Claim OwnershipFrom the Yellow Chair
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© 2026 From the Yellow Chair
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Home Service Industry marketing and branding gurus, Crystal Williams and Emily Fleniken speak the language of contractors by talking condensers, co-op dollars, service agreements, and equipment warranties, but also the language of entrepreneurs by talking ROI, creative strategy, trending tactics, employee retention, and community engagement. You’ll be entertained by the comical banter, but informed by the holistic approach to marketing and branding. On the daily, you’ll find this dynamic duo working the grind at Lemon Seed Marketing, but this podcast is an outlet for us to share their experiences with the masses, From the Yellow Chair.
209 Episodes
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Send a text Most marketing reports tell a neat story that isn’t true. We peel back the layers with Jeff from Provalytics to show how real customers actually find and choose a contractor—and why single-source attribution keeps leading teams astray. Think of it as a tour through the “dash” between first touch and last touch, where attention becomes awareness, awareness becomes preference, and preference shows up as revenue when the system fails on a 102-degree day. We start with the mess: plat...
Send a text Need customers to choose you before they even search? Crystal lays out a simple, gritty playbook for brand acceleration that doesn’t rely on massive ad budgets: creative messaging that sticks, social content that compounds, and community presence that earns trust. If your feed is silent, your offers look generic, and your booth shows up empty-handed, this is your reset. We start by reframing branding from logos and wraps to feelings and expectations. Crystal shows how to rename f...
Send a text A 65-year family name can open doors—or hold you back. We sat down with Derek from Shanklin to unpack how a third-generation HVAC company protected its legacy while building a brand that finally fit today’s homeowner. The story starts with a strategic pivot: moving from “we do everything” to a focused residential service and replacement model. That clarity shaped every design choice, from voice and typography to the surprising hero of the project: color. You’ll hear how Shanklin ...
Send a text What does it take for a 70-year HVAC company to break free from a look that blends into the crowd? We sit down with Rowell, a third-generation business, to explore the bold leap from familiar red-and-blue to a disruptive identity built around deep green, hi-vis orange, camo, and a proudly local mascot named Gage the duck. Keeping the family name preserved decades of trust, while everything else changed to stand out on roads, in feeds, and across new markets. We open up about the ...
Send a text Ever watch a hometown brand go from “just another contractor” to a neighbor everyone knows by name? That’s the journey we explore with Royal Air Systems, a second-generation HVAC company that faced a rebrand in the midst of loss and still found a way to earn real community trust. The shift didn’t come from bigger ad budgets. It came from empathy, patience, and a bold choice to stand out with a nine-foot lion who turned events into brand touchpoints. We dig into the heart of the r...
Send a text Growth stalls when we expect marketing to fix what’s really an operational problem. We dig into the honest math of margins, staffing, and process with Joe O’Grady of Team SPG, and we map out how to turn ad spend into predictable revenue without lighting profits on fire. From budget benchmarks to tracking discipline, the takeaway is simple: more dollars won’t help if your systems can’t catch them. We start by setting realistic budget ranges based on goals: 8–10% of net to stay ste...
Send a text What makes a brand memorable isn’t volume, it’s precision. We sit down with James Erskine, CEO of Rocket, to explore how one product can hold multiple stories—and why telling the right one to the right person is the difference between being noticed and being ignored. From children’s publishing to home services, we break down how kids crave characters while parents want proof, and how similar demographics can still hide wildly different buyer motivations. We dig into practical met...
Send a text What if your marketing wasn’t a stack of disconnected tools but a living system that turns attention into revenue every day? We sit down with Kathrine Farris of MarkeTecs to map the path from inspired ideas to measurable conversions, showing how creativity and technology can finally pull in the same direction. Kathrine shares how a speaker-dependent business transformed into a scalable digital brand by productizing expertise: online courses, downloadable workbooks, and live-strea...
Send a text What if the trait you’re most proud of—being the one who always steps in—quietly destroys your profit and peace of mind? We dive into over-responsibility as a hidden profit killer and lay out a practical plan to reclaim your time, your culture, and your margins. With leadership coach and author Roger Daviston, we break down the mindset shift that changes everything: you are responsible to your team, not for your team. We get specific about what boundaries look like in home servic...
Send a text Stop chasing silver bullets and start stacking real wins. We’re taking you through the most useful, unfiltered moments of 2025—what worked for contractors, what flopped, and how to build a brand that outlasts any algorithm. From booking rate benchmarks to campaign thinking, we connect the dots between operations, marketing, and customer experience so your plan actually matches your revenue goals. We kick off with a reality check on trends: if your call center isn’t converting nea...
Send a text Want your marketing to feel smoother, your sales to close faster, and your decisions to get easier? We dig into the real gifts of a strong brand and why it’s the best investment you can make heading into a new year. Forget the myth that a brand is just a logo. We break down how clarity, trust, and consistency shape everything from first impressions to lifetime value, and we share practical ways to make your message unmistakable and your execution repeatable. We start by redefinin...
Send a text Want a marketing plan that survives platform changes, rising CPCs, and slow seasons? We sit down with CMO Matt Tyner to unpack a practical playbook for home service companies that blends brand building with capacity-aware demand generation. From HVAC to roofing, Matt’s path reveals why the cheapest leads come from strong brands, how consistent execution compounds, and where most contractors accidentally sabotage their results. We get tactical fast: schedule blocking that protects...
Send a text A new logo didn’t change everything—owning a clear promise did. We sit down with Mark and Teresa Summers of Skagit Plumbing to unpack how winning the Great American Brand Story set off a deeper transformation: a cousin-made logo gave way to a brand with a mission their team and town could feel. From the first “lottery ticket” application to the moment they just knew they’d won, their journey shows how identity becomes the foundation for growth, culture, and community impact. We d...
Send a text Ready to stop chasing topline and start building a business that lasts? We sit down with Dave Sullivan—third-generation contractor, founder of The Roofer Show, and coach to growth-minded owners—to unpack how real progress comes from balancing three essentials: selling work, doing work, and keeping score. If your company leans too hard on one leg, you feel it in missed deadlines, thin margins, and constant cash stress. We walk through practical ways to get your foundation right, f...
Send a text Loyalty doesn’t happen at the invoice; it happens in the simple, human moments after the job. We break down a practical gratitude playbook for home service brands—HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and beyond—so you can turn happy customers into repeat buyers and vocal fans. The strategy is delightfully simple: make it personal, make it useful, and make it consistent. We start with the smallest levers that deliver outsized returns: handwritten-style notes after big installs, quick follo...
Send a text Ever wonder why some shops can charge premium prices without flinching while others apologize their way through every estimate? We unpack the playbook for home service pros who want to price with confidence, execute with precision, and market with integrity so customers feel great about saying yes. We start by reframing growth through three levers—smart pricing, operational excellence, and marketing that actually matches delivery. You’ll learn why customers happily pay more when ...
Send a text Leads aren’t dying. They’re expiring while your team gets to them. We unpack a practical playbook for contractors to capture more jobs without buying more clicks, focusing on speed to lead across online scheduling, AI-enabled chat, and automated follow-ups that never sleep. Joined by Danielle from Contractor In Charge and OnePath, we talk through what actually converts: fewer fields, faster confirmations, wider time windows, and a frictionless path from “I have a problem” to “I’ve...
Send a text Tired of launching “great ideas” that die in the field? We break down a practical playbook for moving from technician to owner and getting your team to champion marketing initiatives without the eye rolls. The throughline: earn trust, speak with conviction, and keep every rollout simple enough to sell at a kitchen table. We start with buy-in and why it begins with you. If you don’t believe in your maintenance plan, financing offer, or private label shift, your team won’t either. ...
Send a text Shoulder season has a way of telling the truth. When the weather stops handing you leads, response-based digital channels cool off, and the real drivers of growth—outbound effort and tight operations—step into the spotlight. We walk through a practical playbook for HVAC, pest, and home service pros to build demand on purpose, not by accident, and to convert more of the calls they already get. We break down the three-bucket framework—call-to-action, brand, and cultivation—and expl...
Send a text What if working with your spouse or sibling could be your unfair advantage instead of a constant tug-of-war? We sit down with women leading HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and home service companies to unpack the real playbook for thriving in business together: define lanes, plan ahead, price with confidence, and protect the parts of life that matter most. We start with the stories behind Anchor Heating and Air in Charleston, Rogers Heating & Cooling in Virginia, and High Five’s ...
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