< Previousaffordability. More than half the re- spondents say their customers tell them their prices are too high. The next biggest pushback is that consumers tell them no one else talks about high performance. In fact, con- sumers say that respondent competi- tors erroneously tell consumers high performance is just a way to increase prices and make more money. Countering such pushbacks can in- volve things like offering: z Financing (adds more value to a sale) z Discounts z Duct renovations and air upgrades in stages (a Chinese restaurant menu approach) zFollow-ups. Sixty-seven percent of respondents say that their High-Performance HVAC approach generates solid sales leads. THE ROLE OF REPUTATION Benjamin Frank- lin once wrote that “It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it.” Many experts and consultants say that reputation is the most critical aspect of your business. It affects everything from company revenues to employ- ee pride, from the number of growth opportunities to the types of potential employees you can hire. Our survey backs this up. Those re- spondents who depend on word-of- mouth marketing say the better their reputation, the stronger word-of- mouth marketing goes. A large percentage of those who use social media marketing (68%) say that they track their online reputa- tions using Google, and just over 11% use some other medium to track it. Of those who market digitally, 56% of respondents specifically use social media to get their mes- sage out. They break down their use of social media as follows: z 60% use it for promoting specials z 80% use it to push company/in- dustry news and customer feed- back z 40% for marketing messages. Eighty-nine percent of them push their social media messages through Facebook, 44% through Twitter, and 22% through LinkedIn. WHY DOES SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGING WORK? More than half of the respondents who promote using social media say it works for them because of the buzz it creates. Michael Greany of Aire Rite ® Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration newspaper and magazine advertis- ing to promote their company and its services z 33% say that leaving brochures and pamphlets provided by third-par- ty experts not only helps justify high-performance contracting, but also is an excellent add-on to the data points from testing and mea- suring z Social media and other digital mar- keting approaches (email, blogs, electronic newsletters, and so on) are used by just over 44% of our respondents. DOES THE MESSAGING WORK? Based on their marketing, 56% of survey respondents say their high- performance sales closings are in- creasing. Still, the biggest pushback from consumers they hear is about 20 MAY 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYSALES AND MARKETING to some comments from survey re- spondents, it is delivering on prom- ises, proving it, and having delighted customers. Service technician Travis Tordoff of Aireserv ® of the Gold Country, Val- ley Springs, CA, says, “Customers who follow through with a plan we draw up often talk to their friends and family and tell them that we do a good job. It’s not technical, but it gets the word out that properly designed systems give comfort while helping to keep en- ergy costs down.” From word-of-mouth to creating a learning experience, contractors like you can create “WOW” experiences for customers through high-perfor- mance training, educate their custom- ers through marketing, and deliver what they promise. There is no better differentiation factor out there. Another typical comment respon- dents get from their customers is that they see a marked improvement in their indoor envi- ronments and don’t mind spending more on quality. They like to know what is really happening with their HVAC systems. SUCCESSFUL AIR UPGRADE AND DUCT RENOVATION SALES Success seems to revolve around two factors. One is focused training of field service and installation technicians in the art and science of High-Perfor- mance HVAC. The second is getting the word out about what makes your company different. Mike Greany of Aire Rite said, “Peo- ple can’t buy what they are not offered. When we deliver the comfort, energy efficiency, safety, and heath benefit we promise, and then prove it, we truly stand out from our competitors.” Quentin Collins of Day and Night Heating and Air Conditioning, Fay- etteville, NC, con- curs. He told us, “Our techs have im- proved educating customers, increas- ing our average sales tickets. This is a win for the customer and a win for our company.” Success isn’t only closing the sale, however. According in Riverside, CA, says, “Social media campaigns that promote our air up- grade and duct renovation work get people talking.” Furthermore, Greg Steger of Greg Steger Heating and Air, Plym- outh, WI, says, “through our social media campaigns, we share informa- tion that no one else does. To our cus- tomers, this shows that we care.” “Because of our promotions and messaging through social media, we educate our customers. They are be- ginning to understand what air up- grades are,” says Dwayne Ashley of Polar Bear Air Conditioning in Georgetown, Cayman Islands. Several of our respondents are still working through proper pricing and messaging issues, but by and large, they say these are issues they hope to overcome very soon. From a customer standpoint, the contractors who responded to this survey tell us their customers often say the results really matter. In fact, 67% say customers tell them that they see the High-Performance HVAC ap- proach solving issues that no one else could solve before. Brian Roseman is the marketing and multimedia manager for National Comfort Insti- tute. His responsibilities include managing the marketing department, information technol- ogies, photography, video production, and website development and maintenance. For questions about this survey, you can reach him at ncilink.com/ ContactMe. MAY 2022 21HVACTODAY.COM22 MAY 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYIf you have any questions, or if you are unable to access any of the tools in this program, please contact your Customer Care team at 800-633-7058. More From NCI’s Online University Over the years, National Com- fort Institute has built and grown a library of Online Uni- versity courses that your team can take remotely, on their own sched- ule. Many contractors use these on- line courses to keep themselves up-to-speed on the tenets of High- Performance Contracting. From owners to office staff to field techs and everyone in between, the NCI Online University has something for ev- eryone in your HVAC company - at all learning levels. These courses are created by the team here at NCI and are focused on helping your organization succeed and grow, at your pace. If you’re just starting out, or have been in business for decades, there’s training that you will find helpful on your path to per- formance. This month we focus on one of NCI’s advanced tech- nical training modules: Sys- tem Performance Testing. This series provides your team with an introduction to system performance and covers the fundamentals and explains: Which measurements you should take and how to take them How to recognize which numbers to record How you can make a diagnosis based on your measurement results How to make recommendations based on your diagnostics. This series also talks about how to re- pair and renovate systems based on your recommendations. Learn more about this course by going to ncil- ink.com/SPT. Along with tech- nical topics, the NCI Online Univer- sity also features some business and selling modules you can use to keep your CSR skills well-honed. NCI also offers Business Manage- ment 201 series of courses. From the ABCs of supervising others to team dele- gation and coaching, this series of mod- ules will help your team in their various roles in making High-Performance HVAC contracting work for your company. Get more details on each of the mod- ules by pointing your browser to ncilink. com/BM201. Remember, the NCI On- line University is available 24/7 to help keep your team focused and striving for the best. As we mentioned, membership has its privi- leges, NCI Members get dis- counted, or even free online university access. If you have any questions, be sure to call the NCI Customer Care line at 800- 633-7058. Members: Get Your May 2020 PowerPack! NCI membership has its privileges. One of those privileges is something we call the PowerPack. Each month NCI curates items just for members to help them as they grow their High-Perfor- mance HVAC business. Some of the tools included each month may not be normally accessi- ble with your membership subscrip- tion package . However, you will be able to access these valuable tools through the Pow- erPack portal during the current month. So, without further ado, let’s drill down and take a look at the May 2022 Power- Pack, which focuses on preparing for the cooling season: How To Perform a ComfortMaxx™ Quick Test (Webinar) NCI Generic Cooling Capacity Table (Download) Performance Tune-Up Postcard (Download) ComfortMaxx™ Field Data Collec- tion Report for Residential Split System (Download) The Curse of Hot Weather (Article). NCI UPDATE WHAT’S NEW AT NATIONAL COMFORT INSTITUTE? FIND OUT ABOUT NEW PROGRAMS, EVENTS, AND TOOLS, ALL AIMED AT HELPING YOUR HIGH-PERFORMANCE BUSINESS SUCCEED. MAY 2022 23HVACTODAY.COMHVAC SMART MART 24 MAY 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYAdvertiser Index 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. Arzel Zoning Technology, Inc. | www.ArzelZoning.com .................................................... 24 Baker Distributing Company | www.BakerDist.com ........................................................... 18 Duct Saddles | www.DuctSaddles.com ..................................................................................... 13 Dwyer | www.Dwyer-inst.com ....................................................................................................... 2 Evergreen Telemetry | www.EvergreenTelemetry.com ...................................................... 22 Goodman Manufacturing | www.GoodmanMfg.com ......................................................... 5 Lazco Corp. | www.LazcoCorp.com .............................................................................................. 9 R.E. Michel Company | www.REMichel.com .......................................................................... 25 The New Flat Rate | www.TheNewFlatRate.com ................................................................ 24 To Your Success | www.ToYourSuccess.com .......................................................................... 24 Publisher Dominick Guarino Editor-in-Chief and Associate Publisher Mike Weil Art Director Judy Marquardt Online Development Director Brian Roseman Circulation Manager Andrea Begany-Garsed Go to ncilink.com/ContactMe with your comments and questions. HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM MAY 2022 25HVACTODAY.COMteam busy. Think of it like a squirrel storing away acorns for the winter. Each lead is an acorn that you can choose to bring out as needed during your slow sea- son. This will keep your company profitable and your team healthy and well-fed. CREATE A FOLLOW-UP SYSTEM The key to success with this approach is to create a system your service technicians and salespeople can easily follow. Your system should consistently provide guidelines on whether to defer a lead or fol- low-up right away. The system should also include a mechanism that triggers follow-ups so the leads are not lost or forgotten. A great way to follow-up on these leads is to have someone in your office review your service tickets and rate the severity of the deficiencies found in testing. You can rate them from A through D, with A being the highest priority. Keep these leads in a file and create a reminder in your CRM software to send a letter to your custom- er that shares your findings in plain language. The letter should include several questions about health, comfort, and energy use. This helps your customer understand the connection between your findings and what they may be experiencing. Start with your A leads working through to your D leads as your slow season progresses. NCI’s “Important Test Results” system is de- signed to accomplish all of the above. This approach has made a huge difference for many contractors in leveling their workload, while keeping good technicians and installers employed and busy during off seasons. It also maintains high- er year-round profitability. If interested in getting a free “Important Test Re- sults” letter and materials, go to ncilink.com/ ContactMe to send me an email. C ondensing units are already starting to kick on in many parts of the coun- try, and it’s just a matter of time before equipment starts breaking down. Before you know it, your service technicians will be running the wheels off their trucks trying to respond to service requests. Unfortunately, this is also the time when there is a strong temp- tation to stop testing system performance and just triage the service calls in front of you. Most contractors fall into the trap of letting ser- vice techs put off air-side test procedures because there are too many calls to handle. The truth is it only takes five minutes to do a basic static pres- sure test and record the results. Even when things are busy, taking these few extra minutes often makes the difference be- tween a mediocre year and a great one for many High-Performance HVAC companies. FOLLOW-UP RIGHT AWAY OR DEFER? Many salespeople are tempted to put off leads from service in favor of new customers calling for replacement quotes. In truth, service-generated leads more likely will result in higher priced work with little or no competition. You can take better care of existing customers, plus you will win more profitable jobs instead of competing with all the low-bid companies out there. When a system is performing poorly, and a re- placement is warranted, be sure your salespeople follow up immediately. For example, when your salesperson finds statics so high that poor airflow will cause frozen coils and equipment failure. DEFERABLE LEADS When the equipment is fairly new and work- ing OK, follow-up can be deferred to your slower season when you need work to keep your ONE MORE THING... By Dom Guarino Summer is Coming: Don’t Forget to Test to Generate Leads! 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 26 MAY 2022HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAYNext >