Randy Redinger

If you’re an HVAC company and you say “anyone who needs HVAC work,” that might be the answer to why you can’t seem to get any traction.

You know there’s a reason you’ve seen people get taken to the cleaners time after time. They always pick the lowest bid to save a buck. The lowest bid is almost always from the company that does shoddy work, and after four call-backs and possible legal action, the customer finally realizes they’d have been better off just paying an extra 25 percent up front and had a real professional do their work.

I’ve had lots of jobs. They’ve been in lots of different companies in lots of different industries. Much to the dismay of my wife, I might add.

In the Aug. 28 issue of this publication, I discussed how sales is a two-step process. The three major things customers use to decide who to hire include trust, feeling listened to, and getting a good deal (price is a part of this). If the first two aren’t addressed, customers almost always default to price.

Boiling it down to its most basic, success in a small contracting business requires a mindset change: Understand that doing the work of your trade is only a part of what needs to be done. Business success is a long-term investment.