Change Your Filter

Why do some homeowners rule out a contractor before ever picking up the phone? Brian Sooy says it often comes down to branding, trust, and the experience customers have before they even meet you.

On this episode of Change Your Filter, Lisa sits down with Brian Sooy, author of Blue Collar Branding and marketing director at Gorjanc Home Services, to talk about what actually makes home service marketing work.

With 40 years of experience in marketing and branding, Brian has seen plenty of strategies come and go. Now he's putting those lessons to work inside an HVAC, plumbing, and electrical company.

In this conversation, Lisa and Brian get into:

📌Why saying you're "fast, reliable, and honest" isn't enough to stand out.
📌 Brian's CARE framework for building a brand customers recognize and trust.

📌How becoming "five miles famous" can change your local marketing strategy.

📌 Why AI is making so much marketing look and sound the same.

📌How price transparency, online HVAC estimates, and eCommerce are changing the way homeowners shop.

📌Why marketing, sales, and operations need to work together instead of operating in silos.

One of the biggest takeaways? Homeowners aren't just buying an air conditioner or water heater. They're buying the service, the experience, and the confidence that comes with choosing the right company.

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Check out Brian's Book: Blue Collar Branding

What does it actually take to grow a home service business from $30 million to $250 million? Jim Leslie has seen it firsthand.

As the former CMO/CTO of A1 Garage Door Service, Jim spent nearly a decade working alongside Tommy Mello as the company scaled. Now, as CEO of Home Service Freedom, he's helping other contractors apply many of those same lessons to their own businesses.

On this episode of Change Your Filter, Lisa sits down with Jim to talk about what separates contractors who continue growing from those who hit a wall.

They get into:

• The systems and leadership decisions that helped A1 scale
• Why so many contractors get stuck between $3M and $10M
• The KPIs every home service business should be tracking
• How AI is changing the way homeowners find and evaluate contractors
• Why pricing transparency and the customer experience matter more than ever
• The mindset shift owners need to make to build a business that doesn't depend entirely on them

Jim also shares what he and Tommy learned along the way, how Home Service Freedom came together, and why the future of home services still depends on getting the human side of the business right.

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Dan Antonelli has spent decades helping home service companies stop blending in.

As the founder of KickCharge Creative and author of Branded Not Blanded, Dan has seen firsthand what happens when a company's brand finally catches up to the quality of the service it provides.

In this episode, Dan joins Lisa & Scott to talk about why branding goes far beyond a logo or truck wrap. They get into memorability, marketing costs, branded search, pricing, booking and close rates, recruiting, company culture, brand names and knowing when an established business has simply outgrown its identity.

Then the conversation takes a much more personal turn.

Dan shares how open-heart surgery forced him to step away from his company, what happened when he finally let his leadership team lead, and why the experience changed the way he thinks about success, family, gratitude and the time we assume we'll always have.

It's a conversation about building a brand people remember, building a company that doesn't depend entirely on you, and changing the way you measure a successful life.

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Homeowners aren't finding contractors the same way they did five or ten years ago.

In this episode of Change Your Filter, Lisa is joined by Nexstar Network digital marketing coaches Zach Klinger and Justin Fuller to talk about how AI is reshaping search, what homeowners expect from contractors today, and which marketing fundamentals still matter most.

Zach & Justin break down why contractors should:

• Stop obsessing over rankings alone and focus on what actually drives booked jobs and revenue
• Tap into their existing customer database, which may be one of the biggest opportunities they already have
• Connect marketing to the entire customer experience, from the CSR and technician to follow-up and repeat business

If you're trying to figure out where contractor marketing is headed next, this one is for you. 

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Your customers trust you. But are you making it easy for them to send more business your way?

Chelsea Fusselbaugh, co-founder of TradeEngage, joins Lisa on this episode of Change Your Filter to talk about building a referral program that goes beyond hoping someone mentions your name to a neighbor.

They explore the two sides of referral marketing: customers recommending your business and trusted contractors referring work to one another. Chelsea shares why maintenance-plan members are a natural place to start, how rewards fit into the relationship, and why referrals belong in your company culture rather than being treated as an occasional bonus.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Giving happy customers a clear reason and an easy way to refer you.
• Turning maintenance-plan loyalty into opportunities for growth.
• Building contractor partnerships and using automation without losing the personal connection.

For HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other home-service business owners, this is a conversation about looking at referrals differently and getting more intentional about the relationships you have already earned.

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Most contractors think they need more leads, but Josh Crouch says many are already losing revenue inside the calls they have.

Josh joins Scott to unpack missed calls, misleading booking-rate data, CSR training, dispatching for dollars, and where AI answering services help or hurt. They also explain why homeowners expect pricing information online and how ecommerce can move the buying process forward before a technician ever reaches the home.

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In this episode of Change Your Filter, Lisa sits down with Erica Leonor, founder of Voxa, to discuss stronger CSR training, better communication, and the human side of home-service sales.

Erica explains why CSRs are salespeople and why they should be involved when a Contractor Commerce online quote comes in. When your team knows how to build excitement around the quote, answer questions, and confidently guide the homeowner toward the next step, e-commerce becomes part of a stronger customer journey, not a replacement for it.

In this conversation:

✅ Why CSRs should see themselves as salespeople

✅ How to turn an online quote into a booked appointment

✅ Why every department should understand your e-commerce process

✅ Where AI can help and where human connection still wins

✅ How coaching and incentives can improve CSR performance

✅ Why contractors should get better at pitching the value they already provide

✅ Erica’s perspective on women in the trades, resilience, faith, and balance

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Derek Cormier, owner of Climate Experts in Melbourne, Florida, joins Lisa for a candid conversation about building a modern home service company and redefining what growth should actually mean.

After restarting Climate Experts with one employee in 2019, Derek helped the company double year after year. But as the business expanded, his perspective began to change. Revenue was still important, but it was no longer the only (or even the best) measure of success.

Derek explains why sustainable growth also means developing stronger leaders, improving profitability, creating better opportunities for employees, simplifying the customer experience, and giving owners more time with their families.

In this episode:

• Restarting and rebuilding Climate Experts
• Hiring around your strengths and weaknesses
• Turning company culture into a recruiting advantage
• Building trust through authentic content
• Using AI to coach technicians and managers
• Creating a more transparent buying experience
• Prioritizing profit over revenue
• Building a business that supports your life

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In this episode of Change Your Filter, Scott Ossim sits down with Brigham Dickinson of Power Selling Pros to talk about one of the biggest missed opportunities in home services: the very first interaction with the customer.

Brigham explains why the first 30 to 50 seconds of a call or in-home visit can determine whether a homeowner keeps shopping or decides your company is the one they trust. He also breaks down how CSRs and technicians can create a real “wow experience,” why AI answering tools should work alongside your team instead of replacing the human connection, and how technicians can present options without feeling like pushy salespeople.

If you’re an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or home service contractor looking to improve call booking, reduce cancellations, train your CSRs, help technicians build trust, and turn more opportunities into revenue, this episode is packed with practical takeaways.

In this episode, we cover:

✅Why customers are still shopping when they first call

✅How to become the last call a homeowner makes

✅The three emotional needs every customer has

✅Where AI CSRs help, and where humans still win

✅How technicians can sell without “selling”

✅Why four options are better than one

✅How to create a customer experience that builds trust fast

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Change Your Filter is entering a new chapter with new hosts Lisa Forrest and Scott Ossim.

In Lisa Forrest’s first episode as host, she sits down with Jennifer Motti, owner of Evolve Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing in Las Vegas, to talk about her journey from salon owner to 51% owner of a $1M HVAC and plumbing business.

Jennifer shares what it’s really like to work with her husband, grow through a challenging market, compete in one of the toughest HVAC cities in the country, make hard staffing decisions, and choose profitability over chasing growth at any cost.

Lisa and Jennifer also talk about women in HVAC, trade school expectations, contractor networking, leadership, business ownership, and why changing your perspective can change the trajectory of your company.

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