ServiceTrade Unveils 4 Keys to Unlocking Peak Valuations for Commercial Service Businesses

ServiceTrade's Billy Marshall and Pye-Barker's Rod DiBona Share M&A Market Insights

DURHAM, N.C., July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ServiceTrade, an innovative software platform that optimizes commercial service business operations for growth and profit, today announced four key strategies to significantly boost business valuations and ensure successful M&A outcomes. These insights offer commercial service contractors practical strategies to build, measure, and enhance their business value using ServiceTrade. 

The fire and life safety and mechanical service markets are experiencing a marked acceleration in consolidation activity. This trend began in 2023 and intensified through the first half of 2025, encompassing significant acquisitions exceeding $1 billion alongside numerous smaller roll-ups and consolidations. Notably, private equity deals in the mechanical and HVAC services market have surged 88%. In parallel, the fire and life safety markets maintain a robust average of 38 transactions per quarter this year. 

“Whether you’re preparing for a future exit or building a strong, high-performing business, you need a plan to create long-term value,” said Billy Marshall, Founder of ServiceTrade. “Contractors that prioritize recurring revenue, technician productivity, operational efficiency, and customer satisfaction consistently achieve higher valuations—and have more options when it's time to sell.”

ServiceTrade has outlined four key areas of value creation that maximize growth, scale, and attractiveness to potential acquirers.

1. Revenue Predictability and Quality

Recent industry trends show recurring revenue streams command valuation premiums 3-5 times higher than one-off project revenue. Additionally, commercial service providers whose revenue primarily derives from recurring maintenance and inspection work grow at twice the rate of their peers. Prioritizing the most profitable customers and protecting margins through automation further enhances this.

• Aim for 80% of revenue to come from long-term service contracts and committed recurring revenue. Avoid “one-and-done” project customers. 
• Focus on the most profitable customers and minimize low-quality projects or break/fix work.

2. Optimized for Technician Productivity

Commercial service companies that optimize technician productivity experience significantly higher margins and improved customer satisfaction. By utilizing mobile field technology and smart workforce management, these companies eliminate administrative burdens, empowering technicians to deliver more billable work and more value to the customer, while enjoying higher work satisfaction.

• Establish technician productivity baselines and implement tracking systems to meet or exceed industry-leading benchmarks. 
• To attract and retain skilled technicians, eliminate unnecessary administrative tasks in the field, to overcome the ongoing skilled labor shortage.
• Streamline communications among technicians, office staff, and customers through digital work orders and automated customer updates.

3. Enhance Operational Efficiency with Better Technology

Companies that leverage tailored technology to streamline operations create significant competitive advantages by maximizing productivity, employee satisfaction, and customer experiences. Modern technology solutions provide staff with real-time data and tools to manage tasks and customer interactions efficiently, fostering an engaged, high-performing workforce. 

• Utilize purpose-built technology to optimize technician performance and operational efficiency.
• Implement comprehensive, integrated solutions to manage workflows, digitally reduce errors, and minimize administrative tasks.
• Leverage technology to increase employee engagement, satisfaction, and accountability.

4. Prioritize Your Most Valuable Customers

Creating a customer-first culture dramatically improves customer retention and satisfaction, ultimately driving sustainable business growth. Companies position themselves as trusted, customer-focused partners by leveraging digital solutions to provide transparent, timely, and comprehensive customer communications. 

• Make retaining and expanding your most profitable customers a corporate priority.
• Target a 90% customer retention rate through proactive and personalized customer engagement strategies. 
• Digitize all customer communications, offering seamless access to service histories, quotes, invoices, approvals, and status updates. 
• Develop comprehensive customer records, including detailed service histories, contractual agreements, profitability analyses, and revenue contribution insights.

Rod DiBona, Pye-Barker Fire & Safety’s Executive Vice President of Business Development, added insight for sellers in a recent webinar with ServiceTrade on M&A readiness:

“In today’s market, buyers are looking for more than just top-line revenue,” said DiBona, “Businesses that retain customers, are committed to their employees, grow accounts, and use technology to scale profitably are more valuable and attractive to strategic and private equity buyers.”

Commercial service contractors can learn more about building valuation using these resources:

Webinar: M&A Readiness with Pye-Barker: Building Your Toolkit for a Strong Exit 

eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Fire & Life Safety Business For a Successful Exit

eBook: The Ultimate Guide to Building a Commercial HVAC Business for a Successful Exit 

Learn how ServiceTrade can help you build a more valuable business. Book a Demo with one of our experts. 

About ServiceTrade
ServiceTrade, Inc., is a best-in-class field service management platform that enables commercial contractors to build efficient, profitable, and growing businesses. With a decade of innovation and 1300 customers, ServiceTrade is an end-to-end, fully integrated solution that maximizes technician performance, streamlines operations, and delivers digital-first experiences that win and delight customers. Commercial contractors can service smarter and scale faster with ServiceTrade.

Contact
media@ktcmarketingandpr.com

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.