Professional Builders Secrets - Podcaster Interview With Russ Stephens

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Written by JJ Barnes

www.jjbarnes.co.uk

I interviewed Russ Stephens, co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders, about his career, what inspired him to start podcasting with Sky Stephens, and the work that goes into the Professional Builders Secrets Podcast.

Tell me a bit about who you are.

The Association of Professional Builders (APB) helps residential home builders grow their building companies with systems that generate more leads, more contracts and higher margins while improving the client experience.

Russ Stephens, Association Of Professional Builders, Builders Secret Podcast, interview on The Table Read — Russ Stephens

Russ Stephens is a Co-founder of the Association of Professional Builders. He is a data analysis expert who has introduced data-driven decision-making to the residential construction industry. Russ is also a proud member of the Forbes Business Development Council.

How and why did you start podcasting?

We launched our podcast in November 2021 as another platform to share and connect with professional builders across the globe. The podcast has allowed us to increase the amount of educational content we provide to builders.

What is your current podcast called, and how did you come up with the name?

Our podcast is called Professional Builders Secrets. The name came about after one of our clients in the United States, Max Mills from RM Builders started saying jokingly, that he didn’t want any of his competitors to find out all these ‘industry secrets’ that we were sharing with him.

He kept repeating this over and over every month when he met with one of our executive coaches and he even went on to record a testimonial for us where he said, ‘I don’t want anyone in Utah knowing about this stuff, but if you are in Australia, Canada or New Zealand, then go ahead and join the APB!”

When we started running live events in Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of 2021 we played that video of Max to the audience and for a bit of fun started calling those events ‘Professional Builders Secrets’.

When we launched our book in September 2021, it seemed only natural to call the book by the same name, and when the podcast was due to be launched a couple of months later it seemed the most obvious option.

What platforms can we find Professional Builders Secrets on?

Professional Builders Secrets can be found on all major podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts and more. Or, you can listen directly from our website.

What is Professional Builders Secrets about?

Professional Builders Secrets is the #1 podcast to help builders grow their building companies safely and securely. Each episode breaks down proven strategies that help builders generate more leads, sign more contracts and increase their margins while delivering a better experience for their clients.

The podcast brings together some of the best minds in the industry along with professional builders to share their experiences and valuable insights on how to operate and grow a residential building company.

We explore construction software innovation, managing client expectations, the importance of key performance indicators (KPIs), the most misunderstood calculation in a builder’s financial reports, the marketing process for builders, how professional builders price their jobs, the proven sales process for residential home builders and so much more.

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Do you host Professional Builders Secrets alone, or have guest hosts/partners?

Professional Builders Secrets is hosted by Bosco Anthony, Digital Strategist for Elevate Communications, on behalf of the Association of Professional Builders. In each episode, Bosco is joined by seasoned experts in the construction industry, whether it’s APB co-founders, Russ and Sky, professional builders from across the globe or industry leaders and experts.

Do you edit your Professional Builders Secrets or have someone who does it for you?

We outsource the editing of our podcast. When it comes to anything marketing, we know sound is crucial. If the sound isn’t the best quality it can be, you will lose people. So that’s why we leave editing to the experts.

Do you script Professional Builders Secrets, or just chat as you go?

We like to ensure each episode has a particular theme or topic, so we do come up with some example questions around the guests area of expertise to help get the conversation flowing. Since all of our guests are industry experts, we don’t script their answers. The value is in the raw responses that they provide!

How has Professional Builders Secrets changed or developed since you began?

Professional Builders Secrets is still a very new podcast, so far for us, nothing has changed since we launched. However, that does not mean it never will. Like any marketing, you should always be looking for ways to tweak and optimize along the way to make it the best it can be.

What are your biggest challenges with Professional Builders Secrets?

Analyzing the statistics. For email campaigns, online advertising and marketing funnels it’s very easy to analyze the numbers and optimize your assets for better conversion rates. With podcasting, it’s not so easy so we find ourselves facing the same challenges that marketers of 20-30 years ago had to deal with.

What are your favorite podcasts to listen to?

YourDataDriven which is a podcast for amateur race drivers that helps them to improve lap times through data analysis. It’s a lot like running a business.

Also, The Building Code by Buildertrend is an excellent podcast with great hosts. I enjoy listening to the episodes where they interview owners of building companies.

How and where do you promote Professional Builders Secrets?

We promote each podcast episode across our network. APB is active on social media so each time an episode drops numerous posts, videos and stories go across the platforms including Instagram, Facebook and our private Facebook groups. We also encourage all of our guests to share with their audiences.

Do you earn money from Professional Builders Secrets, or is it a hobby?

We don’t earn money from our podcast, but it’s also not a hobby. We started the podcast to provide an additional platform for the content we provide to builders.

What’s something you never expected about podcasting? What have you learned that surprised you?

I never realized just how enjoyable it would be to meet up with the APB team and chat about a particular topic for an episode recording. The time flies and each person always has their own perspective on the subject which is fantastic.

What is the first piece of advice you would give to anyone inspired to start podcasting?

Plan well and stay consistent. There is nothing worse than a podcast that claims they publish a new episode every Friday but in reality, it ends up being a random day here and there. Take the time to plan out your content in advance so you can meet the expectations of your listeners by publishing regular, valuable content.

And, finally, are you proud of what you’re accomplishing with your podcast? Is it worth the effort?

When I look at what the marketing team has put together I am incredibly proud. The website pages, the social media posts, everything looks absolutely amazing.

And of course, I’m incredibly proud of what our host Bosco has been able to create by meeting up and chatting with so many interesting characters from our industry in different parts of the world.

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