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Why AI Won’t Replace Your Leadership Skills in the Trades

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

Release Date: 02/04/2026

AI Employee: How Home Service Businesses Are Scaling Without More Staff

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

AI is no longer just automation or chatbots. It’s becoming a real employee for service businesses. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, recorded live at AHR Expo 2026, Tersh Blissett sits down with Dennis Steele, co-founder of Podium, to talk about the rise of AI agents and how they’re transforming HVAC and plumbing companies. From answering calls and booking jobs to handling angry customers and following up on estimates, AI agents are beginning to perform real work that previously required multiple team members. Dennis shares how Podium started by helping contractors get more...

The Future of Marketing for Home Service Businesses

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

Marketing for home service businesses is evolving faster than ever. Rising lead costs, private equity competition, new AI-driven ad platforms, and changing consumer behavior are forcing contractors to rethink how they attract customers. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett sits down with Justin Riley, founder of UpFrog, to talk about what the future of marketing really looks like for HVAC, plumbing, and other home service companies. If you want to understand where marketing for home service businesses is heading and how to stay competitive in the years ahead, this...

How Dual Fuel Heat Pumps Are Changing the Game for HVAC Contractors

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

Electrification is accelerating across North America. Rebates are expanding. Regulations are tightening. And HVAC contractors are being asked to deliver higher efficiency, lower emissions, and better comfort all at the same time. So where does dual fuel fit in? In this episode of Service Business Mastery, recorded live at AHR Expo, Tersh Blissett sits down with Matt Schlegel and Charles Hurd to break down how dual fuel heat pumps are becoming a powerful solution for commercial and residential contractors. If you’re trying to navigate electrification, cold climate performance, rebate...

How HVAC Contractors Are Making More Money with Duct Sealing Technology

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

Most HVAC contractors focus on equipment upgrades, but one of the biggest opportunities for better installs and higher profit is hiding in the ductwork. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, recorded live at AHR 2026 in Las Vegas, Tersh Blissett sits down with Jarrod Scott from Aeroseal to explain how duct sealing from the inside works, why it is different from traditional mastic and tape, and how contractors can use it to improve comfort, increase system efficiency, reduce callbacks, and create a real competitive advantage. They also discuss commercial and multifamily applications,...

How Service Businesses Can Use AI to Convert More Leads

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

AI is moving faster than most service businesses can keep up with. Voice agents. Text automation. Follow-up systems. AI sales emails. Predictive messaging. But here’s the real question: How do you use AI to convert more leads without losing the human touch? In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Ryan Fenn, CEO at CHIIRP, to break down what’s actually working in AI-driven lead conversion right now. They dive into: Why speed to lead still wins (and why seconds matter) How one word in your follow-up could be killing 90 percent of your...

Scaling Your Home Service Business with Jen McKee

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

Scaling a home service business is not just about running more ads or getting more leads. It is about building a real company with the right marketing strategy, the right people, and a presence that customers trust. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett sits down with Jen McKee, founder of Kee Hart Marketing, to break down what it really takes to grow and scale in today’s market. Jen shares why video is now one of the most overlooked opportunities in home services, how Google is indexing videos across platforms, and why contractors must stop treating social media like...

Why AI Won’t Replace Your Leadership Skills in the Trades

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

AI is transforming home services. It is changing dispatching, marketing, scheduling, follow-ups, and even customer communication. But there is one thing AI still cannot do. Build a real team. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Scott Stolze, from GrwX Labs, to break down the human side of leadership and communication. These are the skills that separate average service businesses from elite ones. You’ll learn why authenticity is becoming the new competitive advantage, why leaders must create psychological safety, why quiet technicians...

Why Contractors Who Don’t Own Their Customer List Will Lose

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

Contractors who do not own their customer list will lose. As AI, search, and digital platforms continue to change, relying on Google, ads, or third party platforms puts your business at risk. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, we break down why owning your customer list is no longer optional for contractors and service business owners who want to survive and scale in the next decade. Joshua Crouch and Tersh Blissett sit down with , founder of , to explain how contractors can protect their business by building direct relationships with their audience, increasing client loyalty, and...

How Contractors Can Automate Their Business Without Losing Control

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

In this episode of the Service Business Mastery Podcast, host Tersh Blissett sits down with Ari Meisel, Founder of Less Doing and creator of the Optimize, Automate, Outsource framework. Ari is a globally recognized expert in business automation, productivity systems, and operational efficiency, with deep hands-on experience in the construction and skilled trades. Ari shares how extreme burnout and a Crohn’s disease diagnosis forced him to redesign how he worked, leading to a system that allowed him to reclaim time, reduce stress, and build a business that runs without constant owner...

What Homeowners Actually Want From Contractors

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

If you’re in the skilled trades like HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or any service where the phone rings with “Hey, my system isn’t working,” this episode of SBM, “What Homeowners Actually Want” with Zachary Dearing, co-founder of Mantel, breaks down real homeowner insights pulled directly from Mantel’s survey data. The conversation translates the findings of the Mantel's survey "Homeowner Shopping Attitudes Report 2025" (https://www.usemantel.com/survey) into practical takeaways, making it a cheat sheet into how homeowners think, choose, and spend. Here’s why you should listen,...

More Episodes

AI is transforming home services. It is changing dispatching, marketing, scheduling, follow-ups, and even customer communication.

But there is one thing AI still cannot do.

Build a real team.

In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Scott Stolze, from GrwX Labs, to break down the human side of leadership and communication. These are the skills that separate average service businesses from elite ones.

You’ll learn why authenticity is becoming the new competitive advantage, why leaders must create psychological safety, why quiet technicians need “energetic permission” to speak up, and why asking better questions builds trust faster than any script or automation.

If you are using AI in your business, this conversation will help you use it the right way, without losing the human connection that actually builds culture.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

• Why communication is becoming more important as AI grows
• What AI still can’t replicate in leadership and team culture
• How to get quiet techs and staff to speak up in meetings
• The leadership framework Scott calls “energetic permission”
• How better questions improve trust, learning, and likability
• Why people crave authenticity in a world of AI-generated content
• How prompting AI correctly makes you a better communicator (and delegator)
• What GrowX Labs does and how they help businesses solve bottlenecks

Timestamps

00:00 Communication that AI can’t replace
03:33 Why authenticity matters more than ever
08:39 The “3 wins” of asking better questions
11:14 Better questions that build real connection
13:38 Why people stay silent in groups (and how to fix it)
16:26 How asking “stupid questions” accelerates learning
19:58 Energetic permission: the leadership skill that builds teams
25:38 AI is training you to be a better communicator
32:00 What GrowX Labs is and who it helps
37:03 How to connect with Scott
38:45 Final lesson: help people succeed through connection

Follow the Host and Guest

Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/
Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/
Scott Stolze: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-stolze/

Connect with Us

• LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/service-business-mastery
• TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@servicebusinessmastery
• Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/servicebusinessmasterypodcast
• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/servicebusinessmasterypodcast

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