Show Notes
AI agents for home service businesses are finally doing real work, not demos. In the first episode of Wrenches n Robots, Tersh Blissett sits down with Jim Christian, Senior Director of Product at Podium, for a straight conversation about where AI actually earns its spot in an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical shop. No hype, no robot takeover. Just what a working owner can put into production. Jim builds Podium's AI Operating System for home services, and he breaks down the parts that matter: why the value lives in the application layer and not the model, what an AI agent really is in plain language, and how one contractor went from stacks of paper membership agreements to booking on autopilot. Tersh brings the operator side, from the AHR Expo crowd that only leaned in once he showed a Zapier slide, to what he is seeing across hundreds of thousands of analyzed phone calls. You will walk away knowing how to pick an AI tool by the problem it solves, where voice AI belongs and where it can hurt your brand, and how agents like Podium's membership coordinator and Operator take the tedious work off your plate so your team can focus on customers. This episode is brought to you by Podium. Learn about their AI operating system for home services at homeservices.podium.com WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY Learn how to evaluate any AI tool by the actual problem it solves and its return on investment, instead of chasing the newest shiny object. See why most contractors want automation more than they want AI, and how the application layer is where AI turns into real work. Understand what an AI agent is in plain terms, using Podium's membership coordinator as a working example of context, goals, and tools. Know where AI voice makes sense for after hours and call overflow, and where it can damage your brand if you force it everywhere. Watch how agents like the Podium Operator turn reporting into insights and action, from membership booking to technician job notes. THIS PODCAST WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY PODIUM Podium is the AI Operating System for home services, combining FSM, communications, and memberships into one system run by an AI Workforce: Larry on inbound calls and booking, Operator on back-office execution, and the AI Membership Coordinator on maintenance outreach. See how it works at https://homeservices.podium.com PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: https://phonetap.ai/demo CONNECT WITH THE HOST AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ James Christian, Senior Director of Product at Podium: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-christian-977a28a/ Podium for home services: https://homeservices.podium.com ABOUT WRENCHES N ROBOTS Wrenches n Robots is practical AI for the people putting it to work in the trades. Host Tersh Blissett runs the room where HVAC, plumbing, and electrical owners compare notes on what actually held after the vendor left. Every episode has to earn its runtime with something a shop can put into production Monday morning. More at https://wrenchesandrobots.com/ Want new episodes in your inbox? Join the Wrenches n Robots newsletter, the same list about 50,000 people in the trades already read: https://wrenchesandrobots.com/ Subscribe on YouTube and follow along so you never miss an episode. A Skilled Trades Syndicate production. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #WrenchesnRobots #AIForContractors #HVAC #AIAgents #HomeServices
More from Wrenches n Robots
Your next customer is asking ChatGPT, not Google. Here is how to show up in the answer. In this episode of Wrenches n Robots, Tersh Blissett sits down with Kenyon Curtis, founder of Discovery Max, to talk about the shift from SEO to AEO, optimizing your business so AI engines recommend you when a customer asks. No doom about search dying. Just what is actually changing and what a shop can do about it. Kenyon builds a done-for-you AI visibility service, and he breaks down the whole picture: why your SEO results dropped over the last year, why 4.5 billion monthly searches now happen on AI, how to write blogs and FAQs that answer real questions, and why optimizing for AI, done right, makes your Google results stronger too. Tersh brings the operator and PhoneTap side, from LLMs crowding his screen to keeping your head on straight so you don't ignore the real fires in your business. You will walk away knowing what AEO is, how it differs from SEO, what to look for in an AI visibility tool, and how to act on the shift without falling for the hype. CHAPTERS 00:00 Move your SEO budget to AEO and it can solve both 01:09 Welcome to Wrenches n Robots, and why AI search changes the game 03:10 Meet Kenyon Curtis: cotton farmer turned AI builder 05:06 The 30% drop: what is happening to SEO right now 06:03 4.5 billion monthly searches are now on AI 06:49 Why Discovery Max exists, and the wedding planner moment 09:28 How AEO works, and why it has no algorithm 09:51 Writing blogs and FAQs for AI, not just Google 10:37 Does optimizing for AI hurt your SEO? Done right, no 11:42 Will search ever be AEO only? 12:47 Ranking across 10 different LLMs, not just ChatGPT 14:03 Done for you vs do it yourself: Discovery Max vs monitoring tools 15:08 Watching for AI hallucinations about your business 16:32 Ranking for the questions people ask, not just keywords 18:14 The AI voice spam problem and database reactivation 19:23 Digging deeper than AI: are you ready to grow? 20:45 Don't fall for the SEO is dead headlines 21:50 The 90 day timeline and a daily ranking dashboard 23:17 Where to find Kenyon and Discovery Max BROUGHT TO YOU BY PODIUM Podium builds an AI operating system for home service businesses, from an AI CSR and an AI membership coordinator to the Podium Operator. See how it works at https://homeservices.podium.com PHONETAP Your calls hold the key to growing your business. PhoneTAP gives you instant AI analysis, real customer lifetime value, and tools to coach your team. Learn more: https://phonetap.ai/demo CONNECT WITH THE HOST AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Kenyon Curtis, Founder of Discovery Max: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kcurtisaz/ Discovery Max and a free AI visibility audit: https://discoverymax.ai ABOUT WRENCHES N ROBOTS Wrenches n Robots is practical AI for the people putting it to work in the trades. Host Tersh Blissett runs the room where HVAC, plumbing, and electrical owners compare notes on what actually held after the vendor left. Every episode has to earn its runtime with something a shop can put into production Monday morning. A spinoff of Service Business Mastery, exclusively AI in the trades. More at https://wrenchesandrobots.com/ Want new episodes in your inbox? Join the Wrenches n Robots newsletter, the same list about 50,000 people in the trades already read: https://wrenchesandrobots.com/ Subscribe on YouTube and follow along so you never miss an episode. A Skilled Trades Syndicate production. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #WrenchesnRobots #AIForContractors #AEO #AISearch #HVAC
AI voice for the trades is finally good enough to answer the calls you are losing. In this episode of Wrenches n Robots, Tersh Blissett sits down with Garrick Bridges, founder of BotPhone, for a straight conversation about where AI voice actually works in an HVAC, plumbing, or electrical shop. No hype about replacing your team. Just what a real AI receptionist does after 5pm when the call would otherwise go to voicemail. Garrick builds fully managed AI receptionists for small businesses, and he is honest about the whole picture: why voicemail is worse than no answer, where AI voice belongs and where it does not, and the simple math for knowing if it pays for your shop. Tersh brings the operator and PhoneTap side, from shiny object syndrome to the after-hours answering services that get your company name wrong. You will walk away knowing how to measure ROI on AI voice, how to keep a human in the loop where it counts, how to be upfront with callers so you protect your brand, and the honest limits of the tech today. WHAT YOU'LL TAKE AWAY Learn why sending a caller to voicemail costs you the job, when most callers never leave one and most buy from the first business that answers. See where AI voice actually earns its place, handling after-hours and overflow calls you would otherwise miss, rather than replacing your receptionist. Get a simple way to measure ROI on AI voice, using your call volume, missed-call rate, average job size, and close rate. Understand why a good AI receptionist is a white glove service, not a toggle you flip, and what it takes to keep it accurate. Hear the honest limits of AI voice today, from handling rebuttals to being upfront with callers, so you set expectations that hold. BROUGHT TO YOU BY PODIUM Podium builds an AI operating system for home service businesses, from an AI CSR and an AI membership coordinator to the Podium Operator. See how it works at homeservices.podium.com [ADD: swap in the official Podium tracked link and approved ad line, or remove this block for this episode, your call.] CONNECT WITH THE HOST AND GUEST Tersh Blissett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tershblissett/ Garrick Bridges, Founder of BotPhone: https://www.linkedin.com/in/garrick-bridges/ BotPhone and the missed-call calculator: https://botphone.tel Hear it live, call the demo line: (913) 404-1797 ABOUT WRENCHES N ROBOTS Wrenches n Robots is practical AI for the people putting it to work in the trades. Host Tersh Blissett runs the room where HVAC, plumbing, and electrical owners compare notes on what actually held after the vendor left. Every episode has to earn its runtime with something a shop can put into production Monday morning. A spinoff of Service Business Mastery, exclusively AI in the trades. More at https://wrenchesandrobots.com/ Want new episodes in your inbox? Join the Wrenches n Robots newsletter, the same list about 50,000 people in the trades already read: https://wrenchesandrobots.com/ Subscribe on YouTube and follow along so you never miss an episode. A Skilled Trades Syndicate production. If this one helped, share it with an owner who needs it. #WrenchesnRobots #AIForContractors #AIVoice #HVAC #HomeServices
Tersh Blissett talks with Whitney Gilliard of Gilliard & Company about how we, as small business owners, can help shine a light on the Youth who live in foster care! Today's episode provides a behind-the-scenes look at how emotional Tersh gets when it comes to helping those who can not always help themselves. This is a rare occurrence where you get to see the sensitive side of the main in the suite! A little about Gilliard & Company - This is Their Story! "Whitney entered congregate care at the age of 14 and wasn't taken in by a foster home until age 17. Through the turbulence of life, Whitney found her purpose in advocating for foster youth who feel they've had no voice. Whitney's story consists of traveling to 18 placements with a trash bag of her belongings, over-prescription of psychotropic drugs, and the fight for dignity while she was in the system. The name, "G&Co", came to be after Whitney survived a life-changing car accident, while in foster care, that left her with a traumatic brain injury, a broken spine, and a broken leg. During her recovery Whitney's, only, means of mobility was by wheelchair. As healing felt impossible, Maurice understood, he has witnessed his mother's overcoming. Maurice's mother was also a youth battling the hardships of foster care in Germany. Compelled to remind Whitney that there is hope in her recovery. Daily, Maurice would remind Whitney of all that she has been through, and would always say "I know this is frustrating for you, however this time you are not alone - you'll always have company". From then on, their journey kicked off. Through the birth of their son, Aemon, they became devoted to stopping the cycle of abuse and abandonment, not only for their child but for others as well. Whitney is an advocate for fostering and adopting and during her events Maurice is right beside her delivering hard facts about the truth of the American Foster Care system. Together their goal is to remind others and lead by example on how small acts of companionship can result in life-changing resilience. G&Co means never giving up on each other. G&Co means being there for those who are afraid. G&Co means meeting the needs of each other, together." Resources Learn more about Whitney & her team by visiting below: Donate www.DonateToFostercare.com https://www.gilliardandcompany.org/ DO YOUR PART BY HOSTING AN ONLINE FUNDRAISER! Charity starts at home! Learn more about Tersh & Service Emperor HVAC & Refrigeration below: https://serviceemperor.com Connect on social media @tershblissett Closing thoughts for Tersh... Foster care is NOT an adoption agency!! We must work together to serve prevention and preservation of families!!
Tersh talks with Liz Saxton, Founder & President of the Southern Marketing Team! "The best bang for your buck, so to speak, is Buy local Savannah. First and foremost, I believe in it, I use it, I'm there, I'm active. I'm also on the board there. I serve with you there, Tersh. But with any networking that you do, no matter whether it's with an organization or not, you're going to get out whatever you choose to put in. So if you don't attend, you're not going to see the benefit of it. You know, if you're constantly waiting for someone to hold your hand, that's not a good initiative. You've got to be able to step outside of your comfort zone. It's uncomfortable for everyone, but it's a situation where that's how you're going to grow one as a business person." -Liz Saxton Liz Saxton was born and raised middle Georgia area attending Mary Persons High School and graduating from Stratford Academy in 2007. She attended Troy University in Troy, Alabama on a golf scholarship from 2007 – 2011. She graduated with her Bachelor's of Science in Communications with a minor in Art. She continued her education at Troy University with a Master's degree in Public Administration in 2013. In 2011, she started her marketing career with the Office of Development at Troy University as she persuaded her master's degree. In 2012, she accepted a full-time position at CGI, Inc. as a Business Analyst focusing on marketing and communications efforts between CGI and National, State, and Local level governments. By the time she left CGI, she was a Senior Business Consulting leading the marketing efforts for all CGI US government divisions for more than 5 solutions including ERP, Tax, and Collections. She transitioned to a Savannah-based business, in 2018 as the Director of Marketing for Bahama Joe's to work in the local Savannah market. On August 1, 2020, Liz opened the Southern Marketing Team with more than 10 years of marketing and communication experience. She has built a team to help local and regional businesses bloom to their full potential using effective marketing solutions at the right time to the right audience. In today's episode, Tersh and Liz talk about 5 MUST DO's for you to succeed in marketing when starting your own small business. Our Deep Dive~ Social Media Great Call To Action Good Website Function and Design ...you'll have to listen to the rest of the episode for these juicy details! "Marketing is like a tool belt..." -Liz Saxton RESOURCES Learn more about Southern Marketing Team at https://southernmarketingteam.com Learn more about Tersh by visiting https://serviceemperor.com Connect with Tersh on social media @tershblissett Have you ever wondered HOW to target your perfect client?!? It's EMOTION...EMOTION is what sells, and this link is how you learn your client's emotion for free... visit https://admanity.com/SBM/ to get this free share that I (Tersh) stand behind 100%! "If you know how people will emotionally react, you have an advantage more valuable than all of humanity's innovations." Thank you for listening to another episode of the Service Business Mastery Podcast! Learn more about Tersh at https://ServiceEmperor.com
Tersh talks with Tonya Reed from Henry Plumbing about her business, and how she is involved within the community! Have a listen to hear some of the amazing things they are a part of!! www.henryplumbingco.com is their website!