On this episode of Born For The Trades, Mandeep sits down with Strick Tudor, a leader who has spent more than 25 years serving the trades and learning what truly drives a contractor’s success. From two decades at Enterprise Fleet Management helping contractors optimize their vehicles to leading revenue and partnerships in the world of trade technology, Strick has seen the industry from every angle. He is not just a tech executive. He is someone who understands the field, who has installed window units, cleared condenser lines, and spent time around family members who built their lives in the trades.

The conversation quickly moves beyond the buzzwords. Strick challenges the common belief that a CRM is simply a dispatching and scheduling tool. Instead, he calls it the lifeblood of a business. A true Field Service Management platform becomes the command center where workflows live, numbers tell the truth, and leaders gain visibility into the daily health of their company. Without it, contractors are guessing. With it, they can understand KPIs, identify training gaps, support their teams, and make confident decisions rooted in data.

As the leader of revenue and partnerships at Workiz, Strick explains what makes their platform different. Ease of use. Speed of onboarding. Fast time to value. An intuitive mobile app that technicians actually enjoy using. Embedded communications that capture conversations and turn them into insight. The goal is not complexity. It is clarity and growth.

Then the conversation turns to AI, and this is where things get exciting. AI inside the trades is not science fiction. It is already converting leads, analyzing calls, automating follow-up, and even answering the phone 24 hours a day through virtual AI agents. Missed calls become booked jobs. Data becomes direction. Smaller contractors suddenly have the tools to compete with major players. AI becomes the great equalizer.

Strick shares how contractors are seeing dramatic improvements in review ratings because customers are always being responded to. Some businesses are reclaiming up to 30 hours per week through automation. Others are uncovering hidden revenue by identifying upsell opportunities, aging equipment, and service plan gaps directly from call insights.

For sales managers, the metrics are clear. Speed to lead. Conversion rate. Average ticket value. Service plans that build a competitive moat. The best in class are responding within seconds, not hours. The difference between growth and stagnation often comes down to how quickly and intelligently a business reacts.

This episode is also made possible by our sponsors, Broccoli AI and Grow Reviews. Broccoli AI, at broccoli.com, provides AI voice agents that answer phones around the clock, book jobs, follow up on estimates, and dispatch technicians seamlessly. Grow Reviews, at growreviews.com, helps home service companies capture authentic video testimonials that build trust and drive more business.

Mandeep and Strick close with a powerful reminder. Be genuinely curious. Spend time in the field. Sit with dispatchers. Ride along with technicians. The future of the trades will belong to leaders who combine technology with real-world understanding. This episode is not about replacing people. It is about empowering them.

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In this episode of Born For The Trades, host Mandeep sits down with Ryan Fenn, founder and CEO of CHIIRP, for a real, operator-first conversation about what actually drives growth in home service businesses, and why most owners are leaving money on the table without realizing it.

Ryan didn’t build CHIIRP to chase shiny tech trends. He built it to solve a painfully common problem he saw over and over again: great contractors spending hard-earned money to generate leads, only to lose jobs because they were slow to respond or inconsistent with follow-up. In the trades, speed isn’t a luxury; it’s survival. Ryan breaks down what “fast enough” really means when it comes to speed-to-lead, and why even a few minutes can be the difference between a booked job and a lost opportunity.

The conversation digs deep into what great follow-up actually looks like in the real world. Not theory, not fluff, but practical systems that work in busy, chaotic home-service businesses. Ryan shares why follow-up isn’t about sending more messages, but about sending the right messages at the right time, consistently, without relying on memory or motivation.

Mandeep and Ryan also unpack what separates operators who scale from those who stay stuck year after year. The difference isn’t talent or hustle. It’s ownership, repeatable playbooks, and a willingness to build systems that remove friction from growth. Ryan explains how the latest CHIIRP AI tools are changing the day-to-day for owners by taking follow-up off their mental load while still keeping it personal, timely, and effective.

You’ll also hear Ryan call out one follow-up mistake almost every contractor makes, and how fixing it alone can unlock immediate revenue. Finally, they tackle a question every owner wrestles with: if you want predictable growth, should you fix marketing first or follow up? Ryan’s answer may surprise you, and it could save you thousands in wasted ad spend.

This episode is packed with practical frameworks, hard-earned insights, and no-BS advice for owners who want growth they can actually control. If you’re in the trades and tired of guessing where your next job is coming from, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

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In this episode of Born For The Trades, host Mandeep sits down with Ashlynn Rainaldi, Director of Client Success at Grow Nearby, for a conversation that goes far beyond surface-level marketing tactics. With nearly five years of hands-on experience helping home service businesses scale, Ashlynn brings a rare perspective, one rooted in real client relationships, operational clarity, and what actually drives long-term growth in the trades.

Ashlynn shares how SEO has quietly but significantly evolved over the past couple of years, especially as AI reshapes how homeowners search for service providers. The discussion dives into the rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), what it really means in practice, and why businesses that fail to adapt risk becoming invisible, even if they’re still “doing SEO.” As search behavior changes, Ashlynn explains how smart businesses are shifting their strategies to meet customers earlier, faster, and with more trust.

But one of the most eye-opening parts of the conversation centers on what happens after the lead comes in. Ashlynn breaks down a hard truth many owners overlook: marketing often isn’t the problem; systems are. From missed calls and poor follow-up to weak CRM usage, she explains how breakdowns behind the scenes can make great marketing efforts appear ineffective. The phone ringing is only the beginning, and without the right processes in place, growth stalls quickly

The episode also takes a deep look at Google Business Profiles and why they’re one of the most underestimated assets for local home service companies. Ashlynn explains how small inconsistencies, outdated information, or lack of activity can quietly erode trust and rankings, while companies that treat GBP as a living, breathing channel see outsized returns.

Communication is another major theme throughout the episode. Ashlynn shares what strong, productive communication between a home service business and its marketing agency actually looks like, and how that relationship evolves to drive better results. She also touches on branding, challenging the idea that it’s “just a logo,” and revealing how weak branding can drag down performance across websites, ads, and local search without owners realizing why.

Grounded, insightful, and refreshingly honest, this episode is a must-listen for home service owners who want to understand why growth feels harder than it should, and what really needs to change to unlock the next level.

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