Why Most Trades Owners Can’t Scale Sales (And the Fix) Built on Doors, Not Google: The $500M Growth Playbook How Door-to-Door Scaled a $500M Company and Why It Works Anywhere

Why Most Trades Owners Can’t Scale Sales (And the Fix) Built on Doors, Not Google: The $500M Growth Playbook How Door-to-Door Scaled a $500M Company and Why It Works Anywhere

From Next Level Pros by Chris Lee

January 22, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

Chris Lee interviews David Royce about scaling a $500M pest control business through door-to-door sales and effective team building.

In this episode, Chris Lee sits down with David Royce — founder and former chairman of Aptive — to break down how a $500M+ pest control business was built (and scaled) through door-to-door, culture, and a recruiting system that translates to any home service company.If you’re in HVAC, plumbing, roofing, solar, or electrical, this isn’t a “pest control story” — it’s a blueprint for raising your growth ceiling by building a team that can win year-round (including shoulder season).You’ll hear why door-to-door puts you back in control when demand drops, how to make the shift from technician to manager to true scaler, and how the best companies turn “secret sauce” into systems, training, and repeatable process. David also breaks down what he means by “obsession,” why it shows up in every high performer, and how Aptive created real buy-in with a 25% employee equity pool that produced life-changing payouts for key people.If you want to stop relying on luck, seasonality, and “hoping the phone rings,” this conversation will change how you think about growth.Connect with David Royce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-royce-22539425/CONNECT WITH ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA!TEXT ME…

People in this episode

Host: Chris Lee

Guest: David Royce

Topics covered

  • scaling sales
  • door-to-door sales
  • business growth
  • employee equity
  • home services
  • recruiting systems

Keywords

  • trades
  • sales scaling
  • pest control
  • home services
  • employee equity
  • business growth
  • recruiting

Sponsors

1SEO Digital Agency

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Aptive

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