While often overlooked, HVAC systems play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of occupants in residential, commercial, and industrial spaces. From maintaining a comfortable temperature to improving indoor air quality, HVAC systems offer many benefits that enhance our daily lives.

Over the years, I’ve learned that the world of HVAC is confusing from a consumer’s perspective. That is a given. But it can be very unclear to those involved in it, too. From how equipment actually works to the science behind heat transfer, there is so much technical language. As we become better at discussing HVAC systems, that jargon can and often does become part of our everyday speech.

At Canco, we try to eliminate confusion by showing rather than explaining. Our National Comfort Institute (NCI) mentors always discuss systems and processes. That includes creating and sharing documentation with customers to help explain what we are doing. So, we made our own forms, which NCI’s late Rob Falke helped us build.

Show Not (Necessarily) Tell

Furthermore, we always look for other tools that can help simplify the technical aspects of testing, diagnosing, and solving HVAC comfort issues. One recent tool we started working with is the MeasureQuick mobile app.

With this tool, we can more efficiently do real-time field testing, and the reports MeasureQuick produces will help us better explain what we found and what those findings mean to our customers.

That’s bumped up my level of system field diagnostics and my ability to provide prescriptions to customers for remedies. Our two installation crews will also be using this app to verify that we deliver what we sell, which is safety, health, comfort, and efficiency.

As a salesperson, first I explain how these tools help us determine the health of their ductwork and why that is important. Then I explain how we use national guidelines to compare our measurements and testing results. This is how I can better help them understand how their system is operating now and what we can do to improve it.

Only then do I move into the importance of airflow and why air upgrades and duct renovations are a solid way to get their systems to peak operating efficiency and comfort.

We call this approach the Canco Air System Performance Verification, and this process helps us to sell more air system renovations.

Selling Starts with Understanding, Not Talking

Selling heating and cooling solutions to consumers can be like speaking an entirely different language. And many HVAC contractors often struggle with effectively communicating information and expectations to their customers on sales visits. The gap between the deep technical knowledge of those who sell HVAC services and products and the average consumer is huge. This gap can create some unique communication obstacles working to close on sales.

NCI taught us to always start by discovering customer needs. That means asking them questions. The customer can tell you more in a few minutes than you could ever find out from the basement looking at a piece of duct.

The customer can tell you what they’re experiencing, what they want, and what they need. At Canco, we spend a lot of time developing processes to help us provide customers with what they want. The funny thing is that most don’t even know they want safety, health, comfort, and efficiency.

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