Service Business Mastery for Skilled Trades: HVAC, Plumbing & Electrical Home Service

Skilled Trades Syndicate - Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch
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Ready to revolutionize your home service business? Tune into the Service Business Mastery Podcast! We dive deep into automation and AI, including swarm agents, AI chatbots, and AI voice agents, to help you streamline and optimize your operations. Whether you're in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or any other home service trade, we cover leadership, marketing, finance, pricing, and HR to give you the edge you need. Click here to transform your business and embrace the future today!

  1. 6d ago

    How One Focus Every 90 Days Scales Your Business | Josh Zolin

    Doing more does not scale your business. It stalls it. Diluted focus gets you diluted results, and the owners who grow fastest are usually the ones doing fewer things, not more. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch sit down with Josh Zolin, CEO of Windy City Equipment Service and author of Blue is the New White, on how one simple shift, a single company wide focus every 90 days, took the guesswork out of hitting his goals. Josh breaks down how he points his entire company, from himself to the parts runner, at one goal each quarter, why focusing on less feels scarier than it should, how your role as the owner keeps changing as you scale, and the leadership habit that quietly runs off your best technicians. If you run a home service business and you are busy all day but not moving the way you want, this conversation is the reset. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Upfrog, one of our show partners. Upfrog turns paid ad spend into booked, sold system replacements instead of wasted leads. Learn more at upfrog.com. CHAPTERS 0:00 – Why Diluted Focus Gets You Diluted Results 2:31 – Meet Josh Zolin: Blue is the New White and Windy City 8:15 – The Identity Shift Every Owner Faces as They Scale 11:49 – The Unteachable Lessons You Have to Learn Yourself 14:40 – Why More Information Is Making Us Learn Slower 17:23 – AI as the Trades' Best Recruiter 20:25 – Navigating Private Equity as a Small Operator 27:12 – The 90 Day Single Focus System That Hits Goals Every Time 29:10 – Focusing on One Thing Without Letting the Rest Fall Apart 32:19 – The In-N-Out Lesson: Do Fewer Things, Better 35:26 – Why Focusing on Less Feels Scary, and How to Lead Through It 38:25 – Four Big Things a Year: Segmenting Focus Across Profit Centers 40:32 – Parkinson's Law: Use Time as a Tool 44:00 – Why 80% Done by Someone Else Is 100% Awesome 46:00 – The Perfectionist Tech Trap and Unspoken Expectations 49:40 – Where to Find Josh: Book, Podcast, and Academy WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - The one shift that lets you hit your quarterly goals every time: a single company wide focus every 90 days - Why doing less feels scarier than doing more, and how to lead your team through it - How your job as the owner keeps changing as you scale, and how to stay valuable - Why more information can make you and your team learn slower, not faster - How small operators actually beat private equity, and why it comes down to culture - The leadership habit that quietly runs off your best technicians - Why 80% done by someone else is 100% awesome, and how perfectionism keeps you small THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY UPFROG System replacement leads from paid ads, nurtured and booked into sold jobs before your team arrives: upfrog.com MARKETSTORM An AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/ CALLRAIL CallRail's Voice Assist is a 24/7 AI voice assistant that answers every call, handles customer questions, and books jobs directly onto your calendar, all without you ever having to step away from the current job. Try Voice Assist for free today at voiceassist.com BREEZY Capture 25-30% more clients with Breezy AI Agents. Use code 'SBM' to book a demo and get $500 on us: https://bit.ly/4ihjXkx PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at https://companycam.com/ CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Josh Zolin, Windy City Equipment Service: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshzolin/ https://joshzolin.com (his book, podcast, and academy are all there) ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY Service Business Mastery helps home service owners run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch break down the operations, technology, and leadership behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators actually doing the work. More at https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ Want the frameworks from each episode in your inbox? Join the free Service Business Mastery newsletter: [ADD: SBM newsletter link] Subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #ServiceBusinessMastery #HomeServices #Leadership #BusinessScaling #Trades

    How One Focus Every 90 Days Scales Your Business | Josh Zolin

  2. Aug 19

    Why Your Techs Are Losing Sales in 2026 | Justin Riley

    Service Scout (14 day free trial): https://getservicescout.com/demo.html This is the toughest year to close a sale in home services since 2008. Equipment costs more than ever, credit is tighter, and the customers calling for a replacement are the hardest ones to sell. The problem usually is not your leads. It is what happens when your technician walks in the door. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch sit down with Justin Riley, CEO and founder of UpFrog, for a straight read on the 2026 home services market and how the best companies are still closing jobs hand over fist. Justin breaks down why likability now beats price, why repair and maintenance calls are the easier win this year, how to lead with the right financing so a customer with tough credit still says yes, and the new tool he built, Service Scout, that briefs your tech on the home, the buyer, and the strategy in 90 seconds before every call. If close rate is where your money leaks this year, this one is the fix. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Upfrog, one of our show partners. Fitting, since today's guest is Upfrog's founder. Upfrog turns paid ad spend into booked, sold system replacements instead of wasted leads. Learn more at upfrog.com. CHAPTERS 0:00 – Raise Your Close Rate by Listening for 90 Seconds 3:01 – From HVAC Apprentice to Founding UpFrog 7:11 – The State of the 2026 Market: Toughest Since 2008 9:04 – Why Close Rate Is the Number One Problem This Year 11:45 – Why Customers Shop for Who They Like, Not Price 13:00 – Why Repair and Maintenance Calls Are the Easier Win 14:03 – The Average Ticket Meat Zone and the Credit Ceiling 17:01 – How Service Scout Was Born 19:12 – Inside a Service Scout Pre Appointment Intelligence Brief 23:30 – The Results: A 5 to 14% Close Rate Lift 24:12 – Leading With the Right Financing to Win Tough Credit 28:02 – Handling the Data Responsibly 31:27 – The Reporting Most Contractors Have Never Seen 33:11 – The Pricing and the ROI Math 36:53 – AI Should Make Your People Super, Not Replace Them 49:30 – The Number One Reason Close Rates Are Down WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why 2026 is the hardest year to close a home services sale since 2008, and where the money is actually leaking - Why likability now beats price, and why the replacement estimate is the hardest call to win - How a 90 second pre appointment brief can lift your close rate 5 to 14% - How to lead with the right financing so a customer with tough credit still says yes - What you can learn about a home before the visit, and how to use it without crossing a line - Why the real IP of a home service business is your people, not your AI stack THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY UPFROG System replacement leads from paid ads, nurtured and booked into sold jobs before your team arrives: upfrog.com MARKETSTORM An AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/ CALLRAIL CallRail's Voice Assist is a 24/7 AI voice assistant that answers every call, handles customer questions, and books jobs directly onto your calendar, all without you ever having to step away from the current job. Try Voice Assist for free today at voiceassist.com BREEZY Capture 25-30% more clients with Breezy AI Agents. Use code 'SBM' to book a demo and get $500 on us: https://bit.ly/4ihjXkx PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at https://companycam.com/ CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Justin Riley, CEO and Founder of UpFrog: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justintriley/ UpFrog: https://upfrog.com Service Scout (14 day free trial): https://getservicescout.com/demo.html ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY Service Business Mastery helps home service owners run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch break down the operations, technology, and leadership behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators actually doing the work. More at https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ Subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #ServiceBusinessMastery #HomeServices #HVAC #HVACSales #CloseRate

    Why Your Techs Are Losing Sales in 2026 | Justin Riley

  3. Aug 12

    Systems That Outlast You: Building a Trades Business for Generations

    Most companies do not last. A huge share of the biggest names in the world vanish within a few decades. The Smith & Oby Company has been running since 1898. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch sit down with Jake Wattenbarger, president of Smith & Oby, a Foundral brand, a Cleveland mechanical contractor that has stayed relevant for 125 years by reading the market before it forces the issue, and by building systems and a culture that outlast any one person. Jake spent nearly a decade as an Army logistics officer before the trades, and it shows. He gets into why you never cross the finish line, how to build a business you can hand down instead of sell off, why you do not have to sell to make real money, and how culture and a talent pipeline keep a union shop winning the big jobs. If you want to build a trades business that lasts for generations, not just one you flip, this is the blueprint. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Upfrog, one of our show partners. Upfrog turns paid ad spend into booked, sold system replacements instead of wasted leads. Learn more at upfrog.com. CHAPTERS 0:00 – Why You Never Cross the Finish Line 2:33 – From Combat Engineer to Mechanical Contractor 4:19 – Logistics Before Tactics: Structure and Accountability 8:28 – Advice for Anyone Starting Their Own Business 11:04 – Still Standing Since 1898: A 125 Year Old Contractor 12:47 – You Don't Have to Sell Your Business to Make Money 14:05 – The 40 Year Employees Behind a Lasting Company 15:15 – Recruiting Into the Commercial Trades and the Union Hall 18:06 – Building a Talent Pipeline When the Hall Can't Keep Up 18:51 – What Union Labor Really Costs, and Why It's Worth It 22:20 – Competing on Best Value, Not Lowest Bid 26:22 – Building Culture Inside a Union Shop 29:44 – Empowering Field Leaders Who Still Turn Wrenches 34:46 – Adapt or Become Polaroid: Reading the Market Early 35:26 – Staying Ahead With VDC and Investing in the Shop 46:01 – Where to Find Jake WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - Why the best businesses never cross the finish line, and how to read the market before it pushes you out - How to build a trades business you can hand down, instead of one built only to sell - Why you do not have to sell your company to make serious money - The Army logistics mindset that runs a business: structure before action, logistics before tactics - How to build a talent pipeline when the union hall cannot fill your jobs fast enough - What union labor really costs, and why best value beats lowest bid - How to build culture in a union shop, where there is no PTO by default - How investing in your shop and technology turns into margin, not just cost THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY UPFROG System replacement leads from paid ads, nurtured and booked into sold jobs before your team arrives: upfrog.com MARKETSTORM An AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/ CALLRAIL CallRail assigns a unique tracking number to each marketing effort, so you know which channels bring your best leads. Try it free at https://callrail.com/sbmpod. BREEZY Capture 25-30% more clients with Breezy AI Agents. Use code 'SBM' to book a demo and get $500 on us: https://getbreezyapp.com/schedule-demo?utm_source=partner_servicebusinessmastery&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=servicebusinessmastery_partnership&utm_content=youtube_video PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at https://companycam.com/ CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Jake Wattenbarger, The Smith & Oby Company: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakewattenbarger/ | https://smithandoby.com ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY Service Business Mastery helps home service owners run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch break down the operations, technology, and leadership behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators actually doing the work. More at https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ Want the frameworks from each episode in your inbox? Join the free Service Business Mastery newsletter: [newsletter link] Subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #ServiceBusinessMastery #Trades #FamilyBusiness #MechanicalContractor #SkilledTrades

    Systems That Outlast You: Building a Trades Business for Generations

  4. Aug 5

    How to Beat Private Equity Without Selling | Zach Cooper-Vastola

    Private equity is buying up home service companies and quietly gutting the good ones, and most owners think their only options are to sell or get outspent. There is a third one.   In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch sit down with Zach Cooper-Vastola, co-founder of Hickory, who has bought and built home service companies across the tri-state to roughly 350 people and 80 million dollars in revenue, without ever running them from an ivory tower.   Zach breaks down how he keeps technicians from walking out the door after an acquisition, why he refuses to put AI on the phones with customers, how his team builds their own tools instead of renting SaaS, and the data unlock that lets two CSRs run at the scale of a 30 person team.   If you run a home service business and you are tired of hearing that AI just means replacing your people, this one flips the script.   This episode is brought to you in partnership with Upfrog, one of our show partners. Upfrog turns paid ad spend into booked, sold system replacements instead of wasted leads. Learn more at upfrog.com.   WHAT YOU'LL LEARN   - How to keep your technicians from walking out the door after an acquisition - Why changing pay structures on day one is the fastest way to lose your team - How to read a company's real culture by walking the warehouse, before you ever see the financials - What buy and build owners look for that a private equity roll up ignores - How to underwrite an early stage AI vendor before you bet six figures on it - Why building your own tools can beat renting SaaS once you hit scale - How making the humans super with data beats putting AI on the phones - The data unlock that lets two CSRs run at the scale of a 30 person team   THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY   UPFROG System replacement leads from paid ads, nurtured and booked into sold jobs before your team arrives: upfrog.com   MARKETSTORM An AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/    CALLRAIL CallRail assigns a unique tracking number to each marketing effort, so you know which channels bring your best leads. Try it free at https://callrail.com/sbmpod.   BREEZY Capture 25-30% more clients with Breezy AI Agents. Use code 'SBM' to book a demo and get $500 on us: https://getbreezyapp.com/schedule-demo    PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo   COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at https://companycam.com/   CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST   Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Zach Cooper-Vastola, Hickory: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zachary-c-8b881969/    ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY   Service Business Mastery helps home service owners run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch break down the operations, technology, and leadership behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators actually doing the work. More at https://servicebusinessmastery.com/    Subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it.   #ServiceBusinessMastery #HomeServices #PrivateEquity #HVACBusiness #AIforContractors

    How to Beat Private Equity Without Selling | Zach Cooper-Vastola

  5. Jul 29

    How Home Service Pros Hit 20% Net Margin | Profitability Partners

    Most home service businesses keep just 5 to 12% net profit, and most owners have no idea that is where they are. The best run HVAC, plumbing, and electrical shops keep 20%, and the gap almost always comes down to a few fixable mistakes. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch sit down with Matthew Mooney and Raymond Gong of Profitability Partners, a fractional CFO firm that spent years on the private equity side of the table and now helps owners find the profit already hiding in their business. They break down the real gross profit benchmarks for every trade, the labor and pricing mistakes that make your P&L lie to you, why fixing your booking rate beats spending more on ads, and how one plumbing company cut 3 million dollars a year in overhead in six months. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Upfrog, one of our show partners. Upfrog turns paid ad spend into booked, sold system replacements instead of wasted leads. Learn more at upfrog.com. CHAPTERS 0:00 – The 20% Net Margin Most Contractors Never Hit 3:49 – Meet Profitability Partners: Fractional CFOs From Private Equity 7:54 – What Private Equity Looks For in an Undervalued Business 11:00 – Gross Profit Benchmarks by Trade: HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical 15:56 – The Fully Loaded Labor Mistake That Hides Your Real Margin 18:16 – The What Is Everyone Charging Trap and the Discount Price Book 20:24 – Why Discounting Costs You More Than Spending on Ads 23:36 – Fix Your Booking Rate Before You Spend a Dollar on Marketing 27:47 – What Separates a 12% Company From a 20% Company 29:55 – Switching to Commission Pay Without Losing Your Techs 36:41 – Where AI Actually Helps a 5 to 30 Million Dollar Contractor 39:12 – The Overhead Trap: Unused Software and Oversized Leases 41:56 – Case Study: Cutting 3 Million Dollars a Year in Six Months 48:22 – The Exit Math That Turns 200K Saved Into 2 Million 52:15 – The 1% Booking Rate Worth 3 Million, and Why Your CRM Lies 55:33 – Where to Find Matthew and Raymond WHAT YOU'LL LEARN - The real gross profit benchmarks by trade, and why a 50% GP can secretly be sub 40 once labor is fully loaded - Why 20% net profit is realistic, and the mistakes keeping most shops at 5 to 12% - How discounting quietly wrecks your margin, and why 2 to 3% more on ads beats 10% off the price - Why booking rate is the first thing to fix before spending another dollar on marketing - How one plumbing company cut 3 million dollars a year in overhead in six months - The exit math that turns a 200,000 dollar expense cut into 2 million more at the sale THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY UPFROG System replacement leads from paid ads, nurtured and booked into sold jobs before your team arrives: upfrog.com BREEZY About 30 percent of inbound calls in home services go unanswered, and those are customers ready to book with whoever picks up first. Breezy puts AI agents on every call, books the job, and follows up instantly, so you wake up to booked jobs instead of missed calls. See how many jobs you are losing at https://getbreezyapp.com and use code SBM for 500 dollars toward Breezy. MARKET STORM Market Storm uses AI to catch early buyer intent and put your brand in front of homeowners before they ever search. Visit https://marketstorm.ai or text 213-575-5448. CALLRAIL CallRail assigns a unique tracking number to each marketing effort, so you know which channels bring your best leads. Try it free at https://callrail.com/sbmpod. PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at https://companycam.com/ CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Matthew Mooney (Profitability Partners): https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-mooney-54b09047/ Raymond Gong (Profitability Partners): https://www.linkedin.com/in/gongraymond/ ARTICLES WORTH READING HVAC profit margin benchmarks: https://profitabilitypartners.io/hvac-profit-margins/ Plumbing profit margin benchmarks: https://profitabilitypartners.io/plumbing-profit-margins/ ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY Service Business Mastery helps home service owners run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch break down the operations, technology, and leadership behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators actually doing the work. More at https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ Want the frameworks from each episode in your inbox? Join the free Service Business Mastery newsletter: https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ Subscribe on YouTube and follow us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #ServiceBusinessMastery #HomeServices #ContractorProfit #HVACBusiness #FractionalCFO

    How Home Service Pros Hit 20% Net Margin | Profitability Partners

  6. Jul 22

    How AI Is Changing HVAC (Without Replacing Techs) | Chris Plunkett

    AI is not coming for your techs. It is coming for the busywork, the missed calls, and the guesswork that quietly eats your margin. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett sits down with Chris Plunkett, a Tucson HVAC owner who has been in the trade since he was eight years old, to talk about what using AI in an HVAC business actually looks like day to day. They get into how Chris turned home inspections from a loss leader into one of his highest paying jobs, why his AI voice agent books calls so well that customers swear they were talking to a person, and the simple pay change that made after hours emergencies fair to his technicians again. If you run an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company and you are tired of AI hype with nothing to show for it, this one is built for you. This episode is brought to you in partnership with Breezy, the AI voice agent Chris uses for his after hours and overflow calls. See how many calls you are missing at https://getbreezyapp.com and use code SBM for 500 dollars toward Breezy. CHAPTERS 0:00 – Why AI Won't Replace HVAC Techs 1:45 – Welcome to Service Business Mastery 2:37 – Fix Your Processes Before You Automate Anything 3:44 – Meet Chris Plunkett: From 8 Year Old Tech to HVAC Owner 7:33 – Where Chris Actually Uses AI in His HVAC Business 8:21 – Letter Grade Diagnostics Customers Understand 10:28 – The Real Way AI Is Changing the Trades 11:49 – Turning Home Inspections Into a High Ticket Profit Center 15:37 – Presenting Diagnostics So Customers Say Yes 18:04 – AI Voice Agents for After Hours and Overflow Calls 20:31 – The Call Nobody Could Tell Was AI 27:07 – Trigger Words and On Call Routing That Keep Owners Out of the Mix 29:41 – The Late Night Call Policy That Protects Your Techs 32:06 – Why Emergency Rate Beats After Hours Rate 35:02 – Nobody Wants to Work for YOU: Hiring the Next Generation 37:32 – Trade Culture, Mentorship, and Bringing Young Techs In 46:24 – Where to Find Chris and His Whiskey Side Hustle ABOUT SERVICE BUSINESS MASTERY Service Business Mastery is where home service owners come to run better, more profitable companies. Every week, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch talk through the real operations, technology, and leadership decisions behind growing an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical business, with the operators and experts actually doing the work. More episodes and resources: https://servicebusinessmastery.com/ https://linkin.bio/servicebusinessmasterypodcast    THIS EPISODE IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY BREEZY About 30 percent of inbound calls in home services go unanswered, and those are customers ready to book with whoever picks up first. Breezy puts AI agents on every call, books the job, and follows up instantly, so you wake up to booked jobs instead of missed calls. See how many jobs you are losing right now at https://getbreezyapp.com and use code SBM for 500 dollars toward Breezy. UPFROG Upfrog is the OG of pricing transparency online. They find hard to reach system replacement leads through paid ads, then nurture and book them into sold systems before your team even arrives. Learn more: upfrog.com MARKET STORM Market Storm works with home service companies across the country, using AI to catch early buyer intent and put your brand in front of homeowners before they ever search. So when they do search, your name already feels familiar. Visit https://marketstorm.ai/ CALLRAIL CallRail assigns a unique tracking number to each of your marketing efforts, so you know exactly which channels bring your best leads and which ones to cut. Try it free at https://callrail.com/sbmpod. PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo  COMPANYCAM Capture work, track job progress, and stay connected from the field to the office with photo documentation and AI tools that keep work moving. Start a free trial at: https://companycam.com/ CONNECT WITH OUR HOSTS AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Chris Plunkett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-plunkett-11613385/ NEVER MISS AN EPISODE Subscribe on YouTube and follow Service Business Mastery on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs to hear it. #ServiceBusinessMastery #HVAC #AIinTheTrades #HomeServices #HVACBusiness

    How AI Is Changing HVAC (Without Replacing Techs) | Chris Plunkett

  7. Jul 15

    Stop Missing Calls: The Real Reason Home Service Leads Disappear

    Most home service companies do not have a lead problem. They have a missed-call problem. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Chris Nelson, Senior Manager of Vertical Marketing at CallRail, to talk about why home service leads disappear, how missed calls turn into lost revenue, and what contractors can do to better understand what is happening inside their call flow. This conversation is not just about answering the phone faster. It is about understanding where your leads come from, how they move through your business, and where good opportunities get lost before they ever turn into booked jobs. Chris breaks down how call tracking, call routing, CRM integrations, AI voice assistants, and conversation intelligence can help contractors see the real story behind their marketing spend and customer calls. They also discuss: Why missed calls are one of the most expensive leaks in a home service business How call routing helps contractors get the right calls to the right people Why attribution is harder now that homeowners use Google, social media, AI search, referrals, and other touchpoints before calling How AI voice assistants can support CSR teams with overflow, after-hours calls, and basic call handling Why call data and conversation intelligence help owners coach their teams and make smarter marketing decisions If you are spending money on marketing but still missing calls, losing track of leads, or struggling to understand which channels are actually creating revenue, this episode will help you see why better call visibility matters. Timestamps 00:00 Pre-show conversations with Chris 04:11 Introducing Voice Assist for Contractors 06:40 Integrating AI in Job Interviews 12:48 Introducing ChatGPT integration with Call Rail 15:18 Understanding Data and Attribution 18:18 Troubleshooting marketing and spending issues 23:07 Boosting Average Repair Tickets 26:08 Managing customer service team 27:07 Managing Incoming Calls and Coverage 31:32 Training and fine-tuning voice assistants 35:12 Using AI for data analysis 37:54 Tracking summer special calls 41:08 Home renovation challenges 43:40 Offering product assistance Follow the Host and Guest Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Joshua Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Chris Nelson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-nelson-205588140/ CallRail: https://www.callrail.com/ Connect with Us • LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/service-business-mastery • TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@servicebusinessmasterypodcast • Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/servicebusinessmasterypodcast • Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/servicebusinessmasterypodcast This episode is kindly powered by: UpFrog: upfrog.com  MarketStorm is an AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/ Get Your 14-Day Free Trial with CallRail!: https://www.callrail.com/sbmpod CompanyCam: https://companycam.com/ Breezy: Capture 25-30% more clients with Breezy AI Agents. Use code "SBM" to book a demo and get $500 on us: https://getbreezyapp.com/schedule-demo PhoneTAP: Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo

    Stop Missing Calls: The Real Reason Home Service Leads Disappear

  8. Jul 8

    How to Grow Your Business with Sales Process and Technique

    Most contractors want more leads, more booked calls, and more revenue. But if your sales process is inconsistent, more leads will only expose the problem faster. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Josh Martin, Director of Revenue Strategy at 3Four Labs, to talk about how service businesses can grow by building a stronger sales framework, improving technician coaching, and using AI-powered tools the right way. Josh explains why AI and automation are only useful when your company already knows what "good" looks like. If your technicians, comfort advisors, or salespeople do not have a clear framework, the software cannot magically make them better. It needs to understand the questions you want asked, the information you want collected, and the way your company expects customers to be served. The conversation also breaks down why recording field conversations should not be seen as "Big Brother," but as a coaching tool. Just like athletes watch game film, technicians and salespeople can use call and visit recordings to improve their communication, tone, positioning, and close rate. They also discuss: Why every growing company needs a repeatable sales framework How AI ride-along tools help coach technicians and salespeople Why technicians act differently when a manager is physically in the truck How recording customer conversations can help your team improve Why "sales" feels uncomfortable for many technicians The importance of teaching technical experts how to communicate value Why companies need clean data before they rely on AI How AI can create noise when it is used without a clear outcome Why automation must be monitored instead of set and forgotten How to avoid overwhelming your team when adopting new technology Why sales tools must be customized to your company's process How asking for the sale is often the missing step in the home If you are trying to grow your service business, improve close rates, coach your team better, or make AI useful instead of confusing, this episode gives you a practical look at how sales process and technique create scalable growth. Timestamps 00:00 Clarifying platform's role and use case 05:22 Getting started in the industry 09:22 AI ride along software discussion 10:53 Optimizing service call efficiency 16:07 Watching sales recordings for improvement 18:37 Identifying AI-generated resumes 21:01 Efficiency with Technology Tools 24:08 Understanding mismatched business language 29:17 Demo: Claude's PowerPoint integration 31:10 Human oversight in automation 35:23 Challenges of Team Growth 39:35 Understanding customer communication skills 42:31 Introducing Execconnect tool 43:31 Explaining the 34 Labs name Follow the Host and Guest Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Joshua Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/ Josh Martin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuadarrenmartin/  3Four Labs: htps://www.linkedin.com/company/3fourlabs/    Connect with Us • LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/service-business-mastery • TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@servicebusinessmasterypodcast • Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/servicebusinessmasterypodcast • Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/servicebusinessmasterypodcast This episode is kindly powered by: UpFrog: upfrog.com  MarketStorm is an AI-powered advertising platform. Results vary by market, budget, and campaign configuration: https://marketstorm.ai/ Get Your 14-Day Free Trial with CallRail!: https://www.callrail.com/sbmpod CompanyCam: https://companycam.com/ Breezy: Capture 25-30% more clients with Breezy AI Agents. Use code "SBM" to book a demo and get $500 on us: https://getbreezyapp.com/schedule-demo PhoneTAP: Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: phonetap.ai/demo

    How to Grow Your Business with Sales Process and Technique
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Ready to revolutionize your home service business? Tune into the Service Business Mastery Podcast! We dive deep into automation and AI, including swarm agents, AI chatbots, and AI voice agents, to help you streamline and optimize your operations. Whether you're in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or any other home service trade, we cover leadership, marketing, finance, pricing, and HR to give you the edge you need. Click here to transform your business and embrace the future today!

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