[00:00:00.000] - Brandon
Well, my dude, this isn't an H-H-B show per se. No.
[00:00:04.180] - Chris
I think it's only fair to our audience that we're a media partner for this upcoming conference. That's fair to say.
[00:00:10.580] - Brandon
That is fair to say.
[00:00:11.240] - Chris
We're a media partner. We're friends of Core. Yeah. Those of you aren't familiar with Core, listen to this episode, right? Use some of your drive time to take this in. Don't dismiss it because this is a whatever, whatever. It's about the collective by Core. It's an upcoming conference in Austin. We were chatting with Diane and Beth about it before we started the show. You and I have heard many times before we ever got involved with CORE, the CORE is the event to go to. And subsequently, we've heard about another industry event that people also love to go to. And what's the common thread? When people go to conferences, one, you're obviously going for the training. It's like good content. Some conferences have better content than others. From my perspective, you're going for the location, which is Austin, Texas, which is Actually, it's my first time. Last year, being in Austin. We stayed over with our wives. We're going to stay over with our wives again. It's a rad place to extend and just build a vacation into it. The food, first of all, CORE does an awesome job with their catering. I remember all of their food in the hotel at the event is very high quality.
[00:01:21.710] - Chris
The parties are off the hook. Core is known for their creative team. They're really cutting edge, I think, in our industry in terms of their graphic design, and that shows through in everything, the way the event's laid out.Hospitality.Hospitality in general is awesome. It's one of those things, bring your spouse. If you're able to, bring some of your leadership team, bring your whole leadership team. We ran into a number of companies that they bring their whole leadership team. It's a great chance to socialize with your team. It's a great chance to network. Anyways, we get into it with Diane and Beth. There are two key executive figures that this event together. That's right. We dive into the breakouts that you and I are going to be doing at the event.
[00:02:05.820] - Brandon
I'm excited about. I just can't wait to go.
[00:02:07.950] - Chris
It's fun. It's one we look forward to.
[00:02:10.760] - Brandon
It's July. It's Austin.
[00:02:12.050] - Chris
Thirty-five days.
[00:02:12.870] - Brandon
Yeah, it's going to be bitching.
[00:02:14.320] - Chris
We mentioned it in the show, but it is really important that if you are going to go, and chances are some of you have already been thinking about, should I sign up for this? Should I do it? Do you have to be a member? We get into all of that. But truly, it's at the J. W. Marriott. You want to stay there. It's not one that you get You get a quality in four blocks away. No, no, no, no, no. Do your best to stay at the J. W. So don't wait and wait until the last minute.
[00:02:37.460] - Brandon
If Chris has already sold going to the event to you, H-H-B 100, use that when you register and you'll save 100 bucks.
[00:02:46.250] - Chris
On each of your tickets?
[00:02:47.430] - Brandon
Yeah, on each of your tickets. Yeah. Imagine, just do H-H-B 100, and that covers maybe some food and drink for one of the evenings. Okay.
[00:02:55.730] - Chris
Okay. Enough. Let's get it. There we go. Wow. How many of you have listened to the Head, Heart, and Boots I can't tell you that reaction, how much that means to us. Welcome back to the Head, Heart, and Boots podcast. I'm Chris.
[00:03:08.720] - Brandon
And I'm Brandon. Join us as we wrestle with what it takes to transform ourselves and the businesses we lead. This new camera angle makes my arms look smaller than yours.
[00:03:18.140] - Chris
I'm noticing that, and I really appreciate it. I thought you did that on purpose.
[00:03:21.470] - Brandon
No, I don't. I didn't, and I am not happy with it. Hey, all, thanks so much for listening to the show. Hey, if you're not already following Please do so and ultimately share, right? The coolest currency that we have in terms of supporting this is share it with a friend, share it with somebody, a colleague, a peer, one of your downline team members. Let them be able to take advantage of the information you're already leveraging in your favor. And finally, guys, if you hear a show that really moves you, that really moves the needle, will you please leave us a review? Those five-star reviews help us a ton.
[00:03:55.420] - Chris
Right on. And listen, if you're trying to grow your business, you might consider checking out Flood It's business opportunity audit. It's free. We provided it no charge. It's actually what we use to assess new clients as they come in. It's a 110 point assessment for your business. And we've now decided to give access to the general public for it. So go and take our business opportunity audit at floodlightgrp. Com. It's going to help you identify the biggest gaps and opportunities in your business right now. And at the end, it'll assign you a health score to let you know exactly where your business stands right now. So go check it out, floodlightgrp. Com/audit, and take the Boa. It's a great way to get a pulse on your business.
[00:04:35.980] - Brandon
Well, you two. Welcome back to the show.
[00:04:39.720] - Chris
Hey, hey.
[00:04:40.340] - Beth
Thank you. Thank you for having us.
[00:04:42.300] - Brandon
This is going to be different, right? This isn't a normal H-H-B show. This is more like four people having a really fun conversation about an event that is right around the corner that's been badass in the past, and I'm assuming it will continue to be badass, and that this year will- That is the plan.
[00:04:58.560] - Beth
That is definitely the plan. Of course.
[00:05:00.720] - Brandon
Let's dig in. What in the heck is going to be happening at the collective this year? Let's start big picture, and then we can start drawn down into the details and getting into the nitty-gritty.
[00:05:12.860] - Speaker 4
Well, you start with the fun stuff and then get into the business part of it. How about that? That way, we just kick it off, fresh, fun, have a good time. I guess it was by popular demand, actually, is why we chose it, was pickleball. We're going to have a free event this year. It's actually prior to the event, so Sunday, the seventh at 4, that we're going to do a pickleball. Apparently, this is a new craze. I know in Austin, you see it everywhere. I think the place that we even have rented out is on a garage, rooftop garage Oh, wow.
[00:05:46.190] - Beth
Austin Pickle Ranch.
[00:05:48.110] - Brandon
Is this like, turny style? Like we're all going to sign up and then man or woman standing.
[00:05:53.190] - Beth
We fully expect the headbands, the shorts, the come in fully in your pickleball car.
[00:05:58.470] - Speaker 4
The dresser, the visor. Yeah, sweat, arm bands, all the things.
[00:06:03.850] - Beth
To speak to that, you don't have to have a pickleball experience or you can be an expert. What we're doing is we are having Awesome Pickle Ranch help us facilitate this tournament, so it puts people where they should be. But it will be a lot of fun. We have a good many people signing up, so we're really excited about that. But it's going to be one of those things. If you end up being able to get here and can show up, we'll basically show up out there at 3:30, 3:45, and we're going to play people ball. So we're really excited about it. I think it'll just add a new element to it.
[00:06:37.050] - Brandon
This is all Sunday?
[00:06:38.520] - Beth
It's on Sunday. Sunday at four o'clock. It'll start at four, but there won't be an end time because we don't know how long it's going to take for me to beat everybody and get the trophy.
[00:06:49.110] - Speaker 4
I've never been there, but since it's on the rooftop of a garage- She just wants to buy a pickleball outfit and come to the shop.
[00:06:56.830] - Beth
That is true. She's not going to change. That is true.
[00:06:58.580] - Speaker 4
Any excuse to buy a new outfit. But one of the other things is because of the location, I'm excited to see if the balls go flying over the rooftop. We can probably find that out.
[00:07:10.660] - Beth
We can probably find that out. Well, no, that's just a bonus.
[00:07:14.530] - Brandon
That's so funny. I love how that was tied to a mandatory outfit purchase. You know what? I get it. It's a little loose connection for me, but I can understand how you got there.
[00:07:24.180] - Beth
You can't talk not and not sit the theme. Come on, you know it's better than that.
[00:07:29.200] - Speaker 4
Yeah, we're all a theme all week. So be ready. That's open. That will lead... That segue is actually perfectly into the next event is our nighttime parties. We do all our business during the day and end up the night with some parties. So this year, instead of just doing our pool party or main pool party, we're doing two themed parties. So the first night on Monday night, we're actually going to be doing our neon party in The Trade Show. So in The Trade Show hall, so getting to meet with all of our vendors, seeing their demos, gamifying it a little bit. So you have to play some games while you're in there, connect with some of our vendors. But it's all neon themed. And we made a joke that earlier we were showing the boards, the inspo boards that we'll be pushing out this week.
[00:08:13.460] - Beth
And we may or may not have started immediately singing the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
[00:08:17.840] - Speaker 4
We definitely did that. And we sing the entire song. And one of the girls in the room was like, Oh, it reminds me of the '90s. And we're like, Or '80s.
[00:08:28.970] - Brandon
But we're both very '80s, but we're like, '80s.
[00:08:33.680] - Speaker 4
But we're like, Yes. But we're like, There's that transition from '80s to '90s where there's that neon theme, all the good stuff. And like I said, Fresh Prince of Bel Air was definitely '90s. So there was that. And then the pool party the full festival. It's going to be a rooftop rave. If you think beyond Wonderland, it's an EDM festival that they have every year. We had to play on that a little bit. This year, last This year is more of us like Coachella vibe. This year is more like ravey vibes. So super excited about that. So we have two theme parties.
[00:09:07.060] - Beth
And to throw into that. So one of our thoughts on that and building that, we really want to bring a little more life into the exhibit hall and focus for our vendors and our exhibitors. So that night, there's going to be a lot in the exhibit hall with our lighting, the way we set up the vibe in the room. Obviously, we said neon. We have people that really enjoy, like Diane already mentioned, working on their outfits for the show. We like to theme it out. So we have inspo boards going out this Friday with all these options for if you want to wear a neon suit, by all means wear a neon suit. However, if you're someone that does not want to give a lot of thought to that, we have an attendee T-shirt that's going to be neon focus that you can just throw on the T-shirt and join the party. It doesn't have to be stressful. But the people that really love to go all in, please, by all means, go all in. But we'll have a DJ, the music, all the things that we do to make it fun. So that'll be our exhibitor party on the first night.
[00:10:02.980] - Beth
And then again, she said, We're not going across the street. We are going upstairs to the rooftop, but we're super excited because we got the whole pool deck. So it's massive. There may or may not be an 18-foot inflatable bunny on this. Maybe I'm not supposed to tell that. Oh, yeah. I don't think so. Can you void that out? It's okay. But there will be... You know how we pull out all the stops and there will be some surprise entertainment Things like that. Dj, all the things. But it's going to have a fun, some fun surprises, fun themes for that. So we're really excited about that.
[00:10:38.300] - Speaker 4
We will have our tattooer back from last year. He was full the entire time, and a lot of people said they got their first tattoo at the collective. So we were pretty proud of that. So yeah, I think that's exciting. Exciting, I should say. So yeah, we have all those going on. We do again have you over this year.
[00:10:59.490] - Brandon
So they'll We'll be back for sure then slinging.
[00:11:01.740] - Speaker 4
For sure. Yes. They had a great time, and we're super excited about coming back.
[00:11:05.510] - Brandon
I know we jumped in full frenzy into the fun part, but I'm like, I got to connect to why. For those of you that heard this first part so far, and it just sounds like you've signed up to go to a rave or whatever. Look, it is probably some of the best networking time actually takes. It really is. So it is super fun. For sure.
[00:11:26.810] - Beth
And please, by all means, let us back up Can we talk about the value of that? We have come out of a meeting where we were talking about these aspects, which is why this is what first came out, because we're finalizing a lot of the planning on those items. But if I can move into the content, that would be a good place to go. So all these owners who are sending their wonderful employees know that they're going to leave and be better employees after they leave. Absolutely. Because of the in-depth. So we are excited. I think that we've mentioned out in the industry. But one thing we are doing very different this year is in the past, we have had a lot of presentations, a lot of breakout submissions have been selective, but we've had 30 different options, 25 to 30 different options. So we decided to take a different approach this year, and we really had a more extensive process of application and analyzing what would make sense. And we wanted to really narrow that down. So how that's going to look is everybody is going to have five opportunities to go to a 60-minute breakout session.
[00:12:33.100] - Beth
So we have five 60-minute breakout sessions. What that means is every attendee will choose five of the twelve breakout sessions that are offered. So there are only twelve. You got twelve really high quality in-depth session, two of those being the world famous Chris Nordike and Brandon. So if you all want to share a little bit about your breakout, But we have really great speakers coming in. Katie Harris, she's going to do some marketing. Marcy Richardson is going to be focused on HR. Josh with the Oland is going to have some great new content he's going to have. So we're really excited. But it will, like I said, the only 12 different sessions that people can choose from. So we're really hoping to push people into, feel those rooms and have a little more in-depth in those sessions. So we're really excited about that.
[00:13:26.950] - Brandon
And that was some of the feedback that you guys had gotten. You guys worked so hard to develop a really rich list of opportunities. We almost over-opportunity people, right? That little analysis, paralysis kicked in.
[00:13:38.990] - Beth
Absolutely. Definitely. You just want to give so much good out there. You just want to put it all out there. Sometimes you realize quality is more important. And not that it wasn't good quality. It's just there's not enough time for everybody to soak it all in. We really want to focus in and just make that easier for everybody to make those good selections on what will be relevant to what they're dealing with in their business and in their own growth at this time.
[00:14:04.820] - Brandon
I think so I was tongue in cheek about the fun part. But you know what? I think what's cool about this is this is a good excuse for us to unplug. Get out, get away from the business. I'll be honest, to travel around the nation just to go to training, there's a reality that it's still a bit of a grind. So I think having to let your hair down, have a good time with peers, be able to network, but really have a twofer, right? Get a lot of education, a lot Have a good exposure, and have a lot of freaking fun. We had a ton of fun last week.
[00:14:34.430] - Beth
And the reality is, and we always say this, and we know this, and even based on what you guys shared last year in a keynote, this is where relationships are built. I mean, these are the experiences It's in the breakout sessions, but it's at the night time experiences together. It's in the Trade Show hall. It's the presence. It's the community that's been built in this industry is at these events. I mean, there's so many great people in the industry, and this is where we have the opportunity opportunities to have these shared experiences. And we really enjoy, as you can probably tell, we really enjoy creating these experiences for people to come together, which really leads me into our keynote, which is one of the things I'm so, so talked about. Actually, you guys, I believe, were the ones that introduced Clint Pulver last year, and we just couldn't make it happen last year, but we were really held on tight, hoping that we could make it happen this year. And when I tell you we are so excited. I have shared that Mr. Jensen video with so many people. It's unreal. But we are going to have a 90-minute interactive keynote session, and we're going to have drumsticks in everybody's hands and have the whole shebang.
[00:15:42.010] - Beth
I told Diane, and I need to quit saying this, but I had a 30-minute call with Clint the other day, and I got off the call, and I was like, I'm freaking changing the world. I'm running for President. We are doing it. I was so excited and so inspired. I actually am not a politics fan, so I'm definitely not doing that. But I was super inspired heard just after being on even a short call with him about just all the things I'd already known, but just his energy and sharing how he wanted to bring this experience to life for us. And so for listeners who may not know, Clint is somebody that His story is really about how one moment in one person can make such a profound impact on the trajectory of your life. And just knowing that we have that power within us to inspire someone's life in such a powerful way. And so his story is that, but he's really going to bring it into culture and employee experience. And there is no way that anybody is going to leave that and not feel just incredibly empowered. And to me, that's huge because when people feel like they can make a difference, that's when they make a difference.
[00:16:45.220] - Beth
If they don't feel like they can, that's not where they're headed. But I'm super excited about that. And then, of course, in addition to him, we'll have our round tables and our carrier conversations and AI main stage with with Gareth, gray, CoreLogic. He's going to bring some AI, which we're always interested in where that's at and where it's headed and the impact it will have on all of us in our industry. Then Layton with Know-how will also have a little... He's going to give a quick state of the industry update, which will be good. So we're popped. We're ready. We're not ready. We need our 35 days. But we're excited. Yes. Excited.
[00:17:25.220] - Brandon
Chris, I think the beginning of the Clint Pulver connection was Actually, was it you and I at the Orla event?
[00:17:33.420] - Chris
Yeah, it was.
[00:17:34.170] - Beth
At which event?
[00:17:35.620] - Brandon
It was like an Orla. This was years ago.
[00:17:38.380] - Chris
This is back when Brandon and I were operating the field. A lot of our commercial clients were in the hotel space. Yeah. And so we were actually a major sponsor at the Oregon Restaurant Lodging Association conference. And so we showed up to this event, and Clint was the main keynote, and we participated in the... We shouldn't give too much away.
[00:17:58.110] - Brandon
No, you can't.
[00:17:58.730] - Chris
Right. We looked in Google and stuff, but it was an incredibly powerful and fun experience. And I think this speaks to one of the things that I think Brandon and I and the rest of the floodlight team really appreciate about CORE, and why we love to be involved is there's the practical elements of business that are really important. Skill building on some of the business fundamentals. But then there's this culture piece of what energy, what personality, what kinds of companies are we trying to build? And I think what we like so much about Clint is he brings the data, the supporting data and the fundamentals of what are these critical behaviors and what are the observations and research and all this stuff saying about how to build culture. And then he's got this really incredible emotional component that I think helps give you a visual of what does it look like to lead in today's environment in such a way that people want to follow and people want to be a part. And it's really cool, some of the interviews and some of the stories and anecdotes that he brings in from his research and his work with major, major companies all over the place.
[00:19:08.230] - Chris
It's just it's really cool. And it's so core. His message is so core-like, and that I think it hits on that component of, yeah, sure, the nuts and bolts are important. We've got break up sessions about various aspects of the business. But I think that's what I appreciate about core is just you guys tend to major a little bit more on the values stuff that we're bringing to our business. Absolutely. Right.
[00:19:28.890] - Beth
Absolutely.
[00:19:29.850] - Brandon
Definitely. The relationship.
[00:19:30.960] - Chris
Yeah, the relationship. Yeah. And I think all of us see that trend, that that's becoming more of a leadership behavior that's required today. How do we connect with that part of the people that we're bringing our team? And what do our people expect from us now. It's different than it was 10 years ago or 20 years ago.
[00:19:49.180] - Brandon
Well, and I think Clint, we won't get spun out on him too long. Actually, that reminds me. It's time to get him back on here. But that's why we really connected with him just in terms of where he was going professionally, is he's really a big preacher about this accountability in context to connection and relationship. And we just fundamentally, that's in complete alignment with what we want to be focused on and dedicated to. And then we're not going to give anything away. But I will guarantee you, you've never experienced a keynote like he will be providing. This is not a slide deck driven conversation. It's going to put it there. And he's 10Xed it since we've seen it. We've I talked to him at length about it, and I'm psyched to participate in what he's going to do now, so I can't wait.
[00:20:36.110] - Speaker 4
I was going to say, have you seen him since then?
[00:20:38.670] - Brandon
No. No.
[00:20:39.460] - Speaker 4
So this will be since then.
[00:20:41.440] - Beth
How many years ago was that?
[00:20:43.490] - Chris
Oh, jeez. Pushing six years ago, probably. Five, six. Oh, wow.
[00:20:47.360] - Beth
Oh, awesome. Well, that'll be fun to hear your perspective on how it- Yeah, it was way early.
[00:20:52.840] - Chris
Oh, 100 %. Yeah.
[00:20:54.130] - Brandon
I think we all laughed about even how long ago that was for him in terms of I mean, he's a true gangster now.
[00:21:02.010] - Chris
Hey, one thing that's worth saying, where a conference is located is a pretty big factor in terms of just the overall experience of it. And of course, there's conferences all over the United States. Many of them move. And I got to be honest, this is one of those conferences we always get excited about. So Brandon and I are bringing our spouses again for the second year in a row. We're going to extend our trip a little bit, to turn this into a little bit of a vacation because it's awesome. I mean, not only that, So that part is fun. And for those owners and people that have the ability to take a couple of extra days after the conference, it's a rad place to do it. If you haven't spent much time in Austin, the Tex-Mex, the barbecue, Terry Blacks, all the things.
[00:21:43.740] - Beth
Always go straight to the food. That's it.
[00:21:46.230] - Speaker 4
We got the best food.
[00:21:48.350] - Chris
I'm hoping we can check out a Comedy Club, too, because Austin is becoming Comedy Central. But the venue is awesome. The J. W. Marriott, awesome venue, great hotel gym. And for those of you that like to stay fit, it's a really great gym, and it's always full. I mean, it's full. It's huge. And there's a lot of attendees. Last year, I was really impressed. I was like, Oh, hey, nice, nice work. Liftify. Com forward/bloodlight. You've heard Brandon and I talk a bunch of times about the importance of Google reviews. Maybe even heard our episode with Zack Garrett, the CEO and founder. Recency, consistency, two of the most important things when it comes to maximizing the benefit it from your Google reviews. Why not use an outside partner? Liftify is targeting 20 to 25 % conversion, right? So if you do a thousand jobs a year, you ought to be adding, right now, 200 to 250 reviews a year, every single year. If you're not doing that. You owe it to yourself to get a free demo from liftify. Com. See their system, see how it works, see how affordable it is. I promise you, you'll thank us.
[00:22:54.180] - Chris
Liftify.
[00:22:56.640] - Brandon
Com/bloodlight. We spend a lot of money and a lot attention trying to get that first call. And one of the things that we do once it happens is sometimes we leave it to chance, right? Who picks up the phone? How do they respond? How do they walk that client into a relationship with us? Well, one of the benefits of partnering with a team like answerforce. Com is we can systemize that, we can make it more consistent. We can also have backup for when our teams need that help. Somebody goes on vacation, somebody's out sick. We get a storm search, we get cat event. All sorts of things can have an impact on how we receive that client. But the most important thing is they need to know that they've chosen the right team. And so answerforce. Com can support you, be a bolt on partner to help you consistently produce an awesome onboarding experience with that first call with your client. So answerforce. Com/bloodlight.
[00:23:48.980] - Chris
That's great. Cnr magazine, we're friends with all the folks at CNR. Michelle and her team, they do a great job of keeping their ear to the ground and reporting all the important information from our industry. You want to stay up on all the M&A activity and what the latest best practices are for selling your company successfully. She's got that. Great articles about all the four quadrants of our business. Cnr is constantly pushing out great material and leveraging great writers and subject matter experts in our industry. It is the water-cooler of our industry. If you're not subscribed, go to cnrmagazine. Com. Follow them on LinkedIn. Follow Michelle on LinkedIn. Trust us, if you're trying to stay on top of everything happening in the industry, your best destination is cnrmagazine. Com.
[00:24:33.710] - Brandon
You guys, many of you have already heard about Actionable Insights and the training and the technical expertise that they bring to the industry. But how many of you are already leveraging the Actionable Insights profile for Xactimate? That's the game changer. It's essentially an AI tool that's walking alongside of you as you write your estimate, bringing things to your attention that should be added, that could be considered. All of them items that increase our profitability, increase the effectiveness and the consistency of that scope. It can do anything from helping a new team member assimilate some estimating best practices. It also helps the grizzled vets add back that few % that we've just forgot over time. So actionableinsights, getinsights. Org/ floodlight, and take a look at what the actionableinsights Xactimate profile could be doing for you and your team.
[00:25:30.100] - Chris
Do you want to talk a little bit about the breakout that you're doing?
[00:25:32.350] - Brandon
Yeah, sure. I'll jump in it. So we really want to dive into the operational space, the leadership space. And one of the things we were just actually making jokes recently, it seems like when you start to land on a bit of a theme, Then inevitably, it's like every other conversation with a team or a group. It's like this topic comes up. So I'm actually getting really excited about it. But it's a real opportunity, I think, for us as a group in the room to focus our attention in terms of leadership, like where we should be devoting our energies. And I think one of the things that we see as owners and key leaders is there's a million things vying for our time. There's always fires to put out. And we struggle to create solutions that solve problems. And we just inevitably hang in this firefighting place. So true. So my intent for the content that we're going to cover is I want to discuss some actual things that we can be doing as key leaders to remove that chaos, to begin focusing our attention on the right places, creating solutions instead of firefighting so that the effort that we put forth is sustainable.
[00:26:34.790] - Brandon
I'm not going to go into any more of maybe the deliverables on it, but that's the space that we're going to hang. Obviously, people are seeing stuff getting sent out on the social. I know LinkedIn posts have been coming out where you guys are highlighting the different speakers and the content. So anyways, I'm hopeful that somebody will be in the room with me and that I won't be talking to myself. But I think if you're in that place as a business owner, as a key leader, where you've got a bit a gap between what you want your business to do and what it's actually doing, I think it would be well worth your time to come hang out with me. I think you'll walk away with some stuff that you can put into practice that will change that. So you can have some fun and walk away and with hopefully enough energy to put some stuff into practice. And I think it would be super viable.
[00:27:16.570] - Chris
Yeah, just a little bit more on that. I think we often refer to some of what you're going to break down for folks is the leader's standard work. I think all of us have read the books by John Maxwell and Jim Collins and some of these business writers that talk about leadership, and they're all very, very good. But I think sometimes, in particular, our industry, sometimes it's hard to connect the dots as what does that look like on a day to day basis in a restoration company?
[00:27:43.150] - Beth
It stays in the head space That's right. It's a great idea we should do that. That sounds great. But then the implementation or the reality of it.
[00:27:50.910] - Brandon
Yeah, right.
[00:27:51.690] - Chris
Now what? That's right. And so I think you do a great job of connecting those dots for folks. How do we apply some of those best practices and things that we inherently know about leadership and management into the life of a restoration company owner, Department manager, et cetera. So it is going to be a really good one. So I'm going to be building on, I think, what is becoming much more of an industry focus, which is how do we effectively sell commercial? There's obviously, if you're part of a franchise system or you're part of one of the large enterprise restores, they have national account teams that are selling for you into the commercial space. But I think Everybody is trying to figure out, how do I sell commercial locally in my own markets, in the towns and cities that we operate indirectly? And it's a big black box for most restores, even the bigger restores we talk to. And so We're going to be talking about, specifically, how do we leverage an emergency readiness or response plan as the leading product that we sell or the service that we sell prior to a damage event?
[00:28:57.180] - Chris
How do we use that as tip of the spear in a very specific process? The industry, and we've talked about this many times before, the industry, I think, got started in a good old boys and girls network of relationships. Then from that, we started gifting, doing the baseball tickets and bourbon. And then it turned into agent office visits with a State Farm PSP program and a lot of the other carrier programs at the agent office. And that got us into the candy and smiles routine. I think every Everybody around the nation is starting to see diminishing returns from those practices. And COVID, I think, put the death nail in a lot of those. And so now it's like, okay, how can our team have a systematic, standardized approach to how we're going to sell and connect with commercial clients? And that's what we're going to dig into in this breakout. So I think it's going to be great. It's going to be very actionable, just like the operations material brand is going to get into. It's something that people can immediately implement when they get their operations.
[00:29:58.700] - Beth
I love that you just shared all that and validated exactly the point of what we're trying to do. We won't break out. So everything you guys just said brings so much value to the restore. It brings so much value to their business. It has you thinking about things from a different perspective. You do. We get caught in the grind of the day-to-day. We don't address things. We don't work on things proactively. And so what you guys both just explained in your breakouts are things that, from our perspective, are incredibly valuable to restores and to people in their businesses, which is why it all comes together with what we're trying to create, is that value and actionable. Like you said, that's huge. Anybody can give a good talk. How are you... Well, not anybody, but... There. Not anybody, but... But people can give a good talk, but what can people leave with? They go, This really changes the way we operate. This It changes the outcome. It changes the way we do it. You guys are two people that have shown that in what you're doing in the industry and in the content that you're putting out, which is why we are excited you guys will be there as partners and deliver breakouts that are valuable.
[00:31:14.060] - Speaker 4
So thank you Yeah, core. I just like to add to that, too, Chris. I think you hit the nail on the head a little bit there about what we used to do versus what we do today. We've noticed that just as core, bringing in our own prospects for membership and things like that, We talk to them about that, that a lot of businesses, even the bigger ones, they have forgotten how to sell their business. They've forgotten that human connection, that human touch. A lot of them are reliant on programs, program work. So they forget how to actually sell their business. And if they mess up one time, some of these programs will cut them off like that. And if they're reliant on that, then what are they going to do? They no longer know how to sell their business anymore. So I think that's going to be something that's very valuable. I have the opportunity to have you speak at our sales and marketing summit on sales. It's a members only event that you got to speak there and also teach and help our members build a plan that we got great feedback from. And everyone was just like, wow, that was really cool to be able to have someone help us maybe where we felt like we were going in the right route.
[00:32:21.840] - Speaker 4
But by having him show us a little bit more, we were able to really hone in that sales plan, that roadmap for our business. So I think, like I said, you hit the nail on the head. We talk a lot about connection. And I think that's a big part of what CORE is, is connecting the dots, connecting people, connecting resources, making sure when we are bringing this content, choosing this content, that it is connecting with our restores, getting even our restores connected with our carriers at our event. That's not something you see at any other event is we actually go, Hey, our carriers now are saying, We want to do these Q&A's with your restores. We want them to know what we're looking for, and we want them to be able to ask us questions the same way so we can help each other work together if we're going to be working together in this capacity. So I think that, again, that is part of what CORE is, and I think that's something we're very proud of. And I think another difference is back to also culture. Whenever we have, whether it's a vendor or a contractor or a carrier or any outside speaker, we were talking about this earlier, that they can come in and any core member is going to greet them the same way they would greet a family member.
[00:33:34.520] - Speaker 4
Hey, it's great to see you. Even if you've never met them, great to see you. And none of us are prompted to do that. We're not told, Hey, you got to do this. You got to say this. This is just how we hire. This is part of our core values is being part of a collective. And it just happens to be... It became our name for our festival now first, and then it wound up being part of our core values. I think that speaks a little bit to the whole connection piece is that we are a collective. That's always been something we live and breathe as a company is having all that connection and just helping each other out, helping support each other instead of trying to keep each other down or look at competition.
[00:34:10.700] - Beth
And just the hospitality aspect of that. Just we enjoy being hospitable. It's part of who we are.
[00:34:17.130] - Brandon
Well, I think it's interesting, too. And this is something that I actually learned from being exposed to some of our clients is in the early days, when I was operating, I was not a person that placed a high value on these events. I didn't. Sure.
[00:34:33.270] - Speaker 4
Absolutely.
[00:34:34.510] - Brandon
And it felt like I was always too busy to participate. It's like, okay, yeah, I could get some training. I had a million excuses why I could just devalue the opportunity. It's interesting. Some of the most successful clients that we work with in terms of scaling and developing their businesses, if you look at them, there is actually a very common theme. That theme is that they participate. When they get there, they network their asses off. I think we look at it as a restore and I go, Well, there's nobody I'm selling to, per se, at these events. They've approached it from, Yeah, but these networked relationships can enhance the way I operate as a restoreer. They can give me insight often that I don't have myself because they might be two or three steps in front of me. I think it provides us as restores the opportunity to mentor someone else. I think there's a reality that it feels good when you share information and you're not stuck in this world of, Oh, gosh, I do restoration so different that if I talk about it, someone will overtake my business. That gears all the same shit.
[00:35:43.090] - Brandon
Let's be honest about what we're doing, right? It feels good.
[00:35:47.290] - Beth
We had a conversation earlier about the scarcity versus abundance of mentality of that. We got to afford it and not share it with anybody else, or we can all lift each other up. It's that whole rise by lifting others and being open to there's enough for everyone. Let's do this in a better way together versus trying to protect what's ours.
[00:36:09.120] - Brandon
I think this really is a way for you to see your fellow restores. That That was the other thing is I felt so isolated. I just was so disconnected from everybody. You don't get a lot of integration or interaction in your own market, which I get it. Nobody wants to drink coffee with their competitor, per se. But man, to know that I could leave my state and start rubbing elbows with a bunch of successful people, they're not impeding on my market space. And if anything, when storms hit, I have a brosive, a certain crime that I can lean on and be like, Hey, let's do some business together.
[00:36:45.330] - Beth
And I do think that's another theme in our culture now is just the power of community and how much we need it. We can have tended to be somewhat isolated, like you mentioned. And there's so much power in just having community community. People need it. You need it. And when you have a healthy community of people that you do the same things with, you learn so much. I mean, there's so much I learn. I'm not a restore. I just learn from listening to the people that are there. I can imagine how much it's how impactful it is to learn from each other.
[00:37:18.680] - Chris
I wanted to ask you a question that maybe some of the listeners are thinking to themselves. Does somebody need to be a member of CORE to be able to attend the collective?
[00:37:28.450] - Speaker 4
No, this is open to the industry. So like I said, we connect everyone. We even have other franchises that want to come and see us. We have some that are on our affiliate program that do amazing work for us, that we've built good relationships with, that we know we can call on. So no, it's anyone in the industry, whether it's an insurance carrier, whether it's another contractor, another vendor that maybe says, Hey, I just want to see the show before I commit to a booth. I want to see what this whole thing is about that everybody keeps talking about. And nine times out of 10, they're buying a booth by the end of the show because they're like, We want to be part of this. We see what the value is. We see what you're bringing to the table. We want to be a part of it. So anybody can come. You just register at thecollectivebycore. Com.
[00:38:15.690] - Brandon
Yeah, do it again. Let's hit that and let's slam down some dates. Then just one more for us, the venue location. Let's just cover all that and then obviously point them towards the website to go get their butts signed Where are they going?
[00:38:30.750] - Beth
Let's throw out really quickly that there's a discount code for anybody listening to your podcast, H-H-B-100. We'll get $100 off per ticket. It is www. Thecollective. Org. It is at the J. W. Marriott in downtown Austin, July eighth through the 10th. But if you want to play some pickleball, come on July the seventh. We definitely want you to join. Go buy your outfit. I'm all ready. We'll be there waiting for you.
[00:38:56.700] - Speaker 4
Whatever you want.
[00:38:59.990] - Beth
Please show up with headbands and your short. Please. That would be the best. That could be good for you guys, right?
[00:39:07.480] - Brandon
You know what's cracking me up right now is in the back of my head, I know that as soon as I tell my wife that pickleball is happening, if travel plans wouldn't have allowed it, we're probably changing flights because she talks about pickleball more than anybody I know.
[00:39:26.200] - Beth
Please bring your wife.
[00:39:27.570] - Speaker 4
And will she want an outfit? Can I encourage that? Please, please bring your wife's typical ball.
[00:39:33.540] - Brandon
I want to be like, connect with Diane. She's already got a lead on an outfit.
[00:39:37.100] - Speaker 4
I'll give her the link. I'll let her know. I'll be like, here you go. I love it.
[00:39:41.300] - Beth
I love it.
[00:39:42.110] - Brandon
This is awesome, guys. Well, I know we're looking forward to We get psyched this time of year when we start thinking about the collective as it approaches. And so we approach the show with this nervous excitement. We get nervous about the fact that if we're going to be taking up people's time, we want to provide as much value as we can shove into that exposure and that opportunity as possible. We take that seriously, and we just get Amped to come have a lot of fun. Not only do we get to see you guys, obviously, we have a great relationship with the core team. But man, for us, it's like this is the time that we do hours and hours of virtual visits with all these partners and friends all over the industry. And this is our time to rub elbows, see each other face to face, give hugs, catch up and be like, oh, you are a real person. So we're jazz. We're excited. I hope if you haven't registered yet, guys, this is moving your schedule around and just come. It'll be a lot of fun. You're going to enjoy it. Now we know, too, we got H-H-B 100.
[00:40:36.550] - Brandon
So we're going to throw that out. We'll throw that in the show notes as well.
[00:40:39.940] - Beth
Two quick little quips, too, right before.
[00:40:42.450] - Speaker 4
Also, one thing we didn't mention is we are doing this year a women's networking breakfast. So it will be the breakfast at regular time, breakfast just in a different room. I myself got into restoration back in 2004 in marketing and restoration for contractors. So I know where we've come from, where we've grown to. So it's just the time that we can support and empower our other women in restoration. We'll also have our carriers there, things like that. So it's something to keep mindful of. And if you haven't already booked your room, book your room because the hotel deadline for our block ends to lock in those rates is June 14th, so next Friday. Next Friday. We also wanted that. So even if you want to be there- You'll want to be there.
[00:41:23.810] - Brandon
You know what? You'll want to be there.
[00:41:27.300] - Chris
You can be at the Jw if you can.
[00:41:29.100] - Speaker 4
Absolutely. Absolutely. Yes.
[00:41:30.720] - Beth
I'm glad you said that because it is sometimes people don't recognize. For our event is so immersive in start to finish. And part of the experience is being there with everyone. So if you're considering not staying on site, I would recommend that you really think twice about that and go ahead and get your room booked. Because like she said, there could potentially be availability after the 14th, but we can't guarantee anyone in the core block after the 14th. So please, please go ahead and reserve those rooms. And the link for that is on the website as well.
[00:42:02.350] - Brandon
Yes. Awesome. Well, you guys, I know you got plenty of things to do between now and 35 days.
[00:42:09.060] - Beth
So we'll let you go, and we'll obviously be seeing you guys here very quickly.
[00:42:14.560] - Speaker 4
And I want a shirt this year.
[00:42:16.380] - Brandon
Okay. All right.
[00:42:17.590] - Beth
I was jealous of hers last year. She was jealous of mine. And thanks for joining us from Outer Space. This is the first time we've had a recording with anyone in space. I think we told you all that it literally It looks like stars. It might be our computer.
[00:42:32.360] - Brandon
Maybe it is. It might be your monitor.
[00:42:35.040] - Beth
It might be because it looks like- It's galaxy. It's like galaxy-ish.
[00:42:39.710] - Brandon
Yeah, it's less galaxy in real life. It's probably more like- It's the texture.
[00:42:44.460] - Beth
I love it, and I felt important that we were with astronauts today.
[00:42:49.960] - Chris
That's right. We're coming to you from the future.
[00:42:51.980] - Speaker 4
I love it. I love it.
[00:42:55.200] - Brandon
All right, gang. Thanks.
[00:42:56.940] - Beth
We'll see you soon. Thank you guys so much for having us. See you all soon.
[00:43:01.010] - Brandon
All right, everybody. Hey, thanks for joining us for another episode of Head, Heart, and Boots.
[00:43:06.390] - Chris
If you're enjoying the show, you love this episode, please hit follow, formerly known as subscribe, write us a review, or share this episode with a friend. Share it on LinkedIn, share it via text, whatever. It all helps. Thanks for listening.
