Every HVAC business owner would like to grow their business revenue and profits.
However, most HVAC contractors don't have a business plan, or know where to focus their efforts to increase HVAC sales.
Even worse, they don't have the capital to do marketing for their HVAC business or to hire a team that can help grow HVAC sales.
Very often, HVAC business owners think that they need more customer leads, or to spend more on marketing to see an increase in HVAC sales. However, this can be a mistake.
Before spending any money on HVAC marketing, or trying to grow customer leads, try increasing productivity with your current customers.
'Productivity' in a HVAC business means making the most of the your HVAC techs number of calls, and increasing the average ticket.
Following a proven HVAC sales process will not only increase revenue but provide the capital that can fund future growth through HVAC marketing and hiring. It's a win-win approach for your HVAC business growth.
With this in mind, here are 3 ways a HVAC business can increase their sales by $1 Million within a year.
1. Retain HVAC Customers with 10+ Year Systems During Summer
Every HVAC system has a life span of about 10-14 years, depending upon how well it is maintained.
As HVAC techs and business owners, we know this is the reality of most AC units.
However, most homeowners have no idea how old their HVAC system is, and whether it is near the end of its life cycle.
It's unlikely that most homeowners will want to immediately replace an older HVAC system the first time you visit their home. Many will want to get another year or two out of the system, and ask if you are able to do a HVAC repair instead of replacement.
For this reason, HVAC service technicians must build up a pipeline of customers and take care of them through the life cycles of their HVAC systems.
The best way to increase HVAC sales over the long-term is to sell maintenance agreements to every customer with a 10+ year old system.
Nearly 80% of a HVAC business revenue comes from air conditioning systems that are older than ten years. Most homeowners will be more willing to replace a system if a HVAC tech has seen repaired and serviced their unit several times before.
Summertime is Opportunity Time
The time of year when you have the biggest opportunity for increasing HVAC sales is during the summer months from April to September.
The summer season is a peak time when HVAC customers need repairs, and have system breakdowns. As a HVAC business owner, the summertime is the time to grow your customer base through HVAC maintenance agreements.
Maintenance agreements help to keep a relationship with each of your HVAC customers. You are able to visit their home at least twice a year and service the aging HVAC systems while in your slower months.
Having the opportunity to visit your customers homes throughout the year means your HVAC business is not strictly summer dependent. You don't need to rely on repair revenue, or trying to make as much as possible during the busy summer season.
With HVAC maintenance agreements in place, you can spread out the visits and the replacements of 10+ year old AC systems. Customers are much more likely to replace an air conditioning unit once they trust you and you have visited them several times.
You HVAC maintenance visits allow you to get back in front of the older HVAC systems that bring in most of your revenue. This approach will increase your productivity, and create much higher average tickets with more HVAC system sales.
If your HVAC techs struggle selling maintenance agreements, our recent HVAC podcast episode can help them to follow a proven HVAC sales process.
2. Reward HVAC Service Techs for Selling Maintenance Agreements
A proven way to increase your HVAC maintenance agreement close rates is to set an incentive at a high enough level that the technicians want to sell them.
While most HVAC techs want to sell as much as they can, very often they focus on replacements and repairs first.
Incentives bring focus and motivation to the areas of your HVAC business that you want to grow. When your team is focused on increasing HVAC sales through the maintenance agreements, it helps techs earn more money as well as boosting profit for your HVAC business.
Think of rewarding your HVAC service techs for increasing maintenance agreements as a form of marketing. It saves you the cost of chasing new HVAC leads and having to spend on advertising.
During summer months, increasing the spiff that each HVAC tech receives for a new maintenance agreement will ensure that they don't get lost or overlooked in the middle of the demand rush.
Simply offering the maintenance agreement option to current customers during a summer tune-up or repair can increase HVAC sales by as much as 25-50% over the year.
The reality is that without spiffs and incentives most HVAC techs won't focus on increasing maintenance contracts.
In the short-term it might cost you a little more to incentivize your techs, but over the long-term you will find it boost morale, and sales for your HVAC business.
3. Follow a Consistent HVAC Sales Process
Without specific HVAC sales training and coaching, most HVAC technicians will struggle to increase their average tickets or find additional revenue opportunities.
A HVAC sales process should cover everything for the technician from the moment they are dispatched to any follow-ups that need to happen after the service call.
The most important HVAC sales process steps to focus on are:
- What the HVAC tech does before arriving at the home
- How the technician communicates with the homeowner
- What is offered to the homeowner during the visit
- How the HVAC technician follows up and helps the customer decide
During the summer rush months, it is easy to forget to follow the HVAC sales process and stay consistent. Keeping a focus on tracking each step of the process with HVAC business coaching is a great way to keep increasing HVAC sales.
No HVAC customer wants to feel like they are being sold to, which is why the focus of the technician needs to be on building trust and doing what is best for the customer. Having a clear, consistent HVAC sales process will help the customer feel a sense of trust and want to buy from your HVAC techs.
Through consistent HVAC sales training, and internal meetings and support, you can empower your technicians to deliver a consistent 5-star experience that increases sales revenue and grows a loyal customer base.
