Josh Cates on Turning Home-Service Marketing into Measurable ROI

On this episode of Pivot to Profit, Pam Jordan sits down with Josh Cates—founder/CEO of Hero Marketing Agency, serial entrepreneur behind five companies (three acquired), and Amazon bestselling author of The Marketing Revolution. Drawing on 25 years across 70+ industries, Cates explains how home-service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, roofing and more) can turn marketing from a four-letter word into a growth engine.

Cates shares his entrepreneurial arc—from launching a pioneering home-care franchise in college to building Living Well Magazine and, ultimately, Hero. Today, Hero specializes in the home-services niche, combining coaching, operations, strategy, and marketing to align budgets with outcomes. His philosophy is simple: money is a tool and should be the byproduct of delivering excellence, not the goal itself.

A core theme is “know your numbers.” Hero audits a client’s tech stack (often ServiceTitan) to fix data hygiene first—because bad data in means bad decisions out. Then his team aggregates CRM and advertising attribution into plain-English monthly reports: revenue trends, cost per lead, inbound call volume, average job value, open estimates, close rates, and missed opportunities. In one example, a client had 700 missed calls—an operations problem (call center/dispatch fee), not a marketing problem. When data leads the conversation, emotional decisions fade and profits rise.

Cates urges owners to control their intellectual property—websites, hosting, ad accounts, creative assets—because those records drive valuation at exit. He also pushes leaders to make changes before busy season hits, noting AI is reshaping organic search and paid performance in real time. Across Hero’s portfolio, he reports ~41% growth through September, and says 10–15% year-over-year simply isn’t enough to outrun inflation and rising labor.

Josh’s insights are a masterclass in making marketing measurable and meaningful—especially for home-service founders ready to grow smarter, not just bigger.

Catch the full conversation with Pam Jordan on Pivot to Profit to hear how data-driven decisions, clear ownership, and the right systems can turn marketing into your company’s next profit center.