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

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

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

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

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

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