Tommy Mello is the author of Home Service Millionaire and the founder of A1 Garage Doors, a $100 million-plus home service business with over 400 employees in 16 states. Through HomeServiceMillionaire.com and the Home Service Expert podcast, Tommy shares his experience and insights to help fellow entrepreneurs scale their businesses.

In this special episode of the Home Service Expert podcast, host and A1 Garage Doors owner Tommy Mello answers your biggest questions about quoting prices over the phone, effective branding strategies, how to find an Integrator, dealing with unethical competition…

Show notes

• The 100 Million Mastermind Event. [01:12]
• The importance of asking for what you want. [02:30]
• Charging a service call fee vs. doing free estimates. [3:42]
• The difficulties in giving a quote over the phone. [4:54]
• Choosing the customers you need and want. [5:54]
• Getting employees on a performance improvement plan. [7:49]
• The top three things that make the best difference in business. [8:33]
• Handling price requests over the phone. [9:31]
• The upcoming Vertical Track event. [11:03]
• Including sales commission in your COGS (cost of goods sold). [12:27]
• Effective branding strategies. [13:02]
• Having commissioned sales for your business. [15:26]
• Plans for A1 Garage. [19:19]
• Marketing meetings at A1 Garage. [20:58]
• Where to find a great integrator. [21:57]
• Tommy’s advice on meetings and metrics. [23:32]
• How to achieve the right pricing. [25:29]
• Making your company culture more positive. [28:10]
• Lead generation tips. [28:57]
• Making Valpak work within your marketing strategy. [29:59]
• How to deal with unethical competition. [31:02]
• Additional details about the Vertical Track event. [32:35]
• Hiring an experienced employee vs. training someone internally. [37:32]
• Tommy’s parting thoughts and stories for his listeners. [39:09]

Resources And People Mentioned:

• 100 Million Mastermind
• Marshall Silver
• Craigslist
• Facebook
• Groupon
• Livingsocial
• Al Levi
• Grant Cardone
• Vertical Track
• Google
• Service Titan
• Brandon Rafi Law Group
• (Joe) Biden
• A1 Garage
• iPad
• Rocket Fuel by Gino Wickman and Mark C. Winters
• Built to Last by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras
• Quit Getting Screwed by Karalynn Cromeens
• 1501 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson, PHD
• Angie’s List 
• Home Advisor
• Tiktok
• Valpak
• Zip Recruiter
• Indeed
• Instagram