< PreviousWallace to work for him part time. He worked for that company in the eve-ning when he wasn’t working at the airport. Eventually Wallace left the airport and went to work for Valentine Heating full-time.PICKING A RECOGNIZABLE NAME“About a year and a half later, I got my commercial HVAC License,” he says. “Steve eventually made me a partner in the business and I worked there until 1993. We parted ways and I started Progressive Heating and Air Conditioning.”In the beginning, Greg Wallace op-erated his fledgling company out of his house. Starting out with just $1,000 and a pickup truck, Wallace explains there was no client base or even a name for the business. All he had was one other worker besides himself and a sub for the installation work. He did all the service work, sales, accounting, everything.“I didn’t want to name my compa-ny after myself -- I thought that would sound too small time. The name had to attract attention, something that sounded corporate. There was anoth-er company in Atlanta named Pro-gressive Lighting and I thought my company was going to be a very pro-gressive HVAC firm. So that became the name.”PROGRESSIVE GOES BIG TIMETwenty-four years later, Progres-sive Heating and Air Conditioning is a $5 million residential and commer-cial firm with 27 employees that fields 17 installation and service vehicles. According to Wallace, their focus is on residential service as well as cus-tom new construction – large projects involving geothermal and remodel projects in higher end homes.Because his target is mostly higher- end custom homes, Progressive man-aged to actually grow during those rough years between 2008 and 2009 when the real estate market bubble burst.“During those years we saw a lot of builders in the residential new con-struction market go out of business. Our plan was to stick with just a few builders and focus on high end proj-ects. We also took advantage of the equipment subsidies offered by the manufacturers and utilities for high ef-ficiency equipment,” Wallace explains.How do you go from a family- owned swimming pool business into the HVAC Industry? Simple. Mechani-cal inclination. That’s what Greg Wal-lace says about how he got started. It all began during his high school days where, as a 16-year-old, he helped out with servicing the company’s pool customers. As he explains, he had a knack when it came to things mechanical. So, after high school he got a job at the local airport as an HVAC technician trainee and even-tually moved up the ladder to where he was working on big equipment – chillers, boilers, air handlers.“I was mostly working on the air handler side of the business,” he says.His supervisor at the airport, named Steve Samson, began running an inde-pendent HVAC contracting firm called Valentine Heating and Air. He asked 10 NOVEMBER 2017HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYCONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHTBy Mike WeilTurning It Around with Performance-Based ContractingToday’s Progressive is 27 people strong with 17 installation and service vehicles.NOVEMBER 2017 11HVACTODAY.COMthe pressure chart better and can bet-ter explain pressure issues to custom-ers. I really don’t want them coming to me with problems. I provide them the tools and training so they can mostly figure out system performance issues in the field.“My guys know they need data -- airflow numbers, static pressures, and so on. And that is what Performance Based Contracting is, testing and mea-suring so you can figure out what is happening. So, the last 10 years train-ing with NCI has really turned things around for us. Today we are really good at what we do.”PERFORMANCE-BASED CONTRACTING IS THE KEYWallace explains that his sales team has been through NCI training and they all have the tools necessary to test duct work on every call. That was the intention. He says that it doesn’t al-ways work out that way because some customers just aren’t interested. They are shopping price.“But I rarely see a change out that comes out of this shop that doesn’t have some duct work attached to it,” he says. “For us, simply swapping out boxes is gone and has been for years. Do we always get everything right? Of NCI TRAINING CHANGES THE GAMEThough he doesn’t exactly remem-ber how he first learned of NCI, Wal-lace believes it was through his Trane distributor, Apex Supply, in Atlanta.“I’ve gone through a lot of training classes,” he says, “and when I attended my first NCI class through Apex, I was so impressed with what they taught. It really changes the game. The meth-ods I learned for testing and diagnos-ing systems just makes everything so much easier.“That’s why I just started pulling all my guys in. They all have to go to your training. The Combustion Performance and CO Safety class is one of the best and has impacted everything we do in the field. Everything that we have done with NCI has just been really over the top, it has been really good.”Wallace says that before starting down the Performance-Based Con-tracting™ path, they only dabbled in testing. He says some of his trucks carried incline manometers and a few of his technicians could use them. “But we weren’t using them like we do now,” he adds.“Today, I also conduct my own training classes weekly with the ser-vice department, so they understand “Progressive charges a lot for our services,” he says. “As a company, we do things that very few of our competi-tors do and that is worth something to the customers. They are willing to pay because we have such a great reputa-tion and work ethic. Oh, yeah – we de-liver what we say we will deliver.”So, the company enters its 24th year with 80% of its business coming from the residential sector and the rest from light commercial. As the compa-ny grew and began bringing on more service technicians and installers, it became a necessity to adopt training programs to keep everyone on the cut-ting edge of technology.“For me, training has always been important,” Wallace says. “In the be-ginning, I was doing as much as I pos-sibly could and the work out grew me pretty quickly. I began adding peo-ple and had to wrestle with the cost of training them. When you are the own-er of a small company with just a few employees, it can be intimidating be-cause you worry that they will go work for your competitors or become your competitor. What I found is, if that’s the case that’s just the case. There is too much to keep up with and if you want to serve your customers best, you have to have training.”12 NOVEMBER 2017HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYCONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHTeverything they have done and they are the ones who deserve the credit.”His advice for those who haven’t be-gun walking the performance-based walk is to check out the NCI training.He says, “Be sure to send some of your techs to both the NCI combus-tion and their system performance training. Anyone who deals with gas furnaces should check those out. No-body teaches combustion and system performance the way NCI does. At least no one I’ve seen.”Questions? Comments. Go to ncilink.com/1117SL Congratulations to Greg Wallace and the folks at Progressive Heating and Air Conditioning – November’s Contractor Spotlight.to NCI and a mentor who owned a large company in the South Atlanta area, I am over that. I’ve learned that competitors can teach you things. We can all help each other combat the fly-by-night companies that sell on price and do half-baked work.”For Wallace and the rest of the team at Progressive, becoming focused on Performance-Based Contracting has changed the way they approach the market, has given them the tools they need to not only find their customers’ problems, not only solve those prob-lems, but prove they solved them too.“We thought we were doing a really good job before,” he says. “Now we can prove it. Now we can back everything up with data. We don’t need to bad-talk our competitors, we just prove ourselves on each and every call.”Greg Wallace says he’d be remiss if he didn’t recognize all the people who work for Progressive Heating. “They are the biggest part for our success. I have several employees that have been with the company for more than 17 years and others who have been here for 10 years or more. I appreciate course not. But when we make mis-takes, we go back and fix them,” says Wallace.He says he believes that the performance way is really the only way. But to fully implement it takes time. In the last three years, Progressive has made huge efforts to convert their internal systems and processes to better manage the Performance-Based approach. Wallace finds you have to go slowly so as to not over-whelm your team.“But it has opened my techni-cians’ eyes,” he says. “Sure, I teach them about it, but when I send them to train, it’s like a light bulb goes off in their heads. They know that HVAC is so much more than just pushing air through duct work. They know that consumers deserve to receive the com-fort and efficiency they were sold. And they want to deliver it.“It has made us so much better at what we do. We have a much better final product.”Wallace adds that all his field tech-nicians carry the NCI Magnahelic kit and clipboard.COMPETITORS ARE SEEING THE LIGHTGreg Wallace attended the NCI Summit two years ago in Savannah, GA with his son and one of his top service technicians. He noticed that many of his competitors were also in attendance.“It didn’t surprise me. We are all working the same market. Once upon a time seeing them at the same train-ing event would have bothered me. Back then, I was bothered by what my competition was doing. Today, thanks Mike Weil is the editor-in-chief of HVAC Today magazine, as well as the director of commu-nications and publications for National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached by email at mikew@ncihvac.comCreating a MascotMeet Breezy, (to the left of Greg Wallace) the Progressive Heating and Air Con-ditioning company mascot. Breezy was the brainchild of Greg Wallace, who had the little guy built out of foam. He then held an Inter-net contest among his customers to come up with a name. Once they had a number of names, Wallace had his customers vote on the one they liked best. The customer providing the winning name received around $200. The winning name was Breezy. Wallace had logos made with Breezy’s image and the rest, as they say, is history. HVAC SUMMIT 2018HIGH PERFORMANCEto High PerformanceBlaze Your Trailwith Help from these Industry Pioneers:Reserve Your Seat Today! Visit GoToSummit.com to find out more and to register, or call NCI Customer Care at 800-633-7058March 4-6 2018Austin, TXSESSION:Where Indoor Air Quality Meets System PerformanceSESSION:Became Your Local Carbon Monoxide EvangelistSESSION:ComfortMaxx Air: Put It to Work! SESSION:You Too Can Sell High Performance HVAC — If You Just Do It!SESSION:Productive and Profitable Duct RenovationsSESSION:Our Leap From Tradesman to CraftsmanJohn Ellis President, SoCal Air Dynamics, Inc.Tom Johnson President & GM, TM Johnson Bros., Inc.Nathan Copeland Comfort Advisor, Copeland & Son AC & Heating Service, Inc.Eric Johnson Sales, Air Conditioning by Jay, Inc.Vince DiFillipo President, DiFillipo’s Service Co.Kevin WalshOwner/President, Schaafsma Heating & CoolingNOVEMBER 2017 13HVACTODAY.COMCall 706-259-8892Email us at info@menupricing.comVisit us at www.TheNewFlatRate.comTake high performance to a new level with menu pricing!“We have found great success in giving our customers options. Set yourself apart from everyone else with The New Flat Rate.”Rick VinesOwner - Vines Plumbing and Water RestorationProud Partner of NCI Member RewardsSee Us at Summit 2018!tion and dampers is one opportunity. Installing a thermostat that cycles the fan for ventilation is another. These services can solve many problems associated by ventilating with outside air.Fall is also the time to check small bath and kitchen exhaust fans. They open the door for cleaning and replacing exhaust fans. Cleaning a small fan often quadruples airflow and that has a huge impact on moisture and odor removal from the areas they serve.DEHUMIDIFICATIONWhen forced-air cooling systems no longer run, dehumidification also terminates. Consid-er recommending to your customers that they keep their dehumidification systems operating to remove moisture, especially in the Southern and Eastern U.S. Several manufactures are introduc-ing some exciting new equipment with dehumid-ification capabilities.Of course, once the heating systems kick in, dehumidification will begin again. The question is how much damage can occur in the building until that happens.FILTRATIONMost filtration systems accomplish nothing unless air is passing through them. Though The fall season lacks the extreme temperatures that keep our services in high demand. Con-tractors must dig down deep and focus on new ways to generate business. Let’s take a look at sev-eral performance-based HVAC benefits we can use in our mar-keting and daily conversations with customers to keep service leads coming in.Oddly enough, when tempera-tures are mild, indoor air quality begins to suffer. In summer and winter months, many systems op-erate most of the time, struggling to move enough air and heat to generate comfort. But when heat-ing or cooling demand declines in mild weather, several other functions also de-cline. These include ventilation, dehumidifica-tion, and filtration.Since each of these functions is essential to good comfort and air quality, let’s take a look at our opportunities.VENTILATIONSome ventilation can be provided from open win-dows and introducing outside air into the building. But this air is often unfiltered and contains excess humidity. Installing fresh air systems with filtra-14 NOVEMBER 2017HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYDon’t Miss Fall Indoor Air Quality OpportunitiesBy Rob FalkeLEAD GENERATIONODDLY ENOUGH, WHEN TEMPERATURES ARE MILD, INDOOR AIR QUALITY BEGINS TO SUFFER.ter housings to increase filter surface area to decrease pressure drop or in-stall return air filter grilles. The filter installed to increase air quality can ac-tually be the primary culprit in caus-ing extremely poor indoor air quality. For constant speed fans, the NCI pres-sure budget is only 20% of the fan-rat-ed total external static pressure.Check installed filter static pressure drops to assure fan pressure remains below its rated pressure.Many high efficiency filters may re-quire installing two or more filters into the system, increasing filter surface area, to assure the pressure remains lower then the fan-rated pressure.By using these techniques, you can offer customers a safer and healthier environment, while adding dollars to your bottom line. Questions? Comments. Go to ncilink.com/1117IAQ filtration ties in closely with ventila-tion, consider it a stand-alone system component as well. Choose your filters and size them carefully.The number one concern with filtra-tion is excessive pressure drop that can seriously restrict system airflow. As filter efficiency increases, static pres-sure increases. The higher the static pressure drop through filters, the low-er the system airflow. Install new fil-NOVEMBER 2017 15HVACTODAY.COMRob “Doc” Falke is president of National Comfort Institute , Inc. — an HVAC-based training company and membership organization. For more information about indoor air quality opportunities, contact him at robf@ncihvac.com or call him at 800-633-7058. THE NUMBER ONE CONCERN WITH FILTRATION IS EXCESSIVE PRESSURE DROP. AS FILTER EFFICIENCY INCREASES, STATIC PRESSURE INCREASES. THE HIGHER THE STATIC PRESSURE DROP THROUGH FILTERS, THE LOWER THE SYSTEM AIRFLOW.on. They don’t invest time to search for oppor-tunities to help the customer enjoy the safest, healthiest, most comfortable, and energy effi-cient system possible.But is that really the way you want to run your business? Don’t ALL customers deserve your very best each and every time they use your ser-vices? You bet they do! Don’t let a cold winter make you forget who you are: a high-perfor-mance HVAC service provider!Think about the doctor’s office example I shared in my September 2017 Peak Performance News-letter article, “The Curse of Hot Weather.” If your doctor’s team decided to take shortcuts (not mea-suring your temperature, weight, pulse, and blood pressure) just because they were busy during flu season, how would you feel if you were their pa-tient? Do you really have the flu? Could there be For many HVAC contractors, extreme-ly cold winter weather generates many “no heat” service calls. Emergency calls stack up like firewood and there is sub-stantial pressure on technicians to “get in and out” quickly. During these high-demand weeks, it’s common for technicians to take shortcuts so they can burn through as many calls as possible.Instead of performing the thorough system diagnostic procedures that the customer de-serves, techs resort to “quick fixes” to get the equipment up and running, then they move 16 NOVEMBER 2017HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYBy David HoltCUSTOMER SERVICEDon’t Let a Cold Winter Make You Forget!A LARGE BACKLOG OF EMERGENCY SERVICE CALLS IS BOTH A BLESSING AND A CURSE.needs” against what they “deserve” is key to a more predictable and prof-itable business. You need a strategy that balances both.A COLD WEATHER STRATEGYHere’s a simple cold weather strat-egy to consider. When your techs run a “no heat” call, they should ask the customer appropriate questions; properly diagnose the technical prob-lem; present their repair price op-tions; get permission to proceed; make the repair; observe system op-eration; measure and record the “vi-tal signs” of the system; complete the invoice; debrief the customer; pres-ent the invoice; collect payment; thank the customer; and move on to their next call.The “vital signs” your techs collect on each service call should include important performance indicators such as:• Rated total static pressure• Fan type and condition• Fan speed setting• Static pressure before and after the filter• Static pressure before and after the evaporator coil.Since they are super busy, they can just measure and record these read-ings to be reviewed and acted upon by the office – when the time is right.Thinking again about our doctor of-fice analogy, your service techs would be acting like a medical assistant in this cold weather strategy. WebMD.com defines this position as follows:Medical Assistant: After you’ve checked in, a medical assistant may show you to an examination room. They may check your height, weight, and blood pressure. They also will note your symptoms and pass that information on to the doctor. Medical assistants aren’t allowed to offer medical advice.That is a perfect description of what you need your techs to do during cold weather! They should measure and record the system’s other, more serious issues at play? How would they know what’s going on with you if they’re just guessing? Feels pretty lousy, doesn’t it?While cold-weather-induced busi-ness may be a relief after the mild fall weather killed your phones, remem-ber that great spring weather is right around the corner. The phones will stop ringing once again. While it’s important to get your customer’s heat back up and running quickly, it’s also important to look for opportunities to resolve long-standing problems that might help you fill your spring sched-ule, too!THE BALANCING ACTA large backlog of emergency ser-vice calls is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that you have plenty of work for your techs - as long as the extreme weather holds out. The curses are many: Even your best customers are impatient and unwill-ing to wait too long before they re-solve their no heat problem by calling your competition. You need twice as many techs to handle the emergency calls but you can’t support them all year so you work your existing crew to death, catching as many calls as possible. Your customers didn’t plan on this extra expense (often occurring around major holidays) so they can’t afford your best solutions. We could go on and on about the curses asso-ciated with the “wait for it to break” business strategy!How can you balance the need to “do what’s right” (measure, don’t guess) for EACH customer with the need to “stop the bleeding” (quick-ly get the heat back on) for ALL cus-tomers? Balancing their “immediate NOVEMBER 2017 17HVACTODAY.COMer months, your job is to collect as many of these seeds as possible, store them in your seed bag, and plant them when you need to harvest more work during mild-er weather months.Farmers know that good crops come from good seeds. The same is true in business. Good jobs come from good customers with whom you have an ongoing relationship. When you invest the time to help existing customers understand how your team can help them fully enjoy the bene-fits of a high performance HVAC system, you’ll find it much easier to keep your crews busy with prof-itable work all year long.THE BEST TIME TO PLANTAccording to Stark Bro’s Nurs-ery in Louisiana, Missouri: “Think of your planting time as a range of favorable conditions instead of an exact time. vital signs; note any safety, health, comfort, and/or efficiency symp-toms; pass that information on to the office; make any required repairs to get the unit running. They shouldn’t offer any further advice associat-ed with other symptoms – unless it is a safety issue. Safety issues are ALWAYS top priority and require immediate action!FILLING YOUR SEED BAG FOR UPCOMING PLANTING SEASONThink of the system vital signs and symptoms that your techs collect during these no heat calls as “sales seeds.” They aren’t ready to be plant-ed right now because you don’t have enough capacity to take on the required additional work. During cold weath-18 NOVEMBER 2017HIGH PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYCUSTOMER SERVICESalesSeedsSee Us at Summit 2018!ginning to become moderate (check your 10-day forecast regularly!)• After your installation crews are starting to get caught up (check your install schedule regularly!)• As soon as you find your sales team just sitting around the office (check your sales schedule regularly!)The three conditions listed above sound like a perfect description of most HVAC companies during the spring. How about yours?Don’t let a cold winter make you forget that you’ll need more work in the spring! Do everything you can to plan ahead and collect as many sales seeds as possible. Plant those seeds in the spring and enjoy an abundant crop of new, profitable work generat-ed through opportunities discovered by evaluating and acting upon the system performance data of your ex-isting customer base. My next article will cover a good seed planting strategy for creating a good crop. Stay warm and stay safe!Questions? Comments. Go to ncilink.com/1117CS For example, you can plant new plants and trees:• When the ground is not frozen.• During the day when tempera-tures are above freezing (32ºF) and below 90ºF.• If no extreme weather (blizzard, hail, torrential rain, etc.) is in the forecast.”This sounds like pretty good advice for the HVAC industry too!In my opinion, the best time to take action with “sales seeds” collected during the winter is:• When outdoor temperatures are be-NOVEMBER 2017 19HVACTODAY.COMTake the First Step towards High Performance Learn how to deliver high quality, profitable duct system renovations that really work! Set yourself apart from competitors by knowing how to optimize a duct system so it delivers the heating and cooling the equip-ment was designed to provide.with Duct System Optimization TrainingFor more information, go to ncilink.com/DSO or call 800.633.7058David Holt is Director of Business Training and Coaching for National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at DavidH@national comfortinstitute.comGOOD JOBS COME FROM GOOD CUSTOMERS WITH WHOM YOU HAVE AN ONGOING RELATIONSHIP.Next >