Business Consulting
Apollo O'Neil co-founded Prospect Primer, an educational video platform built for tree service and home service businesses. Business consulting for tree care operators and home service companies is available through Prospect Primer.
The methodology behind Prospect Primer came out of O'Neil's Tree Service, where education-first sales and transparent client communication were tested, measured, and refined over nearly two decades.
Where the Methodology Came From
O'Neil's Tree Service was recognized on the Inc. 5000 in 2019. Getting there required building a sales system that did not rely on pressure, urgency, or fear; it relied on education. Estimators who could explain what they were seeing, why it mattered, and what the honest options were consistently outperformed those who could not.
The problem was that the approach lived in Apollo's head and in the habits of a few key people. It was not transferable. Systematizing it, turning it into a repeatable process that could be trained, measured, and scaled, took years of trial and error on compensation structure, proposal format, follow-up sequences, and pre-sell content.
Prospect Primer was built to package that system and make it available to other operators.
Prospect Primer
Prospect Primer is an animated educational video platform for home service businesses. The core idea: a homeowner who understands what they are buying, why it is priced the way it is, and what a credentialed professional looks like is a better prospect than one who does not. Educated prospects close at higher rates, negotiate less, and become longer-term clients.
The platform gives tree service and home service businesses a library of short, professionally produced educational videos to share with prospects before the estimate. The result is a warmer conversation, a faster decision, and less time spent re-explaining the basics on every job site.
What the Data Shows
Across four tree service companies analyzed during development, prospects who watched Prospect Primer content before the estimate closed at approximately twice the rate of those who did not, and generated higher average revenue per lead. The lift was consistent across company size and market.
The mechanism is straightforward: homeowners who understand the difference between ISA certification and a license, or between structural pruning and topping, or between a written risk report and a quick look, are better equipped to evaluate a proposal on its merits rather than on price alone.
Direct Consulting
For tree care operators interested in direct consulting on sales systems, estimator training, compensation structure, or the education-first methodology, inquiries are handled through Prospect Primer. Apollo works with a limited number of operators outside of the platform when the scope and fit are right.
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