EP259 Donkey Wrangler to HVAC Whisperer: Brad Adcox on Fundamentals That Win (January 2026)

Pithy quotes

1. "Your product can be great, but if you're hard to work with, nobody's going to buy it."

2. "Take a deep breath, go back to the fundamentals, and ask: what's the biggest value I can add today?"

3. "You're allowed to say, 'I don't know. I'll figure it out for you.' People respect that more than the runaround."

Brad Adcox joined the Building HVAC Science podcast with Bill and Eric and, within minutes, earned the unofficial title "donkey wrangler" after sharing a story about his donkey. The laughs kept coming, including a side quest into hobby-farm life on a 40-acre "family compound" outside Dallas with cows, donkeys, mini horses, and a long-running plan by Brad's dad to eventually acquire a camel. The banter was fun, but it also set the tone for who Brad is: practical, observant, and very people-focused.

Brad's HVAC background runs deep and wide. He grew up around wholesale, started at Winsupply in the warehouse and as a delivery driver, then moved through outside sales and even a stint selling and building Cisco server infrastructure. He eventually joined SUPCO, helped scale territory coverage and rep networks, and was part of launching TradeFox, the influencer-inventor program that surfaced a pile of real-world products, including the magnetic umbrella that Bill notes TruTech sold in big numbers. Brad later spent time at NAVAC teaching fundamentals like pulling a proper vacuum, and today he's in a "free agent" phase, running consultant-style sales and service training for contractors in the DFW area.

The core of Brad's message is fundamentals, especially customer service and relationship transfer. He's worried the industry is headed for a knowledge cliff as experienced wholesalers, reps, and counter people retire without passing down relationships or practical know-how. He also sees a drift toward "parts changers" and automated, text-only customer interactions that reduce real human connection. In his local classes, he pushes techs to slow down just enough to add value: communicate like a neighbor, do a fuller system check while you're already there, explain what you looked at, and offer small, memorable extras. He's also blunt about wholesale basics: greet people when they walk in, be willing to say "I don't know, but I'll find out," and stop hiding behind "that's just Facebook" when customer sentiment is being broadcast publicly.

Brad's: LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-adcox-1a070467/

This episode was recorded in January 2026.