< Previous20 FEBRUARY 2021HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY HVAC SMART MARTFEBRUARY 2021 21HVACTODAY.COM Advertiser Index HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYHVAC TODAY TM AD INDEX To 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; or visit HVACToday.com/subscribe to order online. Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher Mike Weil Art Director Connie Conklin Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com ...................................................... 5 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 15 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 21 Dwyer Instruments, Inc. | www.Dwyer-inst.com ................................................................. 23 Goodman Manufacturing | www.GoodmanMfg.com ........................................................ 2 Lazco Corp. | www.LazcoCorp.com .............................................................................................. 8 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 12 The New Flat Rate | www.TheNewFlatRate.com ................................................................ 20 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 20 United Refrigeration Inc. | www.uri.com ................................................................................. 2022 FEBRUARY 2021HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY STEP 2: Teach your installers how to perform Air Upgrades and System Renovations. Make sure they understand what’s expected of them and they have the tools, training, and materials to do the repairs and test-out properly. STEP 3: Train your salespeople to follow-up on testing-generated leads. Make sure they have the right tools to perform testing on all sales calls. Remember, they are your technical translators. They must know how to explain to homeowners in laymen’s terms how they can improve their homes’ comfort, safety, and energy efficiency. STEP 4: Establish menu pricing for your sales- people to easily add Air Upgrades and System Renovations to their proposals. This step can be done concurrently with Step 3. STEP 5: Build and stock Air Upgrade kits so they are ready to load on your installers’ trucks so they can perform these basic upgrades. STEP 6: Market your capabilities to both ex- isting and potential customers. Use third-party credibility materials like National Comfort Insti- tute’s (NCI) Home Comfort Reports series. Put this information on your website and social me- dia. You will be surprised how many people are looking for what you have to offer. There is more to it of course, but these first six steps will take you in the right direction. Once you’ve mastered them, you can move onto new levels of delivered performance. The key is reinforcement. You need someone to champion this approach throughout your compa- ny. If you are the owner or general manager, pref- erably it’s you. If you don’t have the time, dele- gate it to someone in your company who is truly passionate about delivering High Performance. One more tip: Join a group of contractors who meet on a regular basis to keep their High-Perfor- mance fire burning brightly. One such group is Na- tional Comfort Institute’s Trailblazer Coaching program. You can include your key staff on these monthly coaching calls as well. O ver the years we’ve had the privilege of talking to thousands of HVAC con- tractors across North America about how they’ve fared in implementing the High-Performance approach in their companies. I wish I could say the vast majority was able to just flip a switch and presto chango they were mag- ically transformed with High-Performance Con- tracting at the core of their culture. Nothing could be further from the truth. A consistent thread through many of our con- versations was just how difficult it was to get this new culture to stick. While the reasons varied, the most prevalent was the lack of a solid plan and fol- low-through. Many said they were overwhelmed and couldn’t figure out how to easily implement this approach within their organizations. In other words, they didn’t know which initial steps they should take so they wouldn’t have to try to eat the elephant in one bite. As we look at the companies that have successfully made High-Per- formance Contracting a seamless part of who they are, we recognized some common steps they took, and in what sequence. If you’re struggling with implementation, here are six baby steps that can get you back on track. If you’re just starting out, these steps will help put you on the right path from the beginning: STEP 1: Get every service tech, salesperson, and installer on your team to measure static pressures and interpret airflow at the equipment. Doing this should be part of every service call, sales call, and in- stallation. It is a foundational step. To get everyone on board, you must help them understand why the company is doing this. You need to explain in simple terms why airflow and performance are so import- ant, and how they impact your customers. Your goal should be testing 100% of the systems your team touches. It might take a little time to get there, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. Testing and documenting require discipline, ongoing train- ing, and a lot of positive reinforcement. Dominick Guarino is publisher of High-Performance HVAC Today magazine and CEO of National Comfort Institute, Inc. He can be reached at ncilink.com/ContactMe ONE MORE THING... By Dominick Guarino Six Steps Towards Implementing High PerformanceNext >