Peterman Brothers betting on technician development, virtual sales in 2025

As private equity dollars pour into the HVAC industry, many contractors — at least for now — are sticking with the independent path. One of those companies is Indiana-based Peterman Brothers. 

In 2025, the company’s making a few key bets that CFO Michael Sullivan and COO Andrew Hasty walked me through on an hour-long Zoom call. 

The big picture: The company has two simple goals next year: Open new locations and grow existing ones. 

On new locations: Peterman’s strategy is to grow from Indiana outward. Once the team identifies a new location, they’ll hire a branch manager three to four months before launching.

• “We learn the vendors in that area, then we find technicians, an install team, and a sales rep,” Sullivan tells me. 

• “To teach them our systems, sales philosophy, and processes, we’ll try to hire all those positions about a month before we launch,” he adds.

Of note: Peterman is piloting a filter delivery program at new locations starting next year. “Is that something we [can] market ahead of time to build out a customer base?” Hasty, the ops wiz, asks.

On existing locations: Hasty outlined three parts to growing existing branches in 2025: Re-committing to the field, reimagining dispatch, and optimizing replacement sales via virtual consultations. 

Into the field: The company is launching a “Paths to Progression” program. 

• “[It] uses effort and execution KPIs so our field professionals have a clear trajectory for their growth — and there are pay bands assigned to them,” Hasty says.  

• “Execution KPIs might be membership sales or conversion, and effort KPIs are how many options you presented, how many reviews you got, or your driver score,” he adds. 

• “It’s to say to them, ‘You want to get promoted and advance in your career?’ Here’s what you gotta do.”

Zoom in: Peterman is also revamping its “Top Tech Academy” for green talent. “The classroom model isn’t the way to do it; it needs to be apprenticeship-style,” Hasty notes. 

• “I think our first class had 30 students, and I thought that made no sense. The classes have to align with company demand,” he adds.

• “I went to our data guys and asked how many students we needed to launch classes, and found that it was guesswork. A manager was like, ‘I think I need two maintenance techs.’ But all these [other] variables were ignored.”

“We have to get people to fall in love with the trades, and they’re not gonna fall in love working in a lab,” he explains. 

• “They’re gonna fall in love by working with people who inspire them. They need to be in customers’ homes; they need to be in our employees’ homes.”

• “If you don’t wanna get in an attic, you’re only gonna know that by getting in an attic.”

On dispatch: The company aims to evolve dispatching into a “sales operations division” that essentially serves as the company’s brain.

• Zoom in: They plan on establishing sub-divisions that own different parts of traditional dispatching, like assigning calls and managing routing.

• On top of that, they’ll be spinning up a dedicated team to focus solely on customer satisfaction — every sub-division will be housed under the parent “sales ops division.”  

On replacement sales: Peterman is doubling down on its “virtual sales” process.

• “When we have a replacement opportunity, [customers] can choose to have a virtual comfort advisor give them live replacement quotes. Instant options have really empowered customer choice,” Hasty explains.

• How it works: “The field professional would present repair options in the home, but if the customer is interested in a replacement, our turnover hotline is called.” 

• “The field professional conducts a site survey, so the virtual comfort advisor will have studied it already, and within 5-10 minutes, they’ll be connected with the customer, live.”

Editor’s note: If you’re a contractor interested in discussing your company’s strategy and operations, shoot us an email.