In Today’s Newsletter

• The 5 Things That Matter Most in a Home Service Acquisition

• Things you should do…

• The Best Feedback I Ever Received

• Using ServiceTitan to Spot Training Opportunities

• AI Doesn’t Sleep—and that’s a win for our customers

• How Financing supports our Win-Win-Win philosophy

• Favorite Tweets from the past week

Technology Corner with ServiceTitan

Using ServiceTitan to Spot Training Opportunities

One of my favorite things about ServiceTitan is its ability to shine a light on performance in real time.

Every day, I can see—at a glance—how each field professional on our team is performing:

• Conversion rates

• Average ticket size

• Tasks completed per call

• Number of options presented to customers

• And much more

This level of visibility is powerful. But what you do with it is what really matters.

From Data to Development

When I spot a trend—like a field pro consistently performing below the average of their team—that’s not a reason to punish or pile on. It’s a signal. A starting point.

It’s an opportunity to train.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

• Low conversion rate? Let’s dig into how you’re presenting options. Are you walking the customer through their choices clearly? Are you offering financing confidently? Are you asking, “Which option works best for you?” or just hoping they say yes?

• Low average ticket? That might mean you’re not asking the right questions to uncover both the needs and wants of the customer. Are you evaluating the full system, or just focusing on the one issue they called about? Are your options designed to solve problems—or just check boxes?

ServiceTitan gives us the visibility.

But it’s our job to take that visibility and turn it into action.

Shine the Flashlight

There’s a saying I like: You can’t fix what you don’t see.

ServiceTitan exposes things that were previously hidden—things that used to require weeks of anecdotal evidence or dozens of ride-alongs to uncover. Now, we can spot performance trends in a matter of hours.

But just like a flashlight, it only works if you turn it on and point it in the right direction.

If you don’t use the data—if you don’t shine the light—those opportunities slip past you. And worse, your team misses out on a chance to grow.

Final Thought

ServiceTitan isn’t just a CRM or a dispatch tool. It’s a coaching platform. A training tool. A daily diagnostic for your business.

But only if you use it that way.

So next time you see a trend in your dashboard, don’t just stare at the number. Ask yourself:

• What’s behind it?

• What could we coach?

• What would better training look like?

That’s how you build a high-performing team.

One insight—and one training opportunity—at a time.

#grateful to have ServiceTitan sponsoring this section of TPLT

CEO: Growth Mindset

The Best Feedback I Ever Received: Feedback Is a Gift

At The Basic School in the Marine Corps, every officer rotates through different “billets”—temporary leadership roles where instructors observe and evaluate your performance.

During one of my training billets, I served as the “Company Commander.” One of my primary responsibilities in that role was to evaluate the performance of my peers in other billets. I had a Company Executive Officer (XO) who was struggling—really struggling.

He lacked confidence. He couldn’t make decisions under pressure. He fumbled his communication. And when standing in front of the platoon, he had zero command presence.

So when it came time for his performance review, I sat across from him and said:

And then I gave him my feedback.

After the meeting, the Marine Major who had been observing me pulled me aside. I’ll never forget what he said:

His point was sharp, and it stuck with me.

Feedback is a gift.

When we see someone falling short—not out of malice or incompetence, but because they’re still growing—and we believe they have the potential to be better, the most respectful thing we can do is be direct.

That Marine needed honest, unfiltered feedback. He needed someone to look him in the eye and say, “You are not where you need to be. And here’s why.”

Instead, I softened the blow. I made excuses for him. I diluted the message.

And that Marine? He didn’t graduate. The leadership concerns that I had observed weren’t addressed, because they weren’t fully named. And I’ve always wondered if things might’ve turned out differently had I delivered the message with the clarity it required.

What This Means for Us

Whether you lead 100 people or work side-by-side with one person every day, you will have moments where you see someone falling short of their potential.

You will see the rep who is missing their numbers not because they don’t care—but because no one has ever coached them on the right behaviors.

You’ll see the tech who doesn’t communicate well with customers—not because they’re incapable—but because no one has ever told them that how you speak matters just as much as what you say.

And in those moments, you have a choice:

• Soften the feedback to avoid discomfort

• Or deliver it with clarity and respect, knowing it might be the most important gift you give

Feedback is not criticism. It’s care.

But only if it’s clear.

Final Thought

At Hoffmann Brothers and across HB Solutions Group, I want us to be a place where people grow. And that kind of growth doesn’t come from vague praise or half-hearted coaching.

It comes from honest conversations.

Clear expectations.

And yes—feedback that doesn’t get dragged through the dirt.

Let’s commit to giving the kind of feedback we’d want to receive.

Let’s give the gift.

CyberNetic Labs - bringing powerful Agentic AI tools to the trades

AI Doesn’t Sleep—And That’s a Win for Our Customers

When we first decided to experiment with voice AI agents, we started small.

We began with after-hours phone coverage. The goal was simple: create a low-risk environment to test the tech, gather data, and learn what it would take to train an AI agent that actually met our standards for customer experience.

And what we found?

It worked. In fact—it worked better than we expected.

The After-Hours Advantage

Traditionally, after-hours calls were routed to third-party answering services. The problem? Those services were often inconsistent. At best, you’d get someone polite but not particularly helpful. At worst, you’d get someone who miscommunicated entirely—or left a customer hanging in a moment of real need.

With AI, we changed that.

Now, when a customer calls us at 2am, they’re not getting a voicemail or a vague promise of a callback. They’re speaking to an intelligent voice agent that can actually help—booking a job, answering key questions, and triaging the issue in real time.

It was a huge win:

• 24/7 coverage

• Lower abandoned call rates

• Faster response times

• Better customer experience

But we didn’t stop there.

From After-Hours to Always-On

In Q4 of 2025, we expanded our AI agents across the entire business.

That means AI is now the first point of contact for every inbound phone call.

This wasn’t a decision we made lightly. We spent months training our AI agents—just like we would train a new human team member. We reviewed call transcripts, flagged issues, gave feedback, and partnered closely with the engineers at Netic, who responded to our input in real time.

It was a grind. But it paid off.

Today, our AI agents match—and in many cases exceed—the performance of our human agents.

They’re fast.

They’re consistent.

They don’t take breaks. And they don’t sleep.

A Human Standard for AI

Here’s the most important part: we didn’t lower our standards just because we were using AI.

If anything, we raised them.

We expect our AI agents to deliver the same professionalism, clarity, and helpfulness that we’d expect from any member of our team. And when the AI doesn’t know something? It hands the call off—gracefully—to one of our human CX reps.

That blend of automation and human escalation has helped us serve more customers, more efficiently, with fewer mistakes—and it’s made a real difference to our bottom line and our customer experience.

Final Thought

AI doesn’t sleep. That’s not just a tech flex—it’s a customer benefit.

It means we’re always on.

Always ready.

Always improving.

And that’s the kind of company we’re building: one that uses technology not just to be more efficient—but to be more present, more responsive, and more reliable for the people we serve.

Even at 2am.

#grateful to have Cybernetic Labs sponsor this section of TPLT

Consumer Financing¹

A Win for Our Team: More Confident Sales Conversations

We want our field professionals and project managers to walk into every home with confidence—not pressure.

Offering financing through GreenSky gives our team another tool in their belt. When a customer hesitates about cost, our team can say:

It changes the entire tone of the conversation.

Now, instead of focusing on price, we’re focusing on solutions—solutions the customer can actually say yes to. That means better outcomes for the homeowner, and more confidence for our team.

A Win for Our Company: Better Cash Flow + Higher Average Tickets

From a business perspective, GreenSky helps us:

• Close jobs faster

• Reduce friction in the buying process

• Improve cash flow with prompt payment

• Increase average ticket size by empowering customers to invest in the right solution—not just the cheapest one

When customers have more financial flexibility, they’re more likely to choose higher-efficiency systems, additional upgrades, and bundled services—all of which drive better long-term outcomes for them and for us.

Final Thought

Financing is often seen as a sales tactic. But at HB Solutions Group, it’s something more than that.

It’s a customer experience tool. A team empowerment tool. And yes—a performance driver for the business.

GreenSky helps us live out our belief that when we serve our customers well, support our team fully, and run our business with discipline, everybody wins.

That’s the kind of company we’re building.

A win-win-win business.

Every time.

#grateful to have GreenSky® Home Improvement sponsor this section of TPLT

¹ The views and opinions expressed here are owned by The Path Less Traveled and its author and may not reflect the views of GreenSky®

Friends of The Path Less Traveled

Who are the VENDORS that fuel our success?

MARKETING

Choosing a marketing agency that is both (1) competent and (2) CARES about your specific business is hard. Over the last 5 years, I have become great friends with the founder of RYNO Strategic Solutions, Chris Yano, and can say with confidence that his agency is among the few that I would trust with my own brands. If you are searching for a partner, send a note to Jeff Bowab at [email protected] and tell him that I sent you.

PAYROLL & HR

Inova Payroll & HR has been a partner to our companies for over 10 years. They have provided us with a payroll technology platform that has been able to keep pace with the demands of our fast-growing organization (now serving team members across 4 states). Inova’s platform works seamlessly with our CRM, ServiceTitan, and with our accounting back-end, Sage Intacct.

COACHING & TRAINING

If there is one organization - perhaps more than any other - that has fueled our growth over the last 10 years… that organization would be Nexstar Network. I like to say that Nexstar Network has built & refined a “process playbook” that touches on so many facets of our business. Don’t try and re-create the wheel… come and learn from the best. Reach out to my friend Kara Schuster at [email protected] and tell her that I sent you.

#grateful for the “Friends of TPLT” sponsors in this section

Hey…I could use your help connecting with like-minded business leaders:

If you know someone who should read The Path Less Traveled - please forward this email them: https://thepathlesstraveled.beehiiv.com/subscribe

Follow along on social…

Chris Hoffmann

on X at @stlChrisH

on LinkedIn @stlChrisHoffmann

on Instagram @Christopher.m.hoffmann

Our Companies:

www.hoffmannbros.com

www.fergusonroofing.com 

www.blueskyplumbing.com

www.hbsolutionsgroup.com 

If you have feedback, questions or comments - please don’t hesitate to reply to this email. I personally monitor all replies.

-Chris