Let Customers Speak For You
Taylor Vaden is the Operations Manager at “The Plumbing and Air Services Co.”, which is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He has been with the company for the last three years and is excited to continue to watch it grow.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Taylor has been with the company for three years now. He comes from a sales rep and was an account executive from 2014-to 2018. He realized pretty quickly that sales were not something that he wanted to be in for the rest of his life. He began in a lower role at the company but eventually found himself in an operations position. He expresses that he loves the industry and is extremely happy in his role.
How long has the company been in existence?
The company is approaching its tenth anniversary. It has grown a significant amount throughout the years and Taylor is looking forward to the company’s future.
What percent of the company is plumbing, and what percent is air?
Taylor explains that the two services are 50/50. He says that depending on the season and the weather, the split can vary.
What percent of the company is commercial versus residential?
Taylor explains that they do some commercial work, but for the most part, they primarily do residential work. He says that they tend to shy away from new construction because there is a lot more planning and strategizing involved. It also ends up being much more time-consuming.
What got you into plumbing?
From 2014-to 2018, he was focusing on sales and trying to make commissions. After a while, he finally hit a crossroads and decided that sales were not something he’d like to do for the rest of his life. He ended up pitching a sale to his current manager at the time and ended up staying in touch with him. When he decided to leave his sales job, they offered him a position. Although he didn’t accept the position initially, he decided to take the role after he couldn’t seem to find a job that was the right fit for him. He started in a trade admin role but quickly made his way up the ladder.
What type of advertising do you successfully use?
Taylor says they utilize a lot of digital marketing strategies, billboards, TV advertisements, and more. He expresses that they try to be in as many places as possible to spread brand awareness and continue to increase their customer base.
Where do you see the most ROI?
Taylor says that right now, ROI comes from direct mail and lead sources from digital marketing campaigns. He says that marketing has a lot to do with trial and error. Some things work better than others for different businesses. He says that this is an incredibly competitive industry so you must stay on top of your marketing game to turn a profit.
How many people do you currently have working for you?
Taylor states that they currently have four install crews running in each department right now. They have around 6 techs on the HVAC side, and 8 on the plumbing side.
Is there anything that limits your growth?
Taylor says that many businesses have struggled to find reliable help, which has made it more difficult to grow. With it being such a competitive market, it makes it even more difficult to get great people. Aside from this, they have plenty of work to do and continue to easily grow their client base. During COVID, they saw an influx of new customers because people were utilizing their homes much more.
What advice do you have for someone looking to grow their plumbing business?
Taylor says that word of mouth is one of the best advertising strategies. It all starts with the basics of following through with your word and being reliable. They put a lot of emphasis on reviews and make sure that they establish great relationships with their customers to keep them coming back.
Stay tuned for the next episode of the Business Hammer podcast!