Episode 35: 2020 Titan of the Year: Leading by Reputation

Just like many of our previous To The Point guests, Travis Ringe, Co-Owner of ProSkill Services, has found great success growing his company. However, his approach is what sets him apart. By focusing on earning a reputation in his community for transparent, honest, and quality service, he grew ProSkill to over 18 million in under a decade.

About Travis

Travis runs ProSkill Services with his brother, Tyler, in Phoenix. The two grew up in Cave Creek, and even as kids they were entrepreneurs, selling things to classmates using the Oriental Trade Magazine as their inventory. Travis started off a career in the mortgage industry, and Tyler ended up going into the home services industry. It wasn’t long before Tyler convinced Travis to join him, and shortly after, the two brothers got their license and started their own residential plumbing company in 2009 during the great recession.

Titan of the Year

Recently, ProSkill Services was celebrated with the ServiceTitan “Titan of the Year” award. This annual recognition is given by the company that best exemplifies the value of ServiceTitan, a previous sponsor of To The Point episodes, for customers and homeowners. It all comes from humble beginnings, however. At the start, ProSkill was just two brothers offering plumbing services out of one truck in Anthem, AZ. Their customers asked for the two to offer air conditioning services as well, as it was difficult to get service companies to get out to Anthem (it’s a bit out of the typical Phoenix service area). Not thinking it would be difficult, Tyler and Travis obliged, and it was a huge failure at first. Of course, their hard work and eagerness to learn and grow eventually turned into success. After their initial year of a few hundred thousand dollars in revenue, ProSkill Services is now a full residential plumbing, HVAC, and electrical company trending over 20 million.

Reputation is Key

Reputation is key in the industry, and ProSkills has a great one. They’re running about 50 trucks in a very small area, and getting the community to buy into their image has been vital for the longevity of the company. From the very beginning, Travis was extremely active in online community forums, offering unbiased, free advice for homeowners in the area. He acted as a free, honest, and reliable resource for his area, and the community bought right in, earning ProSkills the reputation of a company that truly cares and wants to help instead of one that’s just in it for a buck.

ProSkill has grown an average of 32% each year, a blistering rate that is almost unheard of in the first few years in the trades. They did it in the cutthroat market of Phoenix, too, where many large HVAC companies would normally swallow up and spit out a tiny start-up. As Tyler and Travis didn’t really have any preconceived notions about what services should look like, they just went with the golden rule, treating customers the way they would want to be treated. By being transparent with their customers, vendors, and employees, offering online sales and pricing, and staying involved with their community, ProSkills is a shining example of a company whose great reputation drives the business forward.

Community Involvement

ProSkill’s reputation is based around community involvement, and they’re known for doing things like their recent “TP Tuesdays”. When COVID was ramping up, Travis and the team were handing out rolls of toilet paper during the shortages as a way to give back. They also started ProSkill Cares. This program is similar to Amazon Smile, and by assigning local charities a CTN, when customers call in for a service using a charity’s number, 2% of the total revenue for the service is shared back with the charity. They’re also very active in local Facebook groups, NextDoor, and other online communities to continue being that resource for homeowners.

Transparent Online Pricing

Another staple for ProSkills is their online pricing strategy. It’s unusual for a trades company to offer all of their pricing information on their website, but ProSkills has made it work with incredible results. They’ve realized that customer don’t like making deals at the kitchen table, and by listing all of their pricing online to reference, customers know they’re getting the best deal like everyone else. While some companies might list a low price to capture leads and then upsell when they’re in the door, the price ProSkills advertises is the total price for the full scope of the work, no shenanigans involved. Many customers are often surprised that it ends up being the final price after being upsold by other companies!

Reviews Earned, Not Bought

While many ProSkills customers happily refer their friends and family, homeowners considering service can see the thousands of glowing reviews for the company on Yelp, Google, Angie’s List, and everywhere else. They’ve never bought a single review or wrote their own, and it’s a testament to the quality of their service. So how do they get so many reviews? Travis says the formula is simple: go out, do great work, and the reviews will come right in.

Growth by Reputation

Travis admits, he’s made mistakes like anyone else. No one is perfect! Still, by always genuinely caring about his customers, he’s established a strong brand and ProSkills has earned a reputation that continues to catapult the business forward. Maintaining great partnerships and relationships with dealers, employees, clients, and the community is how ProSkills is demonstrating that reputation is a vital component to long-term success.