Episode 0 - Who We Are

Welcome to Trades Secrets! Join us every week as we discuss marketing tips, tricks & strategies for your contracting business. From SEO to branding strategies, we can't wait to propel your business to greatness!

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Trades Secrets: Contractor Marketing is for home services contractors and who are looking for easy to implement marketing tips and strategies. This podcast is for you if you're looking for actionable marketing tactics that are not over your head, and apply to ALL trades. We'll keep you apprised of what's new, and what should be on your radar for all things digital marketing.

Transcript

Amanda Joyce:

Hi, guys. I'm Amanda Joyce.

Devon Hayes:

And I'm Devon Hayes.

Amanda Joyce:

Welcome to Trades Secrets.

Devon Hayes:

Where we reveal what you can be doing today to improve your marketing.

[Intro]

Devon Hayes:

Welcome to Trades Secrets, where we demystify digital marketing to help contractors get the most bang for their marketing bucks.

Amanda Joyce:

This is for you, if you're a contractor looking for actionable marketing insights.

Devon Hayes:

Learn from home services industry experts to elevate your business through simplified marketing strategies.

Amanda Joyce:

Let's dive into today's trade secret.

[End Intro]

Devon Hayes:

Well, Today is a fun episode. We are just kind of diving in and talking about who-

Amanda Joyce:

Who we are. Yeah.

Devon Hayes:

Who we are, who Elevation Marketing is, what Trades Secrets is all about, and kind of why we're here.

Amanda Joyce:

And really why we hope you guys are going to join us every week to learn from us and get to know us, and just kind of be in this journey with us. This is our first entry into the podcasting world, and we feel like we've got a lot of information to share. So, welcome.

Devon Hayes:

Yes, welcome. So, we'll start. Amanda and I, we've known each other for 12-

Amanda Joyce:

I think it was like 2012, is when I met you.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah, yeah.

Amanda Joyce:

It was our 10-year anniversary this year, actually, this past year.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah, it was. So, we've known each other for about 10 years and then we've both been in the marketing world for 15 plus years.

Amanda Joyce:

Our entire professional careers. Right? After you left the Navy and I got out of college, we both dove straight in.

Devon Hayes:

Yes, yes. So your experience, you had kind of what I picture on TV when I hear people say they're in marketing and advertising. So you worked at this big agency, right?

Amanda Joyce:

Yeah. So I got hired straight out of college to work at iCrossing, which that's like the first time I've ever heard the word SEO. I sat down and during my interview and they pulled up the computer and we're like, "Imagine..." They were explaining search results to me. And it was 2005, at the time, I'd never even given any thought to my search experience. You just use Google like a tool. And it's just so funny now to think about how different life is and how I've spent my entire career focused on trying to help people figure out how to be relevant in those search results.

Devon Hayes:

I have to ask, was it a new age, madman in the office?

Amanda Joyce:

There were some me too moments, for sure, but it really was not very glamorous. I was in a cubicle, but it was that fun environment where I was with a bunch of young college graduates learning the ropes of marketing. Probably being given way too much responsibility with some really big accounts that I'm like, "Are you sure I should be doing this?" But it was trial by fire and I learned a ton and I met so many really smart people. After I left the company and started doing my own thing, then they moved into this big fancy space. And it's probably much more what you're envisioning, but it was.

Devon Hayes:

So you had this... I love that you had this confidence and this, I don't know, just this drive. So you're like an entrepreneur at heart. You're like, "You know what? I don't need this."

Amanda Joyce:

Yeah. It was also just youthful arrogance. I mean, I was there for two years and then I'm like, "I can do this on my own." But that was also back in the day when you could just go buy private health insurance and be a consultant. That was a thing at the time. So I was just so fortunate that everything kind of aligned like that, and I was able to take... I mean, just got my chops in specifically paid media AdWords, as it was called at the time, and learned how to run those ads and just went out and started running them for companies. And I worked with some pretty big companies, even after I left the agency umbrella, and just continued my journey through all this. And the piece of it that was missing was, I would always meet people and start working with them and do all their paid ads. But SEO was never my focus, so that's why I'm so glad that you and I met.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah. So as a background, Amanda and I, we both had our own kind of independent agencies, but we were kind of sharing work and sending it to one another. She's a content marketing mastermind as well as paid media guru. And I'd always focused on kind of SEO, local, technical kind of that realm. And I dabbled in the content world. And the content marketing, a lot of analysis and research goes into that, which is kind of-

Amanda Joyce:

Absolutely.

Devon Hayes:

... my wheelhouse too. So anyway, so we each had our own agencies and then we combined, was it three, four years ago?

Amanda Joyce:

It was four years ago because it was... Yeah, yeah. It was right before I got married and, yeah. Yeah.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah. So-

Amanda Joyce:

fast.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah, absolutely. Okay, so for everyone listening, Amanda, so personal side, I mean you're wife, you're a mom, two beautiful boys.

Amanda Joyce:

Yes.

Devon Hayes:

Got lovely, little, fat doggy, Ruby, we love.

Amanda Joyce:

Exactly.

Devon Hayes:

I just listed everything you could possibly talk about. I just threw it all out there for you.

Amanda Joyce:

And it's just so funny because it just so happens that I just really feel like this stage of my life all started when we started this company, when we combined our companies. We combined our companies in November of 2018. I got married at the end of that month, and then I had a baby the next November. I mean, it's kind of crazy. How intertwined our lives are and how we've started our joint effort together at such an amazing time in my life, and I'm so grateful and

Devon Hayes:

It's awesome. So what's the difference between what we do, which I know that we love, but I would love to just hear your take on agency world to being an independent contractor, to now we have this agency and we are primarily focused on home services contractors. What is that, I guess, transition?

Amanda Joyce:

Yeah.

Devon Hayes:

To me about that.

Amanda Joyce:

I would say the thing that I love the most about what we do and even what I was doing previously when I was an independent contractor, was at an agency level, there were times that I just literally felt like I was just playing Whack-a-Mole, just trying to manage so much. And it felt, unfortunately, oftentimes people were numbers. They had to be. To run an agency at a high level and have that many clients going, it's hard to keep consistency. And I'm not talk throwing any shade, but it is just a different approach. They did have all the tools and bells and whistles, and there were a lot of great things we were able to deliver to clients then.

But what I love about what you and I are doing is, we know every one of our clients, we know them personally, and we know what's going on in their businesses. We're intentionally not big, so we can do all of that. And that is the huge difference to me.

Devon Hayes:

Absolutely. And we've worked with the same team of people, the same developers, content writers. We've got Pam, who, I don't even know what her official title is because she helps us with everything. But we've had the same team of people, even prior to us merging over these past four years. We've worked with the same people for 10 plus years. So while we aren't like this giant agency and we never want to be a giant agency, we do have a solid team of people. And we've worked together for, like I said, 10 plus years. And it has been... It's a true team, and we really do... It's not like... You and I are the only salespeople, right? So we don't sell something and then pass it off to someone else and be like, "Okay, bye. Peace out."

Amanda Joyce:

Exactly.

Devon Hayes:

We are actually your partner. We care very much. We're very much invested. And I love that kind of the way we've scaled, we've been able to stay involved with every client and really have a relationship with all of our clients.

Amanda Joyce:

Exactly. I love that we close the sales cycle and then we immediately have a kickoff call. And then we move into regular communication with the client, and it's us the whole time.

Devon Hayes:

Yes.

Amanda Joyce:

So that's how we get to know them, we get to be their friends. And I also love that you and I both came into this with such great contacts in the industry that we, together, have brought this team of just brilliant marketers together that we get to work with every day.

Devon Hayes:

Absolutely.

Amanda Joyce:

And for the record, this podcast is not about selling our agency. We want you guys to understand who we are so that you understand what we bring to the table and why we'd like you to lean on us for marketing advice. So on that note, I want to talk about you, a little bit, Devon.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah. Yes, yes. Yeah. So I think I got into marketing, working for myself. I don't know, because I was kind of tired of the corporate grind. I was in the Navy right out of high school and I worked IT, so I really knew I liked that technical side and I did love traveling the world. But immediately kind of thrown into a man's world, some might say.

And then after the Navy, I went to college and I got a job after graduating with Mass. Electric, who is a subsidiary of Kiewit, which is one of the biggest builders out there. I think they did 10.2 billion a couple years ago, so kind of giant construction company. And so I'm comfortable in that realm. My dad is a contractor, my husband is a contractor, my uncle, my cousin, just all these important people in my life. And I love the trades. I love kind of those salt of the earth people as we call them, because they're just hardworking, honest, and out there just trying to do right by people and grow their businesses.

And so those are the people... That's who we want to help, that's who we like working with. We love those people. They're our favorite clients. And so, we've shifted. We've worked in all verticals, all markets, cannabis, dog training, managed [diet tea 00:10:52] services. We've literally worked in... We have experienced... Medical, dental, we have experience across the board, but our bread and butter has always been with contractors, and those have always been our favorite types of contractors.

So, I love that this year we've decided to focus very intentionally on contractors and the trades, electricians, plumbers, roofers. I mean, ironworkers, pest control, landscapers, we have experience literally with all of those trades, but only now in 2023, are we really focusing on growing our business and expanding kind of our reach. And just like Amanda said, yes, we're growing our business on the side, but this podcast is actually about just giving free information. Things we've learned along the way, ways that we have seen contractors burned in the worst ways and trying to help-

Amanda Joyce:

to give us a bad name as marketers. And we-

Devon Hayes:

Yes. It's just awful. We are, I don't know, we're very... I don't know, we're just very open, honest, transparent people. Even in our reporting, if something's sucking, we tell our clients. That's also a tip, look for that. If everything always looks like roses, something ain't right.

But yeah, so love focusing on this. Always worked in construction. I worked for VERTEX Engineering, which that's a huge international company now. And so, worked in the engineering space. And then I touched in, I dabbled in finance for about a second as a marketing director for big lender here in Colorado, and a year that was enough. So kind of learned some lessons, and then have been on my own since 2014.

So anyways, that's a little bit of my story and a little bit of why I'm kind of passionate about the trades and home services, and I guess why we're here ultimately. Like I said, we both agree, Amanda and I, we love putting our families first. We never want to be the largest agency, but we have so much information that we just want to give away for free. We just want to genuinely help you grow your business and not get screwed over.

I'm going to say it. We see contractors get screwed over every single day. Every discovery call, there's something new where we're like, "Fuck. But it happens.

Amanda Joyce:

Yeah. And it's at the detriment of their business. Sometimes we see people having spent thousands of dollars and years with an agency. And then they walk away and we realize that it was all smoke and mirrors, and they don't have anything to show for it.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah. So we are here to be your honest Abe, your gal pals in the marketing world. We love engaging, we love interacting with you. We want your questions. We're here to give free advice. It's no skin off our back. We're just here to help. We've even helped contractors sort through contracts they've gotten from other SEO agencies to suss out kind of what they should be looking for 'cause sometimes you don't even know... You don't know what you don't know.

If you ask me to install a pond in somebody's backyard, I would probably dig a hole and put a hose in it. So the same way that you don't expect me to know how to professionally install a pond or a roof, we don't expect you to understand the industry jargon. We want to help you understand the reports you might already be getting from your agency. We just kind of want to be your friend in contractor marketing.

Amanda Joyce:

We want to be the people that you think of, like that buddy that you would call before you'd ever make a big marketing decision, just to make sure you're doing it. So, we aim to provide that insight so you can be bold and dive into marketing, but do it in a way that it's going to really benefit your business, and in the end, give marketers a good name.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah. So tune in, listen to us. We will have all kinds of information on... It's either something you can pass on to your admin, who's maybe doing a little bit of marketing for you. If you're working with an agency, maybe some tips on what to look for, what to ask for, maybe some changes they're not aware of. We're here to work as a partner, and this is a huge industry, we're not-

Amanda Joyce:

Yeah.

Devon Hayes:

Can't be everything to everyone, just like you can't. But we can help you make educated decisions and good choices and teach you a little bit, and hopefully make you laugh along the way.

Amanda Joyce:

Absolutely. Absolutely. And we're also going to try to keep it to a snackable length that you can maybe listen to it from one job site to the next. And kind of playing off what you just said, Devon, most of the insights we're going to give, they're going to work whether you're doing it yourself or you just need to know how to speak the lingo to your agency. We really do want this to be a broad scope of information that no matter where you are in your marketing journey, it's going to make sense and you're going to have actionable things you can do.

Devon Hayes:

Dollas. Going to make dollas and cents.

Amanda Joyce:

Yes, yes.

Devon Hayes:

You're going to make some money. Yeah. So at the end of the day, you just want to make more money, we want to help you make more money, not just kind of throw money at a problem and watch it disappear. I think that's it. That's it. That's us. That's us in a nutshell.

Amanda Joyce:

Yeah.

Devon Hayes:

Yeah. We'll tune in and we hope to see you on future podcasts. Do you see people on a podcast? No, probably not. Maybe in a video.

Amanda Joyce:

Well hopefully from time to time, you'll actually check us out on YouTube. But you can listen to us as well. We're here.

Devon Hayes:

Awesome. Take care and we'll see you soon.

Amanda Joyce:

Thanks, guys.

That was today's trade secret. Thanks for listening.

Devon Hayes:

Did you find this helpful? We're just getting started.

Amanda Joyce:

Subscribe, and don't miss our next reveal.

Devon Hayes:

Until next time.