How to Buy a Plumbing Business: Who Hears First
How to buy a plumbing business before it is listed: the supply houses, PHCC chapters, equipment lenders and CPAs who hear first, a 90 day plan and texts.
By Brett Kaufman. 8 years using relationships to build sales pipelines, from political fundraising to a 7 figure business to running matchmaking for two communities. Over 1,000 introductions facilitated.
If you want to know how to buy a plumbing business before it is listed, start with the people who sell to and serve plumbing owners: supply house branch managers, PHCC chapter members, equipment finance reps, contractor CPAs and specialist brokers. Then stay recent, because they mention a tired owner to the buyer they think of first.
Here is the scene. It is 6:45 in the morning at the supply house. Plumbers are picking up water heaters and fittings for the day. The owner of a nine truck service shop is at the counter, telling the branch manager he just turned 64, his license holder is retiring too, and he does not know who takes over.
The branch manager has heard from two buyers this year. He texts the one who came by last month.
Why do plumbing owners sell to people they already know?
Because a plumbing company is its licensed plumbers, its repeat customers and the owner’s name on the trucks. An owner protecting all three wants a buyer someone at the counter or the chapter can vouch for.
The trade is large and the people are scarce. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook counts 510,600 plumber, pipefitter and steamfitter jobs in 2025, projects 7 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, and about 42,000 openings a year. A buyer who keeps the plumbers matters to an owner more than a buyer who offers a little more.
Who hears first when a plumbing owner is ready?
The people who see the trucks every morning and the books every spring. This is my map, a framework, not data.
| Who | What they notice first | What they want from a buyer | How you earn a place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply house branch manager | Smaller orders, owner talk at the counter, retirement plans | The account keeps buying | Show up early, buy from the branch |
| Manufacturer rep | Shops dropping out of training or programs | The shop stays in the network | Ask which shops have no successor |
| PHCC chapter members | Peers who stopped coming, owners with no license successor | A buyer who keeps the plumbers | Join, show up, help with one thing |
| Equipment finance rep | Owners who stopped replacing vans, jetters and cameras | A creditworthy borrower after close | Ask how they underwrite contractor deals |
| Contractor CPA | Owner age, margins, the “what is it worth” question at tax time | A buyer who closes and keeps the client | Send them work they can bill on |
| Plumbing specialist broker | The owner who called to “just get a number” | Buyers who close without drama | Send a clear buyer profile, stay recent |
The supply house is the row most buyers skip. The American Supply Association represents distributors and manufacturers serving the plumbing, heating, cooling and piping industries and says its members cover over 4,000 locations throughout the U.S. Every one of those branches has a counter where owners talk.
How do you get in front of plumbing owners as an outsider?
Go through the chapter. The PHCC about page says the association was founded in 1883, provides advocacy, education and training to approximately 3,300 plumbing and HVACR open shop and union businesses and 65,000 technicians, and has approximately 125 state and local affiliates. The chapter in your metro is a room of the exact owners you want to know. Ask the chapter which category fits, and say, “I invest in and run plumbing companies for the long term.”
For the association playbook in depth, read trade association acquisition targets. For working a show floor without pitching, see how to meet business owners at trade shows.
Ask early about the license. Many plumbing companies depend on one licensed person, and rules vary by state and city. Your attorney and the chapter can tell you how it works locally. Equipment lenders see the other side of the shop. The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association describes its membership as financial services companies, manufacturers and service providers dedicated to financing capital goods. The rep who financed the last three vans knows when the owner stopped asking.
How do you find brokers who specialize in plumbing?
Search, then check with the counter. The IBBA broker directory lets you select a geography and radius and optionally one or more specialty areas. Then ask branch managers and CPAs which broker actually closed a plumbing deal. Keep two or three. Send each a short profile: service or new construction, residential or commercial, truck count, region and your lender.
How to buy a plumbing business: the 90 day plan
Here is how I would run it in one metro.
- Days 1 to 14: pick the lane. Residential service, commercial service or new construction. One metro. A revenue range. A lender conversation done.
- Days 15 to 30: the supply houses. Three branches, early morning, when the plumbers are there. Meet each branch manager. Ask who the respected owners are and who has no successor.
- Days 31 to 45: the chapter. Join your PHCC chapter or state association. Attend one meeting. Volunteer for one thing.
- Days 46 to 60: money, numbers and the license question. Two equipment finance reps, two contractor CPAs, one attorney. The SBA’s guide to buying a business says to consider hiring an attorney and an accountant. Meet them before you need them.
- Days 61 to 75: the brokers. Two or three specialists from the directory and from referrals. Send the profile.
- Days 76 to 90: one owner coffee a week. Peer conversations, no pitch. Ask how they built the service side, and who else you should know.
- Day 90 onward: a note per person, a touch every six to eight weeks. Every touch needs a real reason.
What do you text the people who hear first?
Short, specific, under 40 words. Illustrative examples.
To a branch manager after a morning visit:
“[Name], thanks for the time at the counter this morning. If any of your owners wants a quiet talk about what comes next, I keep the plumbers and keep buying from your branch. Glad to just listen.”
To a contractor CPA:
“[Name], good to meet. I am buying one service plumbing company in the metro and need a CPA who knows contractor books. Happy to send you the diligence work if we find the right one.”
To an owner after a chapter meeting:
“[Name], your point about finding the next license holder stuck with me. I would love to buy you coffee and hear how you built the service side. No agenda.”
To a broker, 60 days later:
“[Name], still buying residential service plumbing in the metro, 5 to 20 trucks, lender lined up. Saw you closed a contractor deal last month. Congrats. Anything coming that fits?”
For the connectors already in your phone, start with how to find owner direct business deals in your network. The full system is at deal flow for business buyers.
Where does this break?
Between mornings at the counter. You meet three branch managers, two CPAs, a finance rep, a broker and five owners. By month four you are in diligence on another shop and none of them has heard from you. The branch manager hears the nine truck owner is ready, and he texts the buyer who stopped by last week.
That is the job I built FRONT OF MIND for. At the counter or the chapter meeting, say a name and a sentence out loud, snap a business card or badge, or take a selfie together, and it is filed under the event. Then it opens on your 10 minutes for today. Each person has a one line reason why today: they posted, their company was in the news, you met weeks ago and never followed up, or they are going cold. Every draft is a text style message, 40 words max. Nothing sends without your tap, and it learns from your edits. Ask Liala “who do I know at plumbing supply houses” and get the right people with why.
It runs in your phone’s browser and can be saved to your home screen. There is no native iPhone app yet. Your contacts are encrypted. No one on our team looks at them. Export or delete anytime.
Start free with your first 25 contacts and see which branch manager comes up first.