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#17 Our $500K Mistake. A 10% Conversion Lift. One Big Lesson.

#17 Our $500K Mistake. A 10% Conversion Lift. One Big Lesson.

This week’s issue is all about turning operational discipline into competitive advantage — from uncovering a hidden $500,000 filter expense to leveraging AI call scoring, smarter financing with GreenSky, and more rigorous ServiceTitan reviews. If you’re serious about scaling profitably, mastering your data, tightening execution, and pulling the right growth levers, this one’s for you. Plus: a teaser on mastering YOUR data and a few favorite tweets from the week.

Christopher Hoffmann
February 16, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 20 minutes

In Today’s Newsletter

How “Free Filters” Cost Us $500,000 (And What We Did About It)
Things you should do…
March 1 Teaser: Mastering YOUR Data
Turning Software Into Strategy: Our Quarterly ServiceTitan EBR
Raising the Bar: Real-Time AI Call Scoring for CXRs
A 10% Conversion Lift from One Financing Decision
Favorite Tweets from the past week

All of your leadership problems. Solved with the right hire. Uncommon Elite.

My friend and former Army 160th pilot, Christian Ruf, is helping business owners build high-performing teams by placing special operations veterans - think Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, Green Berets - in senior operations roles inside of businesses like yours. Check out his business, Uncommon Elite, and let him know that Chris sent you.

What’s on my mind?

The $500,000 We Almost Missed

At HB Solutions Group, we pride ourselves on delivering real value to our Home Protection Plan (HPP) members.

One of the benefits our customers love?

Free HVAC filters.

It’s simple. Practical. Tangible.
And it reinforces that we’re proactively helping them maintain their home.

But when we went through our expenses line-by-line, we found something surprising:

We were spending over $500,000 per year just on shipping filters to customers’ homes.

Not the filters themselves.

Shipping.

Half a million dollars moving air filters around the country.

The Problem

On paper, “free filters shipped to your home” sounds like great service.

In reality:

Shipping costs were climbing.
Packaging and fulfillment added complexity.
We were paying retail freight rates.
Many filters were being delivered separately from service visits we were already performing.

Customers liked the benefit. But the cost was getting out of control.

So we asked a simple question:

What if we didn’t ship them at all?

A Little Creativity + A Lot of Planning

Instead of asking, “How do we negotiate cheaper shipping?”
We asked, “What would have to be true for us to eliminate shipping?”

Here’s what we realized:

During our HPP maintenance visits, our HVAC professionals are already inside the home.

What if they had the filters with them?

After analyzing filter types and sizes across our customer base, we found:

A relatively small group of common filter sizes makes up the majority of demand.
If we retrofitted our HVAC service trucks with organized storage for those common sizes…
Our field professionals could carry what they need most of the time.

We redesigned truck layouts.
We adjusted truck stock inventory.
We built replenishment systems to keep filters stocked.

The result?

Our HVAC pros now have the right filter on their truck approximately 85% of the time during maintenance visits.

Which means:

We eliminated roughly 85% of our shipping costs.
We still provide 100% of our HPP members with free filters.
The customer experience is actually better — they receive their filter during their scheduled visit, installed by a professional.

Same benefit.
Better execution.
Massive cost savings.

The Bigger Lesson

This wasn’t about filters.

It was about discipline.

When you scale from $30M to $160M+ in revenue (and beyond), small inefficiencies become big numbers. Very quickly.

A few takeaways for fellow operators:

1. Go Line by Line

Your P&L is full of “that’s just how we do it” expenses.
Pull one thread. Ask why. Then ask “what if?”

2. Don’t Cut Value — Deliver It Smarter

We didn’t eliminate free filters.
We redesigned how we delivered them.

There’s a big difference between cutting benefits and improving systems.

3. Let the Field Drive Efficiency

Some of the best operational improvements happen when you design around the people actually doing the work.

In this case, empowering our field professionals reduced cost and improved service.

4. Profit Fuels Purpose

That $500,000 doesn’t disappear into a spreadsheet.

It gets redeployed:

Into training.
Into better benefits.
Into technology.
Into acquisitions of great local contractors who want to join a long-term home.

When you’re committed to private, purpose-driven ownership, every dollar matters.

If you’re an HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or roofing owner reading this, here’s my encouragement:

Sit down with your P&L.
Go line by line.
Ask “What if?”

You might just find your own $500,000 win hiding in plain sight.

— Chris

Things you should…

1. …Go line by line through your P&L. Ask “What if?” at least five times. That’s where your next $500K is hiding.

2. …Benchmark yourself against companies bigger than you. Comfort is expensive.

3. …Tie every new software feature to a KPI. If it doesn’t move a number, it’s just noise.

Can you do me a favor?

To help me create the best content for you, can you answer this quick (4 question) survey? I promise it won’t take more than 30 seconds :)

Technology Corner with ServiceTitan

At HB Solutions Group, we don’t view ServiceTitan as a software expense.

We view it as operating infrastructure.

And like any major investment in infrastructure, it requires discipline, oversight, and intentional optimization.

That’s why every quarter, our account management team at ServiceTitan — led by Gabbi (who is awesome, by the way… if you’re a contractor and need a strong account manager, you should request her) — conducts an Executive Business Review, or “EBR.”

These sessions are not surface-level check-ins.

They are operating reviews.

What We Review Each Quarter

Our EBR forces us to step back and ask a simple but powerful question:

Are we truly maximizing our investment in ServiceTitan?

Here’s what that conversation includes:

1. Product Roadmap + Key Initiatives

We review our internal priorities and align them with:

ServiceTitan’s product roadmap
New feature releases
Beta tools we should consider piloting
Automation opportunities

Software evolves quickly. If you’re not revisiting your configuration and feature adoption quarterly, you’re falling behind.

The companies that win in our industry don’t just “have” ServiceTitan.

They use it aggressively and intentionally.

Above is a snapshot of several of our active initiatives tied directly to our EBR discussions and implementation timelines.

2. Benchmarking Against Peers

One of the most valuable aspects of the EBR is anonymized benchmarking.

We review our performance compared to companies of similar size across metrics such as:

Booking rates
Average ticket
Membership growth
Revenue per technician
Gross margin performance
Financing penetration

You might feel good about your numbers — until you see what the top quartile is doing.

Benchmarking creates productive discomfort.

And productive discomfort drives improvement.

3. Financing Utilization

Financing is no longer optional in 2026.

We review:

ServiceTitan financing platform utilization
Approval rates
Close rates when financing is offered
Revenue mix tied to financed jobs

If financing isn’t integrated into your service process, you’re limiting your customers’ options — and your own growth.

4. Transaction Volume + Payment Behavior

We also analyze total sales transaction volume by type:

Card-present transactions
Keyed-in transactions
Stored credit cards
ACH usage

Why does this matter?

Because transaction type impacts:

Processing costs
Fraud exposure
Customer convenience
Operational efficiency

When you scale past $100M+ in revenue, small percentages matter.

Payment strategy is not a back-office detail.
It’s an operating lever.

5. “What Are We Missing?”

The best part of our EBR isn’t the metrics.

It’s the exploration.

What features are we underutilizing?
Where are we still relying on manual workarounds?
What automation could eliminate friction for customers or our team?

As operators, we have blind spots.

The EBR helps expose them.

Why This Matters

If you’re running a $5M business, inefficiencies hide.

If you’re running a $50M business, they compound.

If you’re building toward $400M, they can’t be tolerated.

The difference between average operators and elite operators isn’t the software they buy.

It’s the rigor with which they manage it.

We don’t assume that because we’ve invested heavily in ServiceTitan that we are maximizing it.

We verify it. Quarterly.

A Broader Lesson for Operators

Too many contractors treat their software stack like this:

Buy it.
Set it up.
Hope it works.
Move on.

Instead, ask:

When was the last time we benchmarked ourselves against peers?
Are we fully utilizing the features we’re already paying for?
Who “owns” optimization internally?
What KPIs are directly tied to our software configuration?

If you don’t have clear answers to those questions, your software is running you — not the other way around.

At HB Solutions Group, we are committed to building the most successful independent home service company in the country.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

It happens through disciplined reviews, hard questions, and continuous improvement — even in areas that most people would consider “back office.”

Because in reality, there is no back office.

There is only the operating system.

And we intend to master it.

— Chris

#grateful to have ServiceTitan sponsoring this section of TPLT

CEO: Growth Mindset

March 1 Edition: Mastering Your Data

On March 1st, the release of TPLT will be covering the investment we are making into upgrading our data architecture and systems using Microsoft Fabric, PowerBI, and other tools. This work is foundational for any company to be successful in an AI-native world. It starts with organizing your data + ensuring seamless access.

CyberNetic Labs - bringing powerful Agentic AI tools to the trades

Coaching at Scale: How Netic’s AI Is Raising the Bar for Our CX Team

One of the most overlooked growth levers in a home service business isn’t trucks.

It isn’t marketing.

It isn’t even pricing.

It’s the person who answers the phone.

At HB Solutions Group, thousands of customer journeys begin with a single call. And increasingly, those calls begin with a Netic AI agent before transferring (if needed) to one of our live CXRs.

That handoff moment matters.

A lot.

Which is why I’m excited about Netic’s new AI-powered call scoring feature.

Real-Time Visibility Into Call Quality

Historically, call coaching has looked something like this:

Pull a few random calls.
Listen manually.
Take notes.
Provide feedback days (or weeks) later.

It’s subjective.
It’s time-consuming.
And it doesn’t scale.

Netic’s AI-powered call scoring changes that.

Now, every live transfer from a Netic AI agent to one of our CXRs can be automatically evaluated in real time.

Not just recorded.

Evaluated.

This gives our leaders:

Immediate visibility into individual CXR performance
Consistent scoring across the entire team
Pattern recognition across hundreds (or thousands) of calls
Coaching opportunities based on actual data — not anecdotes

For growing companies, this is a big deal.

The Secret: Customization

Here’s the thing about AI.

If you deploy it “out of the box,” you’ll get generic results.

The most effective AI implementations are customized to the specific needs, standards, and values of your business.

Netic’s call scoring tool allows us to do exactly that.

We can build a fully customized rubric, including:

The specific call attributes we care about
Weighted importance of each attribute
Clear definitions of what “good” looks like
Clear examples of what “bad” looks like
Real call excerpts that serve as training benchmarks

For example, we can score against attributes like:

Empathy and tone
Clarity of communication
Adherence to our booking process
Financing discussion compliance
Membership positioning
Proper call disposition and documentation

And for each one, we can provide AI with:

Strong examples
Weak examples
Edge cases
Our own internal language and standards

This dramatically increases scoring accuracy.

AI isn’t guessing.

It’s evaluating against our playbook.

Here’s a look at the customization available inside of Netic’s Lead Scoring Rubric used at Hoffmann Brothers, Ferguson Roofing, and Blue Sky Plumbing, Electrical, Heating, and Air Conditioning.

Better Feedback. Faster Coaching.

The result?

High-quality analysis and feedback — not just for individual CXRs, but for call center managers as well.

Instead of asking:

“Was that a good call?”

We can now ask:

Where specifically did we lose control of the conversation?
Did we miss an opportunity to position membership?
Was financing mentioned when appropriate?
Did tone shift when price was discussed?
Are certain agents consistently missing key steps?

And we can see trends:

Which scripts are working?
Which objections are causing booking friction?
Which CXRs need additional training — and in what specific areas?

Coaching becomes precise.

Not emotional.
Not vague.
Not personality-driven.

Data-driven.

Why This Matters at Scale

When you’re small, you can sit beside every rep.

When you’re large — across multiple brands and markets — you can’t.

AI-powered call scoring allows us to:

Maintain consistency across markets
Protect our brand promise
Reinforce our culture
Improve booking rates
Reduce abandoned opportunities
Elevate the customer experience

It’s not about “monitoring.”

It’s about raising standards.

A Broader Lesson for Operators

Technology doesn’t replace leadership.

It amplifies it.

The operators who will win in the next decade won’t just “have AI.”

They will:

Customize it.
Train it.
Align it with their standards.
Use it as a coaching tool — not a shortcut.

At HB Solutions Group, we are committed to building the most successful independent home service company in the country.

That requires elite execution at every touchpoint.

And the phone — still — is one of the most important touchpoints we have.

If you’re a contractor thinking about AI, ask yourself:

Are you using it to cut corners?

Or are you using it to raise the bar?

We’re choosing the latter. And it’s why we are delivering exceptional results for both our business and our customers at Hoffmann Brothers (Saint Louis & Nashville), Ferguson Roofing (Saint Louis), and Blue Sky Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning (Denver).

— Chris

#grateful to have Cybernetic Labs sponsor this section of TPLT

Consumer Financing¹

A 10% Conversion Lift from One Financing Decision

Last year, my answer to a simple question used to frustrate me.

A friend in the industry — Brian Sloan, President at TR Miller in Chicago — called me and asked:

“Chris, who are you using for financing? And do you like them?”

Up until 2024, my answer usually sounded something like this:

“I don’t have a good recommendation for you.”

That’s not a great answer.

Because financing in our industry isn’t optional anymore.

It’s essential.

Financing Is No Longer a Back-Office Decision

When a homeowner’s HVAC system fails in July…
Or their sewer line collapses in March…
Or they need a $18,000 electrical upgrade…

They don’t always have cash sitting in a checking account.

But they still need the work done.

Access to financing isn’t just about helping close a sale.

It’s about helping a family solve a problem.

And for us as operators, financing approval rates directly impact:

Conversion rates
Average ticket
Revenue growth
Customer satisfaction

So when Brian asked for a recommendation, I wanted to give him a good one.

At the time, I couldn’t.

Today?

It’s easy.

“Let me throw you on a text thread with Jesse Davis, President at GreenSky.”

The 2025 Shift

In 2025, I met with Jesse Davis at GreenSky and laid it out plainly.

I told him:

Our approval rates weren’t where they needed to be.
Too many customers were getting declined.
We were losing deals because customers simply didn’t have access to capital when they needed it most.

Instead of giving me a generic sales pitch, Jesse did something better.

He partnered with us.

We reviewed our data together.
We looked at our approval trends.
We discussed our customer profile.

And then he delivered.

A 10% Approval Lift = A 10% Conversion Lift

Since transitioning to GreenSky, our customer approval rates have increased by nearly 10%.

Think about that for a minute.

That’s not a small optimization.

That’s a structural improvement in our conversion rate on big-ticket jobs.

Because when customers have access to funds:

They move forward.
They choose better equipment.
They protect their home.
They feel relief instead of stress.

It’s one of the clearest examples I’ve seen of how the right financing partner can materially impact growth.

Financing Is a Strategic Lever

Too many contractors treat financing as a checkbox:

“Yeah, we offer it.”

But here’s what I’ve learned:

Approval rates matter.
Program structure matters.
Merchant support matters.
Leadership alignment matters.

The difference between 55% approvals and 65% approvals on large jobs is massive over the course of a year.

Especially if you’re scaling from $20M to $100M… or $100M to $400M.

Financing isn’t just a sales tool.

It’s an operating lever.

Why I’m Comfortable Making the Referral

When Brian called, I didn’t hesitate.

“Let me connect you with Jesse.”

Because now I have data to stand behind the recommendation.

GreenSky didn’t just sell us a product.

They:

Reviewed our actual performance.
Customized a solution.
Committed to improving outcomes.
Delivered measurable results.

That’s partnership.

The Bigger Lesson

If you’re a home service operator, ask yourself:

What is our financing approval rate?
How often are we losing jobs due to declines?
Are we tracking financing penetration by technician?
Do we even know how we compare to peers?

If you don’t know the answer to those questions, you’re probably leaving growth on the table.

And more importantly, you may be leaving customers without options.

At HB Solutions Group, we’re committed to building the most successful independent home service company in the country.

That requires disciplined decisions in areas most people overlook.

Financing was one of those areas for us.

Now, when someone asks me for a recommendation?

I don’t pause anymore.

I say:

“Let me introduce you to Jesse.”

— Chris

#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®

This Week’s Favorite Tweets

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:

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