“Typically, hvac sales cycles are driven by extremes in the weather,” said Holt, one of the speakers at ACCA’s annual convention, held here recently.

As Holt pointed out, this can make too many contractors weather-dependent. But when mild weather sets in, it’s tough to keep everyone busy, maybe even tough to pay your bills.

Does this sound like you?

Holt said this goes back to the days when most air conditioning contractors didn’t need marketing, often selling their wares to builders over the hood of their pickup trucks, right on the jobsite.

Today, in commercial work air conditioning is a given, and many homeowners are into their second or third generations of equipment.

“We’re more sophisticated marketers because most of our sales are made face-to-face with the endusers of our comfort systems,” he said.

'Good' service isn't enough

Nor is it enough to provide good, basic service, Holt said. In the future, the most successful hvac contractors will install custom-manufactured modules to create highly automated, “ultimate” indoor comfort systems.

“Our entire business will revolve around providing customers with the ultimate service experience,” Holt said.

“Our industry started out as manufacturers and installers of components that we combined in the field to create a basic, functional system,” he continued. “We considered ‘service’ to be a cost center, not a profit center, because it was primarily set up to handle warranty calls. There was very little competition.”

That has completely changed. Service provides the highest profits, and this being the case, competition is intense. Since that’s so, contractors need to identify their target market — the consumers they most want to work with.

Defining the customer

Target your customers, he said, by knowing your customers. Not every buyer is the same.

Consider the age of the homeowners, their income level, number of children, education levels, etc. Consider the state of their home; are there hot spots or cold spots? What type of hvac system is already there?

How long do they plan to stay in their present home? Does anyone suffer from allergies? Does dust reappear quickly after cleaning the house?

Don’t go into a potential sales situation believing that add-ons, such as humidifiers, electronic air cleaners, and energy recovery ventilators, are too expensive or unnecessary. If you do, the customer quickly picks up on this attitude and you’ve already talked yourself out of additional profit opportunities.

Different questions should be asked when making commercial service calls:

• Is the company locally owned and operated?
• Does it have multiple locations?
• Does it own its buildings or are they leasing?
• Does it use purchase orders?
• Who controls the equipment maintenance budget?

Once you have answers to these questions, it will help you tailor your sales approach and better serve their particular needs, rather than attempting to apply a one-size-fits-all approach that often fails.

Reaching out

Explore non-traditional methods of selling your product, Holt urged.

“We must learn to look at old problems through a new set of glasses,” he said.

Home and garden shows work for many contractors as a means of getting homeowners to think about replacing their systems before they fail.

Use your company newsletter to present your company’s best face, and to let customers know about some of your employees.

Consider contacting a local newspaper, TV station, or radio show to discuss indoor air quality.

And don’t forget the Internet — not just your own Web site, but links from other sites that can be valuable in drawing in today’s savvy, net-surfing consumers.

With all of this in place, and with the use of service-maintenance contracts, you can even out your seasonal workload and keep your profits flowing year round, he said.