Podcast Summary:

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

Episode: From $10M to $100M: How Home Service Companies Scale Sales Fast
Host: John Wilson
Guest: Zach Deering, Mantle
Date: October 21, 2025

Overview of the Episode’s Main Theme

In this episode, host John Wilson interviews Zach Deering from Mantle, a sales experience platform for home service contractors. The conversation centers on how home service companies successfully scale their sales from $10M up to $100M by leveraging technology, focusing on sales process simplicity, benchmarking key KPIs, and creating a buyer-centric experience. Specific attention is paid to actionable strategies, emerging sales models (like remote/virtual selling), and insights from real performance data to unlock company growth.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fundamentals of Scaling Sales (00:00 – 02:00)

• Measuring Key KPIs is Crucial:

  “You can't manage something that you can't measure...how do you make it really easy for the seller to be able to manage the key KPIs?”
  — Zach Deering (00:00)

• Simplicity Drives Scale:

  “What's the difference between a $10 million shop and $100 million shop? It's simplicity. The $100 million shop really intentionally tries to make things simpler.”
  — Zach Deering (00:14, 23:03)

2. Personal Entrepreneurship Journeys (02:00 – 04:59)

• Both John and Zach share early entrepreneurial experiences, including running small businesses and blogs, and the lessons learned.
• Memorable Quote:

  “Technically my first business was slugging Pokemon cards in the bathroom of my elementary school...a hockey stick from there.”
  — Zach Deering (04:32)

3. Introducing Mantle and ‘Closer’ (05:33 – 07:02)

• Clarification on Branding: Mantle is the company; ‘Closer’ is the user-centric lifestyle brand supporting contractors.
• Mantle’s Mission: Help contractors delight homeowners and close more by creating an interactive shopping experience.

4. Creating Shopping Experiences in Home Services (07:15 – 10:00)

• Shifting away from sales lectures and features-based pitches toward empowering the customer.

  “Historically, as an industry, our solution...was we're going to put a bunch of specs in front of someone and have someone just lecture at the homeowner for 20 minutes.”
  — Zach Deering (08:14)

• Homeowners want agency and choice—something most FSM and proposal tools don’t address.

5. Tactical Insights from Industry Data (11:09 – 14:00)

• Best Companies Empower the Buyer:

  • Education, letting the homeowner drive the experience, and offering meaningful, customizable choices.

• Tuesday is the Top Sales Day:

  “Tuesdays are the big sales day by revenue.”
  — Zach Deering (11:36)

• Benchmarking and New Metrics:

  • Mantle enables real-time benchmarking across companies and sellers.

6. Understanding and Leveraging Metrics (14:00 – 19:40)

• KPIs like close rate and average ticket are only meaningful if measured and defined consistently.

  “You can't manage something that you can't measure.”
  — Zach Deering (16:24)

• Newer, often overlooked metrics discussed include:

  • Response time to homeowner inquiries
  • "Eyeball time"—the time a homeowner spends reviewing a proposal

• Proposal Strength:

  • Assessed in real-time in Mantle; higher proposal strength leads to higher average tickets.

  “A 10-point increase in proposal strength is correlated with a $960 increase in average ticket.”
  — Zach Deering (19:34)

7. Standardizing & Scaling Sales Teams (19:55 – 25:46)

• Companies Mantle works with range from 2-3 sellers to 30-40+ sellers.
• Smaller teams benefit from low-hanging fruit and standardized processes; larger teams focus on continual optimization and benchmarking.
• Scaling means intentional focus on process simplification and consistency—too much complexity can kill scalability.

  “You have to be so intentional on getting stuff simple. And it's almost like you go through the stage at 10 [million] where you're like, you almost complicate everything on purpose.”
  — John Wilson (26:02)

8. Role of Technology & AI in Sales (26:17 – 27:22)

• Emphasis on elevating humans for relationship-building and expertise, while letting technology handle repetitive tasks.
• The future will blend AI automation and human connection for optimal results.

9. The Future of Sales in Home Services (27:22 – 33:53)

• Remote Selling Trends:

  • Growing interest in remote/virtual sales models, especially for scaling.

  “I think you're going to see more people doing remote sales...you're not always sending someone into the home.”
  — Zach Deering (27:24)

• Not just for big companies—success depends more on willingness to innovate than size.

• The move toward online shopping/’open cart’ experiences is being driven by homeowner expectations.

  “Over 69% of homeowners say they tried to look for a price online. Only 15% said they could find anything that was very clear.”
  — Zach Deering (29:54)

• Consultative selling is the current standard, replacing product/options-only approaches.

10. Homeowner Survey Insights & Industry Misconceptions (36:01 – 39:40)

• Price is Not Always King:
  • 70% of homeowners report that price is not their chief buying factor.
• Transparency and Extended Warranties:
  • Demand for transparency is high; most Americans willing to pay about $563 for a 10-year extended warranty.
• Strategic Attach Rates:
  • Sometimes better to offer warranties cheaply and increase attach rates, or to price premium for select buyers.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Fundamentally, we are here to help contractors really create shopping experiences and close more.”
  — Zach Deering (00:00, 06:09)

• “People respond to numbers and the information that's presented to them...the sellers understand how they are where they stand vis a vis their peers.”
  — Zach Deering (16:24)

• “A 10 point increase in proposal strength is correlated with a $960 increase in average ticket.”
  — Zach Deering (19:34)

• “You have to be so intentional on getting stuff simple...I can't scale like this with 50 different commission plans...”
  — John Wilson (26:02)

• “The $100 million shop really intentionally tries to guard to make things simpler.”
  — Zach Deering (23:03)

• “Price is only the most important thing if you choose to make it so.”
  — Zach Deering (36:26)

• "Over 69% of homeowners say they tried to look for a price online. Only 15% said they could find anything that was very clear."
  — Zach Deering (29:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – 02:00: Importance of measurable KPIs, simplicity in scaling
• 05:33 – 07:02: Mantle’s purpose, ‘Closer’ lifestyle brand
• 08:14 – 10:00: Creating buyer-driven shopping experiences
• 11:09 – 14:25: Best practices from top home service companies
• 16:24 – 18:40: Measuring new metrics—response time, “eyeball time,” proposal strength
• 19:55 – 26:17: Team sizes, stages of sales process development, intentional simplification
• 27:22 – 33:53: The emerging wave of remote selling in home services
• 36:01 – 39:40: Homeowner survey data: price transparency, warranties, what homeowners really want
• 41:11 – end: Survey links, podcast wrap-up

Actionable Takeaways

• Measure what matters: Track not just close rates but also new, insightful KPIs like proposal strength and homeowner engagement.
• Prioritize simplicity: The path from $10M to $100M relies on simplifying and standardizing sales processes.
• Embrace consultative, buyer-driven selling: Allow homeowners to lead, empower them with real choices, and personalize experiences.
• Leverage technology for benchmarking & process automation: Use tools like Mantle to standardize, benchmark, and optimize sales performance.
• Experiment with remote selling: Remote and online experiences are growing—getting ahead here offers a competitive edge.
• Challenge assumptions: Most homeowners aren't as price-focused as contractors believe; transparency and extended service plans offer new opportunities.

How to Connect & Further Resources

• Contact Zach Deering:

  • Email: zac@usemantle.com
  • Website: usemantle.com (Sign up and access the annual homeowner survey)

• Podcast Website: ownedandoperated.com

Suitably energetic, data-focused, and actionable, the episode offers home service leaders a roadmap for moving beyond $10M by simplifying their sales process, empowering both salespeople and buyers, relentlessly measuring the right KPIs, and embracing the evolving technological landscape in home services.