Most contractors sell extended warranties and never think twice about how broken the model actually is. Homeowners pay upfront, and when they actually need a repair the manufacturer or third party warranty company makes it nearly impossible to use. Low labor rates. Denied claims. A processing nightmare that benefits everyone except the contractor and the customer. In this episode, Derek Cormier sits down with Will Kinsey, owner of Conduit Warranty, to break down a completely different model. One where the contractor owns the warranty company itself instead of handing that revenue and control to someone else. Will walks through exactly how this works, why it is structured to be fully legal and compliant, and how contractors end up owning the majority of the money instead of giving it away. He also shares how he personally incentivizes his own management team with a percentage of the revenue instead of giving up ownership, and what that means for contractors thinking about doing the same with their leadership. This is a real, detailed breakdown for any contractor who has ever sold a manufacturer extended warranty and wondered why the customer experience on the back end is so painful, or who simply wants to know if there is a better way to build long term value into their business. What You Will Learn: Why traditional manufacturer and third party extended warranties are broken for both the contractor and the customer. How a contractor owned warranty model is structured to stay fully legal. How the money flow works and how much of it the contractor actually keeps. How long warranty funds sit before becoming accessible and whether they can be invested. What trades and what types of equipment this model can be used for. How long warranty terms can run. How to get started and what it costs to implement. What companies are already using this model successfully. Topics Covered: Contractor owned warranty programs. Extended warranty alternatives. HVAC plumbing and electrical warranty strategy. Building recurring value into a trades business. Warranty claims processing. Manufacturer warranty problems. Contractor compensation and incentive structures. Trades business growth strategy. Home service revenue models. Who This Episode Is For: This episode is for HVAC contractors, plumbers, electricians, and home service business owners who currently sell manufacturer or third party extended warranties and want a better option. It is for contractors who have dealt with denied claims, low labor reimbursement rates, or a painful process on behalf of their customers. It is for any trades business owner looking for a new way to build long term value and recurring revenue into their company. About Escape the One Man Show: Escape the One Man Show is a podcast for contractors and trades business owners who are tired of being the bottleneck in their company. Host Derek Cormier shares the leadership lessons, systems, marketing strategies, and operational frameworks that helped build Climate Experts into a multi million dollar home service business. Have a question you want answered on the show? Call 321-495-7788 and leave a voicemail. Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode.

Every year when shoulder season hits, HVAC companies start flooding homeowners with ads for $29, $39, and $49 tune ups. And every year homeowners ask the same question: is an HVAC tune up actually worth it or is it just a way to get a foot in the door?

In this episode, Derek Cormier tackles one of the most debated topics in the trades head on. The difference between a real preventative maintenance visit and a low price bait and switch. Why the perception problem exists in the first place. And why your pricing strategy might be quietly destroying the trust you need to grow.

The uncomfortable truth is that a legitimate tune up and a scam can look identical to a homeowner if you are not doing your job right. No checklist. No system health report. No explanation of what was found. Just a receipt and a wave goodbye. That is not a customer problem. That is an operator problem.

Derek breaks down what a real tune up actually includes, why the name you use matters less than the process you follow, and how contractors who charge low prices to get in the door are not always wrong but are often setting themselves up to fail. He also addresses the pricing trap that keeps contractors stuck and the one shift in how you present and deliver your maintenance service that changes everything.

What You Will Learn: Why homeowners are Googling whether HVAC tune ups are a scam and what that means for your business. The difference between a real preventative maintenance visit and one that earns the reputation of a scam. Why your delivery and documentation matter more than what you charge. How to present your tune up in a way that builds trust instead of suspicion. Why low priced tune ups are not inherently dishonest but can be a trap. What a real 24 point inspection looks like and why the checklist matters. How your pricing strategy is either building or destroying your brand.

Topics Covered: HVAC tune up vs preventative maintenance. Low price tune up strategy. Building trust with homeowners. HVAC maintenance pricing. System health report and documentation. Contractor pricing strategy. Home service maintenance visits. How to present a tune up to customers. Why homeowners distrust HVAC companies. Shoulder season marketing for contractors.

Who This Episode Is For: This episode is for HVAC contractors, plumbers, electricians, and home service business owners who are running maintenance visits and wondering why they are not converting into loyal customers. It is for contractors who have lost business to low price competitors and do not know how to compete. It is for any trades business owner who wants to understand how to deliver a maintenance visit that builds trust, generates referrals, and creates long term customers instead of one time calls.

About Escape the One Man Show: Escape the One Man Show is a podcast for contractors and trades business owners who are tired of being the bottleneck in their company. Host Derek Cormier shares the leadership lessons, systems, marketing strategies, and operational frameworks that helped build Climate Experts into a multi million dollar home service business.

Have a question you want answered on the show? Call 321-495-7788 and leave a voicemail. Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode.

Keywords: HVAC tune up scam, preventative maintenance HVAC, HVAC maintenance pricing, contractor pricing strategy, home service maintenance, HVAC shoulder season, system health report, HVAC trust building, contractor podcast, trades business growth, Climate Experts, Derek Cormier, Escape the One Man Show, HVAC business owner, home service pricing, HVAC customer trust, trades marketing, HVAC maintenance visit, contractor business growth.

Billy Gregus, owner of Integrity Refrigeration, called in and asked a question every contractor is asking in 2026:

What is actually working in HVAC marketing right now? PPC? LSA? Guerrilla marketing? Where should contractors be putting their money and energy to get the best ROI?

In this episode, Derek Cormier breaks down exactly how Climate Experts approaches marketing and why that strategy continues to produce results.

Like many contractors, Derek initially handed his entire marketing budget to a large agency and hoped for the best. While it produced some results, he quickly learned a better approach: segment your marketing among specialized vendors and have someone on your team managing performance and accountability.

At Climate Experts, the majority of leads still come from referrals, supported by a strong referral program and consistent marketing to existing customers. The company also has its own CMO who works with the team weekly, manages vendors, tracks performance, and ensures every marketing dollar is being spent effectively. Combined with an internal marketing coordinator and a social media strategy built specifically for the trades, the company has developed a system that delivers measurable ROI.

This episode is a real-world answer to a real question from a contractor trying to determine where to invest marketing dollars in 2026.

What You'll Learn:
• Why many contractors get burned by large marketing agencies
• How to segment vendors based on their strengths
• Why your existing customer base is your most underutilized marketing asset
• What a successful referral program looks like
• Why having an internal marketing leader changes everything
• How trades business owners should approach social media
• What is producing ROI for a multi-million-dollar HVAC company in 2026

Topics Covered:
• HVAC marketing in 2026
• PPC vs LSA vs guerrilla marketing
• Referral marketing for contractors
• Marketing to existing customers
• Managing multiple marketing vendors
• Building an in-house marketing team
• Social media for HVAC companies
• Home service lead generation
• Marketing ROI for contractors

Who This Episode Is For:
HVAC contractors, plumbers, electricians, and home service business owners who are spending money on marketing and want to know what's actually working. It's for contractors who have been burned by agencies, owners looking to scale from $1M to $10M+, and anyone wanting a clearer strategy for growing a home service company.

About Escape the One Man Show:
Escape the One Man Show is a podcast for contractors and trades business owners who are tired of being the bottleneck in their company. Host Derek Cormier shares the leadership lessons, systems, marketing strategies, and operational frameworks that helped build Climate Experts into a multi-million-dollar home service business.

Have a question you want answered on the show?

Call 321-495-7788 and leave a voicemail. Your question may be featured in an upcoming episode.

Keywords:
HVAC marketing 2026, HVAC lead generation, PPC vs LSA, contractor marketing, home service marketing, referral program, HVAC business growth, social media for contractors, marketing ROI, HVAC leads, contractor podcast, trades business marketing, Climate Experts, Derek Cormier, Escape the One Man Show, marketing budget for contractors, home service business growth, HVAC company marketing strategy.