Elevated Trade Secrets

Cody Fuller started as a $10-an-hour install helper in the business his dad and granddad founded in 1991. Today he's Vice President of Fuller Services, an 85-person HVAC, plumbing and electrical company in north Alabama, on pace for $13.5 million in annual revenue.

Jared Tangir sits down with Cody to talk about:

• How they added plumbing and electrical, and the one hiring rule that matters most
• Building a culture where employees stay for decades.
• Why acquisitions get messy and what Cody learned when a deal wasn’t what it seemed
• Expanding from Muscle Shoals to Madison and Huntsville, and the 10-year plan
• Earning respect when you take over your family's business
• And his current bourbon picks

Elevated Trade Secrets is the podcast for home service business owners who are serious about building something real. New episodes every week.

Ready to build a clearer growth plan for your home service business? Book a strategy call:
https://elevatedaudience.com/strategy-call

Fuller Services: https://www.fullerhvac.com

CHAPTERS

0:00 Episode preview
0:24 Meet Cody Fuller
0:45 Joining the family business
4:00 Adding plumbing and electrical
6:27 Building a culture people stay in
10:06 Acquisitions get messy
14:14 Expanding across north Alabama
15:50 Earning respect in the family business
18:56 Modernizing an established company
20:15 Rethinking marketing
22:33 Revenue and growth numbers
24:02 Bourbon picks

Unlock the secret to skyrocketing your trade business—it's not just about more leads, but about mastering your sales and customer journey. Michael Busic, co-owner of North Edge Marketing, reveals how a background in engineering shaped his approach to data-driven growth, showing you exactly how top private equity firms scale their HVAC operations to millions. This episode cuts through the noise, offering actionable insights to plug the leaks in your sales funnel and turn your data into your best asset.

You'll discover how tracking every customer interaction from lead to job completion exposes hidden opportunities—whether it's improving appointment rescheduling, follow-up processes, or the critical pre-sales assets that turn cold calls into warm leads. Michael shares proven tactics like sending homeowners detailed pre-appointment info to boost conversion, and automating review requests that turn satisfied clients into relentless brand ambassadors. Learn why weak data analysis costs companies thousands—and how fixing that foundation can revolutionize your revenue.We break down:

• How to leverage CRM data for immediate wins—export open estimates, identify why they're stuck, and follow up with value-driven messaging
• Using call monitoring to improve salesperson performance and uncover objections preemptively
• The importance of segmenting demand-based versus longer sales cycle opportunities to optimize follow-up timing
• Strategic cross-selling and referral programs that turn one job into lifelong customer relationships
• Why a relentless focus on fixing internal leaks trumps ramping up lead volume endlessly

In a landscape where many HVAC operators leave money on the table daily, missing these insights could hold back your growth. The opportunity lies in understanding your data, streamlining your processes, and delivering consistent value that inspires customer loyalty.

Perfect for trade owners ready to transform reactive operations into predictable, scalable systems. If you're tired of chasing unqualified leads or leaving thousands on the table every month—this episode shows you how to build a foundation that works, so your business can grow with certainty. Pull the levers that truly move the needle, and start seeing real results today.

Episode Link: https://elevatedhvacmarketing.com/podcast/more-leads-wont-fix-your-hvac-business-without-fixing-this-first/

Guest Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.busic.376891

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelBusic

Website: northedgemarketing.com

The webinar provides HVAC business owners with an accountability framework and 12 key questions to evaluate their marketing agency's performance. It emphasizes the importance of clear reporting, testing ad copy, adapting to seasonality, and optimizing landing pages for improved conversion rates. The presentation also offers a one-page dashboard for tracking marketing performance and a free marketing audit for attendees.

Takeaways

• Clear reporting is essential for evaluating marketing agency performance.
• Ad copy testing and landing page optimization are critical for campaign success.

Chapters

• 00:00 Introduction to HVAC Marketing
• 10:20 Ad Copy and Testing
• 16:43 One-Page Dashboard and Reporting
• 23:42 Identifying Opportunities in the Account

Full Webinar Replay

Get the toolkit

Guest: Brandon Cerpa, Vandy's Heating & Air

Guest Links:
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brandondoeshvac

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonDoesHVAC

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.fatcat.cerpa/

Brandon Cerpa runs diagnostics in the morning and manages Facebook ad campaigns at night. Before becoming a tech at Vandy's Heating and Air, he owned a marketing agency that served HVAC contractors — so when he says lead qualification, fast follow-up, and retargeting are the difference between wasted ad spend and closed deals, he's speaking from both sides of the transaction.

In this episode, Brandon shares the tactics behind a $300 campaign that closed a deal on day three, why turning off your ads is costing you more than you think, and what contractors should actually be holding their marketing agencies accountable to.

If you're running ads, hiring someone to run them, or trying to grow a small shop into something bigger — this one's worth your time.

If you run an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or home service business — this show was built for you.

Elevated Trade Secrets is where contractor business owners get the real strategies behind scaling from $2M to $10M and beyond. No fluff, no theory — just what's actually working right now in marketing, hiring, operations, and leadership.

Host Jared Tangir has worked with contractors across North America and seen the same patterns play out over and over. The businesses that win aren't just better at the trade — they run a better operation. That's what this show unpacks.

Expect deep dives on SEO, paid ads, revenue tracking, team building, pricing, and everything else that separates the companies that scale from the ones that stay stuck.

Subscribe and catch the first episode.