The Successful Contractor Podcast

Book a free strategy call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ or call us at: (214)-453-1591 

Get Predictable Calls From Proven Direct Mail Campaigns. Learn more about CertainPath's Lead Generation Direct Mail programs — for members AND non-members. Click here for a FREE Market Analysis: https://mycertainpath.com/lead-generation-request/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=tsc229 

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Google is deleting the Local Service Ads dashboard. Your leads move to Google Ads. Your performance history does not come with them. 

Chris Vance is the Executive Marketing Coach at CertainPath, seven years into building marketing plans for member companies across all four trades. In May a partner took him to Google's Austin headquarters to hear from the people who run its paid ads division, and what they said there explains everything since. Customer behavior changed in response to AI, so Google changed with it. Brand is the new keyword. And the silos between Local Service Ads, Google Ads and YouTube are coming down. 

On August 17 they lit the match. Local Service Ads are being pulled into Google Ads as a Performance Max product over the rest of the year. The weekly budget becomes a daily budget, and if you type your weekly number into the daily box you spend 650 a day instead of 650 a week. When demand spikes, Performance Max can run two times your daily average in a single day. The algorithm chases volume, not value, so one campaign will buy every cheap lead it finds and starve your install work. 

Before it happens, download your performance history. The leads transfer over. Your spend levels and lead rates do not. From there Chris walks Bob Houchin through everything else that moved. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• Why the BBB badge lost its weight overnight, and the six call-outs that took its place 

• How AI Max builds an ad out of whatever is sitting on your website 

• What Chris calls the sea of generic, and how boilerplate copy puts you in it 

• Why Yelp suddenly matters again, and why you should not start sending review requests there 

• The recency bias that makes 5,000 old reviews largely irrelevant 

• How to turn one four-minute phone video into a dozen pieces of content 

• The one-page brand brief that stops AI writing like AI 

Whether you run a plumbing, HVAC, electrical, or roofing company, this is the clearest hour on what changed in search this year and what to do. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 

Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he's interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. 

Connect 

CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ 

Book a free strategy call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ or call us at: (214)-453-1591 

Get Predictable Calls From Proven Direct Mail Campaigns. Learn more about CertainPath's Lead Generation Direct Mail programs — for members AND non-members. Click here for a FREE Market Analysis: https://mycertainpath.com/lead-generation-request/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=tsc228 

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Three years ago he could not start a conversation with a stranger. Last year he sold and installed $703,000 in plumbing — as a technician, in Amarillo. 

Zachery Kongsy is a service technician at Frank's Repair Plumbing in Amarillo, Texas. He sold and installed $703,000 last year, his second straight year past the CertainPath plumbing Crown Champion threshold — in his third year holding a license. 

He spent nine years in restaurants first: Subway, Burger King, Texas Roadhouse. His stepdad has been at Frank's for 32 years and all three of his brothers worked there too. One shift at Roadhouse, two of them showed him their checks. "I was like, I can do that." He applied, got hired the same day, and started as an apprentice the next morning — riding with a seven-time Crown Champion, taking notes from the back of the room. The part he volunteers without being asked is the part most technicians hide: "Before I got this job I was very shy. Would not talk to anybody. Couldn't even start a conversation." 

What changed was method, not personality. He still gives himself pep talks driving to the house. The rest of this conversation with host Bob Houchin is his entire service call, start to finish. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• Why he is in the gym at five and through the call histories before the trucks roll 

• What he reads on the front of a house before he ever knocks on the door 

• Why he never diagnoses alone — and the four words that explain it 

• How he builds three options out of sight, then reveals the membership savings last 

• The line he uses when a $300 repair turns out not to be $300 

• Why he gets a shovel in the ground the same night, even at eight o'clock 

• The review ask at the door that lands nine times out of ten 

Whether you run a plumbing, HVAC, electrical, or roofing company, Zachery's process shows how a shy third-year technician turns ordinary service calls into $703,000 a year. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

 The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 
Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he's interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 
CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. 
 

Connect 
CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 
 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ 

Book a free strategy call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ or call us at: (214)-453-1591 

Get Predictable Calls From Proven Direct Mail Campaigns. Learn more about CertainPath’s Lead Generation Direct Mail programs — for members AND non-members. Click here for a FREE Market Analysis: https://mycertainpath.com/lead-generation-request/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=tsc227 

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Two years ago he drove home from Oregon broke, unpaid for seven weeks of work. Last year he sold and installed $1,011,000 in electrical — out of one van. 

Mike Howie is a service technician at Travis Electrical Service in Clarksville, Tennessee. He does the selling and splits the installs 50-50. He did $612,000 one year and $1,011,000 the next — two years into residential service, in a middle-America market. 

He had about ten years in electrical first: an industrial apprenticeship, then a service shop that, in his words, “threw you out in the wind.” A three-week job became seven unpaid weeks in Texas and Oregon. He nearly lost the house, his wife’s car was impounded, and he lost his mom in the middle of it. He found Travis on Indeed, emailed the owner’s wife from Oregon, and she kept telling him one thing: “Just get home.” Then six months of ride-alongs and CertainPath training before anyone handed him a van. 

What changed between $612,000 and $1,011,000 was operational as much as personal. Travis added installers halfway through the year, anything over $1,000 started handing off, and Mike got into more houses. The rest of this conversation with host Bob Houchin is his entire service call, line by line. 

In this conversation, you’ll discover: 

• Why adding an install team took him from $612,000 to $1,011,000 

• The six-month onboarding most owners skip — and what that patience actually bought 

• Why he never finishes the troubleshoot, and the one question he asks instead 

• The chain-link analogy that makes a backstabbed outlet obvious to a homeowner 

• How he positions financing before the sticker shock lands 

• “First person that talks loses” — and the fifteen minutes he sat in total silence 

Whether you run an electrical, HVAC, plumbing, or roofing company, Mike’s process shows how one well-trained technician turns ordinary service calls into a million dollars a year. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 

Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he’s interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. 

Connect 

CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ 

Book a free strategy call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ or call us at: (214)-453-1591 

Get Predictable Calls From Proven Direct Mail Campaigns. Learn more about CertainPath’s Lead Generation Direct Mail programs — for members AND non-members. Click here for a FREE Market Analysis: https://mycertainpath.com/lead-generation-request/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=tsc226 

He was a corporate consultant. She had an MBA. Neither had roofed a day in their lives — then they bought a roofing company and doubled it. 

Tim Wilde and his wife Sasha bought Sexton Roofing & Siding in Western Massachusetts in 2023 — a 40-year-old brand the previous owner ran solo at about $2 million a year, working 16-hour days, seven days a week. Neither of them had ever roofed: Tim came out of corporate pharmaceutical-construction consulting, and Sasha has an MBA and always wanted to run a business. When a corporate takeover pushed Tim out, and a friend showed them you could simply buy a business, they did. 

The first year nearly broke them. They priced with “a finger in the air,” had no idea what a good margin was, and kept winning on low bids. Then they found CertainPath — Tim signed up at a Profit Day on the spot — and the turnaround began: fixing their pricing first, then rebuilding sales around an in-home, one-call-close process. 

Two years in, they’ve doubled the business past $4 million, they’re targeting $6.5 million, and Tim personally sold $2 million to become a CertainPath roofing crown champion. And it’s 100% woman-owned — Sasha owns it outright, and Tim jokes he’s “just cheap labor.” 

In this conversation, you’ll discover: 

• How two people with zero trade experience bought a 40-year-old roofing company off a broker 
• Why the acquisition was tougher than they expected — and what they’d do differently 
• The “finger in the air” pricing mistake CertainPath fixed first 
• How moving to an in-home presentation unlocked one-call closes 
• Why being the most thorough person at the door — the one who actually goes in the attic — wins the job 
• The CertainPath training moment that took Tim from “doing sales completely wrong” to a crown champion 
• How they think about growth: taking “a smaller piece of a larger pie” 

Whether you run a roofing, HVAC, plumbing, or electrical company, Tim and Sasha’s story shows how to buy a business, raise your prices, and build a sales process that actually closes. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 

Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he’s interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. 

Connect 

CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/ 

Book a free strategy call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ or call us at: (214)-453-1591 

Get Predictable Calls From Proven Direct Mail Campaigns. Learn more about CertainPath’s Lead Generation Direct Mail programs — for members AND non-members. Click here for a FREE Market Analysis: https://mycertainpath.com/lead-generation-request/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=tsc225 

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He sold medical devices to surgeons. Now he sells $10 million of HVAC a year — and he never pressures a homeowner to do it. 

Caleb Holte is a comfort advisor at Fix-It 24/7 in Denver, and a two-time Crown Champion who has sold roughly $10 million of residential HVAC. But he didn’t come up through the trades. He came from AT&T and Verizon sales, a cutthroat stint in finance, even bodybuilding — and most recently medical device sales, where dinners with surgeons felt fake and “performative.” So he traded it all for the blue truck. 

His start was brutal. His GM handed him a truck, some keys, and told him to “go fail forward.” He went 0-for-5 on his first drive and figured he was about to get fired. What turned it around wasn’t pressure — it was a journal: after every call he wrote down three things that went well and three that didn’t, until the patterns became second nature. 

Across this conversation with host Bob Houchin, Caleb breaks down his entire in-home process — positioning himself as a “field supervisor” instead of a “comfort advisor,” price conditioning and extreme anchoring (including the $45,000 system he shows every customer and refuses to sell), reading body language down to where a customer points their feet, getting objections out early, and the quiet discipline of “he who talks first loses.” 

He also gets honest about the part most salespeople skip — the heart behind it. Caleb prays in the truck before a call, treats every grandmother and single mom like his own family, and lives by a simple belief: anybody can close anybody. It’s just whether or not you’re the right guy. 

In this conversation, you’ll discover: 

• Why he positions himself as a “field supervisor,” never a “comfort advisor” 
• The extreme-anchoring move: the $45,000 system he shows every customer and won’t sell 
• How to get customers to sell themselves instead of pitching them 
• What a customer’s feet — and a woman’s hands — tell you about the sale 
• “Easy pay,” not “financing”: the language that lowers the guard 
• Why “he who talks first loses” after you slide over the price 
• The journaling habit that took him from 0-for-5 to $10 million 

Whether you sell HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing, Caleb’s process shows how to close big without pressure — and keep your character intact. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 

Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he’s interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. 

Connect 

CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/

Book a free strategy call to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ or call us at: (214)-453-1591

Get Predictable Calls From Proven Direct Mail Campaigns. Learn more about CertainPath's Lead Generation Direct Mail programs — for members AND non-members. Click here for a FREE Market Analysis: https://mycertainpath.com/lead-generation-request/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=video&utm_campaign=tsc224

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This father-and-son electric shop was doing $600K with almost no profit. Three years later: $1.6 million. The difference wasn’t luck — it was how they sell. 

Erwin Carrasquillo taught himself the electrical trade after coming to the United States — before he could even speak English. He and his son Owen built Jeoah Electric in Slatington, Pennsylvania on grit: borrowed crews, work that never turned into money in the bank, and a $15,000 payroll due against $200 in the account. The turning point came in a Home Depot aisle, when Owen asked a more successful electrician one question — "what are you doing that I’m not?" 

That question led them to a sales process they now run on every call. In this conversation, Erwin and Owen walk host Bob Houchin through it step by step — selling the diagnostic first, asking questions instead of pitching, building three options instead of ultimatums, and reframing price as safety. It’s the system that took them from $600,000 to $1.6 million in three years, both earning Crown Champion honors. 

They’re just as candid about the hard parts — the night Owen broke down finding his ’why,’ the leap of faith that put the whole thing on a credit card, and the faith and family culture that held it all together. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• The questions that get customers to sell themselves 
• Why you sell the diagnostic before you touch the panel 
• How to present three options without giving ultimatums 
• The "medicine analogy" that makes safety urgent 
• How to handle "I need to think about it" in a single move 
• Reframing price as monthly safety, not cost 
• The mindset shift that turned survival into $1.6M 

Whether you’re an electrician, a plumber, or an HVAC owner trying to get off the truck, Erwin and Owen’s process shows how a small shop can sell with confidence and character. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show
The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company.

Meet the Host
Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he's interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others.

About CertainPath

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain.

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/

#electrician #electricalcontractor #salestraining #homeservices #certainpath #skilledtrades #contractorbusiness #fatherandson

Book a free strategy call with CertainPath to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ 

Or call us at: (214) 453-1591 

He broke his back chasing pro baseball, spent 22 years in ministry, then helped build a $105M, $18M-EBITDA contractor. This is Bubba Thurman's story. 

Bubba Thurman is the president of Baker Brothers Plumbing, Air & Electric in Dallas–Fort Worth — the first non-family president in the company's history, dating back to its founding in 1945. Last year, Baker Brothers did $105 million in revenue and exceeded $18 million in EBITDA — a level of profitability most home services companies only dream about. 

His path was anything but linear. A Division-I baseball catcher who was certain he'd go pro, Bubba broke his back in a 1991 on-field collision and watched the dream die. “Baseball was a false well,” he says. He spent the next 22 years in ministry — helping build the largest youth ministry in the country and learning leadership under his mentor, Steve Stroop — before burning out and making an improbable leap into the trades. 

Recruited by Jimmie Dale to Baker Brothers, Bubba earned the team's trust the hard way: “I ran calls, I dug trenches, I wore a uniform.” Then he drove the culture transformation that helped take Baker Brothers from roughly $20 million to more than $100 million. 

In this episode, Bubba walks Bob Houchin through the whole journey — and the playbook beneath it. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• Why culture is “just a set of norms” — and how to make excellence the normal 
• The $0 cleanliness campaign that started the turnaround: “don't step over a piece of trash” 
• How to layer standards one at a time so they actually stick 
• The three-win strategy that aligns the customer, the employee, and the company 
• What changes when leadership “lands on your desk” — the real weight of the top job 
• His message for a tough market: stop chasing what you can't control — “you are your best marketer” 
• “You earn equity when you do things above and beyond” — and the Miss Johnson light-bulb test 
• Why “when you roll up, the clock starts” — and how micro-changes compound across 700 jobs a day 

Whether you lead an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing company — or you're building toward your first leadership seat — Bubba's story is a masterclass in building a culture of excellence that scales. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 

Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he's interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.

Book a free strategy call with CertainPath to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ 

Or call us at: (214) 453-1591 

He started plumbing at 19. Last year he sold $800,000 in residential plumbing — and installed every job himself. This is his exact playbook. 

Payton Sword is a plumbing technician at Steve Huff Plumbing, Heating & Air in Kingsport, Tennessee — and a 4x Crown Champion at CertainPath, the program's top sales tier. Last year he sold roughly $800,000 in residential plumbing. No sales/install split, no handing the job off: every technician at Steve Huff sells the work and does the work. 

Payton was hired at 19 — at the same shop his dad worked for back in 1996. The company put him through 15 months of ride-alongs, trainings, and schools before he ever got his own truck. Today the shop's 12 plumbing technicians train four days every month: full service-call roleplays with homeowner personalities, DISC profiles, and a "switch method" that swaps techs mid-roleplay to keep everyone sharp. 

In this episode, Payton walks Bob Houchin through his entire service call, start to finish — from the drive-time research to the same-day install. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• The $800K reveal — and why he installs every job he sells 

• The at-the-door credibility statement he delivers on every single call 

• Why he never asks permission to run the whole-house safety inspection — "it's a value creator" 

• Builder-grade vs. professional fixtures — and the restaurant question that sells Totos 

• The four-option presentation with everything on the top option 

• Present the top option, ask for the business — then go silent 

• "Is it only the money?" — his answer to "I should get another bid" 

• The authority close: "What were you expecting to spend today?" 

• Why the shop trains four days a month — and why it produces Crown Champions 

Whether you run a plumbing company, manage a service team, or you're a tech chasing Crown Champion numbers — Payton's process is a masterclass in trust-first, education-driven selling. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About the Show 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Host 

Bob Houchin has spent 20+ years immersed in the home services industry — listening to, learning from, and serving the people who run it. As host of The Successful Contractor, he's interviewed hundreds of the brightest minds in the trades. Beyond the mic, Bob is a Senior Strategist at CertainPath, building the training, onboarding programs, keynotes, and playbooks used by 1,200+ residential service companies. His motto: smart contractors learn from their mistakes; wise contractors learn from the mistakes of others. 

About CertainPath 

CertainPath is a business coaching and training organization that has built successful home service businesses for more than 25 years. We serve 1,200+ member companies across HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing with professional coaching, training for every role, software solutions, and a vendor partner network that delivers millions in member rebates every year. Doubling your sales with a 20% net profit and an inspiring company culture is ALL possible. With CertainPath, Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information.

Book a free strategy call with CertainPath to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ 

Or call us at: (214) 453-1591 

$17 million in residential HVAC sales. One comfort advisor in Boise, Idaho. Here's how Cord Nichols sells the top-tier system — every time. 

Cord Nichols isn't a closer who shows up Friday with a quote book. He's a comfort advisor at Diamond Heating & Cooling in Boise, Idaho — and he's quietly sold roughly $17 million in residential HVAC, including $2.25 million last year alone. He's a 7x Crown Champion at CertainPath, the program's top sales tier. 

Cord didn't start in HVAC. His first sales job was door-to-door — security in his early twenties. He moved to Utah looking for a wife, found her, then sold solar door-to-door before the solar industry tightened in the mid-2010s. Wanting a trade he could "sink his teeth into" — and not be a one-trick pony — he approached Diamond cold. He'd never sold HVAC. But owners Rick and Sue Ellen hired him for his sales background. Today he's a Dave Ramsey debt-free dad of four (with a fifth on the way) who recently paid off his mortgage — all on residential HVAC sales. 

In this episode, Cord walks Bob Houchin through the exact playbook — every question he asks, every option he names, every word he uses — for turning a single in-home consultation into a top-tier HVAC sale. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• The $17M reveal — and the on-camera moment where Bob puts the career number on record 

• Why Cord opens every options reveal by repeating the customer's own words back to them 

• The Kia-vs-Toyota framing he uses to explain tiered HVAC systems in 30 seconds 

• The "Is there any reason I can't ask for your business today?" close — and the three answers it always produces 

• Why Cord names options after the customer's hobbies (the "14-Point Buck" move) 

• The clipboard intro that disarms skeptical homeowners ("I'm just going to be taking some notes") 

• "I am your one throat to choke" — the post-sale handoff line that earns lifelong customers 

Whether you're a comfort advisor working to break $2M for the first time, a sales manager building a residential HVAC playbook, or an owner trying to understand what consistent top-tier closing looks like — Cord's process is a masterclass in trust-first, conviction-led HVAC sales. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Guest 

Cord Nichols is a comfort advisor at Diamond Heating & Cooling — a family-owned, values-based HVAC company in Boise, Idaho, founded by Rick and Sue Ellen. After several years selling door-to-door (security in his early twenties, then solar in Utah and Idaho), Cord joined Diamond with zero HVAC experience and a strong sales background. He's now a 7x CertainPath Crown Champion with roughly $17 million in residential HVAC sales — including $2.25 million in his most recent year. He lives in Boise with his wife and four kids (with a fifth on the way) and recently paid off his mortgage as a Dave Ramsey debt-free family. 

Connect 

CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 

Show Notes 

The Successful Contractor Podcast is part of the CertainPath family. CertainPath is a business coaching program for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. For 25 years, we've helped contractors double their revenue, hit 20% net profit, and build teams that stay. With proven systems, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,200+ strong — Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information. 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/

Book a free strategy call with CertainPath to see how we can help you hit your goals and beyond: https://bit.ly/4b0wLaZ 

Or call us at: (214) 453-1591 

One man. Three trades. $7.9M in twelve months. Here's how Chris Roberts turns a $300 light switch call into a $100,000 job. 

Chris Roberts isn't a salesman. He's an electrician who learned to sell — and last year he closed $5.1M in electrical, $2.3M in plumbing, and $500K in HVAC personally. The plumbing total happened in roughly one month. 

He's the first double Crown Champion in CertainPath history. Chris runs sales for Bailey Plumbing, Safety First Electric, and Comfort Heating and Cooling — three companies operating under one roof out of San Jose and Morgan Hill, California. 

Chris started in the union, watching his electrician's check stay flat while his family kept growing. When the union got slow, he took what he thought was a short-term gig at Safety First Electric — installing, not selling. A few weeks in, the owner asked him to go run a sales call. He brought back $7,000 in signed work. By the end of his first month in sales, his check rewrote his understanding of what was possible. He called his wife and said, "I'm not going back to the union." 

In this episode, Chris walks Bob Houchin through the exact playbook — every word he uses, every door he opens, every shirt he wears — for turning a single service call into a six-figure multi-trade job. 

In this conversation, you'll discover: 

• The $7.9M sales reveal — and why most of the plumbing total came in roughly a month 

• Why Chris never says the word "finance" on a sales call (and what he says instead) 

• How a $300 light switch call becomes a six-figure rewire, re-pipe, and drain job 

• The "Two Costs and One Price" framework that crushes "I need to think about it" 

• Why Chris wears a different shirt on Day 2 — and what it sells 

• The 4-option pricing system that lets Bailey charge $70K for a rewire (when competitors price it at $25K) 

• Why he won't sell a re-pipe to a customer who doesn't need one — and why disqualifying like this builds trust 

Whether you're a sales tech trying to break $1M for the first time, a sales manager building a multi-trade playbook, or an owner trying to understand what makes one rep close $7.9M across three trades — Chris's process is a masterclass in stacking trades without losing trust. 

Watch on YouTube or listen on your favorite podcast platform. And don't forget to subscribe to The Successful Contractor for more interviews that move the needle. 

About 

The Successful Contractor is a podcast for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. Hosted by Bob Houchin, each episode features real contractor growth stories, hard-won business insights, and practical takeaways for building a profitable home services company. 

Meet the Guest 

Chris Roberts is the head sales manager at Bailey Plumbing, Safety First Electric, and Comfort Heating and Cooling — three home-services companies operating under one roof out of San Jose and Morgan Hill, California. A former union electrician, Chris transitioned into in-home sales his first year at Safety First, then took on plumbing and HVAC sales as the companies grew. Last year, he personally closed $5.1M in electrical, $2.3M in plumbing, and $500K in HVAC — making him CertainPath's first-ever double Crown Champion. 

Connect 

CertainPath: https://www.mycertainpath.com 

Show Notes 

The Successful Contractor Podcast is part of the CertainPath family. CertainPath is a business coaching program for residential HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and roofing contractors. For 25 years, we've helped contractors double their revenue, hit 20% net profit, and build teams that stay. With proven systems, professional coaching, software solutions, and a member community of 1,200+ strong — Success is Made Certain. Visit www.mycertainpath.com for more information. 

FOLLOW CERTAINPATH: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CertainPath 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/certainpath 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/certainpath/