The Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast

Discover six powerful strategies to dominate your market during the slow winter months. Rich reveals how to turn November-February into your competitive advantage through storytelling, mega-irresistible offers, pre-selling spring jobs, and strategic marketing investments. Learn why winter isn't dead season—it's domination season. Includes proven examples from successful contractors generating millions in off-season revenue.  

What is Google Business? Why is it so important? How can you optimize it? Those are all questions that Rich answers today in a special episode in our "5 Ways to Monday" series. It's special because he brings Level 10 Contractor SEO Guru-extraordinaire, Katie Colihan, on the show with him to discuss the topic and all its nuances. This is truly an important episode… so set aside some time and get ready to learn.

It's Sunday, and you know what that means–Rich gets out of the marketing pool and does a cannonball from the high dive into the personal development and spiritual deep end. This Sunday is no different; Rich is going to talk about self awareness… and something he calls super-human self awareness.

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 talk about selling yourself BEFORE you ever arrive at the house for your sales meeting. Don

Today's podcast is all about videos… and specifically, getting great video testimonials. Rich is going to discuss how to do them so that the people on the videos--your customers!--say things that speak directly to your identity, so that those who are watching get granular, first-hand witnesses that you actually deliver on all your promises. It takes some planning, and it takes some effort, but the end result is well worth it… as you you'll see… er… hear when Rich plays some samples from his own client archives.  

It's Throwback Thursday, and here we've dug into the vault and pulled out a real gem. This is a webinar that Rich recorded back in 2012 on the topic of creativity in marketing. He's going to give you ideas on THREE different ways to come up with ideas: 1) Inspiration, 2) deduction, and 3) mismatching. If you'd like to come up with new and innovative ideas for your business, this is going to be a great resource for you.

"Websites are like stained glass windows: they sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within." That's a quote from Elisabeth Kubler-Ross… well, sort of… the  real quote is about people, not websites–but the point is valid! Rich is going to give you kind of a warning about being overly smitten by the way your website LOOKS… and encourage you, well, build a site that looks good AND actually does what a website is supposed to do.

Okay, we're back with another real live media buying case study… but, with a bit of a twist. As the name of this episode would suggest, Rich ended up paying more for radio for this client in this market than he's paid for any radio anywhere, ever… but as you can imagine, there's a good reason… which Rich will explain in detail. But just because he paid a lot, don't assume that he didn't get a good deal. Confused? As you'll hear… media buying is a supply and demand game… when supply is low, prices go high. Then you have to decide what your options are. If there aren't any good options… well… I think you can see where this is going.

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our "5 Ways To Monday" series… How would you like to be a recognized expert in your field… and somebody who is sought out online for your expertise and opinions? Well you're in luck: Today Rich tackles the topic of how to become an online influencer!

It's Sunday, and Rich is putting on his preacher hat as he tends to do sometimes… Today he's going to talk about 5 times Jesus was loved without condition… but there is actually a lot more to this. Rich is going to also talk about WHY it's necessary to love without Condition… and how a big part of what Jesus was here on earth to do… was to model that for us.

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 cover the topic of innovation. Let's face it: if you are not innovating your business, then you're stagnating. Worse, your competition might be doing the hard work you're avoiding which means they'll outshine you. Innovation has always been a big part of what Rich teaches and preaches about… and he's kind of cracked the code. We will hear a couple of Rich's 20 different innovation formulas–that's right, 20 tricks to stand above the rest. Plus Rich discusses two of the greatest innovators he's encountered. You don't want to miss this.

Okay, I'm just putting it out there right up front that this is kind of a weird episode of the podcast. I'm assuming that since you're listening you probably "get it" when it comes to the Level 10 mindset and principles… and you listen so you can find new and practical ways to improve your business. Good for you! But it turns out, not everyone gets it. Like the operator of this sunroom company that's on today's strategy call with Rich. He is 100% convinced that price competition is unavoidable and devastating. When Rich tries to tease out his identity… and explain how that's the key to overcoming price competition… well, let's just say… he's not having it. So Rich backs up and tries again. Nothing. And again. Nothing. Until Rich sends him on his way. Now that's not to say the advice Rich gives him isn't good--as usual,  it's outstanding. But by the end of this podcast, you'll be shaking your head right along with Rich.

It's Throwback Thursday, and today we're taking the wayback machine to 2012 for a webinar Rich did called "Advance Joint Venture Strategies." What's a joint venture? It's when you work with other companies to leverage either their name or their customer list to generate leads and sales. Rich will cover three kinds of joint ventures today. First, becoming a content provider… second, what he calls "left field endorsements," and third "product placement." The idea here isn't really to say "here, do this exact thing," but rather, "Here are some ideas and concepts to spur ideas for you in your business."

You know that Rich is a master at explaining stuff that's normally not that easy to understand… like SEO, for instance. And websites. On today's podcast, Rich breaks it down and makes it even simpler to understand as he talks to a roofing contractor who has a website that's…. Well… in need of some improvements. Rich breaks it down and makes it sooo easy to understand, that it can be summed up in four short words: Show up, stand out. As in… your website has to show up in Google Rankings… and then it has to stand out so that people fall in love with it and want to do business with you. You're going to love the simplicity of this–and the power.

Rich talks Financing! If you've read his book, Unlocking Unlimited Lead Flow, you know that Rich loves him some financing. He's going to show you how it can help you raise your average ticket, raise your conversion ratios, and just plain raise sales. He'll go through a script for how to utilize it--and how NOT to utilize it… and even show you how to use it in your advertising.

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our "5 Ways To Monday" series… Today Rich is talking about CONTENT, and specifically, how to make it more interesting, engaging, relevant, and AWESOME.

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. What does an 11-year-old kid standing on third base at a critical moment of a big game and a married man being invited to a business dinner by a female colleague have to do with each other? Well, both of them will have conflicting voices running through their heads telling them what to do… and their ability to distinguish and listen to the RIGHT voice could have a major impact on the outcome--positive or negative. And that's what today's podcast is all about--distinguishing between the various voices in your head that are attempting to guide and influence you.

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. Marketing is like building a case in court. Your product or service is on trial… your customers are the jury… and you're the attorney in charge… and it's a life or death sentence on the line. You can't just throw out a bunch of platitudes, you have to build the case. And that's what this week's showcase is all about.

It's Random Friday, that weirdly interesting podcast episode we run every month or so where RIch aggregates a bunch of little nuggets that don't really warrant an entire podcast, but are certainly worth talking about. Today Rich covers diverse topics such as billboards, putting friction in your lead forms, how and when to rotate your TV and radio ads… and a bad experience down at the credit union. And more!

It's another Throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and find gold from days gone by. You've heard Rich on the podcast talking about financing before… you know, how you should integrate the discussion into your salesperson's opening, and talk about monthly payments from the git go. Today's podcast starts there… and then takes the discussion of how to implement financing to Ninja levels that will get you thinking.

This one starts off as a strategy call… where you'll hear a contractor talking about a whole lot of unethical things that are happening in his market with his competitors lying to consumers and causing them to have problems with their insurance companies. Then, just as he's getting worked up… the recording goes bad, and Rich has to finish the episode on his studio mic by himself. Do you think that stops Rich from giving great advice about Victory going to the one with superior forces at the point of contact, and telling you exactly how to do that? Of course not. It's going to take more than a messed up recording to keep Rich from improving your marketing!

Today's episode is a bit of a changeup… you are going to listen in on a conversation between Rich and one of his senior copywriters, Nick, as they discuss possible slogans for one of their clients. You'll find this process both fascinating and inspirational. Well, not inspirational like "Now I want to run a marathon or climb Mt Kilamanjaro"... but inspirational like "Hey I could do something like this for my company."

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our “5 Ways To Monday” series… The economy's tightening—so should your business. Scrutinize workers, sales reps, suppliers, expenses, and marketing to boost efficiency, cut waste, and maximize profitability without losing momentum in slower economic times.

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.

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 review core concepts of Level 10's marketing strategy. This is a great refresher if you've been listening to the podcast, absolutely necessary if you're new to Level 10, and a perfect bookmark podcast you can return to anytime you need the reminder.

Most contractor marketing is chaos—disconnected PPC, SEO, and ads chasing different goals. The Unified Contractor Marketing Framework aligns every channel under one Identity-based strategy for consistent messaging, unified reporting, and predictable lead growth.

It's another Throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and find gold from days gone by. Today, we continue our discussion on Innovation Formulas. What's an innovation formula? It's a specific way to look at your business in terms of innovation. Today's formulas include such things as the “Pulaski No-Punt,” “Free Lunch,” “Guaranteed Greatness,” “Grand Theft Inno,” and “Quality Counts.” It's a smorgasbord of innovation, and you're going to get some great ideas!

Want to know what separates a great website from a mediocre one? One that generates leads vs one that just kind of sits there? Today Rich goes through a list of TEN things that we do over here at Level 10 Contractor that make our sites, well, better than other ones you might get from other companies. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AhamlAIKo2M

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our “5 Ways To Monday” series… Today, it's all about adding extra income streams. Rich is going to talk about adding product lines, selling your leads, engineering joint ventures with other companies… and more.

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our “5 Ways To Monday” series… Today, it's all about adding extra income streams. Rich is going to talk about adding product lines, selling your leads, engineering joint ventures with other companies… and more. Watch on Youtube: 6 Side Hustles for Contractors [WITHOUT Losing Focus on Your Main Thing]: https://youtu.be/y7puzZ-R9Us

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's message today just might strike a chord…  because he's basically going to tell you to STOP trying to fix yourself. He's going to give you a new perspective on why you have the struggles you have, and what to do instead of trying to fix them. He starts with a parable called “strengthen what is good about the lawn,” then talks about not resisting evil.

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 cover branding. What's that you say? You already are the master of branding? Or you're too small for branding? Nonsense, on both accounts! Branding is more than your name or your logo or the bright color you wrap your service trucks in. Your brand is your promise. In Level 10 parlance, it is your Identity. It's what sets you apart and makes your company superior to the competition… and you better be sharing it in every piece of your marketing.

As the title would suggest, this episode is geared toward smaller remodelers, and it has to do with having a fundamental understanding of what it takes to be successful in business, from a marketing perspective. If you're a bigger company–go ahead and take a listen, too… you just might find this to be helpful for you as well.

 It's another Throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and find gold from days gone by. Today is a real treat. Innovation has always been a big part of what Rich teaches and preaches about… and he's kind of cracked the code. Instead of doing what most innovation books and gurus do--which encourages you to be innovative, and tells you about Apple and Southwest airlines--like that helps… Rich actually figured out about 20 different formulas that you can use to help you, you know, ACTUALLY generate those ideas! On today's podcast--which comes from a 2012 webinar… he's going to go over about 10 of them… then next week on the TBT podcast, he'll give you the webinar with the other half of them.

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/eYoYVbkEDX0 Today's podcast is interesting on many levels. Rich is going to tell you a story about the time when he was a juror on a murder trial… and how the district attorney's failure to clearly educate the jury on certain specific points that he THOUGHT were readily apparent to everyone confused the heck out of the jury and caused them to draw all kinds of false conclusions. Cool story--but what does it have to do with marketing, you may ask?! In a word: EVERYTHING! Your business is on trial, your product or service is the defendant, your customers are the jury… and YOU are the attorney in charge of defense. You've got to make absolutely 100% sure that the jury understands exactly what you mean every time you open your mouth. Because guess what? They're NOT experts on what you do and what you sell and how you do it and what they should look out for. So it's your job to educate them.

In this live GAF Toronto workshop, Rich reveals how remodeling contractors can generate 200–500 quotable leads per month using SEO, Google Business Profiles, Meta ads, and PPC. He breaks down “geo-keyword pairs,” the power of identity-based websites, and the importance of optimized service-area pages, reviews, and consistent digital marketing to build predictable, million-dollar-a-month lead flow.

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our “5 Ways To Monday” series… Today Rich is talking about negotiating those media deals. This topic is on his mind because he's been working with some of Level 10's staff on media negotiations recently… and he made a few notes on some things he's been helping them with. So it's not exactly like being a fly on the wall for a personal training from Rich–but it's pretty darn close.

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 Rich answers why no one keeps to their goals. He quickly disposes of the old, stand-by excuses of being too lazy, too busy, or too distracted by other things. It might actually have more to do with overcoming negative FEELINGS that you've attached to making the changes you want in your life--feelings that you might not even be conscious of.

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 cover a core tenet in the success of Level 10 marketing, namely Education. Customers want to make the best buying decision. If you help them do that–not just sell them on why to buy from you–but really help them understand the right questions to ask and everything they actually need to know before remodeling their kitchen of refitting the bath for example, they will see you as the font of knowledge and 9 times out of 10, they select your business.

Contractors are drowning in software, data, and "AI" tools that don't talk to each other. Enter Rize—the AI growth engine built to fix it all. In this episode, Rich Harshaw talks with co-founder Vincent Sun and enterprise sales expert Chris Rice about how Rize will revolutionize home improvement companies by creating true AI employees that automate, analyze, and integrate everything you already use.

Contractors are drowning in software, data, and “AI” tools that don't talk to each other. Enter Rize—the AI growth engine built to fix it all. In this episode, Rich Harshaw talks with co-founder Vincent Sun and enterprise sales expert Chris Rice about how Rize will revolutionize home improvement companies by creating true AI employees that automate, analyze, and integrate everything you already use.

It's another Throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and find gold from days gone by. Got a small, local business? Today we go back to 2014 for a webinar Rich did back then teaching David how to beat Goliath. The principles he's going to discuss can apply to any kind of business… but for his example, he shows you how a local Korean Donut Shop can outmarket the evil empire known as Krispy Kreme. And not just outmarket--actually take them DOWN. THis is a fun one, but also very instructive.

This episode will provide a little boost for all of you out there who sell replacement windows. Rich is going to explain to you why you should offer a free glass breakage warranty… and then, why you should double down on it and feature it in your advertising and marketing messages. This seemingly little thing can actually be a really big deal to your prospects and customers.

Rich kicks off at GAF Toronto—a major roofing industry training and networking event hosted by GAF and Gibson's Building Supplies—with a powerhouse keynote on what contractors should truly optimize for: not just leads, but brand, reputation, and long-term market dominance. A masterclass in identity-driven marketing.

Another Monday means it's time for another installment of our “5 Ways To Monday” series… That something this round is tactfully market against your competitors. We're not talking about taking the gloves off and hitting below the belt–but we are talking about honestly and accurately measuring how YOU do vs. how your competitors do–and using that information to your advantage.

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… we tackle self-improvement. Rich shows you how to identify and tackle opportunities that are all around each of us all the time--but that we probably don't even notice. There is a little bit of business-related stuff in here, but a lot of the content applies to your personal life. If you like to hear RIch tell stories, you're going to love this podcast… every concept is illustrated with those trademark Rich stories.

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.Rich reminds time and again that effective marketing is good storytelling. That is what we are focusing on today: how and why it is crucial to tell your company's story in a way that explains–without a doubt–why you are the absolute best buying decision for your prospects.

This episode is all about Farming. As in advertising farming. As in… radio and television advertising that is designed to nurture the audience over time so that they automatically know to call you whenever they decide that they need whatever it is that you sell. Rich is going to walk you through the process of determining how big your “farm” is… each TV station and each Radio station is compared to a piece of land--some big and some small, depending on the audience size and associated cost to reach them. Rich will show you how to figure out how big the entire farm is, so that you can then choose which pieces and parcels of land within that farm to start, well, farming.

It's another Throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and find gold from days gone by. Today's episode is from a webinar Rich did called the Tuesday Morning Ad Clinic, where contractors used to submit ads for critique and improvement. Today a window company from Ohio submits an ad for a mailing program that is pretty weak sauce… so Rich gets to work on rewriting it, focusing on the headlines. This is pretty cool--you get to be a fly on the wall as Rich breaks down the identity points of this company and then translates them into headlines that are a lot more likely to move the needle than what they started with.

Rich compares unforgettable classic rock intros to the opening lines of advertising. Just like great songs hook you instantly, ads must grab attention fast—or risk losing listeners. Discover why a strong intro is everything in marketing, with real radio ad examples that prove the point.

When a client's print ad fell flat with a cheap gas-card gimmick, Rich stepped in. By weaving in Clemens Home Solutions' authentic story and values, he transformed the ad into identity-driven marketing that actually connects. Discover why telling your story always beats shallow offers.