In this actionable episode, Daniel Strohli, Founder of Profitsx.com, shares how to build scalable lead systems for contractors and service businesses. If you struggle with inconsistent pipelines and payroll pressures, you won’t want to miss it.
You will discover:
– What simple automations boost visibility and conversions fast
– How to create client-centric websites that generate high-quality leads
– Why consistent, focused work outperforms talent in marketing
Episode Transcript
Scott Ritzheimer
Hello, hello and welcome. Welcome once again to the start, scale and succeed. Podcast, the only podcast that grows with you through all seven stages of your journey as a founder, I’m your host, Scott Ritzheimer, and today I want to talk to the founder listening out there, just the one I know. I know who you are. No just kidding, who grew the business, built the team, and now lies awake at night, wondering where the next project is going to come from, not because you can’t do the work, but because you’ve got people counting on you. And you know that your pipeline may not keep up with your payroll. You’ve hired because it was more work than you can handle. But now, on the other side of all that hiring, you’re realizing that you’ve got to you’ve got to scale, not just the way you do the work, but the way you get the work. Your website sits there silent, and it just seems like everything you do there’s all this headwind against you. It’s a hidden crisis that so many founders face, especially those who are in the stage that we all know is the reluctant manager stage. And here’s the thing that makes this so painful is that the very success that allowed you to build a team has now become a trap. You Can’t you feel like you can’t go backwards because they’re depending on you, and you haven’t built the lead generation revenue system for a company of anything more than you. And so every slow week isn’t just worrying a little bit about cash flow, it’s looking your team in the eye knowing you may not have enough work to keep them employed. Well, it doesn’t have to be that way, and our guest today has spent years solving this exact problem, especially for contractors and service based business owners. Daniel Strohli is the founder of profits X, a company dedicated to helping contractors and service based businesses grow by building trust, credibility and visibility online. Since 2018 he’s guided business owners in creating client centric websites, lead capture systems and simple automations that consistently generate high quality leads. With a background in real estate and business development, Daniel understands firsthand the challenges that entrepreneurs face in competitive markets, his systems and strategies have helped clients increase revenue by an average of 38% in just six months. He’s here with us today. Daniel, welcome to the show. So excited to have you here. I’ve been looking forward to this conversation, and I want to start off with it’s out of the gate with a with this question, why Is it that that this pattern happens? Why is it that we suddenly feel like this approach falls apart? What’s the gap between lead generation that works for a solo operator and what’s needed to sustain a growing team?
Daniel Strohli
Pleasure to be here, and I’m honored by being able to be on the show. I think you guys do amazing work. I do appreciate all the questions that you asked for this specific question. I want to point out that people tend to want to hire sooner than necessary, because they just like the idea of being a boss. So they’ll immediately want to hire the first couple people that they can. Some people will mistakenly hire family and friends just because the closest people to them without obviously having a hiring process, but someone who’s a little bit further out in business. Let’s say you hired the right people. You have everything going the correct way in your eyes. You have the right culture in place, things like that. And you’re looking to generate leads consistently for your business, you need to make sure that it’s obviously keyword being consistent. So that way, when you have the people on the team, they have the product or capability to produce the product on a consistent basis. Now the question that you ask is specific to lead generation, and when I work with companies, we usually work in the real estate niche, financial niche, construction niche to be specific, but it still applies for all businesses, because business fundamentally is the same. Now it can be tweaked for the business type, the category, the niche, but fundamentally, how you generate leads, how you capture leads, how you nurture the leads, stay the same. Now, when people are looking to grow and to scale, they think that if they just hire people without looking at the marketing side of the business, it’s just going to take care of itself. And the way I like to explain to people is very simple. There’s a marketing side of the business and there’s a business and there’s a product slash innovation side of the business. So what you sell and how often you get to sell it and how many times people buy it, that’s where marketing comes in. It’s not a bad word. I’m making it very general, so people understand it’s a part of business that being said when you’re doing it yourself. You usually understand what you need on a weekly basis, whether it be booked, calls sales, whatever it is when you hire someone else in a lot of times, the mistakes that they make, even before they even get to the lead generation process, is they don’t actually document their systems well enough they don’t demonstrate it to the new hire, and they’re not effectively able to duplicate it. So what they effectively do is they end up getting themselves two separate jobs. They’re doing the new person’s job. They’re doing their job. If they want it done right, they do it themselves. And then the lead generation issue just becomes another issue on top. Because, like, Yeah, I knew how to do it right on my own, but the second I bring an additional person onto the team, I now have to worry about his workload. I want to make sure I’m getting my investments worth so on and so. Forth that this happens at a small level and it happens at bigger levels the same way. It doesn’t really change. Just the longer you play the game, the more you understand how to do the documentation, how to generate leads more consistently. That makes sense.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, no, it’s so good. So one of the things that I hear a lot is, I have to get more leads. I have to get more leads. Very rarely do I hear someone say, I need to build more credibility online. Why is it that you focus on credibility? And what’s this relationship with lead generation?
Daniel Strohli
Someone who’s starting in business, you always want to make more money. You get into business saying, I want to make money. That’s why I’m in business. Most people tell you you’re in business to make money. I noticed obviously it’s not about how much money you make, it’s how much money you make, it’s how much money you take, the profit and the lead generation is what happens to get you to that profit stage. And my goal was to simplify it as best as I can, for myself, let alone anyone else that happened to have served clients for years to come, but for myself, I needed to understand very simple things, which was, how many people do I speak to? Or how many people know about me? I should say, how many people actually want to have a conversation with me? And then how many people actually end up converting to become a client? That being said, if your goal is to generate as many leads as possible, which a lot of people here may be listening to and saying, hey, yeah, that would be nice. I would love to have consistent leads coming in. I would ask you to even define what the lead is. What is the definition of a lead? A lot of people think of it as clients or potential clients, which, in that case, anyone with a name and a phone number and a pulse is a lead. But the reality is, especially as you grow, qualifying the leads, speaking to the right people, having the right clients come through the door, is the difference maker. And a lot of times that comes down to pricing, credibility, brand, economies of scale. There’s a lot of things that come into that portion where people don’t want to take into account. They just look at it from big picture. Hey, I need leads to make sales. And what happens is, you hire the wrong person, you bring in the wrong lead to become a client, you end up doing 10 times the amount of work with that one lead, and it causes you to go in a downward spiral, instead of building the business that you want, and you look back six months, 12 months a year, two years backwards, and you connect the dots going, I’m not sure what’s going on. And that’s if you’re lucky, you get to connect the dots. Sometimes you really need someone to help you to connect those dots. But if you’re unlucky, you just keep making the mistakes for years and years and years to come, instead of being able to diagnose and self assess those patterns and pretty much understand, okay, great. I need leads, but I need the right leads, and making sure that you position yourself as the right person for them will help in that relationship. Similar to dating, it’s not, oh, I need a spouse. It’s like, who am I? Am I the right person for this spouse that I’m looking for so you guys can connect and be the correct match for each other.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, one of the things that I I have found is that folks at this stage, they’re not brand new. They’ve been doing it for a time or two. They have enough success to have a team around them. Let’s assume that they’ve hired and the right timing. You make a great point there earlier, but one of the things that I think they fail to miss is how much more credibility they have at this stage than they did when they were first starting out. And so a lot of folks when they’re first starting out, especially if they’ve switched industries or there’s something about this business that’s new, oftentimes, credibility has to be a little bit more creative, right for this brand new business, but by this point, there’s some wins under your belt, right? There’s some success in your wake. And I feel like a lot of folks don’t recognize how much that changes, how quickly. How do you help folks to understand what their current credibility level is and how to take advantage of the credibility that they actually.
Daniel Strohli
Go into the next stage of businesses, which are the people who are well, evolving in their process, and regarding how we can help them be more credible or present how credible they are and showcase their wins to the marketplace, is what we’ll dive deeper into. So that being said, I tell my team all the time is proof over promise. We don’t want to go around promising people things all day long, because they don’t really believe you, and nor should they like the only people they believe is themselves, so or other people, like the masses. So what you say about you is not as effective as what other people say about you. And since you’ve been in business for more than a few years, a lot of times you can turn many different directions. But we’ll use the simplest one. Let’s say like Google reviews, the company that has 10 Google reviews versus the company that has 1000 is dramatically different, even though you guys have been in business for the same amount of time. And I feel like a lot of companies that have been around, I don’t care if it’s been 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, that’s their credibility booster. I’ve been in business for 20 years. And side note, I’m not the oldest guy in the game, and I’m not trying to date myself on this, but a lot of times, people that have been in business for 2030 years, they have the same year repeated over and over time. Doesn’t make you have 30. Years of experience. That means you have one year of experience repeated 30 times. I’m not saying that. What I’m saying is that at the end of the day, the customer, the client that you’re looking to work with, wants to know, very simple, can I trust you? Can I trust the company? Can I trust the product? Will the product work? Will the product work for me? Because I’m a special person, and I have my own issues, and I have my unique flaws and challenges. How do I know what you have is good for me? So by you telling them I’ve been in business for 20 years and I know what I’m talking about is not as effective as someone else saying, hey, this company has been around for three years or five years or seven years, but they’ve solved this problem consistently for me, every time I call them on time, every time, and then having 1000 people saying that. So just pure proof over promise is one of the simplest ways to show credibility. Don’t tell a wise man once told me you rather show someone versus tell them, because what you do speak so loud, no one actually hears what you’re saying. And I think a lot of people hide behind you know what? I’m shy. I’ve been in business. I don’t want people to know about me. Whatever it is they try to hide behind their work, and they may or may not even be open to sharing their work, but at the very least being able to say, Hey, I’m proud of what we do. This is the work that we’ve done. This is what our clients have to say about us. Here’s our letters of recommendation. Here’s all the different problems that we’ve been able to solve. Here’s the different ways that you can look at the problem that we’ve been able to solve. You can break it down into really interesting facts and figures, to display it to people in a very simple manner, so they can say, hey, this is who these people are. This is what they’re about. This is how credible they are. It’s not, are you credible? Are you not credible? It’s how credible Are you? And you’re going to want to go work with the person who’s done 10,000 brain surgeries over the person who’s doing his first or his 10th. But also you need the person that did 10,000 brain surgeries, to at least tell you, Hey, I’ve done 10,000 brain surgeries. Here’s my happy, healthy, alive clients that made it through. These are some of the things that tend to be very helpful for businesses that of all stages.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, I think what what’s also interesting about this stage in particular is a lot of especially service based businesses are coming out of the realm where a little bit of word of mouth is enough, right? You know, they sell to their friends, they sell to their friends, friends, and then they start getting a couple degrees removed. And I think a lot of founders fail to they underestimate how little credibility they have three degrees removed from them, right? The Friends of their friends or their friends don’t have any experience with them. They don’t know them. And so I think this becomes a much bigger issue at this stage. What have you found, just in practical senses, right? So credibility is important. We need it now more than ever. It’s one of the keys to building a consistent lead generation platform. What are some of the quickest wins that a company can think of? What are some things we’ll answer the question,
Daniel Strohli
but think of it when you meet a stranger, because that’s effectively what we’re doing. Yes, when we start off in business, your mom, your grandmother, your cousin, your neighbor, your old boss, everyone will buy from you that knows you, likes you and trusts you. But effectively, once you go outside of that ring of people and individuals, you get stuck with the rest of the world, people that don’t know you, like you and trust you. So your goal is to build trust and credibility with them as soon as possible. And yes, time is a huge player in that game. If you’ve been in business for an extended period of time, it will be one of the factors that will build trust more than something else, possibly. But the question is, what is the most effective force multiplier that, when implemented, gives you the most amount of trust with the colder audience? And to that, I would answer like I mentioned, taking that step back is looking at it. If you met a stranger on the street and you tell him, I’ve been in business for 20 years come where years, come work with me. You’re still a stranger. I don’t care who you are. Being able to differentiate yourself from the crowd is really coming down to one thing, which, again, from a stranger perspective, is risk reversal, if you’re able to remove the risk from the equation. Now there’s a reason for me to trust you, meaning you can say 100% money back guarantee, or you could say, put your wallet away. You don’t even have to spend money here. I’m going to take on all the risk you just sit back and enjoy, and I give you wins that you would have normally paid for, which makes it, by itself, something of value that I am taking the risk on that cost you nothing. And when people see that, it doesn’t make a difference what it is or how big of a gesture it is, if anything, the bigger the gesture is usually not such a great sign, but anything even small, something that says I took the time to understand who you are, what you’re about, I can tell you from my own experience when I started out, you don’t have all the social proof to go out into the marketplace with, but what you do have is an in depth understanding of the audience that you serve, and when you use the vernacular that they particularly use. You say the words and the verbiages and the lingo and you speak to them the way they speak to their friends, the way they speak to their spouse, the way they speak to a bartender, the way they speak to themselves when no one’s watching that internal voice that’s going on inside their mind, when you can verbalize those words back to them, they instantly will trust you more, because people like to do business. With people who are like them, how they would like to be, things like that. So if you’re more like them, they like you. If you show them, hey, I’m like you. I’ve done things like you. I understand you. I’ve been in your shoes. They’re more open to understanding what you’re about. Because if you’re showing them, I understand you, they’re saying, Okay, let me, let me hear a little bit about you.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah. So true. So true. Daniel, I have this question that I ask all my guests. I’m interested to see what you have to say. And the question is this, what is the biggest secret you wish wasn’t a secret at all? What’s that one thing you wish everybody watching or listening today knew?
Daniel Strohli
I believe it’s something that many people say but don’t actually do, which is the actual doing of the work, I think, and I had a meeting specifically about this today, which is why I’m exceptionally passionate about it. But it’s not something that’s new to me, and it’s not a conversation that I’ve had and had plenty of times in the past, but in a very simple phrase, it’s the people who do more win, and the more you do, the better you get. And I think very few people actually truly understand that, I think that people wish they had more in life, or they wish they would do better, or they want more. All these things are good. They’re great things to have. It’s a great attitude. But what I truly believe, in my heart of hearts, is what you put in is what you get out, and that at the end of the day you work in the business, you go to the gym, you may not get the results today, tomorrow, this week, this month, whatever it is for you, because each person is a little bit unique. But at the end of the day, the work that you put in counts, and the people who do that work consistently focused, disciplined, and are 110% committed to the process, obviously to the outcome, meaning you’re not doing it for no reason. You obviously want to hit a goal. You obviously want to hit a goal. You obviously want to go the right direction, and you’re that you’re facing but the process itself, which I know sounds cliche, the people you travel with, these things are all important, but the work that you do when no one else is watching the work, the work, the work, that’s it, the work. There’s work that you have on your desk. There’s work that I have on my desk that we know that we should be doing. And the question is, who’s going to do it and who’s going to do it and who’s going to do it first? Who’s going to do it more? Who’s going to do it harder? Consistent work, repeating over time is my message to the world that beats everything, especially talent and anything in between.
Scott Ritzheimer
Yeah, so good, so good. Daniel, there’s some folks listening who it’s just the right word at the right moment. It’s exactly where they are, exactly where they are, exactly what they’re trying to accomplish. How can they reach out and find more about you do.
Daniel Strohli
Tractors, we help a lot of real estate investors closer into the city, but the thing I always tell people is, go to profit x.com grab a free resource. Look at the work I put in. Go check out the resources that we have put together. And guess what? It’s 100% free. Doesn’t cost you anything. Check it out. See if the thing is as good as what I what I make it seem. Don’t take my word for it. Look at the work I put in. Look at the past. See if it’s something you have any interest in. And from there, I’m not that hard to get a hold of. You can DM someone on my team say you want to set something up. We can always go from there to have a chat about how we would be able to help your business. But for now, I would implore every person to go there find the resource that’s right for them and see if they can use that to already start making money and fixing certain leaks that they may have going on for their business.
Scott Ritzheimer
Very good, very good. Daniel, thanks for being on the show. It’s a privilege and honor having you here today. Really appreciate you coming and sharing with us. For those of you watching and listening, you know your time and attention mean the world to us, I hope you got as much out of this conversation as I know I did, and I cannot wait to see you next time. Take care.
Contact Daniel Strohli
Daniel Strohli is the founder of ProfitsX, a company dedicated to helping contractors and service-based businesses grow by building trust, credibility, and visibility online. Since 2018, he has guided business owners in creating client-centric websites, lead capture systems, and simple automations that consistently generate high-quality leads. With a background in real estate and business development, Daniel understands firsthand the challenges entrepreneurs face in competitive markets. His systems and strategies have helped clients increase revenue by an average of 38% in just 6 months.
Want to learn more about Daniel Strohli’s work at Profitsx.com? Check out his website at https://profitsx.com/
Check out his free resources at https://profitsx.com/resources