Most contractors think growth is built in the field. More trucks, more techs, more leads. But Chad Peterman, CEO of Peterman Brothers, has built a 500+ person organization across HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services in Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, and he sees it differently. The real growth engine does not start in the truck. It starts at the first ring of the phone. In this episode, Chad breaks down how a family business turned multi-state operator learned that the call center is not support. It's strategy. It is revenue. It is the first impression that decides everything that comes after it. Chad takes us back to the early days of Peterman Brothers, before the scale, before the systems, when growth was exciting but also breaking things at the same time. He shares the moment it became clear that people, not production, would define the ceiling of the company, and how early mistakes shaped the way he now thinks about scale, leadership, and structure. The conversation moves into a powerful shift in perspective around call centers. Chad challenges the idea that answering phones is administrative work and instead positions it as one of the most important revenue drivers in the entire business. From missed opportunities to first impressions, he breaks down where contractors are unknowingly leaving money on the table and why training, systems, and leadership all have to work together for the phone to become a growth engine. From there, Mandeep and Chad connect the dots between customer experience and revenue. What actually happens in a five-minute phone call that determines thousands of dollars in revenue downstream? Chad unpacks the most common mistakes CSRs make, what a high-performing call actually sounds like, and how empathy and structure can exist in the same conversation without sacrificing conversion. The discussion expands into retention and upselling, where Chad explains how real growth is often hidden in plain sight. Small shifts in communication, service plans, and trust building during the first interaction can dramatically change long-term customer value. It is not about pushing harder. It is about listening better and executing with intention. Operations come next, where dispatch becomes the make or break point between a great call and a completed job. Chad breaks down how strategic dispatching works, what most teams get wrong, and why speed without alignment often leads to lost revenue instead of gained efficiency. A major focus of the episode is people development. Chad shares the philosophy behind building the Top Tech Academy and how structured training, onboarding, and career mapping became the backbone of scaling a 100M+ operation. He explains why most companies do not have a performance problem; they have a development problem. We also dig into Chad’s philosophy from The Empowerment Project, where he challenges contractors to think differently about growth. Not as something you chase, but something you build through your people and systems every single day. This episode is a blueprint for contractors who want more than activity. It is for those who want alignment between office, dispatch, and field, and a system where every call, every handoff, and every interaction drives measurable growth. Special thanks to our sponsors, Broccoli AI and Grow Reviews, for supporting Born For The Trades and helping contractors scale smarter. If you are a contractor stuck between effort and execution, this episode will show you where the real leverage lives. Support the show
