Owned and Operated - A Plumbing, Electrical, and HVAC Business Growth Podcast

The Sales Process That Took Us From Losing Money to $12.5K Tickets

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Jan 1, 2026

Discover how a home service business transformed its HVAC sales from losing money to averaging $12,500 per ticket. The hosts share how a repair-first mindset hurt profits and how focusing on selling systems instead changed everything. By implementing effective software and financing strategies early in the sales process, they boosted close rates significantly. Learn why premium equipment sells when framed correctly, and how structured options outperform talent in driving success. This isn't just about selling harder—it's about selling smarter!

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INSIGHT

Repair-First Mindset Was Costly

Repair-first thinking led the team to fix parts instead of selling whole systems, which hurt customers and margins.
Brandon Niro and John Wilson realized holistic system recommendations improved outcomes for homeowners and the business.

ANECDOTE

Comfort Advisors Raised Tickets—Then Lost Money

They hired comfort advisors and raised average ticket to $8–9k but lost money because there were no guardrails.
Selling by discounting without process produced busy install schedules but destroyed profits.

ADVICE

Use Proven Sales Systems And Software

Adopt established sales frameworks and software instead of inventing your own process from scratch.
Brandon Niro recommends leveraging platforms like Mantle and Nexstar to speed rollout and reduce failure.

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We break down how we tripled our HVAC average ticket—from $5,000 to $12,500+—and finally made sales profitable. In this episode, we walk through the painful mistakes, system overhauls, and process changes that turned HVAC from a money-loser into a real growth engine.

If you run a home service business, this episode is a masterclass in why “selling harder” doesn’t work—but selling better systems, earlier financing, and structured options does. We unpack how repair-first thinking killed profitability, why discount-driven comfort advising nearly sunk us, and how process—not unicorn salespeople—changed everything.

In this episode, we cover:

The $5K → $12.5K Jump: How our HVAC average ticket actually scaled (and why it failed at first).
Repair vs. Replacement: Why “fixing everything” was a disservice to homeowners and the business.
Sales Process Evolution: From selling techs → comfort advisors → systemized selling.
Software & Systems: How structured options unlocked premium equipment and IAQ sales.
Financing Strategy: Why introducing financing early boosted close rates by 13% and added ~$6K per job.

🚀 What You’ll Learn:

Why higher average ticket doesn’t automatically mean higher profit.
How offering full systems (instead of single components) changes everything.
Why premium equipment sells when it’s presented correctly.
The biggest mistake contractors make with financing conversations.
How process beats talent in HVAC sales—every time.

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🎙️ Hosts:

John Wilson: https://x.com/WilsonCompanies
Brandon Niro: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-niro-957b86196/

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John Wilson, CEO of Wilson Companies
Jack Carr, CEO of Rapid HVAC

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