hvactoday.comDECEMBER 2023 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM If You Don’t Measure, You’re Just Guessing! ™ ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: • Branding for High-Performance HVAC Contractors • The Role of Safety in Your Brand • Dual-Fuel Heat Pumps Meet Demands Y o u a r e t he B R A N D !DECEMBER 2023 VOLUME 7 NUMBER 12 HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY TM MARKETING: Make Combustion Safety A Part of Your Brand Vic Updike of Masterworks Mechanical shares how his company makes safety a central part of his brand strate- gy. Learn how he uses this to differentiate his company and to attract new talent. DEPARTMENTS DECEMBER 2023 3HVACTODAY.COM Today’s Word .........................................................................................4 High-Performance Product Review ...............................................5 Contractor Spotlight: Jerry Kelly Heating & Air .......................6 NCI Update .........................................................................................23 HVAC Smart Mart ...............................................................................24 Ad Index ................................................................................................25 One More Thing ................................................................................26 BRAND MARKETING: High-Performance Branding for High-Performance Contractors Marketing guru Matt Michel explains the power of HVAC system performance as a brand. 11 15 18 TECHNICAL: Dual-Fuel Heat Pumps: Meeting HVAC Customer Demands NCI’s Ben Lipscomb, P.E., explains how these systems can help you best meet local codes and customer demands.4 DECEMBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY from the initial customer impression to the service provided and the ongoing relationship built. It’s also about the brand your coworkers see. For ex- ample, when you pay them well, keep them safe during extreme seasons, and engage with them, your brand, in their eyes, grows more important. BUILDING TRUST AND CREDIBILITY Establishing trust and credibility is vital. Con- sumers don’t only look for services; they want a partner to rely on for their HVAC needs. Leverag- ing NCI certifications, industry awards, and other affiliations can strengthen your credibility. Show- casing customer testimonials and reviews also plays a vital role in building trust. For example, being the local expert on things like new refrigerants, indoor air quality, and even forecasting contribute to how your community sees you. ONLINE PRESENCE AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Having an online presence continues to be in- dispensable. A professional website reflecting the brand’s essence and values is your virtual store- front for potential clients. Social media and con- tent marketing are powerful tools for engaging with the audience and showcasing expertise. Simultaneously, engaging with the local com- munity through sponsorships, events, and part- nerships contributes to a brand’s visibility and rapport within the neighborhood. Branding is not peripheral to your business — it’s the essence that defines a company’s relation- ship with customers. By investing time and effort to create a strong brand, you position yourself for long-term success. Embracing the power of brand- ing is not just an option; it’s an imperative step to- wards building a thriving HVAC business. T he art of branding stands as a fundamen- tal cornerstone for HVAC businesses to distinguish themselves and thrive in a highly competitive market. Branding is more than just a logo or a company name; it is the entirety of a company’s identity, values, and the promise it extends to customers. UNDERSTANDING THE HVAC LANDSCAPE This industry is dynamic and competitive, with numerous players vying for attention and market share. HVAC contractors face the challenge of not only providing quality services but also standing out in a crowded market. Facing the Music, the Challenges, and Changes of increasing demand for energy-effi- cient and sustainable solutions, consumers are becoming more discerning and seeking contrac- tors who align with their values and needs. As High-Performance HVAC contractors, your brand is ready made, but you need to make that clear to customers. THE ESSENCE OF HVAC CONTRACTOR BRANDING Branding goes far beyond a catchy tagline or a visually appealing logo. It’s about defining a com- pany’s identity, values, and the unique promise it offers to customers. Branding is about creating a consistent and memorable experience for every client interaction. For example, in 2023, artificial intelligence technology (AI) began making its presence known across all industries. Despite a lot of po- tential, can apps like ChatGPT assimilate HVAC contractorcustomer relationship mod- els? How will that impact your brand? Remember, a strong brand identity is the guid- ing light that shapes every aspect of your business, Mike Weil is editor- in-chief and director of communications and publications at National Comfort Institute, Inc. Contact him at ncilink. com/ContactMe. TODAY’S WORD By Mike Weil Branding: A Cornerstone for Success in the High-Performance HVAC ™ IndustryDECEMBER 2023 5HVACTODAY.COM their Training Incentive Partnership Program (TIPP). Our membership in- cludes unlimited online training and the maximum percentage of TIPP NCI Bucks, plus one paid Summit seat and a print subscription to High-Performance HVAC Today magazine. I strongly endorse National Comfort Institute and their training programs as they help us ensure our team stays up- to-date on our High-Performance HVAC certifications and processes. At Punbar , we find that being able to reduce the cost for live training using their “Bucks” program is amazing. This year, we are exploring partner- ships with more of NCI’s vendors that can offer us enhanced opportunities to acquire additional NCI Bucks, such as col- laborating with Goodman as our equip- ment supplier. To learn more about the power of NCI Bucks, go to ncilink.com/Bucks . You can also learn more about TIPP at ncilink.com/TIPP , and membership here: ncilink.com/NCIMembership. —by Ronald Amaya, Punbar LLC, Houston, TX The Power of NCI Bucks At Punbar LLC, we receive National Comfort Institute (NCI) Bucks annually to provide in-person training for our field service and installation technicians. The NCI Bucks process is straightfor- ward. Typically, we enroll our techni- cians in the relevant courses, and a ded- icated NCI representative handles the application of bucks towards our train- ing expenses. In fact, each time we call to register, the representative lets us know how many bucks we have available to apply toward that class’ registration fees. This program is part of our Learning Excellence Premium membership to NCI, and we earn bucks based on the products and services we buy through HIGH-PERFORMANCE PRODUCT Written by HVAC Professionals for HVAC Professionalsretirement plan for him. “It’s always good to set up the busi- ness to run whether you’re in the driv- er’s seat or not. I still develop initia- tives, and then Shelly’s team executes them. By that, I mean, when I come up with an idea to streamline or grow the business, we’ll discuss it, and they do what it takes to put it into action and see if it actually works.” THE ART OF STREAMLINING Many of the initiatives Miles talks about focus on improving processes, working smarter, and taking advan- tage of the modern tools they use for managing the business. He says the most significant invest- ment they’ve made in this area is incor- porating the Service Titan manage- ment system. It has many automation features like smart dispatch and oth- er built-in AI-based technologies to smooth out operational processes. “For me, improving our processes has always been a focus. I believe it helps us better manage the back end and helps our field teams be seen as more professional in the front end,” Miles explains. “Though artificial in- telligence can be a little concerning if not used correctly, it takes the vari- ability out of managing the business. “Sometimes you lose a bit of the per- sonal touch, but in the end, AI helps us help our customers to be better sat- isfied with their interactions with us.” He says though AI has a lot of poten- tial, it still requires his team to keep an eye on it. “The technology is still in its early evolution, so you must be care- ful with it.” PROFESSIONALISM AND TRAINING One thing that hasn’t changed since our last profile of Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning is their keen de- sire to be the most professional com- pany in their marketplace. To do that requires a lot of training. “First impressions matter,” Miles says. “If a technician shows up to a customer’s home wearing torn blue jeans and a dirty T-shirt with unkempt hair and beard, that’s not the impres- sion I want to make. I certainly would be uncomfortable letting someone who looks like that into my house. “Appearance is everything. That’s why we try and keep our techs in clean uniforms. We require them to have neatly trimmed hair and beards. “We want them to exude a profes- sional appearance because we are pro- fessionals. Plus, if they want to get paid like a professional, they must act I n 2019, High-Performance HVAC Today magazine spot- lighted Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning, a Saint Louis, MO area contracting firm focused on the residential service and replacement marketplace. At the time of that writing, the company had $12.5 million in gross sales, 67 total employ- ees, and fielded around 18 service and seven installation vehicles. They were two years into “living” in their new 21,000 sq. ft. headquarters building in St. Peters. The new build- ing gave the Jerry Kelly team room to continue growing and building their brand in their market area. Today, the company fields more than 50 vehicles, 68 employees, and is on track to hit $16million in revenues. According to co-owner Steve Miles, the company’s success has much to do with a professional approach to ser- vice, and strong efforts in streamlining internal and external processes. When Steve’s wife and owner of Jer- ry Kelly Heating was forced to retire to care for her mother who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease, the company needed to beef up its leadership team. “Today, we have a great general manager, Shelly Smith,” he says. “We helped build her marketing and opera- tions team. And she’s got a good team. She handles many of the day-to-day operations, which allows me to spend more time working on the business.” Miles says that, for now, this isn’t a 6 DECEMBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT By Mike Weil Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning - Then and NowDECEMBER 2023 7HVACTODAY.COM physical file,” says Miles. Other training Miles and his man- agement team use to maintain their team’s professionalism comes from the local air conditioning contractor’s association as well as the National Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) training programs. He talks specifically about ACCA’s ser- vice manager clinics and other pro- grams throughout the year. Also, the Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning team takes advantage of membership in groups like The Ser- vice Nation Alliance, EGIA, and others. He says they use a lot of those groups for their online training. “And we are open to new avenues of training our people,” he adds. GETTING THE WORD OUT Since he first began working for Jer- ry Kelly Heating in 1994 as a dispatch- er, Steve Miles says that he was very interested in how marketing impacts a business’ growth. “Over the years, I’ve learned that marketing works,” Miles explains. “The problem is knowing EXACTLY how it works. “We’re up 10% over last year. We’re up 50% month-over-month from last October. Where’s it all coming from? It’s hard to nail down who recom- mended us and why. Our growth is directly impacted by reputation and marketing. It all combines and gets our brand out there.” He adds that getting the word out means being smart and strategic and tracking results. “Marketing is essential. I consider it part of our advertising budget.” Miles says he believes the import- ant thing is that the company keeps an ongoing conversation with custom- ers and potential customers. That goes beyond advertising. “I think of it as gorilla marketing. We give away door hangers that are reusable grocery bags with our logo emblazoned on them. We include cou- pons and magnets inside those. Even our trucks work to our advantage. They are purple and stand out in all the neighborhoods we work in. RECRUITING ALSO REQUIRES MARKETING In the age of what has been deemed the ‘Great Retirement,’ it is essential to work toward attracting new talent into the business. Miles says this is part of their marketing and advertis- ing plan as well. Interestingly, he says that most applicants come from out- and look like one,” Miles continues. Appearance is one thing. Under- standing the technology and science behind HVAC systems is another. “That’s why we’re always in train- ing mode. A lot of it is on an individu- alized basis. Still, we bring in outside training organizations like National Comfort Institute (NCI). We do onsite training with NCI every year for com- bustion analysis certification and air balancing. “We also try to keep our guys up to date on the latest and best technolo- gy. For example, we bought the Mea- sureQuick software for our entire field team, so they don’t have to do the math anymore. That streamlines the testing and diagnosis process for the techs and allows us to collect the data we need to analyze and solve customer comfort and safety prob- lems,” Miles continues. He adds that one of the things he likes about the MeasureQuick app is that it produces decent system reports his team can share with clients and in- terfaces with his Service Titan software. “Data goes into the customer’s re- cords. We can trace anything down. All our calls are there. All the documenta- tion, too. Such automation makes it a lot easier than having to search for a 8 DECEMBER 2023HIGH-PERFORMANCE HVAC TODAY CONTRACTOR SPOTLIGHT the right direction. Our main weak- ness is the expense of providing that level of training and the wages our guys deserve. “We’re not the least expensive con- tractor in our marketplace, so we have to overcome the price objection more than the competitors who choose not to invest in the training for their peo- ple. Plus, we constantly battle against other contractors who badmouth us by saying we overcharge customers. “Our approach is that if a customer has a complaint, our job is to resolve the issue. By taking care of your cus- tomer, everything else will fall into place.” THE SECRET SAUCE In 2019, we profiled Jerry Kel- ly Heating and Air Conditioning on these pages because they focused on professionalism, training, and putting the customer first. Back then, they of- fered customers a 100% satisfaction guarantee, or they got their money back. Those three components remain at the heart of this company’s contin- ued growth and success. Over the years, the company achieved several important national recognitions, including one of Con- tracting Business magazine’s Con- tractors of the Year, the Service Na- tion Alliance Contractor of the Year, and other local recognitions. This year, Steve was inducted into Contracting Business magazine’s Hall of Fame. Miles adds that there are other in- gredients in the secret sauce of his firm’s success. He lists them as: Joining industry groups – “Why? Because you don’t know what you don’t know,” He says. “The ses- sions and topics are always intriguing, but the real value is in the social activ- ities after the concurrent workshops. Peer-speak is just so valuable. I can- not stress that enough.” Don’t try to implement every- thing you learn all at once – “You should just pick one or two things you learn at industry events, then follow them through to the end. Either they work, or they don’t. You either keep them or throw them away and then start over with something else.” Membership organizations of- fer many bonuses– “Our member- ship in groups like NCI changed our technical problem-solving approach. It taught us the truth about airflow, system performance, and understand- ing that the entire house is a system. “We use that every day. From us- ing flow hoods to blower doors, we can show customers how we determine what they need. It’s not always easy to get customers involved when we are testing, but the NCI charts and tables make it easy enough to help customers better understand what you are doing and the value you provide.” It is for these and many other rea- sons that the team at High-Perfor- mance HVAC Today magazine once again chose Jerry Kelly Heating and Air Conditioning as a company to spotlight. Congratulations to Steve Miles and his entire team. side the HVAC industry. “We are always trying new ways to attract technical talent to Jerry Kelly,” he explains. “We target our marketing and promotions toward people who have some mechanical aptitude and also who have the right attitude. “Then we train them both internal- ly and send them out for technical training.” The goal is to get them up to speed on how we do things. Occa- sionally, we’ll hire somebody from an- other HVAC company, but that’s the exception.” Again, he points out that the train- ing includes NCI combustion and air- flow classes, as well as heat exchanger training. “Let’s face it. It’s about customer safety, liability protection, and selling comfort.” BIGGEST STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES Recruiting and training new techni- cians certainly counts, in Steve Miles’ mind, as a continuous challenge. But he also says the pandemic posed one of the most significant difficulties in his career in the HVAC Industry. He shares that it didn’t cost him business – the exact opposite is true. The challenge was managing the work- day and subsequent surge in business once the government deemed HVAC contractors essential workers. “We were able to power through the masking, making customers feel safe, and providing them the best, most cost-efficient comfort they wanted,” Miles adds. “That certainly is one of our strengths. Because of our training, we have a deep bench, and I think our team can truly guide the customer in DECEMBER 2023 9HVACTODAY.COMNext >