Contractors Toolbox

In this episode, Gary speaks with Paul and Mitchell Sutherland about their business, Rosewood Paint and Remodel, headquartered in Layton, UT. Paul started the business in the late 1980s and his sons, Steve and Mitchell, joined the company over the last several years. Paul and Mitchell talk about the dynamics of a family contracting business and how Mitchell and Steve are focused on taking this suc...

In this episode, Gary speaks with Andrew Henke, Managing Partner of Brix Recruiting, a recruiting firm that specializes in the home improvement contracting space. Andrew talks about the importance of going beyond just job postings to attract new talent. Most contractors are not embracing many of his tactics that could prove to be highly effective for your business. Andrew also gets into comprehens...

In this episode, Gary talks with Aaron Adams, Vice President of Partnerships at Hatch, about the best way to communicate with leads for optimum results. Aaron talks about the importance of outreach using a combination of phone, email and text messaging and the sequencing and timeline for outreach. He shared amazing research that came out of MIT that you will experience a 900% increase in lead conv...

In this episode, Gary talks with Doug Schatz, VP of Partnerships for Socius Marketing, about what home improvement contractors should be thinking about when it comes to their marketing. This includes the reduction in lead flow post-pandemic, what contractors should be looking for in a marketing partner, and the importance of data-driven processes to drive marketing decisions. Gary and Doug also ge...

In this episode, Gary talks about planning for your business in the new year. Do you have written plans in place for the year? A written marketing plan, sales plan, a financial pro forma? Have you created written goals for the new year that are supported by strategies, objectives and tactics? This episode helps contractors understand the steps they need to take in effectively planning their busine...

In this episode, Gary speaks with Guy Kopperud, Director of Content Marketing for One-Click Contractor, about embracing technology to scale revenue and profits. He talks about tools for improving efficiency and accuracy during the sales process. Guy also discusses growing a contracting business and utilizing technology for executing business processes, improving the estimating process, managing sa...

In this episode, Gary speaks with the co-founder and CEO of MazumaGo. MazumaGo is a Financial Technology (FinTech) firm that has created a payment system specifically for contractors where homeowner payments are available to you instantaneously. There is no waiting for checks to clear and no payment of credit card fees. This service is free for contractors and that makes it a fantastic value propo...

In this episode, Gary speaks with Tom Basch, Channel Director for Leap about improving efficiency by streamlining the sales process and improving the customer experience through an automated, digital solution. Tom talks about how this automated solution will help protect and improve margins, improve customer satisfaction and help sales reps close more contracts during their demos. This episode is...

In this episode, Scott and Gary talk about the importance of embracing a proven sales process that will dramatically improve close rates and the success of your contracting business. This discussion uncovers the myth that you need to be a "natural-born salesperson" to be successful. This is not the case at all. People with any behavioral style can enjoy success in sales if they follow a proven sal...

In this episode, Gary talks with CCN owner and CEO, Scott Siegal, about the importance of putting together a plan for the New Year. Many contractors do not put together a formal and written business plan and it is safe to say that without a formal plan, the odds are high for a business that is underperforming. This plan must address the functional areas of your business, including financial acumen...

In this episode, Gary talks about how to engage in Strategic Leadership and Manage by the Numbers. Most contractors have never had formal leadership training or training in financial acumen and management. Learn about key steps in strategic leadership, embracing the 8-Step Virtuous Cycle and the importance of achieving micro-gains as we travel through each step, ultimately resulting significant cu...

In this episode, Gary engages in Part 2 of his conversation with CCN Trainer and Coach, Troy Timmer. In this episode, Troy talks about CCN's 5-step production process. He delivers a 3-day streaming Production Mastery training approximately every 8 weeks and provides listeners with a fantastic overview of the importance in embracing CCN's proven 5-step production process and just as last week's epi...

In this episode, Gary speaks with CCN Trainer & Coach, Troy Timmer. Troy talks about CCN's proprietary 5P Sales Process and how it has significantly improved close rates for contracting companies. Troy delivers a comprehensive 3-day streaming Sales Mastery training on a monthly basis. He also delivers in-person sales workshops. Troys provides a great overview on why CCN's 5P Sales Process is "best...

Malina Jewell from Ignite Results talks with Gary about best practices in recruitment and retention for home improvement contracting companies.  This is a top-of-mind topic for so many contractors who struggle to find good people and keep them for the long term.  Malina shares many strategies for making your company appeal to a potential candidate and she discusses how to draw interest from people...

Shawn Feurer of Shawn Feurer Consulting talks with Gary about the importance of mindset for owners of contracting companies.  We all have limiting beliefs and this comes from our subconscious mind.  Only 5% of your mind is operating at the conscious level and 95% of your mind is at the subconscious level. Think of an iceberg where you only see 5% of the iceberg above the water's surface (your cons...

Mark MacDonald from Sherwin-Williams Coiled Coatings talks with Gary about their MetalVue Program. MetalVue is a collaboration between Sherwin-Williams, CCN, Spectrum (Predictive AI), Metal Coffee Shop (a part of Roofers Coffee Shop), Eagleview, top metal roofing manufacturers, and others. The MetalVue program was developed to help manufacturers and contractors sell more residential and commercial...

Dean Curtis, CEO of Ingage talks with Gary about embracing technology to take your demos to the next level. We all know that an excellent process is critically important in sales. CCN teaches our proven 5P sales process for contractors, but what if you could create powerful interactive presentations that will blow your prospects away and leave them feeling confident and impressed with your company...

Marc Levesque, owner and CEO of Webrunner, talks about best practices in successfully marketing a home improvement contracting business.  He addresses the importance of narrowing your focus and not trying to be all things to all people, points out the common marketing mistakes made by home improvement contractors, discusses in-house vs. outsourced marketing services and provides excellent tips for...

In this episode Gary Cohen speaks with  Rich   Harshaw , owner of Level 10 Contractor.   Rich  is an expert in helping contractors create an identity that will make their companies more appealing to their leads.  This is a great follow up to an earlier episode on Creating a Unique Value Proposition.  Home improvement contractors will acquire new tools in their toolboxes to help profitably scale th...

Ryan Shantz is an owner of one of the largest roofing contractors in Canada.  He discovered that contractors needed a more compelling proposal that will different them from all other contractors.  He tested his solution and immediately saw his roofing company's close rate skyrocket from 27% to 44%.  That's a 63% increase in their close rate!  This incredible new proposal and quotation system is no...

In this episode, Gary speaks with Kevin Kiernan from Podium. Kevin talks about Podium's technology solutions for contractors. They offer software solutions for maximizing online reviews, getting paid faster, automating routine tasks, reducing overhead so you can keep your team focused on delivering a better customer experience, connecting with incoming leads in a fraction of the time - in the chan...

Charlie Gindele joins Gary to talk about his new book. Charlie talks about his motivation for authoring this book and will also provide listeners with an overview of what they can expect to learn as they read his list of 10 big lessons. It is always great to learn from someone who started from humble beginnings and built an extraordinarily successful contracting business. It is also advantageous t...

In this episode Gary speaks with Travis Harvego, Chief Operating Officer of Roofle.  Roofle has developed the technology and platform to help roofers sell roofing jobs right from their website.  We all know that more and more industries and companies are embracing the online selling option.  It was only a matter of time before a company developed a method for roofers to dramatically drive down the...

In this episode, Gary Cohen discusses the importance of a Unique Value Proposition or UVP for your contracting business.  You will learn to understand a UVP, how to create one and how to separate yourself from the competition.  The idea here is to justify not selling on price, but instead on the unique benefits customers will enjoy from you, that they will not get from competing contractors in you...

Brian Kaskavalciyan, founder and CEO of gFour Marketing Group, talks about the birth of gFour Marketing Group and their unique approach to marketing that differentiates them from other marketing firms. gFour works with home improvement contractors to transform their customers into "Raving Fans and Brand Advocates." Brian talks about some of the biggest marketing mistakes made by contractors and th...