Bill BrownFounder of ServiceTitan Hacks community (9k+ pros) | INC 5000 Contractor | Helping contractors win with AI & Automation

HVAC to Plumbing: Unlock Multi-Trade Business Growth! #shorts

14 Mar 2026 · 1 min

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1:01

In this short conversation, Bill Brown explains how he expanded his HVAC company into plumbing after eight years in the business. He highlights that having a membership base creates a stronger relationship with customers, allowing him to cross‑sell plumbing services such as water heater installations, underground work, and other plumbing needs, which dramatically raises customer lifetime value and retention. He also discusses the strategic use of water sensors—placed in water heater pans, under kitchen sinks, in attics, or any area prone to leaks—to detect freezing or leaks early, providing added value to members and reinforcing the multi‑trade service model.

Chapters

I think about that, like when I— so I added plumbing to my HVAC company, let's see, when I was maybe 8 years in and I looked at it and I was like, man, if I would have had more members, that would have been a great plumbing opportunity just right there. Now, I mean, I had the list of customers that I could reach out to, but when they're a member, it's a total different, totally different feeling, right? Or totally different relationship you have. I am looking at the— then your lifetime value of the customer increases because you add water heaters and all their plumbing and underground and everything. So that graph that I showed just goes up at a serious rate. To do multiple trades, that's again why the retention is so important.
You could take extra water sensors and add them onto it. You can put them in the water heater pans, you can put them under kitchen sinks, you can put them anywhere that there's water or has been water issues. The sensors will tell you it's about to freeze in the attic. It can tell you if it's a vacation, "Hey, it's getting cold down here, your pipes are going to freeze." Yeah, for sure.