Breakthrough Academy’s Post

Am I an idiot? Or bang on here? At the start of 2024, I made 11 predictions about the large and fragmented “blue-collar business” space we advise here at Breakthrough Academy. Here is my self-assessment. I would love to know if you see things differently, so let me know in the comments: ----- 1. Private Equity will continue to enter the market ✅ While interest rates have slowed overall acquisition activity, blue-collar businesses remain a very interesting prospect for smart money. 2. Early adopters of video (in their marketing efforts) are going to destroy the laggards ✅ Marcus Sheridan has long warned about this, and while this is anecdotal evidence, we can all agree that marketing efforts without video are a bust. 3. The Canadian economy is in for a SLUGGISH year or longer, while the American economy seem fine ✅ This turned out to be exceptionally true, and it is becoming more so every day. Despite our decade-long doldrums here, I am still bullish on Canada's long-term prospects. Stronger leadership would be a starting point. 4. Businesses that focus on the Buyer's Journey to create “self-serve” sales processes will enjoy more time back in their schedule, happier customers, and significant revenue growth ✅ All day! Check out Artisan Roofing’s or Van City Electric’s websites for examples of what I am talking about. I will link to them in the comments. 5. A focus Cost Reduction could save your ass ✅ Again, this is anecdotal, but we have access to the books of over 600 businesses, and the data clearly show that Contractors who aggressively cut costs early in the year are extremely glad they did. 6. Productizing your offer will pay dividends ✅ Admittedly, this one is tricky to measure. However, pay attention to how many competitors are branding their processes and using infographics on their websites. Your work is complex, but try to make it simple for customers to understand. 7. The silver tsunami will create a Buyer’s market for you ✅ 10,000 retirees a day with no exit strategy screams opportunity. 8. The labor market will not improve ❌ I was wrong about this one. The labor market has softened considerably, and hiring the talent you need, while not easy, is easier. 9. Election year could boost your CPMs ✅ I don’t know about you, but the efficiency of our paid ads plummeted from the end of September right up to November 5th. 10. Salespeople who don’t know how to sell are a thing of the past  ✅ Many “order taker” salespeople were laid off this year as the market stiffened. It sucks to suck; not sure what else to say there. 11. Your Google Rating will be your best salesperson ❓(still too early to tell) I can’t prove this one out yet, but I am beyond bullish on maximizing visible online social proof for your brand through your Google Rating management tools like NiceJob.