Inner Circle
Sign In Join Inner Circle
← Back to Listen
Toolbox for the Trades Growth

Niching Down: How Companies in the Trades Can Dominate Their Industry

⏱️ 33:49 🎤 Jackie Aubel, Chris Dutell
AUDIO EPISODE
Niching Down: How Companies in the Trades Can Dominate Their Industry
0:00
0:00

Chapters

Click to jump to section

  • 0:27
    Marketing through Employers
    Chris advises targeting the largest employers in your area, offering VIP memberships and discounts to their employees, and providing excellent service to generate word-of-mouth referrals.
  • 1:53
    Fourth-Generation Plumber
    Chris shares his family's plumbing legacy, tracing it back to his great-grandfather, and his own circuitous path back to the trades after a stint in finance.
  • 3:02
    Founding Service Plumbing
    Chris recounts how a two-year plumbing project for a food distributor led to starting his own business, quickly followed by a major contract with HCA Hospitals.
  • 7:40
    Medical Gas Niche
    Chris explains how working with hospitals led him to specialize in medical gas services, a unique and underserved niche in his region.
  • 12:03
    Organic Growth Strategy
    Chris discusses how his commercial hospital work naturally generated residential clients through word-of-mouth and employee discounts, making marketing unnecessary for many years.
  • 20:28
    Life-Changing Event
    Chris opens up about his triple bypass surgery, which forced him to re-evaluate his business operations and paved the way for his company's transformation.
  • 26:31
    Pantheon and Transformation
    Attending Service Titan's Pantheon conference proved to be a pivotal moment for Chris, inspiring him to invest in business education and leadership development.
  • 32:05
    Learning and Growth
    After Pantheon, Chris immersed himself in learning about business, from KPIs to marketing, dramatically changing his approach to company management.
  • 48:19
    Leveraging Google & AI
    Chris shares his strategy of using all Google products, including Gemini AI for price book descriptions, to optimize his marketing and business operations.
  • 1:05:18
    Automation and Collaboration
    Chris's future goals include automating his business to run without him and fostering collaboration among local plumbing companies to elevate the entire industry.

Speakers

J
Jackie Aubel
Host
C
Chris Dutell
Owner of Service Plumbing

Key Takeaways

✦

Identify the largest employers in your service area and offer their employees VIP benefits (discounts, priority service) to generate organic residential leads.

✦

Specializing in unique, underserved niches (like medical gas plumbing) can create a significant competitive advantage and open new revenue streams.

✦

Prioritize cleanliness and a 'do a little something extra' mindset on every job to foster exceptional customer service and strong word-of-mouth referrals.

✦

Embrace continuous learning and networking within the industry (e.g., conferences, peer groups) to gain new business insights and stay ahead of the curve.

✦

Utilize AI tools like Google Gemini to enhance operational efficiency, such as writing detailed, value-driven price book descriptions to justify pricing and improve customer perception.

✦

Adopt a 'hire fast, fire fast' approach to team building to quickly identify and retain effective technicians while minimizing the impact of unsuitable hires.

✦

Foster a collaborative mindset with other local contractors; sharing knowledge and referring specialized jobs can elevate the entire industry and create a supportive network.

Want the full experience?

Join the Inner Circle for full access to every episode, AI-powered insights, personalized coaching, and a network of industry leaders.

Join Inner Circle →
POWER100

Inner Circle Membership Portal © 2026 Power100. All rights reserved.

power100.io