Mike Minutes Mastermind 09/27/2024

Foreign.

Gusta nation.

Happy Friday. I'm sorry it's a little bit later than usual. Just a bit of a hectic day.

First off.

Put this in the Facebook group. Thoughts and prayers with those down the Southeast getting through the storm. Don't know why my screen's doing that.

So again, if you are impacted, especially around insurance premiums, etc. I know for some people that, you know, you rake in the dough here because cleanups and chainsaws, but you need more equipment typically. So for those that don't, please reach out to Nick and next month's franchise fees will waive those. Don't want anything like that.

Like an insurance premium or something really damaging someone if they also have stuff with their house happening and a couple people got their house tree landed on it. So. Yep.

All right, let's jump into questions. I think we got a few six here today.

Boom. By the way, questions have been really, really good recently. Just the last like week or two. So thank you. All right, first question is from Joel from Lafayette in your answer to Garrett's question yesterday said there are now email filters that click links. I have a newer client who says she didn't click on either of the past 21 clicks I sent, but I got a notification she did both times. I'm wondering if she has one of these filters that auto clicks links. Does this mean one click estimate email responses will become less reliable? Should we stop using a one click link for estimates or an opt out link for winter services service emails and instead ask people to reply to ask to request an estimate or opt out? So I'm going to go ahead and say yes to this question.

I do think that it can still be used. Why is my Sorry, okay, cool. I do think it can still be used and I would still do one click estimate emails. And if you're not having this problem, great. There are certain tools though that now are making this pretty torturous where you think you get 60 or 70 clicks and really maybe 30 people clicked it and even if it's one out of two, it's enough of a headache to just be frustrating and it'll seem like all of them. So texts are crushing. As long as you monitor your account inside Copilot and actually respond to people, it's been really well, really good. I would say.

You could simply modify the one click estimate emails to take out the link and make it where it's like hey, respond back to us and we'll get and we'll get you on the schedule. Is going to convert Less there's way more hassle around that. But I would say like as a general rule of thumb we've seen text just completely obliterating, obliterating email. So and you know if you look at like textedly or other email platforms like for example mailchimp does SMS to send a one send one text from mailchimp. I think I looked at our account, it was gonna be like $250 a month if we use mailchimp for SMS right now we're not charging it at for our at all at Copilot like there's no incremental cost of sending out messages down the road. It's going to be a few cents per. So these will actually cost money down the road and it cause it costs us real money when you send out messages. So keep that in mind in your strategy. I am actively looking into several things inside of the email template builder that we use inside Copilot which is called be free to see some on the technical aspect how we can potentially protect our one clicks. But I just think that the is going to be an uphill battle forever fighting these spam filters like you're talking about Google and Microsoft and these companies that are like creating this stuff to credit weed stuff out, we're up against them. So it's going to be tough. And so I do expect the same thing to eventually start happening to text as well. So you know I think it's just a matter of like we've used one click estimate models now for you know all five years of Augusta Nation and I think that they can still be used. I do believe that. And in some markets it's very strange how some markets not affecting them as much and they're pretty accurate others the majority. I'm starting to see less and less accuracy. And so this is across the board the same thing kind of happened the last year of using even inside service autopilot. And so I'm confident because I've been talking to other founders and everyone else in the email this is starting to become really common. So as a general rule of thumb if you're having this problem I would definitely probably change your one click take the link out and make it where they just need to respond back to you. I would probably pair that same email with text messages at the exact same moment. I would segment your audience out by zip code or city or whatever in your clients. Under clients and copilot I would select them all, I would send them an email and then I'd send them a text message. The Email is going to be like respond back. And the text messages obviously they're going to be responding back. So that's the strategy we're using at my location starting this month for fall cleanups and then for selling winter services as well. So we're going to do a text and email combined and between the two they should have what they you know, we're going to make sure we hit every person like on which services the opt out using both of them.

David VandenBrink Saint Matthews, Kentucky He I forgot went to services question about the ethics of starting to provide a service to clients that never specifically requested it, knowing that many likely didn't see the email missed the opt out button. So just, just to be clear, if that happens, we refund them all the money, no questions. So. So from an ethics standpoint, the ethical answer is like yes, if we were charging people and holding them over a barrel, that would be a problem. If they call into command center or they call you if you're taking on calls, highly recommend just waive it immediately. It's worth it because the amount of the increase that you get in terms of not doing an opt in versus an opt out is more than double. So it's worth getting twice as much recurring revenue for the incremental of 2 to 4% refund rate that you're going to have to give. I'm planning on selling winter service in person and with customized videos, so this will not be a huge issue for me. However, I know that there'll be some there will be some customers that I'm able to get in front of or those who never respond to the customized video proposal or click on an opt out email that accompanies the video. I know opt outs and refunding of some customers has been the normal practice for many guest locations, but I personally don't feel comfortable simply starting service and hoping they stay on when they never requested that service in the first place. At the end of the day, I know I need to run my business according to my own convictions and make my own decision. But I was wondering what your thoughts are and why you think opt outs are an acceptable way to approach winter services. Thanks for your work you put into Winter Services track. So far the recent resources have been helpful. So a couple things I agree with you and I struggle with this at the very beginning too. Ultimately someone has a problem with it, they're going to get free services and it's actually going to cost me money. Secondly, the higher up you go on the tracks of winter services so if you go to the very top level where you are doing in person, this is not a problem. The one right below that, if you text and email them a personalized video breaking down the cost, they're going to respond like the text, they are going to respond to that. And that's why I put it in that thing is like, if you really like even stage step two of the winter tracks, like it's still sending them a personalized loom or recording via text because they will, they will see that message. Like I can almost guarantee it. And so.

Yeah, like your deliverability is huge. And so what I would probably do is probably I'd send the video with the text and then I'd probably follow up to the text message like hey, just wondering if you were able to watch that video above. And like if you really didn't feel right about it. I genuinely believe like if you tried number one, anyone that was not at home, you didn't do number two and, and then sent them a personalized video and then followed up to that text message being like, hey, did you watch the video above? Otherwise we're just going to go ahead and opt you out. That's fine. Now another thing is we put in our estimate saying that this is year round service and we will continue throughout the winter with offseat with, with winter services. So like it's also in the estimate they accepted from day one.

So again though I agree with you, like I don't like fine print at all. I don't like that also you, you also I think I really do believe this is a perception thing and that is like we believe this is better for us when in reality this is actually better for your customer from a savings perspective if they're going to do a fall cleanup and they're going to do a winter cleanup or they're going to have you come out and do shoveling a couple times, put some down, some de icer. This is actually better for the customer. So in a way you could, from an ethics standpoint it's like look, you're actually going to need to make less money on this customer compared to if they do a fall cleanup and a spring cleanup by putting them into winter services. And then like what's the ethics of for example like you opting them out and then all of a sudden they get a break in in the middle of winter and you could have been there to make sure everything looks good, that the place was, you know, take pictures for them if they something there was a break in while they're out of town or they're a snowbird. So there's definitely. I get the ethics part, but remember, you're not the target customer. It's very important to.

To sometimes just change your mindset around that. But I'm not against, you know, definitely go number one, go number two. And at the very worst, I think maybe only 10 to 15% people. If you really do number one, probably 50% of people, you'll get in person. And I think I really believe you can get another 70 to 80% of the other half via the text with a personalized video and then a text follow up.

Dustin from Champagne, we. Sorry. Dustin from Champagne. We just promoted a team member in Bloom.