How Shasta Pools Updated Old Content to Drive New Sales [Endless Customers Podcast Ep. 136]

This transcript has been generated by AI and not checked for accuracy. 

00:00:13:11 - 00:00:30:20

Bob Ruffolo

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00:00:30:20 - 00:00:52:13

Bob Ruffolo

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00:00:52:13 - 00:00:54:04

Bob Ruffolo

Here's your host, Alex Winter.

00:00:54:06 - 00:01:20:02

Alex Winter

Today's episode is all about what can happen when a company commits to answering real buyer questions. And empowers a content manager to truly own the system. I'm joined by Bryan Ashbaugh. He's the content manager at Shasta Pools. When Bryan stepped into the role, he didn't start by creating a bunch of net new content. Instead, he went back to what already existed and began updating and improving Shasta Pools historical content using the endless customers principles.

00:01:20:04 - 00:01:24:01

Alex Winter

In just three months, that work led to a measurable impact.

00:01:24:03 - 00:01:47:15

Alex Winter

Shasta pools is now ranking for high ten search terms they have never been visible for before, including pool automation. Their article on pool heater costs is ranking number one in Google, and is even being surfaced directly in Google's AI overview. Most notably, a customer who viewed 15 pages of content went on to purchase a $5,000 pool heater through Shasta e-commerce site without ever speaking to a sales rep.

00:01:47:19 - 00:01:56:00

Alex Winter

How awesome is that? This episode explores how updating existing content can drive fast wins. Why search visibility matters at every stage of the buyer's journey,

00:01:56:04 - 00:01:59:05

Alex Winter

and what it looks like when content truly does the job of sales.

00:01:59:11 - 00:02:01:11

Alex Winter

All right, Bryan, welcome to the show.

00:02:01:11 - 00:02:03:14

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah, thanks for having me. I'm looking forward to it.

00:02:03:19 - 00:02:08:15

Alex Winter

I am so excited to have you on the podcast. This is your first time on the show, is that right?

00:02:08:17 - 00:02:09:15

Bryan Ashbaugh

This is correct. Yep.

00:02:09:18 - 00:02:19:22

Alex Winter

Awesome. Well, your company has a great story. And before we get into that, I'd love to just set the stage. Can you tell our viewers and our listeners a little bit about yourself, Bryan, and about your company?

00:02:20:00 - 00:02:54:00

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah, my name is Bryan Ashbaugh. I'm the content manager here at Shasta Pools, and I've been doing the internet marketing for, guys probably over 20 years now. And so I've seen a lot of different changes and how we market online, how we sell stuff online, and yeah, it's been great working for Shasta. It's been pretty interesting. You know, we're celebrating 60 years in business and, I just think that's, it's I just think it's pretty fascinating to think that, a family owned business has been, you know, helping serves.

00:02:54:00 - 00:03:22:07

Bryan Ashbaugh

And you really have to be doing things really well for the customer to, I think, last that long. And today is kind of really competitive environment. So it's, it's been good. And I would say one of the more interesting things, which I think kind of in comes to this podcast, is that you got this sixty year old, pool business and yet, they believe, you know, innovating and technology and AI is, is still like kind of the forefront.

00:03:22:07 - 00:03:29:02

Bryan Ashbaugh

And, you know, how we keep evolving. I think it really shows why they but actually successful for so many years.

00:03:29:04 - 00:03:42:15

Alex Winter

I couldn't agree more. I totally agree with that. And I think that's a major part of your endless customer's journey and having success with it. And, I have a note here that says you stepped into the content manager role at Shasta. What was that like for you?

00:03:42:18 - 00:03:45:06

Alex Winter

From, like, a content standpoint, I guess is what I'm trying to say.

00:03:45:06 - 00:03:50:10

Alex Winter

Like when you first got into that role, had you done content before or was this new territory for you?

00:03:50:12 - 00:04:17:21

Bryan Ashbaugh

Well, yeah. So I guess, they answered the question in a few different ways. I've been doing content my entire life. As for the last 20 years for internet marketing, I would say content and SEO has been the major cornerstone of how I've pretty much done everything. And then, since I've been at Shasta, I was actually kind of, you know, handling all of the e-commerce or not, e-commerce, the internet marketing and content for the e-commerce side.

00:04:18:01 - 00:04:34:06

Bryan Ashbaugh

So all the products and equipment that we would sell direct to the consumer. So I have done quite a bit of content now in the pool industry before, you know, I kind of stepped into doing it straight for the new tools and remodeling side of the division.

00:04:34:06 - 00:04:51:08

Alex Winter

Gotcha. That makes sense. So you've had you have a lot of experience as a content manager with writing and with creating content. Previously and in the industry that you're in. But have you had you ever worked with the system, endless customers. Have you ever heard about this system or was this new to you as you as you started into this job.

00:04:51:10 - 00:05:12:14

Bryan Ashbaugh

This was, brand new to me. So, yeah, I've had no experience at all of, you know, kind of the principles, I guess, you know, some of the principles, you know, are common sense, and they make sense once you hear them. But, you know, they start to formulate a really good plan. And I think ultimately, almost instantly, as I start to hear them, I'm like, oh, now I know why.

00:05:12:14 - 00:05:23:00

Bryan Ashbaugh

Like one of the things that we were doing before didn't work. You know, we were totally missing where the person was in their buying journey so that what we were communicating just, you know, we lost them.

00:05:23:02 - 00:05:34:09

Alex Winter

Interesting. So you're learning from what your buyers are saying and actually in real time, seeing what's happening, as they're going through their buying process and the buying journey. So that's pretty cool.

00:05:34:11 - 00:05:58:10

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah. I think, you know, you know, even on the e-commerce side, you know, we have people at such different buying journeys, you know, the the person that needs a $30 part knows exactly what they want and is simply gone online to find, you know, the cheapest or the fastest to get it to them is in such a different place than someone that is now coming to us and figuring out, do I really need a, heater for their pool?

00:05:58:10 - 00:06:13:02

Bryan Ashbaugh

And then, you know, the expense, the different brands? There's actually tons of different, you know, I guess power usage that you need it now becomes a completely different buyer during where they might be entering our website.

00:06:13:04 - 00:06:26:03

Alex Winter

Yeah. I think people are so much more educated with all the tools and tech on online nowadays, especially with AI. Have you been seeing a shift with AI and just how it educates your potential buyers and what people are saying as they start to interact with your brand?

00:06:26:05 - 00:06:44:01

Bryan Ashbaugh

Oh, absolutely. I mean, I don't I don't know if I think now, I mean, everyone's pretty much on their phone. Like, I know I was looking at, a stat this a little while ago, but like, I think 70% of our visitors were, you know, accessing our website on their phone. And, you know, pretty much now, I think pretty much you ask your phone anything.

00:06:44:01 - 00:06:47:17

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right? It's coming through some type of AI filter before it even gets to you.

00:06:47:18 - 00:07:04:03

Alex Winter

Yeah, totally. So what was it like beforehand? So before you started doing endless customers, you're creating content. You're putting you're putting inbound content out. Was it working? Were you getting good traction or was it was it frustrating? Like what were you feeling before you started on your journey?

00:07:04:05 - 00:07:22:10

Bryan Ashbaugh

I would say, you know, it's like working up and down kind of. You think of it like a roller coaster, right? And, you know, a lot of it was just creating as much content. I think it did fairly well. I've been doing SEO for a long time, and I was able to get a lot of the content right.

00:07:22:12 - 00:07:57:03

Bryan Ashbaugh

And so we were getting traffic and we were, you know, there was a and then you'd see one thing we're like, okay, this is really working. And so and then there'd be other things like, like this is getting tons of traffic, but we are not really converting anybody out of this piece of content the way we should. And I think that's kind of where in this, customers really stepped in for me, where I think more of the, you know, the content that converted was more and the fact that more by happenstance, I wrote it in a kind of where that person was in their buying journey without thinking about it.

00:07:57:05 - 00:08:13:21

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right. So just how I wrote it matched what they were looking for. But then if it didn't, you know, we were losing those people. And, you know, there were a lot of content that, you know, was getting significant amount of traffic and was ranking really well. And I'm like, we should really be getting more sales for this.

00:08:13:21 - 00:08:32:22

Bryan Ashbaugh

And that's kind of like the the first step that I really kind of involved myself of like, okay, let's how can I make this better? And I started using, you know, almost instantly like day one, like, start learning about endless customers. And I think I was fixing stuff, you know, within an hour of, you know, getting off, a call with Bryan.

00:08:33:02 - 00:08:45:21

Alex Winter

That's awesome. So you were talking to your and this customers coach, and you could instantly start to take some of this knowledge and apply it. And what did you do? You went back and started to fix some of these articles and update them as that was. Was that your first action step?

00:08:45:23 - 00:09:09:11

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah. Pretty much. I, I just went through and like once you like Google Search Console or even analytics and looked at what are our top performing, blog posts, what's getting the most traffic? And then I just started, attacking them and saying, okay, where is this person at for that's going to actually enter the site looking for this particular question?

00:09:09:13 - 00:09:15:15

Bryan Ashbaugh

And now, yeah, it's just started completely fixing and optimizing them. Almost instantly.

00:09:15:18 - 00:09:33:22

Alex Winter

Nice. That's great to hear. That's really cool to hear. And Bryan is one of our favorite coaches here at impact. Can you tell us a little bit about when you came into Shasta Pools? Were they already doing endless customers? Was there buy in from the top down and you just kind of got thrown into this mix? Or like, how did that come to be for for you?

00:09:34:00 - 00:10:12:00

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah, they, they had already started doing it, you know, before at least, you know, before I really became involved on, on helping on the new pools and the remodeling side, which is a major part of our business. So, yeah, they've already been doing it. They've already been working with impact. And yeah, I kind of just got, thrown in and you know, let's go and, and, but I think the thing for me too was, it all instantly made sense, even from just all my years of doing internet marketing of just, like, just things from, you know, ten years ago, like, oh, God, we just communicated terrible to those customers,

00:10:12:00 - 00:10:19:05

Bryan Ashbaugh

right? We were so focused on SEO and traffic and getting clicks and, you know, no wonder why that didn't convert very well.

00:10:19:07 - 00:10:39:06

Alex Winter

Yeah, it's the book when you read it. And when you start to get into the system itself, it, it makes sense. It happened to me too, as I was reading it. It wasn't anything that like, I didn't already know, but I had some of these moments as I'm going through it where I'm like, yeah, why did we get hung up on metrics and vanity things and not focus on building trust and answering fire questions?

00:10:39:06 - 00:11:00:04

Alex Winter

It was, it was pretty eye opening. So can you talk a little bit about what was it like for you working with Bryan and having an impact coach? Because from a content standpoint, it's a lot of content to be creating week over week, month over month. So what was it like learning, learning with and impact coach and how it affected your content as you move forward?

00:11:00:06 - 00:11:19:01

Bryan Ashbaugh

I would say the just the, the number one thing instantly was getting feedback. I think, kind of like another thing I've read before, I just see it so much is that, you know, we just can't ever get better and we can't really be, I know experts in our own space without, you know, getting feedback on what we were doing.

00:11:19:01 - 00:11:42:13

Bryan Ashbaugh

And it was so often, you know, wherever I'm at or what I'm doing. Right. I've been kind of the expert on internet marketing, and there was no one ever coaching me, actually, you know, it was all what I learned, self-taught, what I, you know, we keep trying to continue learning and trying to keep staying up with what's working and what's going on.

00:11:42:15 - 00:12:06:10

Bryan Ashbaugh

And then, you know, to really get, feedback I thought was really good. The other thing that was really important for me is the ability to have someone that I could see really knew what they were talking about, that I could then share. Hey, this is what I'm thinking about. This is what I'm seeing and, you know, almost together and come up with sometimes, you know, a better option than, say, someone just dictating stuff to you.

00:12:06:13 - 00:12:07:05

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah.

00:12:07:07 - 00:12:23:15

Alex Winter

No, having, having a trusted resource to bounce ideas, I'm sure, especially from a content standpoint, it's always great than being in a silo, because I work here on the marketing team at impact. And when you're staring at a blank, blank page, sometimes you don't have any clear direction. It can be it can be tough. It really can.

00:12:23:17 - 00:12:46:21

Bryan Ashbaugh

So we want and I guess, I guess I would say that was the other big thing that, coaching really helped to was take adding some more structure to what I was doing, which, you know, made it just so much more easier to get it accomplished. Make sure that I had the things that I needed already done so that I could kind of continue to keep working and, you know, didn't waste time kind of running around a little bit.

00:12:47:03 - 00:12:47:19

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah.

00:12:47:20 - 00:13:09:02

Alex Winter

Yeah, that makes total sense. So I have some stats here. It says that in a few months you saw some pretty meaningful wins and you started to get some really good traction happening here. It says rankings for pool automation, number one for pool heater costs and even even, Google pulling your content into AI pretty quickly. Can you just tell our audience here a little bit about those, those stats and some of the wins that you had?

00:13:09:02 - 00:13:12:00

Alex Winter

Because that's pretty amazing right there.

00:13:12:02 - 00:13:34:03

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah. So those kind of what we were talking about before, as soon as I kind of learned about endless customers and I'm like, this really would apply to some of our existing content. So I went back to, stuff that had been working on, like the e-commerce side and like the one for, pool automation was our number one visited, post, right.

00:13:34:04 - 00:14:02:02

Bryan Ashbaugh

Generates the most free organic traffic. And yet, you know, they're expensive and and so we just never converted it. But now we started converting more than we'd ever had, but still in the amount of traffic we were getting, like, I'm missing something. And that's one of the things that as I started, I kind of implemented, you know, the endless customers into it really started looking at where their buyer is and then kind of even on the like, the call to action.

00:14:02:02 - 00:14:22:18

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right. You know, it's like not building any trust in like, you know, here's just this product sitting here for $3,000 and you wonder why they didn't buy it. Right? Right. And then, well, I think the most fascinating thing to me was as soon as I made those changes, we have seen an increase in sales on some of those items.

00:14:22:23 - 00:14:55:00

Bryan Ashbaugh

They're still very hard to move someone into doing. You know, some of the more expensive items, you know, without ever talking to someone, as most people want like a Google professional to install them. But I think the thing that was really fascinating to me is that kind of how Google picked up on the fact that now we have some expert analysis, expert advice into the different articles we started answering better exactly what the questions that people were asking, and so that it was very upfront.

00:14:55:00 - 00:15:11:22

Bryan Ashbaugh

And, you know, it's not just kind of in a mix of like, I need 2000 words in this article so that it has value. Right? It was more of, okay, this is what they're asking. This is where they're at. I need to answer these questions. And now I need to move them along to what the next thing is.

00:15:12:00 - 00:15:47:11

Bryan Ashbaugh

And I think the shocking thing for me was that then Google seems to recognize that. And, you know, dramatically increase our rankings for it. Right? We were getting traffic for it on a daily basis, but we were never as high in as ranking as high as we were. And I think overall over the I was looking at a stat earlier, today that just showed, I think as of late September of last year, there's just a line going straight up, on this two I use that measures like your eye visibility on how much?

00:15:47:13 - 00:15:54:20

Bryan Ashbaugh

Uses ChatGPT, how much like Google's overviews and a few of the other different things are utilizing your content as a resource.

00:15:54:22 - 00:15:58:20

Alex Winter

Wow. And the line was just going up into the rain, which is the dream that we all want.

00:15:59:02 - 00:16:17:09

Bryan Ashbaugh

Well, and I think it's also so new, right? I mean, really all I now being utilized almost as the search engine is still fairly new, and I think it kind of presents itself at a pretty tremendous opportunity for those that are willing to really jump in and start taking advantage of it. Yeah.

00:16:17:10 - 00:16:35:16

Alex Winter

That's one of the coolest things about the system. When you talk about endless customers, when you start to build trust and you create this content. We were doing this long before I was really on the scene. And it's it's fascinating how AI is very much focused on the same things as endless customers. And it goes back to that principle of building trust and being transparent.

00:16:35:16 - 00:16:49:11

Alex Winter

And if they can't get the answers from you, they're going to get them from someone, someone else. And that's true. That's true for shoppers and is true for the AI algorithm. So no matter what you got to you got to put yourself out there and be as transparent and real as you can. And that's how you're going to inform your buyers.

00:16:49:11 - 00:16:59:23

Alex Winter

And I have a really cool stat here, a story about a customer who made a purchase without even talking to your sales team. Can you tell us a little bit about this story? Because it's pretty fascinating.

00:17:00:01 - 00:17:09:15

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah. So we just recently, you know, sold a pool heater. So you're looking at, like a $5,000 purchase. Okay. Let's say that with.

00:17:09:16 - 00:17:10:22

Alex Winter

That purchase.

00:17:11:00 - 00:17:25:16

Bryan Ashbaugh

It is. Right. And, you know, kind of we were talking about earlier. Right. The different buying processes. Right. The, the $30 pool part or something. And then a $5,000 heater that they got to install also is dramatically different.

00:17:25:16 - 00:17:28:07

Alex Winter

That's a big yeah, that's a big difference.

00:17:28:09 - 00:18:12:20

Bryan Ashbaugh

And one of the kind of we were talking about kind of one of the wins of ranking for pool heater costs is now one of our top performing keywords across our entire e-commerce website. And that the visitor then, though, visited our website 11 different times before making this purchase. So they're on, you know, the different product pages, the brand pages, the category pages, the blog posts, you know, they're on multiple different pages before they, you know, trusted enough to, you know, pay for, $5,000 heater and centered on their way and including, you know, there's all sorts of the different specs that they need to know before they can even

00:18:12:20 - 00:18:27:07

Bryan Ashbaugh

make that decision as well, let alone figuring out, do I need a pool heater? You know, okay. Yes, I do want one. How much do they cost? But then which one is actually right for them? That's actually even a harder decision than deciding you want one, right?

00:18:27:09 - 00:18:43:04

Alex Winter

Right. But it sounds like with all this content and all the information you have on your website, they could really spend a lot of time on page, which we all want, spent a lot of time navigating all these different pages on your site, and then finding the information they need to make a decision. That's that's amazing.

00:18:43:06 - 00:19:08:23

Bryan Ashbaugh

I think. Yeah. And I think the, the other channels, like one of the things in the past for e-commerce, it's like, you know, if we didn't kind of convert them right away, we've kind of lost them into the interwebs and they're lost in your website. And I think I've really seen that now more in today's customer. They're just so used to getting their information online, that we haven't lost them just because we didn't convert them in the first five seconds that they, you know, landed on our page.

00:19:08:23 - 00:19:16:01

Bryan Ashbaugh

And how we we went from there, you know, just trying to learn about a pool heater to instantly here's this $5,000 heater. Buy it now.

00:19:16:03 - 00:19:38:21

Alex Winter

Right. Right. That doesn't that's not the customer journey. That's not what happens from a buying standpoint. They have to spend time educating and learning, and they're most likely not going to convert right there within the first 15 seconds. But that that's good that, you know, that I think a lot of companies maybe they know that, but they don't really apply that or take that in and consciously go like, hey, maybe we should shift how we educate our buyers and how we do this.

00:19:38:21 - 00:19:42:08

Alex Winter

And not try to just one call close as they say.

00:19:42:10 - 00:20:04:01

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah, I would say it's very if you look at, you know, I would say most of the websites that I've ever dealt with, I used to do internet marketing consulting and I would say, you know, they never really thought about the buyer's journey or as always, it's either like, you know, really one page, one click to closing them actually is they even ask to closed it all.

00:20:04:01 - 00:20:18:12

Bryan Ashbaugh

A lot of times so many websites just kind of have information on it and it just kind of goes anywhere. And it doesn't lead, a buyer to anything. It doesn't help build trust. It just, you know, it's just kind of text on a page.

00:20:18:14 - 00:20:37:19

Alex Winter

That's a really great point. I'm glad you said something about this, because it's true. You need to direct people and give them either self-service tools, whether it's a pricing calculator, or give them some type of direction to take so that it's not just like endless words on a page, because then then there's nowhere to go. And sometimes it's too much to digest, and it leaves people floundering around.

00:20:37:19 - 00:20:40:09

Alex Winter

So there's no real conversion point there.

00:20:40:11 - 00:20:59:04

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah, especially, you know, I don't know what percentage of people, you know, are, you know, read the whole thing. Anyway, I think a lot of people are skimming headlines, skimming. But, you know, they read bullet points. You know, I think that always seems to grab people's attention. And then, you know, and really, if you have an answer, their question as they start what they initially wanted, you know, they're off to somewhere else.

00:20:59:04 - 00:21:24:13

Bryan Ashbaugh

Totally. I think that's been the real big change that I looked at for endless customers and all the content that I'm creating, or even going back and historically fixing is what question are they? You know, is this, post or piece of content answering and do I answer it right away? And so that, you know, I can build trust and give them what they want so that, you know, they would like to continue on their journey with us.

00:21:24:13 - 00:21:32:19

Alex Winter

Absolutely. How does video play into the mix? You guys, you guys work with video as well. What's what's that mix it like for you from a content standpoint?

00:21:32:21 - 00:22:08:16

Bryan Ashbaugh

So yeah. So a lot of it is pretty much everything that we're trying to do from, a content piece as it relates to, like blog posts or written content for the website. We are now creating, video content for. And we have a guy that's doing video content for us, and he's pretty much now utilizing my blogs and kind of the research into him and kind of hear the questions we're trying to answer, and then that becomes how he shoots the videos and then how, you know, like, what's he going to ask the, whoever the expert is that he's, you know, highlighting in the video right now, he has a framework

00:22:08:16 - 00:22:21:14

Bryan Ashbaugh

that he can work from to ask them questions. And that's kind of become our, our pattern, our basically, I help create, the content and then the video guys using that content to go make the video on it.

00:22:21:18 - 00:22:38:11

Alex Winter

It's a beautiful thing. It's it's repurposing content that is meaningful that your buyers want, and it meets people where they are on multiple levels, because people can either read it or they can watch the video, or they can do both. And it really helps you to to have direction that's going to be cohesive with the rest of your content marketing strategy.

00:22:38:11 - 00:22:51:15

Alex Winter

So that's that's really cool to hear that. How does how does this play into the sales team, and what is it like working with the sales team and like your revenue? Meaning, can we talk a little bit about that and just how that relationship is for you guys at Shasta?

00:22:51:17 - 00:23:11:11

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah, I am I'm pretty impressed. I think, you know, it obviously comes from the top down of how important not customers are. But, I would say the majority of all the salespeople have completely bought in. And also, you know, it doesn't even matter. Like, you know, what's in it for me? And how am I going to make more money as a salesperson?

00:23:11:11 - 00:23:53:23

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right. They understand that the number one way they're going to make more money, or they're going to help sell more pools, is by generating more leads. And, now done tons of different kind of, subject matter expert interviews and utilizing the sales team and, even with how much, you know, they've been more than, helpful, which has been huge because I think that's kind of like the, it's a real difference, I think for most companies that I've ever seen or I've worked for or even consulted with before of getting that, like, like Shasta has experts here, you know, not just, you know, not everyone's 260 years like we've been around.

00:23:53:23 - 00:24:21:09

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right. But like I would say, almost every one of the salespeople, you know, have been here 4 or 5 years, have done 102 hundred and 300 different pool designs, have seen all these different backyards and shapes and sizes and absolutely the wealth of the knowledge has been huge and kind of on that same thing. Like an interesting story I was doing, post on some of the interior finishes and just how our Arizona weather and he just destroys them.

00:24:21:09 - 00:24:42:07

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right. So going cheap doesn't really help you as you think. And I got I was just so confused. The the names all sound the same, the terms sound the same. And like I understand what I'm talking about and yet I am just, I was lost and I ran over here where I'm at now, and I grabbed one of the sales guys.

00:24:42:07 - 00:25:10:14

Bryan Ashbaugh

That's really good. And he started explaining to me, and then I was just like, oh, I got to get this recorded. So I had to stop. I, you know, I actually use an AI tool that to record my, you know, meetings and, and then you start it over and, you know, the thing probably lasted five minutes. And he actually became the entire semi for my entire post in just that five minutes of all the knowledge that he, produced was I think, just it was just so different than had ever done before.

00:25:10:14 - 00:25:16:14

Bryan Ashbaugh

And I think it's absolutely what the customer then ultimately is asking for.

00:25:16:19 - 00:25:36:15

Alex Winter

Yeah. No, I, I love that story because you really are an expert at content. You I'm sure you know a lot about pools especially now and you and from your previous history and engagements, but to go directly to a sales person and get that, that wealth of knowledge directly from them, and then for you to be able to apply your expertise of shaping that content using the right tools.

00:25:36:15 - 00:25:47:09

Alex Winter

I mean, that's, that's, that's a really great lift and a really great way to to get the answers you need to for it to be accurate and then to give buyers what they want, answer their questions. Yeah.

00:25:47:10 - 00:26:20:03

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah. And I think especially with the I think as we keep it just keeps moving in and more centralizing who they determine are the experts in any particular question or subject matter. I just think it's vital that, you know, Shasta or you know, someone else, you know, whatever your business is, you could be listening to this that, you know, they really get I guess, I uses them as a resource because if I isn't using you, then they're using your competitor.

00:26:20:05 - 00:26:38:08

Alex Winter

Well said. It's so true. So I have, my, my friend and CEO of impact here, Bob Ruffolo, wanted me to ask this question, and we saw a post recently. This is why it's, pretty relevant. We saw on LinkedIn that you guys had recently had a HubSpot training with your sales team, and it looked like it went really well.

00:26:38:08 - 00:26:48:05

Alex Winter

The sales team, it resonated. Why is a tool like HubSpot so important for you to be using as a company and as a content, squad? And how does that play into your day to day?

00:26:48:07 - 00:27:13:01

Bryan Ashbaugh

I've been, blown away. The I guess for me, I narrow it down to one single thing that I've never really been able to do, ever from an internet marketing standpoint. But to directly tie a piece of content that I, you know, produced and then directly tie that to the ending process of, the, the actual sale of a pool or just whatever the sale of that particular product or business is.

00:27:13:01 - 00:27:39:22

Bryan Ashbaugh

Right. Because you, you know, how many people they may be to your site multiple times. They could have called and walked in. And then also then you have a sales process, you know, in meeting with the sales person and you get all the way down this journey and that hubspot's able to then correlate and tie those together to give real numbers to the, you know, your internet marketing efforts has been I, I've actually been blown away by that where I've never really been able to see that.

00:27:39:22 - 00:28:16:08

Bryan Ashbaugh

It's always been like, well, if we increase traffic and we're getting more visitors or we're getting more calls, then you know, that, you know, has to lead to we're getting more sales, but to directly see it, hey, this person, enter this site here and then you know how even HubSpot then allows, the sales team to utilize different pieces of content that we have to help actually close the sale because so often, once they are done with the salesperson, that future customer has a bunch of different questions that we want to be able to answer for them, right?

00:28:16:10 - 00:28:23:15

Bryan Ashbaugh

If they didn't, they would. They're signing up, you know, just immediately on the spot. And yet most people don't actually do that.

00:28:23:17 - 00:28:42:07

Alex Winter

Okay. So this is got me thinking, and I'm curious, from when you started your your time at Shasta, starting your journey with customers to present day. Can you paint the picture of some results that you've had, maybe revenue numbers or growth or anything for our listeners and audience to just kind of get a sense of how this is, how this content has helped shape and grow the business.

00:28:42:09 - 00:29:02:17

Bryan Ashbaugh

The, the first things that come to mind is, is that, you know, when we first started and then we started going into the, winter season, which is typically slower, right? And we don't have we're trying to look at, you know, what are people needing? And, you know, some of the biggest wins that I was very excited that our team was able to do.

00:29:02:17 - 00:29:27:12

Bryan Ashbaugh

But like from the e-commerce side, that we end up doubling the amount of revenue that we did in November year over year, in December, year over year, and then January, year over year. And I think it all comes down to ultimately is looking at, you know, what buyers want and then really how we're communicating that on, on the website.

00:29:27:14 - 00:30:02:05

Bryan Ashbaugh

The, the other one that, really comes to mind too, which is beyond just like my own content that I was really impressed with. It also was tied into not customers and, HubSpot, but we had a, marketing campaign where we had, promotion where we had, you know, all sorts of people come down and had at the our Mesa design Center had a big promotion and that it was, packed here and had just had a record amount of sales that actually came from that particular day.

00:30:02:07 - 00:30:35:21

Bryan Ashbaugh

I know certain people, you know, sold as many pools that they could in a month, actually closed on that particular day. Wow. And then one of the things that I was really blown about, which really kind of comes back to, HubSpot and how we were able to kind of utilize and as customers, but to be able to quantify each different marketing effort to see what actually generated the people, what actually worked in converting, what did people actually click on and utilize to actually accepted, to come down here to really see that now is a hard number.

00:30:35:23 - 00:30:44:15

Bryan Ashbaugh

I, I was really impressed not only on the success of our team, but then, you know, being able to track where it all came from. Where how did those people find us?

00:30:44:17 - 00:31:03:03

Alex Winter

Yeah, that's that's amazing. There's a lot of, like, really great nuggets in there that I heard. I heard that you have basically doubled your business year over year, especially in your offseason months, which that's that's even more difficult to do than when it's when the business is good and when people are using their pool. So to do that in the offseason is incredible.

00:31:03:08 - 00:31:11:23

Alex Winter

And I'm also hearing people closing deals in one day enough that fills out what they would normally do an entire month. That's outstanding. Wow. Very cool.

00:31:12:03 - 00:31:22:16

Alex Winter

How does that affect the bottom line of the business. So it has the team grown? Is the business grown. Are you pushing on into other geographic regions like what's that look like for Shasta as you move into the into the future?

00:31:22:18 - 00:31:44:07

Bryan Ashbaugh

You know, what's interesting is that, all those different things that we're doing from a marketing and kind of even unless customers has allowed us to, stay kind of a neutral into, what's the like our percentage of the pie at now that that little you know, turn left me of what exactly, you call it.

00:31:44:07 - 00:32:30:07

Bryan Ashbaugh

But but what's interesting, our other top competitors have all lost dramatically. Like, they've dropped, like, 20 to 30% of their market share. That was the where I was looking for, right? Where as all the people that are really our direct competitors have significantly dropped 20 or 30%, we've been actually able to hold our market share. So to a certain extent that, you know, it's almost like a 20 or 30% gain that, you know, otherwise, you know, if we had dropped like the rest of our competitors and a lot of that new, markets going forward are more, DIY people, using more subcontractors to do different things, trying to manage it themselves and

00:32:30:07 - 00:32:52:13

Bryan Ashbaugh

hire everyone else out themselves, you know, and then those people, you know, where are they getting all the information that they're going to need that from the internet. Right. And then the you know, I think more and more we have an opportunity to reach those people. And, because the reality is so many of those people do end up coming back to Shasta after that didn't go so well.

00:32:52:15 - 00:33:05:13

Bryan Ashbaugh

You know, there's a big portion of our remodeling division fixing pools where someone went with the lowest cost option, and now they're paying way more money for from us to go fix it all. Yeah.

00:33:05:15 - 00:33:20:17

Alex Winter

That's always, buyer's remorse is a tough thing. And I think we've all been there. I can I've definitely been there. You try to save a buck, and it ends up biting you in the long run, and then you have to spend even more money to fix the thing. That's, Yeah. That's tough. So I think that's.

00:33:20:17 - 00:33:39:16

Bryan Ashbaugh

A good point. I think that's a good part of how we write those things. We're in those customers. It's helped is how do I write something? How do I communicate? Like, hey, you know, come with us because this other guy, you know, you're going to add risk without sounding like, you know, it's us versus them, which it really doesn't have to be.

00:33:39:18 - 00:33:47:18

Bryan Ashbaugh

And, I think there's a good nuance there of how we communicate to the buyer that builds trust instead of just, hey, that person sucks and just come to us.

00:33:47:23 - 00:34:04:13

Alex Winter

Yeah, no, you guys do an excellent job. I love watching I some of your videos before we jumped on this call and checked out your website just to just to be front of mind and you, you build trust in a very unbiased way and you're very clear about like, hey, if you try to do some of these things where you save money, it couldn't it could be bad, it could not work out for you.

00:34:04:13 - 00:34:16:14

Alex Winter

But that's your decision, you know? And then here's the information. And if you want to do it the right way, we're here to help. And it's it's unbiased. It's not pushy. And I think that's the definition of what endless customers is supposed to be. Yeah. You guys do.

00:34:16:16 - 00:34:18:10

Bryan Ashbaugh

Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah.

00:34:18:12 - 00:34:31:21

Alex Winter

So last question here. What's it like having Bryan and other impact coaches and trainers meet with you on a regular basis as far as like keeping you consistent and being accountable? What's that like for you and for your team?

00:34:31:23 - 00:34:58:22

Bryan Ashbaugh

I actually really like it. I would say just, getting feedback has dramatically, I think, improve the quality of that I'm producing that it just wouldn't be on my own. Right? Even reading the endless customers, like someone, you know hands it to me and I, I read like the different principles. Right. But then really going through and implementing and seeing how we do it, has definitely improved it.

00:34:59:00 - 00:35:27:00

Bryan Ashbaugh

The other thing, which is a little bit different than just pure, endless customers, I think that's really made the biggest difference in our team is really fine tuning structure. Right. Like, I know like we're talking about the video guy, but he was in my, office just, you know, right before we did this. And, you know, he's super excited and feels like empowered to, you know, knows what he's trying to do with the video now, knows who is going to talk to you right now.

00:35:27:00 - 00:35:45:17

Bryan Ashbaugh

Knows you know he's not a pool expert, right. He's into you know that you know in videos. But now he feels very comfortable and you know that he knows exactly what he's trying to get out of this video. And and then not only that, but now that the structure of like he's not wondering, hey, what video am I doing next week?

00:35:45:17 - 00:36:06:21

Bryan Ashbaugh

What do I need to get to? And that's the same for me that I think, I plan all the content well into, March. And you know what I need or interviews that I need from experts and so on. And I know it did. It really does take a lot of the, the stress from day to day or thinking about, you know, what I'm going to do.

00:36:06:21 - 00:36:12:20

Bryan Ashbaugh

I just know, like, hey, this is what I'm going to get done today. And then, you know, can you just kind of hammer it out?

00:36:12:22 - 00:36:31:03

Alex Winter

Absolutely, absolutely. It's great to have a partner like that. So for everybody out there watching and listening, maybe they it's the first time hearing about endless customers. Maybe they just read the book, or they haven't even read the book. What would you say to them if they're thinking about taking on this endless customer system and doing what you guys are doing at Shasta Pools?

00:36:31:05 - 00:36:51:22

Bryan Ashbaugh

The best advice that I could give them is they really just have to, you know, jump in with both feet and it really is going to take their entire team. I think, like this, I don't know, like old school way of thinking. Yeah. You got you got the sales team, you got an operations team, you got this marketing team.

00:36:51:22 - 00:37:18:20

Bryan Ashbaugh

And they're siloed. I think just it really hurts your, your company going forward. As you know, all those people that from the, the, your sales team or your operations are these immense experts and have immense knowledge that all your different customers are searching for. So really involving that they're actually part of the, you know, the internet marketing, they're part of the content.

00:37:18:22 - 00:37:40:22

Bryan Ashbaugh

I couldn't, stress enough. And, you know, I don't know kind of how I always look at things. And I think the best companies going forward are like an even, like chassis. That said, thinking like we're a pool builder, the more we're, an e-commerce business in that, you know, new pools or remodeling or full service are all part of the products that we offer.

00:37:41:00 - 00:38:17:00

Bryan Ashbaugh

But, you know, how we interact online is actually our primary focus, because then what we do shifts and then, you know, if you're a sales person or an operations person, you know, just how much you interact with us online is just as important. Because for me, what really separates endless customers and what I think really is going to be successful with AI going forward is how do we make our business show up as an expert, and no matter how good you think you are, the marketing team, whoever they are, are not the experts in your particular business.

00:38:17:02 - 00:38:36:06

Bryan Ashbaugh

And I think that we dramatically need the bi end of all the different people that really make your business go and, you know, make it successful and know how to build pools and have all that experience and then get that out of them. And then, you know, onto the, the website, they can help customers and, you know, build trust.

00:38:36:08 - 00:38:46:07

Alex Winter

Well said Bryan. Well said. I couldn't agree with you more and I really appreciate you taking the time to just share your story and let everyone know what you've been up to overhead Shasta pools. It's been awesome talking with you.

00:38:46:09 - 00:38:58:09

Bryan Ashbaugh

Go ahead. I hope it, I hope it helps. And, yeah, it'll be cool. Someday if, someone, thought that some of these things were nice and got them, got them started and, you know, start producing better results for themselves.

00:38:58:11 - 00:39:10:09

Alex Winter

Absolutely, absolutely. I hope so, too. For everyone out there watching and listening. You've heard Bryan's story. We're definitely to check back in with you. I want to see how you guys do as you move into 2026 and beyond. But again, thank you for being on the show and thank you for your time.

00:39:10:11 - 00:39:11:10

Bryan Ashbaugh

All right. I enjoyed it.

00:39:11:12 - 00:39:18:02

Alex Winter

Awesome. And for about there watching and listening. This is endless customers I'm your host Alex Winter. And we will catch you on the next episode.