Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast we're talking with Ross Thiebaud who sells metal roofs that run anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000, and he does almost all of it online. No salesman in the home. No three-hour kitchen-table wrestling match. A husband and wife watch a video in the comfort of their own home, answer a few questions built right into it, sleep on it, and then get on a 15-minute call where all that's left to talk about is the price. I love the elegance of it. By the time someone reaches out, they've already sold themselves. We also talked about the nine-word email, which brings in 25% of Ross's business from people who didn't buy right away. That got me onto one of my favorite ideas lately, RevPUP, or revenue per unconverted prospect. The leads everyone writes off as junk are usually just buyers who aren't ready yet. Check back in 18 months and almost all of them bought a roof. There's a lot here about patience, premium pricing, and treating your list like a time capsule of the customers you're going to have. Key Takeaways: Why selling over video beats selling in the room: guard's down, they can rewatch the key parts, and they sell their spouse for you. The "no pushy salesman required" hook that filters out tire-kickers and pulls the ready buyers forward. Why making people watch the video before you'll talk price isn't a barrier, it's a qualifier. If they won't watch, they were never going to write the check. How the nine-word email quietly produces 25% of the business from leads everyone else gave up on. The RevPUP idea (revenue per unconverted prospect): why "junk leads" are usually just buyers who aren't ready yet. Why doing the same thing cheaper is the hardest way to make a profit, and doing something different costs more is the easiest. Show LInks: ProfitActivatorScore.com BreakthroughDNA.com 90minutebooks.com
Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, I'm sharing a very different kind of conversation with my longtime friend Joey Osborne, who just announced he's running for U.S. Congress in the mountains of North Carolina. Joey's been an entrepreneur his whole life, someone who's always looking to fix broken systems. Now he's turning that problem-solving mindset toward politics, challenging a 20-year incumbent in his district. We talked about how the same principles we use in marketing apply directly to winning an election, from identifying persuadable voters to the math of reaching the 60,000 people who could change the outcome. One thing that struck me was Joey's experience from his previous congressional run. The one precinct where he finished best was where he stood outside all day handing voters his card. Name recognition alone moved the needle because most people don't know who they're voting for when they get down the ballot. Whether you're selling homes, insurance, or ideas, the strategy stays the same. Find the people who are persuadable and get your message in front of them at the right time. Follow Joey's campaign at joey.vote, and stay tuned because this may become a series as we see how marketing principles work in the political arena. Episode Highlights The formula for influencing 10% of people 100% of the way instead of 100% of people 10% of the way How a magazine distributed to just 450 people launched one of the biggest bands in music history Why the real estate listing strategy that works in an 8-week window applies to any time-sensitive campaign The video view retargeting approach that builds an audience of your most persuadable prospects for pennies What the $79,000 steakhouse receipt reveals about knowing your competitor's real story How to calculate exactly what it costs to acquire a customer—and why most people never do the math Show links Show notes Joey.vote
The quiet week between Christmas and New Year is the perfect time to revisit the fundamentals that actually work. While everyone else is planning their "new year, new me" marketing experiments, you could be installing the only framework you'll ever need to predictably generate clients. In this episode, I want to share one of the early I Love Marketing episodes where Joe and I break down the 8 Profit Activators - the foundational system I've used to help thousands of businesses create vending machine marketing instead of slot machine marketing. Putting money in and knowing exactly what goes in and exactly what comes out, every single time, rather than putting money in and hoping. We talk about how most business owners would happily pay 20-25% of a transaction if someone delivered ready-to-buy clients to them, but they won't invest that same amount in building their own client-generation system. I'll remind you how to think about your business in three separate units (Before, During, and After), why narrowing your focus to one target market makes everything easier instead of harder, and how to stop confusing "being nice to people" with an actual orchestrated referral system. If your marketing feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall in any way, this episode will give you the clarity and foundation you've been missing. Show LInks: ProfitActivatorScore.com BreakthroughDNA.com 90minutebooks.com
Being known for what you don't do can position you as the natural choice in your market. Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, I want to share a great conversation with Paul DeLano from Lake Life Realty, located in southwest Michigan near Notre Dame. Paul and his son Matt have built their business since 2010 around one focused decision. They exclusively work with buyers and sellers of lakefront property. If a home isn't on the lake, they simply refer it to another agent. We talked about how this specialization allows them to really serve their clients at a level generalists can't match, from taking buyers on boat rides before writing offers, to building relationships with everyone in their ecosystem—appraisers, dock installers, marinas, and home service providers. What's really interesting is exploring how they're not just selling real estate transactions, but selling the lake lifestyle itself. They advise families on how to maximize their time at the lake, connect buyers with local marinas during showings, and are building toward a full concierge service for lakefront homeowners. Paul also shared how their direct mail approach to the known, 16,000 lakefront homes in their area has become a real asset, and how selecting a single target market opens up opportunities to become an advocate and market maker for an entire community. There are lessons here for anyone thinking about the power of focus in their business. Key Takeaways from This Episode: Why declining business outside your specialty actually generates more referrals and positions you as the obvious expert The 50-transaction mindset: viewing every deal as 50 touchpoints and becoming the easiest customer your vendors work with How being one of the few agents who calls appraisers back generates 2-3 direct referrals per year from an unexpected source Taking buyers on boat rides before writing offers—and why the best side of every lakefront home is the one you can't see from the road The difference between selling transactions and selling a lifestyle, including advising families on how to actually enjoy what they're buying Why true specialization creates a "blue ocean" where committed competitors simply don't exist Show LInks: ProfitActivatorScore.com BreakthroughDNA.com 90minutebooks.com
Prevention beats recovery every time, especially when the threat is already inside your walls. Today on the More Cheese Less Whiskers podcast, I want to share a great conversation with Kevin Donahue. Kevin is the founder and CEO of Stealth Family in Nashville, along with his partners, a former FBI supervisory agent from the Cyber Task Force and a legendary music attorney who's been in Nashville since '87. Together they're bringing enterprise-grade cybersecurity protection to high net worth families and individuals. Kevin shared that hackers often lurk in your systems for six to 18 months before taking action, waiting for the right moment. The challenge he faces is the same one I see with home warranty companies and insurance providers. Most people only call after something bad happens. So, we talked about positioning these threats as "avoidable surprises" rather than mistakes, and how focusing on protecting kids and elderly parents creates a natural doorway into the bigger conversation about all the ways families are vulnerable. We also explored the idea of covering even the sloppiest cybersecurity habits, making protection easy for people who don't want to change their behavior. If you're in any business where prevention is the product, there's a lot to think about here. Key Takeaways: The average hacker is already in your system right now, quietly watching for 6-18 months before they strike at the perfect moment—a home purchase, a wire transfer, a death in the family. Calling threats "avoidable surprises" instead of "biggest mistakes" completely changes how people respond. Nobody admits to making mistakes, but everyone wants to avoid a surprise. There's no 911 for cybercrime. The sheriff can't help, the feds won't touch it unless you've lost a quarter million, and by the time you call for help, it's usually too late. The biggest leap in "know, like, trust" isn't getting people to trust you. It's getting them to know you exist in the first place. When your product is complex, find a doorway: focusing on protecting kids or elderly parents opens the conversation to everything else a family needs. The best prevention businesses don't ask people to change their behavior. They promise to cover even the sloppiest habits, like a pill that lets you lose weight without dieting. Show Links: ProfitActivatorScore.com BreakthroughDNA.com 90minutebooks.com