Dawn Wasicek earned a degree in Music Production and Engineering. After working in the film industry in Hollywood, she moved to Texas in hopes of training dogs.
A few stops later, she’s a principal consultant in Powerhouse Consulting Group, which works as a business partner with companies in the home and commercial services industries. She’s also one of the first to become a ServiceTitan Certified Provider, which means she has proved her expertise in the cloud-based software for the trades. Her long and winding road (apologies to that McCartney guy) now sees her advising and helping contractors maximize the benefits of ServiceTitan.
“I think it’s important for contractors to be aware and keep up with the changes of ServiceTitan,” Wasicek said in a recent interview. “If not, they’re going to be left behind.”
It’s her job to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Someone you can trust
Danielle Combs, ServiceTitan’s Program Manager for Customer and Partner Relations, runs the Certified Provider program and was the driving force behind the tests and program itself. She stresses that the program is about helping ServiceTitan customers by identifying and certifying individuals nationwide who have a deeper knowledge of the software, and who can provide expertise for specific needs from businesses.
“There are hundreds of different consulting companies out there,” Combs said. “Our customers just don't really have the ability to really vet them well and understand whether they really know what they’re doing.
“When our customers are trying to find help for their business, they really don't know who actually knows the software from end to end, how it should work for their business, and how they can make it better.”
ServiceTitan recognized the need from online requests and talking to customers—either individually or at trade shows. The certification provides a level of trust, a statement that those who have passed the test “know what they are talking about,” Combs said.
Early indicators show the need. The program was not fully up and running until April of 2022, but in the initial 365 days of setup and refinement, 320 engagement requests came to ServiceTitan.
“Pretty crazy,” Combs said.
She described four certification areas: coach, marketing, managing change, and accounting. ServiceTitan will pair a Certified Provider with a customer, so the consultant’s expertise matches the customer’s needs. Certified Providers agree to look out for the best interests of the contractor, and to adhere to ServiceTitan’s code of conduct.
Anyone certified has the ServiceTitan seal of approval, and the ability to understand how any one tweak affects the software’s overall performance for the individual company.
“We can help people really protect their company,” Combs said.
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‘A deep understanding of the software’
A lengthy test qualifies individuals into the program, and once they are certified they can access settings in the software not available to others outside ServiceTitan. That allows them to solve issues and optimize processes. Instead of calling a customer service manager, a Certified Provider can make adjustments for each individual company’s benefit.
“Partnering with a Certified Provider, or finding a provider who specializes in specific areas that can help them achieve their goals, I think that’s really important,” Wasicek said.
Wasicek was introduced to ServiceTitan while working for an HVAC company in Texas. Almost completely on her own, she helped onboard ServiceTitan and implement the software for that contractor. That gave her the passion to learn more about ServiceTitan’s intricacies.
In January 2021, she was a founding partner of Powerhouse Consulting Group in Austin, Texas. With her Certified Provider status, she fulfills the mission in her LinkedIn bio, “Consulting on all things ServiceTitan.”
“One of the biggest issues that contractors come to us with is, they actually say they don't know what they don't know,” Wasicek said. “A lot of contractors just feel like they're missing something, but they can't really put their finger on it. And they come to us to help identify that.”
‘Essentially part of the team’
Patrick MacIsaac of the Roby Family of Companies said the company uses ServiceTitan for the services division in its Charlotte-area construction business. They contracted with Wasicek and Powerhouse to help master ServiceTitan.
MacIsaac sees the addition of a Certified Provider as an important step for both Roby and ServiceTitan.
“In my opinion, it has been a need for a while,” MacIsaac said. “It just instills confidence. For companies our size that can’t afford a full-time software implementer, it bridges a gap and helps us go where we need to go without having to invest in that full-time person.
“I think it’s cool that ServiceTitan has embraced this. Dawn now is essentially part of the team.”
Maximizing your investment
Once certified, people such as Wasicek and Go Time Success Group’s Jeremy Wickenhauser, a Certified Provider based in Canada, work in the back end of the software to help businesses maximize efficiency, opportunity and growth.
“You can utilize and operate your business on a quarter of the software, but you're not really maximizing your investment,” Wasicek said. “I think people recognize that this is a long-term investment in their company. Hiring people like us is just helping to further that investment.”
For Wickenhauser, the work is rewarding because it feels like a mission.
“We're just trying to make contractors successful,” Wickenhauser said. “And by making other people successful, you feel that yourself. They're happy because their workflows are improving, their efficiencies are improving, the software's working.
“They're working with the software as opposed to fighting with it.”
‘Way harder than I thought’
Make no mistake—becoming a Certified Provider is not simple.
The certification requires passing a series of 47 tests or quizzes, some more daunting than others.
The challenging nature of the testing is intentional, because it ensures anyone certified has the high knowledge required to offer insight and tips into best practices with the software.
“The bar is high, and that is on purpose,” Combs said. “The best of the best are who we want.”
Brandi Biswell, vice president of Fluesbrothers, a chimney sweep and repair business in Kansas City, was 61% through the certification process when she spoke with ServiceTitan.
“It’s way harder than I thought it would be,” she said.
Biswell operates a consulting business out of CVC Success Group in addition to her work with Fluesbrothers, and credits her staff’s dedication for allowing her to do both. She understands the test has to be hard enough to ensure confidence the Certified Provider knows the software, but not too hard to pass.
“It tests your knowledge, but it also tests your ability to coach and train, and your deeper understanding of the product,” Wasicek said. “Having somebody who’s certified, you can trust that they know all the aspects of the software because of how rigorous that test was.”
The most recent test is the second version ServiceTitan has used. The first version? ServiceTitan decided it wasn’t hard enough.
“Again,” Combs said, “we wanted to ensure that we set the bar really high. We don’t want you to just know the basics to get by. We want to know that you know every single little aspect, even if it’s not your favorite thing or your niche.
“You need to know the nuts and bolts of everything, about how ServiceTitan works – to ensure that it all continues to work seamlessly no matter what change you advise the company to make.”
A benefit worth the challenge
Those who have completed the work stress to keep at it, because the benefit is worth any challenge.
“Put your head down, get it all done,” Wickenhauser said. “You can take it at your own pace. If all you can do is one lesson a day, then that's your goal. Just don't put it off.”
Wickenhauser, one of four employees of the Go Time Success Group to earn Certified Provider status, said businesses considering a consultant shouldn’t put that off, either.
“Even companies that say, ‘I think I'm using ServiceTitan as best as we can,’ find better ways with a Certified Provider,” Wickenhauser said.
“There is a cost aspect to it, but I would think that if you're at the point where you're saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need something,’ then you probably need it.”
