Reports. Spreadsheets. Statements. Intimidating right? Your business numbers don’t have to feel like a foreign language. They should be accessible and valuable pieces of information.
When you are making data-driven decisions you’re building a business that works smarter, not harder. I remember one client who had the Customer Relation Management (CRM) system ServiceTitan but barely touched the reports because it felt overwhelming. Once we narrowed the focus to just one or two key numbers, everything changed.
In this episode, Jack Tompkins from Pineapple Consulting shows us how to make data visual, simple, and even a little fun—so your team actually uses it, and better decisions for your business get made.
What You’ll Learn…
- How data-driven decisions help you boost profits without adding expenses
- Why the prettiest dashboards are often the most useful
- One thing that will actually make your team want to track KPIs
- About the difference between using data and being guided by data-driven decisions
- The friendly competition tactic that improved CSR conversions
- Why your data strategy needs to look good and be easy to update
- How to avoid drowning in data with one simple mindset shift
Key Moments…
[02:15] Why service businesses avoid looking at their own data
[07:30] Data-driven decisions don’t require a finance degree
[12:00] Making numbers visual so your team wants to use them
[17:45] The impact of friendly competition on performance
[22:00] How to cut callbacks and boost culture at the same time
[28:40] One client’s results from a simple dashboard strategy
[35:10] Why data-driven decisions should feel easy if you want your team to make them
[02:15] Why service businesses avoid looking at their own data
[07:30] Data-driven decisions don’t require a finance degree
[12:00] Making numbers visual so your team wants to use them
[17:45] The impact of friendly competition on performance
[22:00] How to cut callbacks and boost culture at the same time
[28:40] One client’s results from a simple dashboard strategy
[35:10] Why data-driven decisions should feel easy if you want your team to make them
Why service businesses avoid looking at their own data
It’s not that home service owners don’t care about numbers—it’s that they feel overwhelmed by the mountain of reports. One of my clients had ServiceTitan but said he never opened the reports tab because it felt like drinking from a firehose. Unfortunately this is a common excuse that keeps your best business guides hiding in plain sight. When you start making data-driven decisions it can turn the tide of your success. Don’t try to take it all on at once. Instead of trying to track everything, just pick one thing to start with. Once you’re seeing traction, you can layer in more.
Data-driven decisions don’t require a finance degree
Jack Tompkins reminded us in the episode that data isn’t about spreadsheets—it’s about stories. Once you understand the stories better you can make better data-driven decisions. You already know what you want to improve: more leads, higher conversion rates, fewer callbacks. That’s data. And if you track even one of those things consistently, you’ll start to see patterns that tell the stories. The best part? You don’t have to be a math whiz. Just start tracking the numbers that hit home.
Making numbers visual so your team wants to use them
No one likes looking at a boring spreadsheet. But show them a colorful dashboard with real-time numbers and suddenly they’re paying attention. Jack shared how even his own team of analysts go through design training so their dashboards are easy to digest. When your team can see their progress in a visual format, data-driven decisions stop feeling like a chore and start feeling like a game. That’s when people start to want to interact with the data, which is the goal.
The impact of friendly competition on performance
Once people are interested in the data, it’s time to get them to take action with it. One of the best stories from this episode was about a company that used their call tracking numbers to boost CSR conversions. The business didn’t change their marketing. They didn’t hire more staff. They just tracked how many calls turned into booked jobs and created a little healthy competition. Within a few weeks, job bookings doubled. That’s the power of data-driven decisions paired with team incentives.
How to cut callbacks and boost culture at the same time
You get to decide how you are going to use your data. Even the negative looking numbers can lead you to insightful data-based decisions. For example- callbacks. Nobody likes going back to a job that should’ve been done right the first time. But instead of punishing techs with callbacks, what if you tracked your callbacks and created a bonus for techs with the lowest rates? Now you’re improving quality, boosting morale, and plugging a major profit leak. When data supports a positive culture, your whole business changes.
One client’s results from a simple dashboard strategy
Jack told the story of a plumbing company in Oklahoma that turned data into something everyone could see and understand, a simple but attractive and effective dashboard. They made a data-based decision to track gross margin and even created bonus structures around that. Over time, the whole team got on board with trying to improve that gross margin number. As they did, other things started going really well. They started showing up in online reviews, and their brand reputation skyrocketed. All because they made their data feel usable.
Why data-driven decisions should feel easy if you want your team to make them
The best KPI in the world won’t help you if your team doesn’t look at it, measure it, or use it. That’s why visual dashboards, easy updates, and simple metrics matter. If your data strategy is hard to update, it won’t get used. But when it’s fast, clear, and rewarding? It becomes a tool your team actually wants to use in making those data-driven decisions. And that’s where the real profit starts to show up.
About Jack
From founding Pineapple Consulting Firm to presenting in front of crowds, Jack aims to make data attainable, easy, and even fun! He has an absolute blast engaging with the audience and sharing the secrets of how businesses can become more data-driven the easiest way possible.
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15 Profit Leaks eBook: https://profitcoach4you.com/profitleaks
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