PowerTips Unscripted

As a business owner, you have undoubtedly read plenty of books and maybe even taken a course or two on sales and how to sell to homeowners. However, most have avoided or over-looked strengthening their public speaking skills. In this episode, Victoria and Mark explore the correlation between more persuasive public speaking skills contributing to a more effective sales approach when dealing with pr...

Goals are critical to success in business—they focus attention and give your team a clear understanding of what you’re trying to achieve. But oftentimes, the goal is all we see. And looking at nothing but the end goal can overwhelm and lead to failure. Fortunately, the 1988 film Bull Durham holds the secret to achieving your business goals, no matter how large they may be. In this week&#8217...

The demand and absence of skilled labor is a huge challenge for remodelers across North America. We hear it from our Roundtables Members as well as from our associates, sponsors and Podcast guests. In this episode Victoria and Mark explore different ways to tackle the issue, and welcome Dan Hurst to the show to talk about how his firm effectively creates a culture and career path that provides opp...

We are all so busy running our businesses that we often don’t realize that there are other potential revenue-generating investments that align with our present and future business needs. Chris Landis thinks you should consider helping businesses that lease their office space as an added revenue stream. In this episode, Victoria, Mark and Chris talk more about this innovative revenue source....

We have covered the dangers of stress and anxiety for you and your business a few times; most recently on Episode 108 , where we touch on ways to battle and reduce it, including mindful meditation . To explore this topic further, Victoria and Mark welcome Peter Feinmann, President of Feinmann, Inc , a design build company in Lexington, MA, just outside of Boston. From the company’s beginnings in P...

Current events have created an environment of incredible stress for homeowners across the globe. Remodelers have an opportunity to tap into their dissatisfaction with their home environments by using an empathy-based marketing approach to make an emotional connection. Tanya Bamford joins Victoria and Mark to share how using the right messaging, imagery, and delivery channels can allow remodelers t...

Email is the default communication tool in business, there’s no denying that. But there is good reason to expand beyond email for your internal team communication. Victoria and Mark welcome Jason Langkammerer to the show, as they discuss how taking that step can enhance your teamwork, reduce the “noise” of email, and strengthen your company culture. Jason Langkammerer is a licens...

How stressed are you? Pandemics, demonstrations, economy, health… It’s not uncommon to feel stressed during these uncertain times. According to a study by the University of Cincinnati, many people feel anxiety around the Covid-19 virus, but even more are concerned about the financial impact that the pandemic has had or may have on them and their families. Anxiety and stress, whether for this reaso...

We’ve all had a gut instinct at one time or another. But do you trust your gut? Do you often rely on your intuition when making decisions? How do you know when you should follow your gut, even if the data suggests another approach? In this episode, Victoria and Mark discuss what intuition is and how to know when you should follow your gut when making important decisions. The guidelines they...

Are you resistant to change? Do you believe that because something has always worked for you, it’s “obviously” the best way to do it? Have you ever said, “we’ve always done it this way,” as an argument against change?  If so, then you are playing a dangerous game of chicken with your company, because these six words will eventually be the downfall of your business.  I...

The world is rapidly changing, and many of the old rules no longer apply. It is imperative that we change how we sell our services to stay ahead of the change curve. Today’s guest, Jeff Borovitz with Sandler Training, has been on thousands of face-to-face sales calls and has dialed the phone over 100,000 times to schedule appointments, follow up, and close sales.  In this episode, Jeff gives...

Editor’s note: We’re all working from our homes, away from the friendly confines of the office and its podcasting studio. So we dug into the virtual vault to bring you this episode. We’re in an uncertain time for many remodelers, so here’s some advice that will help you weather any business climate. One of our core principles is that remodeling companies should make a good net profit, after paying...

We talk about the J Curve a lot around here — picture a lower-case J. When you apply change principles to your business — new people, systems, and processes — they can initially send your business on a downward trajectory before soaring with your success. If you want to grow your company, listen carefully! Our guest today breaks this process down into four stages of development: Forming: The getti...

One of the strongest ways to differentiate your business in your market is to have a niche.  Wright Marshall’s company, Revival Construction, has always focused on one highly specific niche and is constantly refining its team and systems to be the leader in that segment. In this episode, Wright will share his approach with Victoria and Mark, and why following his passion for historic arc...

Leads! Lead! Leads! Business is good, leads are coming in. But are you over-qualifying, under-qualifying, or doing it just right?  Chip Doyle’s got research that says 30-60 percent of business is lost because the initial phone call is handled incorrectly. So if you’re not doing it just right, you’re leaving money behind. In this episode, Chip’s back with Victoria and Mark to break down the be...

It’s our 100th episode, and to mark the occasion, we’re welcoming back our first guest ever to talk about how to leave your business behind happily. On average, 75 percent of founders who exit their company have regrets within one year of leaving, and only five percent are actually happy with the net proceeds of their exit.  In this episode, John Warrillow will discuss why this happens with V...

Being able to adapt and lead through a crisis — personal or business — is a critical skill for any business owner.  After their best year ever in 2018, Jef and Monica Forward were gearing up for an even stronger 2019. Everything was on course until two key players were diagnosed with cancer. One of them was Monica, who was the company’s only estimator at the time. The other was their lead des...

Jobs are won or lost during the design process. With so much on the line, it’s clear that your design department should be running at peak performance. But there are so many ways the process can get derailed. It all depends on how you structure your design department, and what metrics you use to hold them accountable. In this episode, Chris Landis discusses about how to build and run an efficient...

If you’ve ever visited any Disney theme park across the globe, you may think nobody does customer service and experience like Disney. Although the execution is complex, the baseline concepts are quite simple.  In this episode, Pete Blank shares customer-service strategies from Disney with Victoria and Mark, and shows you how to apply these lessons to your remodeling company to boost your own...

Most people would consider a company jumping from $1.5 million to $3 million in revenue a growing organization. However, when we look beyond gross sales, those numbers don’t necessarily mean it grew. It could even mean the company is less profitable — and ultimately less successful — than it was before.  Michael Hodgin says planning for, and implementing, tiered advances are a better st...

Honesty is truly the best policy when it comes to your website and social media presence. In a sharing economy, your prospects want to know everything about your company before they even pick up the phone.  We’re breaking down why transparency online is important, and how it can lead to more jobs. In this episode, Taylor Rennick discusses the importance of being honest and transpar...

Many of your customers will pay more for items that improve the health, comfort, and efficiency of their homes. As one of the few things that pay for themselves over time, green upgrades can also boost your average project revenue and make you stand out in your market. In this episode, Doug Selby talks to Victoria and Mark about how green upgrades can improve your remodeling company’s bottom line....

As 2019 draws to a close, we’re taking a look back at some of our more popular episodes, and this episode explains how LEAN principles really work in a remodeling company. Perfect for any company looking to improve their business in 2020. In this episode, Paul Kowalski shares his experiences in applying LEAN in his business with Victoria and Mark. His company recently implemented the process...

No matter how well your remodeling company is doing, how well organized you are, life can get hectic at times. You work through it all, but this can leave you vulnerable to burnout. Which can lead to an avalanche of problems. In this episode, Marian Faller discusses burnout with Victoria and Mark, sharing its causes, the signs to look for in yourself and others, and how you can promote resiliency...

As we wrap up 2019, we’re looking back at some of our more popular episodes and this one was a huge hit. For our 50th episode in January, we gathered a panel of industry experts and took questions from the audience at the Extreme Business Makeover event. It capped off an intense two days of learning, sharing, and networking among the remodelers attending and our Remodelers Advantage team. In...