Is there really a secret to creating profitable, year-round work? Well according to Dave Cruz, vice president of sales at Service Business Evolution (SBE), a business training company, there is.

As I was sitting in on this session at the Women in HVACR conference in Jacksonville, Florida last month and listened to Cruz share that “secret” with contractors, I started to buy in. Now, unfortunately, the secret doesn’t involve any sort of magic. You can’t snap your fingers and poof! Year-round work. It is, however, achievable if contractors ensure their service agreements offer appealing terms to the customer — and more importantly, have meaningful conversations.

When you take really good care of a customer, and show them that you actually care about their needs and not just the money servicing them would bring in, they notice. Think about your own experiences with someone who was providing you a service — how much better is it when you can tell, when they look at you, that they don’t just see dollar figures where your eyes should be?

Cruz said a way to do this is through ensuring the service agreements consist of three main components: a VIP status (summer or winter), 15% to 20% off parts and labor, and 10% off any new unit replacement.

If a contractor isn’t offering these three things as part of their service agreements, Cruz said, it’s negligent; it means they don’t care about the customers. And when you don’t care about a customer, they can tell.

Another thing HVAC contractors can do to increase their average ticket sales is to differentiate themselves from their competition. A big problem, according to Cruz, is that most HVAC contractors look and sound like their competition.

How would you respond if someone were to ask, “What makes you different than your competitors?” Your dedication? The value of service you provide? Your employees? While all these things may be true, odds are your competitors are saying the same things. So contractors have to find those specific things that really make them stand out from their competition.

There’s another obstacle in the way of contractors getting more tickets and creating profitable year-round work: the stereotype of the salesperson. And it’s not great. Annoying. Pushy. Money-oriented.

Think about the last time you were shopping in some sort of department store. For me, it was a Macy’s, where I was Christmas shopping. I knew exactly what I wanted: a bottle of Gucci Rush perfume. But when the saleswoman asked if I needed help finding anything, I didn’t say “Yes, please.” I knew how this would go! At least in my experience, once those sales associates get ahold of you, they will not stop until you leave with a bottle of perfume — even if they don’t have what you’re looking for. And then the next thing I know, I’d wake up perfume-drunk on top of dozens of perfume bottles, dripping in every scent but Gucci Rush.

So I gave her the classic, “Oh, I’m just looking.” It took me a good 45 minutes to find my purchase on my own, but, I wasn’t willing to take that risk — I was OK trying to solve the problem myself just to avoid that situation. I bet you’ve done the same thing.

In the trades, the negative perception felt towards salespeople is arguably intensified. After all, technicians are entering people’s homes, which is arguably even more invasive than shopping at the store. The issue is that too many homeowners see the salesperson or technician in the same way I saw the perfume counter lady at Macy’s, and not as someone who’s there to help them solve their comfort problems. And it puts them on defense.

Cruz said this is the biggest mistake in all of sales. Because what happens when you attempt to solve a problem for someone who doesn’t believe they have a problem? You can’t solve it.

So the negative perception of the salesperson has to be changed, and it changes by contractors having a defense against it.

Here, instead, are some prompting questions salespeople/technicians can ask homeowners to get them to realize what they need all on their own:

1. After the problem is listed, say, “Tell me more about that.”
2. “Can you be more specific? Give me an example.”
3. “How long has that been a problem?”
4. “What have you tried to do about it?”
5. “And did that work?”
6. “How much do you think that cost you?”
7. “How do you feel about that?”
8. “Have you given up trying to deal with the problem? How do you see me helping you?”

It’s just as important for the technician to educate and inform the customer as it is for them to listen to them. Arguably, listening to the customer is even more important than educating them — in any situation. When a technician knows exactly what the homeowner is dealing with, he or she will know exactly what HVAC solution will help solve their problem. In turn, the homeowner will feel seen and heard and will be more likely to trust that person, regardless of any preconceived ideas. All this leads to more work for contractors from committed customers.

To sum it all up, three things Cruz said to remember when trying to have those meaningful conversations with customers are: Do they realize they have a problem? Do they want to solve the problem right now? And if they do want to solve it right now, how do they want to solve it?

If they don’t see their problem, then you can’t sell anything to them. And when you are looking out for what the customer wants, it isn’t about you wanting to solve the problem — it’s about them wanting you to be the one to solve it in the first place. By actively listening, techs can solve the problem the customer’s way (within reason), and show them that they aren’t the stereotypical salesperson; they are ones who care about their customer more than the profit.