Ep 259 - 1M Launch Series 2024 - Staff Journeys & Developing All-Stars

Hello, hello, hello and welcome back to yet another episode of Electricpreneur Secrets, the Electricians podcast. I'm your host, clay Neumeier. With me is always my esteemed co-host, joseph Lucani, and we are the Electricpreneurs Just a couple of master electricians with business addictions, here and ready to serve you with our freemium daily coach. Call the admission for this nothing. Sit back in the hot seat, take everything we give, just promise to take action and report your wins back to us so we know how you're doing. We're right down to our final episode of this million dollar launch series. I think we've got a summary coming up. Maybe on Monday we'll talk through it. If any questions come up from our followers, then of course we can answer those early next week and we're happy to do that and discuss this. But ultimately, joe, we're getting down to the nitty gritty here. Brother, there's a couple of things I want to cover, but right off the bat, man, how are you doing today?

I'm doing really, really well. I almost felt like a little surreal when I realized that today was one of the last episodes we were doing on this, because we've spent so much time and poured so much of ourselves into it. It's almost like another chance, another chance to really get behind the wheel one more time and help people Going back to thinking what could we have done differently? What would we have done differently. It just feels really really cool to not only visit those places mentally, but to know that we're changing the game plan for people who want to go there from day one.

I agree, man, I agree. I think by the end of this we're 26 or 27 episodes 26 today With a little finale and a review, maybe 27, 28 tops, but ultimately that's more than a month because we're five days a week. Right, there's a huge, huge value that we've given in this and I can't wait to set up the mini course around this. The intent actually is to share it with various electrical schools and training facilities around North America to help as many electricians as we can, at least with a really good understanding. But you know what? I think? I'm going to save that for the finale because we'll go down a rabbit hole. That's the wrong way. We still have some work to do here. One of the things I want to address, man, is we haven't been ultra clear on how big of a team we're looking for to accomplish the million dollars. Now, with just you selling, let's say and I'm in the office entirely it seems that, using our pricing guide, it just seems and you tell me, if you agree, that if we're 400 an hour, service rate 350 to 400, assuming 1,000 hours per unit, that means 350 to 400 K per billable unit. So we've got a selling tech in yourself, that's going to be 350, 400 K at the 1,000 hours, assuming it was billable hours. Add another one. Now we're at about 700 to 750. Add one more. That should break us through. So would you agree that, hey, with one selling and a couple install teams, we can break through a million dollars in this year?

Yeah, so it is definitely doable with that, and the reason why I say that reference is we were able to break a million at my company with Just me selling and the team supporting it. So After you get to about three teams, two teams is safe for one person, yeah. Three teams becomes one of those things where you can do it. But it's hard to keep you at the two week mark for three teams, because that means you're doing at least three sales a day. Yeah, so I would say yes, two teams is 100% doable, provided you then also are either doing some service calls yourself and as well as selling, Awesome, man, awesome.

So thanks for that clarity. Then, where we kind of left this off last time was we hired an installer and we explained how we were going to do that and Right here we kind of need to rest on the assumption that we're going to hire the next one in the very same way and or Leverage some there. I mean, there's different apps out there, like applicant pro is something that we've recommended for many people. Rapid hire is another one. These places are able to canvas multiple market places when people apply for jobs and or look for jobs. But there's some deep-rooted stuff that we kind of touched on last time, too is in when we're at the supply house. What do we look like? What energy are we presenting? The reference my record analogy from last one what are we playing? What's on the playback? What does that look like? What does it feel like when we're in people's presence? Do they want to be on our team? And how important is that to Retention as well and keeping these people growing with us?

There's something very important there and I don't mean to take it into like a little bit of a darker place, but I think it's very important to mention is that are you happy? And do you appear to be happy? Because the thing was is what would have motivated me to join your team back then Wouldn't have been. Are you in a clean uniform? And a fancy truck would have been. Is your tech smiling? Does he look happy doing what he's doing? Because I was chasing happiness more than I was chasing money and power. Yeah, so if your team not only looks good but they look happy while they're doing it, that is a great magnet that not enough people are mentioning.

Definitely man, and I don't really believe in gorilla tactics is in going all over everyone else's staff and making offers To happy people. But I do believe in our social media policy, in growing our network and making friends with as many Electricians as possible, because you've got to remember that Each and every one of us is on our own journey through our own perspective. It would be naive to think anything else, and the reason that we're at the place we're at now was because of a conflict. At some point, something triggered the need for this current journey and something will trigger the need for the next, and that could be from a place of pain and or from a place of desire. And when they see you and the things you're doing, your wrapped bands and your immediate growth and your happy smile and your clean boots and how everything just seems to be so green on that side of the fence, hmm are they gonna be thinking about.

I mean I would say, well, what do I need to do to get that? What do I need to do? Where do I need to go? Tell me what to do. And a lot of times what that means is that people will approach you, not necessarily asking for a job, but they'll approach you asking well, what are you doing? How are you doing this way? And then it's literally just feel like would you like to come find out? Come on, I'll show you.

I love that. So one of the things I wanted to touch on in this is really managing those staff journeys then, assuming that's the level of attraction that we're creating, managing staff journeys to me means taking care of people. It means taking care of people and showing them how the company values and their values which are something that we should really be working out in the early stages of interviewing, by the way, how they're aligned and how working together in that alignment is going to serve the two individually and as a team, how everyone wins, like a win-win-win situation. Yeah, man.

I heard a good expression that I think really would tie into what we're talking about, which comes down to when you go to the technicians, establishing who do they actually work for. They don't work for the owner, they work for the customer. The customer, if they're satisfied, will then call the company back. The company then has the means of paying the technicians. So it's a consistent loop that happens, where you're saying the more the customer is satisfied, the better the team can be rewarded, and the more the team is rewarded, it eventually comes back to the company. So with that logic, I would just want to make sure they understand that they're not working for us, they're working to serve the customer at the highest level, and just constantly keeping that target in mind, I think would help a lot of people in their growth journeys 100%, and that's why I think the values alignment from the get-go is so important.

Yeah, because if you share that, then when they're representing and working for the client, they're representing the values, not just a company, not just a logo on their shirt, not just a wrap on their van. They're representing the values and that gives them something they can take home and be proud of, because we've already understood that they're invested in those values anyways. This is where this whole thing ties perfectly into your all-star action from yesterday. I thought that was so great, man, that you tied that in. It's so, so, so important to know why they're doing this. And isn't, when someone comes on board, a great opportunity to begin to understand what motivates them?

I would agree with that, yeah.

But then, as we're working with people and working through challenges, which are inevitable, don't we also have opportunities there to understand why they're doing this, why it's a challenge, why it's important they overcome the challenge? This all actually ties perfectly back to even episode 87, which I happen to recall, and I know that you're scratching your head wondering how I remember that now.

No, it's because you're brilliant.

We did an episode and it was actually referenced in our value piece that we gave away yesterday about actually improving your bottom tickets, getting these service calls up, and the reason it's important is because it's about always understanding the why before we take an action, for it Isn't that important to understand about our people too?

It really would be. I would say that in order to probably motivate someone, you need to understand their why and the fact that you're consistently bringing it in and saying that that why allows them to not only be parallel to the customer values but also parallel to the company values. We're all moving in the same direction. It's no loose situation.

I want to share a great example of the importance of this Sure, by all means. One of our clients tells me in a call that he's got a few staff going and a couple of apprentices, and one of the apprentices was walking through the office and we had the same chat about understanding your people and making sure to give a little bit of attention to each person and keep a journal even of their why's, understanding what motivates them. And so this kid's walking by and he had a moment. So he said hey, john, let's say John, how you doing, brother, why don't you sit down for a moment, let's have a chat? And the kid's, like you know, kind of deer and headlights I don't get this often, I'm getting individual attention and he goes okay, yeah, I've got a minute. So he sits down and our client asks them how are you doing, man, how is everything? And the kid breaks down in tears, john breaks down in tears and he goes everything's hard. Everything is so hard right now and it turns out, just through this innocent engagement, that this kid's, taking care of his ill parents, can't leave home. He's 21 years old and he's literally working this job to pay the bills for his parents. Isn't that important to know about your staff.

Yeah, because the thing is, can you imagine this same tack, like you had this 21 year old kid I say kid, but he's a man in that role, that kid's a man but being able to say, hey, monday morning comes and he shows up a little late, I can imagine that, looking at a 20 year old person, there's going to be some bias in what they might be doing. That made them late the night before. But now, looking at it, instead of saying hey, he probably just had a bender and he had went up parting to you with his friends. He was no sorry, my parents are really ill and it was a hard time changing the mobile by myself and I was up last night because they were ill and they were really struggling and I didn't get any sleep. I'd feel that small for calling that kid out 100%.

And then there's this game and we're going to tie this all back to it, but like this idea of what's important, what causes people to do extraordinary things, and it comes back to this burning building idea, right.

Yeah, I love this one.

It's like okay, put even a two by four on the ground, joe, would you walk across a two by four flat on the ground for 20 bucks? No problem, 100%. Now, if that two by four is over a building gap and they're 20 feet apart I guess 16 feet apart, 16 foot two by four will you walk across it for 20 bucks? I need more motivation than that. Right, put your family on the other side. Would you walk across it If the building's burning? Would you? This guy good correction, not a kid, but this young fellow John then actually let us know what his burning building is and what's on the other side. Isn't it also appropriate, then, to give this person a staff journey, an idea of how we can grow together to help his situation significantly? Here's some performance things that you could do, John, to improve this situation, to actually earn more here. Were you aware that there was this bonus opportunity? Here's a situation where you can actually get more hours to help pay for that, and if you're able to do X, y and Z things, then I'm also able to come back to the table and discuss erase with you or discuss a performance incentive with you, and that's because this X, y and Z actually helps our customers in this way. We tie this whole thing together. It's not really a carrot or a stick. It's recognizing what's important to them and actually leading with heart and being able to meet them in a place where the company and them and the client wins.

I absolutely love that. I absolutely love that. I think it's so cool. And the thing that really I'm circling back to mentally is the fact that all of this happened just by being human. And when I mean by being human, I mean you addressed your employee as an equal and you showed genuine interest in wanting to connect and at least see how they were doing. I didn't intend on anything coming from this. I just wanted them to know I cared, and the fact that you did that and they broke down immediately means that how many people were really showing care to this person, to where the first opportunity where someone genuinely asked what's wrong, he completely unloads. All I can think about is that that particular business owner, they're lucky. They're lucky not just because they're in a position that they are, but they're lucky that their team trusts them enough to tell them that kind of information, because now they can take appropriate action, support their team and create some real, tangible change that will only improve their lives, the lives of their customers and the lives of their employees who are struggling.

Definitely man, and we're running short on time, but we wouldn't be doing our jobs here if we didn't just point out simply how this all relates to retention and even the development of All-Stars. All-stars in your ranks are people who truly care and are motivated. Thus they're willing to partake in the measurement and even be excited by it and the ability to increase their performance with this business. Now, how much harder is it for a person to leave a company that showed that amount of care and specific to their needs on their journey?

I mean, I think it's absolutely massive because people don't leave jobs, they leave people. That's the thing. It's like you know what. I could be paid double here, but if it sucks the soul out of me and makes me miserable and I hate doing it, I'll work for half of what I was making in order to have a quality life with my family's being taken care of. My mental health is prioritized and I feel like I'm serving my own internal drive. So I would say in this opportunity, people don't leave jobs, people leave people.

That's a huge mic drop. If, in this million dollar launch effort, we were not able to retain people for this first year to get through this, if we invested this training and we did not invest in the people, what we would find is, yes, that they may just leave us for reasons we don't even understand, and that would be absolutely consequential to our entire effort in this million dollar launch. It would be let's serve up a couple of action items. Brother, you want basic today or all star? I'll take either. One man, I'm ready when you are All right, rock the basic team me up a good one. Okay, pressure's on.

No, no worries, okay. So the most basic action that we described was where did this come from? This whole conversation came to the person reaching out and simply asking their tech how they were doing. Now, I personally believe that there has to be some sort of separation in what you're doing, but it can't separate from who you are as a person. Your internal character and your internal values needs to show through everything. So for the basic action, it's if you genuinely care about other people. Take the effort to let your team understand that. Ask them how they're doing on a regular basis, see how their family is, find out what they're interested in. It's not difficult. Hey, how are you today? I never really got a chance to talk. You got five minutes. What are you into, you know? I mean, I'm sure if we had some common interests, wouldn't that help us bond more? Wouldn't that help us see it as, instead of, I'm just the boss in the suit, instead of seeing it like, oh, this is a fellow tradesperson. This is someone who's come up in the trades as well and this is someone that I can relate with, who has appeared because they care about me and they're invested in my growth too.

Definitely. I love that man, so I'm going to tie this one in. People prioritize money too much. From the employer's standpoint, that's an initial qualifying factor, but it's actually not a long-term driving force. What we've come to understand is that people really go for rank, recognition, rewards and then money. So please do not forget to also leverage your time as an investment with people, because that's valuable too. For instance hey, john, I get that you're working hard, man. I feel for your situation. In fact, I did hear that you're working hard and that's one of the reasons I wanted to chat with you. Would it be all right if I took you for lunch and gave you a little extra attention here, so we could talk about this in our future together?

I would not be opposed to that at all. The thought of hearing that from your employer would be like they have the time, but more they have the interest. That interest would be already an immediate deciding factor right there.

I used to see it in the ranks at companies I worked for, where there's 100 field staff. Even when you get taken for lunch, you feel like a boss. When you see someone else get taken for lunch, you're wondering, oh dang, I wish I was them. What did they do? I want that time. Granted, that was my experience. It's something that we talk about often. Joe, we're going to wrap this one up as an All-Star Action. Definitely, definitely, definitely, consider that time investment as an investment into that relationship. But you get to leverage a staff journey and that can be a little bigger than just oh yeah, you're an apprentice and then you become a licensed electrician for us. We're happy to keep you as long as you want. What about the installer and the training that goes into the installer and then the install upgrade process? And hey, if you manage good with the install upgrade process and people buy from you, then we're going to train you to be a service technician At the service technician now you're in diagnostics and running your own calls, independently and end-to-end, and if you do really good there, then you can upgrade to become a sales technician. So having this staff journey laid out and how it benefits their journey as well is a massive plus. Guys, we're all out of time today, but this has been another episode in the Million Dollar Launch finale to come here next week. Thank you so much, joe. Five days a week, we keep showing up to help you guys master your sales, simplify your pricing and deliver premium-level electrical service, and we're going to continue that next week as well, thank you.

Anyway, we'll see you all soon. It's been an absolute honor.