Growing a local home service business

In the interview with Tommy Mello, the owner of a $200 million home service business in the USA, several key points were discussed regarding growing a home services business and getting more leads. While some of the information is more relevant to the larger US market, some of applies to NZ.

1. Networking and Learning: Mello highlights the importance of networking with more successful businesses and learning from them. One can gain insights and implement effective strategies by looking at and researching the approaches of larger and more successful companies.
2. Calculated Risks and Surrounding Yourself with the Right People: Mello believes in taking calculated risks and learning from mistakes. Surrounding oneself with the right people, such as mentors and employees, can contribute to the success of the business.
3. Creating a Winning Culture: Mello emphasizes the significance of creating a winning culture within the company. Everyone in the company can thrive by prioritizing employees’ success, dreams, and well-being.
4. Unique Selling Proposition: Mello’s company differentiates itself by providing reliable and timely service, 24/7 availability, quality workmanship, drug-tested and background-checked technicians, wrapped vehicles, and comprehensive evaluations with multiple options. They aim to create a positive customer experience and build long-term relationships.
5. Marketing Mistakes: Mello shares a marketing mistake he made in the past by giving out his phone number to multiple marketing companies, resulting in confusion and diluted attribution. He advises business owners to own their tracking numbers and maintain control over their marketing efforts.
6. Balancing Trust in Google: While acknowledging the importance of Google for marketing, Mello also advises diversifying marketing efforts and building relationships with realtors, handymen, and other potential sources of recurring business. Regular SEO and maintaining a professional website are still crucial for attracting customers.
7. Dealing with Fake Reviews: Mello acknowledges the prevalence of fake reviews in the home service industry. While competing with businesses that engage in such practices can be challenging, he encourages business owners to focus on delivering quality service and building genuine customer relationships rather than resorting to unethical practices.
8. More about Reviews: When you’re smaller, ask customers to leave reviews with pictures in it. You can’t tell a customer about keywords, but if you asked for a review, say would you mind mentioning the model or the service we did for you in the review and what you liked about it?
9. Social Marketing and Recruitment: One option is to incentivize employees to create video testimonies about the company and what it is like to work for them. This helps with recruiting great employees.
10. Multi-location websites: What do you do when you purchase a local company with a high-ranking website for that local area? One option is to build preemptive pages on the main high-authority domain and later redirect them to a website when you acquire a local business in that area.