The Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast

Rich takes all the data supplied to him by TV stations in Boston, and walks one of Level 10's Advertising managers through the numbers as a training exercise. So basically, you're going to get real-world training on media buying directly from Rich… right here today, on this podcast. You're going to hear Rich interpret the data through his favorite lens--CPM, or cost per thousand. During the course of the call, he points many things out to his pupil… but also calls on him to make his own conclusions… then once they've crunched the numbers, he formulates a negotiation strategy. This is hardcore stuff--but man, it's really good.

It's Thursday, so you know what that means--throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and pull out some marketing gold from yesteryear. And for today's podcast, that gold has to do with the topic of Identity, and the year is 2014. This is a webinar that Rich did in conjunction with longtime Level 10 Supporter, Marketsharp. This is a great overview of the Identity concept, with lots of good examples.

Rich tells a sad tale about the time he was super excited to be featured in a major national business magazine… only to be horrified when he saw what they actually wrote about him. What was supposed to be kind of a big deal turned out to be a big embarrassment. He's going to take that story and extract a few lessons from it and teach you how to deal with media opportunities… and give you some really good ideas for cultivating the kind of image and identity you want for your company in a purposeful and intentional way.

You're going to be a fly on the wall as Rich has a conversation with Level 10 Contractor Senior Copywriter, Dave Moffitt. Dave is helping one of his clients create copy for a website, and the client LIKES what Dave has written, but wants to find a headline that better captures their overall identity. Rich, of course, takes a deep dive--wanting to know not just WHAT they do… but WHY and HOW they do it. This exercise turns into a sort of karate or taekwondo lesson as Rich comes up with a bunch of short but powerful headlines that land on the reader's figurative jaw like short, sharp, forceful punches.

Rich Harshaw reveals the five biggest ways contractors lose profit: DIY media buying, undercharging, under-spending on PPC, weak front-end financing, and failing to communicate clear identity. Fixing these issues boosts lead flow, sales, and margins. Rich explains why each mistake costs you and how to correct it for maximum growth.

This podcast is another venture into spiritual things… Today, Rich jumps into the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount and discusses one of the Beatitudes, "Blessed Are The Peacemakers."

Every Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor's ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we focus on your employees and their morale. You cannot operate your businesses alone; employees are the cogs that make the machine run without you. But they are more than just cogs. They should be reflections on you and the culture of your company. If that culture is negative and degrading… well, you shouldn't expect the highest performance. So how do you keep morale high and your employees humming along?

This podcast, as the title would suggest, is all about business partnerships… and more specifically, how to avoid having them go bad… and making sure you have contingency plans in place in case they do. Rich has been in two formal partnerships in his career--both of them turned out badly. Really badly. And he learned a lot of hard lessons that you're going to benefit from today. Along the way, he also witnessed other companies with bad partnership situations--some were handled well, others, horrifically bad. In fact, he's going to tell you the story of 4 siblings who owned a business together… that ripped the family apart… because they didn't have a good handle on the very rules that they ended up helping Rich learn.

Thanks for joining us for our Throwback Thursday, which ironically, comes from an old Tuesday Morning Ad Clinic webinar that Rich did in 2014. This is an interesting case: An electrician sends Rich a postcard that is intended to scare people into getting their electrical system checked out, because, you know, their house might burn down if they don't. Rich explains that people hate to pay for preventative maintenance, because, well… the fact that their house hasn't burned down yet is a pretty good indicator that the wiring must be just fine, thank you! Then he goes on to explain a better way to make the case that they need to get things checked out. Like Rich always says, "Great copy is the result of having a great idea"… and that's what today's podcast is all about.

In this episode, Rich explains why contractors must stop treating marketing like an expense and start thinking of it as an investment. He breaks down the difference between short-term "hunting" tactics (like PPC and lead aggregators) and long-term "farming" strategies (like SEO, branding, and reviews), showing how consistent marketing investments compound over time to create stability, equity, and lasting lead flow.

Rich is going to talk about how most websites have an OVER-reliance on what he calls "engagement tools"--you know, things like offers for free estimates, join our newsletter list, get a quote, maps, and so forth. What's that you say? You NEED those things on your website? Maybe so. Probably so. But like everything else in life--how you approach them and how you present them makes all the difference in the world.

It's Monday, which means it's time for the next installment of our "5 Ways to Monday" series. Rich talks to companies whose primary lead generation activities are lead aggregators… with ideas and strategies to start to shift into branding. It's not that lead aggregators are bad–it's that for the long term continued growth of your company, you're going to want to generate your own leads, and preferably from prospects who are actively seeking you out because they WANT to do business with you.

Thanks for joining us for the Sunday podcast, where Rich turns his attention to either personal development or spiritual topics… and as you can see from the title, today is spiritual. And he's going to talk about God… and try to untangle the mess that the Bible seems to have put Christians in as they attempt to reconcile the notion of God as a loving heavenly parent versus the petulant tyrant that appears in the Old Testament. You know, the one who kills all of the world except Noah and his ark after just 10 pages. And even mild mannered Jesus lets the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth fly when talking about the end of times. What are we to make of all this? As usual, Rich has opinions.

Every other Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor's ENTIRE podcast run. This week, let's focus on what Rich calls your Inside Reality, especially as it relates to your Outside Perception. He will define these terms in greater detail in the clips, but to put it simply here: your inside reality is how great your company actually is–all the things you do differently and why you are superior to the competitors in your industry–while the outside perception is how prospects and customers perceive your company from the outside, regardless of reality. If your marketing is full of platitudes, chances are people have no idea why they should choose you over the next guy. To them, you are all exactly the same. We are going to help you correct this massive problem.

This podcast is a discussion about Identity that RIch had with Gary Cohen from Certified Contractors NEtwork, CCN, for that organization's podcast, called the Contractor's Toolbox. This is a great discussion because Gary digs in deep and Rich shares some thoughts and examples of Identity that you've probably never heard before, even if you're a long-time listener. Next week, Gary returns the favor, and will appear as a guest with Rich on THIS podcast, where they will be talking about Managing Your Business by the Numbers.

If you're a fan of expert level copywriting, then today's podcast is for you. This is Throwback Thursday, of course, and this is one of Rich's Tuesday Morning Ad Calls from 2014. A Roofing company submits some stuff they had written up that was to be used in communicating with members of a homeowner's association they were targeting… and Rich gets to work doing his thing… taking words that sound pretty good, actually… and making them sound GREAT. I like the part where he talks about taking little "jabs" at your readers, in a nice way, of course. This is truly the work of a master craftsman you are about to experience.

A tiny Wisconsin window company grew from $500K to $5M by attacking private-equity competitors with bold identity-based radio ads highlighting honesty, pricing, and local ownership. Rich then used the same strategy for Bay State Bath—female-led, local, and anti-Wall-Street messaging—paired with OTT/TV spots featuring "Baby Richie." Results: record sales and a major PE competitor collapsing. Local identity beats corporate sameness.

Today's show is going to challenge you to audit your schedule, evaluate how you spend your time, and encourage you to double-down on your strengths so you can accomplish the things in your business and in your life that are truly important.

Rich talks about how to REDUCE STICKER SHOCK when your prospective customers get that big fat expensive price from your sales person. Or at least that·s how they feel about it! UNLESS· you follow Rich·s advice today and get into some bigtime PRICE CONDITIONING.

It's another Sunday podcast, and as you know, this is where Rich turns to subjects more in the realm of spirituality and self improvement. Today he's going to challenge you to examine your priorities… and see if you're spending your time on things that are truly important. This one's not very long, but the message packs a punch.

Every other Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor's ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we talk about what to do after a rejection. You hook a prospect and even pitch them inside their home but despite your salesperson's best effort, the homeowner turns you down. What do you do next? Do you give up? Is that sale gone forever now… another contractor's gain? Hopefully after today's round of clips, you'll understand why and how to follow up and keep fighting. A no today can turn into a yes with the right follow-up.

It's time for another episode of Random Friday… if you've listened to the podcast for a really long time, then you know that it used to be Random Saturday, but alas, times have changed. Random means that Rich spends a few minutes on little nuggets of interesting stuff that aren't really suitable for an entire podcast, but when you bundle them all up, you've got something pretty good. On the list for today: Playing dirty with your competitors, overproduced radio ads, standing out in print, giving yourself a break when you mess up… and the wit and wisdom of Brian Elias.

Did you ever want to read a book, but you just didn't want to take the time to read the book? Well Rich has your solution for today's subject, which is a book called "Made To Stick." It's a great book that will help your marketing… but instead of pouring through it, Rich has picked out all the most important parts… which he shares, along with his commentary and insight.

A contractor aims to grow from $23M to $150M by 2030. Rich shows that the path isn't new services or new states—it's dominating the existing market by being everywhere. With a 12% marketing budget, massive reach across TV, radio, OTT, social, PPC, mailers, events, and door-knocking creates enough familiarity, trust, and frequency to generate the 1,800+ monthly leads required.

So what's the ideal situation for starting a business in the home improvement industry. How about this: First of all, start it in 2010, in the ashes of the recession. Then do it as a woman in a male dominated industry. Then try doing it with 1 year old twins--that barely survived premature birth. Starting from zero. With no previous business ownership experience. Sounds ideal, right? Today you're going to meet Nissa Cleman who did exactly that.

It's a Monday so it only makes sense to continue listening to the best "5 Ways to Monday" episodes. It's a new year! And we're here to help you make it a GREAT one! Today it's 5 ways to generate leads in the new year. Some of the 5 ways might seem familiar–but with a twist. Some of them might be new to you. Make sure you hang in there for #5, because it's so obvious and so easy and so stealthy… you just gotta do it.

It's another Sunday podcast, and as you know, this is where Rich turns to subjects more in the realm of spirituality and self improvement. Rich has some cool stories for you that illustrate something he calls "Grace for Grace," and the importance of people getting grace from other people… the story about the school shooter at the end will have you in tears.

Every other Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor's ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we focus on your employees and their morale. You cannot operate your businesses alone; employees are the cogs that make the machine run without you. But they are more than just cogs. They should be reflections on you and the culture of your company. If that culture is negative and degrading… well, you shouldn't expect the highest performance. So how do you keep morale high and your employees humming along?

This episode is one that might just make your head explode; Rich saw an ad for a residential real estate company who was offering to pay homeowners cash money RIGHT NOW… in exchange for an agreement to let that company list their home whenever they decide to sell in the future… with no other strings attached. That got Rich to thinking. He figured out some creative ways to utilize similar concepts for remodeling and home services companies…. The real question is: How much would it be worth to you right now to lock in guaranteed future buyers?

This is finally the year to break through. In this episode, Rich challenges contractors to stop repeating the same mistakes, commit to smarter marketing, and build consistent lead flow that fuels real growth instead of another year of frustration and excuses.

Today we look back and learn why goal setting and holding yourself accountable are key to becoming the success you want and deserve to be.

We curated the best episodes to teach you how to write killer headlines, eye-catching postcards, compelling blogs, and more.

More 5 Ways to MOnday Episodes from the Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast

Merry Christmas from All of us here at Level 10 Contractor!

We are nothing without our customers which is why today on our mega pod we have gathered the best episodes on how to take care of them… before, during and after they do business with us.

Today is about effectively running a business and managing employees.

Today, we go online and try to master social media. We will talk about curating a company's social media pages as well as learn how to leverage social media's superior targeting, especially Facebook.

Today, we jump into a topic near and dear to Rich's heart: innovation.

Today we delve into your customer's mind in order to understand what incentivizes them into action… aka why they buy and how to get them to buy from you instead of your competitors.

Today wwe have more "5 Ways to Monday" Episodes for you on this 'MegaPod'

On this MegaPod, Rich talks about Grace, Friendship and the Woman at the Well

Today, we revisit the best advice Rich has given to beginners.

Today, we're listening to Rich's keynotes address from 2024.

Today we continue our look back at the year's best Random Shows. These are the episodes that cover a wide range of topics too small to fill their own episode but too big to be ignored.

On this MEGAPOD, we give you the best L10 Podcast Episodes, in particular the Random Shows, when Rich tackles topics too small for their own episode but too big too ignore.

On today's mega pod, it's all about radio advertising. You'll hear 40 ads that will give you a better idea of what "Identity" Sounds like in advertistements

On this MEGAPOD, We give you some of the best "5 ways to Monday" L10 Podcast episodes!

On this Sunday MegaPod - We hear some more about Agape Love

On this MEGAPOD, We give you the best L10 Podcast Episodes about Radio and Television advertising!

On this MEGAPOD, We give you part one of the best L10 Podcast Episodes about Your Website

On this MEGAPOD, We give you part two of the best L10 Podcast Episodes about Identity!