The Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast

Marketing and business-building insights, information, and inspiration to help remodeling and home services contractors make the jump to $10MM+.

2345: Sunday Podcasts: 99 Pearls of Wisdom From Kevin Kelly 02/08/2026

2345: Sunday Podcasts: 99 Pearls of Wisdom From Kevin Kelly It’s Sunday, and as you know, that’s when Rich turns his attention to spiritual and personal growth topics, and today he’s going to stick to personal growth. He recently ran across a list of advice from a gentleman named Kevn Kelly, who was one of founders of Wired magazine, and who was called “the Most Interesting Man in the World” by podcaster Tim Ferriss. Take a listen, I’m sure you’ll find a few things in here--or a few dozen--that will be worth your while. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39945430

2344: Topic Showcase: Blogging 02/07/2026

2344: Topic Showcase: Blogging Every Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor’s ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we discuss the importance of blogs on your website. Blogs are a great way to engage your prospects and build the case why you are the superior choice. They are also masterful tools for winning the SEO war. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39945415

2343: Why It Doesn't Matter How Big Radio & TV Audiences Are 02/06/2026

2343: Why It Doesn't Matter How Big Radio & TV Audiences Are Friday’s podcast focuses on media buying… and Rich is going to make some pretty strong points about his favorite metric… C P M! That’s right, cost per thousand. This is just one more example of why it’s so important, and why it’s imperative that you be fluent in media speak, or you will get killed in negotiations. First, Rich will give an overview and an explanation… then he’s going to play a recording of a call between him and some media reps… this is good stuff! /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39945410

2342: TBT: Beating Google's Algorithm By Simply Understanding It 02/05/2026

2342: TBT: Beating Google's Algorithm By Simply Understanding It Thursday’s TBT podcast is a strategy call between Rich and the marketing person at a garage door and garage flooring company who is looking for a little help with their website. We are going to pick up the conversation right AFTER Rich goes through a demonstration of some really good Service Area pages on a Level 10 Client website… then he gets into a conversation about what it really takes to beat Google’s Algorithm, among other things. Other topics covered include: Why other SEO companies can’t seem to figure this out, how SEO is like a war… and how to strategically create troops to put into your SEO battles. This is really good stuff, and represents Level 10’s latest thinking on web building and SEO. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39945395

2341 - Dealing With Crummy Internet Lead Services 02/04/2026

2341 - Dealing With Crummy Internet Lead Services Rich Harshaw explains why most remodeling companies are terrible at marketing: owners excel in sales or production but almost never in true marketing strategy. Without a real expert, companies rely on generic messaging, weak websites, and ineffective ads. Rich urges contractors to focus on strengths and hire specialists to win market share. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39222635

2340: Book Review: Made To Stick 02/03/2026

2340: Book Review: Made To Stick Tuesday’s podcast is a book review--Rich doesn’t do a whole lot of these, so you can be sure that if he’s recommending--and reviewing--a book, it’s probably a good one! This one is called “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath… and as the name would suggest, deals with the concept of making ideas stick in peoples’ brains. This is the book where the concept of “The Curse of Knowledge” first came from… and it goes through a formula the authors call “Success” which is an acronym for Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Stories. S U C C E S… I guess there is only one S in their success formula… nevertheless, this is pretty good stuff. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39945375

2339 - 5 Ways To Make Your Print Ads Work Better 02/02/2026

2339 - 5 Ways To Make Your Print Ads Work Better Most print ads fail because they look identical. Rich Harshaw explains how to stand out using five strategies: vary ad sizes, get personal, go bold with design and headlines, offer helpful information guides, and tell compelling identity-based stories. These tactics trigger attention, boost leads, and dramatically improve ad performance. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39324060

2338: Sunday Podcast: Back To The Basics 02/01/2026

2338: Sunday Podcast: Back To The Basics Today’s podcast falls more into the personal development category… and it’s all about the small stuff. Or not doing the small stuff. Or trying to figure out why you’re so averse to doing the small stuff. From health to wealth to relationships and spirituality… Rich’s message will help you identify and DO the little things. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39858160

2337: Topic Showcase: Websites 01/31/2026

2337: Topic Showcase: Websites Every Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor’s ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we focus on the hub of your marketing… your website. A strong web presence is crucial to success in this day and age, and we aren’t just talking about having a pretty website. Pretty is the default today. Your website has to do real work to get the proverbial date with prospects. If your website is not making a compelling argument why you are the absolute best buying decision possible, you’ll lose business to the company putting in the work. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39858145

2336: Ninja Level TV Negotiation 01/30/2026

2336: Ninja Level TV Negotiation Rich takes all the data supplied to him by TV stations in Boston, and walks one of Level 10’s Advertising managers through the numbers as a training exercise. So basically, you’re going to get real-world training on media buying directly from Rich… right here today, on this podcast. You’re going to hear Rich interpret the data through his favorite lens--CPM, or cost per thousand. During the course of the call, he points many things out to his pupil… but also calls on him to make his own conclusions… then once they’ve crunched the numbers, he formulates a negotiation strategy. This is hardcore stuff--but man, it’s really good. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39858130

2335: TBT- Stand for Something 01/29/2026

2335: TBT- Stand for Something It’s Thursday, so you know what that means--throwback Thursday, where we dig into the vault and pull out some marketing gold from yesteryear. And for today’s podcast, that gold has to do with the topic of Identity, and the year is 2014. This is a webinar that Rich did in conjunction with longtime Level 10 Supporter, Marketsharp. This is a great overview of the Identity concept, with lots of good examples. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39858125

2334: How To Deal With The Media Successfully 01/28/2026

2334: How To Deal With The Media Successfully Rich tells a sad tale about the time he was super excited to be featured in a major national business magazine… only to be horrified when he saw what they actually wrote about him. What was supposed to be kind of a big deal turned out to be a big embarrassment. He’s going to take that story and extract a few lessons from it and teach you how to deal with media opportunities… and give you some really good ideas for cultivating the kind of image and identity you want for your company in a purposeful and intentional way. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39858120

2333: From Platitude to Powerhouse 01/27/2026

2333: From Platitude to Powerhouse You’re going to be a fly on the wall as Rich has a conversation with Level 10 Contractor Senior Copywriter, Dave Moffitt. Dave is helping one of his clients create copy for a website, and the client LIKES what Dave has written, but wants to find a headline that better captures their overall identity. Rich, of course, takes a deep dive--wanting to know not just WHAT they do… but WHY and HOW they do it. This exercise turns into a sort of karate or taekwondo lesson as Rich comes up with a bunch of short but powerful headlines that land on the reader’s figurative jaw like short, sharp, forceful punches. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39858105

2332 - 5 Ways You're Leaving Money On The Table 01/26/2026

2332 - 5 Ways You're Leaving Money On The Table Rich Harshaw reveals the five biggest ways contractors lose profit: DIY media buying, undercharging, under-spending on PPC, weak front-end financing, and failing to communicate clear identity. Fixing these issues boosts lead flow, sales, and margins. Rich explains why each mistake costs you and how to correct it for maximum growth. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39222595

2331: Sunday Podcast: Blessed are the Peacemakers 01/25/2026

2331: Sunday Podcast: Blessed are the Peacemakers This podcast is another venture into spiritual things… Today, Rich jumps into the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount and discusses one of the Beatitudes, “Blessed Are The Peacemakers.” /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39777240

2330: Topic Showcase: Employee Morale 01/24/2026

2330: Topic Showcase: Employee Morale Every Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor’s ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we focus on your employees and their morale. You cannot operate your businesses alone; employees are the cogs that make the machine run without you. But they are more than just cogs. They should be reflections on you and the culture of your company. If that culture is negative and degrading… well, you shouldn’t expect the highest performance. So how do you keep morale high and your employees humming along? /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39777215

2329: Rules For Business Partnerships 01/23/2026

2329: Rules For Business Partnerships This podcast, as the title would suggest, is all about business partnerships… and more specifically, how to avoid having them go bad… and making sure you have contingency plans in place in case they do. Rich has been in two formal partnerships in his career--both of them turned out badly. Really badly. And he learned a lot of hard lessons that you’re going to benefit from today. Along the way, he also witnessed other companies with bad partnership situations--some were handled well, others, horrifically bad. In fact, he’s going to tell you the story of 4 siblings who owned a business together… that ripped the family apart… because they didn’t have a good handle on the very rules that they ended up helping Rich learn. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39777190

2328: TBT: How To Sell Preventative Maintenance 01/22/2026

2328: TBT: How To Sell Preventative Maintenance Thanks for joining us for our Throwback Thursday, which ironically, comes from an old Tuesday Morning Ad Clinic webinar that Rich did in 2014. This is an interesting case: An electrician sends Rich a postcard that is intended to scare people into getting their electrical system checked out, because, you know, their house might burn down if they don’t. Rich explains that people hate to pay for preventative maintenance, because, well… the fact that their house hasn’t burned down yet is a pretty good indicator that the wiring must be just fine, thank you! Then he goes on to explain a better way to make the case that they need to get things checked out. Like Rich always says, “Great copy is the result of having a great idea”… and that’s what today’s podcast is all about. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39777170

2327: Time To Think of Marketing Like Investing, Not Just Spending 01/21/2026

2327: Time To Think of Marketing Like Investing, Not Just Spending In this episode, Rich explains why contractors must stop treating marketing like an expense and start thinking of it as an investment. He breaks down the difference between short-term “hunting” tactics (like PPC and lead aggregators) and long-term “farming” strategies (like SEO, branding, and reviews), showing how consistent marketing investments compound over time to create stability, equity, and lasting lead flow. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/38829930

2326: Why You Don't Need An Iron-Claw Trap On Your Website To Get Leads 01/20/2026

2326: Why You Don't Need An Iron-Claw Trap On Your Website To Get Leads Rich is going to talk about how most websites have an OVER-reliance on what he calls “engagement tools”--you know, things like offers for free estimates, join our newsletter list, get a quote, maps, and so forth. What’s that you say? You NEED those things on your website? Maybe so. Probably so. But like everything else in life--how you approach them and how you present them makes all the difference in the world. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39777160

2325: 5 Ways To Transition From Lead Aggregators To Branding 01/19/2026

2325: 5 Ways To Transition From Lead Aggregators To Branding It’s Monday, which means it’s time for the next installment of our “5 Ways to Monday” series. Rich talks to companies whose primary lead generation activities are lead aggregators… with ideas and strategies to start to shift into branding. It’s not that lead aggregators are bad–it’s that for the long term continued growth of your company, you’re going to want to generate your own leads, and preferably from prospects who are actively seeking you out because they WANT to do business with you. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39777125

2324: Sunday Podcast: Why Is Old Testament God Such A Vengeful Monster? 01/18/2026

2324: Sunday Podcast: Why Is Old Testament God Such A Vengeful Monster? Thanks for joining us for the Sunday podcast, where Rich turns his attention to either personal development or spiritual topics… and as you can see from the title, today is spiritual. And he’s going to talk about God… and try to untangle the mess that the Bible seems to have put Christians in as they attempt to reconcile the notion of God as a loving heavenly parent versus the petulant tyrant that appears in the Old Testament. You know, the one who kills all of the world except Noah and his ark after just 10 pages. And even mild mannered Jesus lets the weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth fly when talking about the end of times. What are we to make of all this? As usual, Rich has opinions. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39765115

2323: Topic Showcase: Insdie Reality 01/17/2026

2323: Topic Showcase: Insdie Reality Every other Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor’s ENTIRE podcast run. This week, let’s focus on what Rich calls your Inside Reality, especially as it relates to your Outside Perception. He will define these terms in greater detail in the clips, but to put it simply here: your inside reality is how great your company actually is–all the things you do differently and why you are superior to the competitors in your industry–while the outside perception is how prospects and customers perceive your company from the outside, regardless of reality. If your marketing is full of platitudes, chances are people have no idea why they should choose you over the next guy. To them, you are all exactly the same. We are going to help you correct this massive problem. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39765100

2322: Rich Talks Identity On The Certified Contractor's Network (CCN) Podcast 01/16/2026

2322: Rich Talks Identity On The Certified Contractor's Network (CCN) Podcast This podcast is a discussion about Identity that RIch had with Gary Cohen from Certified Contractors NEtwork, CCN, for that organization’s podcast, called the Contractor’s Toolbox. This is a great discussion because Gary digs in deep and Rich shares some thoughts and examples of Identity that you’ve probably never heard before, even if you’re a long-time listener. Next week, Gary returns the favor, and will appear as a guest with Rich on THIS podcast, where they will be talking about Managing Your Business by the Numbers. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39754205

2321: TBT: Masterclass In Copywriting 01/15/2026

2321: TBT: Masterclass In Copywriting If you’re a fan of expert level copywriting, then today’s podcast is for you. This is Throwback Thursday, of course, and this is one of Rich’s Tuesday Morning Ad Calls from 2014. A Roofing company submits some stuff they had written up that was to be used in communicating with members of a homeowner’s association they were targeting… and Rich gets to work doing his thing… taking words that sound pretty good, actually… and making them sound GREAT. I like the part where he talks about taking little “jabs” at your readers, in a nice way, of course. This is truly the work of a master craftsman you are about to experience. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39735895

2320 - Going Hard in the Paint Against Private Equity - And Winning 01/14/2026

2320 - Going Hard in the Paint Against Private Equity - And Winning A tiny Wisconsin window company grew from $500K to $5M by attacking private-equity competitors with bold identity-based radio ads highlighting honesty, pricing, and local ownership. Rich then used the same strategy for Bay State Bath—female-led, local, and anti-Wall-Street messaging—paired with OTT/TV spots featuring “Baby Richie.” Results: record sales and a major PE competitor collapsing. Local identity beats corporate sameness. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39193790

2319: Hire Fast, Fire Faster 01/13/2026

2319: Hire Fast, Fire Faster Today's show is going to challenge you to audit your schedule, evaluate how you spend your time, and encourage you to double-down on your strengths so you can accomplish the things in your business and in your life that are truly important. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39708640

2318: 5 Ways To Price Condition Your Prospects 01/12/2026

2318: 5 Ways To Price Condition Your Prospects Rich talks about how to REDUCE STICKER SHOCK when your prospective customers get that big fat expensive price from your sales person. Or at least that·s how they feel about it! UNLESS· you follow Rich·s advice today and get into some bigtime PRICE CONDITIONING. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39690215

2317: Sunday Podcast: We're Willing To Pay The Price, But At What Cost 01/11/2026

2317: Sunday Podcast: We're Willing To Pay The Price, But At What Cost It’s another Sunday podcast, and as you know, this is where Rich turns to subjects more in the realm of spirituality and self improvement. Today he’s going to challenge you to examine your priorities… and see if you’re spending your time on things that are truly important. This one’s not very long, but the message packs a punch. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39616525

2316: Topic Showcase: Rehash 01/10/2026

2316: Topic Showcase: Rehash Every other Saturday, we showcase a topic important to you by rounding up the greatest highlights and clips from Level 10 Contractor’s ENTIRE podcast run. This week, we talk about what to do after a rejection. You hook a prospect and even pitch them inside their home but despite your salesperson’s best effort, the homeowner turns you down. What do you do next? Do you give up? Is that sale gone forever now… another contractor’s gain? Hopefully after today’s round of clips, you’ll understand why and how to follow up and keep fighting. A no today can turn into a yes with the right follow-up. /episode/index/show/level10contractor/id/39616510

The Level 10 Contractor Daily Podcast

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