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FEBRUARY 2018 MAY/JUNE 2018
A newsletter for service business owners who want more wealth, freedom and market domination. World
THIS REALLY WEIRD ‘HACK’ CAN HELP YOU GROW YOUR SERVICE BUSINESS
If you want to grow your service business like never before, there’s a weird trick that can help you. But trust me when I tell you that it’s strange … and might even sound crazy to some of you reading this.
What would your ancestor do?
Just like your ancient ancestors, you won’t be focused on growth. You may not even think about the fall or 2019. You simply do what you need to do to tackle each day and survive the busy summer months. It’s a survival mechanism to be focused on the busy, stressful moments and to put off anything that seems like it might distract us.
Well, most of us in the safety and comfort of our chairs while reading this would think, “Oh, we’d listen to what that person had to say, and we’d learn ‘on the fly’ how to win against the animal.” But the truth is, that’s just our perspective from the safety and comfort of wherever we are sitting. In reality, most of our ancestors wouldn’t have the mental bandwidth to process that offer and say, “Sounds good! Start teaching me … FAST !” Again, it’s because they are focused on that imminent threat, and their mindset is purely in survival mode, even though you and I both know that there is a better choice. Fast forward to today, put on your big- boy pants, and listen up because it’s time for me to share some tough truths with you. We aren’t fending off lions or tigers, but our bodies react in much the same way to other stresses. And in this coming summer season (which is a very busy season for most home-service businesses), it can be a stressful time. You won’t sleep much and you may get stressed out a lot, but the money will be good, right? IT’S NOT THAT DIFFERENT TODAY
First, I’ll quickly give you a little parable to set up what I’m going to talk about.
IMAGINE RUNNING FROM AN ANGRY BEAST
But here’s the thing …
In ancient times, our ancestors had a lot to worry about: how much food they had to eat until harvest, whether their clothes were warm enough to last the winter, and a big list of wild and scary animals. And as is the case in all survival situations, the more imminent the threat, the greater the focus it requires. When our ancient ancestors were fleeing from lions or saber-toothed tigers, they weren’t worried about whether there would be enough food next year or if they had the warmest cloak for winter. They were just trying to deal with the most important issue at the moment that had sharp teeth and was breathing down their necks! Now think back to your ancient ancestor as they are running as fast as they can to get away from whatever sharp-toothed threat is charging behind them. Imagine this: Suddenly, out of nowhere, someone starts running beside them and says, “What if I showed you a proven way to turn around and win against that animal behind you?”
I WANT TO SHOW YOU RIGHT NOW A PROVEN WAY TO SLAY THE BEAST
For most service-business owners, the summer is a three- or four-month busy season, and many owners are doing everything they can just to stay ahead of the “sharp-toothed beast” of being busy. But guess what? I’m the guy who is running beside you and saying, “What if I could show you right now a proven way to slay that beast?” Would you be like your ancient ancestor and say, “Now is not a good time?” or would you see things with a better perspective and say, “Yes, show me now, and show me fast , even though it’s busy.” The CEO Warrior team gets ready for another Service Business Edge event on June 12–15: the height of the busy season. And as we prepare for this event,
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YOUR HOME SERVICE-BUSINESS WEBSITE ISN’T CONVERTING: HERE’S WHY
You have a beautiful new website that you just spent thousands of dollars building. You flip the switch and … nothing happens — crickets! The website company told you that this site would convert more leads than your old site, it would be more search-engine friendly, and it was time to upgrade, even though your last one was only 12 months old. I’ve heard this story many times before. The problem is that most website companies have no idea how to build a website for conversion. They put up pretty stock pictures, cool graphics, and tell you that it’s revolutionary. Here are the top three reasons your website doesn’t convert and how to fix them. Many home service-businesses display excessive information on their homepages. They list too many specifics about every service they offer, include a three-paragraph story of how the company got started, and go into too much detail that customers don’t take the time or care to read. People have a very short attention span in today’s REASON NO. 1: IT’S NOT SIMPLE ENOUGH.
digital world (6–7 seconds to be more exact). Knowing this, it’s imperative to capture their attention as quickly as possible to have them take action immediately. If there is too much content or too many options on the homepage of a website, people are not sure what to do and will leave, get distracted, or ultimately do something that is not in line with your objective. Here’s how to fix this: Get crystal clear on the top 1–3 actions that you want someone to take when they come to your website. Is it to request service? Download coupons? Make a phone call? Look at customer testimonials? Whatever these top 1–3 objectives are, they should be clearly stated and prominent throughout the homepage of the website and very easy for people to see and complete the action. In our research and with our existing clients, we find that the schedule service online, download coupons, click to call, reviews and testimonials, and service area sections or pages are the most commonly viewed. When building websites for new clients, we challenge them to cut out 50 percent of the information that is on their home page that isn’t relevant to accomplishing their top 1–3 objectives. Once they have cut 50 percent of the content, we challenge them to then cut 50 percent of the remaining content. Most of the time it’s not possible to cut another 50 percent, however, through that exercise, we cut out the remaining fluff that isn’t necessary.
easily identify what actions customers are or are not taking so that you can adjust the layout of your site in its entirety. Are they clicking on coupons? Are they clicking on an image that does not currently go anywhere? You must make sure that you have tracking data collected on your website. Either you or your marketing company must be monitoring this data and making intelligent changes that are not based on assumptions of what people want when they come to your website. “IF THERE IS TOO MUCH CONTENT OR TOO MANY OPTIONS ON THE HOMEPAGE OF A WEBSITE, PEOPLE ARE NOT SURE WHAT TO DO AND WILL LEAVE, GET DISTRACTED, OR ULTIMATELY DO SOMETHING THAT IS NOT IN LINE WITH YOUR OBJECTIVE.” Here’s how to fix this: Be sure to install Google Analytics on your website and understand how to read the basic data or get consistent reporting from your online marketing company and know how to read it. A free heat-mapping tool that we use is SeeVolution.com. By installing this, you will be able to determine missed opportunities on your website. When studying Google Analytics data, some of the important items to track are Continued on page 7 ...
REASON NO. 2: LACK OF TRACKING
You wouldn’t make decisions in other areas of your business without proper tracking data, so why would you do this on your website? By using tools like Google Analytics, Google Webmaster Tools, and heat mapping, you can
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we hear feedback from people who say they’d like to come but it’s too busy for them, and I always think of the story of our ancient ancestor who think it’s easier to run than to learn. I know you’ll be busy and you’ll be doing everything you can to keep ahead of the game; I know you’ll be in survival mode just trying to focus on what’s in front of you instead of the big picture. (Perhaps it’s already started for you by the time you’re reading this article.) But … what if you took four days — yes, during the height of your busy season, when you think you’re least able to — to learn how to lead and grow your business so it runs in a way that is sane, less busy, and grows on autopilot ? You see, many service-business owners think that all they can do is run in front of that sharp-toothed beast, because there’s
no time to learn. So they spend months running as hard as they can. They don’t realize that if they learned to slay that beast, they could actually slow down. So the question you have to ask yourself is this: Do you want to keep up the hectic pace of running all summer? Or do you want to take four days from June 12–15 — even though you think it’s simply too busy — to learn how to change your business so you can return, master it, and eliminate the stress? The weird hack is this: There is never a good time for growth. We can always find excuses and reasons not to learn to grow. Once the summer is over, there will be a reason not to come in the fall. Or the winter. Or the spring. It’s easy to come up with excuses. There’s never a good time to grow. But if you took four HERE’S THE WEIRD HACK
days right now, even at the height of your busy season, you can change the game for your business, and the rest of the summer will be completely different for you. Let me show you how to slay the beast on June 12–15. Go to ServiceBusinessEdge.com to reserve your seat. Do it now before your survival instinct kicks in and lies to you that it’s easier to be hectic and stressed.
Mike Agugliaro
HOW TO WIN MORE BUSINESS WITH FOLLOW-UP
ask what other plumbing work they need done around their home.
when they are ready, because you are the only one who followed up.
What will happen? Probably one of the following outcomes:
No matter what, you’ll stay in contact with more prospects, and you’ll win more business because of it. Does this sound time-consuming and costly? It doesn’t have to be. You’ve already done the heavy lifting by writing the estimate, so why not stay in contact with your prospects and let them know that you care about them? You may not get their business today or tomorrow or even next month. But you’ll show them that you care about them even when they’re not customers. How much more will you care about them when they are? That level of caring with just your follow-up will close more estimates.
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Some prospects who hire someone else right away will tell you and ask you to stop contacting them. No problem. Some prospects who hire someone else right away will not say anything and will get your follow- ups regularly. They might call you the next time they need some plumbing work done.
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If you want more business, simply do this: Follow up with your prospect. Send them an email, a phone call, a text, or a letter every week for the first 90 days, then every two to four weeks after that. Ask them about the project; offer them something of value; engage them and
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Some prospects won’t hire anyone for a while, and they’ll call you
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This is a Facebook group exclusively created to serve business owners like you, who want great ideas, strategies, and an opportunity to share their insights and connect with others. CEO WARRIOR WORLD
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It’s a closed group, so you’ll need to request to join. Watch for amazing strategies (including some exclusive stuff that I don’t share anywhere else). Check your notices for some exclusive Facebook Live trainings.
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It’s absolutely free.
JOIN TODAY! FACEBOOK. COM/GROUPS/ CEOWARRIORWORLD
WARRIOR SPOTLIGHT
“Since joining CEO Warrior, my company has had an increase
in revenue and profit margins.”
Being a Warrior has helped me be a better version of myself. I’ve improved my self-awareness, my relationships, my health, and I’ve become a better leader for the company that I want to create. My company has increased revenue each year since joining and dramatically increased our profit margins. But the biggest impact has been on team culture. I’ve grown from around 15-18 employees to 30. The quality of my team has improved, they are on board with my company vision and helping me work towards it.
Miller’s Septic Service Jamie Miller
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SERVICE BUSINESS EDGE, NEW AND IMPROVED Service Business Edge: The Secret Blueprint to Growing Your Business Get ready for four interactive days at the new 10,000-square-foot CEO Warrior Training Facility, where you will create the blueprint for your business. We’ll cover sales, marketing, customer service, leads, branding, hiring, training, and more. It’s four days you’ll wish you had put in sooner to get the wealth, freedom, and market domination you’ve always wanted. OUR NEXT EVENT WILL BE HELD IN OCTOBER. DATES: OCTOBER 23-26, 2018
Go to SERVICEBUSINESSEDGE.COM for details and registration.
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5 STEPS TO CHANGE YOUR COMPANY (AND CREATE THE PROFITABLE, FULFILLING BUSINESS YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED)
Just a couple weeks ago, dozens of business owners came to my company’s headquarters for four days to attend my Warrior Fast Track Academy. While some would tell you that they came to learn how to hire more effectively, manage their team more effectively, or market more effectively, they were all there for the same thing: to grow, to shift, and to change. Every business owner wants to transform their company from what it is now to something different. It may be a small change or a big change, a change to start doing something or a change to stop doing something, but change is always on the agenda. If you’re a service-business owner, the question you should be asking yourself is “How do I create effective, long-lasting change in my business?” Understanding and implementing and mastering this process of change will help you daily as you lead your business to greater success. NO. 1: START WITH YOU A business is only as strong as its leader. You need to lead your company along the desired path, and you need to lead with power. Many service-business owners focus externally on the changes that need to happen within their company, and very few realize that a shift needs to occur inside themselves first. Perhaps you need to develop your leadership skills or even start modeling the change before you roll it out to everyone else. Action Step: What change do you want to create, and how do you need to personally change to get started? NO. 2: DEVELOP A CLEAR VISION The most effective transformations occur when the business heads toward Here are 5 steps to creating change in your company…
an ultra-clear future. That means, as the leader, you need to develop a clear vision of the future and write it down. How clear should your vision be? You need to see it, hear it, touch it, smell it, and taste it. (Many people will skip this step because they think it’s too weird to envision a future with this level of clarity, but those who create the strongest change will do this.) Action Step: What’s the ultra-clear vision you have for your company’s ideal future? The clear vision you created in Step 2 shouldn’t be something you bottle up and keep for yourself. Otherwise, after a year or two, you’ll wonder why your business isn’t any closer to that envisioned future. Your vision needs to be shared with your team for full clarity and alignment. And when I say team, I mean everyone — your managers, but also all of your employees. Get them excited to buy in to the same vision, and help them see how they’ll benefit from that vision and how they will contribute to it. Only then will you see your company working with a singular focus toward your vision. Action Step: Book an all-company meeting to share your vision with your team. NO. 4: MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS A powerful vision is a picture, and by this step, your company should be excitedly working toward it. But how often do we face obstacles that pull us off our game? It’s easy to forget and lose focus. That’s why you need to build measurement into your vision. Select various components of your vision that your employees and departments can be measured on. For example, if your vision is to achieve a certain annual amount of sales, NO. 3: CREATE CLARITY AND ALIGNMENT WITH YOUR TEAM
then you need to reverse-engineer that number to find the per-person amount of sales that each of your experts need to sell daily. Then measure them on that effort and coach them to help them achieve it.
Action Step: What measurements can you apply to your vision?
NO. 5: EDUCATION I listed this as the last step but, in truth, it should be something you’re doing constantly — get educated on how to move your company further toward that vision. Your education might include reading books, watching videos, attending a training session (like the business owners who came to my Warrior Fast Track Academy), or even hiring a coach or mentor to help you. Education is so important for achieving change that my business partner Rob and I have invested more than $900,000 into our education. People thought we were crazy to invest that much, but we grew a $30 million-plus business that will actually surpass our vision sooner than we had envisioned —that’s the power of education! Action Step: How can you get educated to help empower the change in your business? SUMMARY Change is constant in every business. Whether you want your team to remember to greet the customer with a smile, or if you need to turn your financials around to start making money and keeping more of it as profit, those are changes . And this powerful, 5-step sequence will help you create change, implement it, and keep it going in your business for a stronger, healthier, and more powerful business.
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organic traffic, time on site, bounce rate, and top landing pages.
coupons that you offer and download them. Taking conversion to a second level, what happens when somebody schedules an appointment or requests your coupons? What message do they see? What email do they get? Most people do not think about anything past the first step, and this is a huge mistake. Stop throwing your money away on driving new traffic to your website until you get a handle on conversion. Go through the path as a customer and see what pieces are missing or where people are falling out, and fix those issues immediately. Look at your analytics and reporting to see which actions you are not allowing your customers to take that could be costing you thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue. Once you refine the conversion elements of your site, the change in your bottom line should be noticeable. Good luck!
helping home service-businesses grow using SEO (search engine optimization), pay-per-click (PPC), web development, and conversion strategies. Seequs’ sole focus is to help these business owners create results they never thought possible through digital marketing. He and his team constantly strive to be the best digital marketing firm in this industry by providing epic service and tangible results.
REASON NO. 3: LACK OF CONVERSION
The third reason why your website sucks is that it doesn’t convert. This is arguably the most important thing that a website should be doing. Stop wasting your money on driving more traffic to your website if it is not set up for conversion. Looking at your current website, is it easy for people to take the top 1–3 actions or objectives that you want for your site? Is it easy for them to fill out a request for service? Is it easy for them to find coupons? Is it easy to find the phone number? If any of these items or your top 1–3 items are buried or hidden, your website is already dead in the water. Here are some ways to fix this: Make sure it is extremely clear how people can take the actions that you want them to take. Ensure that important elements are above the fold and easily in view at all times. Streamline your features so that it’s easy for people to see the
-Stephen
As CEO of Seequs Digital Marketing, Stephen has cultivated a team that loves
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the organization’s leaders do all day long. You’ll probably get answers like, “I’m not sure; they are in a lot of meetings,” or, “They aren’t in the office a lot, but when they are, they get a catered lunch.” You and I both know that the high-level work of a leader is hard work, and the rewards of rising through the ranks to become a leader are deserved. However, leaders should be cautious that their work and the perks of their position don’t separate them too much from the rest of the team. You want to portray your role as aspirational but not an ivory tower. Make sure your team sees you working, or at least knows of the work you’re doing. That could include making parts of your schedule public, keeping people updated in a regular way, holding meetings in areas besides the executive boardroom, or even spending an hour at a free desk in the larger office to complete some paperwork. X-FACTOR NO. 3: GREAT LEADERS SAY ‘FOLLOW ME’ Good leaders say, “Do what I tell you.” Great leaders say, “Follow me.” A great leader is one who fearlessly runs first
with the expectation that his or her team will be close behind, watching and learning and giving their best.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you need to do the same work as your employees, but it does mean that you should be modeling your company’s core values in everything you do. It means you should be the biggest advocate of organizational initiatives (from new sales programs to fundraisers), and the company’s biggest cheerleader. Employees will rise to the level of the leader but no higher, so if you want great employees, then you as a leader need to rise to the level of greatness. X-FACTOR NO. 4: CHALLENGE YOURSELF Since employees will only rise to the level of the leader they follow, the best way you can create better employees is by being better yourself. Challenge yourself in all areas, personally and professionally. Remember that people look up to you and that your role is an aspirational one. Therefore, you should show that it takes a constant focus and attention on improvement to succeed at your level.
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INSIDE
The Really Weird ‘Hack’ Can Help You Grow Your Service Business
1
Your Home Service-Business Website Isn’t Converting: Here’s Why
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How to Win More Business With Follow-Up
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Get Happier Clients
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Meet Jamie Miller!
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Take Control of Your Business
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Service Business Edge, NEW and IMPROVED 5
5 Steps to Change Your Company
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4 ‘X-Factors’ of a Leader
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4 ‘X-FACTORS’ OF A LEADER THAT NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT
X-FACTOR NO. 1: A RICH, THRILLING VISION THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE THEMSELVES PARTICIPATING IN Many organizations create a vision for what they want their company to be. Although vision-casting is important, it often falls short of what it could be and therefore falls far short of being effective. The reason is that many organizations end up with a boring, too-short vision that has been scrubbed of all passion. The vision becomes just another boring paragraph that no one reads. But what if it was different? What if your vision thrilled those who read it and created excitement in your organization? Perhaps you can’t change the existing boring vision that is printed everywhere, but what if you shared a richer, deeper, more exciting version that your employees could see themselves participating in?
One of the best examples, on a national level (that we just don’t see nationally or organizationally very often), was JFK’s speech in 1962, in which he shared the exciting vision that America would put a person on the moon before the decade was through. It was passionate, stirring, and visionary; quite different from the one-paragraph corporate speak we often see today.
X-FACTOR NO. 2: TRANSPARENCY Ask many of the lower-level staff in any organization — the ones who do the so-called “grunt work” — what they think Continued on page 7 ...
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