loader from loading.io

Warranty Strategy for HVAC Contractors to Build Wealth, Cut Risk & Boost Exit Value with Jacob & Wil

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

Release Date: 06/11/2025

Systems That Outlast You: Building a Trades Business for Generations show art Systems That Outlast You: Building a Trades Business for Generations

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

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....

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

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...

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

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

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...

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

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

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...

info_outline
Stop Missing Calls: The Real Reason Home Service Leads Disappear show art Stop Missing Calls: The Real Reason Home Service Leads Disappear

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

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...

info_outline
How to Grow Your Business with Sales Process and Technique show art How to Grow Your Business with Sales Process and Technique

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

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...

info_outline
The Moneyball for Home Services: How You Can Catch the Jobs You’re Missing show art The Moneyball for Home Services: How You Can Catch the Jobs You’re Missing

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

Most contractors think they need more leads. But what if the real problem is that you’re already missing the jobs you paid to generate? In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Shaun Ritchey from Breezy to talk about Moneyball for home services and how contractors can use AI, better data, and smarter systems to uncover the jobs hiding inside their existing business. Just like Moneyball changed baseball by finding overlooked value in the data, this conversation shows how contractors can find overlooked revenue in missed calls, slow follow-up,...

info_outline
The Guide to Branding and Networking for Service Business Owners show art The Guide to Branding and Networking for Service Business Owners

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

Most service business owners are chasing the next lead source. Google Ads. Facebook Ads. AI. SEO. Automation. But sometimes the fastest way to grow is still the most old-school strategy in the book: getting out into your community, shaking hands, building trust, and making sure people remember your brand. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Chuck Worley, owner of Worley’s Home Services, to talk about branding, networking, reputation, and the real-world grind behind building a service business people know, trust, and refer. Chuck shares...

info_outline
Consistent Branding Can Solve Your Hiring and Growth Headaches show art Consistent Branding Can Solve Your Hiring and Growth Headaches

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

Most contractors think branding is about logos, colors, and marketing. It's not. The strongest brands in the trades do something much more powerful: they attract great employees, create loyal customers, and make growth easier. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Levi Torres, founder of High 5 Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electric, to discuss how consistent branding became the foundation for one of Colorado's fastest-growing home service companies. What started as a simple idea—a high five at the end of every service call—evolved...

info_outline
How AI Actually Solves the Real Call Center Headaches in Home Services show art How AI Actually Solves the Real Call Center Headaches in Home Services

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

Most home service companies don't have a lead problem. They have a follow-up problem. In this episode of Service Business Mastery, Tersh Blissett and Joshua Crouch sit down with Kevin Wu, founder of Leaping AI, to discuss how AI voice agents and automation are helping home service businesses solve some of their biggest call center challenges. From missed calls and slow follow-up times to after-hours booking and lead nurturing, Kevin shares how AI is being used as a practical tool to support customer service teams, improve speed-to-lead, and create better customer experiences without...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

Learn how to automate tasks, save time, and increase your profit. No Coding required!
👉 Enroll Today - https://bit.ly/3CZTDte

----------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the Service Business Mastery Podcast!

Visit our website for more episodes and insights! https://www.servicebusinessmastery.com

In this episode of the Service Business Mastery podcast, hosts Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch chat with Jacob Gee, Chief Financial Officer at Gee Heating and Air, and Wil Kinsey, Director of Sales at Conduit WC. They discuss how HVAC businesses can boost profits through extended warranties and reinsurance. Jacob and Wil explain how setting up a warranty company can help contractors keep more of the premium money and reduce risks. They also share how simple warranty plans improve customer trust and financial security, leading to steady business growth without extra complexity.

This conversation focuses on using extended warranties and reinsurance to grow HVAC businesses. Jacob and Wil explain how setting up a warranty company helps contractors keep more money and lower risks. They share how simple warranty plans improve customer trust and financial stability. The talk emphasizes how clear goals and offering peace of mind can lead to steady growth and fewer complications in business.

In this episode, here's what you can expect to learn: 

  1. How Extended Warranties and Reinsurance Help HVAC Businesses: Jacob and Wil explain how offering warranties can keep more money in contractors' hands and reduce risks.

  2. Why Simple Plans Lead to Success: Learn how simple warranty structures and clear goals can improve financial security and customer trust.

  3. Using Smart Strategies for Growth: Jacob and Wil share how focusing on warranties and reinsurance can help businesses grow without unnecessary complications.

  4. Improving Customer Satisfaction: Hear how offering warranties gives customers peace of mind and boosts their experience.

  5. Growing Through Strong Foundations: Understand why staying consistent with warranty programs and setting clear goals leads to long-term business growth.

Timestamps ⏰

00:00 - Episode Recap

02:33 - Meet Justin Riley and What UpFrog Does

04:41 - Market Trends: Soft Demand and Smart Advertising

07:06 - Why Timing and Lead Cycle Matter for Marketing

09:41 - Simple Installs vs. Complex Systems: What Sells Best

12:48 - Building a Better Booking System and Lead Follow-Up

16:08 - The Semper Fi Story: Scaling from $5K to $80M

19:48 - Lower Job Costs and Better Financing Options

23:40 - Challenges of Communicating Systems and Callbacks

28:35 - Selling the Service, Not Just the Equipment

30:40 - Focusing on Strengths to Grow Your Business

34:21 - When and Why to Invest in Branding

37:20 - Data-Driven Marketing: Tracking Every Dollar

40:36 - The Role of Grassroots and Social Media Content

49:10 - Justin on Balancing Business and Family Life

53:46 - New Tools Coming Soon for Small Contractors

If you enjoy the episode, please don’t hesitate to leave us a review (5 stars preferably 😉)



Links & References:

LinkedIn: 

Website: 

This episode is kindly sponsored by:

 

Connect with us!

Affiliate links: