Pantheon 2020: Live Coverage

And that's a wrap for Pantheon 2020! ServiceTitan's annual conference for contractors had to be virtual this year due to the pandemic, but the goal of Pantheon remained the same — to bring thousands of contractors together to share best practices, leadership tactics and much, much more.

» Want to grow your business? Click here to get a demo.

» Access the full agenda here, with links to videos on demand for registrants.

Thursday's Sessions

Fireside Chat with Mike Rowe Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs and CEO of the mikeroweWORKS Foundation, kicked off Day 2 answering contractor questions with ServiceTitan’s Chris Hunter. 

Our favorite question was one which was submitted by several contractors before Pantheon: What can we do to inspire high schoolers to get involved in the trades?

The short answer, from Mike Rowe? “Make work cool again.”

“It’s a good conversation starter. But what I mean is that we need better PR. We need to do a better job of explaining what the opportunities really are for a kid that is willing to learn a skill that is truly in demand. 

Rowe continued: “We can’t make excuses about the industry itself. We just have to do a better job of telling the success stories. We have to get them on video, we have to make them short and entertaining. And then we have to carpet bomb the social media landscape with these stories.

“We have to tell the success stories and make them become the tentpoles on which our success rests. And we have to tell stories of real customers, doing real work. 

“It’s not easy — but it all starts with telling these stories better.”

Titan of the Year

ServiceTitan is proud to award ProSkill Services of Phoenix, Arizona with our 2020 Titan of the Year Award!

Two brothers and their best friend founded ProSkill Services in 2009 after both brothers—Tyler and Travis Ringe—found themselves jobless and in a national recession.

Even though only one of the brothers knew the plumbing trade at the time, their business gradually found its feet and established itself as a reliable home service provider in their Phoenix community.

In 2014, ServiceTitan co-founder and president Ara Mahdessian signed ProSkill Services to ServiceTitan and went live in January 2015.

They started with just a team of seven techs in 2009 — and now have 54. In that first, scrappy year of business, they did just over two-and-a-half million dollars in business. Last year? They did more than $14 million.

Since starting with ServiceTitan, the company has managed an average yearly growth of a staggering 52 percent and now, by the end of 2020, is expected to make $18 MM. 

ProSkill Services has also grown into a trusted community staple that enacted its own charitable program, ProSkill Cares, that shares its revenue with local charities who refer customers to their services. 

From their resilient beginnings to their current success, Tyler, Travis, and their ProSkill team have embodied everything that ServiceTitan loves and respects about the tradespeople: Tenacity. Dedication. Ambition. And a big heart. 

Day 2 Session Recaps

STOP THIEF! Protect Your Service Company From Cybercrime Be inspired as you experience the journey that Susan Frew and her management team endured as the result of a bad hire and cybercrime. Follow the journey of how they almost lost their multi-million dollar company ... and the road back! Read more.

The Top 5 Things that 700 Successful Contractors Do: From plumbing apprentice at age 19 to GM of a multi-million home services business, Nexstar Coach, trainer, and now VP of Operations for Nexstar Network, Julian Scadden delivered the 5 Biggest Secrets that over 700 Successful Contractors do to create their success. Read more.

Fireside Chat with Leading Commercial Service Business Owners Thinking about starting a commercial service department or want to know how to land and work with larger commercial customers? This fireside chat with Ian Goldberg, President of Frank Gay Services, Dallin Tippetts, Process Director of Rainforest Plumbing & Air, and Justin Armendariz, Founder & CEO of Better Future Facilities who will share their experiences starting, growing, and optimizing their multi-trade businesses. Read more.

Upgrade Your Pricebook with ServiceTitan Pricebook Pro Come check out Pricebook Pro! This session will review what ServiceTitan's Pricebook Pro can do for your business, how to set up and utilize the feature, and some of the new functions that are available with it! Best suited for plumbing and HVAC companies to attend. Read more.

So What *Can* a Technician Do in Mobile? Ever wondered how you can tailor your technicians experiences to how you run your business? This is the session for you! We'll discuss several features that you can turn on or off for your techs as needed, follow a guided practice, and mention some recommended processes for mobile!

Create a Vision and a Culture that Have Technicians Lining up at Your Door to Work on Your Team! Chad Peterman shares his strategies for achieving 300% growth at Peterman Heating, Cooling & Plumbing in just five years. Read more.

RECAP OF DAY 1 — Welcome to Pantheon 2020!

ServiceTitan CEO and co-founder Ara Mahdessian kicked off Pantheon 2020, “the annual gathering of the most successful contractors in the industry,” with praise for those contractors. 

During one of the most difficult times in history, with a pandemic raging and many businesses shut down, the trades showed up, Mahdessian said. 

“This is truly an amazing community we’ve gathered together,” he said. “What I admire most about this community is the lengths each of you goes to help each other out. Particularly now, in one of the most challenging and turbulent environments of our lifetime.” 

“This year has been wild, it has been unpredictable, we’ve all had to deal with issues we’ve never seen before. These changes have affected all of our businesses.”

In March, that meant a decline of 25 percentage points in aggregate revenue by ServiceTitan customers, Mahdessian said. 

“It could have gotten much worse, and it would have gotten much worse, but you decided you weren’t going to let that happen,” he told attendees. “Despite all the challenges surrounding you, you decided you would demonstrate the leadership and courage your teams needed and adapt your operations so that you would survive, no matter what the world threw at you.”

“You showed up for your communities, and you showed up for each other.”

The revenue followed. 

In aggregate, revenue for ServiceTitan customers is back to pre-Covid levels, he said, recovering the 25 percentage points, and some are growing their businesses faster than ever before.

“Together, you thrived,” Mahdessian said.

Mahdessian encouraged viewers of the virtual convention to use the opportunity to engage with peers and ServiceTitan employees to better utilize ServiceTitan and in turn see greater success.

“Great contractors in this community are leveraging ServiceTitan in innovative ways to achieve compelling results,” Mahdessian said. 

Pantheon is a chance to leverage the community knowledge and thrive. Together.

Rennehan’s Keynote All About Redefining Blue, Collar and Otherwise

Mandy “Bear” Rennehan knows exactly why ServiceTitan asked her to give the keynote address

“They picked me to do this keynote for one reason: I am your biggest fan,” she said. “They call me the Blue Collar CEO because I’m changing the answer to, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up,’ and I’m redefining the collar blue. 

“Because to be quite frank, when you hear my story you’re going to see why I’m just about tired of the way society has treated the trades and the blue-collar industry.”

The daughter of a lobster fisherman and a homemaker, there wasn’t always enough to go around. Catching lobster bait was her first taste of making money. That led to a cabin-building hobby she loved and, eventually, the trades. She called every trade she could find and offered to work for free if they’d teach her. 

Eventually, they did. And now she wants to inspire others.

But to say Rennehan is appreciative of her opportunities in the trades is an understatement. 

“There might be a couple of bad apples out there, but all of you guys, you’re amazing,” Rennehan said. “What you did is you helped me every step along the way.”

ServiceTitan: From ‘Dispatch Software’ To Central Nervous System For Your Business

Co-Founder and CEO Vahe Kuzoyan says ServiceTitan used to describe itself as dispatch software. (Watch video now)

Now, that description has changed. As the software changed and expanded to include dashboards for reporting KPIs on marketing spend, average ticket and more, add-ons to supercharge marketing and phone interfaces, sales and service presentations that enhance customer experience, standardize operations, provide financing, accept payment, and so much more. 

That “dispatch software” description didn’t seem very accurate anymore. 

“Today, when people ask us what ServiceTitan does, we say we’re the operating system of the trades,” Kuyzoyan said. “Because it turns out, that in order to enable contractors to best serve their customers and do so profitably and efficiently, you need to build a central nervous system that connects all the parts of a contracting business, both internal and external.”

That system is expanding every day. In 2020, ServiceTitan is partnering with Google to provide an integration between the search giant and the software giant that will allow customers to book service with your company through Google’s Local Services Ads. 

That’s just one way ServiceTitan is eliminating inefficiencies. There is much more to come.

Winner, winner!

Ismael Valdez of @NexgenAC went the extra mile for ServiceTitan by referring 14 new customers this year! It’s only fair that we make his next few miles a little better — by giving him a 2020 Ford F-150 Raptor for all he’s done for his fellow contractors! Want to win next year’s truck? Refer a fellow contractor by filling out our form here.

NexGen has been on ServiceTitan since March 2016, but it wasn’t until the end of last year that Ismael and his team really started to put our platform to use. After seeing its true potential, he became an overnight ServiceTitan evangelist and felt compelled to tell everyone and their mother about the impact our software can have on service businesses.

Wednesday session recaps

The Blueprint for Building a Rockstar Company: John Holsapple shares tips on how to measure business value and staying power in the home services industry. Every business will either sell, transfer to the next generation, or close. The metrics that buyers use to judge a business's operations provide meaningful insights into how any HVAC owner should run their company. John also walks you through how businesses are valued, and some ways you can increase your company's value while growing your profits. Read more now.

The Power of Consistency: Weldon Long, a ServiceTitan customer, has been in the residential contracting business for two decades and has a wide swath of experience from starting small companies, growing big companies, selling big companies, and almost losing big companies—all while making a lot of money along the way. (Access video here.) He credits much of his success to being able to achieve the right mindset, which he calls the “prosperity mindset.” Long believes that mindset can be applied to business, sales, and life. Read more.

Leading with Purpose During Times of Crisis: Jason Bingham, president of Trane Technologies’ Residential HVAC and Supply business, discussed the importance and impact of leading with purpose in challenging times. A company’s culture and leadership are tested most during a crisis. Jason discussed how purpose can guide, present opportunities and actually strengthen teams through adversity. Read more.

All about Google Local Services Ads: This session explored the reasons why this integration is a game changer for your business, showcased how to get the Google Guarantee, and reviewed best practices for using the integration. Read more.

How to Inspire $100 Million in Sales: Whether you’re running service calls, renewing commercial maintenance contracts, or bidding on large construction projects, you’re always selling a solution, not a product. Jerry Hanessian shares how listening to people and identifying problems unlocked profitability throughout his career. Read more.

Over Ten Dozen Simple Ways to Get and Keep Customers: In this fast-paced presentation, Service Roundtable President Matt Michel outlines dozens of marketing tactics any contractor can quickly apply to his business to increase customer acquisition and customer retention. Read more.

Women in the Trades: This networking session focused on the issues that women in the trades face today. Read more.

Closing Out Your Monthly Books: Pro Tips: As a business, you must maintain accurate financials—but do so as efficiently as possible. Fortunately, ServiceTitan software integrates with QuickBooks and Intacct to provide comprehensive reporting you can easily compare and use to validate accounting accuracy. Svamal De Fonseka provided tips and tricks for more effectively validating a service company’s financials. Read more.

Target the Right People at the Right Time with ServiceTitan Marketing Pro: ServiceTitan Marketing Pro is designed to make it easier to target your customers at the right time. Get hands-on practice setting up Marketing Pro, monitoring performance, and learning about the features that constitute a campaign! Read more.

Note: Recordings for every session will remain on the Pantheon site for 30 days (or forever, if you're a ServiceTitan customer, via Academy).