Plan B Business
Trades

Stop running every call yourself.
Build a trades business that dispatches without you.

We work with electrical and plumbing contractor owners doing $1M-$8M in annual revenue who are tired of running every truck roll, eating warranty callbacks, and watching technicians leave for the competition. Our 12-month engagement gets you to disciplined dispatch, maintenance-plan recurring revenue, and 15%+ net margins.

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Industry Reality

9 patterns we see in >70% of electricians & plumbers

85%
frequency

Service call price stuck at $89-129 when market supports $150-300

Root cause: Owner-tech set diagnostic fee 10 years ago. Fear of losing the call. No tiered service menu. ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro pricing matrix never updated.

What we do: Tiered diagnostic structure: standard ($179), evening/weekend ($249), emergency ($349). Flat-rate book pricing for top 50 jobs deployed in ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro. Annual 6-8% price increase discipline.

80%
frequency

Install jobs ($5K-$25K) priced on labor + materials instead of value

Root cause: Owner quotes from gut. Mid-job change orders eaten. Margin on installs at 8-15% when target is 25-35%.

What we do: Good/Better/Best install proposals (panel upgrade, water heater, repipe, service upgrade). Each tier with clear value articulation. Margin lifts from 12% to 28%+ within 9 months.

85%
frequency

No maintenance plan / recurring revenue

Root cause: 100% break/fix model. Every month starts at zero. No predictable cash flow during slow seasons.

What we do: Membership maintenance plan ($14-29/month or $199-349/year): annual inspection, priority dispatch, 15% off repairs, no diagnostic fee. Target 800-2,500 active members within 18 months. 25-35% of revenue recurring.

80%
frequency

Dispatch is owner-on-the-phone all day

Root cause: Owner takes every incoming call, dispatches every tech, handles every customer escalation. Owner can't take a vacation.

What we do: Hire dedicated CSR/dispatcher ($45K-65K) trained on ServiceTitan or Housecall Pro. Owner moves from dispatch desk to estimating + BD. CSR handles 80% of inbound within 90 days.

75%
frequency

Technician retention at 50% annually - top techs leaving for $5K signing bonuses

Root cause: Below-market hourly + no production bonus + no clear path + truck assignment chaos. Best techs feel undervalued.

What we do: Hybrid compensation: hourly base + 7-10% production bonus + monthly maintenance-plan-sold bonus. Dedicated trucks per tech. Defined Apprentice → Journeyman → Master → Lead Tech career path with comp transparency.

70%
frequency

Warranty callbacks at 8-15% of installs eat margin

Root cause: No documented install QC. Tech finishes job, leaves, customer calls back 30 days later. Owner-tech rolls free truck to fix.

What we do: Documented install QC checklist (photo-evidenced). Post-install 24-hour follow-up call from CSR. Drop warranty callbacks from 12% to under 4% within 9 months. Adds 4-6 points to install margin.

60%
frequency

Licensing and permit chaos - missed renewals, expired master licenses

Root cause: No centralized compliance calendar. Master electrician license, contractor license, state EPA card, refrigerant card - all in someone's head.

What we do: Compliance calendar in ServiceTitan or Google Calendar with 90/30/7-day alerts. Master license renewal owned by office manager, not owner. Annual permit-pull audit. (Note: we don't provide legal/licensing compliance - we connect you with state-licensed advisors.)

75%
frequency

Less than 100 Google reviews with 4.5 average

Root cause: No systematic review request post-job. Techs forget. CSR doesn't follow up.

What we do: Automated post-job SMS review request via Podium, NiceJob, or built into ServiceTitan. Tech bonus tied to review milestones. Target 500+ reviews at 4.8+ within 12 months.

70%
frequency

No B2B / commercial revenue stream

Root cause: 100% residential. Local property management companies, small commercial buildings, and HOAs go to bigger contractors.

What we do: Build a commercial/PM program: monthly billing, dedicated commercial tech, preventive maintenance contracts. Target 20-30% commercial revenue within 18 months. More predictable than residential.

Benchmarks

The numbers we hit

KPIMarket avgPlan B targetAfter 12 mo
Average ticket size (service call)$280-$420$650+$520-$750
Average install job value$3,500-$6,500$9,000+$7K-$11K
% revenue from maintenance plans0-8%25%+15-28%
Technician productivity (billable hrs / available hrs)55-65%85%+75-88%
Warranty callback rate (% of installs)10-18%<4%3-6%
Owner-tech weekly field hours35-45<108-15
Net profit margin5-10%15-18%12-18%
Engagement Model

What working with us looks like

  1. 01

    Month 1: Dispatch + financial audit

    We pull 12 months of ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or FieldEdge data. Average ticket, tech productivity, dispatch lag, callback rate, install margin. You leave with a written 90-day plan and the 2-3 highest-leverage levers.

  2. 02

    Months 2-3: Pricing matrix + maintenance plan

    Flat-rate price book deployed across top 50 jobs. Membership maintenance plan launches with existing customers first (target 200 members in 60 days). Good/Better/Best install proposal template live.

  3. 03

    Months 4-6: CSR + tech comp

    Dedicated CSR/dispatcher hired and trained. Owner moves from dispatch to estimating. Technician compensation restructured with production + maintenance-plan bonuses. Install QC checklist enforced.

  4. 04

    Months 7-12: Commercial + compounding

    Commercial/PM pilot launches with 5-10 local property managers. Maintenance plan crosses 800+ members. Warranty callbacks below 5%. Owner-tech field hours below 15/week. We shift to monthly cadence.

Common questions from electricians & plumbers owners

What size trades business is this for?−
Sweet spot: $1M-$8M annual revenue with 3-15 service trucks. Below $1M, you're owner-operator and need different help. Above $8M (or 20+ trucks), you typically need a full-time GM + Operations Director - we'd hand off.
Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, or all of the above?+
We work primarily with residential electrical and plumbing contractors. HVAC is similar but has its own seasonal patterns (cooling season) and equipment sales economics - we can work with HVAC but it's a different engagement. We do not work with commercial-only electrical or plumbing contractors (different bid model, longer cycles).
ServiceTitan vs Housecall Pro vs FieldEdge - which do you recommend?+
ServiceTitan for $2M+ revenue with strong office team (most powerful, steepest learning curve). Housecall Pro for under $2M with simpler operations (great UX). FieldEdge for shops already on it. We help you choose based on your size and complexity. We don't sell software.
Our techs hate flat-rate pricing. They want T&M.+
Common pushback, usually from techs who benefit from slow work. Flat-rate done right means techs make MORE on efficient jobs. The transition takes 60-90 days. Top techs love it after they see their paychecks. Slow techs self-select out, which is the right outcome.
What about licensing - can you help with that?+
We don't provide licensing or compliance services directly. We help you build the compliance calendar and connect you with vetted state-licensed advisors. Master license, contractor license, state EPA cards, refrigerant cards - we make sure nothing slips, but we don't pull permits for you.
Will the maintenance plan really work in our market?+
Yes. Maintenance plans work in every US market we've tested - from rural to urban, from low-income to luxury. The plan structure and pricing adapt to your market. The fundamentals (recurring revenue, priority dispatch, no diagnostic fee for members) are universal.
Who does the work?+
Ligal Frish and Eitan Eshtemaker - the two co-founders. Direct access, no associates.
What's your fee structure?+
Diagnostic: $1,500 one-time. Advisor: $3,500/month (most trades engagements, 12-month). Partner: $8,500+/month (multi-location or fast-scale operations).
Do you handle marketing campaigns?+
We handle strategy, offer development, and funnel structure. We don't run Google LSA, Google Ads, or Meta campaigns. We partner with vetted trades-marketing agencies if you need execution help.

Stop running every call. Build a trades business that runs without you.

30-minute strategy call. We'll diagnose your top 2 levers and tell you if we're a fit. No pitch. No pressure.

Book My Free Strategy Call