[9/11/26] AGOGE Sales Training

Greg DeSilva stole the show with a standout live Shin-Fu roleplay, earning his Black Belt and the first-ever Golden Ticket for his skill, consistency, and commitment to helping others improve.

Webinar Summary

This AGOGE focused on strengthening the sales process through better tracking, relationship-building, personalized proposal delivery, and consistent Shin-Fu roleplay. The coaches challenged members to look beyond price when they lose jobs and instead evaluate how they’re communicating, presenting proposals, and building trust. The call also featured a live Shin-Fu roleplay with Greg DeSilva, who was awarded Black Belt status with the first-ever “Golden Ticket.”

Key Takeaways

Track your wins and losses to identify what is actually affecting your close rate.
Don’t assume price is the reason you’re losing larger projects.
Avoid simply emailing estimates—use in-person meetings, Zoom, or personalized proposal videos when possible.
Focus on building relationships instead of becoming another contractor who simply sends a quote.
Reconnect with past customers and existing relationships as a source of new opportunities.
Shin-Fu should feel like a genuine conversation, not a memorized script.
Consistent roleplay builds confidence, listening skills, tonality, and stronger questioning.
Greg DeSilva earned his Black Belt, recognizing both his Shin-Fu skills and his commitment to helping other members improve.

[8/28/26] AGOGE Sales Training

Mat Tolman earned his Black Belt through a live Shin-Fu roleplay, followed by Derek taking the group behind the curtain on a real sales call to show what calm, confident, well-trained selling actually sounds like.

Webinar Summary

This week’s Agoge was all about what happens when repetition turns the sales process into instinct. Mat Tolman successfully completed his Black Belt test by staying calm, following the process, and controlling the conversation, then Derek jumped on a real prospect call live and demonstrated how to meet the customer where they are without overcomplicating or overselling the conversation. The biggest lesson: great sales isn’t about having the perfect script; it’s about listening, communicating, and trusting your training.

Key Takeaways

Mat Tolman officially passed his Black Belt test after sticking with it through multiple attempts.
Follow the Shin-Fu process and stay steady; you don’t need to be overly charismatic or “salesy” to control a call.
Get comfortable discussing money early, setting realistic investment ranges, and confirming the customer is prepared to move forward.
Don’t confuse silence with listening. Listen for the problems, acknowledge what you hear, and know when to dig deeper.
Roleplay builds the muscle memory that allows you to stay calm and confident when the real conversation gets difficult.
Meet the customer where they are. Not every prospect needs every question or a complicated sales process.
Don’t sell past the yes. Once the customer is ready to move forward, confidently establish the next step and keep things moving.
Derek’s bonus live call showed the process in action: identify the problem, connect with what matters to the customer, establish price, confirm the next step, and get them off the street.

[8/26/26] The Fight Way | LEADERSHIP: How to Run a SWOT Session with the Team

In this call, Micah Miller details a step-by-step framework for leading interactive, team-wide SWOT analysis sessions to confront operational reality, align company culture, and systematically resolve bottlenecks using a rolling “Top 5” action plan.

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Time Audit & Delegation Matrix Worksheet

Deep Dive

Micah Miller outlines how business leaders can run annual SWOT analysis meetings by bringing the entire team together for structured sticky-note brainstorming and AI-assisted theme grouping. Once the team identifies core strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, they vote on the most critical themes and develop targeted action steps. Rather than attempting to tackle every issue at once, the company commits to a strict, rolling “Top 5” list to ensure solutions are thoroughly implemented and tested before moving on.

Key Action Items & Takeaways

Inclusive Team Participation: Host annual SWOT sessions that include all layers of the company—including field labor and key vendors—to eliminate blind spots and build genuine team buy-in.
Timed Sticky-Note Brainstorming: Kick off with a brief “State of the Union” overview, followed by three 15-minute rounds where team members write S, W, O, or T notes and discuss their insights without leadership pushback.
AI-Assisted Theme Grouping: Input all raw notes into a spreadsheet and use AI tools like Claude to consolidate individual feedback into distinct, overarching organizational themes.
Democratic Theme Voting: Have the team vote on which themes represent the most urgent priorities to build alignment around key strengths to protect and weaknesses to fix.
The “Top 5” Execution Strategy: Limit active projects to a focused list of five key action items, relentlessly addressing the top priority before retiring it or cycling new initiatives up.
Operational Automation: Address complex recurring weaknesses—such as inventory tracking—by leveraging tech integrations and specialized AI agents to streamline day-to-day workflow.
Constructive Problem Ownership: When staff bring up grievances, avoid defensiveness by pairing them with leadership to co-design and take responsibility for practical solutions.
Uncompromising Culture Standards: Use team alignment calls to maintain operational clarity, protect company culture, and enforce clear organizational hierarchy.

[8/21/26] AGOGE Sales Training

This Agoge Sales Training Call focused on mastering tactical empathy to address underlying client objections, alongside an emphasis on tracking key financial metrics to guide strategic business decisions.

Webinar Summary

Coaches Tom Reber, Aaron Harshaw, and Micah Miller guided contractors through applying tactical empathy by listening for emotional motives, adjusting tonality, and anchoring closes around a client’s specific pain or pleasure. Micah Miller highlighted how tracking accurate P&L data allowed him to intentionally downsize his company’s revenue footprint while keeping total profit flat. Attendees then entered breakout rooms to roleplay high-empathy sales scenarios, practicing how to take charge of on-site meetings and build muscle memory for stating higher price points without hesitation.

Key Takeaways

Master Tactical Empathy: Actively listen for underlying emotions, fears, and core motivations rather than just gathering job specs or facts.
Reframe Price Objections: Address price hesitation as an indicator of uncertainty or fear of making an expensive mistake, helping the client focus on confidence and permanent solutions.
Core Sales Techniques: Apply labeling, mirroring, tone control, and strategic silence (STFU) to let prospective clients process deeper emotional concerns.
Contract Around Pain or Pleasure: Connect the final dollar quote directly to resolving a key emotional pain point or achieving a desired family benefit.
Track Financial Data: Maintaining accurate weekly P&Ls and understanding daily break-even numbers provides the clarity necessary to make profitable business pivots.
Build High-Dollar Muscle Memory: Roleplay using quotes two to three times higher than typical jobs to eliminate hesitation when delivering large numbers in real sales calls.
Drive the On-Site Meeting Agenda: Pause at the start of on-site visits to recap previously discussed motives and budgets, set the meeting structure, and commit to presenting quotes in person.

[8/19/26] The Fight Way MARKETING: What to Do When All Your Other Marketing Is in Place

[8/19/26] The Fight Way Call MARKETING: hat to Do When All Your Other Marketing Is in Place

In this session, Coach Tim demonstrates how contractors can drive high-ROI growth beyond traditional advertising by shifting to post-sale “experience marketing” and hosting client appreciation events that convert existing customers into passionate brand advocates.

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Time Audit & Delegation Matrix Worksheet

The Deep Dive

In this webinar, Coach Tim explains that once foundational channels like websites, SEO, and paid ads are operating, contractors should shift their focus toward post-sale “experience marketing”. Instead of continually increasing ad spend on cold leads with diminishing returns, business owners can build deep trust and long-term brand advocacy by creating memorable moments for existing clients. Cutroni illustrates how hosting informal, non-sales client appreciation events—such as a catered backyard pizza party—can generate substantial returns through repeat work, reviews, and organic word-of-mouth referrals.

Shift to Experience Marketing: Focus on turning past, satisfied clients into active brand ambassadors instead of relying solely on paid advertising for cold leads.
Host Low-Pressure Client Events: Organize gatherings like catered appreciation parties, shop tours, or project walkthroughs where past clients can connect and naturally share their positive experiences.
Sell the Lifestyle, Not the Product: Emphasize the emotional outcomes of a project—such as family memories or relaxation—rather than technical specifications like stone, lumber, or hardware.
Lock in Annual Planning: Map out event dates on a dedicated marketing calendar during December or January to keep daily operational tasks from derailing event execution.
Incentivize Through Charity: Request a small donation to a local charity as an event registration fee to increase attendee commitment while supporting a good cause.
Partner with Complementary Trades: Collaborate with non-competing service providers (such as roofers partnering with soft-wash companies) to cross-promote services and swap qualified leads.
Diversify Marketing Channels: Keep at least five distinct marketing avenues running simultaneously to protect the business if one source slows down or disappears.

[8/14/26] AGOGE Sales Training

In this AGOGE call, Tom guided members through celebrating recent sales wins, evaluating local Total Addressable Market (TAM) potential, and engaging in belt-specific breakout sessions focused on sales communication, strategic silence, and defining key business priorities.

Webinar Summary

The training opened with contractors sharing recent victories. Tom spoke about calculating Total Addressable Market (TAM), illustrating the vast revenue opportunities available across local service areas. Members then broke out into groups based on belt levels, where lower belts practiced sales roleplaying while higher belts examined business capability, personal discipline, and quarterly focus. The session concluded with participants sharing key takeaways, emphasizing conversational discipline, the effective use of silence (“Shut The Fuck Up”), and maintaining focus on a single primary business “fight”.

Key Takeaways

Celebrating Recent Sales Wins: Coach Aaron shared a high point of closing $280,000 in project sales in a single week, while another contractor highlighted receiving a lead through an AI search recommendation.
Evaluating Total Addressable Market (TAM): Tom demonstrated how contractors can prompt AI tools like ChatGPT or Claude to determine their service area’s TAM, reminding members that market saturation is rarely the reason for sluggish growth.
Upcoming Member-Only Event Survey: Tom posted a survey regarding a potential November event, explaining that future member-only gatherings must make sound financial sense and have committed attendance.
Targeted Belt Breakout Rooms: The meeting divided into three breakout sessions—Emilio Ramos led White/Green belts, Coach Aaron worked with Blue/Purple belts, and Tom coached Brown/Black belts.
Mastering Communication & STFU: Breakout groups practiced sales communication and highlighted the importance of the “Shut The F*** Up” (STFU) rule, allowing silence after presenting price ranges so the client can respond first.
Identifying the Quarterly “Fight”: Tom challenged advanced contractors to identify the single area of their business lagging behind—such as lead generation, cash management, or time tracking—and commit to 90 days of focused progress.
Focusing on the Growth Journey: High-belt members reflected that earning advanced ranks represents personal transformation, better communication, and operational capability rather than just accumulating roleplay points.