The Power of Training and Branding

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Tommy Mello

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interviewed Tommy Mello, a visionary entrepreneur and founder of a $220 million home services business operating across 20 states. As the author of Elevate: Build a Business Where Everybody Wins and host of The Home Service Expert podcast, Tommy has dedicated his career to helping others achieve business success by focusing on recruiting top talent, optimizing branding strategies, and delivering exceptional customer experiences.

During our conversation, Tommy shared his journey of scaling a business from a small operation to an industry leader in the home services space. He emphasized the importance of investing in training, aligning core values, and leveraging performance pay systems to build a thriving team and long-term customer loyalty.

Key Takeaways:

• Recruit Like You Market: Tommy treats recruiting like a marketing campaign, creating a continuous pipeline of A-plus talent. He focuses on identifying the right candidates by defining the ideal “avatar” for each role and using targeted ads to attract them.
• Performance Pay Drives Results: Transitioning to performance-based pay not only motivates employees but also improves KPIs like booking rates, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction, driving both team and business success.
• Branding is More Than a Logo: Tommy’s brand overhaul, including visually striking vehicle wraps and a unified brand voice across email, billboards, and yard signs, elevated his company’s visibility and customer trust.
• Optimize the Call Center: A well-trained call center is critical. By focusing on empathy, responsiveness, and problem-solving, his team converts more leads into loyal customers, maximizing ROI on marketing investments.
• Blue-Collar Jobs Are the Future: With skilled labor shortages increasing, Tommy sees a bright future for tradespeople, emphasizing the financial and personal rewards of working in the home services sector.

Chapters:

• [00:00] Who is Tommy Mello?
• [02:14] Optimizing Recruitment and Service Quality
• [04:05] Branding Goes Beyond Your Logo
• [07:26] Motivating Employees to Perform
• [12:37] Recruiting vs. Creating A-Players
• [15:52] Using Marketing to Recruit

More About Tommy Mello: 

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