HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM If You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing! ™ hvactoday.comAPRIL 2020 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: The Power of HVAC Contractor Networking Create the Most Profitable Service Department with the Highest Paid Technicians Partner Spotlight: Helping Train HVAC Contractors Via the Goodman Business ToolboxAPRIL 2020 3HVACTODAY.COM APRIL 2020 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 4 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM MAINTENANCE: A New-Age Approach to Maintenance Agreements Minnick’s Inc. uses creativity to reimagine maintenance agreement sales success. This includes offering homeowners choices. MANAGEMENT: The Power of HVAC Contractor Networking Are you involved with a network of your peers? If not, what’s stopping you? Here are some tips to help you out. SERVICE MANAGEMENT: Create the Most Profiitable Service Department Dennis Mondul shares his expertise on how to create a high profit service organization with the highest-paid technicians in your marketplace. 16 10 DEPARTMENTS Today’s Word .........................................................................................4 High-Performance Products .............................................................5 Partner Spotlight: Goodman Business Toolbox .......................6 Member Update ...............................................................................19 Photo of the Month .........................................................................20 HVAC Smart Mart ...............................................................................21 Ad Index ................................................................................................21 One More Thing ................................................................................22 134 APRIL 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TODAY’S WORD By Mike Weil Maintenance Agreements: Make Them Valuable to Your Customers Mike Weil is editor-in-chief and director of communications and publications at National Comfort Institute, Inc. You can reach him at MikeW@ncihvac.com T here is no argument that providing bi-annual or annual HVAC system ser- vice/maintenance agreements can be vital to consumers’ peace of mind as well as to a contracting firm looking to even out the seasonality of the business. And typically, April is the time when most contractors are look- ing to renew and sell these instruments. However, there is one aspect of maintenance agreements that may be back-burnered by con- tractors: providing true value versus the cost. For some contractors it is a numbers game — bragging rights as to how many agreements they have and service. For others, they succumb to marketplace pressures where competitors and some “consum- er media” tell customers that maintenance agree- ments are just a way for your company to squeeze more dollars from their pockets. For those who are all about bragging rights, you are missing the point. On the other hand, if the number of agreements your company sells and services is vital to the continued success of your firm by bringing in additional revenue during shoulder seasons, then you are right on point. The intent isn’t to rip off customers. TRUE VALUE However, to avoid any misunderstandings you must show the true value of your maintenance agreements to customers. First, pricing needs to be fair. Maintenance agreements shouldn’t be so expensive that cus- tomers think it’s a rip-off and may only consider buying one-off services when they need it. Still, pricing should be high enough to cover costs and provide you a fair margin. Second, you should provide options — differ- ent types and/or levels of maintenance so your customers have choices. CREATE CLUB MEMBERSHIPS Take, for example, the approach to maintenance agreements as a membership or VIP club. By pro- viding points that equate to discounts for consum- ers on services, you can entice them to buy mainte- nance agreements from you. A great example is how Rob Minnick and his team at Minnicks, Inc. do this very thing. Read all about it on page 13 of this issue. In fact, Rob takes it one step further — he offers customers three choic- es, one of which is a unique program called Smart Maintenance. With that, he can remotely monitor and manage customer systems without having to bring on more staff and more overhead. THE PERFORMANCE APPROACH Furthermore, Rob creates value not only through programs like VIP memberships and smart main- tenance, but his field service and installation teams also operate under the Performance-Based Con- tracting™ method where all maintenance tasks in- clude static pressure/temperature testing as well as ductwork analysis and diagnoses. His customers receive value in comfort and energy efficiency. They have the peace of mind knowing Minnicks is watch- ing out for them. This is so important for three reasons: It differ- entiates Minnicks from its competitors, it brings in much needed revenues, and provides his cus- tomer base with value that flies in the face of neg- ativity reported from sources like Checkbook.org (ncilink.com/ChkBkBias) and Angie’s List (ncilink.com/AngiesList). So the question is, are you more concerned with the number of agreements you sell or are you fo- cused on providing true value to customers? What are some unique value propositions that your main- tenance approach brings to the market? Drop me a note at MikeW@NCIhvac.com. APRIL 2020 5HVACTODAY.COM acting barometric damper is still helpful. Its ability to relieve downdraft or positive pressure is benefi- cial because a safe- ty spill switch can be added to turn off equipment if there is a downdraft and, more importantly, if the flue is restricted or blocked. The MG-1 is sensitive to as little as -.005” w.c. pressure change. This allows it to control venting and combustion air to equipment and maintain stable com- bustion. On drafthood-type equipment, it replaces the drafthood and connects the equipment to the flue rather than the flue being isolated. This controls combustion air to the burner, allowing the proper amount of fuel to be supplied by maintaining the outlet draft pressure. If the draft drops too low, flue gases will spill out of the barometric damp- er and trip the safety switch. The same holds true if the flue becomes restricted or blocked. On sealed flues, such as in- duced draft equipment, this also regulates combustion air to the burner. It can also maintain equipment efficien- cy when there is excessive draft. Hard to believe that such a simple de- vice can do amazing things! For more information on the Field Controls MG-1 or to order this double- acting barometric damper, visit the NCI store at ncilink.com/MG-1 . – by Jim Davis, Senior Instructor, National Comfort Institute FIELD CONTROLS DOUBLE- ACTING BAROMETRIC DAMPERS Most oil heating contractors are famil- iar with single-acting barometric damp- ers. They are used to control the overfire draft pressure of the burner. This pres- sure controls the amount of air entering the oil burner and maintains stable com- bustion. Controlling air on gas equip- ment should be just as important! The Field Controls Double-Acting Barometric Type MG-1 Damper differs from its single-acting cousin in that not only does it control updrafts, but it also relieves downdrafts. The original purpose behind relieving downdrafts was preventing standing pi- lots from blowing out. Other than water heaters, today there aren’t many stand- ing pilot appliances left. But the double- HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRODUCT REVIEWS Written By HVAC Professionals for HVAC Professionals6 APRIL 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY na training sessions. There are no user names or pass- words. We have free learn- ing videos that they can ac- cess in our libraries. Anyone can see our entire training calendar, all the upcoming training sessions. “If they see a workshop they like, they can register for it and participate, whether they sell Goodman or Amana brand equipment or not.” SOME HISTORY Before 2017, Goodman offered high-efficiency sales training for their contractor customers. According to Middleton, that training was offered through a third-party company. The company also had existing tech- nical training. When Middle- ton joined the team, his mis- sion was to take training to the next level. “Part of that was to pro- vide some additional tools for our dealers to use – a toolbox if you will – which put more resources at the contractor’s fingertips,” he says. “The idea was to expand our business horizons. So, we created this training toolbox working with various industry experts and trainers from all over the country. “We work with organizations like National Comfort Institute (NCI); independent business consultants; coaches like Tom Wit- tman, Dennis Mon- dul, and Tom Piscitel- li; and other industry partners like CI Web Group, EGIA Finance Clearinghouse, and so on.” Middleton says that back in 2017 he got together with four ex- perts to hash out up- grades to the Good- man high-efficiency sales class. Part of this upgrade was the inclusion of a new sales tool Goodman had just launched that was called Perfect Pitch™ (ncilink.com/perfectpitch). “Perfect Pitch was a sales process developed in partnership with Wright- soft. We built an entire curriculum around this in-home selling system to help contractors sell more high-effi- ciency equipment,” he explains. The following year a group of near- ly 30 people conferenced together and developed 15 more workshops. Mid- dleton says during that session the team brainstormed and networked to make sure all the training they devel- oped complemented each other and wasn’t just a ‘hodge-podge’ of differ- ent workshops and classes. “We wanted contractors to be able to take each of the different work- shops and see how they all tie to- gether through the entire HVAC HH VAC contractors are blessed with the amount and type of training made available to them from every link in the industry’s value chain – manufactur- ers, distributors, associations, fran- chise organizations, and independent consultants. The amount of training is almost overwhelming, however, and there isn’t a single source where contrac- tors can go to set up training their per- sonnel. One manufacturer is making a significant investment in doing this very thing. Goodman Manufacturing Company, L.P. set out on this path in 2017 with the creation of its Goodman Busi- ness Toolbox™ and Amana Brand Business Academy™ programs. Under the direction of National Sales Training Manager Ben Middleton, the compa- ny began to build a busi- ness resource that would be available to the entire HVAC Industry. Today both the Toolbox and Academy platforms are open and available to HVAC contractors, distrib- utors, and their employees across the industry regardless of brand affili- ation. Middleton says, “We strongly en- courage HVAC contractors, no matter what brand of equipment they sell, to attend the Goodman and/or Ama- PARTNER SPOTLIGHT By Mike Weil Helping to Train HVAC Contractors with the Goodman Business Toolbox Ben MiddletonAPRIL 2020 7HVACTODAY.COM n The last step is developing a marketing plan. Rather than being a linear train- ing model, Middleton describes this as circular. “You can start at any one of those points in the circle and work your way around,” he says. “You learn. You keep tightening up the processes around those key aspects of the HVAC business. You learn some more. That is the heart of the entire Goodman Business Toolbox.” In 2019, the development group grew to 50 people and they took all the Goodman and Amana brand solutions vendors they worked with, married them up with Goodman and indepen- dent trainers, and refined the Toolbox workshops. Middleton says, “Today we are up to more than 50 different workshops for both territory sales managers and our dealers. It is all mapped out. We have a complete roadmap that any HVAC contractor can go through.” He adds that the mission today is one of refining and polishing. “We want to work on improving the overall experience. We are looking at all the different tools and ways people learn today versus how they have over the past 20 or 30 years. This includes how to better incorporate technology into the training. “A big change now will come from how we incorporate and use these new teaching technologies.” AGAIN: THIS TRAINING IS OPEN TO THE ENTIRE HVAC INDUSTRY Middleton wants to emphasize that the toolbox training is available to any HVAC contractor in the industry, whether they sell Goodman or Amana brand HVAC products or not. “In that light,” he says, “we allow dealers to see our curriculum and look for a workshop in their area. If they don’t see one, they can request it. When a distributor sees enough requests coming through, they can organize a workshop based on those requests. “In other words, every aspect of the Goodman Business Toolbox and Amana Brand Business Academy is open to the entire industry,” he adds. Furthermore, he says this training is designed to work in conjunction with oth- er training available in the industry. “Our goal was never to compete with any training organizations, franchise groups, or associations that contractors belong to. I think they all have extremely high value to the group of contractors they serve. We want to be a few dif- business cycle, which we also intro- duced that year.” The HVAC business cycle basically takes a contractor through all aspects of the customer engagement process. This includes: n How customers can find a contractor when they have a need or want. Middleton says they have specific workshops developed that help with this. n How to turn that inquiry into an appointment. There is a curricu- lum built around call conversion and setting the appointment. n How to determine what prob- lems there are. “We have work- shops covering problem identification and making sure contractors have the right tools and the right knowledge to be successful in finding the problems,” says Middleton. n How to present HVAC solu- tions to the customer after the problem is identified. This must be done in a way that gives customers op- tions and still puts them in control of the buying decision. The Toolbox has course work on this aspect that teach- es techs how to work through the problem solution. n How to get paid for the solution. The Toolbox training has a compen- sation-for-services-ren- dered section. This in- cludes providing a way for customers to pay in the way they want to pay. Middleton says that if the contractor has done every- thing right and created a great experience for their cus- tomer, they should have a cus- tomer for life.8 APRIL 2020HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY tractors. For existing Amana brand and Goodman dealers, they can be more profitable and be better qualified to sell more product. They also will be able to get their name out and be in front of more customers. “On the other hand, if they aren’t selling Goodman and Amana brand products, we invite them to come in and try on our training, check out the distribution branch, and we would hope if they like what they see, maybe they will allow us to do some business with them as well.” HOW’S IT GOING? “Our mission is to drive more ‘at- tendance’ to the Goodman Business Toolbox and Amana Brand Business Academy websites,” he says. “Today our approach is very tar- geted. We are working closely with specific groups – including the NCI membership. Eventually, you will see a more industrywide approach to our marketing and promotion.” All of this is in-person live train- ing conducted across the United States through Goodman distribution branches, both company-owned and independent.” Part of the goal is to build out the digital content found on both the Goodman Business Toolbox and Amana Brand Business Academy websites. The idea is for a contractor to use this content for their own in- house training, or on their own time. Middleton says that includes build- ing On-Demand training. ferent things for the groups:” 1) To provide a solid foundation before contractors get involved with other HVAC Industry training groups/ organizations. He says that means they want to help set contractors up for success, to be a source to help con- tractors lay that foundation. 2) To set up the workshops as supplemental training for every oth- er organizations’ training programs. This way contractors have a lot of localized training through their dis- tributor. Then, when they go to re- gional or national training events, they can build on the basic training Goodman provided. This is a big investment for Good- man, and Middleton says the overrid- ing factor is the value it provides con- PARTNER SPOTLIGHTAPRIL 2020 9HVACTODAY.COM By working together, we can provide bottom-to-top training around the country.” Middleton thinks of the NCI cours- es as advanced technical training, while Goodman training focuses on basic technical and business training. He believes they work hand-in-hand and looks forward to building out more classes with the NCI trainers. Middleton concludes by saying the Goodman Business Toolbox and Ama- na Brand Business Academy programs are here to unify training, to supple- ment other organizations’ programs, THE PERFORMANCE-BASED CONNECTION “When we look at Performance- Based Contractors who look at HVAC systems inclusive with the air sys- tems and who pay attention to air- flow, sizing equipment correctly, as well as overall system design and per- formance, we see a group who make HVAC equipment work better,” Mid- dleton explains. “But we also want to give them the tools they need to be “found” better (marketing) by potential customers, offer financing, improving their cus- tomer service, and so on. “We can’t do all that ourselves. So, we partner with organizations like NCI. We host NCI training events that are conducted by NCI trainers. and to change how HVAC contractors think about training their field service and installation teams. “Change is good,” Middleton con- cludes. “Yes, it can be painful at times, but it helps us become better togeth- er — Goodman can provide better re- sources to our customers, and con- tractors can provide better service to their customers. This approach, I feel, is what will continue to differentiate us and our customers from the rest in the HVAC marketplace. It is for these and many other reasons that High-Performance HVAC Today magazine shines its April Spotlight on the Goodman Business Toolbox and Amana Brand Business Academy pro- grams. Next >