Agency Success Interview with Wesley Smith

Wesley Smith and his Mom began purchasing rental properties in 2008, at the peak of the market. Wesley fell in love with generating leads, digital marketing, and SEO. While they still manage the properties that they accumulated, they’ve slowed that business down. Wesley moved into running an agency full-time, originally with a lead generation model until Google started suspending accounts. It felt like he was constantly starting over.

So he launched an agency and started doing SEO and GMB optimization. He worked with some roofers, tree companies, carpet cleaning businesses, towing services—you name it, he tried it. During that time he was looking for direction. That’s when he found Seven Figure Agency. When he joined SFA, he was at $20,000 MRR. He niched down into tree service. Now, he’s making over $70,000 a month.

In this Agency Success Interview, Wesley shares how he’s grown Tree Service Digital, covering everything from choosing his niche to landing clients, how he structures his program, and his unique fulfillment strategy. Check it out!

Outline of This Episode

• [0:53] Learn how Wesley got into digital marketing
• [14:15] How Wesley chose the tree service niche
• [20:02] The packages that Tree Service Digital offers
• [24:15] Wesley’s #1 lead generation strategy
• [37:01] Where Wesley’s first five clients came from
• [44:45] How Wesley built his Facebook group
• [48:49] Wesley’s delivery and retention strategy
• [54:38] Wesley’s long-term goals with his business
• [57:35] Hire a coach to help you reach your goals

How Wesley chose the tree service niche

Wesley worked with several different genres of clients. When it came time to choose a niche, he narrowed it down to family law and the tree service niche. How did he decide? It came down to who he wanted to work with and talk to every day. He knew he could deliver value for these clients.

Another deciding factor was how many businesses in the tree service space did upward of a million dollars in revenue annually. Generally speaking, if the number is over 1000, you know you’re golden. If there are several thousand businesses in a niche making over $1 million in annual revenue, you can trim your niche even further. A large number of tree service companies made $1 million or more, so he knew it was a good niche.

If you don’t have a segment of clients in a particular niche, Wesley recommends looking at your experience. Do you know the terminology? Do you know what a particular business looks for from clients? If you have insider information on any niche, consider taking that route. You can also lookup niche agency marketing services in particular areas. If there’s little to no competition, that’s another way to dive in. Find the path of least resistance.

The packages that Tree Service Digital offers

Tree Service Digitals will build a client’s website out. They also offer GMB optimization (which includes four posts a month and uploading images), local SEO, Google ads management, and call tracking. They send reports on their Google ads bi-weekly and an SEO report monthly.. They do retargeting on social media and Google partner websites.

If they have a database service they’re using, they’ll implement an email blast once a month—maybe sharing their monthly blog post. In the email, they’ll share a CTA for a 10% discount. Some clients like social media posts as well. They offer three different packages ranging from $1,200 to $1,800 a month.

Wesley’s #1 lead generation strategy

Wesley’s monthly webinar series has landed the most clients. It’s his most consistent marketing channel and the largest driver of booking strategy sessions. If you don’t have any other marketing strategy, it gives you a plethora of content to work with. You can take that video and put it on YouTube. You can chop it up into smaller videos. You can use the audio on your podcast. You can have a transcription done and use it as a blog post.

They also do a lot of retargeting on Facebook with an invite to their free group, a checklist/eBook, or the webinar. They’ve also run some cold ads to land some clients. Lastly, they do PPC ads for tree service marketing. Those are the most motivated leads. Wesley also has a podcast that works as a great lead generator. Why? Because there aren’t a lot of podcasts in his niche. They get 250–350 downloads a month. As long as it’s the right listeners who are interested in your services, you’re winning.

Many of the people he markets to on his list go back and watch the replay of the Webinar. It’s momentum that slowly builds and eventually is a large lead driver. His first list consisted of over 1,000 tree companies. When he joined associations, he had an assistant scrape tree companies to add another 1,000+ leads. Every time he sends out an email about his free webinar, thousands of people are seeing the company name. He is pre-positioning leads to buy. They consistently land 2–3 clients a month in the slow season and 3–5 in the busy season.

How Wesley built his Facebook group

Wesley created his Facebook group early on in the process. Whenever someone books an appointment, he offers free access to the group on the thank you page. When he first launched it, he invited people or placed current clients there. Now, people can join his email list to learn more about Tree Service Digital and they become part of the follow-up sequence.

You can also promote your Facebook group in YouTube videos, videos on social channels, etc. He’ll also share a link in his emails or on his podcast. The goal is to get clients and potential leads in the same place. Every group starts with no one—don’t be afraid to reach out and start inviting people to build it.

Wesley’s delivery and retention strategy

Tree Service Digital does everything virtually. Wesley has account managers across the country. All of their fulfillment is white label—SEO, website development, and PPC. Their account managers know enough to explain what’s going on with SEO and ad campaigns. They have integrations with their white label partners through Slack channels so they can reach out with questions and desired changes. The model works well when you find white label partners that you can rely on.

Hire a coach to help you reach your goals

If you’re trying to figure out how to go to the next level, Wesley advises you to hire a coach who’s been where you want to grow. They will hold you accountable. Join a group where you can learn from other agency owners. Surround yourself with successful people doing what you’re doing. Success is knowing you’re doing the right thing day in and day out. Invest in yourself and get the support that you need.

Connect with Wesley Smith

• Tree Service Digital
• Wesley’s Facebook Group
• Connect on LinkedIn

Connect With Josh Nelson

• Josh’s Coaching Page on Facebook
• The Agency Success Facebook Group
• www.SevenFigureAgency.com
• Seven Figure Agency on YouTube
• Josh on Twitter: @joshnelsonimc
• Josh on LinkedIn

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