Industry Trends: What's Happening Among Our ACE Peer Group Members with Vince Torchia

In this episode, Vince shares what he’s seeing across the five ACE Peer Groups he facilitates; the real-world growing pains companies are facing, how revenue mix is often being shaped by the market instead of leadership decisions, and practical ways to drive more accountability inside your business. He also invites listeners to take the next step and join us at ACE Discovery, where owners and leaders come together to learn, connect, and grow.

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Episode Chapters:

00:32 - Introduction: What Vince is Seeing Across 60 ACE Companies
01:13 - Growing Pains: Systems and Processes Breaking Down
03:15 - Growing Pains: People Need Better Training
05:37 - Your Mix of Sales: Market Control vs. Leadership Control
10:15 - Accountability Is Slipping Across Organizations
11:08 - Accountability Step 1: Look in the Mirror
12:00 - Accountability Step 2: Put Team Members in the Box
13:58 - Accountability Step 3: Vision, Focus, and the “Number One”
16:08 - Recap and ACE Discovery Invitation

Resources:

Virtual Sales Bootcamp  

Grunder Landscaping Field Trips  

The Grow Group   

Grunder Landscaping   

Marty Grunder LinkedIn  

Stihl  

Show Notes:

• Growing Pains: Systems Breaking Down - Companies growing post-COVID with more demand and better tools. Result: growth breaks systems and processes. Vince: "The systems that got you here won't get you to the next level." Solution: Identify 3-5 core systems/processes in each function (sales, ops, admin, finance). Review every 90 days. Where can technology help (meeting recordings, Zapier automations, ChatGPT)?
• Growing Pains: People Breaking Down - Companies promote technically skilled people into management without soft skills training. They manage work instead of leading people. Grunder's solution: Refocused training through Grainus, one-on-ones, hip-to-hip field training. Ask your people: "Have I trained you to be successful? What support do you need?" Vince: "At a minimum, people will feel heard and appreciated."
• Sales Mix: Are You in Control or Is the Market? - Are you controlling your business mix or letting the market control it? Are you focused on residential/commercial construction? Class A maintenance? HOA? The market pulls you into work that's not your ideal client or where you lack equipment/trained people. Vince: "That's about playing offense, not playing defense."
• The Caveat on New Opportunities - Okay to pursue new work if demand is there - just focus on doing it well. Vince: "If it's a low risk experiment, let's go for it. We'll learn something." But pause first: "How can we be set up to do this well?" Commercial is more transactional, less relationship-driven than residential. Neither right nor wrong - just different.
• Gross Margin Dollars Matter - Not every sale is created equal. Snow dollars are very different than maintenance dollars. If you planned for 50% margin but got pulled into lower-margin work, you're pulling down total margin. October question: "Are we in control of our business mix? If market is determining, pause to ask right questions to ensure we can deliver."
• Accountability Is Slipping - Over 200 companies in ACE groups, but accountability is slipping across organizations. Vince: "Setting people up to be successful, holding them to what they've committed to - we are seeing that slip. It all starts at the top."
• Accountability Step 1: Look in the Mirror - Marty's principle: "We want ourselves as leaders to be great at, we want our team to be good at." If emails, client responses, tucking in shirts matter, exhibit those behaviors daily. Vince: "We're never gonna be perfect, but we're gonna strive for excellence."
• Accountability Step 2: The Box - Put team members in a box where they know where they win and lose. Flip the conversation from consequences to celebration. Three to five black and white metrics. If losing, support them. If winning, celebrate. Start with basics: Revenue, direct labor hours, materials.
• Accountability Step 3: Vision and Focus - Lack of accountability stems from lack of focus. Lack of focus stems from lack of vision. Example from Completely Unscripted: Every team member has a "number one" thing they're focused on. Vince: "Talk about driving accountability." Their whole organization knows company priority: grow maintenance. Everyone across all departments knows the number one goal.
• The Three Takeaways - (1) Growing pains are normal. Review systems/processes every 90 days. Look at training programs. (2) Control your business mix looking toward 2026. If going in a new direction, pause and make a plan. (3) Reintroduce accountability: look in the mirror, ensure the team knows how they win, ensure everyone knows your number one focus.