25+ years of customer conversations.
The story behind TrustBuilt Training, the free Community, and Proven Tech.
I started in this trade the way a lot of guys do: helping my dad on HVAC jobs before I was old enough to drive. By 2000 I was doing installs for real, on the payroll. I kind of knew the equipment, enough to get the job done, not enough to be sure of myself in front of a customer. What actually scared me wasn't the fix. It was proving it. I didn't have a real process for backing up what I found, so every service call felt like a test I hadn't studied for. What if I missed something? What if I called it wrong and got the callback? I'd fumble over my own words the second I wasn't sure of myself, and homeowners could hear it.
That fear followed me for years, and it was never really about talking. It was about proof. I could land on the right answer, but I couldn't always show the proof with data or readings to back it up, and that filled me with fear and doubt when explaining it to the customer. It really crippled my communication. None of it mattered in the driveway if I couldn't prove what I found and say it back to the customer in a way that made sense.
In 2012 I left HVAC for one year. I took a job at Vitamix as a sales demonstrator, the guy at the kiosk making smoothies and running the same pitch, word for word, dozens of times a day, every day. I didn't know it at the time, but that job rebuilt me. Saying the same words that many times does something: the fumbling stops. The words stop being something you're reaching for and start being something you just say. Confidence isn't a personality trait. It's simplicity, clarity, and repetition.
I went back into HVAC in 2013, and the difference showed up immediately. I became a senior tech quickly, not just because my technical skills had jumped, but because I finally gained the confidence to talk to a customer like I knew what I was doing technically and in a way they could understand. Same diagnosis skills as before, a completely different outcome once I could say it right.
I learned that my value as an HVAC service technician went beyond my technical skills. By combining my technical knowledge with clear communication and strong customer service, I was able to earn additional income each summer while helping customers better understand their HVAC systems. Providing that knowledge and personal attention gave customers confidence in my recommendations and in the quality of the service I provided.
That confidence and skill carried me into HVAC sales with the same company. My name was consistently at the top of leaderboards in the field and in a sales role. I can directly tie my success in this trade to my ability to communicate confidently and guide customers to earn their business.
My communication abilities led to more personal development and leadership skills over the following few years. I became a training and development manager and an adjunct instructor at Wake Technical Community College in their apprenticeship program, where I'm still on staff as an NCCER Certified HVAC Instructor. I now have a mentorship and training opportunity to teach others to speak clearly and improve their technical skills. I went back into HVAC sales and kept sharpening it, and I was offered a sales manager role at a billion-dollar company. Knowledge, communication, and presenting yourself well to earn the customer's trust are all skills that have contributed to greater opportunities.
I'm currently a project manager for a large HVAC company, and I still teach HVAC at Wake Tech and through my training company, TrustBuilt Training. In every one of those classrooms, I've seen the same gap: we train techs on the equipment for years, and on not nearly enough on the words we say. Every semester I meet another version of the tech I used to be: sharp on the fix, shy in front of the customer.
That gap is what TrustBuilt Training exists to close, and it's why I built the Proven Tech App. Prove It, Say It, Earn It is 25+ years of lessons turned into a method, and now into a tool:
"Prove It" is the diagnostic logic I never had a name for back when I started, and it removes the doubt and anxiety about troubleshooting.
"Say It" is the step where the customer is truly empowered to decide when the words are simple, clear, and understandable.
"Earn It" is when a customer is confident and trusts in your expertise and services enough to tell their friends, family, and neighbors.
A callback isn't a skills problem alone. It's a trust problem, and trust is teachable.
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