Prove before you propose.
They've been burned, or they're wary. A previous company no-showed, overcharged or over-promised. Sometimes they're just careful. In many markets this is the most common play — and the one where the difference between your best and worst tech is thirty points.
Play Card
Before You Knock · Trust Play- What would make you comfortable with whoever does this?
- Who else would you want to check with?
- How long are you planning to be here?
What it means, and how you know it's right
What it means. They've been burned, or they're wary. A previous company no-showed, overcharged or over-promised. Sometimes they're just careful.
You know it's right when they ask about licenses, warranties, or 'what happens if.' The first thing they say is about the last company, not the equipment.
How to run it
- OpenProve before proposing
- Who you are, how long you've been doing this, what you'd do in your own house.
- AskThree questions
- What happened last time; what would make them comfortable; who else they'd want to check with.
- Sell onProof
- Photos of what you found, the warranty in writing, the follow-up plan, a name to call.
- If price comes upBuild the number
- Show how the number is built. Never a round number with no reasons.
- CloseRemove the risk
- 'If anything's off in thirty days, I come back at no charge. Fair?'
The card, in this play
A homeowner who has been let down is ready to be loyal to the first company that proves itself. Win this visit and you have the replacement, the maintenance plan and the referral.
Leading with price, a round number with no reasons, or walking in and diagnosing before you've said who you are.
When to switch into it — and out of it
Every play has a tell. The Before You Knock card on newer briefs lists them; here's the table for older ones.
| If you hear… | Switch to | First move |
|---|---|---|
| 'The last company…' / 'How do I know…' | Trust (you're in the right play) | Prove before you propose |
| 'What's this going to run me?' (first thing) | Value or Emergency | Give a clean number, then the reasons |
| 'I read that…' / a model number | Research | Ask what they found |
| 'Let me ask my…' | Family | Get the other person in |
| 'It stopped working this morning' | Emergency | Fix today, then forever |
Where you'll see it most
Job families are matched from the words in your job type names, which is why names that say what the visit is beat codes.
| Trade | Job families where this play shows up | First move at the door |
|---|---|---|
| HVAC | Repair / service call · Maintenance / tune-up | Solve today; give the honest read on the system's future. Do the tune-up well; earn the next visit. |
| Plumbing | Drain cleaning · Repipe · General · Flush-and-fill maintenance | Clear it, then find out if it's the third time this year. Prove the problem with what you find. |
| Roofing | Storm damage · Inspection · Repair | Document everything with photos; explain the process, not the price. After a storm, Trust dominates. |
| Garage door | Spring / cable · Service | Get the door safe and moving; explain what broke and why. Converts to second-spring and opener sales when Trust is run well. |
| Electrical | Panel upgrade · Rewire · Service | Show them the panel; explain what it can and can't carry. Look at the panel every time. |
What the office does with it
Trust is often the largest share of visits and the widest spread between techs. In one real account it was 53% of briefs, closing at 41%, with two techs at 46–52% and two at 13–15%. The two decisions from that screen: route Trust visits to the strong closers whenever they're free — even if it means the weaker tech drives ten minutes further to a repair — and put the weak ones in the truck with the strong ones for their next three Trust visits. The full case study.
Coaching Trust is coaching the first two minutes. The tech who wins it proves before proposing; the tech who loses it walks in and starts diagnosing. Watch the Sales Plays report for the gap to close over the next month.
Questions people ask
Why is Trust the most common play in so many markets?
Because most homeowners calling a contractor have a story about the last one. A no-show, a surprise charge, a promise that didn't hold. They ask about licenses and warranties before they ask about equipment, and the play is chosen from exactly those signals in the call notes.
What's the fastest way to lose a Trust visit?
A round number with no reasons, or leading with price at all. The card's 'biggest mistake to avoid' on a Trust brief almost always says so.
How do I coach a tech who's weak on Trust?
Not with 'work on your close rate.' Put them in the truck with the tech who wins Trust for their next three Trust visits, and agree on one opening question to try. Write down their Trust close rate today and revisit it next month.
Does the Trust Play work for maintenance visits?
It's the default there. Tune-ups and flush-and-fill visits are low ticket and high trust — you're there to earn the next call, and the brief usually says Trust.
Keep reading
See a Scout Brief built on a real appointment from your schedule.
A 30-minute walkthrough. We pick a recent sales visit, build the brief and the audio, and walk through Today's Play as if your tech were about to knock. You decide if it changes the call.