E25: How Digital Marketing Can Help You Dominate The Market | Jeff Yeats

Ever wonder how a small business can dominate its local market? 

In this episode, I chat with Jeff, a client and owner of Measured Home Services, who’s leveraged digital marketing to become a true industry leader. From creating a professional website to collecting and responding to customer reviews, we discuss the exact strategies that will help you build trust and scale your business. 

You’ll learn the importance of a missed call text-back system, how to handle negative reviews gracefully, and how to expand your services using customer insights.

🎧 Tune in now and discover how to turn your online presence into a powerful trust-building tool for your business.

===========================

P.S.  When you are ready, here are a few ways I can help…

===========================

Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast HERE:📱 

➡︎YT: https://www.youtube.com/seangarner 

➡︎Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/marketing-domination 

➡︎Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/marketingdomination

===========================

Sean Garner

Sean Garner is a marketing consultant and Certified StoryBrand guide dedicated to helping small business owners grow and dominate their industries. He created the Marketing Domination podcast to teach people how to combine storytelling with strategic marketing to help businesses connect with customers and stand out online.

🎤 Jeff Yeats

Jeff Yeats is the owner and real estate appraiser at Measured Home Services, a Tulsa-based company specializing in real estate appraisals and home inspections. With a commitment to providing clients with accurate property evaluations, Jeff ensures homeowners and buyers have the information needed to make informed real estate decisions.

===========================

Let’s Connect!   

Website: https://www.seangarner.co/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanagarner/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seangarner/ 

FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.garner.927/ 

Twitter: https://x.com/coachseang 

——————————————————————————————————————————

EPISODE 25 TRANSCRIPTION

Welcoming the Guest

Sean Garner [00:00]: Let's see, make sure that's working. Is this working? Focus. Focus, boom. All right, so we're gonna be, all right, so it's recording. So how it's gonna be is I'm gonna have, after this is done, I'm gonna shoot an intro and an outro. That way it'll be like, today I'm talking about one of my good friends, Jeff Yates from Measured Home Services, and I'll tell a little bit about your business and what the episode's gonna be about and all that stuff. So whenever we get into it, don't feel like you have to say all this stuff, because I'll just like, Hey, Jeff, so excited to have you.

Jeff Yeats [00:22]: Yeah, sure.

Sean Garner [00:29]: The other thing is, right, like how this tool works is it's going to record on my device, on your device, and to the cloud. So if there's any glitch, it might look like a glitch on your end, but at the end, everything syncs together. So if it looks like you're cutting out or anything, don't think that you have to re-say anything. It's going to be fine at the end. And then after we're done, I'm going to tell you, don't exit out until you get a little green check mark that says upload complete.

Jeff Yeats [00:46]: Gotcha.

Sean Garner [01:01]: All right. So I am super excited to have my good friend, Mr. Jeffrey Yates of Measured Home Service. Jeff, we've known each other like what? 20-plus years now.

Jeff Yeats [01:13]: Way back.

Sean Garner [01:15]: We went to high school together, Berryhill America, and yeah, been a good friend. Stayed in contact over the years through various times and everything. Now he is also a Marketing Domination client of our agency. And I'm very honored to have my good friend, Mr. Jeff Yates. How are you, brother?

Jeff Yeats [01:35]: I'm good, man. Thank you much.

Sean Garner [01:37]: I was, I was—every time, like oftentimes I'm doing calls and stuff here—my kids will walk by and they'll hear things or they'll hear me talk about clients and stuff like that. And the thing that they remember about you is like, "Yeah, that's the guy that you told us about that cheated off you in school and got a better grade than you, right?" Yeah. Yeah. That's the guy. But the one thing I will say to show thanks and to honor you is...

Jeff Yeats [01:55]: Yeah, thanks for bringing that up. I appreciate that. That's funny.

Sean Garner [02:07]: You are—this might sound like a big thing—but you're one of the reasons why we're here today. So you are the reason why I've had a dozen different jobs. You were the reason why I went from being a restaurant manager to joining the fire service, which becoming a firefighter is what got me into fitness, which got me into marketing, which got me into this agency. So you don't realize that you've actually had—and I talk about you a lot.

Jeff Yeats [02:23]: Yep.

Jeff Yeats [02:29]: Okay.

The Beginning of Jeff’s Marketing Journey

Sean Garner [02:35]: Every time I tell my personal story about why I'm at where I'm at, I always say, man, I was at my job. I absolutely hated it. I had a good friend from high school call me out of the blue. He was talking about how awesome his job was because he was a firefighter, and that's what made me become a firefighter. So I appreciate you more than you know, man.

Jeff Yeats [02:51]: That's awesome. And now I'm here, and you're pulling me along in the business side. So that's funny.

Sean Garner [02:55]: So one of the reasons why I wanted to have Jeff on the episode today is because Jeff is a true example of industry domination. Jeff has his company, Measured Home Services. They do real estate appraisal and inspections here in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area. And he's expanding that out, but he has dominated his industry. But it didn't start like that. Jeff, whenever you originally reached out to me, tell us a little bit about that initial reach out. What did you think that you actually needed whenever you reached out versus once you got into it and you started seeing what's possible with marketing? Like, the stuff that you're doing now you didn't even know was possible. So tell me a little bit about how you got started in that whole process and what that was like for you.

Jeff Yeats [03:40]: I had no idea.

First Business Wins and SEO Benefits

Jeff Yeats [03:45]: Well, when I first got my appraisal license, I felt it was gonna be hard to find business because of my licensure level, being new, and the market being down a little bit. It'd be hard to get business. So I was kind of networking with some other appraisers around the country. And one guy says, man, you need a website. You need to get you some reviews. Don't get too many reviews at once, but you need a website. You need this, that, and the other. He said something about SEO. And I said, let me write that down. What does that mean?

And I'm thinking, how am I going to do this, researching online and stuff? He had told me about WordPress. He said he uses WordPress. So I sit down, trying to figure out how to do this WordPress website. I get frustrated, long hours in the evening. And I posted on Facebook, hey, who knows how to use WordPress? Do you remember this? I think you sent me a message where you text me, you're like,

Sean Garner [04:36]: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jeff Yeats [04:39]: Hey man, and we hadn't talked in a while, and you're like, hey man, what is it you're trying to do? And once you helped me get set up on my website, the first time the phone rang and somebody said, yeah, I found you on Google, I was like, this is the coolest thing ever. Yeah. But that's how it started. I just really thought that, I mean, I didn’t realize how much you could guide me on how in-depth SEO really was and all that. I thought it was something I could basically do myself.

Sean Garner [05:14]: Yeah. Well, I think that it's similar to any industry, even just like yours. People think they have a preconceived thought about appraisers, like you're just going to come out with a measuring tape and tell me how big the rooms are. It's like, no, no, no, there's so much more to it than that. The more that you get into it, you realize what's possible and everything.

Jeff Yeats [05:20]: Right.

Jeff Yeats [05:36]: Well, and what I've also learned, and I think is true in a lot of businesses or all businesses, is you can only be so good at what you do. I can only be such a good appraiser or so good at whatever. At some point, you've got to move into figuring out how to market your services. And that's what I've noticed that you've been able to do for me. Being a market dominator is not because I have all this knowledge that nobody else has. It's just you helping me figure out how to position my business where people find it.

Building Trust Through Digital Presence

Sean Garner [06:09]: Yeah, that's good. I appreciate that. But I will say, you are awesome at what you do. But that's the marketing aspect of it. There are so many people that have been in business for a long time, or maybe they are new, and they're still really good at what they do. If you don't have that out in the digital world, people don't know. People don't know the knowledge that you have in your head. They don't know the experience or testimonials that you've received in the past. If they're not documented somewhere online, then you're just like everybody else.

Jeff Yeats [06:37]: Right, yeah. No, that's what I'm... we're saying the same thing, I think, is that nobody can find you, yeah.

Sean Garner [06:42]: Yeah.

So you said one, but I know that you have several because that's one of the things that I like about whenever we're doing our check-in calls and stuff. There are always these exciting things that have happened or exciting things that are going on. Share some of the—I’ve got some favorites if you don’t say them—but tell me some of your favorite aha moments when you're like, this digital marketing thing, this business thing, it's actually working pretty well for me. Or I didn’t think that was possible.

Jeff Yeats [06:52]: Yeah.

Aha Moments in Digital Marketing

Jeff Yeats [07:11]: Yeah, I mean, again, I remember the first time the phone rang, they found me on Google. I remember the first time somebody just willingly gave me their credit card up front before we had done any work for them. And I was like, what makes you trust us? Even just the other day, I had a guy call. I said, hey, for public appraisal work, we charge up front. And he said, it makes me really uncomfortable. Then he called back and said, hey, I did a little research. I found you, and somebody had referred us to him. He said, I did a little research online, and he said, man, I'm good with it. And I think the reviews and all that kind of give people assurance. On the first call, he was like, how do I know you're gonna do it? And I said, you're gonna have to trust us. But again, after he did some research, he felt good about it. So yeah, all the time, those little things come up.

Sean Garner [08:06]: And so that one was my favorite, by the way, because I remember you called me and said, dude, somebody just called and gave me their credit card number over the phone and paid for everything upfront. I was like, yes, because you have the system to do that. So that was exciting. But you talked about how you build and establish that trust. A lot of small business owners do exactly what you just said. Man, I know I need to have a website. So they try to figure out how to scrap this thing together and do it on their own. And it looks like they built it themselves, right? It's like you can go buy a birdhouse, or you can try and make one on your own, and it looks like your kid made it. Like it's not good. So talk about how the digital presence you have makes it easy to establish trust with people. Like when they call you, it's not like... If you look at Jeff’s website, measuredhomeservices.com, you can see it doesn’t look like he made it himself. Our design team made it, and it looks beautiful. But talk about how that helps build trust.

Jeff Yeats [09:09]: You mean like when somebody calls and they say they want to speak with one of the appraisers, and my wife hears that and she’s like, how many people do they think there are? Like they think there’s an office full of guys in here? But man, just... your question is, how does that help build trust?

Sean Garner [09:26]: Yeah, you’ve got a very strong digital, dominating blueprint from your website, reviews, and everything. How has that helped you get business with building trust?

Jeff Yeats [09:32]: Yeah, I mean, just like I said, the guy in my example earlier—people paying up front—they see we have credibility. When people see our website, one, it says that we take our business seriously. They can see that. And then the reviews—I think the reviews are probably as much or more important for my success than just what you see on the website. They find us on the website, and they read the reviews, and it gives us credibility.

Sean Garner [10:06]: Yeah, I 100% agree with that, especially... no, no, no, you are. And I think that I agree with what you say, especially with what you do. You're a local service provider, and you serve a local area. You can't go do what you do remotely. Because you serve a local area, local SEO is a big key factor. One of the driving factors for local SEO is reviews. So what I want you to do...

Jeff Yeats [10:07]: I don't know if I'm answering your question fully.

Jeff Yeats [10:21]: Right.

How to Collect and Leverage Customer Reviews

Sean Garner [10:33]: I want you to share with us kind of almost like start to finish your review process. We've got some things that have been built out and automated, but talk about how you've gotten so many reviews. To put this into perspective, if you Google Jeff's service area, like Tulsa home appraisers, Jeff currently is the industry dominator. He's got 245 five-star reviews.

How long have you been in business, by the way? Or how long have you had this Google business listing?

Jeff Yeats [11:01]: Duck.

Jeff Yeats [11:06]: What have we had it, two years now? Pretty close to two years.

Sean Garner [11:09]: Yeah, probably about 18 to 24 months. So for almost two years, you've got 245 reviews. And to put it in perspective, this is what dominating looks like: Jeff's at 245, second place is at 60. So he's got like, what is that, almost four times the amount as the second-place person. And the person below that has like, I think there's a 20 or 30, and then there's an eight. Like, people don't have a process around it, so the reviews just happen when they come in.

The person in second place has been in business for over 12 years now. So the only reason they have 60 reviews is just that time has slowly gotten them. You've put in a focused effort, and you've been able to see that return, and now you're truly dominating. Tell us how you've done it. What's that process been like for you?

Jeff Yeats [11:52]: Right.

Jeff Yeats [12:01]: As far as the number of reviews, I had one guy call and say, hey, I've done some research. I see you guys have been in business for a long time. And I literally had to hold my laugh in because I was like four or five months into this at the time. But yeah, reviews have been big, and you've taught me a lot about that. So I took it seriously when you said, get reviews, it makes a difference. I always ask for a review upfront.

Let me back up. Actually, it's when somebody pays an invoice online. Then I ask them for... the system triggers and asks them for a review. Once they pay the invoice, usually a couple of days later, they'll get another review request. Sometimes we'll send it via text or email, or both. And then always after we deliver the service, when we send the report to them in the email, we also ask them for another review.

I track who's done it or who hasn't done it. And I explain to them why it's important to me because I think that's key. So I tell them, hey, this helps people know that we service your area. This helps people know that we're dependable. This helps people know that they can have confidence in our service or what have you. What was your question?

Sean Garner [13:23]: No, that was what I was going to say. I want you to talk about that part of the follow-up and the tracking. A lot of people say, yeah, I ask my people for reviews. Well, one, you actually do it very consistently, and I'm going to give more examples of that, but talk about the tracking aspect. It's not just about asking once. How many times would you say you have to ask?

Jeff Yeats [13:32]: Yeah.

Sean Garner [13:39]: Yeah.

Jeff Yeats [13:43]: Yeah, I probably ask three times. Yeah, I would say at least. I’ve found this too—a lot of people mean well and want to give you a review, but they forget. It’s not important to them. Some people will say, hey, thanks for the reminder, and they’ll get on there and do it. My goal is for every single person I talk to to leave a review. So anytime I’m talking to somebody, I’m thinking, is this a review potential?

Even when somebody calls our office and just has questions like, hey, I’m buying a house and need an appraisal, we talk. I say, yeah, you’re going to have to order that through the bank. They didn’t know that. I explain, you don’t want to pay it twice; you should just call your bank and let them handle it. And they’re like, man, thanks, you’re the first one that answered the phone. I listen for what they tell me that they’ve learned or how I’ve helped them, and then I ask them for a review. I say something to the effect of, that way other people know we can guide them in the right direction or that we answer the phone.

I’ve told a lot of people, hey, would you just leave me a comment? We want other people to know that we at least answer the phone around here. And I never did any work for them, but I also want the reviews to be genuine, so I tell them that’s all you have to say. Some people say, well, I didn’t use your service. That’s fine, but yeah.

Sean Garner [15:02]: Yeah.

Sean Garner [15:09]: That—like if a local business owner is listening to this—you don’t realize the value in that. You haven’t serviced all, and that’s what I love. Since our agency is connected to your Google listing, we get to see all of the reviews coming in. I love that because I see it, but I see that all the time. Small business owners need to understand this.

Jeff, truly one of the reasons why you dominate is yes, you’ve got this stuff in place, but people can see your heart. You actually serve and care for people.

Jeff Yeats [15:24]: Right.

Sean Garner [15:39]: A lot of the reviews that he has gotten, if you go look at the reviews on there, they're all 245 five-star reviews at the time of this recording. Several of them are exactly that. Man, I called, and they weren't able to help me, but he explained the entire process to me. I saw one come in the other day—another real estate appraiser left you a review because he called you to ask you a question and was like, man, he was so helpful. He helped me out. And like, this is your competition, but you know that you're an awesome person and you're following up with people when another appraiser is leaving a five-star review on your business's page.

Jeff Yeats [16:16]: I had one guy tell me, be careful about who you ask for reviews because what if they leave you a bad review? Kind of feel out the situation. And I've done appraisals, sent off appraisals, where I think, I don't know if they're going to be happy with this or not, like when they sell the house for more than we appraised it for or whatever. I think, I don't know what they're going to say about me, but I ask anyway. The more four- or five-star reviews we get, the less I'm concerned about it because you can see that most people feel like our service is helpful, you know what I mean?

I've even had two people tell me—because I'll email them and say, hey, I'm going to take you off the follow-up list, but this is my third time to ask. It's really important; we like to get reviews from everybody that we've worked with. If you don't mind leaving a review, we'd appreciate it. And I've had two different people email me back and say, hey, we were unhappy with the service.

Sean Garner [16:49]: Yeah.

Jeff Yeats [17:12]: We're not going to leave a review. I don't think you want our review on your site. And what I think that tells me is they're the ones that feel uncomfortable because they're going against the crowd. Like, 250 people are pleased, so what's wrong with these people that are not pleased, you know what I mean? Everybody... I don't mean to sound like that, but the more five-star reviews we get, the less people are inclined to get on there and leave a hateful comment.

Sean Garner [17:24]: Yeah.

Sean Garner [17:29]: Yeah.

Sean Garner [17:40]: Yeah, yeah, there are things.

Responding to Reviews Effectively

Jeff Yeats [17:42]: The ones that are not as great just show that they’re genuine comments, you know, and I’ll respond to those.

Sean Garner [17:51]: Yeah, that’s what makes Google reviews so powerful and good—it’s really hard to fake them because you have to have a Google account. It’s kind of a pain. I know sometimes it’s a pain because people have to log into Google and everything to leave the review, but that does make them more valuable and more genuine, just like what you said.

There are automations and things that we’ve talked about and can build out, where you can almost have a filter to ask a survey. Then, if they leave a five-star review, it sends them a direct review request and everything. I personally don’t like that step because it adds another step for the client. I want all the reviews because, like you said, the more you get, the more it increases your total reviews.

The more real reviews you get, whenever you go to a place—you think about this—you’re obviously going to look at total reviews and how many are five stars. But the ones I’m going to look at, I’m going to look at the one stars, the two stars. I want to see what people have said.

With that, you see one of two things. For you, if you get a one-star or two-star review, it’s almost embarrassing for that person. Like, dude, you’ve got 250 people talking about an amazing experience. It’s definitely going to be a gut check before you press submit on that review, like, maybe I’m just being a little too picky here because you’ve pleased so many people. But then it also can show that...

Jeff Yeats [19:10]: Right.

Sean Garner [19:12]: Hey, they're human. Like sometimes you guys might be late on something or something like that. It shows that you're human and that these aren’t fake. The other thing that makes them powerful is when you do get the low reviews—if you ever do—it’s how you respond to them. I look for that as a customer and a business owner. I want to see that when somebody does have an issue, did the business owner take ownership of it? Or is it like, "You're just complaining. We never could have made you happy anyway," or, "We never want to have you as a client again." That’s the wrong way to handle it.

Jeff Yeats [19:43]: Yeah, yeah. Somebody told me the same thing about how it’s all about how you respond to the negative ones. I have one that comes to mind—a negative one that we got not that long ago. I had no idea this customer was unhappy. I never heard back from them after they paid and we sent off the report. I continued to ask for a review, and it was like three months later. I thought, I never got a review from this lady, so I sent it back off. She gets on there and sends this very disappointed review.

I tried to call her first because I wanted to explain and answer her questions. She didn’t answer, so I left a message. Then I got on there and responded to the review. Basically, I feel like she just misunderstood what she was getting. I said that on there, like, "What you're wanting is an appraisal comparing new houses to old houses, and that's not the way the appraisal process works," and I kind of spelled that out. Then I said, "Hey, give us a call if we can answer any more questions." Of course, I never heard back from her.

Sean Garner [20:46]: Yeah, that’s good. That’s a great way to think about it. Negative reviews can do two things. One, they can help you improve your service. And two, maybe that’s something we could add into the FAQs on your website or create blog content around, just to do some more consumer education. I think businesses that are hesitant about asking for reviews—it’s just an excuse. Especially with a business like yours, to have that many reviews, it’s a service, but it’s also a service that shows people the value of things.

There are two ways people review you, and I’ve seen some of the reviews that come in. One is fair, and one is unfair, but they’re still going to review you on it. The first is, did you actually do what you said you would do? Did you provide the service, and what’s the quality of that service? To me, that’s the only thing you should be judged on. But then there’s another thing working against you. People might say, "Yeah, they did an amazing job, but I didn’t like the appraisal."

Well, it doesn’t matter what you like—it’s what it actually is. The fact that you’ve still done that well, despite that more subjective aspect of it, shows that it’s just up to their opinion on what they think the appraisal is. But you’re still dominating, so I think that’s awesome. One thing I want to point out about you that you do very, very well, and that everybody can do, is kind of highlighting that again.

Jeff Yeats [21:40]: Yeah, right, right.

Jeff Yeats [21:58]: Yeah. Yeah.

Sean Garner [22:07]: You get reviews from three different places. One is whenever you first started out—and this is true with any small business owner—start with people you know. You started with your network, friends, and family. Just get those character reviews because, just like you've shown in what you do, they don’t have to have done business with you. The point of reviews is establishing trust and authority. Like, is this person a trustworthy person?

Even if they’ve never had a service with you, just, man, a trustworthy guy, I’ve known him for years, that kind of thing. That helps a lot. And it helps kind of prime the pump to get it going too. This is my favorite thing, and I’ll be honest—you’re the only client that has taken advantage of this. That’s why I wanted you to come in here and talk about it: getting every phone call.

You don’t just ask. Most people do step one and step three—they ask people they know, and they ask clients. I think the secret is in the middle ground here of every single phone call that rings. You’re providing value, and if you’re going to be answering the phone anyway, like you’re taking three to five minutes to answer the call with the client, get a review out of it.

Jeff Yeats [23:10]: 100%. That’s my thought. I’m like, hey, I answered the phone and gave you five minutes of my time and answered your questions. If that was helpful, would you mind leaving me a review?

Sean Garner [23:21]: Yeah. And it’s that simple. You’re not overcomplicating it—you are just asking.

Jeff Yeats [23:26]: Yeah, and if they say yes, I’ll write that number down or make a note in the story guide. I make a note in there. And if they said yes, then I have less hesitation to follow up with them because I think they just forgot or they didn’t get the link. Sometimes people fill them out on Google, and they don’t show up—they get blocked for whatever reason. So I’ve learned that too. I always follow up if I don’t see them.

Sean Garner [23:41]: Yeah.

Sean Garner [23:52]: That’s awesome. So that, to me, is the secret sauce. The phone rings, you add value, and you get a review, which is awesome. And then the other one is just clients, absolutely. And then consistently following up with those clients.

Jeff Yeats [24:07]: And respond to them. Respond to the reviews.

Sean Garner [24:10]: Yeah, that’s a good point too. Make sure you respond to your reviews. You’re not just sitting back collecting them, but even with the one-star reviews, you want to have a good, thoughtful response. And with the five-star reviews, you also want to have a thoughtful response because it shows, wow, they actually do care about the reviews. They’re thoughtfully responding to each and every one of them. I think that’s awesome.

Kind of shifting a little bit, but it’s still related to systems that are built out. One of the other things we set up is the missed call text back. You’re a service provider, so you can’t always be available, and you don’t have a receptionist answering the phone right now. So when someone calls Measured Home Services right now, 99% of the time they’re getting Jeff.

A concern with that is, sometimes you’re doing the actual work people are paying you for, and you might miss a call. With a service business like yours—think plumbers, contractors, inspectors, stuff like that—people often go to Google, type it in, and go down the list. If you miss the call, you could lose money. Talk about what you have set up so that doesn’t happen and how that works.

Automating Missed Call Follow-Ups

Jeff Yeats [25:18]: Yeah, the missed call text back just means that if I miss the call, the system automatically sends a text saying, "Hey, this is Measured Home Services. Sorry I missed your call. How can we help?" What I've noticed is it at least gets them to engage. Sometimes they won’t, but in my opinion, if they’re going to, they will right then.

There have been times where I missed the call and didn’t even realize it, but I get a message saying, "I need an appraisal in Tulsa," and this guy just called. I can call him back or just get them engaged. It makes them feel like we’re on top of things when they get the message. And sometimes I can’t answer the phone, but I can message. So if they respond to the text, I can engage through that. It’s been a huge help.

Sean Garner [25:51]: Yeah.

Sean Garner [26:06]: That’s so true. I always tell people, you’re not that special. What I mean by that is how you do things is how your potential customers are going to do things. Think about it: if you need a repair or service done on your home or anything locally, you’re going to start on Google. You’ll look for the ones that stand out the most with reviews, maybe click on the website, and then start making phone calls. If the first person doesn’t answer, you’re not going to sit and wait for them to call you back before calling the second person—you’re just going to go down the list.

We built out what’s called missed call text back for Jeff. What it does is exactly that. We can set the trigger so that if he doesn’t pick up the phone within a certain number of rings, it automatically sends the caller to voicemail and also sends them a text message with whatever message we’ve set. Like you said, it’s about engaging them and showing that you’re responsive. Just looking at some of the reviews, people say things like, "Wow, I called several people, and you were the first person I got in contact with."

If you can’t pick up the phone to speak with them, you at least want to initiate that contact. The missed call text back makes it super easy.

Jeff Yeats [27:10]: Yeah, and sometimes we’re the only business they call because they do some research online and have so much confidence in us. They’re willing to give us a little more time to respond and get back to them because they’re so impressed upfront. You know what I mean?

Sean Garner [27:23]: Yeah. You have dominated your industry. What’s cool about this, and especially about dominating with organics—not paid stuff—is that another home appraisal company could pop up overnight. They could spend thousands of dollars a month just on paid ads to rank higher than you. But as soon as they stop paying, it’s still going to show up as sponsored, and people are going to see it’s an ad. Then they’re going to look at the real reviews and see that you’re dominating and beating them.

Once they stop paying, it’s gone. I’m not telling you to do this, and I know you’re not going to, but the second-place person has been in business for 12 years and only has 60 reviews. You could literally let your foot off the gas right now, and you’re so far ahead of everybody else that you’d just naturally keep going. What I’m trying to say is it’s like building a snowball. It’s a lot of work upfront, but now you’ve got this thing so big, it could just roll on its own, and you’d still keep killing it.

But I know that’s not the plan for you because now—what I want you to do to kind of wrap this up—is to talk about what’s possible now that you’ve seen it. Originally, you just wanted a WordPress website and thought you were going to build that up and network to get some leads. But your eyes have been opened, and we’ve got this whole digital domination thing set up for you. You’ve got all of these, the triggers automations and stuff SEO is going and everything and you've truly dominated your local market. Now that's kind of opened your eyes up to even more possibilities to talk about how now this is expanded new opportunities to grow with different services in your business and then also where you're thinking about, you know, others markets and everything else.

Scaling and Expanding Services

Jeff Yeats [29:07]: Man, as soon as this started to take off and trend upward very quickly, I was like, man, I should open more businesses. This is awesome. This is awesome.

Sean Garner [29:15]: Business is easy.

Jeff Yeats [29:19]: Man, I just want to dominate Oklahoma. I want a thousand reviews, and I want to dominate Oklahoma. You’ve opened my eyes to, man, with the right kind of guidance and stuff, like you say—these are your words—it’s all possible. Anything’s possible.

So, yeah, we brought in... I started listening to what people would call and ask and figure out how I can service those areas as well. For example, people get appraisers and home inspectors mixed up, so they’d call and ask about a home inspection. For a while, I’d say, "Oh, we don’t offer those." Then I thought, why not? Why can’t we offer those?

And then, working with you, it’s like, hey, how can we kind of shift our marketing online to pick up some of those leads I get organically, as you would say, online? Just bringing in more areas of business to cover and service these people, and then covering other areas of Oklahoma, is our goal.

Sean Garner [30:21]: That’s awesome. So the world can watch as Jeff Yeats of Measured Home Services... I would go out on a limb and assume there is no appraisal company in the country that’s got a thousand reviews. I know you’re going to be the first one to get there, and I’m super honored that you’re my friend and that you’re also a client. I’m excited to see what you keep doing, brother. Thank you so much for your time today.

Jeff Yeats [30:45]: Dude, thanks for your help, man.

Sean Garner

Most small business owners are overwhelmed and confused about how to market their business so that it grows and stands out from the competition.

At Sean Garner Consulting, we build, fill, and optimize sales funnels with storytelling marketing to get you more customers and leads online and be seen as the clear leader in your industry.

Discover what's wrong with your marketing & Take the FREE Assessment HERE

https://www.seangarner.co/
Previous
Previous

E26: How to Dominate Your Industry with a Sales Funnel

Next
Next

E24: 10 Key Homepage Sections to Get More Leads