< Previous30 JANUARY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY zRemote Amp Meter Clamp zDigital Tachometer (light commercial) zCombustion Analyzer zDraft Gauge. n Diagnostic/Test and Balance Technician: Whoever does the final testing and balancing of your resi-dential and/or light commercial in-stallations should carry the following tools and instruments: zManometer kit with pressure tip, drill bit and stop, and hole plugs zAirflow Capture Hood zDigital Anemometer zDigital Hygrometer zInfrared Thermometer zPocket Thermometer zRemote Amp Meter Clamp zDigital Tachometer (light commercial) zCO Analyzer or Low-Level Monitor.WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROADSome of the most important tools in each of your employees’ arsenals are the soft-ware, forms, reports, and procedures to guide them and help them doc-ument their work and the final performance results. This is where the rubber meets the road. It’s what makes Performance-Based Contractors different from other typical contractors. Docu-mented results are what sets you apart from the box-sellers and parts changers out there. Every one of your field-based peo-ple should carry the basic test re-ports, both in digital and paper form (always good to have a backup).The tools and instruments men-tioned in this chapter are available from a number of sources. NCI has tak-en a lot of the guesswork out of buying the right tools that are durable enough for everyday use and will pay for them-selves quickly. We also make these tools available through our online store.Tip: Don’t buy any tools or in-struments until you’ve been trained in the disciplines that re-quire those tools. Many students have regretted not waiting until after the training and bought the wrong tools. Once you truly understand how an instrument will be used, you’ll be able to make a more informed buy-ing decision on the best tools for your specific needs. Take it from someone who knows - we have a closet full of tools we thought would be great but turned out to be unusable in day-to-day real field testing. Avoid the temptation to buy cheap tools. You’ll pay the price over and over in lost time and frustration.Next month we will focus on the Performance-Based Selling Process, and how to avoid dated hard-close techniques by educating customers through the buy-ing process. zDistance Measurement Device zCO Analyzer, portable CO monitor, or NSI Low-Level Monitor zCordless Drill zBasic Hand Tools.n Service/Maintenance Techni-cian: A service tech should carry the following instruments to identify and diagnose performance, comfort, and safety issues: zManometer kit with pressure tip, drill bit and sheath, and hole plugs zDigital Hygrometer zInfrared Thermometer zPocket Thermometer zRemote Amp Meter Clamp zDigital Tachometer (light commercial) zCombustion Analyzer zDraft Gauge. n Installer: Depending on wheth-er your installers perform their own startups, they should carry some or all of the following instruments and tools to test their installations: zManometer kit with pressure tip, drill bit and stop, and hole plugs zDigital Hygrometer zInfrared Thermometer MANAGEMENTDominick Guarino is publisher of High- Performance HVAC Today magazine and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at domg@ncihvac.com32 JANUARY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYcheck1. You cannot tell if someone has money in the bank by just looking at them. CASH CUSTOMERSEvery sales person has a story about a customer living in a trailer who keeps $10,000 in their mat-tress for the project, or the customer who lives in a fancy house or has a fancy car who couldn’t af-ford the project or get approved for financing. This is why it is so important to leave precon-ceived notions at the door. By building a selling system using financing, you can help each one of your custumer types. Your plan can offer a low monthly payment at 10 years or longer, a no interest no-payment op-tion, or a second look option for low credit scores. With each option offered on every sales call, con-tractors typically see 20% larger projects and a 30% increased close rate. The other trap that many sales people fall into is thinking they want customers to pay cash. The fact is financed project transactions on average are up to $2,000+ larger. Offering a 10-year plus term loan can get the payment to around $100 per Let’s face it, it is easy to put your own pre-conceived notions on your customers. I see this all the time when working with contractors. Often sales people focus more on what they are comfortable with versus the underlying needs of their customer. When it comes to financing, it is important to first under-stand the different types of homeowners and then follow a methodical financing pro-cess to cover them. Let’s explore who your customers are and how successful contractors use fi-nancing effectively to upsell and close more sales. Using financing correct-ly allows you to price right and close the High-Performance HVAC project. There are three types of customers you need to address: zCash customers zPayment plan customers zCredit challenged customers. Nobody likes to write a big check, regardless whether they have the cash or not. The fact is, 75% of all homeowner’s live paycheck to pay-The Financing Formula to Closing Larger Sales More OftenBy Eric HowarthMANAGEMENTWhat percentage of homeowners in the US live paycheck to paycheck? *(That’s 3 out of 4 people.)* CNN Money Findings (1)75%JANUARY 2019 33HVACTODAY.COMaration anxiety.” Taking money they worked so hard for out of their savings or checking account can be daunting. Often “sticker shock” can be the differ-ence between closing a smaller project/system repair, or replacing the HVAC system the correct way. No payment/no interest same-as-cash loans are a great way to give cash customers the ability to defer project costs until their bonus check comes in. When offered in conjunc-tion with low monthly payments, same as cash loans will be about 30% of the mix. Think about how power-ful it can be to say, “We can install the project this week and you will have no interest and no payments until 2020.”SECOND-LOOK LOANS The fact is around 20% of your cus-tomers will need “2nd look financing.” So, if you stop at “First look or ‘A’ pa-per” financing options, you’ll be giving up a huge opportunity. Many “First look or “A” paper” providers now have an optional second look on their tech-nology platforms. Keep in mind, whether you use their built-in option or another second-look provider, you need some preplanning for higher discount fees or get ready to have a discussion with the customer about a much higher interest rate. That fact is most of your customers know when they have a credit problem and as a result understand that their options are limited. Do not be afraid to have this conversation with a custom-er because it can mean an increased approval rate of up to 15%. Another fact: the top 10% of the HVAC contractors do 80% of all the fi-nanced transactions. They know the increased margin allows them to get to higher wages for their employees and money for marketing to drive leads. Being methodical by offering financing with a low-payment/no-payment op-tion, and using 2nd-look financing is a proven way to grow your business. It’s often the gateway drug to a prosperous successful HVAC company. month for the homeowner -- which is often the difference between repairing and replacing the project. PAYMENT PLANSDon’t feel bad about putting some-one into a 10-year loan at a reasonable interest rate because most pay off that loan within 4 years. The low payment simply allows the customer not to feel burdened by a large monthly payment. It also provides the flexibility to pay it off in their own time with tax returns or wage increases. Also, HVAC done right saves the customer money on their monthly bill and that can often be used to demon-strate a lower monthly investment in a Best, Better, Good scenario. Sales people, however, often insert their own preconceived notions on low monthly payments with regard to how long a loan they personally would take and at what interest rate. The better approach is to be me-thodical and provide the customer choices. After nearly 20 years of train-ing dealers on financing, I find noth-ing as transformative to the contrac-tor’s bottom line as effectively offering low monthly payments.Even customers with the cash to pay for projects suffer from “cash sep-Eric Howarth is Vice Presi-dent of Contractor Services, responsible for developing and executing Electric and Gas Industry Association’s (EGIA) overall contractor services strategy. He also leads the ongoing development and management of EGIA’s Contractor Membership and GEOSmart Financing Clearinghouse. Eric has facilitated over 6 billion dollars in energy efficiency and renewable energy financing through EGIA’s ex-tensive network of manufacturers, distributors, utilities, and contractors.18% of all consumers have FICO® Scores in the Fair range (580-669).34 JANUARY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYWHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CO?Carbon Monoxide (CO) doesn’t mix evenly with air. While it is possible for CO levels at the floor to get high enough to set off an alarm, it will always be higher near the ceiling than the floor. This is why CO Alarms should always be mounted high, never near the floor. They should usually be placed close to eye level in an area of good airflow.You can learn more about CO and Combustion Safety, and even register for one of NCI’s many certification classes. Go to ncilink.com/co for more details.By the way, upcoming Combustion Performance and CO Safety Certification classes are as follows:February 5-7 in St. Louis, MOFebruary 12-14 in Richmond, VAFebruary 19-21 in Atlanta, GA.Go to ncilink.com/ClassSchedule for more information.NCI WELCOMES ITS NEWEST VENDOR PARTNER NCI is pleased to announce the latest partner joining our Member Rewards program – Power Selling Pros of South Jordan, UT. Power Selling Pros (PSP) is a customer service training company for home service business-es. They are a coaching partner that helps you become absolutely the best when it comes to customer service – from training your customer service representatives, to helping your field service and installation co-workers create raving fans of your customers.PSP offers several services that help you become a market leader by teaching you how to create the best experiences for customers. Among them are the following: Power Certification Coaching Program: one-on-one accountability coach-ing for CSRs Power Certification HQ: online training for CSRs and Technicians.PSP now offers these two services to NCI members who can earn NCI Training Bucks when they use them. Members will earn Training Bucks when they enroll in the PSP Power Certification Coaching Program. They can also earn Bucks by enrolling in the Power Certification HQ.Click ncilink.com/PSPAudit to schedule a FREE customer experience audit. Not ready to sign up yet? No problem – PSP offers a Customer Service Training Library. This program is ONLY available for NCI members who sign up. Learn more on the PSP partner page (you have to be logged in to the NCI website to access) at ncilink.com/PSP.NCI MEMBER UPDATEOne of the things that makes Nation-al Comfort Institute’s (NCI) High-Perfor-mance Summit events so special is the in-teraction between Performance-Based Contractors. This isn’t just a peer-to-peer networking opportunity, but also a chance for NCI members involved in implementing performance into their businesses to share what they know with other members.This year is no different. The five pre-sentations at Summit 2019 are being taught by Performance-Based Contrac-tors. For example:Mike Hartman, presi-dent of Thomas E. Clark, Inc., Silver Spring, MD has been an NCI member since 2005 and knows a thing or two about how to generate high quality leads with performance testing.Nancy McKeraghan, who owns Canco ClimateCare, New-market, Ontario, joined NCI in 2008. She will share how her company turns high-performance leads into sales appointments.Mike Hyde, general manager of Hyde’s Air Conditioning, Palm Desert, CA has been working on per-formance in his company since joining NCI in 2003. He is sharing how his company uses 12 steps to sell High- Performance HVAC services to clients.Dawn Vickers-Mroczek, a comfort consultant in her family’s business –GV’s Heating and Cooling, Inc., Glenview, IL – shares her company’s processes for handing off jobs from sales closing to installation that reduces frustration and missteps.Jim Ball, general manager of Ball Heating and Air Condition-ing, Biloxi, MS talks about adding performance test-ing to his maintenance pro-gram and how that works in his company.These instructors will share real-world experiences and help answer mem-bers’ questions so they too can advance down the path to performance.Head over to GoToSummit.com to learn more. MEMBERS TEACH MEMBERS AT SUMMIT ‘19JANUARY 2019 35HVACTODAY.COMPHOTO OF THE YEAR WINNER2018 HVAC Today Photo of the YearNational Comfort Institute, Inc. (NCI) and High-Performance HVAC Today magazine are pleased to announce the 2018 HVAC Photo of the Year! After a tremendous turnout by nearly 100 voters, this year’s winner received 68% of the votes!The grand prize winner is one of the eleven 2018 monthly winners as voted upon by visitors to the HVACToday.com website. Besides being featured in both the digital edition of the magazine, the website, and on PerformanceTalk, the Photo of the Year Winner receives the GRAND PRIZE – a FREE registration* to NCI’s High Performance HVAC Summit (up to a $795 value) in Orlando, FL, April 15-18, 2019.THE WINNER IS:Nate Miller, Campbell and Company, Yakima, WA.Nate’s entry appeared in the October 2018 issue and was titled, “Drop Cheek 90 into Split Zone System.”Congratulations to Nate and we look forward to seeing him in April!* Airfare and hotel are NOT include. Coverage is for full Summit registration only.36 JANUARY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC SMART MARTREADY TO INCREASE YOUR TICKETS?Schedule Your Demo Today!CALL: 877-726-6285EMAIL: INFO@MENUPRICING.COMVISIT US: WWW.THENEWFLATRATE.COMJANUARY 2019 37HVACTODAY.COMAdvertiser IndexHIGH-PERFORMANCEHVAC TODAY TMAD INDEXBaker Distributing Company | BakerDist.com ..........................................................................37Dwyer Instruments, Inc. | www.dwyer-inst.com .......................................................................2Goodman Manufacturing | www.GoodmanMfg.com .............................................................6Jackson Systems | www.JacksonSystems.com ........................................................................14Lazco Corp. | www.LazcoCorp.com ...............................................................................................25R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com ................................................................................4The New Flat Rate | www.TheNewFlatRate.com .....................................................................36To Your Success | ToYourSuccess.com .........................................................................................36United Refrigeration Inc. | www.uri.com ....................................................................................35To Subscribe to High-Performance HVAC Today:ONLINE: Visit HVACToday.com/subscribe for a FREE digital subscription.PRINT: 1 year/$72; single copy $7. Canada: 1 year/$92; single copy $9. Payable in advance with U.S. funds. Prepaid subscriptions may be sent to: High-Performance HVAC Today, PO Box 147, Avon Lake, OH 44012. Phone: 440-949-1850; toll free 800-633-7058; FAX 440-949-1851, or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online.PublisherDominick GuarinoEditor-in-ChiefMike WeilArt DirectorConnie ConklinOnline Development DirectorBrian RosemanSales ManagerDave KenneyCirculation ManagerAndrea Begany- GarsedEditorial AssistantMarge SmithEmail us at contactus@hvactoday.com with your comments and questions.38 JANUARY 2019HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYthe highlights of the meeting. Many have shared that one or two ideas not only paid for the entire trip, but also helped boost their entire year!5. Trade Show in General Session space. This is new. You’ll have many opportunities to meet more than 20 of our vendor partners and explore their state-of-the-art instruments, soft-ware, services, and HVAC products.6. Win Prizes from Partners and Idea Meeting. There will be dozens of prizes donat-ed by our partners this year. When you visit each exhibitor during trade show hours, you will qual-ify for the greatest prize drawing ever! Bring a fresh idea or two to the Idea Meeting, and have a chance to share in the cash awards jackpot!7. Take Pre- and Post-Conference class-es, Plus Post-Summit Full Day Recertifi-cation classes and Leadership Program. Expand your Summit experience with business workshops and Technical NCI recertification classes. Either way you’ll come out a winner with great knowledge and ideas for making 2019 your best year ever!8. NCI Awards Banquet and Presenta-tions. The culmination of Summit 2019 is NCI’s recognition of the top High-Performance Con-tractors across the U.S. and Canada. We get to cel-ebrate contractors who recently achieved break-throughs in building their High-Performance companies, and those who have taken their com-panies to new levels of performance. Be sure to join us in recognizing these truly spe-cial contractors and their organizations.So don’t delay! Secure your Summit seats to-day, and take advantage of Early Bird Pricing at www.GoToSummit.com. We expect sellout attendance this year, so be sure to reserve your Summit seats and start plan-ning your travel to what will surely be the best High-Performance HVAC Summit ever! Now in its 16th year, National Comfort Institute's (NCI) Summit is the indus-try event where High-Performance Contractors network, have fun, break bread, learn, and share their goals and dreams.Whether you're new to High-Performance Con-tracting™, or a performance veteran, there are many reasons why you should make Summit your main event this year. Here are eight top reasons to make Summit 2019 your destination this April.1. Network with your fellow Perfor-mance-Based Contractors. Summit is the only event in the world where you can get to-gether with so many like-minded High-Perfor-mance professionals. Each year, attendees tell us the networking opportunities alone are worth the price of admission. They also say the sessions, breakouts, and other events are a huge bonus.2. Three Great General Sessions. This year our general sessions are jam-packed with fun, in-teractive meetings, and important messages from NCI leadership. Several guest speakers will also share their secrets to success.3. Five Breakout Sessions led by suc-cessful Performance-Based Contractors will take you through the entire High-Perfor-mance cycle, including Lead Generation, Lead Turnover and Setting Appointments, the Perfor-mance-Based Selling process, Installation, and High-Performance maintenance agreements.4. NCI’s renowned Idea Meeting with a special focus on Lead Generation and Sales. Hun-dreds of Summit-goers have told us this is one of Dominick Guarino is publisher of HVAC Today magazine and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at domg@ncihvac.com ONE MORE THING...By Dominick GuarinoEight Reasons Why You Can't Miss Summit This Year"EACH YEAR, ATTENDEES TELL US THE NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES ALONE ARE WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION." Next >