Podcast
The Home Service Expert Podcast
Hosted by Tommy Mello: $200 Million Founder|Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur Columnist · EN
The Home Service Expert podcast is the No. 1 podcast for ambitious home service entrepreneurs, whether they are in plumbing, HVAC or another niche. In this show, Tommy Mello, a $200M business founder, will talk with the best entrepreneurs and experts in the home service industry and beyond, to share insights that have made them successful: from the newest marketing tools to the best scaling strategies. Previous podcast guests include Terry Nicholson (former national trainer of NYSE-listed home services company), Craig Smith (President of HomeAdvisor, a home services marketplace valued at $2B+), Cameron Herold (former COO of three $100M+ companies), etc.
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Episodes
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Your Hiring Strategy Is Setting You Up to Fail Before Day One | Mike Matalone
6d ago01:11:50Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Window Nation had 80% employee turnover. Within 6 months, Mike Matalone brought it down to 23% — without changing their sales process, marketing, or compensation. The only thing he changed was how they hired, onboarded, and developed their people. Mike is the founder of XP3 Talent Systems and the bestselling author of Hire, Train, Retain. He spent 5 years coaching 45 CEOs through Vistage, where he discovered that 80-90% of all business problems trace back to one thing: people. In this episode, Tommy and Mike break down the exact people operating system that transforms average hires into A players in 30 days — and why the owners who think they can hire their way to a great team are already losing. ⏱️ CHAPTERS ⏱️ 00:00 Intro 00:24 XP3 Origin Story 06:59 Window Nation Turnaround 12:34 Three Hiring Criteria 18:14 Psychological Connection 23:44 Personality Assessments 30:42 AI For Interviews 36:04 Wow Onboarding 42:56 Company Advocates 53:19 What's In It For Them 1:01:14 Define Success 1:06:24 Build A Business Not A Job 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryHe Grew A Company To $220M | His Warning To Every Home Service Owner
2w ago01:08:51Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Chuck Thokey built sales teams that generated $220 million in revenue — and his first coaching client went from under $1 million to a $6 million net profit before being acquired by private equity. In this episode, Tommy sits down with the co-founder of Top Rep Sales Training to break down exactly why most sales teams are either your biggest asset or your most expensive liability — and why most owners can't tell the difference. Chuck covers the four buyer personality types (the Platinum Rule), why best-better-good pricing closes 90% of customers at the middle tier, how to give a price without flinching, and the daily Power Hour training system that keeps reps sharp. He also unpacks the uncomfortable truth: 80% of sales leaders are either struggling or need to be replaced — not because they're bad people, but because they were never trained for the role. If your sales team isn't performing, this is the starting point. 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Episode Open 01:21 Aerospace Origin Story 08:30 Four Buyer Types 13:30 Tier Pricing Tactics 20:27 Power Hour Training 30:00 Rep Performance Standard 37:14 Hiring and Simulation 44:23 Leadership Failure Rate 49:13 Six Million Case Study 57:00 Growth Mindset Scaling 1:02:18 KPI Dashboard Mastery 1:07:41 Final Thoughts 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryWhat Every Contractor Brags About, That's Actually Proving Their Brand's Working Against Them
2w ago00:49:17Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Your brand is either quietly growing your business or quietly killing it. In this episode, KickCharge Creative President Terri Briggs reveals why the most expensive decision home service contractors make is waiting — and how the right brand transforms average tickets, conversion rates, employee retention, and company value from day one. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 00:00 - Episode Introduction 03:49 - Brand Creation Process 07:00 - Revenue Impact Data 11:13 - Color Ownership Strategy 15:00 - Long-Term Brand Value 18:40 - Cost of Waiting 22:10 - Brand ROI Measurement 26:38 - Branded Not Blended 30:12 - JumpSpark Fleet 33:54 - The Profit Problem 39:06 - Free Brand Scan 43:46 - Test of Time 🔍 FREE BRAND SCAN: Is your brand healthy, or quietly holding you back? Terri Lynne Briggs will personally review your name, logo, and truck wrap and tell you what's working and what's costing you. No charge. Book yours: https://www.kickcharge.com/brand-scan/ 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryThe Smartest Home Service Owners in the Country Are All Doing This One Thing
3w ago00:52:47Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Jim Leslie is the CEO of Home Service Freedom and former CMO/CTO at A1 Garage Door — where he helped build the company to over $400 million. Today he breaks down exactly what's killing revenue inside most home service companies (hint: it's not your marketing), walks through real HSF member success stories with real numbers, and explains how the right systems, community, and coaching can take any home service company further, faster. In this episode: ▸ The #1 reason home service marketing doesn't work (it's your booking rate) ▸ How a $22M multi-trade company was losing money without knowing why — and turned it around ▸ The speed-of-implementation principle that separates companies that grow from those that stay stuck ▸ How AI is flipping the labor equation — and what it means for your team right now ▸ Why going deeper beats going wider — every time ▸ What smart investors actually look for in a home service company ▸ Inside HSF: membership, coaching, training, and the 90-day money-back guarantee ▸ Freedom Event: October 26–28, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 — Jim Leslie / HSF 08:11 — HSF Membership Overview 16:00 — Member Turnaround Story 23:52 — Speed of Implementation 29:05 — AI Productivity Shift 36:28 — Smart Investor Criteria 44:15 — Freedom Event Details 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryWhy Home Service Owners Lose Customers Before They Ever Pick Up the Phone
3w ago01:19:12Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Senja Spellman is a fractional CMO who has spent over a decade inside the marketing departments of companies like Tundra Land ($100M), Leaf Home, Bath Works, and Home Genius Exteriors. She took Bath Works from $12M to $25M in one year — now pacing $52M. Today she shares exactly how home service companies can build brand trust, track TV attribution, grow with zero ad spend, and disrupt in a market where everyone looks the same. In this episode: ▸ Why 66% of customers pick by trust — and only 7% by price ▸ The TV attribution model that ties every spot to a lead ▸ How to use ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to audit your brand visibility right now ▸ Brand vs. direct response — which one your business actually needs ▸ The 97% rule: why branding matters more than most owners think ▸ Omnichannel data strategy: how to hit the right person across mail and CTV ▸ Marketing budget benchmarks: growth (20–22%) vs. maintenance (15–18%) ▸ How cause marketing builds internal culture and external brand ▸ Why marketing is meant to disrupt — and how to stop blending in -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 — Senja's Background 07:06 — TV Attribution Model 15:31 — LLM Brand Visibility 22:48 — Home Service Differences 30:25 — Marketing Budget Benchmarks 36:10 — The 97% Rule 41:30 — Omni-Channel Data Strategy 49:50 — Private Equity Risks 57:07 — Brand Story Process 01:03:55 — Lead Gen Quick Wins 01:12:05 — Disruption in Marketing 01:17:55 — Senja's Contact Info 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryWhy Most Remodelers Keep Paying for Demand They Could Be Creating for Free
4w ago00:50:13Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Tony Hoty filed bankruptcy at 29. Spent 10 years on the road training companies across the country because he had no choice. Then rebuilt to $10M+ in retail remodeling with Window Expo and Bath Expo. His message is simple: stop throwing money at digital ads and start building a system that creates demand. Tommy and Tony break down door-to-door canvassing, home shows, events, call center follow-up, and the lead handling mistakes costing most remodelers thousands every month. -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 Intro & Origin Story 05:40 Hunting vs. Farming 08:42 Door-to-Door Playbook 13:13 Creating Infinite Demand 17:10 Capacity Planning 19:42 Culture & Hiring 23:33 Event Profiling 29:54 Lead Handling & Leakage 33:03 Lead Follow-Up Mistakes 38:53 Process & Discipline 43:11 Ride-Alongs vs. Technology 46:45 Vision & Self-Improvement 49:28 Lead Gen Expo 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryHe Lost His Company as a Minority Partner. Then Built It Back From Zero.
4w ago01:19:47Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Justin Feichter started Providence Roofing just over a year ago — after getting pushed out of his last company as a minority partner. In his first eight months he realized his pricing was completely wrong, rebuilt his systems on the fly, and crossed $1.2M in revenue. He's still in the field every day. This is a real-time look at what it actually takes to build a blue-collar business from the ground up — the pricing mistakes, the social media strategy that's working without a budget, and what happens when you refuse to quit. -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 Intro & Background 06:00 Year One Pricing Mistakes 12:00 Hiring for Your Weaknesses 18:00 Trades as the New Goldmine 24:00 Competing on Price 30:00 Retention & Relationships 36:00 Technology & Systems 42:00 Tax Strategy 48:00 Sales Process & First Contact 54:00 Vendor Strategy 01:00:00 Close Rate & Lead Sources 01:06:00 Social Media & Content 01:12:00 Goals for 2026 01:17:00 Lead Gen & AI — Tommy's final word 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/
SummaryPeter H Thomas (Century 21 Canada Founder) Losing $70 Million and Why He Never Panicked
May 2900:13:40Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Peter Thomas built $8 billion in real estate — then lost $70 million when his silent partner went bankrupt. At 87 years old, he's sharp, happy, and still building. Tommy gets the real story: how Peter faced 18 creditors with nothing, negotiated every single one, and rebuilt from zero. The lesson? Your skill set and your network are the two things no collapse can ever take from you. -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 Peter Thomas introduction 01:15 Century 21 Canada 1974 01:34 Built $8 billion 02:13 Biggest failures discussed 03:39 Living well at 87 04:31 What are your values? 04:45 Health and freedom aligned 06:05 Choose your life partner 06:19 Give everything away 07:09 Tommy grew up alone 07:40 Partner went bankrupt 07:58 Down $70 million 08:41 Skill set always survives 09:16 What was next move? 09:42 Negotiating 18 creditors 10:20 Worked all 18 deals 11:00 How to find Peter 11:29 Happiness is a choice 11:48 Tommy's life at 45 12:26 Manifesting your future 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ My other podcast: Tommy Mello Millionaire ⟶ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello Live Q&A submission form: https://homeserviceexpert.com/questions
SummaryThe Sales Reframe That Changes How Every Technician Thinks About Their Job
May 2601:05:24Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Joe Crisara has trained thousands of home service technicians — and the number one thing he hears is that they don't want to be called salespeople. In this episode, Joe breaks down why that resistance is costing your team money, your customers their options, and your business its potential. The fix isn't motivation. It's finishing the sentence. Joe's system, built over decades working with plumbers, HVAC techs, electricians, and garage door companies, is simple: make a friend, diagnose the whole system, build premium, mid-range, and economy options, personalize them, and close with "what should we do?" That framework closes 92% of jobs. Not because it's pushy, because it's honest. What you'll learn: — Why "sales" became a dirty word and how to fix it for your team — The five-step system behind a 92% close rate — Why financing is the primary offer — not an afterthought — How "magic moments" create raving fans without manipulation — The self-esteem problem behind underperforming techs — and the trainable fix — Pure-motive service and why caring outsells closing every time 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ My other podcast: Tommy Mello Millionaire ⟶ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello
SummaryThe One Mindset Shift That Separates Good Operators From Great Ones
May 2201:05:08Summary ready🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ John Block didn't build Unity Partners by being the smartest guy in the room. He built it by making sure he never was. As the founder of one of the fastest-growing private equity firms in home services, John has a framework that most operators never hear — and it has nothing to do with hustle, willpower, or grinding harder than everyone else. In this episode, John breaks down why chasing revenue is the wrong game, what private equity actually looks for before acquiring a home service company, and the one mindset shift that separates operators who plateau from those who build something that lasts. If you're running a home service business and you feel like you've hit a ceiling — this episode is the reason why, and exactly what to do about it. What you'll learn: — Why being the dumbest person in the room is the smartest move you can make — The difference between building bigger and building better — and why it matters — What PE firms actually measure beyond EBITDA — The "who not how" principle and how to apply it to your team right now — Why most operators overestimate what they'll do in a year and underestimate the hockey stick -- 🕐 TIMESTAMPS 🕐 -- 00:00 - Introduction 🚀 FREEDOM 2026 Get your Tickets Today! https://homeservicefreedom.com/ Check Out My Social Media: Tiktok ⟶ https://www.tiktok.com/@officialtommymello Instagram ⟶ https://www.instagram.com/officialtommymello/ Facebook ⟶ https://www.facebook.com/thomasmello/ My other podcast: Tommy Mello Millionaire ⟶ https://www.youtube.com/@officialtommymello
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