#155: How to get rich in HVAC // Victor Rancour's $65M Story // Next Level Pros Podcast - Next Level Pros

Summary

Next Level Pros Podcast Episode #155: How to Get Rich in HVAC – Victor Rancour's $65M Story

Release Date: July 11, 2025

In this highly insightful episode of Next Level Pros, host Chris Lee delves deep into the remarkable journey of Victor Rancour, a powerhouse in the HVAC industry who scaled his business from the ground up to a $65 million enterprise within just a few years. Victor shares his transformative experiences, strategic approaches to business acquisitions, and the robust systems he implemented to achieve top-tier profitability. Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned professional in the trades, Victor's story offers invaluable lessons on dominating your market and building a sustainable business machine.

1. From Humble Beginnings to HVAC Success

Victor Rancour opens up about his early life, highlighting his challenging start in Cleveland, Ohio. Twelve years ago, Victor was earning a meager $6.75 an hour performing oil changes at a place called Loop Stop. His determination to provide a better life for his family led him to California, where an opportunity arose that would change his trajectory.

“I really kind of started back in, you know, living in Ohio 12 years ago doing oil changes...” [01:05]

Victor took a chance by responding to a Craigslist ad for an HVAC technician position with Service Champions in Southern California. Despite having no prior knowledge of HVAC, his preparedness—wearing a suit and bringing a pen—secured him the job amidst fierce competition.

“Nothing in a freaking my entire world. But I think I'd be where I'm at now.” [01:05]

2. Mentorship and Expanding Horizons

Under the mentorship of Leland Smith, Victor quickly discovered a passion not only for the technical side of HVAC but also for sales. His dedication and aptitude led him to become the top salesman in the country.

“They're looking to have them, you have to learn the trade before you can really sell the trade.” [04:40]

In 2017, Victor was approached by a competitor who impressed upon him the potential of scaling an HVAC business. This pivotal moment led Victor to Hawaii, where he gained invaluable insights into running multiple facets of the business—from service management to general operations.

3. Transitioning to Entrepreneurship

After nine months of intense work and learning, Victor decided to venture out on his own. The transition was daunting, requiring him to navigate the complexities of starting an LLC, securing licenses, and managing financials. However, his relentless focus on sales propelled his new business from $5 million to $12 million, continuing to grow annually until successfully exiting in 2023.

“You have a whole chance to turn it around.” [05:45]

Victor emphasizes the grit and perseverance required to build a successful business from scratch, underscoring the importance of hard work and strategic planning in the trades industry.

4. Mastering Sales and Marketing Strategies

A significant portion of the conversation centers around Victor’s advanced sales and marketing techniques. He critiques the rising costs and diminishing returns of digital marketing in 2025, advocating for a return to more direct, community-focused strategies.

“Private equity ain't going to go out and be in your community.” [09:28]

Victor highlights the effectiveness of direct mail campaigns, particularly personalized, handwritten-style letters that yield high-quality leads at approximately $180 per lead. By focusing on proactive service calls rather than reactive sales, Victor's approach ensures a higher conversion rate and reduced competition.

“We go in the front door, leave out the back door.” [10:28]

5. Strategic Pricing and Margins

Pricing strategy is another critical area Victor explores. He advocates for maintaining a 65% gross margin, believing that starting high allows for sustainable discounts without eroding profitability. This approach ensures that even with occasional discounts, the business remains financially healthy.

“I prefer, like for me I'm going to price everything at 65% gross margin.” [15:19]

Victor also implements a sliding scale commission system to incentivize sales performance while maintaining healthy profit margins. This system rewards sales representatives for maintaining higher margins, reinforcing the company's pricing strategy.

6. Financing as a Profit Center

Understanding the pivotal role of financing in the HVAC industry, Victor emphasizes integrating financing options into the sales process from the outset. This strategy not only increases accessibility for customers but also transforms financing into a profit center rather than a cost.

“Financing ain't a loss for us. It's actually a profit center.” [36:29]

By offering attractive financing options, such as no-payments for the first year and low-interest rates thereafter, Victor makes high-ticket sales more attainable for customers, thereby boosting conversion rates and reducing cancellation rates associated with cash purchases.

7. Building and Training a High-Performing Sales Team

Victor underscores the importance of having a dedicated and expertly trained sales force. He believes that sales professionals should focus solely on selling, allowing installers to concentrate on their technical roles. This specialization enhances efficiency and ensures that sales targets are consistently met.

“You don't want the same guys that are selling as installing it.” [17:26]

Regular, intensive training sessions are a cornerstone of Victor’s strategy. By conducting daily or weekly training sessions focused on specific sales techniques and processes, his team remains sharp and adaptable to market changes.

“We meet four to five days a week... we still train.” [22:21]

8. Leveraging Technology and AI for Efficiency

Embracing modern technology, Victor integrates AI tools like Rilla to monitor and analyze sales calls, ensuring adherence to best practices and continuous improvement. This technological integration allows for real-time feedback and enhances the overall sales process.

“We use things like Rilla and other AI stuff where we can analyze and listen to it and see what they're saying.” [42:37]

Victor also emphasizes the importance of lean operations, minimizing overhead costs by reducing reliance on traditional managerial roles and automating processes where possible. This approach not only cuts costs but also streamlines operations for greater efficiency.

9. Key Takeaways and Insights

Throughout the episode, Victor Rancour imparts several key insights for entrepreneurs in the HVAC and broader home service industries:

Proactive Marketing: Utilize direct mail and community-focused strategies to generate high-quality leads before competitors enter the scene.
Strategic Pricing: Maintain high gross margins to allow flexibility for discounts without compromising profitability.
Integrated Financing: Offer robust financing options from the onset to increase sales accessibility and transform financing into a revenue stream.
Specialized Teams: Develop dedicated sales and technical teams to maximize efficiency and performance.
Continuous Training: Implement regular, focused training sessions to keep the sales team adept and motivated.
Embrace Technology: Leverage AI and other technologies to monitor performance, analyze data, and enhance operational efficiency.

“If you decide to do something and you go put all your all into it, you can have an opportunity.” [05:45]

10. Conclusion

Victor Rancour's journey from a low-wage oil changer to a multimillion-dollar HVAC entrepreneur is a testament to the power of dedication, strategic planning, and continuous improvement. His insights into sales, marketing, pricing, and team management offer a blueprint for success in the competitive home service industry. By sharing his experiences and strategies, Victor provides listeners with actionable steps to elevate their own businesses to the next level.

“You got to put the steps in and you don't, you don't deserve the outcome.” [06:13]

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Transcript

A (0:00)

In today's episode, we're sitting down with Victor Rancour, an absolute force in the trades and H Vac world who scaled from scratch to multimillion dollars in just a few years. He breaks down the exact moves that he makes when acquiring new businesses and the systems he installs to drive top tier profitability. If you want to learn how to dominate your market and build a real machine, this one's for you. Super excited to have Victor. Welcome to the show, man. Good to have you.

B (0:29)

I'm excited to be on Chris. I'm actually more excited to be here, man. It's kind of cool. Obviously, I've been talking to Trent back and forth and kind of watching you guys from afar and dude, if you guys haven't been out, you got to get a chance to come out and check out their building. It's phenomenal. Beautiful place, very accommodating. So I'm excited to be, I'm excited to be on the podcast and hopefully excited to share some knowledge and help some people.

A (0:46)

Very cool. Well, for those that don't know who you are. So Victor's got a, a background in the H Vac space. He's now doing, playing the acquisition game all, all across the US Doing an incredible job in, in that. But tell us, share us briefly your story. I know you built a pretty big 2018 and 2023.

B (1:05)

Yeah. So, I mean, you know, like I talked about earlier, I really kind of started back in, you know, living in Ohio 12 years ago doing oil changes. And I was talking to Trent and Chris and telling him like, you know, I, I used. Twelve years ago, I was living in Cleveland, Ohio and I was working at a place called Loop Stop, and I was a guy down the oil pit changing oil, right? And I was making like 675 an hour. Never in a freaking my entire world. But I think I'd be where I'm at now. So, like, you know, for the people that are out there that are struggling right now, you have a whole chance to turn it around. But I moved back to California a couple years later and I, I answered a craigslist ad to be to become an H Vac technician for a company called Service Champions out of Southern California. It's ran by a great guy, Leland Smith, who I consider a good mentor mine. And I had no idea what H Vac stood for. I went to the interview. I'm telling you, it was, it was an interview. There's a hundred people there right in this room. I had no, I'm like, what does H Vac stand for. I'm like, I have no idea. Nobody knew. I was one of the only guys that showed up in a suit. I really needed the job. I mean I was, I had a five month old baby. We're living in a room in a house. Like just like there's a party house. Like I had to get my kid out of there. And I saw this opportunity. First thing they did is they kicked out everybody didn't have a suit on. And I'm like, well, I'm glad I wore a suit today, right? And then I said, and they said, hey, can you guys get to fill this paperwork out? If you asked for a pen, you got kicked out. I happened to bring a pen that day. So I ended up getting, you know, we did down from 100 people. And they put me through this whole rigorous process. But very quickly I found out how much they pay you in home services. And I was like, dude, like they're going to pay me this much money to do this? Like I called my girl. I literally, I always tell people this thing. It's a true story. I said, you're never going to have to work in a. She's. Dude, keep in mind I'm driving a 92 Honda Accord. I got the window doesn't work. I. It was on the way to the interview, was raining, so it was like sprinkling through my window. Okay. The car wasn't even mine. I couldn't even afford to buy that. So this is on the way there and I'm telling her this and she's like, dude, whatever dude, like pound sand, right? But anyway, so fell in love with it and she's never had to work another day in her life. And you know, even a wee not together, I still take care of her because that's. I believe that you should do as a man anyways, like you gotta take care of your people. But long story short, moved became fell in love with being a technician and I fell in love with the sales side. And I always believe you got to learn the trade before you can really sell the trade. I believe that. But you know, obviously there's different ways to go about things. But became a selling tech became the number one. Then I became the number one salesman in the country. And then in end of 2017, this guy comes to me and he's like, hey, I want to talk to you. I was like, is this guy, you know. Sorry about the language. Finally, who is this guy? Right? He said, I go to breakfast with this guy and he's like, hey, I heard all these things about you. I heard you're like, you're one of the best guys, blah, blah, blah. He's like, I want to. I want you to come work for me. I was like, I mean, I don't even know you. So he takes me to his office and I tell the story, only because it's kind of funny. Takes me, his office shows me around and I go to leave and he's like, well, let me know when you're ready. I was like, well, you never made me an offer, right? So he's like, okay, well how about this? He's like, go tell your family, pack your bags, I'm gonna fly you to Hawaii. So he puts me up first class, flies me to Hawaii. We're in the North Shore, Kauai, puts me in a presidential suite, gives me his Range Rover man. And this is a. You know, he's running another H Vac company, a competitor. And I remember my wife saying, so why does an old fat man want to invite you to Hawaii?