From the Yellow Chair
Home Service Industry marketing and branding gurus, Crystal Williams and Emily Fleniken speak the language of contractors by talking condensers, co-op dollars, service agreements, and equipment warranties, but also the language of entrepreneurs by talking ROI, creative strategy, trending tactics, employee retention, and community engagement. You’ll be entertained by the comical banter, but informed by the holistic approach to marketing and branding. On the daily, you’ll find this dynamic duo working the grind at Lemon Seed Marketing, but this podcast is an outlet for us to share their experiences with the masses, From the Yellow Chair.
Episodes
Want your marketing to feel smoother, your sales to close faster, and your decisions to get easier? We dig into the real gifts of a strong brand and why it’s the best investment you can make heading into a new year. Forget the myth that a brand is just a logo. We break down how clarity, trust, and consistency shape everything from first impressions to lifetime value, and we share practical ways to make your message un...
Want a marketing plan that survives platform changes, rising CPCs, and slow seasons? We sit down with CMO Matt Tyner to unpack a practical playbook for home service companies that blends brand building with capacity-aware demand generation. From HVAC to roofing, Matt’s path reveals why the cheapest leads come from strong brands, how consistent execution compounds, and where most contractors accidentally sabotage their...
A new logo didn’t change everything—owning a clear promise did. We sit down with Mark and Teresa Summers of Skagit Plumbing to unpack how winning the Great American Brand Story set off a deeper transformation: a cousin-made logo gave way to a brand with a mission their team and town could feel. From the first “lottery ticket” application to the moment they just knew they’d won, their journey shows how identity becomes...
Ready to stop chasing topline and start building a business that lasts? We sit down with Dave Sullivan—third-generation contractor, founder of The Roofer Show, and coach to growth-minded owners—to unpack how real progress comes from balancing three essentials: selling work, doing work, and keeping score. If your company leans too hard on one leg, you feel it in missed deadlines, thin margins, and constant cash stress....
Loyalty doesn’t happen at the invoice; it happens in the simple, human moments after the job. We break down a practical gratitude playbook for home service brands—HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and beyond—so you can turn happy customers into repeat buyers and vocal fans. The strategy is delightfully simple: make it personal, make it useful, and make it consistent.
We start with the smallest levers that deliver o...
Ever wonder why some shops can charge premium prices without flinching while others apologize their way through every estimate? We unpack the playbook for home service pros who want to price with confidence, execute with precision, and market with integrity so customers feel great about saying yes.
We start by reframing growth through three levers—smart pricing, operational excellence, and marketing that actu...
Leads aren’t dying. They’re expiring while your team gets to them. We unpack a practical playbook for contractors to capture more jobs without buying more clicks, focusing on speed to lead across online scheduling, AI-enabled chat, and automated follow-ups that never sleep. Joined by Danielle from Contractor In Charge and OnePath, we talk through what actually converts: fewer fields, faster confirmations, wider time w...
Tired of launching “great ideas” that die in the field? We break down a practical playbook for moving from technician to owner and getting your team to champion marketing initiatives without the eye rolls. The throughline: earn trust, speak with conviction, and keep every rollout simple enough to sell at a kitchen table.
We start with buy-in and why it begins with you. If you don’t believe in your maintenance...
Shoulder season has a way of telling the truth. When the weather stops handing you leads, response-based digital channels cool off, and the real drivers of growth—outbound effort and tight operations—step into the spotlight. We walk through a practical playbook for HVAC, pest, and home service pros to build demand on purpose, not by accident, and to convert more of the calls they already get.
We break down th...
What if working with your spouse or sibling could be your unfair advantage instead of a constant tug-of-war? We sit down with women leading HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and home service companies to unpack the real playbook for thriving in business together: define lanes, plan ahead, price with confidence, and protect the parts of life that matter most.
We start with the stories behind Anchor Heating and Air i...
Ever wonder why some home service brands feel trustworthy before they even quote the job? We pull back the curtain on three simple, overlooked moves that stack trust fast: a brand ecosystem audit, a hyperlocal micro influencer network, and a documentary-style install video that shows the work, the manners, and the finish line.
First, we map every place your brand lives in the real world—fleet wraps, uniforms,...
Phones get quiet, bills don’t. We tackle the slow-season squeeze head-on with a blueprint for building maintenance clubs that are easy to sell, rich with perks, and powerful enough to turn downtime into dependable revenue. Rachel kicks things off before Crystal and Emily dive into the strategies we use with HVAC, plumbing, roofing, and pest control companies to keep cash flowing when the weather won’t do the heavy lif...
Most contractors don’t have a marketing problem—they have a systems problem. We sat down with Skip Wilson, CEO of Draft Media Partners and a veteran of iHeart’s digital era, to break down how to replace tactic-hopping with a durable plan that compounds. We start with the core: define a real audience, clarify the action you want (calls, forms, financing inquiries), craft messages people actually care about, and then bu...
Tired of adding hours and still feeling stuck? We dive straight into the moves that create freedom: pricing for profit, selling outcomes in the home, and using a simple, layered marketing mix that actually compounds results. Our guest, Ryan Lee—former landscape lighting owner turned coach—shares how a 10% price increase can double profit for many service businesses, why on-the-spot closes beat emailed quotes, and how ...
How quickly are you responding to potential customers? In today's instant-gratification marketplace, that question might determine whether your contracting business thrives or struggles. When a homeowner discovers a pest problem at midnight or needs an emergency HVAC repair, they're not waiting until your business hours—they want answers now.
Nick, a serial entrepreneur who has built three organizat...
Ever wonder why some contractors seem to explode onto the scene while others struggle for decades without significant growth? The answer lies in avoiding what Crystal Williams and Eric Thomas call "the dumbest marketing mistakes" that plague the contracting industry.
This candid conversation dives deep into the nine critical errors preventing contractors from reaching their full potential. At the to...
The search for qualified HVAC talent has contractors desperate for innovative solutions. In this eye-opening conversation, Crystal welcomes Flavia De La Fuente, founder of Field Pay, who's pioneering a revolutionary approach to compensation that's transforming how service businesses recruit, retain, and motivate their teams.
Flavia reveals how today's workforce expectations have fundamentally s...
Feeling trapped in the Google advertising hamster wheel? You're not alone. As contractors face rising ad costs and diminishing returns from traditional search marketing, many are desperately seeking alternatives—but fear venturing into unfamiliar territory.
This episode dismantles the myths surrounding lead aggregation platforms like Yelp, Thumbtack, Angie, and Nextdoor. Rather than dismissing these plat...
Ever wonder why your service business hits a ceiling despite your best marketing efforts? The answer might not be in your advertising strategy but in your leadership bench strength.
In this enlightening conversation, Crystal welcomes leadership strategist Elise from Velocity Leader to explore how contractors can build depth on their teams. Drawing from her experience coaching over 150 contractors annually, El...
Ready to transform your contracting business? Crystal, co-founder and lead strategist at Lemon Seed Marketing, breaks down the three essential mindshifts that separate thriving contractors from those constantly struggling with marketing frustrations.
First, you must recognize that you already have a brand whether you're actively managing it or not. Your logo, customer experiences, reviews, and market pre...
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