Summary of "Q&A With Tommy - Elevating Your Workforce in 2025"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Home Service Expert Podcast
• Host: Tommy Mello, $200 Million Founder | Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur Columnist
• Episode: Q&A With Tommy - Elevating Your Workforce in 2025
• Release Date: December 27, 2024

Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Home Service Expert Podcast, Tommy Mello delves into strategies for elevating your workforce as businesses gear up for 2025. The session is structured around a comprehensive Q&A segment where Tommy addresses a myriad of questions from home service entrepreneurs. Topics range from team evaluation and budgeting to marketing strategies, hiring practices, and leadership development. This summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and actionable advice shared by Tommy and the participating listeners.

1. Team Evaluation and Top Grading

Tommy emphasizes the critical importance of evaluating team performance to ensure business success.

• Org Chart and Rating System ([00:00]):

  "Get a org chart printed out and I want you to put every single person on your team on the org chart and I want you to rate them 1 out of 10."

• Top Grading Team Members ([00:00]):

  "If somebody is not a 9 or above, then you need to figure out how to top grade them."

• Leadership Self-Assessment ([00:00]):

  "Why are they on your team? But are you a 10 out of 10? See, a lot of times the leaders point their fingers, they should be pointing their thumbs."

Key Insights:

• Conduct private evaluations with your leadership team.
• Strive for excellence by ensuring every team member is rated 9 or above.
• Leaders must hold themselves accountable to be top performers alongside their teams.

2. Budgeting and Marketing Strategies for 2025

Tommy provides actionable advice on setting aggressive yet achievable budgets and optimizing marketing expenditures.

• Setting Budgets ([12:34]):

  "Hopefully you guys are finishing up with your budgets for 2025. You set an aggressive budget but a doable budget."

• Marketing Budget Allocation ([27:15]):

  "We spend 12%. When we're growing a market, we'll go all the way up to 30%. So if we're green fielding, I believe it should be 30 or 35% if you want to take market share."

• Negotiating with Vendors ([12:34]):

  "Prepaying some of the marketing companies you use. Getting a 10, 20, 30% discounts by prepaying the whole year."

Key Insights:

• Allocate a higher percentage of your budget to marketing when entering new markets.
• Negotiate discounts with vendors by committing to annual payments.
• Implement controls like WEX cards to manage costs and prevent theft.

3. Listener Questions: Marketing and Profitability

Tommy addresses various aspects of marketing effectiveness and maintaining healthy profit margins.

• Marketing Spend vs. Growth ([27:15]):

  "Most people are throwing money at marketing that doesn't work."

• Gross Profit Targets ([35:50]):

  "They range anywhere from 52% all the way to 70%. I like to be as high as possible."

• Lead Conversion Concerns ([35:50]):

  "If your average ticket is $3,800 and your conversion rate is 30%, you're burning leads, man."

Key Insights:

• Focus on the quality of marketing messages and brand strength rather than just spending.
• Aim for high gross profit margins to ensure business sustainability.
• Improve lead conversion rates by attracting the right clients and refining marketing strategies.

4. Listener Questions: Hiring and Scaling

Tommy discusses best practices for hiring, promoting from within, and scaling niche businesses.

• Promoting vs. External Hiring ([49:20]):

  "Half of our managers are moved from within. We like to give choices, we like to make sure that anybody could apply for that job within or externally."

• Scaling Niche Businesses ([52:10]):

  "If you've been doing this 30 years, Adam, and you're not getting the scale you want, it's systems man, it's being hungry."

• Part-Time Business Scaling Challenges ([59:30]):

  "I just haven't seen many businesses that actually make a killing. I just haven't."

Key Insights:

• Balance internal promotions with external hiring to find the best candidates.
• Implement robust systems and maintain a strong work ethic to scale niche businesses effectively.
• Recognize the inherent challenges of scaling a part-time business and consider long-term viability.

5. Listener Questions: Acquisitions and Valuations

Tommy provides guidance on acquiring businesses and understanding their valuations.

• Valuation Multiples ([1:15:40]):

  "One of two things could happen. It could go integrated properly and flawlessly... The business would be worth a minimum of 120 million."

• Integration Challenges ([1:15:40]):

  "Who's the CFO? Who's the VP of marketing? Who's the HR team?"

Key Insights:

• Successful acquisitions depend on seamless integration of systems and teams.
• Ensure operational roles like CFO and VP of Marketing are well-defined during acquisitions.
• Valuation is significantly influenced by profitability, integration efficiency, and market position.

6. Listener Questions: Marketing Tactics

Discussion on effective marketing tactics, particularly the importance of SEO and customer reviews.

• SEO vs. Paid Ads ([1:05:50]):

  "The only thing that works is SEO. I mean, I think the GMB is probably the best thing."

• Importance of Reviews ([1:05:50]):

  "You'll have to get a lot of reviews. You're going to have to do some on site SEO stuff."

• Service Recommendations ([1:05:50]):

  "Call Kellen. I always tell you pin parrot. I know what he does with people, and it's freaking fantastic."

Key Insights:

• Prioritize SEO over traditional paid advertising to generate sustainable leads.
• Actively seek customer reviews to enhance online presence and credibility.
• Leverage specialized services and experts to optimize marketing efforts.

7. Listener Questions: Team Culture and Leadership

Tommy explores the significance of building a strong team culture and effective leadership practices.

• Building Culture ([1:20:10]):

  "If you're going to develop as a leader. You need to be around other leaders."

• Intentional Culture Building ([1:20:10]):

  "Do stuff outside of work. Have ceremonies, have meetings that matter, have fun."

• Balancing Work and Personal Life ([1:10:05]):

  "Don't burn out in a way that's not healthy. Don't ignore your family."

Key Insights:

• Cultivate leadership skills by associating with other successful leaders.
• Foster a positive team culture through intentional activities and meaningful interactions.
• Maintain a healthy work-life balance to prevent burnout and sustain long-term productivity.

8. Listener Questions: Sales Reps Hiring and Territory Management

Advice on hiring effective sales representatives and managing their territories to avoid internal competition.

• Qualities to Look For ([1:17:30]):

  "Do they have confidence? Do they have a sense of humor?"

• Territory Assignment ([1:18:45]):

  "You want to stack the deck with your best players, right. So you want to give the top guys the most leads."

• Performance-Based Dispatch ([1:18:45]):

  "Put first string in first. The people that show up for practice, they spend the most time, they get the most training."

Key Insights:

• Hire sales reps who exhibit strong interpersonal skills and self-confidence.
• Assign territories based on performance, allocating more leads to top performers.
• Implement a merit-based system to ensure fairness and maximize sales efficiency.

9. Closing Remarks and Book Promotion

Tommy wraps up the episode by promoting his latest book and encouraging listeners to apply the discussed strategies.

• Book Promotion ([1:25:00]):

  "If you want to learn the secrets that help me transfer my team from stealing the toilet paper to a group of 700 plus employees rowing in the same direction, head over to elevateandwin.com podcast and grab a copy of the book."

Key Insights:

• Emphasize the importance of continuous learning and application of proven strategies.
• Encourage listeners to leverage available resources, such as Tommy’s book Elevate, to build and develop high-performing teams.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Team Evaluation:

  "[00:00] 'Get a org chart printed out and I want you to put every single person on your team on the org chart and I want you to rate them 1 out of 10.'"

• Marketing Budget:

  "[12:34] 'When we're growing a market, we'll go all the way up to 30%. If you want to take market share, spend accordingly.'"

• Gross Profit Emphasis:

  "[35:50] 'They range anywhere from 52% all the way to 70%. I like to be as high as possible.'"

• Promoting from Within:

  "[49:20] 'Half of our managers are moved from within. We like to give choices... the best candidate should be the best.'"

• SEO Importance:

  "[1:05:50] 'The only thing that works is SEO. I mean, I think the GMB is probably the best thing.'"

• Leadership Development:

  "[1:20:10] 'If you're going to develop as a leader. You need to be around other leaders.'"

• Sales Reps Hiring:

  "[1:17:30] 'Do they have confidence? Do they have a sense of humor?'"

• Closing Invitation:

  "[1:25:00] 'Head over to elevateandwin.com podcast and grab a copy of the book.'"

Conclusion

This episode of The Home Service Expert Podcast offers a wealth of knowledge for home service entrepreneurs aiming to elevate their workforce in 2025. From meticulous team evaluations and strategic budgeting to effective marketing and robust leadership practices, Tommy Mello provides actionable insights backed by real-world experiences. Listeners are encouraged to implement these strategies, leverage recommended resources, and continuously strive for excellence to achieve substantial business growth and sustainability.