Meaning of 'rising tide lifts all ships'

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In this episode of To The Point Home Services, we kick off the new year with a powerhouse conversation featuring Ara Mahdessian, Co-Founder & CEO of Service Titan. Ara returns to the show to break down how AI, automation, and operational discipline are reshaping the home services industry and what contractors of all sizes need to be paying attention to right now.

We dive deep into AI voice agents, booking rates, speed-to-lead, profitability, and how ServiceTitan is using real contractor feedback to rapidly evolve its platform. From fully automated jobs to multilingual customer service, this episode offers a rare look into what’s coming next and how to stay ahead.

If you’re a contractor, operator, or leader who wants to protect margins, improve booking rates, and scale intelligently, this episode is a must-listen.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

• Why “a rising tide raises all ships”—but only if your business is built to float
• AI voice agents vs. human CSRs: booking rates, overflow calls, and ROI
• How AI is already outperforming average call center performance
• Speed-to-lead and why it’s becoming a competitive advantage
• Using AI for inbound, outbound, and full-funnel demand generation
• Automating capacity, maintenance bookings, and dispatch decisions
• The true cost of customer acquisition—and why efficiency is everything
• How ServiceTitan incorporates raw contractor feedback into product development
• What smaller contractors (under $10M) should adopt first to feel immediate impact
• Why contractors who don’t embrace AI will struggle to stay competitive

⏱️ Episode Timecodes:

00:00 – Welcome & kicking off the new year

02:30 – The meaning behind “a rising tide raises all ships”

07:30 – Underutilized ServiceTitan features contractors overlook

08:45 – AI voice agents: booking performance & real-world use cases

12:30 – Multilingual AI agents & untapped customer segments

14:30 – Speed-to-lead, third-party leads & AI booking automation

18:20 – Capacity management, demand forecasting & proactive scheduling

21:00 – Leadership, culture & building feedback-driven teams

24:00 – Profitability drivers every contractor should track

29:30 – Fully automated jobs & the future of home services

33:30 – AI insights for service managers & business owners

38:00 – The rapid adoption of AI & what it means for contractors

40:30 – What Ara is watching most closely in 2026

🔗 Resources & Mentions:

• ServiceTitan – https://www.servicetitan.com

📢 Call to Action:

If you got value from this episode:

✅ Subscribe to To The Point Home Services

👍 Like the video to support the show

💬 Comment with your biggest takeaway or questions about AI in your business

🔁 Share this episode with another contractor who needs to hear it

New episodes drop regularly—don’t miss out on the conversations shaping the future of home services.