John Wilson

Prepping for fourth acquisition this year, closing in a few weeks. We fully skipped the $30M’s, now mid 40s - solidly 8fig EBITDA. Under 1x debt. Still bootstrapped. You can just do things.

Better sales processes solve a lot of problems (and they solve them fast). Higher average tickets, stronger cash flow, better marketing ROI, and more profitable growth. Think about the one change you can make and take immediate action.

What I learned doing 1 deal/month: - Growth exposes weak systems fast. - Accounting had to become integrated almost overnight. - Vendor relationships had to support multiple entities. - Our tech stack had to get centralized so the call center wasn’t bouncing between 4 systems just to book a lead. When you move fast, the problems show up immediately. And that’s the advantage. By the 3rd deal, we already had pattern recognition. You discover problems faster. You solve them faster. And eventually, you build infrastructure that can actually support scale.

5/ Automation and personalization are becoming the next advantage. The companies winning are automating: - Referral tracking - Follow-up - Review requests - Win-back campaigns They're also tailoring outreach based on customer behavior, equipment age, and service history.

4/ Referral payouts are increasing aggressively. $100 → $250 → $500 And conversion rates are jumping with them. Even at higher payouts, referral marketing still outperforms many paid channels because the lead already comes with built-in trust.

One of the biggest revenue opportunities in home services is sitting inside your existing customer database. The numbers behind referral and lifecycle marketing are getting hard to ignore. 🧵

Reminder: repetition drives better sales conversations. At Wilson, we have been running weekly sales training for nearly a decade. Not quarterly. Not only when numbers fall. Every single week. That consistency matters because sales skills fade fast without repetition. Objection handling, financing conversations, option building, and customer education all require constant practice. The best teams repeat the fundamentals until they become automatic in the field.

Super excited for this one. This Wed., I’m joining @eLocal to break down how we grew from ~$3M to $40 m+ by focusing on systems, operations, accountability, and customer experience, not just “grinding harder.” We're covering... - Where businesses lose revenue after the phone rings - The systems that actually support growth - How to delegate without losing control It's free...hope to see you there... events.zoom.us/ev/An6xQ_RYDp4…

10 years. That’s how long we’ve run weekly sales training at Wilson. Not quarterly. Not when numbers dip. Every single week. That consistency helped drive millions in high-ticket HVAC and plumbing sales.

The single reason one company gets the call while another gets ignored? Reputation.

A not-so-secret, secret. The biggest revenue gains often come from improving sales process and option presentation, not simply generating more leads.

College used to be the default. Now, more people are waking up to a different path. You can: - Skip the debt - Start working faster - Earn $80K–$120K within a few years The trades are not a fallback plan anymore, but instead a launchpad. Electricians. Plumbers. HVAC techs (among others). They’re all building wealth, freedom, and opportunity. This is no longer “blue collar vs. white collar.” It’s high-income skills vs. high-interest loans.

Spoke with a septic biz operator in a big market. - Has a single technician in an F-150 - He manages 2,100 service agreements that generate $60,000/month in predictable revenue - Primarily repeat customers - Have not spent a dollar on advertising in 10 years. Not sexy. Just effective.

Just finished up the Breaking $5 Million workshop at Wilson HQ…and it was the biggest one yet. Don’t miss out on the next one (September will be here before you know it). Big thanks to everyone in attendance, @thehvacjack, and the team at @OwnedxOperated for making it happen. Reserve your seat for September: ownedandoperated.com/upcoming-event…

If one channel drives 50% of your revenue, you have risk. A lot of it. The best operators build demand across digital, direct mail, field marketing, partnerships, and local brand plays. Diversification is a growth strategy in its own right.

I'm live with @thehvacjack at the @OwnedxOperated Breaking $5 Million workshop. Not here? We've got another one scheduled for Sep 15-17, 2026. Lots more to come on that.

Everyone is fighting for clicks while smart operators are buying neighborhoods. Yard signs. Direct mail. Local partnerships. Community events. While everyone else rents leads from Google, they build demand that they control. One algorithm change can kill your pipeline, but brand trust in a neighborhood compounds for years. Old-school for the win.

High-ticket sales has nothing to do with “selling harder.” It starts with solving a bigger problem. Do you offer the $300 Band-Aid, or the $15,000 solution that actually fixes the issue? Small problems create small tickets. Big problems create big revenue.