What would happen if your team stopped treating unclosed estimates as dead leads? Kristian Hall shares how she recovered about $5.5 million last year entirely by phone—and why she is on pace to clear $6 million this year—by slowing down, doing the research, and serving the customer before trying to sell.

Kristian walks Chris Crew and Jeremy Self through her path from restaurant work and loan officer to 11 years in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical. She breaks down her five-step approach: Find the Gold; READ the room (Review, Assess, Evaluate, Develop); make the Happy Call; listen intentionally; and check every box. The conversation also covers managing summer chaos, building a referral pipeline, learning the trades step by step, and the three-month relationship that helped her close a 17-system, roughly $200,000 opportunity.

Above all, this episode is a reminder that sales recovery is not a volume game. It is patient, curious, service-driven work that helps customers make the right decision and helps home-service businesses capture revenue they have already earned the opportunity to win.

• Managing peak-season pressure through scheduling, delegation, and focus

• Recovering approximately $5.5 million in revenue entirely by phone

• Kristian’s path from restaurant work and lending into the skilled trades

• Why service, trust, and curiosity matter more than a hard sell

• The five-step sales-recovery process: Find, READ, Happy Call, Listen, Check

• Using ServiceTitan notes and history to prepare before calling

• Following up when a customer does not answer

• Intentional listening and the five boxes behind a confident decision

• Building a referral pipeline for slower seasons

• How patience helped close a 17-system, roughly $200,000 opportunity

• Learning HVAC, plumbing, and electrical one step at a time

• Why home-service businesses should work existing leads before demanding more

00:00 — Cold Open: Finding the Gold in Sales Recovery

00:34 — Kristian Hall’s Production Management Role

02:17 — Managing Peak-Season Chaos

05:31 — Recovering $5.5 Million by Phone

08:12 — Kristian’s Path from Wyoming to the Trades

16:05 — Why Service-First Sales Wins

18:05 — The Five-Step “Find the Gold” Process

22:22 — The Happy Call and Intentional Listening

25:45 — Checking the Boxes and Building Grit

29:09 — Doing the Work Through Slow Seasons

33:03 — A Three-Month, 17-System Sales Story

40:38 — Stop Chasing Volume and Work Every Lead

In the third mailbag episode of season two, Kenny Chapman and Chris Crew take on audience questions focusing on customers—how to handle them, serve them, and keep your sanity in the process. They break down what to say during a follow-up, how to deal with refund requests, and why the "customer is always right" mindset might be holding you back.

Tune in to get practical tips, a fresh perspective, and the kind of straight talk that helps you show up better—for your team, your clients, and yourself.

• Chris starts by explaining how to master sales follow-ups and why most follow-ups fail without proper anchoring.
• Learn why salespeople who know how to anchor always close more deals and how ditching strict scripts gives you the flexibility to connect authentically.
• Chris shares ways to pick up a conversation with prospects without wasting time, including practical phrases you can use immediately to keep things moving forward.
• Why Chris recommends eliminating the phrase "follow-up" from your vocabulary and the mindset shift that creates better sales conversations.
• Kenny highlights why every sales follow-up should be treated as one seamless sales appointment.
• How to handle upset customers: Kenny breaks down why the "customer is always right" myth can actually hurt your business and what to do instead.
• Chris explains the secret to dealing with difficult customers: Don't take it personally because it's never really about you; it's always about them.
• Understand why some customers won't be reasoned with and how to focus your energy on the 95% who truly want to work with you, instead of the small percentage trying to take you down.
• Kenny reveals how to keep your team motivated when offering money-back guarantees, especially when technicians might feel they're losing commission when customers ask for their money back.
• Why giving refunds, even when you did everything right, is a long-term business win: Kenny shares the mindset of "life gives more to the giver."
• Learn why developing an abundance mindset is crucial for business success: Kenny explains how knowing there will always be more customers keeps scarcity fears at bay.
• Chris shares three keys to supporting entrepreneurs during stressful times: Patience, communication, and candid conversations that open the door to real solutions.
• What to do when frustration with employees builds: Chris shows how vulnerability and honest communication can turn tension into teamwork.
• Chris explains why getting clear time frames after delegating tasks keeps projects on track and how to avoid the "handoff hangover."
• According to Kenny, there's no such thing as financial independence. There's only emotional independence. When we reach a certain milestone of money, then the emotional freedom kicks in.
• Kenny emphasizes putting relationships before results. This is the secret behind his strong partnership with Chris and why business wins flow from personal trust.
• How to practice accountability in relationships: Kenny advises taking 100% responsibility for what's yours and letting go of what isn't.

Mentioned in This Episode:

HomeServiceBusinessSuccessShow.com/s2e15

The Blue Collar Success Group

Blue Collar Success Laws: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Problem-Solving, Productivity, & Profit by Kenny Chapman

The blue collar trades have created incredible careers for people who often never planned on working in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, or home services at all.

#ProudToBeBlueCollar® Show tells those stories.

Hosted by Chris Crew and Jeremy Self of The Blue Collar Success Group®, each episode features someone from the home service industry sharing how they found the trades, what the early years demanded, the turning points that moved them forward, and the practical tips they use in their role every day.

You’ll hear from people across the entire business—not just owners and executives, but salespeople, service technicians, installers, CSRs, dispatchers, managers, coaches, and other professionals building real careers in the trades.

If you already work in home services, you’ll find ideas you can use. If you’re considering a career in the trades and want to know what the path actually looks like, start here.

• Real career stories from across the home service trades

• HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and the broader home service industry

• Guests from every seat in the business—not just the corner office

• How people found their way into the trades

• The turning points that helped them advance

• Practical tips and skills listeners can use in their own roles

• A show for owners, managers, technicians, salespeople, installers, CSRs, dispatchers, and future tradespeople

• Hosted by Chris Crew and Jeremy Self

• Produced by The Blue Collar Success Group®

• Helping more people see the career opportunities available in the trades

Episode 1 Drops 9/23/26

00:00–00:20 — The Hook

00:20–00:45 — What You’ll Hear

00:45–01:09 — Invitation to Listen