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How Service Businesses Can Use AI to Convert More Leads

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

Release Date: 02/18/2026

How Service Businesses Can Use AI to Convert More Leads show art 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...

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Learn how to automate tasks, save time, and increase your profit. No Coding required! 👉 Enroll Today -   🚀 Get Your 14-Day Free Trial with CallRail! 👉 Visit: __________________________________________   Welcome to the Service Business Mastery Podcast! Visit our website for more episodes and insights!   In this episode of the Service Business Mastery podcast, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch talk with Darren Shaw. He is the founder of Whitespark, a company specializing in local SEO software and services, and a recognized local SEO educator with more than 45,000...

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Learn how to automate tasks, save time, and increase your profit. No Coding required! 👉 Enroll Today - 🚀 Get Your 14-Day Free Trial with CallRail! 👉 Visit:  __________________________________________ Welcome to the Service Business Mastery Podcast! Visit our website for more episodes and insights! In this episode of the Service Business Mastery podcast, Tersh Blissett, Co-Founder & Chief Experience Officer at Trade Automation Pros, CEO of Service Emperor, Co-Host & Founder of Service Business Mastery Podcast, and Josh Crouch, Founder of Relentless Digital Marketing...

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Learn how to automate tasks, save time, and increase your profit. No Coding required! 👉 Enroll Today - 🚀 Get Your 14-Day Free Trial with CallRail! 👉 Visit: __________________________________________   Welcome to the Service Business Mastery Podcast! Visit our website for more episodes and insights!   In this episode of the Service Business Mastery podcast, Tersh Blissett and Josh Crouch talk with Crystal Williams at AHR Expo 2025. She is the Co-Founder of Lemon Seed Marketing, Marketing Strategist at McWilliams Heating, Cooling, and Plumbing & Co-Host of From The...

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More Episodes

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 conversions

  • Why most contractors misuse AI for sales emails

  • How to “download your brain” into systems using AI

  • Why tools are becoming commodities and experience is becoming king

  • How AI agents are replacing static drip campaigns

If you’re a service business owner trying to figure out how to adopt AI without sounding robotic, this episode will give you clarity, strategy, and practical application.

What You Will Learn in This Episode

• Why speed to lead still dramatically impacts booking rates
• The difference between static drip campaigns and dynamic AI follow-up
• How AI can analyze hundreds of millions of messages to improve conversion
• Why empathy in messaging increases response rates
• How to use AI as an editor instead of a ghostwriter
• How to turn 20 years of experience into systems and training using AI
• Why the future of software is outcome-based, not tool-based
• How to evaluate tech partners based on deployment experience, not features
• Why humans will still matter even if AI becomes indistinguishable

Timestamps

00:00 The AI arms race and what’s changed
03:00 Why speed to lead still dominates
08:00 The future of AI in sales and follow-up
12:20 Why humans will still matter in the age of AI
21:20 Download your brain using AI
22:11 How to use AI to write better sales emails
27:24 Why experience matters more than software features
33:02 The single word that could be killing your sales
36:00 Is there such thing as responding too fast?
40:57 AI agents replacing static drip campaigns
49:00 What contractors should stop doing immediately

Follow the Host and Guest

Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/
Josh Crouch: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-crouch/
Ryan Fenn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-fenn-76568b165/
CHIIRP: https://www.linkedin.com/company/chiirp/ 

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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👉 Visit: https://www.callrail.com/sbmpod

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