The Home Service Expert Podcast
Q&A With Tommy - Doubling Down on Core Markets and Rethinking Expansion Strategies
Fri, 24 Jan 2025
Tommy Mello is the author of Home Service Millionaire and Elevate, and the founder of A1 Garage Doors, a $200 million-plus home service business with over 700 employees in 22 states. Through HomeServiceMillionaire.com and the Home Service Expert podcast, Tommy shares his experience and insights to help fellow entrepreneurs scale their businesses. In this special episode of the Home Service Expert podcast, Tommy answers your biggest questions about operational efficiency, branding, team management...
Chapter 1: What strategies should I use for hiring in my business?
And I know that they're willing to put in as much sacrifice as I'm willing to put in to grow something together. And I'll make sure they win at the end. I would need to make sure to hire perfectly. Your first few hires are going to make or break the company. Well, that's kind of how I'd start. Then I'd go knocking on every neighbor's door. I'd find out the HOA president.
I'd say, let me just look at your system. I'm not even going to charge you. I'm already here.
Welcome to the Home Service Expert, where each week, Tommy chats with world-class entrepreneurs and experts in various fields like marketing, sales, hiring, and leadership. to find out what's really behind their success in business. Now, your host, the home service millionaire, Tommy Mello.
Before we get started, I wanted to share two important things with you. First, I want you to implement what you learned today. To do that, you'll have to take a lot of notes, but I also want you to fully concentrate on the interview. So I asked the team to take notes for you. Just text NOTES to 888-526-1299. That's 888-526-1299.
And you'll receive a link to download the notes from today's episode. Also, if you haven't got your copy of my newest book, Elevate, please go check it out. I'll share with you how I attracted and developed a winning team that helped me build a $200 million company in 22 states. Just go to elevateandwin.com forward slash podcast to get your copy. Now let's go back into the interview. All right.
Welcome back to December's Q&A podcast. One of my favorite podcasts of the month. Had a very good conversation yesterday. Just have I have a full time person. This girl's absolutely phenomenal. She's going to be working on the podcast tomorrow. And we're going to be coming out with a second podcast called The Mellow Millionaire. I think that's what it's going to be called.
So we're going to be bringing home service expert, all home service, 100% home service. I've got a lineup that takes me all the way through May. So it's going to be great. And then the mellow millionaire is going to be all about how people have made lots and lots of money in life and more business strategies, not just home service and home improvement.
Home service, home improvement will continue to be home service expert. Man, what a hell of a last month and just the hell of a year. It's already December. We've been with Cortec partner now for two years. And as you guys probably know, with private equity, they have to hold you for three years minimum for tax purposes.
Sometimes a PE group will sell under three years, but it doesn't make a ton of tax sense to do that. So I've got a lot of questions here. If I don't get to all of them, you guys go to homeserviceexpert.com forward slash questions. I know that wasn't working before. It's fixed now. I'm going to read the questions out loud and go through them slowly. I want to talk about a few things.
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Chapter 2: How can operational efficiency boost my company's growth?
Let's get up to 90% booking rate. Now I want it to feel like these people are like the best thing I've ever met in my life. It's like talking to mom. So that's number one. Number two is marketing. There's always, that's where I live is marketing. People say, how did A1 grow so quick? I have an obsession with marketing. Obsessed. I'm obsessed with it. And you should be too.
I'll leave you time to be obsessed with your financials, obsessed with marketing. So marketing is super important. And as I chat GPT, the best garage door company in a bunch of my markets, I wasn't at the top. It's using user generated content, which are reviews. So I just got off the phone. We're going after every one, two and three star review that we've ever had in the company.
And that's important. It's a big, big task. But also, what else is important? To stop the negative reviews from coming in. Now, they're few and far between. But at some point, the client either thought they paid too much for the service because they looked at the parts online and they don't understand how business works. They think it's all profit because they've never been in business.
They might be a school teacher. It's your job to educate people. Or just maybe you didn't show up on time. Whatever it is, you got to make it right. So marketing, lots of time, effort, and energy. This is where I'm going to win. The other thing is rehash. You guys know I work with Chirp. I've been really confiding in Chirp a lot to find out what is the easiest, best way.
Is it sending the client a video? Is it sending them a text message? Is it sending them a Calendly link? What's the best way to get ahold of the client in real time? And what they told me was the people that respond to the clients within one minute, 24 seven are the ones that are winning. So rehash campaigns, I've got millions and millions of dollars sitting there.
The goal is to recoup that money. And the final thing is recruiting. And I can't explain how important recruiting is, but recruiting, then onboarding correctly, and then orientation, and then training, and then retaining. I mean, once again, I stole it from Al Levy, but these things are easier said than done. So how do you make sure? But think about this.
There's a lot of financial coaching that needs to take place. They've never made this kind of money before, right? So getting into their mental psyche, I was with a guy named Mark Devine. And this guy was all about just his breathing techniques and meditation and nose breathing and taking less breaths per minute to stay focused and to handle your tough moments. And it's something I'm starting.
Like I was talking to my EA Ashley and I'm like, Look, first thing I'm doing this month, major, is I'm making sure my sleep is right. We're going to test a bunch of different sheets, a bunch of different pillows. We're going to test a bunch of different temperatures in the room. I'm going to get the lip tape. And I'm going to try to breathe through my nose when I sleep.
And I'm going to make sure not to look at the phone over an hour. And I've got a little light coming in to read before bed. And I take this thing called Dreamwater and I'm just going to make sure I'm in bed by the right time. I think that that alone. And then I got a couple other problems. Fox News. I'm only going to watch Fox News on the treadmill. That's the new deal for myself.
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Chapter 3: What marketing tactics can help my business scale?
So I asked Jocko yesterday, I said, how do you build this muscle of discipline? And he goes, you think I want to get up every morning at 4.30 a.m.? And it's one of those things where once you do it, it gets stronger. It gets better. It's amazing what happens when you continue to flex this muscle called discipline. And you flex it as much as possible, man.
You want to have a better life, you got to flex this muscle. Better things will happen in your life. But think about this. You know what was easy for me to do? A cold plunge in front of four people. When I go by myself, it's so easy to get out after one minute or make an excuse or not do the sauna. So what's a cheat code? Start inviting a couple of people over to do the cold plunge every morning.
You know, there's, I say this as humbly as possible when my driver gets up super early. I got to have him bring me a cup of coffee at 5 a.m. I mean, what's a cheat code to make things easier for you to perform the discipline you're trying to do? Now, when you start enjoying the cold plunge, it's no longer discipline. When I had this gal, I had her on the podcast.
If you guys want to hear a pretty cool podcast, it was the lady that wrote Dopamine Nation. And she explained that when there's true discipline being done, like you run long distances, you work out hard, you get up early. What ends up happening? Dopamine is what happens. So Dopamine Nation, trying to think here, Anna Lemke. L-E-M-B-K-E. She's an MD. And it's absolutely phenomenal.
But dopamine is made to be created through doing very difficult things. As human beings throughout the last millennial, we did hard things. We'd have to go hunt. Before we figured out how to farm, we'd have to hunt to get a meal. Our bodies were used to not eating for very long periods of time. And our digestive systems were for developed to handle that.
So I just want you guys to understand that start doing hard things, start accepting change, start going a different way to work, start making change part of your everyday process, get into really good morning routines and habits, but also make enough changes, tweak things here and there. I'm telling you guys.
I can't explain how easy it is to get out of rhythm, to drink one night, to get a bad night's sleep, to do something, to start lying to yourself. And it's the biggest mistakes you could ever make. A life of discipline is the best life. Now, listen, just like you could have a cheat meal, you could have a cheat day where you're going to sleep in.
You could have certain things that you might not work out that day. That's okay. But don't lie to yourself. Do not lie to yourself anymore. Start fulfilling the promises you make. Write them down, think about them, reflect on them, journal about them, and understand why. What does my life look like if I maintain this discipline? What's in it for my future self?
And really write down the real reality of what will happen to you. You'll get stronger. You'll walk in a room and you'll have more self-respect for yourself. You'll think clearer. You'll have more money in the bank. Your relationships will deepen. Your kids will admire you more. It just doesn't stop. Keep writing all those things down.
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Chapter 4: How do I ensure the right leads for my sales team?
Damien said, do you have a good software system to manage devices like iPads, iPhones? Yeah, so there's a company, if you want to email me, it's called eSquared. They do a fantastic job. eSquared, I've been using them for the last decade. I don't sign a contract for Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, none of it. My devices, they get found by the nearest cell tower.
And they give me all refurbished equipment, almost new, but refurbished. They save me a fortune because they get these buy rates of like ridiculously better rates than I could ever get. So it's called E squared. I think they're located in Phoenix. Great company. You know, they come to the freedom events and other things. They do a fantastic job.
They're a big part of our network, but I haven't found anybody that even comes close to their service. And they'll manage all that stuff for you. Also, what do you find the best, Apple or Samsung? I'm looking for a better device management system. I appreciate it. So Damian, I personally, I like Samsung way better because the devices are way cheaper and you're upgrading them all the time.
Technicians break them. So anybody that knows how to use an Apple could use a Samsung. And you're opening up just a couple of things on there. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with iPads, but they're way more expensive. And they come out with new ones way faster. So it's like, you know, Apple got in big trouble for making their batteries die quicker.
When they come out with a new unit, there's something in their old software that makes the battery. I've never met an Apple user that said, I'm so happy about the battery life with technicians that matters a lot. So just some stuff to think about. I mean, listen, I know the Apple users out there. I get it. They're simpler. There's some good things about them.
There might be something better about them. But as far as when they break, it's more expensive. The screens cost more money. I've never really seen a technician say, oh, it's an Apple. I'll take care of it extra special. It's not how that works. They are breaking quite a bit. The screens break. I pay a lot less to get the screens replaced.
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Chapter 5: What are the best practices for expanding my business to new locations?
Robert, what top three books do you recommend for someone scaling and growing their business from a million to 10 million? Other than yours, which I have read multiple times. You know, I really like the five dysfunctions of a team for that size. I think businesses tend to, you care more about your own department than you care about the whole company. Obviously, Al Levy, the seven-power contractor.
I like for sales, I like Joe Crisara's What Should We Do? I think it's one of the better sales books ever written for home service. How to Win Friends and Influence People is a great book. Any book by Gina Wickman about EOS, getting your management style dialed in is important. Napoleon Hill wrote a book, Think and Grow Rich. It's not necessarily about business, but it's about yourself.
Here's the deal. I'm going to tell all of you guys, you don't deserve to make as much money as you want to. Until you get educated, until you think you're worth it, Until you're ready, it's not going to happen to you. The world's not gonna give it to you. Jesus is not gonna give it to you. You're not ready yet. You need to educate yourself. You need to walk into work and know what to do every day.
You need to come in there with a plan. You need to be ready to manifest what's coming next in your life. Some of you just, you don't spend any time. You don't think about yourself. You don't know what you want. You're not really sure you're living someone else's dream. Maybe it's mom or dad's. Maybe it's your big brother's. A lot of you say, I want to do what you did.
I want to do a hundred million. Why? You give me 20 reasons why. Oh, so I can help out the church and I can help out my mom. Help them out now. You have enough money to help them all out now. You don't need to live my dream. You don't need to live my dream. Maybe some of you might want the same things that I've wanted, but don't. You shouldn't do this because of me.
No, you showed us it's possible. You wouldn't know what to do with the money game. You would not know when that money hits your account that it's going to change everything. And here's the facts. You might not change, but everybody around you is going to change. Just be prepared. The kind of money you're talking about, if you really want that, Be prepared. Be prepared. You're not going to like it.
I don't think a lot of you are ready for it. You're not going to like what it makes you. You're not going to like the way that people treat you. It's good and dandy when it first happens, and then you'll see. So make sure you're living your own dream. Blue said, are the days of starting a garage door business or any home service business with $20,000 over?
Yeah, Blue, I'll tell you, $20,000 is a fart in the wind. You can start with $5,000, but the first five to 10 years is going to be sweat equity. So first thing is have perfect credit. Fix your credit starting now. Any of you guys thinking about starting a business, make sure you've got perfect credit. The SBA loan's a great vehicle. I personally would work two jobs.
I started my business and I'd have a full-time job where I'm doing my business. I would just work more hours. I would need a steady income. I've had three jobs. When I started the garage door business, you don't think I was still painting garage doors, bartending. I was still selling flipping cars. Like for the first four or five years, I had to do both. I didn't have enough money.
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Chapter 6: What key books should I read for business growth?
Chapter 7: How can I develop discipline for success?
to get into the black quicker, to take more market share. So a lot of people don't have $3.5 million to put into a market straight into marketing and get no ROI that first year. You're still in the red. You're still losing money. So what I would say is a good number is nothing less than 25% of your target goal. So at 5 million, if you want to hit 5 million, it's 250,000 per million.
25%.
Does your system and process allow you to get there within the first year? Does it usually take a bit more time? So like I said, we will get there the first year, but that comes through really great recruiting. There's a few other things you'd want to do, like...
get great reviews very, very quickly, meaning that you might do tune-ups for $9 for the first three months and not even try to sell on those jobs. You're trying to get as many reviews as possible. People need to know who you are. And that happens through reviews. That's one of the ways. And then conventional SEO is really, really important as well.
We had a salesperson who previously worked for one of our suppliers and was fired due to attitude issues, particularly when things went wrong. They would argue, shift blame, and be difficult to manage. We believed in their potential, so we recommended them to another supplier, but they were let go for the same reasons. Then decided to hire them ourselves, hoping they could turn things around.
Why we don't want to see them go through another job loss. We're facing the same challenges now. We believe change is possible, but when we don't want to be unrealistic, what would you suggest? He is excellent salesperson and easy to deal with for the majority of the time. I think this is where you got to take them out to dinner and you need to invite their significant other.
And this is where you need to have fierce conversations, extreme honesty, right? Because right now what's happening is a lack of communication. So I think what needs to happen is you need to sit him down and you just say, here's where we're at. This is why you lost your job on the first one. We got you a job here. What would you like me to do when you're acting this way?
And if you guys have these honest conversations and you might even say, listen, when you're acting this way, I'm going to give you a code word. I'm going to say the Lions, you know, the Lions are playing in Detroit or figure out a code word and say, this is what you're doing. You're making it very hard for us. And when you're good, you're great. But when it's bad, it's really bad.
How would you like me to respond? What's the best way to do this? Talk to his wife. Figure out a way to break through this. Because if he's a great performer and he's great at sales and he's great to get along with most of the time, how do you just handle that a little bit? And have him help come up with a solution or he'll self-eliminate.
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Chapter 8: What are the common mistakes in business expansion?
I don't have enough money to buy more leads. It's a shady position to be in, Blue. Drew said, best marketing book recommendations for HVAC or home service. Best marketing. Marketing, marketing. All of Roy Williams' books are great about TV radio. Dan Antonelli's book, Branded Not Blanded, getting the right. Your wraps look like your trucks.
I mean, your trucks look like your billboards, look like your yard signs, look like your valve pack, look like your business cards, look like your catalogs, look like your building. That needs to fit. The Story Brand is a great book by Donald Miller. And, you know, here's the deal.
I've not read a book that was very comprehensive that had how to build copy, how to do PR, how to build a website, how to belt master LSA, GMB, PPC, SEO, social media, how to build in a competitive place like Val pack and Clipper, how to do well lead aggregators like Angie or home advisor, which are the same thing. And the hundreds of other lead aggregators, how to dominate those.
Everything's different word of mouth. affiliate deals, influencer marketing. I've never read a book that had it all. And if I did read a book that had it all, I think they're a jack of all trades, a master of none. And there was everything in this book. And what it would be, unfortunately, is a lot of definitions of what the differences are.
See, I know how... I study how to dominate each and every one of these. And if there's a new marketing source that comes on, I'll figure it out. If there's a way to dominate on Pinterest and Houzz, I'm in the process of dominating there too. So where does the majority of your leads come in? And then how do you 10x that? I think there's a lot of people that want to get leads.
They're like, I'm going to try everything. And you should only go after one marketing source at a time and master it. Make sure you got it working right and then go on to the next one. And what happens though, listen to this, when you get good at one marketing and then you add another one, one plus one equals three. Then you get good at another two, so three plus two equals 10.
Then you get good at another five, five plus 10 equals 30. Because the people see you more, there's more impressions. It's crazy how that works. Okay, now I've got these questions. It looks like we might've had a few comments here. Do you like commercial or residential asphalt? Colin, I think there's a lot of money in asphalt. I really do. I think there's money in residential and commercial.
I love that business. I love it because it's big tickets. I think the problem is you submit two or three bids. A lot of people are getting bids and sometimes it's hard to differentiate yourself. There's not a whole lot of craftsmanship. Now, I know there's things that go wrong with the cheap people that come in and they're not bidding properly. You got to be able to differentiate yourself.
So as long as you're differentiating yourself and it's not all about price, I like the industry. I guess to have a 90% call booking rate, you need the right leads coming to the call center. Yeah. I mean, you do need the right leads. Not everybody with a garage door is my client. I like affluent neighborhoods. I want people that want their shit fixed right.
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