“Service and installation is your moat—and I can’t cross it.” That line came from an AI agent when Tim asked how specialty retailers stack up against big-box and e-commerce competitors. In this class, taught for the North Central HPBA in Wisconsin, Tim makes the case that installation isn’t a necessary evil or a line item tacked onto a quote. It’s the single most important asset a hearth retailer has, and he lays out how to price, schedule, and sell like you believe it. Watch it here, or open the episode page to listen.

“The most expensive labor your customer pays for is the labor they have to do twice.” In part two, Tim sits down with Gideon Honeycutt, sales rep for Valor and Blaze King. Products are sold through more channels every year, and labor has become the one thing big-box stores, e-commerce, and AI can’t take from a hearth dealer. Tim and Gideon explain how to turn your installation department from an afterthought into your biggest competitive advantage and profit center. Watch it here, or open the episode page to listen.

Imagine if your job required you to keep an updated handoff doc: something the boss could hand a new hire who could then get caught up on the work immediately. Seth Godin’s point is that this is exactly the kind of work your AI should be very good at, and he shares a cut-and-paste prompt that makes it maintain the doc for you: what the project is, where everything lives, the decisions you made and why, the open questions, and how to unwind it. Five minutes to read, and it pays off every time someone new picks up the work.