If you’ve ever had lunch with Dr. Clint Muench, you’ll quickly notice he can’t go anywhere in Minneapolis without running into happy patients. That’s what happens when you’ve helped thousands of people get back on their feet — literally. During our recent visit with Dr. Muench, a leading orthopedic surgeon in the Twin Cities, two of his former patients stopped …
Ethan Van De Hey on Humanizing Marketing: Why Being Local and Genuine Beats Any Ad
Doing Marketing Like a Human I first met Ethan Van De Hey a few years ago when guest lecturing at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. Even back then, his energy stood out. While most students were focused on class projects, Ethan was already helping real businesses grow through social media and lead generation. Fast forward to today, and he’s the …
Why Storytelling and Lead Tracking Are the Ultimate Power Combo
If you can’t trace your revenue back to the lead source, you’re flying blind. The best marketers and the most successful businesses know exactly which campaigns drive results. They understand that marketing is about knowing which leads turn into paying customers, and how to repeat that success. 1. Know Where Every Lead Comes From Before you scale your marketing, you …
Most Home Service Companies Are Failing at the Easiest Part of Marketing — Answering the Phone
Quick Summary: Answer the Phone and Win More Business Most home-service companies are losing leads and revenue simply by not answering their phones even when they’re spending money to make them ring. The Test: What We Found in Bloomington We ran a phone audit on many lawn care and home service companies in Bloomington, Indiana as a way to explore what …
Why We Must Publish Our Work, Even When It Feels Too Basic
When I see teams debating over the right call tracking number or sharing tips in Basecamp threads that never see the light of day, I’m reminded of a simple truth: if it isn’t published, it doesn’t exist. Documentation is about making decisions visible so the next person doesn’t waste time relearning what we already solved. The Ad Astra Softwash Lesson Recently …
Celebrating 35 Years of Friendship with Dr. Alex Sheftel: Lessons on Relationships and Innovation
Celebrating a 35-Year Friendship with Dr. Alex Sheftel When was the last time you reconnected with someone you’ve known since high school? In a recent episode of the Coach Yu Show, I sat down with my longtime friend Dr. Alex Sheftel. We’ve been friends for more than three decades, and our conversation reminded me why long‑term relationships are powerful. Alex …
Honoring Danny Leibrandt: Launching ‘The Complete Guide to Pest Control SEO’
I’ve had the privilege of watching Danny Leibrandt rise to the top of the pest‑control world. As the founder of Pest Control SEO he’s been relentless in helping exterminators dominate local search, and his new book, The Complete Guide to Pest Control SEO, captures everything he’s learned. The video above is Danny introducing his book – it’s the highlight of …
Why SEO Is Dead: A Search‑Engine Engineer’s Blueprint for Real Rankings
If you still think SEO is some magical potion you can sprinkle on your website, it’s time to wake up. In this video, Dennis Yu – the search‑engine engineer who built analytics at a search engine over 20 years ago – calls out the nonsense. He explains why search engines care about real‑world signals like who you are, what you’ve …
The 4 AIs Every HVAC Company Should Be Using in 2025
(Watch the full strategy session with Dennis Yu and Marko Sipila below.) Artificial intelligence has become the latest buzzword in home services. Everyone’s talking about “AI for contractors,” but most of that talk is just noise — flashy software demos with little real-world impact. So, in a recent 20-minute deep dive, Marko Sipila (founder of HVACQuote.ai) and I broke down …
Honoring Shep Hyken: Repurposing Content with the Four-Stage Content Factory
All of this work that could have been done by a human VA can now be done by an AI assistant. That assistant can be managed by an AI apprentice — learn more about the AI HighRise Influence program.
The Framework Behind The Marketing Mechanic: How It All Fits Together
HighRise Influence I’m Dennis Yu, the host of the Marketing Mechanic — and in this series, I’m breaking down the full framework we use to help local service businesses grow through Google, Facebook ads, and AI. I’ve managed over a billion dollars in ad spend and built this framework so that you can understand how everything fits together — from …
How Kevin Wu’s Voice AI Transformed a Home Services Call Center and Boosted Appointments
Start With a Specific Story At the Service World Expo in Las Vegas, Kevin Wu shared a case study that home service owners couldn’t ignore. One of his clients, a home improvement contractor, had 35 agents answering the same basic questions: where do you live, what do you need done, when can we come out? Within a few months of …