:41:25.730 --> 00:41:28.429 that's a client. Now I have three billionaires 00:41:28.429 --> 00:41:31.070 that are clients, right? Self -limiting beliefs 00:41:31.070 --> 00:41:33.650 will hold you back, I think, probably more than 00:41:33.650 --> 00:41:35.929 anything, right? And then the old, the age -old 00:41:35.929 --> 00:41:38.590 ones are like, well, this president we got, oh, 00:41:38.590 --> 00:41:41.409 this economy, oh, you saw those inflation numbers, 00:41:41.449 --> 00:41:44.730 right? It's like you're giving away power. You're 00:41:44.730 --> 00:41:47.670 giving your power away to external circumstances 00:41:47.670 --> 00:41:50.610 and external things. What you need to do is look 00:41:50.610 --> 00:41:54.150 in the mirror and ask yourself, who is the person 00:41:54.150 --> 00:41:58.880 that I need to become in order to deserve the 00:41:58.880 --> 00:42:02.900 next level of success. Boy, that is good. Thanks, 00:42:02.900 --> 00:42:09.719 man. Let's talk about marketing. Where should 00:42:09.719 --> 00:42:13.039 a lawn care business or service industry business, 00:42:14.440 --> 00:42:17.780 where do you feel is the best place for them 00:42:17.780 --> 00:42:22.119 to market themselves? Yeah, so unfortunately, 00:42:22.119 --> 00:42:24.860 I didn't know this when I had my lawn care business. 00:42:26.079 --> 00:42:30.599 But you should spend all of your outbound time 00:42:30.599 --> 00:42:34.960 working on partnerships because partnerships 00:42:34.960 --> 00:42:38.420 are slow until they're not. OK, what do I mean 00:42:38.420 --> 00:42:42.340 by that realtors? Great example, right? Who knows 00:42:42.340 --> 00:42:45.420 people that have houses? Realtors, right? Here's 00:42:45.420 --> 00:42:47.559 a cool thing. Why don't you go to your local 00:42:47.559 --> 00:42:50.460 realtors in town and say, hey, instead of giving 00:42:50.460 --> 00:42:52.960 out those bullshit wine and cheese baskets that 00:42:52.960 --> 00:42:56.119 nobody even likes or really wants or the custom 00:42:56.119 --> 00:42:59.559 engraved, you know, cutting board that they're 00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:02.010 going to be like, gee, thanks. put it in the 00:43:02.010 --> 00:43:03.510 back of the cabinet and never look at it again, 00:43:03.610 --> 00:43:06.010 right? Because it has, like, you know, choice 00:43:06.010 --> 00:43:08.130 one realty real big on it. Like, nobody cares. 00:43:08.389 --> 00:43:10.909 U .S. bank sent me a clock the other day. I'm 00:43:10.909 --> 00:43:12.630 like, I literally have hundreds of thousands 00:43:12.630 --> 00:43:14.409 of dollars with you guys. And you send me this 00:43:14.409 --> 00:43:16.389 wooden clock that has a giant U .S. bank logo 00:43:16.389 --> 00:43:18.010 on the side of it. I threw it straight in the 00:43:18.010 --> 00:43:19.690 trash. I'm going to put this out in my house, 00:43:19.690 --> 00:43:21.829 right? And so what I would tell you is, like, 00:43:21.949 --> 00:43:24.789 go to real estate agents and say, hey, listen, 00:43:25.809 --> 00:43:27.849 oftentimes when people move into a property, 00:43:28.250 --> 00:43:31.030 The first thing they need is like the outside. 00:43:31.170 --> 00:43:32.769 They start spending money making the place look 00:43:32.769 --> 00:43:34.750 good, right? They spend tons of money improving 00:43:34.750 --> 00:43:36.190 the house, even if the house is in great shape. 00:43:36.710 --> 00:43:38.889 So what I want to offer to you, because I'd love 00:43:38.889 --> 00:43:40.710 for you to be a partner with me in my business, 00:43:41.349 --> 00:43:44.510 is that I will give you a drastic discount on 00:43:44.510 --> 00:43:47.670 our services that you can give as a thank you. 00:43:47.769 --> 00:43:50.150 to your clients when they go to close. So instead 00:43:50.150 --> 00:43:52.429 of giving them that cheese and wine basket or 00:43:52.429 --> 00:43:54.670 that cutting board, you say, hey, by the way, 00:43:54.710 --> 00:43:56.869 don't worry your landscaping services for the 00:43:56.869 --> 00:43:59.349 next six months. I'm taking care of that because 00:43:59.349 --> 00:44:01.409 DJ and his crew are like the top notch in town 00:44:01.409 --> 00:44:03.210 and they're the best ones to be trusted with 00:44:03.210 --> 00:44:05.750 your property. I've got you taken care of. And 00:44:05.750 --> 00:44:07.449 so now you like you hook the realtor up, you 00:44:07.449 --> 00:44:09.389 do it at a discount or maybe even, you know, 00:44:09.590 --> 00:44:11.269 you don't make much money at all on the deal. 00:44:11.489 --> 00:44:14.800 And so now. Guess what? You're in front of that 00:44:14.800 --> 00:44:16.579 customer for six months. Now you got an opportunity 00:44:16.579 --> 00:44:20.039 to build rapport with them, build a relationship 00:44:20.039 --> 00:44:22.179 so that then they convert to a paying customer. 00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:26.000 On the other side of it, you can build relationships 00:44:26.000 --> 00:44:28.639 with clients and say, hey, listen, 80 % of people 00:44:28.639 --> 00:44:30.280 decide if they want to stop and look at a house 00:44:30.280 --> 00:44:33.300 or not is curb appeal. And so what I do is I 00:44:33.300 --> 00:44:36.420 have a program for sellers that says, hey, we'll 00:44:36.420 --> 00:44:39.119 spiff up the outside and the landscaping. and 00:44:39.119 --> 00:44:41.539 you just pay me when the house closes. Now, you 00:44:41.539 --> 00:44:43.099 got to have a little cheddar to be able to do 00:44:43.099 --> 00:44:45.820 this, but you could go in and do a $2 ,000 cleanup 00:44:45.820 --> 00:44:48.340 and actually charge them $3 ,500 for it because 00:44:48.340 --> 00:44:50.219 you're holding that paper until they actually 00:44:50.219 --> 00:44:52.239 close on the property, right? You can put clauses 00:44:52.239 --> 00:44:54.019 in there that say after so many days, you got 00:44:54.019 --> 00:44:56.219 to pay this, right? That way you're not in trouble 00:44:56.219 --> 00:44:58.429 if they don't ever go close the property. But 00:44:58.429 --> 00:45:01.309 those partnerships, man, like sell the relationship 00:45:01.309 --> 00:45:03.730 that will then sell one relationship that will 00:45:03.730 --> 00:45:06.110 then bring you 10 deals, right? Same situation 00:45:06.110 --> 00:45:09.309 for apartment complexes. I did do this is that 00:45:09.309 --> 00:45:11.369 I would move up channel. So I used to sell like 00:45:11.369 --> 00:45:12.849 the maintenance guys because like, oh, the maintenance 00:45:12.849 --> 00:45:14.230 guys are on the property. That's who I need to 00:45:14.230 --> 00:45:16.090 talk to. They have no buying power whatsoever. 00:45:16.650 --> 00:45:18.010 So then I was like, oh, let's go talk to the 00:45:18.010 --> 00:45:20.170 general the property manager. Well, the property 00:45:20.170 --> 00:45:22.269 manager just collects all the bids and then gives 00:45:22.269 --> 00:45:24.889 them to the regional manager. So then what did 00:45:24.889 --> 00:45:30.599 I do? I started holding quarterly lunches, invite 00:45:30.599 --> 00:45:35.000 only at a really nice high end restaurant. No 00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:37.019 sales pitch, no nothing. I was just there to 00:45:37.019 --> 00:45:38.920 be in the room. Right. And I would invite the 00:45:38.920 --> 00:45:41.420 regional managers to come to that because I knew 00:45:41.420 --> 00:45:44.980 that's the decision makers. One regional manager 00:45:44.980 --> 00:45:47.699 hooked me up with over six figures worth of one 00:45:47.699 --> 00:45:50.039 landscape contracts for like five of their properties. 00:45:50.300 --> 00:45:52.719 Right. So like, again, that's where to me, if 00:45:52.719 --> 00:45:53.960 you're going to do that, if you're going to spend 00:45:53.960 --> 00:45:56.860 time, effort, money, spend it there. If you're 00:45:56.860 --> 00:45:58.960 trying to get residential customers, Facebook 00:45:58.960 --> 00:46:02.199 is still a barn on the best place to advertise. 00:46:02.679 --> 00:46:04.980 If you can even spend five hundred bucks a month, 00:46:05.079 --> 00:46:07.880 a thousand bucks a month, which again, people 00:46:07.880 --> 00:46:10.639 go, that's a lot of money. That's my mortgage. 00:46:10.840 --> 00:46:15.400 It's like, yeah, but. What's it going to get 00:46:15.400 --> 00:46:17.300 you right? Like, what's that investment going 00:46:17.300 --> 00:46:19.019 to get you? And if it gets you one customer at 00:46:19.019 --> 00:46:21.179 five grand, like that's a five X return like. 00:46:21.480 --> 00:46:23.280 you're going to tell me if I had a if I had a 00:46:23.280 --> 00:46:25.360 casino game we could go play that if you put 00:46:25.360 --> 00:46:26.800 a thousand dollars in it pay you five thousand 00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:28.199 back like you wouldn't want to play that game 00:46:28.199 --> 00:46:30.840 right and so that kind of goes back into those 00:46:30.840 --> 00:46:35.219 self -limiting beliefs as well let's do a rapid 00:46:35.219 --> 00:46:42.400 fire here all right best marketing channel right 00:46:42.400 --> 00:46:52.000 now your current email list one sales habit every 00:46:52.000 --> 00:46:57.380 business owner should develop. Follow up Friday, 00:46:57.880 --> 00:47:00.880 call every open estimate that you have in your 00:47:00.880 --> 00:47:03.860 book and call them every single Friday until 00:47:03.860 --> 00:47:06.159 they either buy or they tell you to kick rocks. 00:47:07.739 --> 00:47:12.639 Book or mentor that changed how you view sales. 00:47:15.880 --> 00:47:19.380 Sales, that would be my first coach. Chuck Bauer 00:47:19.380 --> 00:47:23.519 who's retired now, but book would be the ultimate 00:47:23.519 --> 00:47:26.179 Jim Rohn library on audible. You can buy it for 00:47:26.179 --> 00:47:29.780 one audible credit and it's like a $90 audio 00:47:29.780 --> 00:47:32.280 pack, but it's like a little hack in the system. 00:47:32.320 --> 00:47:35.239 It's like 80 hours of Jim Rohn. Probably won't 00:47:35.239 --> 00:47:37.480 teach you to sell better, but he'll improve you 00:47:37.480 --> 00:47:40.559 as a person. And so you'll sell better as a consequence 00:47:40.559 --> 00:47:46.079 to that one tool that you couldn't live without 00:47:46.079 --> 00:47:49.860 higher alley .com. We installed Alley onto our 00:47:49.860 --> 00:47:51.679 phone systems in March of this year. We haven't 00:47:51.679 --> 00:47:54.639 missed a phone call all year. And a third of 00:47:54.639 --> 00:47:57.280 all phone calls we have realized now after analyzing 00:47:57.280 --> 00:47:59.380 the data, a third of all phone calls that come 00:47:59.380 --> 00:48:03.079 into our system are spam or bot. So it's massive 00:48:03.079 --> 00:48:07.480 time wasters. All of that's eliminated. One piece 00:48:07.480 --> 00:48:11.559 of advice, you would give some struggling to 00:48:11.559 --> 00:48:27.190 close deals. role play more with chat GPT on 00:48:27.190 --> 00:48:29.889 voice mode. If you're not closing deals, it's 00:48:29.889 --> 00:48:31.590 probably because you're not getting enough shots 00:48:31.590 --> 00:48:33.969 on goal, which means you're not getting the reps 00:48:33.969 --> 00:48:36.929 to actually get better. So just open up chat 00:48:36.929 --> 00:48:39.650 GPT voice mode and say, hey, I'm a landscaper. 00:48:39.969 --> 00:48:44.269 I need you to be a world level sales coach and 00:48:44.269 --> 00:48:47.090 role play with me so that I can test overcoming 00:48:47.090 --> 00:48:54.119 different objections. If someone only had one 00:48:54.119 --> 00:48:58.599 marketing activity, what should they focus on 00:48:58.599 --> 00:49:10.099 and why? If you're brand new in business, I'd 00:49:10.099 --> 00:49:12.579 say cold calling because you can go hunt for 00:49:12.579 --> 00:49:15.420 whales. If you're an established business, it's 00:49:15.420 --> 00:49:18.769 emailing your current customers. Because someone 00:49:18.769 --> 00:49:20.389 that's already a customer with you will spend 00:49:20.389 --> 00:49:22.809 way more money with you than a cold prospect. 00:49:22.889 --> 00:49:25.610 But if you're brand new to the business, I literally, 00:49:25.789 --> 00:49:27.429 still to this day, the three biggest projects 00:49:27.429 --> 00:49:31.389 we've ever done, all of them over six figures, 00:49:31.469 --> 00:49:37.590 all came from cold calling. One more. How do 00:49:37.590 --> 00:49:42.989 you track whether your marketing activity is 00:49:42.989 --> 00:49:48.159 actually working? With a scorecard? operate based 00:49:48.159 --> 00:49:52.099 on a scorecard and and then UTM parameters if 00:49:52.099 --> 00:49:54.159 you want to get super nerdy with it you can track 00:49:54.159 --> 00:49:56.719 each link channel directly with UTM parameters 00:49:56.719 --> 00:50:01.019 but you also have to know the strategy right 00:50:01.019 --> 00:50:02.699 like some stuff is just top of mind awareness 00:50:02.699 --> 00:50:06.199 like if I donate to the school and do a coat 00:50:06.199 --> 00:50:09.039 drive I don't expect people to call me and like 00:50:09.039 --> 00:50:11.000 get a quote because of that they just like it's 00:50:11.000 --> 00:50:13.179 it's good nature goodwill in the local community 00:50:13.759 --> 00:50:16.960 but then I can run a hard call to action ad, 00:50:17.199 --> 00:50:19.420 right? Like mulch is half off in March, right? 00:50:19.960 --> 00:50:23.019 We used to call it March mulch mania, right? 00:50:23.099 --> 00:50:25.880 It's half off mulch prices. It's like, you know, 00:50:26.559 --> 00:50:29.199 I like Alex Hermosy saying, he said, you know, 00:50:29.360 --> 00:50:31.300 fraternities never struggle to find a reason 00:50:31.300 --> 00:50:34.360 to have a party, right? It's like Toga Tuesday, 00:50:34.619 --> 00:50:37.239 just because, right? It's like fine, fine promotions. 00:50:37.579 --> 00:50:39.840 A lot of you guys just have boring fucking marketing 00:50:39.840 --> 00:50:41.760 or you put out content that's boring. And so 00:50:41.760 --> 00:50:43.900 people scroll right past it. There's no there's 00:50:43.900 --> 00:50:47.010 no theme around it. It's not fun. and don't be 00:50:47.010 --> 00:50:48.949 afraid to look bigger than you actually are man 00:50:48.949 --> 00:50:51.150 like I used to like the highest compliment I 00:50:51.150 --> 00:50:53.989 used to get is like is this a franchise and I 00:50:53.989 --> 00:50:56.250 was like hell yeah that meant my truck looked 00:50:56.250 --> 00:50:59.309 good my uniform was clean and all my all my what 00:50:59.309 --> 00:51:01.769 I call sales propaganda right my sales sheets 00:51:01.769 --> 00:51:04.010 my estimates my forms everything all of that 00:51:04.010 --> 00:51:06.030 looks so good that they thought I was a franchise 00:51:06.030 --> 00:51:07.690 and that's like the highest compliment you can 00:51:07.690 --> 00:51:11.289 get if you're not actually a franchise I hired 00:51:11.289 --> 00:51:15.670 a guy a couple years ago I show up at his house 00:51:15.670 --> 00:51:17.829 to pick him up. It was on the way to the shop. 00:51:18.909 --> 00:51:21.789 He come out with some black silky shorts on, 00:51:22.289 --> 00:51:26.090 with big smiley faces all over him. And he got 00:51:26.090 --> 00:51:28.829 in the truck. I said, what are you doing? He 00:51:28.829 --> 00:51:30.869 said, I'm going to work. I said, not dressed 00:51:30.869 --> 00:51:33.769 like that. You're not. He needed to get in the 00:51:33.769 --> 00:51:36.750 house and put some pants on. I said, I've worked 00:51:36.750 --> 00:51:39.630 too hard to build my brand for you to destroy 00:51:39.630 --> 00:51:43.099 it in one day. So you're not going to show up 00:51:43.099 --> 00:51:45.599 with them black silky shorts on. You can put 00:51:45.599 --> 00:51:48.820 on some nice khaki pants, nice pair of jeans, 00:51:49.460 --> 00:51:52.880 your uniform shirt, your uniform hat. Because 00:51:52.880 --> 00:51:56.320 when you're working, you're representing me. 00:51:57.099 --> 00:52:00.679 And I've worked too hard in this business. Yeah, 00:52:00.679 --> 00:52:02.619 it's called having standards as well, man. Like 00:52:02.619 --> 00:52:04.059 you want to take your business to the next level. 00:52:04.079 --> 00:52:05.739 Just raise your standards and hold everybody 00:52:05.739 --> 00:52:08.719 accountable to him. That'll do. That'll do worlds 00:52:08.719 --> 00:52:13.900 of magic. Well, tell us where can we follow you? 00:52:13.900 --> 00:52:21.420 Where can we? Yeah, hashtag coach Carol or go 00:52:21.420 --> 00:52:23.980 to coach carol .com. Everything's linked there 00:52:23.980 --> 00:52:27.960 carol to ours to else if you just Google coach 00:52:27.960 --> 00:52:31.210 Carol. Pete Carroll I thought was retired the 00:52:31.210 --> 00:52:32.989 the Seahawks ex -coach, but he fucking came back 00:52:32.989 --> 00:52:34.889 again So now he's like still online Lincoln traffic 00:52:34.889 --> 00:52:36.949 eventually that guy will be done done and then 00:52:36.949 --> 00:52:38.510 like I'll just say just go Google coach Carroll 00:52:38.510 --> 00:52:41.150 and I'll be fine but You go the biggest thing 00:52:41.150 --> 00:52:42.670 man. Just go pick up the book the hunter head 00:52:42.670 --> 00:52:46.210 game. There is there is so much stuff in here 00:52:47.900 --> 00:52:51.019 If you hired me and paid me 10 grand to come 00:52:51.019 --> 00:52:52.860 do consulting work, everything that I teach you 00:52:52.860 --> 00:52:55.719 is inside of this book for 40 bucks. Um, and 00:52:55.719 --> 00:52:58.119 then you get access to the custom AI model that 00:52:58.119 --> 00:53:00.039 we built as well. So like you can just, it's 00:53:00.039 --> 00:53:02.980 basically, you can like Q and a and chat with 00:53:02.980 --> 00:53:05.400 me, uh, in real time, which is pretty cool. And 00:53:05.400 --> 00:53:07.440 it's all sourced back to the text, but that's 00:53:07.440 --> 00:53:09.739 at the hunter head game .com. And then if you, 00:53:09.920 --> 00:53:10.960 uh, if you want more leads in your business, 00:53:11.039 --> 00:53:13.400 man, go check out higher alley .com. You can 00:53:13.400 --> 00:53:15.760 use, um, let me double check. I'll give you guys 00:53:15.760 --> 00:53:17.199 the code. Cause I don't want to mess this up. 00:53:17.389 --> 00:53:26.570 I believe it was, hold please. It was CC 50. 00:53:26.760 --> 00:53:29.039 and you'll get 50 % off your first month. So 00:53:29.039 --> 00:53:30.980 I'll give you guys a cool little promo code for 00:53:30.980 --> 00:53:34.599 that. But yeah, man, I can't can't say the same 00:53:34.599 --> 00:53:36.320 how much I appreciate you bringing me on and 00:53:36.320 --> 00:53:38.199 let me pour in my audience. Guys, if you're listening 00:53:38.199 --> 00:53:39.840 to this and you haven't subscribed to the podcast, 00:53:40.079 --> 00:53:42.099 downloaded his podcast, gave him a review, go 00:53:42.099 --> 00:53:43.719 do it. It'll help him get in front of more people 00:53:43.719 --> 00:53:44.960 so you can help more people in the lawn care 00:53:44.960 --> 00:53:47.800 industry. And as always, say my mantra man hustle. 00:53:47.980 --> 00:53:50.480 It's worth it because you'll hustle for a reason 00:53:50.480 --> 00:53:53.519 for a season and then it'll all be worth it. 00:53:53.780 --> 00:53:57.050 I appreciate that. and let me remind you my book 00:53:57.050 --> 00:54:02.369 rooted in the long haul how to retain customers 00:54:02.369 --> 00:54:07.050 in the green industry will be available after 00:54:07.050 --> 00:54:11.309 christmas so you can check that out follow us 00:54:11.309 --> 00:54:16.210 on facebook instagram tiktok and subscribe to 00:54:16.210 --> 00:54:18.989 our youtube channel if you haven't already leave 00:54:18.989 --> 00:54:23.250 us a five star rating and a nice review it helps 00:54:24.150 --> 00:54:27.269 tremendously. I appreciate it. Thank you for 00:54:27.269 --> 00:54:29.750 joining the Lawn Hustle until we talk again. 00:54:30.349 --> 00:54:34.650 Remember to keep hustling, keep growing, and 00:54:34.650 --> 00:54:36.250 take your business to the next level.