Show Notes
Home service contractors who do great work can still lose jobs to competitors who show up first on Google. Jonah Bautista of Atlanta Pro Network explains the free Google Business Profile settings and review habits that help contractors get into the map pack, often within 30 days. In this episode: The Google map pack is free, and you can register your business at business.google.com without knowing code or even having a website. Google now ranks businesses that stay active above ones that have just been around a long time, so reply to reviews within 24 hours (especially the negative ones). You can offer a discount or a small gift card for a review, but the FTC doesn't allow you to reward someone for leaving a positive one. Ask customers to mention the service, the tech's name, and their neighborhood in the review, because those words help your local SEO. Most contractors list 5 to 20 services on their profile when they could list as many as 300, and every missing one is a search you won't show up in. Guest: Jonah Bautista, Atlanta Pro Network Atlanta Pro Network (free audit): https://atlantapronetwork.com Chapters 00:00 From e-commerce to Atlanta contractors 04:06 How the Google map pack works 06:22 Set up your free Google Business Profile 08:11 Why activity and reviews matter now 12:41 What to ask for in a review 14:34 List every category and service 19:02 Handling missed calls on the job 25:24 Building a business you can sell 34:02 A local alternative to Angi 38:54 Where to start with an audit Episode page: https://webtalk.show/episodes/097-why-great-contractors-stay-invisible-on-google-and-the-free-fix/ Hosted by Armando J. Perez-Carreno. Learn more at https://perezcarreno.com
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Smart people fall for scams because criminals use urgency and our natural trust against us. Robert Siciliano of Protect Now explains how criminals pick their targets and the three basic steps that make you a much harder target. In this episode: Fewer than 1 in 10 people in Robert's live audiences use a password manager, so setting one up puts you ahead of most people. Scammers use manufactured urgency, like an AI clone of your daughter's voice, to create tunnel vision so you act before you think. Everyone has a human blind spot, a built-in default to trust, and criminals build their scams around it. Shaming employees who click a bad link keeps breaches hidden, and treating those mistakes as data helps people speak up. A credit freeze at TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian stops new account fraud, and your current credit cards keep working. Guest: Robert Siciliano, security awareness trainer, Protect Now Protect Now: https://protectnowllc.com Robert's newsletter: search for Robert Siciliano on LinkedIn Chapters 00:00 How Robert got hacked in 1995 06:38 Password managers and two-factor login 11:16 The trinity of vulnerability 17:49 Becoming a tougher target 21:49 All security is personal 26:38 Why stories make training stick 31:43 How scammers fool smart people 35:43 The human blind spot and trust 45:28 Why shaming employees hides breaches 53:13 Three basics to start today Episode page: https://webtalk.show/episodes/098-smart-people-fall-for-scams-too-heres-why/ Hosted by Armando J. Perez-Carreno. Learn more at https://perezcarreno.com
Lean Six Sigma gives you a clear way to find the root cause of a business problem and fix it so it stays fixed. Vishwadeep Khatri, founder of Benchmark X360, explains how those same habits help you direct AI well at work. In this episode: Six Sigma's define, measure, analyze, improve and control steps help you reach the root cause so the problem doesn't come back. Small companies can use Lean Six Sigma too, as long as the program is built around their own pain points and numbers. When AI hands you a patch for a bug, ask it to find the root cause and fix it at the source. Keep AI on track by writing your process down in an outside tool, like files or GitHub issues, so it isn't lost when the conversation gets long. Tell AI to stop planning in human time, since a task it scopes as weeks of work may take it only a few minutes. Guest: Vishwadeep Khatri, Founder, Benchmark X360 Website: https://benchmarkx360.com Chapters 00:00 Welcome and guest introduction 01:08 From auditor to Six Sigma coach 05:54 Starting workshops with open enrollment 14:58 Lean Six Sigma explained simply 24:50 The eight wastes of AI 28:21 Getting AI to fix the root cause 32:46 Why AI plans in human time 35:48 Lean Six Sigma for small companies 40:09 Project-based certification 43:11 Directing AI as a career skill Episode page: https://webtalk.show/episodes/096-directing-ai-is-the-skill-that-will-separate-the-best-from-the-rest/ Hosted by Armando J. Perez-Carreno. Learn more at https://perezcarreno.com