What's one small change that helped you book more jobs?
Have you made a change that's helped you book more jobs? Maybe it was responding faster, offering text messaging, or changing how you send estimates. What's worked well for you? In this Masters of Home Service episode, Brandon Downer of Pink's Windows breaks down the systems behind a frictionless sales process, from simplifying online quote requests and speeding up follow-up to making estimates easier for customers to accept. Want to put these tips into action? Download our free frictionless selling playbook for this episode. Never miss an episode of Masters of Home Service. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
When did you hire your first sales person?
I think a lot of us owners, if we aren't in the field, we are doing the sales and marketing. For you larger businesses, when did you get your first sales person? What support positions did you hire first? Would you do it any different? I've never worked a sales job (other than owning my company) so I don't know what compensation structure would need to be in place to get a good sales person. How much meat needs to be on the bone for this hypothetical sales guy? This is what the ol AI told me - My honest estimate: a home service business usually needs to be around $1.2M–$1.5M/year in revenue before a true salesperson makes sense, assuming the company already has consistent lead flow, clean estimating, production capacity, and gross margins around 50%+. Below that, you can maybe afford a salesperson on paper, but you probably cannot give them enough opportunity to make the role attractive without crushing cash flow or starving them of leads. A good salesperson is likely going to need a believable path to $75k–$110k+ total comp, which means they need enough leads and deal volume to sell roughly $600k–$1M+ per year, depending on average ticket and margin.Sweat equity
Building a pressure washing business with sweat equity. I've been leaving flyers and tear aways at local businesses. About to post some on local Facebook groups, is there any additional advice for adding customers but keeping it local and personal. I am hoping to build a locally recognized company... patriot Pressure Washing, PPW!Are cheap competitors actually your fault?
This is probably going to rub some people the wrong way, but I think it’s worth talking about. A lot of service business owners complain about cheap competitors. I get it. There is always someone willing to do the work for less. In my industry, I’ve seen people charge prices that make no sense once you factor in drive time, labor, supplies, fuel, insurance, taxes, and the actual time it takes to do the job right. But I also think we have to be honest as business owners. If the only thing a customer understands about your service is the task itself, they are going to compare you against the cheapest version of that task. For us, that would be: “They scoop dog poop.” So the customer starts comparing: price frequency who can come sooner who seems cheaper That’s a weak position to be in. The customer has no reason to value the difference because we haven’t explained the difference well enough. That’s where positioning matters. For us, we had to get much better at explaining what the customer is actually paying for: proactive communication reminders before service on-the-way messages gate photos after every visit waste hauled away thorough multi-pass yard checks professional invoicing and scheduling reliable weekly service trained and background checked technicians a company that shows up consistently Those things matter to our best customers. And when we looked through our reviews, customers were already telling us that. They were saying things like: “worth every penny” “like clockwork” “one less thing to worry about” “they text before they come” “they send a picture of the closed gate” “they take the waste with them” “our last company left the gate open” That changed how I thought about cheap competitors. Some customers will always choose the cheapest option. That’s fine. But if too many good-fit customers are comparing you only on price, your message may not be doing enough work. Your marketing should make it clear why your service costs what it costs before the customer ever asks. That means talking about: risk trust reliability communication safety convenience consistency the cost of hiring the wrong company The cheaper competitor may still win some customers. But I don’t want to lose the right customers because I failed to explain why we’re different. Are cheap competitors hurting your business, or is your positioning making it too easy for customers to compare you on price?Brand new junk removal biz grossed $9k from June 1 - June 22nd
I was learning how to market while trying to rent websites to businesses (set up a lead generating website and sell all the leads to an exclusive partner on a monthly flat rent) and realized I wanted my hands on that blue collar service. I always wanted to run a business that genuinely helps people and the community and found that junk removal could do just that. Making money of course is important. I want a good life just like everyone does. So here is what made our junk removal business start paying the bills in our first month of ditching W2. Verified Google Business Profile Clean website with SEO/Keywords Google search ads (pay per click) Google local service ads. Meta Ads Posting organically Begging on Facebook marketplace (actually got a good amount of jobs but is not super reliable or consistent. I know that customer acquisition is tough but so necessary for running a business so really focus on your online presence!Networking ahead of our launch – looking to connect with builders and GCs
Hey everyone, I am currently in the pre-launch phase of setting up a specialized spray foam insulation business out here in Nebraska. Once fully operational, my son and I will be running the company together. Right now, we are doing all the groundwork behind the scenes—working with our business advisors and securing our physical infrastructure so we can open up the right way. We are an SBA-certified SDVOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business), and since we are mapping out our launch schedule in advance, I want to use this time to network and build direct relationships with general contractors, builders, and concrete crews in our region. When we go live, we will be handling specialized foam work from standard residential envelopes down to subgrade foundation prep before concrete pours. Because we focus strictly on the insulation scope, we will always be in a position to pass framing, building, and concrete leads over to the right people. I am looking to connect early with reliable pros who want to share local leads and have a go-to insulation sub they can depend on down the road. Drop a comment or send me a direct message so we can swap info and connect ahead of time.How much free advice is too much before you ask for a paid visit?
Got a call today from someone on an acreage outside of town. They accidentally Roundup'd two acres of grass. All of it. We talked through it on the phone. I was honest — there's no cheap fix for this, free seed isn't going to cut it, this is a full restoration. I suggested a paid site visit as the next step. But after I hung up I started wondering — did I give too much away for free? Enough that they'll try to handle it themselves and never call back? Or was being upfront the right move to build trust and set realistic expectations? As a solo operator my time is valuable. I don't drive around to do free estimates anymore, but I also don't want to be the guy who won't answer a basic question without charging for it. Where do you draw the line between being helpful on the phone and protecting your time with a paid visit?
