Head Heart & Boots

The game of estimating is quickly changing. Technology, shifting relationship structures between the players and increasingly complicated environments are having their affect. It's critical we don't settle into a victim mentality but instead we advance our understanding and skill set so that we can continue to operate at the forefront of the industry. Remember we are the professionals and it's our...

Bill Zipp, an international expert sales trainer and sales consultant to Fortune 500 sits down to talk with us about sales management and the ideal profile of a sales person. This is such an important, emerging topic in our restoration industry, because the game is changing. With the agency side of the insurance business becoming less and less engaged in the claims service, and of course the rise...

We spend the vast majority of our lives working, building our businesses and delivering our services. The reality is we will face good times and bad times, ups and downs. It's far too easy to fall into a place of "Quiet Desperation". A place where we are not necessarily motivated or working towards goals and aspirations. We are merely surviving.  Dr. Nick Sotelo brings us some insights on how...

How many of us feel like the ups and downs of our businesses and our day-to-day lives toss us around like the waves of the ocean? Often times we find ourselves responding to challenging situations in ways that leave a negative impact or we over celebrate a small win and allow it to distract us from the bigger goal.  In this episode we explore some of the tools we can use to build a stronger s...

Our tactical processes and procedures are absolutely mission critical and must be prioritized; however we must be equally driven to help our teams understand the true “WHY” behind those processes. By consistently speaking into our teams and casting a clear vision for where we are headed and why we focus on the things we focus on, we better equip them to push through challenges and overcome obstacl...

COVID, TPA’s and carrier consolidation have changed the landscape of our industry. It’s harder than ever to remain front of mind and to develop professional relationships, especially with agents.  Join us as we get key insights from Gerry Edtl (more than 40 years in the industry!) as he shares his perspective on relational selling, looking at the claims relationship through the eyes of an age...

We tend to think about integrity as something we identify ourselves or our businesses with, ie. "I'm a person of integrity" or "Integrity is one of our core values."  What we've found, is that integrity is a moment by moment choice. We're constantly choosing throughout our life, "Am I going to choose integrity in this moment, or am I not."  In today's show we dive into the roles that dis...

What can we learn from iconic business leaders? The Steve Jobs', Elon Musks' and Warren Buffets' of the world?  In this episode we pull some insights from great leaders we admire:  Building a mission people want to be a part of  Get comfortable doing more with less. It's amazing what a small team of loyal, dedicated, driven and thoughtful people can do together.  Never stop bei...

Rachel Stewart, CEO and Co-founder of Xcelerate Restoration Software and past EVP of Titan Restoration We cover a lot of ground in this episode with Rachel:  The importance of surrounding yourself with people that are smarter and more successful than you. (If you're feeling like an imposter or like you're in over your head, that's probably the group you need to be in)  Discovering that o...

Fear (often just a lack of proactive engagement) can cause us to not properly equip our teams for success. It’s critical that we ensure our teams have the right level of information. Yes, even the financials! so that they can have the highest chances of bringing big WINS in their role on our team. when we provide the appropriate amount of information based on each individual’s position, we empower...

Very few things will actually help us differentiate our companies from the competition. At the end of the day the technical aspects of what we do are often interchangeable. So if that’s the case what can we do to actually stand out in the crowd? We focus on how we make our clients feel when delivering our services. OMG did we just say “how we make them feel”? Simply said, we have to focus on our c...

Is what we are telling ourselves and others really the truth? How often do we act or say things that are not really an accurate reflection of our actions. POSTURING. We all do it and often its creating scenarios that force us to delay the gains we could be achieving. Are we aggressively pursuing actions and behaviors that honestly align with our goals and objectives or are we allowing ourselves to...

Here is the 3rd and final part to our series on attracting and retaining great people. Now that we have secured some new talent, what are we going to do to ensure they remain on the team and continue to help us fulfill our team’s mission? Have we truly created an environment that matches what we sold our prospect during the interview and onboarding process? Are we providing a vision that is sticky...

Here is the 2nd part to our series on attracting and retaining great people. Let’s take a look at the benefits that we are providing our employees. Let’s explore additional ways we can provide for our teams and help support a healthy work environment. There are lots of cost effective ways for us to enhance how attractive our organization is in the eyes of a prospective employee.  The universa...

Here is part 1 to our series on attracting and retaining great people. Today we focus on the onboarding process our new team members experience. Are we setting the stage correctly and in a super proactive manner or are we leaving first impressions to chance?  The universal pain point for most organizations is filling the seats with A+ players. Are we taking an honest review of our company, th...

Are you one of those people that brags (or complains) about working "80 hour weeks"?  Our business culture tends to glorify "grinding". Working all day, then bringing our laptop home to work after dinner.  The reality though, for nearly all of us, is we're not actually working "80 hours a week". For a lot of it, we're really just spinning our wheels and going through the motions.  M...

Has your team fallen behind with Collections/AR? Do you have tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of uncollected money that's just sitting out there, aging? Is it causing you to lose sleep at night? Is your balance on your line of credit giving you heartburn?  During today's episode Chris and Brandon break down collections, the impact it's having on your business, and tips and strategie...

Who gives you feedback on your behavior, your attitudes, your performance?  As owners and leaders, our people depend on us to give them affirmation and accountability. But who holds us accountable? Who holds a mirror up and let's us know how others are experiencing us?  Are we open to that feedback? Do we even want to know?  Reflecting on our weaknesses and negative habits can we a...

What's the mission behind the show and what can you expect as you take the journey with us? We need a fresh industry conversation.  How do we as owners thrive in this chaotic business? How do we grow as business leaders (vs. just owner-operators or employees), as mentors and and people-developers, while also becoming better spouses and parents?  How do we raise the bar in this...