Home Service Expert Goals for 2019 Tommy Mello

Mindset is the biggest limiting factor in growing a home service business — truly understanding your 'why' is what carries you through the tough times that every operator inevitably faces.

Key performance indicators and clean, black-and-white pay structures pulled from your CRM keep technicians and CSRs motivated; top performers get excited when compensation clearly rewards booking rate and conversions.

Booking rate is a huge lever — improving how CSRs handle each call can earn an extra five dollars per phone call, and specializing technicians into fixers versus new-door sellers keeps everyone in their strength zone.

Use scorecards, gamified 'carrots' like daily gift-card rewards, and a giraffe/team culture to hold people accountable while keeping the incentives win-win.

Most operators drastically underestimate their true cost of doing business — alarm systems, HVAC, lighting, shrinkage/theft, and overhead all eat into margins they never account for.

Automation and text messaging are the next frontier: automated follow-ups, thank-you cards, review requests, and seasonality reminders will let home service businesses make far more money at low cost in 2019.

The overarching goal is to build an ultimate machine of amazing companies — the operators who jump in first and set stretch goals with their managers will win the coming year.