The High Performance Edge Podcast

Welcome to the podcast for contractors who lead with building science and want to turn that advantage into a stronger, more successful business. Whether you’re in HVAC, insulation, solar, or home performance, we dig into the strategy, sales, marketing, operations, hiring, and customer experience approaches that power stable, more profitable companies. Hear from top contractors and industry experts as we explore what it really takes to thrive as a very different kind of contractor.- Listen on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-high-performance-edge-podcast/id1850981282)- Listen on Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/7FDtXrTnfsckZ9yPeMq3Jf?si=0f6f2b7109384585)- Energy Circle website (https://www.energycircle.com/)- Energy Circle LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/energy-circle-llc/)- Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/petertroast/)

The High Performance Edge Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Peter Troast, CEO/Founder Energy Circle, with 26 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Peter Troast, CEO/Founder Energy Circle hosts The High Performance Edge Podcast, a business show with 26 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #25

  Price Transparency and the High Performance Reality

  Aug 13, 202630 min

  Everywhere you turn in HVAC and home performance, some loud voice insists that posting prices online is the holy grail. Many contractors have concluded it's a mandate. But high performance contractors understandably bristle at pricing a job before they've even seen the house. In this solocast, Peter Troast works through the real picture: the four forces pushing price transparency, why instant quote tools fail in high performance work, and what Energy Circle's search and call-tracking data reveals about what homeowners genuinely want. He also shares why AI is becoming the high performance contractor's new best friend, and lands on a practical reframe: price orientation, not price transparency. Plus: a look at the prototype pricing page at demo.energycircle.com. Episode Notes: Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotify Watch on YouTube Energy Circle Website Energy Circle LinkedIn Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn Heat Pump Summit FREE Tickets Pricing Page Example

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  Episode #23

  The Contractor Who Gets All the Problem Jobs with Jennifer Manzo

  Jul 30, 202630 min

  Some of the best work a high performance contractor can win is the job nobody else could solve—the system that was never right, the home that's been uncomfortable for years, the owner who's already fired two other companies. Energy Circle's data has long shown that problem-driven search is some of the most valuable demand out there: those homeowners want solutions and more comprehensive jobs are the norm. In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast talks with Jennifer Manzo, co-owner of Valeriani Air Conditioning, a two-person shop in Naples, Maine, and founder of the HVAChicks Coalition, who says she gets basically all of that work. The surprising part? Her entire program is word of mouth—local reputation, showing up in the community groups her neighbors already use, being genuinely helpful before anyone's a customer. Listen to hear how being the company other contractors' failures get sent to becomes a real, repeatable business. Episode Links: Listen on Apple Podcasts: Listen on Spotify Energy Circle Website Energy Circle LinkedIn Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn Jennifer Manzo LinkedIn Heat Pump Summit FREE Tickets

  ListenShow Notes
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  Episode #22

  How a Whole-House Contractor Beats the Tech Startups with Larry Waters

  Jul 16, 202630 min

  Silicon Valley startups are betting they can out-compete traditional HVAC contractors on speed, technology, and customer experience. In this episode of The High Performance Edge, Peter Troast talks with Larry Waters, a 40-year industry veteran and founder of Electrify My Home in Northern California, who was running that playbook years before the startups made it a pitch. But the real story is differentiation: how a quality-first, whole-house company stands apart, not just from venture-backed newcomers, but from the entire HVAC sector still doing things the old way. Larry breaks down his all-electric model, why he tackles the envelope and mechanicals together, and how a rigorous intake and virtual assessment process lets him invest only in serious buyers: 10 of his last 11 closed. Most importantly, the process and technology serve the work; they don’t replace it. Listen to hear how one contractor thrives in a crowded market while never compromising a high-quality, house-as-a-system approach.

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  Episode #21

  Permanent Load Reduction and the Path to High-Margin Envelope Services with Ken Allison

  Jul 2, 202629 minS0

  <p>Episode Links: </p><p>- Listen on Apple Podcasts</p><p>- Listen on Spotify</p><p>- Energy Circle Website</p><p>- Energy Circle LinkedIn </p><p>- Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn</p>

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #21

  Permanent Load Reduction and the Path to High-Margin Envelope Services with Ken Allison

  Jul 2, 202629 min

  Episode Links: - Listen on Apple Podcasts - Listen on Spotify - Energy Circle Website - Energy Circle LinkedIn - Peter Troast, Energy Circle CEO and Founder LinkedIn

  ListenShow Notes

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